Charter Chatter
A weekly newsletter written to parents of the TLC
April 29, 2016 No.34
| Virginia Stewart |
There are times that parents are upset that their student has Saturday School because of negative Den or Nest points. We use these to monitor good and bad behavior in all grades 5 through 12. I can appreciate parents who are upset that their weekend is disrupted because they need to devote Saturday morning for transporting students to Saturday school. I do believe it has deterred behavior in most cases because students do not want to be there.
On the other hand, those same den or nest points are a great incentive. Today I congratulated several students in 5/6 for the great job they are doing in class. They were students with the highest points earned in their Dens. They were so proud and could tell me exactly what they were doing that had given them good points. They indicated it was fun to see good grades in improvement and to know they were helping their den. We, as a staff, believe the positive of den and nest points far outweighs the negative effect for a few who receive Saturday School.
Another great note for this week is the reality that we have a staff that is so committed to helping students do well. They are always willing to go the extra mile. This weekend, the staff is hosting a Family Day. Primarily it is to help raise money but it is also a day of fun for the children. Staff has worked hard to make the day enjoyable. We hope you will come this Saturday from 11am – 3pm. There will games, face painting, food, auctions and lots of fun!
Finally we are proud of all of our seniors who have been accepted and are signed up for college. Again we have a counseling staff that wants to be sure that our seniors are not lost or unconnected from education once high school is over. Some are signed up for community college while others are proud of the fact that they have been accepted to a great variety of four year schools.
| Misc. Announcements |
A big thank you to all that supported our school on last weekend’s Family Fun Day. It was a lot of fun for all those that attended. We have already begun planning for next year to make it even better!
Band Spring Concert
When:
May 5th -Doors open at 6:45pm Concert begins 7:00pm
Where:
The performance will be held at Kimball High School theater located at: 3200
Jaguar Run, Tracy, CA 95377
Admission:
Please expect the following admission charges at the door.
$5.00 for Adults
$3.00 11-17 years old/Student
Free to 10 and younger
Upcoming State Testing
We will be having state testing soon for our PCS, DCS and DHSP Students on the following dates. Please do your best to have students present, well rested and prepared for these important exams. Do not schedule doctor’s visits or vacations during this time period.
PCS – May 15. 16, 17, 18, 23, 24 and 25
DCS and DHSP – Weeks of May2nd and May 9th
| PCS/DCS Lunch Menu Week May 2-6
Mon. – Pizza Tues. – Chicken Taquitos Wed – No Meat Spaghetti Thurs. – Chicken Nuggets, Mashed Potatoes and Corn Fri. – BBQ Hamburgers
|
PCS and 8th Grade Promotion Pictures
Important Parent Information Below
Your spring portraits have shipped!
Your portraits have been sent home with your child.
When you receive your portraits, select your favorites and pay online!
- Go tocom
- Log in with your Portrait ID and Access Code, located on your portrait package insert.
- Select which sheets you want to purchase andpay online,
- Please return unpurchased portraits to your school.
T K
This Saturday is TLC Family Fun Day! TK will be performing at 12:30. We are asking students to meet Mrs. Tyler and Mrs. S at 12:15 at the East end of the school near the high school picnic area to line up and get ready. The day is gearing up to be an amazing family fun day. We hope to see all of you there! …and don’t forget…the teachers are being auctioned off! Place your bids in the silent auction to win a parent’s night out and a fun-filled night for students with the teachers for the winning bidders!
This week we traveled through time and explored dinosaurs! Recently our class has been learning about living and non-living things, habitats, and food groups. We decided to extend these topics to the era of dinosaurs because of the high student interest in dinosaurs. Having student lead exploration is an exciting way to engage students and generate critical thinking skills at an early age. They have been so excited as they became paleontologists and found dinosaur fossils, classified dinosaurs, and compared and contrasted a variety of dinosaurs.
Primary Charter
Initial Phase
This week in Initial Phase students have been learning about Penguins! We have read that penguins can hop up to five feet, penguins have barred tongues to help catch fish, and penguins are birds that cannot fly! We are also in the process of writing an expository report about penguins! In addition to all of our reading and writing about penguins, did you know that yesterday was nation Penguin Day? We went on a virtual field trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and watched a penguin trainer feed the penguins, we watched the penguins play in real time, and we even learned some cool new facts that were not in our books! Be sure to ask your student what new facts they have learned about penguins!
