Hilltop Herald - Parent Edition
Be Respectful ~ Be Responsible ~ Be Resilient
Volume 1 ~ Issue 5 ~ August 15, 2022
Fabulous Falcon Families,
"The greatest day in your life and mine is when we take total responsibility for our attitudes. That's the day we truly grow up." ~John C. Maxwell~
As we begin the fifth week of school, it is time to talk about responsibility and what that looks like in action. As stated in John Maxwell's quote, taking total responsibility for our attitudes will be the greatest day in our lives. Why? Because when we accept the attitudes we display on a daily basis, we will also accept the actions that we demonstrate because these two, attitude and actions, go hand in hand. When we display excellent attitudes, our actions reflect excellence. When we display negative attitudes, our actions reflect mediocrity or less. As we move past the beginning of the school year, it is harder and harder to maintain a great attitude if we are behind or doing poorly in certain classes or if we are having a bad day or if we had a fight with a friend. Demonstrating responsibility means that regardless of the negative moments in my life, I will continue to do what is right and what is expected of me. Parents, this week, please discuss this topic with your children. Your are the BEST EXAMPLE of responsibility at home; you are also the first to show it to them.
Potential Class Changes in August/September
The teachers' union and the district has reached an agreement to provide additional funding to make librarians full time again as well as the ASB Advisor position. Many major moves will be made this week, most likely this Friday. We have been able to develop a plan to make the changes in the quickest and most efficient manner as possible. I understand that your child may have gotten use to Ms. Southam and the other teachers who will be affected, please know that these teacher and class moves must occur. Thank you for understanding.
First Progress Report is September 2, 2022
The first progress report is fast approaching. If you are doing well in your classes, then continue what you are doing. If you are NOT doing well in one of your classes, now is a good time to catch up. Falcon Scholars is open as a homework center starting tomorrow after school. All teachers have to submit their grades by Wednesday, August 31. So make sure that you do not wait until the last minute to make up any missing work.
Jupiter Grades Access
If you have not accessed your child's grades on Jupiter, now is the time to start checking up on them. If you do not know how, please email on of your child's teachers as they will be able to give you a temporary password. You can set Jupiter Grades to give you weekly notification if you want to.
Cell Phone Policy Reminder
While most of you have followed our cell phone policy, some of you have not. The negative behaviors I mentioned in my introduction were all connected to violating our cell phone policy, which have resulted in loss of cell phone privileges. Students do not allow a small device to control you. If your parents need to contact you, they will call the main office. There is no need for you to have your cell phones out. I expect that all of you will adhere to this policy this week.
Additional Important for the Upcoming Weeks
Families, please read all the sections below as they contain valuable information for the upcoming week, such as Open House, Picture Day, Saturday Academy, Weekly Academic Interventions and more.
Let's have a fabulous week Falcons!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Finley
While I know that a virtual Open House is NOT what we want, this school event is still important even though we are online. After school on Thursday, I will send out the virtual agenda for the Open House via Infinite Message and Jupiter Grades. The schedule will also be posted on the website. See image below.
While most teachers will be LIVE, that is, they will be present, some of your teachers may be absent due to prior commitment. If one of your teachers has informed you that they will NOT be at Open House, you will be able to attend a meeting with your APs or Counselors.
I hope that many of you will attend our Title 1 Parent Meeting. This is where we will vote for voting parent members for our School Site Council Committee. This will be followed by a session with me; it is a Meet and Greet Session.
I can't wait to meet all of you on Thursday.
Families,
Make sure that you are here for Picture Day, which will be taken via PE classes.
- August 16, 2022 - 7th Grade
- August 17 2022 - 8th Grade
If you want to order pictures, below is the picture with all the information:
- Go to mylifetouch.com
- Enter our school code: EVTNFSZXB
- Order the package you want
In order to maintain school safety, it is important that ALL STUDENTS carry their ID cards with them. The ID cards contain important information required by law. Additionally, if students are members of a club, student ID cards will need to have the color dot associated with the club in order to attend meetings. This way, the faculty advisor can monitor who attends and ensures that only the students that are members attend the meetings.
Thank you for supporting us in ensuring this added safety protocol.
Students, if you test positive for COVID, click HERE to determine which scenario fits your situation. Once you have identified the correct scenario for you, please follow all safety protocols that go with the scenario.
For classwork, you will be placed on independent study. Please contact the attendance office to report the absence or email our assistant principal secretary, Ms. Garcia at patricia.garcia2@sweetwaterschools.org. It is important that once Ms. Garcia sends you the independent study form, you sign it immediately.
At this time, teachers are NOT required to host a virtual synchronous session during her in-person instruction. This is being negotiated with the teachers union right now.
Weekly COVID testing is mandatory for all athletes and extracurricular activities. If you have not done so already, please sign up with SDSU-NIH Testing program [Click HERE] or you will have to provide test results from your healthcare provider or other verified health organizations.
If you want your child to participate in extra-curricular activities such as athletics, tutoring, drama, strings and other programs, follow the instructions below. We need you to sign up TODAY!!
Click HERE to sign up. Once a staff member enrolls your student into the program, you will receive an email stating that they are now part of the program.
NOTE: SUHSD mandates that all students participating in extracurricular activities such as are offered in the Falcon Flight will be required to test weekly. Here are two ways in which you may test:
- Participate in the SDSU-NIH Weekly Testing Program. Click HERE to sign up for the testing program. The results will go directly to the district and will be provided to all schools.
- Provide a weekly test results provided by your healthcare provider or other verified healthcare organization such as 211.org or pharmacies that provide free testing. Submit test results by 5:00pm Tuesday each week.
- You may use a store-bought home test kit but you will have to submit test by 5:00pm Tuesday each week. You must take a picture of the results with your full name written on the test kit and the date you took the test.
Easter Finley, Principal
Email: easter.finley@sweetwaterschools.org
Website: htm.sweetwaterschools.org
Location: 44 East J Street, Chula Vista, CA, USA
Phone: 619.498.2700
Twitter: @erfinleysd