The Crusader Times

Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, by celebrating the histories, cultures, and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.

The observation started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on September 15 and ending on October 15. It was enacted into law on August 17, 1988, on the approval of Public Law 100-402.

The day of September 15 is significant because it is the anniversary of the independence of Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18, respectively. Also, Columbus Day, or Día de la Raza, which is October 12, falls within this 30-day period. Information taken directly from https://www.hispanicheritagemonth.gov/about.html

BVM Community,

Good evening/morning! As we approach our much anticipated Fall Break that runs from September 25th to October 9th (with students returning on Tuesday, October 10th), I wanted to take a moment to remind everyone of the importance of finishing strong. We have just five more days before the break, and it is crucial that we continue to prioritize our academics, make responsible choices, and strive to make positive contributions to our community.

This final stretch is an opportunity for us to showcase our commitment to excellence, both in the classroom and as members of our Bonita community. Let us push ourselves to give our best effort, to complete assignments with diligence, and to actively engage in our learning.

Once we embark on our Fall Break, it is time for both students and parents to take a well-deserved pause. Fall Break presents us with the opportunity to reflect on our academic performance and our role as citizens of our beloved Bonita community. For our parents, it is also a time to reflect on our role in supporting our students (as well as our staff and of course, yours truly as the principal of your school).

On that note, I came across an article written in the Atlantic Magazine this weekend titled "The Very Common, Very Harmful Thing Well-Meaning Parents Do (Surveilling your Kids will only backfire)" by Devorah Heitner. As a father of two small children and one older child, and an educator for the past 20 years, the article forced me to reflect on how much I surveil my children, how much I surveil my older child for better or worse, and how we surveil our students here at school. I found the article interesting and it also forced me to think about how much I will track my little ones when they begin to interact with social media and technologies in our ever-changing and fast-developing world. I invite you all to read the article and share your thoughts with me! Also, I invite you all to open up a dialogue about trust during these challenging middle school years when it comes to "surveillance". The article can be found below: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/parents-spy-kid-iphone-text-email-surveillance-digital-age/675286/.

Lastly, please remember to review the 4 Essential Rules at Bonita Vista Middle School that allow us to not only promote our safety on campus, but it allows us to ensure that our students are fully present and ready to learn:

1. No Cell Phones on Campus: We ask that all students place their cell phones in their backpacks once they are at school and on our campus. We not only enforce this rule during class time but especially during nutrition breaks and lunchtime. We want our students to interact with each other as much as possible as opposed to being on their screens/phones.

2. No IPAD Misuse: Every student is issued an IPAD for educational purposes only. We ask students to use their devices strictly as implements of learning.

3. No Earbuds: Similar to our cell phone rule, we ask that once students are at school and on our campus, they place their earbuds in their backpacks. We have noticed that students are less distracted in class and engage more with each other when they are not using earbuds.

4. No Hoodie (worn on head): Students can wear hooded sweatshirts but in order to be able to identify our students at all times, we ask students not to wear their hoods over their heads. This rule is in place for student safety. Should a non-student sneak onto our campus, we would want to identify them immediately. Also, we need to ensure during class and outside of class that students do not have their earbuds. We prioritize making sure that students are paying attention in class and our fully engaged with each other at all times.

If you ever need to report a disciplinary or safety concern, please make sure to report all concerns to our administrative team.

Our assistant principal, Mr. Robert Bonilla roberto.bonilla@sweetwaterschools.org oversees students with last names between A-L and Ms. Estephany Conlon Estephany.conlon@sweetwaterschools.org oversees all students between M-Z. Please visit this link to contact any other staff you wish to communicate with: https://bvm.sweetwaterschools.org/staff-directory-2/.

Thank you,

Dr. Salazar

Check out our week at a glance by clicking on the link or the button below:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1tAeblaWrfuvjqRLKMtAVyMhGWMZPzSpi26SRhOOnNdU/edit#slide=id.p

The Acknowledgment Corner will be continued to be used to highlight and celebrate our students at any opportunity that we can! If you would like your student acknowledged for something we may not be aware of, please feel free to contact me (include a picture if possible).

Nominated by Ms. Monge, congratulations to Isaac Jenney! Isaac is being nominated for Crusader of the Week for his academic success in Progress Report 1. He has increased his grade point average by over one letter grade since last year. Isaac is earning his academic success by attending tutoring and being motivated to reach his full potential. Congratulations Isaac for a job well done. Keep it up!

