Charter Chatter
A weekly newsletter written to parents of the Tracy Learning Center
Dec. 5, 2014 No.17
| Virginia’s Voice The first half of the school year is quickly coming to an end. There were several expenses this year that added to the cost of our budget. The recent rules regarding not requiring initial school supplies, and only asking for suggested donations for field trips has greatly reduced the money we receive from parents either in kind with school supplies, or reimbursement for field trips. This has caused our budgets to be overspent for the first half of the year. If any of you would like to make a donation to us as a non-profit organization, we would gladly receive it and send you a receipt for your taxes. We have always suggested a $400 per year donation to help support our budgets, but rarely receive that amount from most of our parents. Your donations to our schools will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for considering a donation. |
| Misc. Announcements |
Christmas Toy Drive Sponsored by MHS Student Body and Low Creations Car Club
Help TLC give back to our community!
When – Sat, Dec. 6, 2014 10:00am – 4:00pm
Where – West Valley Mall Target Parking Lot
Please bring unwrapped toys, all donations welcome!
All proceeds go to the Brighter Christmas!
Monetary donation along with unwrapped toys can be dropped in the front office anytime between Dec. 1 and 5th. We will be having a raffle so business contributions, gift cards or services would be awesome for Raffel Prizes.
Thank you in advance for your generosity!
Dismissal Car Line
Please do not block the parking lot entrances during dismissal time. Staff and visitors need to be able to enter our front parking lot and high school parking lots at this time and many times it is completely blocked not allowing cars to enter.
RETURN OF BIG COOKIE THURSDAY!!!
WOW!!! Thank you to everyone who came out to participate for Big Cookie Thursday! It was a huge success, more so than we ever expected! Next week we will be back and fully stocked with more delicious cookies. Our sincerest apologies if we ran out of cookies before you had a chance to get yours. Please come back on Thursday, October 30th to buy more cookies from our PCS student council!
Jackets and Coats
Our lost and found is piling up and will be soon taken to the needy. It is so important for outer clothing to be labeled so that items can be returned to their rightful owners.
Easy Fundraiser
We have partnered with eCycle Group to run a Recycling Fundraiser! The program runs year-round, accumulating constant income for our efforts. But we won’t get far without your support. How can you help? Instead of throwing away empty original printer cartridges and used cell phones please send them to us. We’ll take it from there. You can drop off your original cartridges and cell phones with Connie in the office.
Thank you for your support!
Big Cookie Thursday has been a huge success! In the coming months, we are planning to hold this event ONCE A MONTH only! Mark your calendars, the next sale day will be:
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Student Council members will be selling big chocolate chip cookies during carline on Thursdays for 50 cents each. There will be two locations to buy cookies: one for walk-ups and one at ‘cone 5’ for families driving through carline. Please try to bring exact change or small bills to help speed up our selling process.
Thank you for supporting our school!
Winter Break begins Mon. Dec. 22, 2014 and all students return to school on Mon. Jan. 5, 2015
| PCS/DCS Lunch Menu Week Dec. 8 – 12Mon. – Pizza
Tues. – Chicken Taquitos Wed – Chicken Nuggets Thurs. – No Meat Spaghetti Fri. – Corn Dog |
| Primary Charter |
Thank you to everyone who participated in the See’s candy fundraiser! It was a big success! Orders should be here next week.
In Initial Phase this week we have been busy track and graphing weather, reading, learning math facts, and many other fun and interesting things. We are also talking about the importance of using the weather forecast to plan our day. Furthermore, remember to label all clothing items to ensure a safe return.
This week in Phase 1, the students were very excited to be back from our week off. The students were so excited to return and find a friend from Santa Claus in the North Pole. It was their Scout Elf. Scout Elves are sent from Santa and report back to him every night while the students are at home sleeping and they return before the next day of school. Each class read the book and then named their Elf. P1 named their Elf Luke and P8 named their Elf Peppermint. Every morning, the students have been so excited to search for their Scout Elf and what he has gotten into.
In Language Arts and Math, the students are working so hard in their centers. They are learning a lot and making improvements every day. The students are amazed at how much they have improved in just the first trimester. They are very excited to continue to teach the students and to see all that they will accomplish in trimester two.
Phase 2 students came back from their week off, ready to learn and start the new trimester! We are learning about holidays around the world and different cultural traditions. We also welcomed our classroom elves and are working on winter narrative writing. This is a good time to ask your child if they need some new supplies for their binders…pencils, erasers, etc.
ALL PCS STUDENTS:
A reminder that with rainy days classrooms open at 7:45- if a student is dropped off prior to 7:45, it is the parent’s responsibility to supervise them outside of the school gates. For afternoon rainy days drive through carline will remain the same. If parents choose to walk up must they wait along the fence in the classroom’s designated line-up area A teacher will be there to communicate to the classroom who to send out. Thank you for your cooperation.
DCS 5th/6th
Star Student:
Congratulations to Mikey Martinez for receiving the Star Student Award for the Week of December 8th. Mikey always works hard and is kind and helpful to all those around him. He is a huge help to his teachers and they all appreciate it very much!!!
Science News:
Teams continue working hard to get ready for the Science Olympiad.
Away Science Camp: A non-mandatory meeting for what to pack for camp will be held on Monday, December 8th in room M1 from 5 – 6.
