Charter Chatter

A weekly newsletter written to parents of the Tracy Learning Center

August 22, 2014                                                                                                                                                           No.3

Virginia Stewart

All of the Back to Schools Nights are over and we have settled into the new school year.  It has had a wonderful start.  We are very grateful for the support and encouragement each of you give your child.  The partnership between home and school is critical for a student’s success.  When parents check homework, or in older grades check Aeries to be sure grades are progressing, students care more.  If a parent is concerned about a grade please contact the teacher right away.  Now is the time to be concerned, do not wait.  Ask the teacher what you can be doing to support at home and why the student is not doing well.  The best way to contact a teacher is by e-mail.  Teachers check this every day and will get back to you.

The Tracy Learning Center is committed to success for all students.  We want your student to like school, feel supported and enjoy success.  Together we can make that happen.

 

 

Misc. Announcements

 

DCS and PHSA Picture Day is Wednesday, Aug, 27, 2014

 

Picture Day: Wednesday, August 27 DCS Picture Day ID: CR014790Q0 PCS Picture Day ID: CR014807Q0

Picture Day is easy with mylifetouch.com • Parents can create their own package from the expanded online selection. • Quickly order and pay for portraits online. • Pay by credit card.

 

Next Holiday

Monday, Sept. 1, 2014 Labor Day is a school holiday

 

Lunch Drop Offs

Just a reminder we do not allow “Fast Food” to be dropped off

 

Safety Issues

This is a very good time to sit down with your children and go over some very basic yet important safety issues.

1. Only allow your students to cross the street with crossing guards when guards are present
2. Look both ways and pay attention while crossing streets or walking past entrances to car line
3. Do not speak to or approach strangers
4. Report any suspicious characters to a familiar adult immediately

 

Public Library

This week we received two calls in the office regarding very poor behavior from some of our students who refused to give her their names. She was familiar with the students from last year and said they were close to losing their library privileges. Please remind your students to behave respectfully so they do not lose these privileges.

 

 

THE 2014 ATTENDANCE CHALLENGE

 

School is your first and most important job. Attend every day so that you can learn what you need to achieve your goals.

 

This September, University of the Pacific and our community partners are celebrating Attendance Awareness Month with the Every Day Counts Attendance Challenge. Here’s how it works:

We challenge you to build a habit of good attendance by coming to school on time every day, starting with the month of September. Students who have perfect attendance for the whole month will be entered into a drawing for prizes including Kindle E-readers, gift cards, tickets to Pacific athletic events and more. If you win, your school will be notified by October 10.

 

We hope you’ll participate by coming to school every day because Every Day Counts! Our counseling department will keep record of all students who have perfect attendance and submit them for this exciting and rewarding challenge.

 

PCS/DCS Lunch Menu Week  Aug. 25- 29 Mon. –   Pizza Tues. – Beef or Bean Tostadas Wed  –  Cheese Ravioli Thurs. – Chicken Patti Sandwich Fri. –  Hamburgers

 

 

Primary Charter

 

 

Initial Phase

This week in Initial Phase we have continued learning what a student looks like, sounds like, and acts like.
All kindergarten teachers are happy with the progress they have seen already!  Students are engaged, trying their best, and really trying to be a polite citizen to others.
We have wrapped up our unit on the five senses and the students enjoyed the many experiments we did using our senses!  We are looking forward to learning
about community helpers next week!

 

Phase 1

This week in Phase One, the students are working so hard and learning a lot! In Writer’s Workshop they continued to work on opinion writing and they are even learning the writing process. For science, P1 learned about simple machines and P8 learned about push/pull and magnets. They are having so much fun with all our new friends and teachers. It is going to be a GREAT year!

P1 is in need of more parent volunteers for LA and Math centers. The times are 9:30 – 10:30 and 10:50 – 11:50. Thank you!

Remember, Wednesday, August 27th is picture day!  Be sure to send in a completed picture packet form to your
student’s teacher.

 

Phase 2

This week in Phase 2, we learned all about the continents, oceans, and North America.  We are geography experts!  Quiz your child and see if they can name the continents and oceans and they might even tell you a few fun facts about the continents and countries in North America!  We also wrote narratives this week.  We learned how to make our good work “great” and are focusing on using descriptive adjectives, transitional words, and are mastering the writing process.  We are proud of all the hard work we’ve seen so far!

 

Reminder – Please do not send your child to school in “Flip Flops” or sandals because of risks for injuries at PE or on the playgrounds.

 

DCS 5^th/6^th

Star Student:

DCS teachers choose a model student each week to recognize for exhibiting the citizenship qualities we would like DCS students to demonstrate. Congratulations to Xitlali Reynoso for receiving the award this week! Among other great qualities, Xitlali is an excellent classroom helper who can be counted on to assist classmates when they are struggling in a particular area. We appreciate her contributions to our school culture.

 

Teacher Websites:

Several 5/6 teachers have linked class webpages to the DCS page of the TLC website. We hope that you enjoy visiting these pages throughout the year to learn more about what happens during our busy school day.

