PTMS Weekly Parent Newsletter
April 19, 2024
Table of Contents
I. Coming Up (calendar items in the coming week or so)
II. Message from the Principal
III. Message from the Assistant Principal
- From the Attendance Office
IV. Counseling Corner
- Information on Wellness and Suicide Prevention
V. ASB and Student Announcements
- Spring Dance - One for the Records
VI. Department News
- Learning Commons
- PE
- Yearbook
VII. Clubs (periodic information on extracurricular activities)
VIII. Multilingual Corner (includes information on ELAC other community resources)
- Parent classes
IX. Special Education Sessions and Events (parenting classes, family events, informational sessions)
X. Community Events
- Opportunities/Events involving district high schools
XI. Other Important Items (links to the PTMS Family Handbook, Boys & Girls Club, Webstore, etc.)
I. Coming Up
April 22-May 2 - Spring Dance Ticket Sales - Parent Permission, Student ID, and $5.00 required to buy a ticket
April 24 - ELAC Meeting - 6:00-7:30 p.m. - EWMS Cove
May 2 - "One for the Records" Spring Dance - 5:00-7:00 p.m. - Quad
May 3 - PTSA General Meeting/Coffee with the Principal - Learning Commons - 8:45-10:00 a.m.
II. Message from the Principal
Happy Friday Wolfpack families,
I hope you had a great week! This week was highlighted by our 2nd Annual Heritage Night sponsored by our PTSA and ASB. Held last night in our gymnasium, the evening featured twelve different countries from around the world. Parents and students selected a country that represents their heritage and shared facts about the history, culture, art, music, food and more. As I walked around from table to table, I was so impressed by the pride people took in sharing about their heritage. Each table had a game or activity so you could earn stamps for your passport, and sometimes even win prizes. Additionally, there were numerous student performers showcasing dance, singing, and cultural dress - all of which was tremendously impressive! Thank you to the many families who participated and contributed to the evening. It was great to have so many cultures and heritages all under one roof to celebrate, build community, and increase feelings of belonging at Pacific Trails.
Yesterday also featured our boys and girls soccer teams who competed against Diegueno Middle School. Both teams worked hard, supported each other, showed good sportsmanship, and represented our school with honor.
As I look at the calendar, I see that we only have six more weeks of school. For our 7th graders, this means that the first half of their middle school experience is almost complete. For our 8th graders, that means that high school is just around the corner. I have asked many 8th graders if they feel prepared for high school. The majority, while expressing a bit of nervousness for high school, do say they have gathered the skills, tools and knowledge here at PTMS that will help them succeed in high school. It's a good topic to bring up with them over the weekend and during the coming weeks, so I encourage you to have these conversations with your student. I want to reiterate the importance of focusing on process rather than solely on results. Encourage your student to reflect on what their learning processes are, how they organize their day and week, to what degree they self-advocate and communicate with their teachers, and how they study. These are all process questions, that if answered well, typically result in high letter grades. Hopefully, your student feels like they are gathering these skills in their time at Pacific Trails. If this isn't happening fully, there is still time to reflect, make changes, and seek improvement. And please know that the entire Wolfpack staff is here to support.
Finally, I want to share that we continue to have challenges with technology use. This ranges from students playing games on their Chromebook to students texting with parents during class. We aren't going to be able to "solve the technology problem" in full, but as a Principal and a father, I find this website very helpful. It is Common Sense media, and offers a lot of articles on topics related to children and technology. A link to this is also on the PTMS website under our "Parents" tab. I hope you find it helpful too as we collectively work to keep kids safe, balanced and informed.
Have a wonderful weekend and we look forward to seeing your student on Monday.
In gratitude,
Scott Wild Ed.D.
Principal
A Fond Farewell
PTMS bids Farewell to a very loved member of the Administrative Office Team. Marielle Bravo-Saltzman, our Counseling Secretary/Registrar extraordinaire, has accepted a new position at the District Office. It is a loss for us, but a gain for our District Office. Good luck, Marielle! We'll miss you!
Until we have a new Counseling Secretary, please welcome long-term sub, Ludan Liu, who will take over registration/enrollment duties in the interim.
III. From the Assistant Principal
From the Attendance Office
~ School is your first and most important job.
IV. Counseling Corner
Is your 8th grader looking for a summer volunteer opportunity? Helen Woodward Animal Center (a non-profit animal shelter located in Rancho Santa Fe) hosts many Critter Camps, which provide teens with early leadership opportunities. They are looking for junior volunteers (ages 14-17 years) to assist with setting up for lessons, assisting with animal education, and supervising lunch time, as well as assisting with games and crafts. Not only is this a great opportunity for skill-building, but also for verification of community service hours. Volunteers sign up for a minimum of one week sessions with a maximum of three weeks total (depending on availability). Click here for more information.
