PTMS Weekly Parent Newsletter
October 7, 2022
Coming Up
October 10 - Late Start Day - classes begin at 9:40 a.m.
October 10 - CoVitality Survey during Homeroom
October 11-20 - Fall Festival Dance Ticket Sales during lunch and in the office until 3:15 p.m. daily - Students must present this parent-signed Activities Contract, their Student ID card, and $10 to purchase a ticket.
October 17-21 - Digital Citizenship Week
October 17 - Single Period Day
October 20 - Fall Festival Dance - Quad - 5:00-7:00 p.m. - no ticket sales at the door
Principal's Message
Happy Friday! As we finish our first week of October, and the weather is cooling down a bit, it finally feels like Fall is inching closer. I love this season for so many reasons. Fall brings a different feeling on campus as students are really settling in, forming meaningful friendships, and getting comfortable on campus. This level of comfort is exactly what we want - students to feel like they can be their best selves.
Today, we had a chance to honor over 60 students at our first "Trailblazer Awards". We celebrated with an ice-cream party filled with yummy toppings. Students receive these awards for actions they take and choices they make throughout the day, and teachers notice them. For example, many students got awards for helping others, caring for our campus by picking up trash, and taking the extra step by making their peers feel included. As educators, we always want to "catch 'em doing good", and the Trailblazer Awards is a great way to do this.
This week hasn't been without challenges. As principal, it's important that I bring authenticity to my work, and I need to share that our 7th grade lunch has been rather challenging. In short, many students eat their lunch and then head to our athletic fields. Some students engage in games like football, soccer and frisbee. However, a large number of students hang out on the fields and just clump together. With over 150-200 students on the field, this is rather difficult to manage. We have about 500 7th graders, and that number of students and level of energy can be tough to wrangle in. I know it's important that students "get the wiggles out" during lunch so they can be present and focus during academic time, but we need to put some additional parameters in place. As a result, we will be changing our field access for 7th graders starting Monday.
"Starting Monday, field use during lunch will be for students who are playing group games such as soccer, football, frisbee, etc. If you wish to hang out with your friends, you can do so in the quad area. The field area is not for hanging out, and students who are not actively engaged in games will be redirected to the quad area."
Students who wish to be social, talk with friends, and hang out can absolutely still do this, we will just be directing students to the quad (the central area of our campus) rather than on the fields. By spacing students out, it will allow us to proactively manage student behaviors more effectively. Please take a moment to speak to your student about this - not just the "what" but also the "why". At this age, students benefit from explaining why we take the steps that we do.
Finally, I want to take a moment to recognize Monday as National Indigenous Peoples Day. This is a link to an interactive map of the world that identifies indigenous territories in our country and across the world. It is an optional resource should you choose to access it. https://native-land.ca/
Remember that Monday is a late start, and hopefully the Padres do well in the playoffs.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Scott Wild
PrincipalCounseling Update
Next Friday, October 14, marks the end of 1st Quarter. This is the halfway mark in the first semester. All students will receive a 1st quarter progress report grade for each of their classes with the exception of Homeroom. Instructions regarding when and how to access these grades will be shared in next week’s update. This is a progress report, not a semester grade. The progress report is the school’s way of giving you a ‘heads up’ about how well your child is doing so far. Now is a great time to check in with your child and look at their Google Classrooms and Aeries accounts together to check if there are any recent missing assignments. A single missed assignment can have a huge impact. However- all is not lost! This really is a ‘heads up’. Teachers may allow the student to catch up late or missed work for either full or reduced points depending on the late work policy outlined in their syllabus. In either case, please make sure your child takes this opportunity. Any points are good points! One other thing to note is that points are cumulative for the first semester term grade. Earning 5/10 pts for a late or missed assignment might not sound much, but that is 5 points that the student is not missing later. All of our wolves have been working so hard and there is a lot to celebrate as we wrap up this first quarter!
October is National Substance Abuse Prevention Month. This is a time to promote prevention efforts and the help that is available in our community. The key to substance use prevention is talking openly with our students and helping them understand the impact of substance abuse on their health. Studies show that the earlier an individual starts smoking, drinking, or using other drugs, the greater the likelihood of developing addiction. Every year that substance use is delayed during the period of adolescent brain development, the risk of addiction and substance abuse decreases. Below are resources on how to talk with your child about substance use and where to get help in our community.
• SAMHSA's substance use prevention campaign, “Talk. They Hear You”
(https://www.samhsa.gov/talk-they-hear-you) - helps parents and caregivers start talking to children about the dangers of alcohol and other drugs. Here are tips for having this difficult conversation with your child.
• Partnership to end addiction (https://drugfree.org/prevention-and-taking-action-early/) - provides science and research supported information to help in conversations about drug and alcohol use.
If you or a loved one is struggling, we want to remind you of Care Solace, a complimentary service available to the San Dieguito Union High School District community. To find a substance use or mental health care provider who will help you through your challenges, contact Care Solace at 888-515-0595 or www.caresolace.com/sduhsdfamilies.
Red Ribbon Week will be October 24-28 and will consist of positive messaging and activities to help encourage students to live a drug free life. More information coming soon!
Lisa Curry, Counselor (A-Ne) lisa.curry@sduhsd.net
Carsen Murt, Counselor (Ng-Z and EL Students) carsen.murt@sduhsd.net
Samantha Eels-Taylor, Student Support Facilitator samantha.eelstaylor@sduhsd.net"Open Gym" - After School Volleyball Opportunity
Last week, a Google Form was created for sign-ups to participate, however the form was inaccessible. That has now been fixed, so let's try this again. If your student would like to participate in Open Gym, please click here to sign-up.
ASB and Student Announcements
Click here to see the latest version.
You can also check out the Students tab on our website and click the link entitled "Student Announcements" for a running post of each week's announcements.
Fall Festival Dance - October 20 - 5:00-7:00 p.m. in the Quad
Tickets are $10/each. Students (NOT parents) can purchase tickets during lunch or in the office with Vetha at any time. Your student will need the following items to purchase a ticket:
1) this parent-signed Activities Contract,
2) their Student ID card,
3) $10.
If your student has lost/misplaced their ID card, a replacement can be purchased from Vetha for $5.00.
Volunteers Needed: We will need some parent volunteers to man a few food/drink/activity stations that night. If you are interested in volunteering at the dance, please sign-up here.
PE Department
The PE department is collecting used tennis balls. Thank you for your support!
Lost and Found
Don't delay! All unclaimed items will be donated to charity on Friday, October 14th.
Chromebook Insurance
The deadline for purchasing insurance for your Chromebook is October 15, 2022.
Here is a link for insurance information and how to purchase it online.
From Nutrition Services
Nutrition Services is proud to be a member of the education team at San Dieguito Union High School District (SDUHSD). Research shows students receive their healthiest meals at school, and school meals are proven to support learning and improve attendance and classroom behavior. (School Nutrition Association).
Supply Chain Disruptions & Staffing Shortages
Persistent national supply chain disruptions and labor shortages continue to severely impact school meal programs across the nation. Widespread issues with discontinued menu items and shortages wreak havoc on menu offerings. For example, during the week of Sept. 25, 2022, the district received notification the day before anticipated food deliveries that the shipments would be short of more than 70 cases of food. Items shortages included essential recipe ingredients: salad dressing, whole grain flatbread, crackers, apple sauce, mozzarella-filled breadsticks, hummus, and chicken. These shortages ultimately impact menu offerings this week and beyond.
There is no end in sight to supply and staffing challenges. Currently, 20% of Nutrition Services positions are vacant. Daily employee absences contribute up to another 10% leaving the district and some school sites kitchens with 30%-60% of their positions unstaffed on any given school day. The current substitute pool is insufficient to meet the daily need. The impact of food supply and labor shortages is limited menu choices and quantities, menu substitutions, and potentially long wait times when positions are unstaffed.
Nutrition Services is working closely with our vendor partners to identify appropriate substitute items and long term supply chain alternatives.
Parent All Call for Volunteers/Substitute Opportunities
A Parent All Call for Volunteers to help, was made to the District Parent Site Representatives Committee on Monday, Oct. 3. In addition, labor shortages are communicated to school site administrators with many helping as they can. To learn more about volunteer opportunities, contact Nutrition Services at 760-753-6241, ext. 3426. Substitute opportunities and recruitment are ongoing. To learn more, visit: https://www.edjoin.org/Home/DistrictJobPosting/1319654
The Nutrition Services team remains resilient and committed to identifying adaptive solutions to serve healthy and appetizing meals to our more than 12,500 students district-wide.
Thank you all for your support and partnership in serving our students!
Very Important!
PTSA Membership
The PTMS Parent, Teacher & Student Association (PTSA) welcomes you to the 2022-2023 school year! As PTMS enters its seventh year, the PTSA continues to grow, supporting the families and staff by sponsoring a multitude of enriching activities and programs. We kindly ask for your support to continue this work.
The PTSA Membership fee is just $60 for two adults and one student. Please sign up here.
Order your Yearbook Now!
Student Vehicle Safety and Permit
Billboard Design Contest
Other
- PTMS Webstore - the PTMS store for PE clothes and Spirit Wear.
- COVID-19 Testing Sites for CURRENT students/staff (does not include extended family)
- San Dieguito Boys & Girls Club - click the link to the left for 2022-23 athletic schedules.
- SDUHSD - The SDUHSD is currently recruiting to staff permanent and substitute classified positions (e.g. Instructional Assistant, Nutrition Services, Custodian, Secretarial/Clerical). Part-time and full-time positions are available. Substitutes can set their own availability. To view a list of openings and to apply, please click https://www.edjoin.org/sandieguito or you can call Susan Dixon at 760 753-6491 x5543.
From the PE Department
Please follow us on Instagram to see what your student is up to during PE class.