May Newsletter
Class of 2027
(Ms. Bojorquez, Mr. Smith, Mrs. Carbajal, Mr. Watkins, Ms. Castrejon, Ms. Soto)
Upcoming Events & Important Dates
Spring Fling - Wednesday, May 1 from 5pm - 7pm
Helix's annual Spring Fling Showcase for incoming freshmen is coming up! Helix Academics, Arts, Activities and Athletic programs will be showcased throughout the event allowing families to get acquainted with the many curricular and extracurricular programs offered at Helix. Incoming 9th Graders will receive a complimentary meal ($5 ea. for additional family members). Students will be able to sign-up for school athletic teams, clubs, and service organizations. Teachers will be available to provide information and answer questions regarding Helix academics and students from the Helix Performing Arts Programs will perform. For more information on upcoming events for next year's freshmen, check out this newsletter.
Helix Dance Performance - May 9 & 10 at 7pm
Spring Cabaret - May 16 & 17 at 7pm
Chess the Musical - April 30, May 2, 3, 4 at 7pm
This musical will be performed on the Helix mainstage theater on April 30, May 2, 3, 4 at 7pm with an understudy matinée on May 4 at 2pm. PURCHASE TICKETS HERE. In this musical, Chess becomes a metaphor for romantic rivalries, competitive gamesmanship, super-power politics, and international intrigue. From Bangkok to Budapest, the players, lovers, politicians and spies manipulate and are manipulated to the pulse of a score that includes “One Night in Bangkok” and “Heaven Help My Heart.”
Prom - Saturday, May 18 at 7pm
Guest Tickets: Students can pick up guest clearance forms at the Grade Level Team’s office starting on Tuesday, April 16th. If purchasing a ticket for a non-Helix guest, the guest clearance form must be completed in order to purchase a ticket for that guest.
AP Testing - May 6-17
May 6-10 and May 13-17. Click here for more information.
No School on Memorial Day - Monday May 27
Enjoy your holiday!
Graduation & Last Day of School - Thursday, June 6 at 6pm
Congrats to our Class of 2024! Graduation will be held in the stadium on June 6 at 6pm. For more details and information about tickets, click here and scroll to page 2.
ASPIRE Summer Camp - June 10 - 28
Summer Registration Appointments - June 11 - July 3
Our Family First Info Nights is a Helix tradition of keeping parents informed and connected. In this series, we offer presentations about a variety of topics. Most are held on Thursdays at 6 for constancy, also some virtual events may vary. See below for our upcoming schedule. You can also visit helixcharter.net/FamilyFirst for more information and for links to previous recordings.
NCAA Eligibility Workshop - Thursday, May 2 from 6-7pm
Interested in participating in college athletics? Come get the latest information on the NCAA eligibility process from Damon Chase, Athletic Director and Kathryn Welch, Assistant Athletic Director.
Click here to join this Zoom meeting. Registration not required. Students & siblings are welcome to join you. Refreshments will be provided. For translation services, click here.
Helix's Sustainability Work - Thursday, May 9 from 6-7pm
Kevin Myron, Science Teacher and Sustainability Coordinator, will present on all of the exciting work Helix is doing to improve our sustainability including new recycling, Green Schools Conference attendance, research on sustainability in schools, and more. He will cover our new Student Office of Sustainability and students from that office with share. Attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions, express concerns and share ideas about this work. We are also interested in hearing from Helix parents and community members who may be interested in being on a new Sustainability Advisory Board to oversee the implementation of a sustainability action plan.This event will be held in the Helix library from 6-7pm. Dinner will be provided, please RSVP here for food ordering purposes. Students and siblings are welcome to attend with parents/guardians. For translation services, click here.
Medicine Pathway Info Night - Thursday, May 16 from 6-7pm
Come learn about the Sports Medicine Pathway classes (Beginning Sports Med & Advanced Sports Med) from teacher and CTE pathway leader Kathryn Welch. We will cover the expectations, workload and requirements to be successful in this class. This event will be held in the Helix Library. Registration not required. Students & siblings are welcome to join you. Refreshments will be provided. For translation services, click here.
English Learner Info Night (ELAC) & Celebration - Thursday, May 23 from 6-7pm
This event is open to new and existing students to learn about our English Learner program. We will greet our incoming students and hear from past students. We will also celebrate our students who have been reclassified in an RFEP Ceremony! This event will be held in the Helix Library. Dinner provided and catered by one of our Helix families! Doors open at 5:45. Registration is required here for food ordering purposes. Please indicate if translation is needed on the registration form.
