This school year we are continuing our work on Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports (also known as MTSS) across the district and at Benicia High School. We will be working throughout the year in a few focused areas and hope you will connect with us to learn about this work and to continue it at home, through discussions and attending school events together. Our work includes awareness of and support in the areas of mental health, emotional health, and social behaviors. Please read below for some of the work we have planned and the events you can participate in to improve our community:

September is Suicide Awareness and Prevention Month. We will be providing opportunities for students to watch the documentary The S Word, which we have screened in the past for students and the community. The goals of this film include increasing awareness about suicide prevention and resources, including alternatives that reach outside the box, expanding the conversation about suicide, and removing the shame and judgement from talking about suicide (theswordmovie.com). BHS Counselors, school psychologists, and our mental health clinician will be on hand to discuss this topic with students as they view the film.

Sources of Strength at Benicia High School. The mission of Sources of Strength is to prevent suicide by by increasing help seeking behaviors and promoting connections between peers and caring adults. Our Sources of Strength group who were recently featured on an episode of PBS News Hour! Please watch the video below to hear from our own BHS students about what Sources of Strength is and how it helps other students. More information will be coming soon from our adult leaders and student leaders, including how students can join Sources of Strength! Please call our Counseling Department for more information.

October is National Bullying Prevention Month. Benicia High School will be working with staff and students throughout the year to bring attention to this important topic and to provide strategies on how to address bullying, both at school and online. Our September Staff Meeting will focus on this topic and we will be doing a number of activities during the month of October, including asking everyone to wear orange to take a stand against bullying for Unity Day on October 23rd.

What can families do to help address bullying? When adults respond quickly and consistently to bullying behavior they send the message that it is not acceptable. Research shows this can stop bullying behavior over time (StopBullying.gov). Be an upstander rather than a bystander. Report bullying and harassment to school administration. Often, this behavior goes unreported. Take note of our own behaviors with one another and model kindness rather than negative interactions, in person and online. When students observe adults engaging in negative behaviors, they receive the message that this is acceptable and they continue the behaviors modeled for them. Let's show each other kindness and spread kindness in our community!

September 25th - Community Event - Free Screening of Finding Kind. In preparation for Bully Prevention Month, we will be providing free screenings of Finding Kind. Please see information and the film trailer below to learn more about this film and this event. We encourage all parents to attend, elementary through high school, and to bring their students as well. We will provide an opportunity for our students to watch the film during Access Period also. During the second semester, BHS will also offer a free screening of The Upstanders, a documentary about resilience and the power of peers to end bullying. We hope you will attend one or both of these events.

If you would like to learn more about any of these events, future events, or share suggestions, resources, and possible funding to support additional opportunities, please contact the Counseling Office or Ms. Kleinschmidt. We appreciate the partnership we have with the Kyle Hyland Foundation and Benicia Teen Center, and our Mentorship Program provided by community volunteers, all of which work with BHS to provide multiple layers of support to all of our students. Additional resources and events are included further on in this newsletter.

Go Panthers!

Brianna Kleinschmidt, Principal

Benicia High School does not allow food deliveries during school hours as we are a closed campus and work to minimize disruptions to class time as well as maximize school safety. Students can purchase breakfast, snack, and lunch at multiple locations on campus with cash or their 'My School Bucks" account.

Benicia High School invites you to Back School Night on Thursday, September 12th

6:00pm - Band Performance in Main Quad & Opportunity to Visit School Organizations

6:20pm - Principal's Welcome in Main Quad

Parents & Guardians - Please bring your student's schedule and follow their classes:

6:35pm - Early Bird Classes in Gym

6:52pm - First Period Classes Begin

Each class visit/presentation is 12 minutes long, with 5 minutes passing to the next class.

Bells will ring to signal the schedule.

8:30pm - Event Ends

During class time, teachers will review their curriculum for the 2019-2020 school year. Time in each class period is brief, so we encourage parents/guardians to email your student’s teachers through PowerSchool to set up an appointment if you’d like to discuss your student’s individual progress.

Friday, September 13th, is a Minimum Day Schedule with 12:20pm dismissal.

Benicia High School's Site Council is composed of students, parents/community members, teachers, non-teaching staff, and the principal. Each members group is selected at large by other members of their group - students by student vote, parents/community members by parent vote, and teachers by teacher vote. The school is required to meet certain numbers of representation for each group of membership, at least 12 voting members: the Principal, 4 or more teachers, 1 or more classified school staff, 3 (+1 alternate) parent/guardian members, and 4 or more students (one from each grade level +1 alternate).