Phase One
Phase 1 students were so excited to see some of our caterpillars have already changed into beautiful butterflies! We let those ones go and watched them fly away! It was a great learning experience being able to watch the metamorphosis from beginning to end. We also learned more about the earth, its layers, and soil and minerals. In Writer’s Workshop, we continued our unit on poetry. We have some wonderful, creative writers. Continue to encourage your student to read daily – this trimester’s AR goals are the highest they have ever been! Great Job!!! Don’t forget about our Family Fun Day this Saturday, April 30th from 11:00 – 3:00. Don’t pass up the chance to bid on a “Parent’s Night Out”! Your student will be able to invite some TLC friends and join their classroom teachers in a night of entertainment, fun, and food! Highest bidder wins!
Phase Two
Phase Two students are getting into the testing mood! We have begun practicing in class, getting students used to signing in, using the keyboard to type, and previewing the types of questions they may see on the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. Did you know you can do the same at home? Go to https://practice.smarterbalanced.org/student/ and log in by simply selecting [Sign In], then navigate through the login screens as a guest. Be sure to select your student’s current grade level. Once in, you will be able to access practice tests for Math and English Language Arts!
All fourth grade students are doing a recorder unit in Music. Mrs. Watson has asked the students to practice 5-10 minutes, at least 4 days a week. It is ALWAYS ok to practice more! Please include practice time in homework time.
Field Trip Reminders:
- Please be on time! All students and chaperones should arrive at 7:30am and go directly to your classroom. We will board the busses promptly at 7:50am.
- Bring a fully disposable lunch. The museum does not allow food or drink in any of the exhibit galleries.
- Remember to walk up to pick up your phase two student on Monday- do not use the drive through carline- we are hoping to be back by 3:30, but may need to adjust depending on traffic.
- Students, remember to wear your spirit wear- it is much easier to identify you as one of ours!
- Thank you for your flexibility! We are anticipating a great field trip experience!!!
Discovery Charter
TDAP Vaccine
Just a reminder it is the law that all incoming 7th graders provide proof of receiving his/her TDAP Vaccine. Please get a jump on this and take your 6th grader in ASAP for this mandatory vaccine.
SPIRIT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!! Ms. T and Coach Easterday “twins.”
The boy’s basketball team had a great last day….The score of the game was thrilling! GREAT JOB.
Pentathlon: On May 7th we will compete at the annual Pentathlon event in Manteca. Please cheer us on at East Union High School!
STATE TESING WEEK – We will test the weeks of May 2nd and May 9th as follows:
Monday May 2, MATH; TUESDAY May 3 LANGUAGE ARTS; WEDNESDAY May 4 MATH; THURSDAY May 5 LANGUAGE ARTS
Monday May 9 MATH; TUEDAY May 10 LANGUAGE ARTS; WEDNESDAY May 11 MATH; THURSDAY May 6, LANGUAGE ARTS
***Testing may be completed earlier than shown
***Make-Up/Completion test dates to be determined
WASHINGTON DC TRIP 2017 – for 6th grade students entering 7th in the 2016-17 school year. We have several students signed up and ready to go. The last day to sign up for the field trip is April 29th. Please see Mrs. Wallace or Mrs. Hawkins if you are interested.
Den Point Announcements: Any student who receives -30 points or more are asked to serve lunch detention. As of May 1st, any 6th grade student who receives -30 points or more will serve detention in Saturday School.
UPCOMING DATES: (if any dates changes are made parents will be notified)
April 30 – CARNIVAL
May 7 – Pentathlon
May 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12 State Test Dates
May 13 – Jog-a-thon
May 31 – State Test (paper test for grade 5 SCIENCE)
June 10th Mrs. Hawkins’ LA classes are planning their Evening of Poetry
June 14th Ms. Rodieck’s LA classes are planning their Poetry Fest
June 24th – LAST DAY OF SCHOOL – FIELD DAY/DANCE More information to come
DHSP
DHSP Charter Chatter:
English:
English 78 is almost finished with The Jungle Book. While we enjoyed the stories we will be glad to move on. We are now working on speeches made by famous people. We will learn about history, inflection and messaging in oral communication as we study the given speeches.