 

SWO:

Students are currently working on their scrapbook cover page for their SWO scrapbook. This page is due to Ms. Pelaez by September 19th. Questions? Contact Ms. Pelaez (lpelaez@tracylc.net)

 

Science Camp:

A representative from Science Camp was here Wednesday to discuss the Science Camp experience. Our second informational meeting will be held the evening of September 10th. At our second meeting we will be discussing the due dates for enrollment forms and the at school camp option. Attendance is not required. The meetings are simply a chance for parents to learn about the Science Camp experience.

 

PHSA 7^th and 8^th

Thank you to the parents for a wonderful Back to School Night.  The teachers did a great job focusing on the curriculum and structure of the class and I am sure you found it very informative.

We are now settling into the routines and curriculum is going beyond review to more depth and new material.  Students have opportunities to work in groups, alone or as a whole class.  Group work is usually the most challenging in that students need to focus and collaborate.  They need to stay on a timeline to finish and cannot waste time socializing.  This is the hard part of group work with this age group.

The “bullying” project in Language Arts this week was of high interest to the students.  They liked the challenge and the use of technology and the project was directly related to the book they are reading, Scat.

Social studies is finishing up the first unit and has learned a great deal about workbook and notebook organization in the process.  The most important thing we help our students do in PHSA is help them be organized,  planned ahead, and on top of assignments.

 

This year we are not having lunch detention for students who do not complete assignments.  The red box in Aeries, and the zero will be the consequence of not doing work.  Students need to see the major effect missing assignments can have on grades.  ARP time, is two hours a week on Tuesday and Thursday in which students have time in school to work on assignments.  It is a wonderful opportunity.

Remember to check your students agenda for homework assignments, daily behavior dot (green is good, orange is a problem) and weekly grades.  The agenda must be in school every day.

 

Phsa Science Olympiad 2014/2015   Informational meeting

September 9^th 2014 @ 6:00pm Room D8   Find out what it takes to be on our Science O team!

Events include things like: Building bottle rockets, bridges, dropping eggs off of buildings, test your knowledge of different science topics and have fun with your teammates!

 

MHS

 

 

 

Community Service

The community service board in the Counseling Office is updated on a weekly basis. There are lots of new activities.  Please stop by the counseling office or check the website for updates. Community Service information is available on the website in the Community Service section of the Counseling/Guidance webpage.

 

 

Taste of the Valley Volunteers needed!!! – Anyone interested in volunteering for the Taste of the Valley Festival (formerly the Bean Festival) can sign up in the counseling office. Volunteers are needed from Friday evening until Sunday evening. The last day to sign up is Thursday, August 28^th.

Please note Community Service hours will be updated weekly by the end of day Friday.

College Info

Save the Date!!! September 10th and 11th – 3:00pm – 5:30pm

SAT/PSAT Prep classes through the ZAPS Learning Company will be back by popular demand. Signups are now available at www.zaps.com  – Cost is $99 for the two day preparation workshop which includes test prep materials.  This workshop is ideal for the senior student to help prepare one last time before the upcoming October 11th SAT test date.

 

Senior Info

Coming soon! Senior information packets with important information regarding graduation, senior portraits, dates and deadlines will be mailed next week.  Information will also be available on our website at www.tracylc.net in the Senior Scoop section of the Counseling/Guidance webpage.

***Please note that the Graduation Ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 23rd, 2015 at 10:00am at the St. Bernard’s Holy Family Center***

Other News

Fall Sports Rally – The Fall Sports Rally will be held next Friday, August 29^th during lunch.

Expanding Your Horizons Conference – Young Women Grades 6^th – 12^th

Expanding Your Horizons is a career conference for 6^th-12^th grade young women. This event will be held on October 4, 2014 at the University of the Pacific, Stockton Campus. For more information or to register for the event please visit www.sjeyh.org.

UNeed2 100 Free Computer Give Away Challenge

The UNeed2 100 Free Computer Give Away Challenge will be held on Saturday, August 23^rd from 10am-2pm at the Tracy Community Center. The event will include free lunch, information booths, motivational speakers, school supply giveaways and more. This event is open to all youth. For more information please visit www.uneed2.org or call 209-812-1771.

Build A Computer and Keep It…. For Free

Classes starting soon, sign up today at www.uneed2.org. One computer per house hold and class completion required. Classes and application are available at Eden housing, Community Partnership for Families  of San Joaquin, Mountain’s Hope CWC, Emeritus at Heritage Place, and HAS of San Joaquin Larch clover Community Center.

Firefighter Career Expos

In keeping with their mission to recruit, retain and promote more women to the Fire Service, the California Fire Fighter Joint apprenticeship Committee and its Commission to Recruit Women for the Fire Service encourage interested middle school and high school students to attend an expo in September. Dates and locations are as followed:

Saturday, September 6^th from 10am-1pm at 2560 River Plaza Drive Sacramento, CA 95833

Saturday, September 20^th from 10am-1pm at 526 Commerce Way Livermore, CA 94551

For more information please visit the counseling office.

 

Remind 101

Don’t forget to sign up for Remind 101. This is a safe way for teachers to text message students and stay in touch with parents. We have a different code for each grade level. Counselors will be using this app for updates on community service events, senior email blasts, meetings, and much more!

How to sign up: Please send a text message 747-233-0994 and enter the code for your grade level in the message box. Remember each grade level has their own code.

Seniors- @07fd0

Juniors-@cb9

Sophomores-@82d7d

Freshmen- @fab05

For other questions please visit their website at https://www.remind.com/.