This week Travis Sheppard was caught being good.
Please come by the office to pick up your prize.
From the Principal:
One more week until Winter Break and I'm sure you've noticed your student's anticipation of no homework, sleeping in, and lots of cookies. We'll do our best to keep them learning and on track here until next Friday. Because homework isn't assigned over the break it's important that your student wrap up all assigned projects and work by Friday if due.
The Warm Coat Drive ends this Friday and it's again time to clean out your closets and donate that extra coat. Students may deliver the coats to their homerooms and they will be organized and distributed to organizations and families on Monday. Thanks to the community members who have donated to both the coat drive and Adopt a Family.
A huge thanks to the Los Cerros PTA for their annual staff Soup and Salad luncheon. It was a treat for all staff to have homemade soup and it certainly brightened the chilly fall day.
Phyllis Roach
Principal
PANTHER PRESS LEADERSHIP CORNER:
- Pajama Day is Friday December 19. Wear your PJ’s and earn points for your homeroom. Please make sure that they are appropriate for school.
- Don’t forget that our winter coat drive is going on this week! Warm, clean, and gently used coats are needed for families at Martin Luther King Elem in Richmond. All sizes are accepted. Please no sweatshirts or red or royal blue coats.
Brainquest: Which teacher on campus has the youngest child?
A. Mr. Gellman B. Mrs. Chivers C. Mrs. Eitlegeorge D. Mr. Briemle
Words of Wisdom: “In every triumph, there is a lot of try” -Frank Tyger
INDEPENDENT STUDY PE:
In order to participate in Independent Study P.E. for the 2nd semester, the completed applications have to be at the SRVUSD office by January 5, 2009. An application can be picked up at the Los Cerros office. The students that have already applied during the 1st semester do not have to reapply. If you have any questions you can call Kathy Finger at 552-5620 or email kfinger@srvusd.net
GEOGRAPHY BEE
Geography Bee finals were held December 10th. Our school champion is Amanda DeJesus. She will take the state National Geography Bee exam. If she successfully scores in the top 100 schools, she will compete at the state level. In the last ten years Los Cerros has had 4 students make it to the state finals.
First runner up is Gabe Piccus-Friedman
Second runner up is Brian Beekly
Also, congratulations to our classroom representatives.
(* indicates top highest test scores, these students competed in the champion rounds on December 10th)
Charley 6 Meredith Strickler
Charley 6 Kyle Lincoln
Gellman 1 6 Andrew Garcia*
Gellman 4 6 Sarah Coleman
Roudman 6 Rachel Cohen
Roudman 6 Noah Cogdon*
Ross 6 RJ Motter*
Ross 6 Michelle Pittler
Clark 7 Maryn Smyth*
Clark 7 Ashley Taylor*
Clark 7 Brian Beekly*
O'Neill Goodrick 7 Vit Harvey*
O'Neill Goodrick 7 Patrick Curtis
O'Neill Goodrick 7 Mark Ibanez
Walsh 7 Gabe Piccus-Friedman*
Perdue 7 8 Phoebe Killick*
Simonds 8 Nic Thomas
Simonds 8 Jack Rowley
Simonds 8 Erik Johnson
Simonds 8 Meghan Nesbit
Kaplan 8 Alex Chamberlin
Kaplan 8 Amanda DeJesus*
Hacking 6-8 Devon Webb*
PTA NEWS
Happy Holidays from the PTA! There will be no regular meeting this month. The next meeting will be in January, when officer Sally comes to discuss internet safety with us. The PTA hosted a soup and salad buffet lunch Thursday for the Los Cerros staff, and we wish them all a wonderful holiday season! Jennifer Walsh, PTA President
GRANT AWARDED
In December our art teacher Bunki Kramer accepted a grant from the Alamo Danville Artists Society. Congratulations Bunki on all your good work.
HOLIDAY PAW PRINTS
Get your Winter Holiday stories or poems to your Core or English Teacher or to Room 12. Entries are due by Wednesday, December 17th. Prizes will be awarded.
LOST AND FOUND
If you are missing sweatshirts at home please have your students check the lost and found bin in the MPR. Unclaimed lost and found items are donated in January at the end of the semester.
Cell phones, jewelry, and sometimes money have been turned in to the office lost and found drawer. To claim those items please stop by the office.
HEALTH CHALLENGE EXAM
The district is sending home notices to those students who attended the 12/10/08 exam. All the students were very patient and the district now offers two options. 1) Get a refund and take the course. 2) Take the exam at Los Cerros Tuesday, 12/16 3pm or at Iron Horse Wednesday, 12/17 3pm. All questions go to Scott Gerbert 552-5030 or by email sgerber@srvusd.net. |
Just a reminder that in these difficult economic times and complicated society, should your family be experiencing a transition (i.e. moving, divorce etc), please contact the counseling department. Often times students may appear comfortable, but could benefit from additional support. Prevention is much more effective than crisis intervention!
Progress reports are now available on line at school loop. If you are not able to access your student’s account, or have forgotten your password, please contact Kathy Finger at 552-5620 or kfinger@srvusd.net
National School Counseling Week is coming - February 2-6th.