School Site Council meets once a month, generally on the second Tuesday of the month unless a school holiday or event requires a change of date. Meetings are held from 3:30pm to 5:00pm. The meetings focus on bringing stakeholders together to participate in reviewing the work of the school, progress towards goals, and participate in decision-making for Benicia High School as we work towards our Vision and Mission. Meetings are open to the public, with a time for public comment, and agendas are posted in the school office one week prior to the meeting.

We want to thank all of the parents and community members who have served on our School Site Council and those who have submitted their interest to participate this year. Please select three individuals listed below that you would like to serve as a parent or community member on the 2019-2020 Site Council.

Voting closed on Wednesday Sept. 4th in order to determine members prior to the first meeting of the school year.

Thank you to those who voted and congratulations to our new parent & community member representatives: Neeley Silberman, Heather Still, and Steve Sillen!

Student representatives serve for a 2-year term with the option to continue after the two years. They are expected to attend all meetings or arrange for their alternate to attend in their place should they not be able to attend. Student representatives that miss two meetings will be considered to have vacated their seat and their alternate will have the opportunity to become the class representative.

Benicia High School is changing how we facilitate our Student Forums to increase participation and student-involvement in school decision-making. School administration is partnering with our Associated Student Body President and student-elected representatives to hold monthly Student Forums during Access Period, on the first Thursday of each month. Each Student Forum will have a few pre-planned topics based on student interest and school planning deadlines. The meetings will also provide information on upcoming events and opportunities. The remainder of the meeting will be open for topics provided by student representatives.

Are you interested in being a student representative?

• Each Access Period class will have one student representative who will hold that position for the semester. That student can continue as the student representative for the second semester, or have another student step in at that time. Access Period teachers will hold a process to determine who the student representative will be. That person is responsible to attend the meetings and to prepare for the meetings as noted below.

• Each Access Period class will have a second student representative which will remain open and appointed each month based on interest on the monthly topic or other ideas/concerns they want to bring to the meeting.

Student Representative Responsibilities:

• The semester-long student representative is responsible to review the monthly topics ahead of time and gather feedback, ideas, and at times take a vote in their Access Class, with the purpose of including all students. They can do this through discussion in Access Class on the Wednesday of the Student Forum week (if the teacher allows) or by passing around the Student Forum Feedback sheet so that students can write in their questions, ideas, concerns, and suggestions.

• For every concern brought to Student Forum, there must be a suggestion provided as well. Student representatives are expected to work with their classmates to consider suggestions and solutions.

• When a vote is requested, the student representative should share the question/topic with their classmates and take a straw vote, asking students to raise their hands to vote for the option of their choice, and record the votes. Those will be added to the other Access Period votes to provide an overall tally and student majority.

Possible Student Forum Topics:

Ideas for best use of Access Period. How can BHS better help struggling/failing students? How can BHS better incorporate education, recognition, and celebration of diversity and cultures? What are students experiencing that they need help with and how can we best provide that support? What would you like to see at BHS that is not currently offered here?

PTSA: Parent-Teacher-Student Association

While many parents join the PTA & PTG when their students are in elementary school, high schools often do not see the same support. We ask that you and your student consider joining our PTSA and improving your student’s school experience by donating your time or resources to our programs. Learn more at the PTSA table at one of our back to school events or at a PTSA meeting (first Wednesday of each month at 6pm). Recent projects and programs sponsored by our PTSA include: library renovation, N-2 renovation, staff appreciation, Teacher Innovation Grants, Student Project Grant, and student scholarships. Seniors planning to apply for a PTSA scholarship must be a member to qualify. Join PTSA today!

ELAC: English Language Advisory Committee

BHS invites you to join our English Language Advisory Committee for parents/guardians, staff, and community members working together to support our students who are English Learners. This group will meet five times this year to discuss our current programs and supports, ideas for growth to strengthen our programs, explore ways to better connect with our families, and more. Meetings will be held on Tuesday evenings at 6:00pm at Benicia High School. If you are interested in joining ELAC or have questions, please email Vice Principal Dwight Rogers at drogers@beniciaunified.org.

September 24th at 6:30pm

Benicia High School - Room L-116

District programs, activities, and practices shall be free from unlawful discrimination, including discrimination against an individual or group based on race, color, ancestry, nationality, national origin, immigration status, ethnic group identification, ethnicity, age, religion, marital status, pregnancy, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy, or related recovery, parental status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, or genetic information; a perception of one or more of such characteristics; or association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics.