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!!

TEXTBOOK CHECK OUT

09/05 DP Foundation Mtg 6:00pm in Staff Lounge

09/06 Kona Ice at lunch

09/07 MINIMUM DAY with a 2:00 Dismissal

09/21 Back to School Night 5:00-6:30

Last week was a warm one. We added a bonus day of Kona Ice on Wednesday and the kids loved it. The De Portola Foundation also donated and delivered ice cold waters on Thursday during lunch. These refreshers were welcomed with great smiles of appreciation. We ended the week with a Club Rush to introduce our students to all the clubs De Portola offers.

We had a great showing for tryouts. Wednesday will conclude tryouts for Track and Field and boys basketball. Girls basketball tryout will be on Thursday at 4:00pm. Coaches will send out communication about final cuts.

Have you been checking your child's grades yet? If you have, you may notice that nothing has been entered. Our staff will finalize grading scales at our staff meeting on Thursday afternoon. Please note that this may be different than the one that was sent to you in the student's syllabus at the start of school. We are working really hard to have site alignment and eliminate some the confusion caused by grading differences. I will send an update next week.

If you haven't accessed Parent Portal or need help with your account, please email Steven Fong at sfong@sandi.net.

Our first DP Foundation meeting is Tuesday, September 5th at 6:00pm. Please enter at the east side of the office at the pedestrian gate. The door to the lounge will be open.

We have only raised about $3K with our Back to School donations. The DP Foundation runs on $40K operating budget. This works out to about $60 per student. Please consider donating today to ensure the DP Foundation can continue to support our programs. Thank you!

The De Portola Foundation is a wonderful group of parents who raise money to support all types of events at school. The DP Foundation has two major fundraisers a year. The first is simply a Back to School donation and the second is our Panther Pride Run. We have raised $20k at our Panther Pride Run for the last two years. Our goal for our Back to School donation is $15K. Please consider donating any amount that is reasonable for your family. Look for the QR code in the back to school packet or click this link here.

Big cost items are assemblies ($1500 each assembly), field trips ($5K per grade level), teacher grants, the school garden, and staff wellness. Your time, talents, and money are needed to keep our programs running. Jordan Waggoner is entering her fifth fabulous year as DP Foundation President. She is AMAZING and has five children who attend elementary, middle, and high school in Tierrasanta. She leads a fun, light hearted group of parents who rally together to support our school. We would love for you to join us on the first Tuesday of the month from 6:00pm - 7:00pm.

We had a few families age out and need to fill some vacancies:

Vice President: Be a thought partner and support to the president

Treasurer: Monitor budget, run monthly reports, and write checks

Hospitality: Organize food for staff for Welcome Back Luncheon, Back to School Night, Holiday Breakfast, and Staff Appreciation Week

Please reach out to Jordan Waggoner at deportolafoundation1@gmail.com or me at jjaramillo@sandi.net with any questions.

At the beginning of every year we have issues with students, mostly boys, pantsing each other. Everyone, except the one who gets pantsed, thinks it is hilarious. This is completely unacceptable in any school setting and consequences will be issued to the offenders. We will be discussing this on the weekly principal's message and extra messaging in your household is appreciated.

We have a need for parent members on two committees.

School Governance Team

SGT meets on the third Friday of the month at 8:00am on zoom. We discuss school policies and programs. This committee is comprised of parents, students, and school staff. We have two openings.

School Site Council

SSC meets on the second Friday of the month and oversees our Title 1 funding and reviews the School Plan for Student Achievement SPSA. The SPSA governs how we spend our Title 1 funding and is closely monitored by SDUSD finance department and is reviewed by the School Board. We have one opening.

Please email Mr. Steven at sfong@sandi.net if you are interested. If we get more volunteers than needed, we will run an election. Thank you for considering this once a month commitment.

Attention 8th grade parents. If you have not signed your child up for the 8th grade D.C. and NYC trip in June it's not too late. There will be a parent informational meeting on Wednesday September 6 at 5 pm in room 706. Please email Ms. Leto at gmcelwaineleto@sandi.netfor more information.

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.