Hello Bernal Bronco Students and Families:

Welcome to the 2017-2018 school year! I hope that your summer was filled with family, friends, relaxation and adventure. It is hard to believe that the new school year is upon us, but I look forward to another great school year. Rebecca Velasquez is Bernal’s new school secretary. She comes to Bernal after 17 years as a school secretary at Stipe School. We are very excited to welcome her to the Bernal family. Below you will find additional new staff joining us this school year:

Juliet Kulig SDC Teacher

Scott Hoffman Science Teacher

Roxana Chita-Williams RSP Teacher

Sonia Koosha Math Teacher

Jill Vaughn SDC Teacher

Allison Juhasz Art Teacher

Lina Sar Science Teacher

Skye Johnson PE Teacher

Mrs. Slater is back teaching social studies this year after teaching electives last year and Mr. Medina is teaching electives this year. Mrs. Neumeister will be teaching one section of Journalism/Yearbook to go along with her Language Arts classes. Ms. Mandel has joined the Language Arts department, teaching 4 sections of Language Arts and one section of English Language Development. Mr. Beaulieu will continue teaching our Leadership class, along with his PE classes.

Please be sure to ask your student about Bernal’s signature program, Advisory class. Bernal’s advisory class provides students a time to gather and “ground” themselves so that they are ready for a rigorous and meaningful school day. In advisory, students receive daily school announcements, participate in school spirit activities, connect with their teachers and peers in a low pressure situation and receive lessons in a variety of areas such as digital citizenship, anti-bullying, test-taking, conflict resolution, and other life-skill areas. We look forward to you learning more about our advisory program throughout the year.

A friendly reminder about our common student dress code at Bernal:

1. Solid back, white, or gray shirts must be worn daily. Logos of any color are okay,

2. Denim blue jean, black or khaki pants, shorts or skirts (at least fingertip length) must be worn daily,

3. Bernal spirit wear or any shirt that supports a Bernal School activity may be worn on any day (sports, CJSF, band, clubs, etc.).

Parents choosing to drive their student to school must use the appropriate drop-off and pick-up locations. Student safety is the highest priority. Please do not park and allow your student to cross traffic on San Ignacio to get to school. Please drop your student off on the appropriate side of the street that will allow your student to walk into the building without having to cross the street. Thank you in advance for your cooperation and commitment to keeping all of our students safe.

As always, take care of yourselves, and each other.

On 8/31 and 9/1, Bernal 8th grade students went on a walking field trip through the neighborhood. The students visited a plaque on Curie Dr. and the Bernal Ranch to learn about the local history of the Ohlone Indians, Spanish explorers/settlers, Mexican settlers, and the agricultural community of Rancho de Santa Teresa.

Mrs. Huang is a blessing and a gift to any school community she works in. She always has a smile on her face. However, don't let the smile fool you: She is a champion of rigorous interactive and meaningful math lessons in her class. She stretches and challenges students to think flexibly, creatively solve problems, and prepares them for the next level of math.