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!!

10/03 DP Foundation Mtg 6:00pm

10/04 Kona Ice at lunch

10/05 Minimum Day 2:00pm Dismissal

10/06 NO SCHOOL

10/11 Picture Day

10/12 Canyon Hills Cluster Mtg 4:30pm @ CHHS (Parents welcome)

10/13 SSC Mtg 8:00am

10/20 SGT Mtg 8:00am

10/20 Last Day of Quarter 1 Grading Period

10/25 Picture Make-up Day

10/27 Haunted House 5:00-8:00pm

10/31 Halloween (costumes allowed)

11/02 Fall Dance during school hours

ASB hosted their first Chill on the Hill last Friday. It was a "Donut" themed Chill that included a Donut Toss, Donut Eating, and a Donut Raffle. The ASB students did an amazing job running this lunch time activity. They always end with a game called "Trash Candy." Be sure to ask your students all about it.

Our band students were invited to play the National Anthem and the CHHS Fight Song as the pregame show to Canyon Hills High School Homecoming Game. Our students sounded incredible and it is really exciting to see how the band program has grown in the last three years. Additionally, it is always great to run into former DP Panthers and reminisce about the good ole days of middle school.

Please help us remind students to bring their laptop fully charged each day. When a student needs to borrow a loaner computer, we ask for a personal item as collateral. The personal item is usually a student's cell phone. The picture displayed has nine phones collected for loaner computer collateral and four phones from students who violated our cell phone policy.

We also have noticed an increase in students taking pictures and or videos before school. We do allow students to be on their phones before the 9:00 bell rings, however they are not allowed to take pictures or videos.

Thank you for your support in reminding students about their laptops and our cell phone policy.

We have entered the time of year when SDUSD makes staffing adjustments across the district based on each site's enrollment and district funding. As of October 1, De Portola is anticipating a staffing reduction based on district funding despite our enrollment growing by 25 students this year. We are reviewing our master schedule to determine the least impact on our students. We will not get final staffing allocation information from SDUSD until October 16. I will be sure to send communication as we finalize details in the next few weeks.

We are experiencing an increase in COVID cases and kindly ask you to keep your students home if they are experiencing symptoms. We know how important it is that your students attend school, but above all else, we prioritize the emotional and physical well-being of our entire student population. If you have any questions or concerns you can email our Nurse Lundy at jlundy1@sandi.net and she will get back to you as soon as possible. We have tests in the nurses office that your students can access at any time during the school day. The current list of COVID symptoms are as follows:

• fever or chills
• cough
• shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• fatigue muscle or body ache
• headache
• new loss of taste or smell
• sore throat

We currently have a vacancy for our Attendance Clerk. Miss Dora, Finance Clerk, and Mr. Steve, Site Tech, are filling in for now. Please email Miss Dora dbriggs@sandi.net or Mr. Steven sfong@sandi.net to report absences. 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.

We do not allow any food or drink deliveries for students. If you would like to bring your child lunch, you must stay and eat with them. This happens frequently for birthdays and other special occasions. We always love when parents can stay and have lunch with their kiddos.

For the 2023-24 school year, De Portola Middle School will provide both BREAKFAST and LUNCH for all students. Breakfast will be served from 8:30-8:45 AM. Students just need their four digit PIN number, which can be found on their schedules.

All families must complete a meal application on paper or online even if your student does not eat cafeteria food. Meal Application and LCFF forms are used to determine funding for our schools. Please complete the forms in the packet.

If you want your student to be able to purchase additional items such as cookies and water bottles, please register at PayPams and you can add money to an account that will align with your child's lunch pin number.