San Diego County Office of Education and medical and mental health experts with the Transforming Mental Health Initiative at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego’s next free webinar is on April 24 from 5:30-6:30pm: SUPPORTING SCHOOL-LIFE BALANCE TO ACHIEVE ACADEMIC SUCCESS. Day by day, adolescents strive to navigate school assignments, extracurricular activities, friendships, and occasionally, instances of bullying. This can result in them feeling overwhelmed. Join Katherine Nguyen Williams, PhD, as she provides practical guidance for parents and caregivers to assist young individuals in identifying and handling both academic and life-related stress. She will lead participants through strategies aimed at fostering a healthy balance between school and life, both in the present and in the future. Registration Link / Flyer English/Spanish
Harvard’s Making Caring Common Project offers free online mental health training for families (virtual): trainings are designed to share practical tips that adults can put into practice to understand teen mental health better and support the mental health of teens in their lives. Training 2: April 24 - How to Help Teens Build Strong Social Connections, Sleep Routines, and Social Media Habits Click here to REGISTER
Lisa Curry, Counselor (A-Ma) lisa.curry@sduhsd.net
Carsen Anderson, Counselor (Mc-Z and ML Students) carsen.anderson@sduhsd.net
Samantha Eels-Taylor, Student Support Facilitator samantha.eelstaylor@sduhsd.net
Mental Health & Wellness
Mental Health & Wellness Resources for Students, Staff, and School Community.
Click on the QR code to discover your PTMS Support Staff.
Free Mental Health Webinar Series
See below
Suicide Prevention QPR Training
See below
V. ASB and Student Announcements
You can check them out on the Students tab of our website under "Student Announcements" for a running post of each week's student announcements.
"One for the Records" Spring Dance - May 2
Tickets for the "One for the Records" Spring Dance on May 2nd go on sale Monday, April 22. Tickets are $5.00/each and students will need this signed parent permission slip, their student ID card (replacement ID's are $5.00/each), and $5.00 to buy a ticket. Tickets are sold at the ASB tables during lunch as well as before/after school and during break/lunch with Vetha in the front office. The register closes at 3:15 p.m. daily. The last day to buy a dance ticket will be May 2nd no later than 3:15 p.m. Tickets will not be sold at the door.
VI. Department News
Learning Commons News
Please click here to see everything that the Learning Commons has been up to so far this year.
From the PE Department
Please follow us on Instagram to see what your student is up to during PE class.
VII. Clubs
~ Club activity will be posted here throughout the year. To get a list of all Clubs currently active, please check the Activities page on our website.
VIII. Multilingual Learner Corner
We want to extend a huge congratulations to qualifying multilingual learner students on their achievement of reclassifying and reaching a level of English proficiency! Qualifying families will be sent an invite to attend the event. All multilingual learner students and their families are invited to attend, even if they aren't reclassifying just yet, for the purpose of building community and meeting others who may have similar school experiences. If you have questions, please contact Dr. Stephanie Hake at stephanie.hake@sduhsd.net for more information. Thank you!
All MLL families are invited to our spring Multilingual learner night! We will celebrate reclassification and welcome our elementary families into our district. New families will also have the opportunity to attend their first ELAC Meeting with their child's future school site. Event details are below with the flyer links.
Event Name: SDUHSD Spring Multilingual Learner Night
Event Date: Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Time: 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Location: Earl Warren Middle School (155 Stevens Ave)
Flyer: In English, Spanish, and Chinese - it can also be translated into any other language by right clicking the document, selecting the three vertical dots at the top, and choosing a new language.
IX. Special Education Sessions and Events
For a list of Special Education Informational Sessions and Family Events, please click here.
For meetings, trainings, workshops, and more from the North Coastal Consortium for Special Education, please click here.
X. Community Events
San Dieguito Academy
Come see Matilda!
Torrey Pines High School
Dance Team Auditions
Torrey Pines High School
Generations.
Canyon Crest Academy
Robotics Summer Camp
XI. Other Important Items
- Boys & Girls Club - Seasonal sports information/registration.
- PTMS Live Calendar of Campus Events and 2023-24 Instructional Calendar.
- PTMS Student Vehicle Permit - Register your bike/e-bike/scooter/skateboard with PTMS. Complete this form and turn in to the office.
- PTMS Webstore - PE clothes/Limited Series Clothing
- PTMS Yearbook. - Order today!
- San Dieguito Alliance for a Drug-Free Youth - complete the Parent Pledge here.
- San Dieguito Boys & Girls Club - click the link to the left for 2023-24 athletic schedules.
- SDUHSD - Employment Opportunities. To view a list of openings and to apply, please click https://www.edjoin.org/sandieguito or you can call Susan Gray at 760 753-6491 x5543.
This newsletter has also been posted to our website under "Parent Communications."
Deadline to submit articles for publication is Thursdays.