Hello Santiago Families!

Thank you so much for all of your help this week with all of the testing craziness! We are SO proud of our students and staff for their hard work. We are confident these efforts will be one MORE reason why our school is the raddest around!

As we enter the last few weeks of school, we thank you in advance for paying attention to communications being sent home. We try very hard to make sure we get everything out to you in a timely fashion; we are a busy campus, so there's lots to share! Checking our communications home will make it easier for you to stay in the loop, but we always welcome phone calls to the office for anything that needs clarification. The next few newsletters will contain all of the events between now and the end of the school year.

On Monday morning, students that have been selected for end of the year awards will be receiving a letter in first period inviting them to attend the Faculty Awards Night on June 1st. Not all students receive awards, and some awards are given at Promotion. Thank you!

EXPANDED LEARNING FAMILIES: The last day of Expanded Learning for this school year is Thursday, June 1st, and no Expanded Learning will be offered the last week of school. Thank you for a great year!

7th GRADE FAMILIES: If your student does not plan to return to Santiago for the 23-24 school year, we need to make sure that all of their Santiago property is returned to our library no later than June 2nd.

8th GRADE FAMILIES: As we prepare for the end of the year, please make sure that all Santiago-issued items get returned promptly because promotion certificates with be withheld if Chromebooks, charging devices, books, sports uniforms, etc are not returned in June. THIS 8th GRADE PROMOTION PACKET has already been sent home (both as a hard copy packet, and digitally), but in case you missed it, here it is again! Please make sure you have read through all of the important notices about end of year activities in the packet.

We are looking forward to an action-packed calendar for the next few weeks. Thank you for encouraging your Santanas to make good choices so that they get to participate in all of the exciting upcoming events!

Parents, if you would like to get involved around campus, please consider reading about opportunities through PTSA down below. We need help, and would love any support you can give us! (Details about PTSA opportunities below.)

If you need help finding our calendar, here it is, and here is our bell schedule!

:) Team Santiago

One of the things that we require all 8th grade students to do is to complete a "Digital Student Lead Conference". The DSLC is a portfolio that your child has been working on since they started Santiago and it contains work samples to show you, their parents, guardians, and siblings, how much they have grown academically.

That is why we ask that ALL parents attend on this day. It only takes about 15 minutes of your time and will leave a life-long impact on both you and your child. Upon completion of the DSLC, you will be given paper and pen and asked to write your child a letter expressing how you feel about the work they have put in over the past two years and how they have grown. We will hand these out to your child during the final week of school at Santiago. It is often a moment of great pride and emotion as it may be one of the last times that you and your child ever sits down and go over a body of work like this. You do not want to miss this one.

If you or a family member do not attend, we will have an employee of the school attend the DSLC with your child, as presenting is part of the grade, but I can assure you, it will mean a lot more to your child if you take the time to be there. Please, do what you can to attend and share this moment with your child.

Digital Student-Led Conferences will be held on Friday, June 2nd. We invite all 8th-grade parents to participate in this event by using this link to sign up for a conference time of your choice.

As you may know, California school districts must update sex ed curricula for secondary schools to meet the Ed Code as revised by AB 329 (CA Healthy Youth Act). We have adopted curriculum to address these standards. HEART (Health Education and Relationship Training), is a comprehensive curriculum that complies with all California Education Code requirements and supports individual family values.

Students will be introduced to the independent curriculum during 1st Period on Friday, May 26th, through the 8th Grade Counseling Google Classroom. From there, students will be expected to complete lessons on their own, as homework. All lessons should be completed by Wednesday, June 7th.

Topics covered are:

1. ‘Decision,’ Parent Interviews, and previews future lessons.
2. Liking + Loving Discusses romantic relationships, the ‘Decision,’ setting boundaries, negotiation and refusal skills, and how to have fun without sex.
3. Gender Today Teaches about gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, and negative stereotypes.
4. HIV Protection Reviews STIS and teaches about HIV transmission, protection, testing, treatment, and social issues.
5. Unhealthy + Illegal Covers media influence, pornography, ‘sexting,’ child abuse, legal age of consent, protective laws, and sex trafficking.
6. Honor Others Reviews healthy attitudes, trends and benefits of committed relationships such as marriage. Parent Interviews confirmed.

Here is a sample of the Curriculum and Frequently Asked Questions.

If you DO NOT want to have your child participate in these lessons and would like to opt your student out of this unit, please CLICK HERE.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Mrs. Vicencia (kvicencia@orangeusd.org) or Ms. Patel (rpatel@orangeusd.org).

Sign up for the summer health course! This is a required class for graduation.

• Students will have three 2-week sessions to choose from (June 13-22, June 26 - July 6, July 10-20).
• Confirmation of enrollment will be sent through parent email.
• Student will be assigned and must attend an in person orientation during the summer.
  
• Register by using this link: bit.lyEMHS-health (case sensitive), OR click THIS link for a QR Code.

THE DEADLINE TO REGISTER IS MAY 12, 2023!!! Don't forget!

Also, please consider donating $25 (or any amount!). Your child can drop off the cash or check at the office at any appropriate time. You can also Venmo Santiago your donation @SantiagoCharterMS. Please write “8th grade promotion party” in the check or Venmo text.

We appreciate your assistance to provide our graduating class with a super memorable promotion party this year!

Thank you!

-The Promotion Party Committee

Aloha! Santiago's Choir has been hard at work over the past few months to put together their final choir concert: Luau! We have divided ourselves into committees to take over planning each aspect of the concert to provide maximum enjoyment for all involved! It will be a fun night of Hawaiian songs, hula, games, themed-food, and aloha spirit!

If you are willing and able to donate to our concert by purchasing any of our Amazon items for us, we would greatly appreciate it. You can purchase directly from the wishlist link, and the items will automatically be sent to Santiago's address. Mahalo!

Wed. 8/2 - VIP registration - For a donation of $20, information to come

Thurs. 8/3 - Incoming students with last names beginning with the letters A-G

Fri. 8/4 - Incoming students with last names beginning with the letters H-Q

Mon. 8/7 - Incoming students with last names beginning with the letters R-Z

We look forward to starting the new school year with you !

We are always so excited to get a chance to show off all the awesome opportunities at Santiago, so we thank you for helping to spread the word!