Student & Community News
Grad Night Chaperones Needed
The Helix PTSA is in need of additional chaperones to assist with Class of 2024 Grad Night. Parents with children attending Grad Night interested in attending free of charge as a group chaperone can contact Katie Smith at katiem_smith@yahoo.com. Chaperones will be asked to attend the entire event, including riding the buses to and from the event, beginning afternoon Sunday, June 9 overnight to the morning of Monday, June 10.
Brave Empowerment Event for Girls at the Kroc Center - Saturday, May 4 from 4-8pm
This fun & free event at the Kroc Center will educate and connect girls with community resources! There will be Powerful speakers and testimonies, DJ, Dinner provided by In and Out, Inflatables, Yoga, Glam zone featuring hair and nails, Resource Fair, Raffle, A Swag Bag stuffed with a journal, pen, free guest passes for our facility and other goodies and more!
Choir Auditions - May 11
Auditions for the award-winning Helix Show Choirs, HD (intermediate treble) and HLX (advanced mixed) will be SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2024 in the choir room (room 925) in the Performing Arts Center at Helix Charter HS. See application for specific times.
City of La Mesa Career Expo
Everyone from the Helix community is invited to attend the City of La Mesa's Career Fair. There will be information about local jobs and training programs.
Kroc Center - Summer Opportunities for Students
Please note that students must be 15-17 to volunteer and at least 18 by June 10th to work here as a Youth Development Leader.
The Dental House - La Mesa
In 2023 Jane Vu Svec (Dr. Vu) opened up The Dental House right by Helix High School! She is one of the businesses that sponsors the athletic department through Mascot Media.
Community Service Opportunities
A list of community service opportunities can be found at helixcharter.net/community. Local little leagues are always looking for Helix students to help in the snack bar. It's a good opportunity to get work experience and learn the ropes for service industry jobs! Students can find sign up sheets in the sheet linked above.
Summer School - 2024
Some students may need to remediate classes they failed during the year. Summer school is only available for course remediation. More information about enrollment and courses offered will be forthcoming. Summer School will be taking place Wednesday June 12th to Wednesday July 3rd.
An email was sent to the parents of students who will attending Summer School.
Students attending Summer School MUST attend a mandatory informational meeting with their parents.
May 7th at 6pm Zoom
May 8th at 5pm Zoom
Reminders for AP Testing
Check-in early at testing location before exam:
7:15am for 8:00am exams
11:15am for 12:00pm exams
students should bring 2 pens (blue or black ink) and 2 pencils with a good eraser
students need to bring a photo ID (Helix ID okay)
students are welcome to bring water into the testing room
all smart devices (watches, cell phones, etc.) will be collected upon arrival and returned once the exams are complete
Students must stay once they complete their exams - everyone will be released at the same time
Students are excused from all other classes on their exam day
Students with accommodations will be emailed with a testing location
Here is a complete list of AP terms and conditions: https://apstudents.collegeboard.org
Student Highlight of the Month
Our Student Highlight for the Month of April is Benjamin Lewin!
Here is what the 2027 GLT had to say about Benjamin Lewin, "Benjamin has completed 115 hours of Community Service! This is a huge accomplishment. Ben has shown dedication and perseverance not only in the completion of Community Service hours but also in his Academics. He is an incredibly high achieving student who is going to do great things one day. Way to go Ben!"
Every month your GLT will be recognizing students who have gone above and beyond and have shown what it means to be a true Scottie.
Freshman Field Trip to SDSU & UCSD
The freshman class had a great time exploring UCSD and SDSU's campuses during our freshman field trip in early April! Traveling with over 600 freshman is definitely no easy feat but exposing these students to two prestigious colleges/universities in their own backyard is well worth it.
Some of our kiddos even made the front page of the La Mesa Courier! (pic shown above)
We might have some future Aztecs and Tritons on our hands!
Academic Support News
Happenings
Week 1 (5/1 - 5/3): Turn in late work to be considered for Progress Report
Week 2 (5/6 - 5/10): Progress Reports due on Monday, Athletic Eligibility
Week 3 (5/13 - 5/17): 4 more weeks!
Week 4 (5/20 - 5/24): 3 more weeks!