Social Studies:
Mrs. Wallace’s classes are in the final two weeks of Early Colonial America. Next up is The Colonial Rebellion against British Rule.
Fundraiser Money
We are still collecting any monies from The Turkey Trot fundraiser. Please turn your donations into your homeroom teacher as soon as possible.
Everyone seems to have enjoyed having a week off from school, they came back rested and ready to work.
The students have done a great job with all the rainy days this week. DCS Rocks!!!
PHSA 7th and 8th
A letter went home to all parents of students who did not pass the first SWO. The students have until Monday, April 13 to resubmit in order to qualify for promotion. Please encourage your student to resubmit sooner than later.
Only one student served Saturday School for the first two week period. Remember that four oranges in a two week period qualifies a student for Saturday School. We are appreciative of the students who have learned that staying focused in class makes all of us more productive. Teachers see a significant change in behavior due to the penalty for oranges.
MHS
High School finals are this upcoming week. Please note the schedule below. Monday is a regularly scheduled day and Friday is an early release day at 12:00pm. All week students were given study guides in many of their classes. Encourage them to continue to study this weekend and throughout next week. Report cards will be mailed the following week. Also, in January and February, Mrs. Stewart and the counseling staff will be meeting with all students for their annual counseling review. Fast track classes and next year’s schedule will be planned. Only 10th grade parents will be invited for an appointment. Time is extremely limited and we encourage 10th grade parents to rearrange schedules as necessary to attend their scheduled time. Appointment letters will be mailed out when we return from the holiday break.
| Tuesday | Wednesday |
| 8:05am-9:30am – Period 1 Review9:30am – 11:50am – Period 1 Final
11:50am – 1:00pm – Lunch 1:00pm – 1:55pm – Period 2 Review 2:00pm – 3:55pm – Period 2 Final |
8:05am-9:30am – Period 3 Review9:30am – 11:50am – Period 3 Final
11:50am – 1:00pm – Lunch 1:00pm – 1:55pm – Period 4 Review 2:00pm – 3:55pm – Period 4 Final |
| Thursday | Friday |
| 8:05am-9:30am – Period 6 Review9:30am – 11:50am – Period 6 Final
11:50am – 1:00pm – Lunch 1:00pm – 1:55pm – Period 7 Review 2:00pm – 3:55pm – Period 7 Final |
8:05am-9:30am – Period 8 Review9:30am – 11:50am – Period 8 Final
Early Release at 12:00pm. |
San Joaquin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce 12th Annual Student Financial Aid and College Awareness Workshop (STUFA) Sunday, January 25, 2015 at the Alex G. Spanos Center at University of the Pacific
Services are FREE and include: One on one assistance filling out financial aid forms, Tax preparation assistance and Scholarship information. For more information please call (209) 946-7705 or email: iruiz@pacific.edu
Senior Info
Congratulations! to the following students who have received early admissions to the following schools:
Saint Mary’s College of California
Jamie Chesbrough
Febres Cordero Scholarship $18,000
Renewable for all four years
CSU: Bakersfield
Stephanie Ramirez Miramontes
College bound seniors have been applying to colleges and universities. Most colleges will be notifying applicants the status of their admission in early Spring by either mail or online via a student portal on the individual college web site. We anticipate hearing about the acceptance letters. All students accepted to a college or university should let the Counselors know as soon as they are notified. Best of luck to all of those who applied!
Attention Seniors!! If you have not already taken your Senior Picture at the Photographic Art Studio please do so as soon as possible. This is one more item to check off on your to do list for graduation. Please call 209-830-8830 to set up your appointment.
MHS Financial Aid Information Night! Thursday, December 18th at 6pm in room M-2 is MHS’ Financial Aid Information Night. Important topics will be covered such as the types of financial aid available for college and application deadlines will be discussed. Reminder postcards will be mailed soon.
Senior Spring Internships
Spring semester interns have been busily selecting and preparing for their interviews for potential internships that will begin next semester. Once the interviews are complete parents will be notified of their student’s placement.
Other News
COSMOS- California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science
Want to spend a month on a college campus exploring topics in STEM- Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics? Application period is from January 20th – February 20th, 2015. Dates for the program are late June to Early- August. For more information please visit www.ucop.edu/cosmos
San Joaquin Delta College Engineering Departments 28th Annual Engineering and Technology Day
The 28th Annual Engineering and Technology Day at Delta College will take place on Friday, February 6th, 2015from 8:30am-3:00pm. The day’s activities will include Drafting Contest, Eggs Launcher Design and Competition, a robotics/electrions demonstration and a Career Orientation Seminar and an Awards Ceremony. For more information please visit the counseling office or 209-954-5285.
Sow A Seed Community Foundation’s annual Boys-to-Men Conference is back!
The conference, which is entitled “Born to Win: Know Yourself. Know your worth. Live your best!” is sponsored by Sow A Seed Community Foundation and co-sponsored by Kimball High School. The primary goal of the event is to help young men identity some tools and resources that will help them achieve success in all areas of their life. They will also learn career options and ways to avoid common social pit falls that lead to peer-pressure, poor academic achievement and/or unhealthy relationships and affiliations. Registrations can be faxed to 209-740-4047 or you may register online at www.sowaseedcf.org . For More Information or questions please contact 209-229-4559.