Panther Parent Update

De Portola welcomes individuality by empowering and developing students’ communication, curiosity, and critical thinking skills through a growth mindset. We are Panthers! Rooooaaaarrrrrrrr!!

01/29 8th Grade Panoramic Picture

1/31 Honor Celebration at lunch

02/01 Minimum Day 2:00pm Dismissal

02/06 DP Foundation Meeting

02/09 SSC Mtg 8:00am

02/15 School Dance

02/16 NO SCHOOL

02/19 NO SCHOOL

02/22 SGT Mtg 8:00am

02/23 Panther Pride Run

04/26 Panther Bowling Night (save the date)

We are very proud to announce that about 50% of the school made Honor Roll the first semester. All students who earned a 3.5 GPA for Semester 1 will be celebrated on Wednesday, January 31 at 12:55pm with an ice cream sandwich. All parents are welcome to join and enjoy an ice cream sandwich as well. Parents are also welcome to bring lunch for their student. An RSVP form has been sent directly to all students who earned a 3.5 GPA. For questions about honor roll eligibility, please email Steven Fong at sfong@sandi.net.

UPDATE: The teacher vote to implement advisory did not pass. We will move forward with a 55 minute bell schedule with school hours 9:00am - 3:30pm and 9:00am -2:00pm (every Thursday) for the 2024-25 school year. Please note that school starts on August 12, 2024 and we will have our Panther Orientation on Thursday, August 8, 2024 from 3:00-4:30pm.

Thank you to the 120 parents who participated in the Budget & Bell Schedule Survey and to the parents who attended the zoom meetings. 65% of the respondents marked extra counseling as a high priority. The SSC approved this expenditure at our SSC meeting last Friday. We will continue to have an extra counselor for four days a week. The only reason we were able to continue to fund this is because 99% or our parents completed our LCFF forms in the fall. Yahoo!

59% of the parents are in favor of the 55 minute bell schedule without advisory.

27% of the parents are in favor of the 52 minute bell schedule with advisory.

14% of the parents did not have a strong opinion.

The SGT reviewed these results last Thursday. The survey showed a lot of comments requesting an earlier start time. Unfortunately, we are not allowed to change our start time. A schedule with advisory requires a vote from the teachers. This is scheduled for this week. I will post the final bell schedule recommendation next week. Stay tuned.

Sumner Photography will be here on Monday, 01/29/2024 for 8th Grade Panoramic Picture Day. They will be collecting order envelopes from the students at that time. Please remind your students to bring in their order envelopes or place their order online by Monday. Students are not allowed to wear hats for this photo.

Our current 6th and 7th Grade students need to pick their elective for next school year 24-25. Choices are due 1/31/24. Everything needed can be found on our DP's Website in the Counseling Corner.

Attention Theater Tech - This week only rehearsal is moving from Tuesday to Wednesday after school. We will meet in Weiner Hall.

Our "3-on-3 Basketball Tournament" at lunchtime is coming up next week. If your student would like to participate, they need to sign up their 3 person team with their PE coach. Teammates do NOT have to be in the same grade level nor PE class period. There will be a 6th grade only tournament and a 7th/8th grade tournament. Sign ups will close this Friday, Feb 2nd.

8th Grade Families: Your student received a flyer for Yearbook 8th Grade Ads (it is neon pink). 8th Grade Ads are now on sale at www.yearbookforever.com. The prices for the 4 different sizes are outlined on the flyer. The last day that yearbook ads can be purchased/created is March 1st. It is HIGHLY recommended that you do not wait until the last minute to create the ad, as sometimes there are computer glitches that are out of our control. Here is a link to the flyer if your student lost it: Yearbooks are also on sale at www.yearbookforever.com for $55. The price will increase to $60 on March 1st, so get yours today! Please contact Ms. McIntosh with any questions at smcintosh@sandi.net

Are you interested in community service? Working with friends to make the world a little bit better? Building leadership skills? Then Builders Club is the place for you. We will meet on Wednesdays at lunch in room 706. Last week we had visitors from Canyon Hills Key Club. This week we are continuing to make cat toys and blankets for the Humane Society. See you on Wednesday at lunch in 706.

We welcome Charisma Johnson to our front office as our new attendance clerk. Her email is cjohnson7@sandi.net. Please be sure to state your students full name, grade level, date of birth, and specific reason for absence. You can also email them if you need to pick up your student early. Please provide at least a two hour notice to ensure that we can write and deliver a pass for your student. You can also call the school at 619-605-4800 and press 3 for attendance.