Math:
All classes are practicing for state testing.
Algebra 1 is getting ready to take their unit exam on quadratics.
Algebra 2 is getting ready to take a unit exam on logarithms.
Academic Competitions : There is a parent meeting scheduled for 4pm on Tuesday, May 5th in Mrs. Beckner”s room.
Yearbooks on sale for $45 until Friday, April 29th. Please note that we will not be ordering extra yearbooks this year for a later purchase. If you would like one please place your order by Friday or contact Mrs. Dominguez for other arrangements. ddominguez@tracylc.net
8th Grade Dedication Pages on sale until Friday, April 29th.
$20 for a 1/4 page and $30 for a half page.
State testing for DHSP starts on Monday, May 2 – 13. Make sure your students get a good breakfast and plenty of rest especially for those two weeks.
If you do not want your student to have his/her photo published please notify Mrs. Wallace at dwallace@tracylc.net
Don’t miss out on this Fantastic Trip………
We already have over 30 people signed up for next years DC trip. Students will visit the Washington Monument, Arlington National Cemetery and the Holocaust Museum. What an opportunity to see our nations capital with classmates. It’s exciting to see how many students have already signed up for this great opportunity. Please email Mrs. Wallace at dwallace@tracylc.net for any questions or concerns.
DHSP teachers welcome parent communication, please contact us if you have questions, concerns, or ideas! Mrs. U. at rulricksen@tracylc.net Mrs. Dominguez at ddominguez@tracylc.net , Mrs. Ramirez at arameriz@tracylc.net, Ms. Langston at alangston@tracylc.net, Mr. Compton at rcompton@tracylc.net Mrs. Wallace at dwallace@tracylc.net
Have a Fantastic Weekend!!!
| MHS |
Charter Chatter April 29, 2016
TLC’s Comedy Central Show
The winner of the first TLC’s Comedy Central Show is Cy Hanson. Cy walked away with $200 cash for his comedic performance on Monday. Second Place went to JA Amador earning $100 cash. The other participants in the show were Haileigh Davis and Diego Sanchez. Thank you to everyone who came out and show support for this event. We look forward to next year’s show.
National College Signing Day
Tuesday we celebrated the National Reach Higher College Signing Day with the Class of 2016. Students placed their handprint, signature and name of the school on the posters representing the school they will be attending in the fall.
8th Grade/Freshman University of the Pacific Trip
Fall Internship
Our Juniors are out interviewing in the community for their senior internships which they will complete in the Fall. We are very proud of our students and how they conducted themselves with our local business partners.
There is a FREE UC Berkeley one-day application workshop and information session this summer. It is a great opportunity to get more information about UC Berkeley and get a head start on your UC application. Note that the Personal Statement process is changing this year! Applications for this free one-day program are due April 30th. The program takes place in Berkeley on Saturday, June 25, or in Fresno on Sunday, June 26. Students must be current sophomores or juniors with a 3.5 unweighted GPA or higher. For more information and to apply to the program, visit this link: http://admissions.berkeley.edu/BerkeleySummerExperience
ACT, Inc. and Kaplan Test Prep Partner to Make High-Quality Live Online Teaching Accessible for All Students-Low-Income Students Will Have Free Access to Program Offering Top-Quality Live Online Instruction from Two Industry Leaders
ACT and Kaplan Test Prep announced a collaboration to create the only online ACT preparation program offering live, content-based instruction from teachers. The program will be available at no cost to low-income students and to all students at a significantly lower cost than traditional prep programs. Kaplan will become the exclusive, official partner for live, online prep for the ACT test. The new program will give students access to live, online, content-based courses taught by master teachers who can answer student questions and provide interactive instructional help in real time. The platform also will include recorded sessions that students can access on demand on any device. The program will cost less than $200 and will be provided for free to low-income students who register for the ACT with a fee waiver. It will be available in the fall.
College Info
SCHOLARSHIPS: There are many local scholarships available at this time for our college bound seniors. Visit the MHS Counseling website and select the Scholarships page at http://millenniumhscounseling.weebly.com/scholarships.html for detailed information on where to obtain an application and how to apply for various scholarships.