Did you know that school counselors have a minimum requirement of a master’s degree and a state issued credential? The professional school counselor is a certified/licensed educator trained in school counseling with unique qualifications and skills to address all students’ academic, personal/social and career development needs.
Our 8th grade parent night will be coming up in February 19th at 7pm. You will be receiving a survey in advance. The evening consists of some tips to prepare your 8th grader for high school, as well as an interactive panel of high school counselor, middle school counselor, high school teacher, middle school teacher and several current MV students.
Academic
Please remind your student that when they miss class, it is their responsibility to ask the teacher what they miss. If they are absent, the “3 day extension” is only for work assigned the day of absence, it is not for work that was due (or assigned previously) the day of absence.
On July 19, 2006 California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law, Assembly Bill 1802. The bill provides funding for additional counseling service to all students in grades 7-12. These are services specific to progress towards promotion/graduation, passing the California High School Exit Examination, career technical education and educational options. Immediately following winter break, Ms. White and Ms. Schubb will beginning the in classroom presentations and individual meetings with all 7th & 8th grade students. Counselors will also hold targeted conferences with parents and students in grade 7 & 8 who scored “Below Basic” or “Far Below Basic” on their 6th or 7th grade English and/or Math STAR assessments. These meetings will be the next 2 weeks prior to winter break. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Ms. Schubb nschubb@srvusd.net
Career
“Cool Nights” (College Opportunity; Opportunities for Life”) is coming soon. The evening will give middle school students and their parents information about transition to high school and opportunities for college and careers. Wednesday, March 4th 6:30-8:30pm, Alhambra High School, Martinez. For more information email Liz Rusk erusk@cccoe.k12.ca.us
Personal/social
Fifth annual She’s all That is coming. This special conference is sponsored by Soroptimist International of San Ramon Valley, on Saturday, February 7th from 9am-3pm at Gale Ranch Middle School. The day includes a keynote presentation and workshops on topics such as: Mean Girls, Yoga for Girls and Cyber Bullying. For more information, please visit www.soroptimist-sr.org or 925-355-2442.
Parent tip
Many parents have no idea that teens today need only look to their local supermarket, pharmacy, or home medicine cabinet to get high using over-the-counter (OTC) cough and cold remedies. To help warn parents of this risk, ONDCP's National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign has developed a new customizable Open Letter that you can use in your community to educate parents and encourage them to both monitor their teens and look for signs of abuse.
Although overall teen drug use has declined over the last several years, parents are often unaware of this latest threat. Many of these medications contain Dextromethorphan (DXM), a cough suppressant, which when taken in excessive amounts can cause delusions, loss of consciousness, and even death. Even more startling is that some teens consume these drugs along with alcohol, making the effects even more dangerous.
Parents can help stop the abuse by
- safeguarding OTC drugs (and showing extra vigilance during cold and flu season),
- properly concealing and disposing of old or unused medications, and
- setting clear rules for teens about all drug and alcohol use.
This Open Letter is an exclusive resource for schools and community organizations and is now available for you to customize and use by considering these tactics:
• Add your organization's name and logo to the Open Letter;
• Recruit local signatories and insert local names and logos;
• Localize the national Campaign message on the ad; and
• Distribute throughout your community: school districts, newspaper ad buys, donated ad space, and at town hall meetings.
There are two versions of this Open Letter available on TheAntiDrug.com. Go to <http://www.theantidrug.com/openletter/OTCdrugs_Editable.pdf> to download the color version or <http://www.theantidrug.com/resources/pdfs/OTCdrugs_Editable_BW.pdf>for the black and white version. Other Open Letter ads, as well as a host of free resources, are available at www.TheAntiDrug.com/Resources .
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PTA Legislative Advocacy Update
December 8, 2008
With all that is happening on both a state and local level, the PTA felt it important to keep you, our parent community, informed. As information becomes available we will send out these brief updates, you may also join us at our monthly meetings held in the staff lounge on the fourth Thursday of each month at 9:00am. If you would like more information, please feel free to contact me, Laurie Stark, VP of Legislation at 837-6585 or lbstark@sbcglobal.net.
On the State Level: As we are hearing in the news almost daily, our state legislators are heading back to Sacramento this week to again address our states huge budget shortfall. If there is no solution found to increase revenue, SRVUSD can expect another $8 million in cuts, this on top of the $3 million already trimmed from our budget this year. It has been the PTA's position that our legislators find a balance between responsible cuts and increased revenue to balance our states budget. These further cuts will be devastating to children throughout our state.
On the Local Level: As if what is written above is not enough, on a local level SRVUSD stands to lose another $4 million due to the parcel tax expiring in June. The district has recently approved the exploration of revisiting the parcel tax issue in an April mail-in ballot election. There will be community meetings held in January to help address questions regarding the campaign and to gather your input. Watch for the dates of these meetings in the next few weeks. A non-profit group has formed, Citizens for Quality Schools, who will help run the campaign. There is an immediate need for both monetary support and volunteers, if you are interested please contact Laurie Stark at 837-6585 or lbstark@sbcglobal.net.
For more information on these issues and more visit the PTA Council website at http://www.srvcouncilpta.org/Public/PortalHome.aspx or the California State PTA website at www.capta.org.
Laurie Stark
PTA VP Legislation
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