Nominated by Mr. Reyes-Cornejo, congratulations to Dustin Mack for going above and beyond in his efforts to learn Spanish as his second language. His dedication to learning Spanish is outstanding! Let's go BVM!!!

Nominated by Ms. Ehrig, Mr. Schmidt has been nominated as BVM's Teacher of the Month! We are lucky to have Mr. Schmidt as one of our newest team members on the Crusader Staff. Job well done Mr. Schmidt!

I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the outstanding Fall Sports Assembly that was organized by our amazing ASB students. The assembly was emceed by none other than our brilliant ASB President, Kloie Blunt-Coleman.

The Fall Sports Assembly was a true testament to the talent, dedication, and spirit of our student-athletes. I want to extend heartfelt congratulations to our Fall Sports Teams: Baseball, Softball, Basketball, and Cross Country (let's not forget about Cheer either)! To all our student-athletes, I want to express my deepest gratitude for representing our school with grace and sportsmanship (as I have witnessed the past three weekends). Your dedication to your respective sports and your commitment to your academics is commendable. You are all shining examples of what it means to be a part of the BVM community. Please enjoy some of the pictures below taken at our Fall Sports Assembly.

Under the supervision and direction of Ms. Timmons, our dance class had the opportunity to attend a wonderful field trip to several Trolley Stops (yes that's right) several Trolley Stops to watch dance performers do various dances. The students were super excited once they returned. Our dance students have been making great connections to our local high school (BVHS) through the different experiences and interactions they have been afforded through their dance class --including performing at Homecoming!!! Woot! Woot!

Below you will find valuable resources for our students and community, including our tutoring schedule!

Our English Department had the opportunity to engage in some professional development as they continue to adopt a new textbook/curriculum. Our English team also had the opportunity to spend more time coming up with common formative assessments. The more we continue to keep our teachers learning, the more our students will benefit!!! Let's go BVM!!!

The aim of our CARE Team of Teachers at BVM is to increase the number of Latinx and African-American students who are on track for college!!! We have a ten-teacher team from BVM participating in the CARE network. Last week, they had the opportunity to gather with like minds, perform some data-analysis, and discuss the next steps in implementing more inclusion strategies in their classroom. I want to publicly thank our awesome Team Leaders spearheading this work at Bonita Vista Middle School --Ms. Heredia and Ms. Bauer!!! Thank you to all for continuing to push your learning as we ask our students to continue to push their learning!

This past Wednesday, the Assistant Principal in charge of Safety at BVM, invited the Chula Vista Police Department to debrief our most recent drill--our Lockdown and Active Shooter Drill. The Chula Vista Police Department was on hand to answer many questions that our teacher had as well as to present data and provide us with more safety techniques.

Educational researchers John Hattie and Robert Marzano have always talked about the importance of ensuring that learning (objectives) are clear to students. We know that when students are clear about what they are supposed to be learning in their respective classes, we know they have a better chance of learning the material. Assistant Principal, Ms. Conlon, delivered some professional last week to our staff and handed out some professional development resources as we continue to improve our instructional strategies at Bonita Vista Middle School.

Can you guess what the numbers below (in the picture) represent?

In our pursuit of becoming an IB school and further aligning with our local high school (BVHS), Mr. Dougherty, our IB coordinator, provided our staff with some professional development this past Friday. MYP Units are designed to transfer more of the cognitive load and problem-solving skills to our students. Hence, classrooms become more and more student-centered than teacher-centered.

Currently, we have had all of our Science 8 (General Science 2) students implement MYP units. Our English 8 Team will be the 2nd department that will implement MYP units when we return from Fall Break. Becoming an IB school is a multi-year process, but we are making great strides in our efforts under Mr. Dougherty's leadership and guidance.

*7 Days before Fall Break

*1 Week before Fall Break

*168 Hours before Fall Break

*10,080 Minutes before Fall Break

*604, 800 Seconds before Fall Break

--Let's push through BVM!!! Thank you!

Reach out and communicate with us!

Email: alexander.salazar-arbelaez@sweetwaterschools.org
Website: http://bvm.sweetwaterschools.org/
Location: 650 Otay Lakes Road, Chula Vista, CA, USA
Phone: 619-397-2200
Twitter: @BVM_Principal