College bound seniors: 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.
Congratulations to the follow students on their acceptance to the following colleges and universities:
UC San Diego:
Anand Kumar
University of Oregon:
Cynthia Hurtado
CSU Monterey Bay:
Kaila Gilbert
Cristian Gonzaleaz
Humboldt State University:
Kaila Gilbert
Janelly Rojas
CSU East Bay:
Janelly Rojas
CSU Stanislaus:
Janelly Rojas
Chico State:
Janelly Rojas
Southern Oregon University:
Janelly Rojas
Arizona State University:
Julia Pagliaro
San Francisco State University:
Cristian Gonzaleaz
Josh Harrison
Olivia Arendsee
San Jose State University:
Cristian Gonzaleaz
Olivia Arendsee
Lawrence Technical University:
Bryan Walther
San Diego State University:
JT Amador
UC Riverside:
Olivia Arendsee
Cal Poly Pomona:
Olivia Arendsee
Community Service
Community Service: This is a reminder to all students to turn in any completed community service forms they have. All forms must be submitted to the counseling office so they can be uploaded to Aeries. Important deadlines regarding community service are:
- May 6th – Deadline for seniors to submit their hours towards Graduation!!! NO EXCEPTIONS!!!
- June 24th – Deadline for 9th -11th to submit hours towards the 2015-2016 School Year
| Organization | When | Where | Duties |
| Tracy Little League Challenge League | Saturday thru May | Help out 4 baseball team of students with special needs. Help coaches with practices and games
For more information please see Ms. A or contact Keri Dowell Keri_dowell@yahoo.com |
|
| Boy and Girls Club Basketball Challenge League | March 3rd to May 12th
Games are Thursdays 5pm to 6pm except for spring break –no game.
|
753 west Lowell Ave at the club | We are looking for 3 or 4 volunteers under 18 years old to assist our younger players ages 8 to 12.
We are looking for volunteers that are self-motivated and will be willing to share smiles and high fives.
We need volunteers who can arrive weekly and be consistent as the kids look forward to seeing them, this is a special time for our youth to shine.
Our league is made for our youth to have fun; we have been serving youth with disabilities for over 15 years. |
| TLC’s Family Fun Day | Saturday, April 30 10:30am-3:30pm | Tracy Learning Center | Volunteers are needed to help run booths and event
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| Tracy Hispanic Business Group Annual Awards Dinner | Saturday, April 30 –
Set-up: 12 noon – 4:00 p.m. Serving: 5:00 p.m.- 9:00 p.m |
Tracy Community Center (950 East Street, Tracy) | 15 Volunteers needed to assist the caterer as servers in the evening. Black and white server attire required; long hair to be pulled back.
An orientation will be held the week prior to the event, but a date is not yet confirmed. Contact: Grace Paget 408-314-8130 or gapaget@gmail.com
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| Central School Carnival | Friday, April 6th, 2016 | Central School
After School |
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| Moose Mother’s Day Brunch | Sunday, May 8th 9:30am – 12:30pm
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Moose Lodge (35 East 6th Street, Tracy) – ring doorbell to enter facility | 2 dish washers and 4 servers are needed – black and white server attire
Volunteers MUST contact Alex Zamora for scheduling Contact: Alex Zamora 209-815-6408 or azamora@pacbell.net |
| Relay For Life | Saturday, May 14
Set-up: Friday from 4pm – 7pm Saturday morning from 6am– 9am Saturday, 10am– 11pm Tear-down and clean-up: Saturday 11pm until finished |
Merrill F. West High School, quad area (1775 W. Lowell Ave., Tracy)
|
Volunteers are needed to set-up and tear-down, staff the information booth, assist in the Accounting room, help in Kids Camp, staff the luminaria bag booth (sell luminaria bags, fill bags with sand, and set-up luminaria display), assist in the Survivor tent, run games and other activities, assist other committees as needed.
Contact: Kim Thomassen, Volunteer and Youth Engagement Coordinator at jkthomassen@aol.com |
| Give Every Child A Chance | Month of July | TBD | Summer Camp
For more information please contact Lilianna 209-825-7003 |