Internships: That means that all of the small parts of our program that we take the time to design and roll out are integral parts of our learning program. ALL Met students must find internships within the first 6 weeks of school. Our very capable advisors are here to support your student in finding the right fit and ensuring their experience is as successful as possible. You should receive ample communication from your students' advisor about the job search and placement process. As in all things, they will be your most important point of contact for your student's experience at the Met.

SD Met Makers Space: This year, we will also be opening our SD Met Makers Space. The purpose of this space is to support both classroom and internship projects by providing our students with equipment necessary to realize their creative and academic ideas. So far, thanks in part to the support of the district CTE office, we have secured a laser cutter, 2 3D printers, a vinyl cutter, 4 sewing machines and a t-shirt press. We are hoping to add a large scale poster printer and an embroidery machine to the space and will be working with the district to try to make that happen. Further, this will be a 100% student run space and we are looking forward to finding the right Met students to run all of the equipment and partner with teachers on using these wonderful machines in the creation of thoughtful and interesting projects.

SD MET Foundation: I also wanted to share that we have a parent foundation! The SD Met Foundation provides us with vital support and fully funds our Mentor Luncheon to celebrate and thank our internship mentors. Further, last year, they were able to offer a budget to each teacher to support their projects and innovative learning opportunities for our students. NONE of this work is possible without the support of our community. Please consider giving a one time sustaining gift of $100. Online payments are welcome on the foundation website. Do you shop on Amazon? You could also use Amazon Smile to make your orders and list the San Diego Met Foundation as your beneficiary! Are you interested in joining this wonderful group of committed parents? We are looking for a few new members. If you would consider joining, please contact Meridith Coady, Foundation President at meridith.coady@gmail.com.

In an effort to streamline and strengthen our academic program, the staff at the Met has designed (and, in some cases redesigned) some initiatives which will be rolled out this year. Read below for some details:

Third Thursdays:

At the beginning of the summer, 5 Met staff members participated in the PBL Academy sponsored by the SDUSD. During that time, they developed a new initiative called THIRD THURSDAYS. The third Thursday of every month, all students will come to school to support their internship projects and work. The main goals of this new focus are to allow more time for advisors to take the lead on internships, provide our students with more structured support time to develop and refine their LTI experience and to proved scaffolded and clearly designed activities that will enrich our students experience while also providing support to our advisors and specialist teachers. Students will receive a calendar for this and will be required to communicate with their mentors. We believe this time will enrich our students internship experience and assist us in being even more in touch with the Learning Through Internships experience.

Tuesdays and Thursdays at School :

From now on, students who do NOT have an internship will be coming to school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Initially, they will be with their advisors, working on finding an internship. As the number of students who are attending school on those days reduces, we will begin to use a common space to work with these students. The purpose of this initiative is to ensure that students are participating 100% in the SD Met experience. While we are an independent study school, we are not a part time school, so ensuring students are finding and completing high quality internships is a big focus.

Project 3.0:

This year, we will be rolling out a focus we are calling Project 3.0. The idea is that a 3.0 GPA is important for all students to access high quality opportunities such as access to Mesa College classes and the CalGrant. During advisory on Wednesdays, all students will be building skills and working towards setting personal goals that support their 3.0 GPA. For students who need more help, we will also be instituting sections of IWT with more vigorous support. These IWT's will be led by Ms. Verdun and students will be placed in this group when we see that more support is needed. We sincerely believe this initiative will help us support all Met students.

Deep Dives:

Working with the teachers who came for July work days, we have settled on FOUR Deep Dive days throughout the year. Deep Dives are an integral part of the Big Picture and San Diego Met experience when the entire school engages in a learning experience outside of the daily norm. Please be aware that these days ARE NOT optional. This is a big part of what the Met offers and are important to advisory discussions and students personal growth. Each has a different theme so as to keep them fresh:

• Friday, 10/5: College Trip Deep Dive. Reminiscent of our trip to SDSU, but this time to UCSD... hopefully.
• Monday, 12/3: Teacher Workshops and Games: Student will be able to do a specialized workshop in the morning, then engage in community building games in the afternoon.
• Friday, 3/22: Community Service Deep Dive
• Monday, 6/10: School Beautification and Giving Back Deep Dive

Exhibitions:

They are back this year, and with a beautiful new design. This year, we will have exhibitions at the end of each semester. That means we will be reaching out to you in JANUARY AND JUNE to set some time aside to come in and see your student present on their learning from the previous semester. These presentations are central to the design of Big Picture schools and are a core requirement for all students. This is unique and beautiful opportunity for our students to highlight the work they are doing in LTI an in classrooms so this is both celebration and culminating event for each semester!

Daily Schedule is Changing!