Week 5 (5/27 - 5/31): No School Monday, Senior Boards (Minimum Days - 5/28 - 5/29)
Announcements
New building YAY! We are excited to continue our success in the new EXL building. While the location changed, our structure remains the same. In addition, with the first half of Spring Semester 2 complete, focusing on good academic behaviors is imperative. Only five more weeks until a much needed break!
Tips and Tricks
Burnout and low motivation
Utilize digital planner to keep track of current and missing work (prioritize bigger weighted assignments first)
Ask yourself - “What can I prepare for/plan for now that will make future me’s life that much easier?”
Recharge when needed!
Self care is important! Having a balance between your responsibilities and your health is important to maintain! Listen to your body, take those breaks!
Take failure in stride! It’s okay to make mistakes, just don’t give up.
Growth and positive change can come from discomfort - take these moments as an opportunity instead of an obstacle.
Continue utilizing tutorial - 4 times a week (specific classes and general)
Do Not be Left in the Lurch! Take advantage of the additional support before it's Crunch Time!
Academic Coach Highlights
I have been working at Helix as an Academic Coach for 4 years now, and continue to aspire to be a World History or a Math Teacher. I consider myself to be a Jack of all Trades type of person, so my hobbies and interests change from time to time (just picked up Crocheting), but the main ones that stick around are watching Sports and Anime, going on runs, playing video games, and baking (my family bakes the world's greatest Chocolate Chip Cookies). I've traveled to Japan a couple of times and am ALWAYS up for going back, but for some place new I'd love to visit Ireland so that I can embrace my Father's Heritage!
What’s the best advice you have been given? The best advice I was given comes from one of my Mentors from an Event Production Group I work with. "Commit to having fun in life." This simple piece of advice shaped my worldview over the years, and has had a direct influence with how I live my life, both my working life and my personal life. Of course, the time may call for a more serious approach to the matter at hand, but that does not mean you can't have fun and can't enjoy what you are doing. However, I truly believe you can have fun where you work and still be productive. Someone having fun is invincible, and that positive outlook on life has allowed me to create positive and low stress learning environments for my students, emphasizing that they are more than just a "student."
Alex Berg
I love to travel. I am lucky enough to have been to 17 countries and plan to add another new one this summer (Luxembourg). On my bucket list is a trip to Denali National Park, a trip to Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya, a trip to Zhangjiajie National Forest in China, a trip to Thailand/Cambodia for their food, and a trip to northern Canada/Scandinavia to see the Northern Lights.
What’s something in the next year that you plan to do that you haven’t done before? Something that I plan to do in the next year that I haven't done before is go to grad school! I was recently accepted into SDSU's teaching credential/masters program and cannot wait to start. I look forward to advancing in my educational career and am hoping that I can remain at Helix while I do my student teaching.
Carina Virto
I am about to head into my senior year at SDSU and it feels sort of surreal. I feel like time is passing by pretty quickly and to come to a day where I no longer have an assignment to turn in at 11:59pm or a class to rush to seems bittersweet. I'm pretty excited to be done with it all but it's definitely the end of an era. Although school will continue for me in other ways; I plan to head to OCS after college and attend flight school to become a Naval Flight Officer (NFO). I dont think I'll ever stop learning, but I'm excited to mark off these milestones.
Would you rather meet your ancestors or your descendants? I would like to meet my ancestors. I feel like my family isn't as traditional when it comes to Mexican culture, so if I was able to meet my ancestors then they could teach me a thing or two that I can start implementing in my own life.
Samuel Tucker
I graduated from Helix in 2016, and used to play for the Helix Polo team and the Swim team too. I am happy to be working at the school I used to go to, and I'm now the Head for the Marine Bio ASPIRE
What’s something in the next year that you plan to do that you haven’t done before? If I could start a business it would be a small coffee shop
Jeannete Rivera
Born and raised in San Diego. My birthday is on 08/28 which is actually why my favorite number is 8. My dog's name is Hachi which means "8" in Japanese. I'm a dog mom of a 4-year-old American Akita. It was my dream dog but will probably be the only dog I ever own. I always wanted to be an Elementary School teacher but have recently decided to explore other options, still in education. I enjoy being outdoors, I would much rather have a picnic than going out to eat. I enjoy hiking and going on long walks with my dog. I love spending time with my family and being able to take my niece and nephews out.
How do you hope people describe you? I hope that the people that really know me would describe me as someone who is kind, empathetic, supportive and optimistic.