We will be adjusting the way our daily schedule works to better support integrated project work and a more focused advisory. Each Met student will start their day in extended Humanities blocks which will be co-taught by a History and an English specialist. The purpose of this is to integrate our students more by grade level and to encourage cross curricular projects that push our student's abilities and thinking. Following that block, students will have specialized blocks that focus on math, science and language. Finally, all students will end their day in focused advisory time where they will focus on three main areas: Personal Growth Mondays, Project 3.0 Wednesdays and Internship Fridays. We truly believe this redesign will allow us to maximize our time with our students and will make space for all of the important academic and personal growth work all Met students should do. Our daily hours will shift slightly to 8:30 - 3:15pm.

Your yellow forms have been turned in to Mesa and the scheduling process is underway. It is standard for you to receive a payment reminder during the week prior to classes starting. As a MET student, your fees will be adjusted prior to the start of the semester. When you get the message, be sure to check Reg-E, so that you know when and where your class is meeting and can plan accordingly. Your classes will begin on Aug 20 or 21 and you must attend your first class or you may be dropped by the professor. Email our counselor Mr Moravec at jmoravec@sandi.net for specific questions.

FOR NEW UPPER CLASS MET STUDENTS:

Are you interested in starting Mesa classes as soon as possible? Here is what you need to know and do to make that happen:

1. Fill out the online Mesa College Application. Within 24-48 hours, you will receive a CSID from the Community College district in an email from SDCCD.
2. Take the CSID and a picture ID of any sort to the Assessment and Testing office on the second floor of student services. Tell them you need to take the English assessment. You may also choose to take the math assessment if you feel prepared. (You will need to be proficient up to Algebra II and a little studying is key in succeeding at this important test.) Keep the results with you.
3. Pick up a yellow form called the Supplemental Application and Certification of Special Part-Time High School Student. You can get this from from the Met or from admissions from the first floor admissions office in the student services center. Make sure your parent/guardian AND you sign on all appropriate lines. This form must be turned in to us at the Met to certify your placement as a high school student.
4. In the meantime, start looking at the Mesa College Class Offerings. Jot down the classes you may be interested in, as you will likely need to crash those classes to gain admission. Crashing a class means you go to the class on the first morning and you ask for an Add Code which you will take to your Mesa College Counselor, Laura Mathis prior to the second week of college classes.
5. Fill out the Met Planning Worksheet with as much information as you have. Don't worry if you are unsure of all of the fields... just do your best. Forward this form to jmoravec@sandi.net once you have filled out as much as possible.

We know this may seem daunting, but we promise it isn't as hard as it seems. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. Email our counselor Mr Moravec at jmoravec@sandi.net for specific questions.

Friday, August 24 9am - 12pm: New Student Orientation. This event will be held here at the Met and is an opportunity for us to meet our new students and to help them transition a little easier into their new environment. No RSVP necessary... just come out and join us!

Friday, September 7: Picture Day! Make up pictures will be on October 8.

Friday, September 14 5:30pm - 7pm: Open House. This is our chance to meet all of our parents and to kick off our school year connected and committed!

Please call (619) 388-2299 or email (shoffman1@sandi.net) to let us know if your student will be absent. Please include the date, student's name, grade, reason for absence and your name.

Please send a note with your student int he morning if they will be leaving school early; it should include the time of thee early dismissal, the reason and your signature. The student should bring it to the office first thing and give it to Sylvia Hoffman, Admin Asst. She will provide the student with a blue slip. The student can then show their teacher that they have parent permission to leave. At the appointed time the student will stop by the main office to sign out.

As a friendly reminder, please remember that we are a very small office staff and fielding phone calls throughout the day is very difficult. Please make every effort to send notifications in writing or to leave messages we can check.

August

• 22: Teachers return to work!
• 24: New Student Orientation
• 27: First Day of School
• 27-31: Week of Welcome

September:

• 3: LABOR DAY (No School)
• 7: Picture Day
• 14: Open House 5:30-7pm

October:

• 5: DEEP DIVE #1: College Trip
• 8: Make-up Picture Day
• 18: Third Thursday Event
  
• 26: End Quarter 1

November:

• 12: VETERANS DAY OBSERVED (No School)
  
• 15: Third Thursday Event
• 16: Thanksgiving Advisory Potluck
• 19-23: THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY (No School)

December:

• 3: DEEP DIVE #2: Teacher Workshops and Games
• 20: Third Thursday Event
  
• 21: Annual Zoo Trip
• 24-1/4: WINTER HOLIDAY (No School)

January:

• 7: School resumes
• 14-18: Finals and Exhibition
• 21: MLK HOLIDAY (No School)
  
• 25: End Quarter 2