
PATRIOT NEWS
Parent Newsletter | February 2020
Message from the Principal
Dear Birmingham Parents and Guardians,
On behalf of Birmingham, I’d like to wish you all a happy February and upcoming Valentine’s and Presidents’ Days. This month we’re also celebrating Black History Month. Students from the BCCHS Black Student Union (BSU) helped us get off to a great start by sharing important historical facts during our morning announcements last Monday about the profound contributions of African Americans to the intellectual, economic, and social spheres within our country.
This month, we’ve also been emphasizing the contributions of students and staff members to the BCCHS community. To earn this award, a student or staff member has gone out of their way to help someone, provide service, or simply have a positive impact on the school every day. The staff members awarded were: Site Food Services Manager Mae Low, Custodial Professional Arturo Meza, Coach Don Boardingham, and Dean Melissa Reisbord. Our student winners were: 9th Grade - Mony Huong; 10th Grade – Aracely S Sanchez-Zorilla and Ashley Barandiaran; 11th Grade – Karina Crisanto and Leslie Velasquez; 12th Grade – Jessica Castellanos Rodas and Kristian Pesebre. These awards took place at our Student Acknowledgment Pep Rally which followed our “Be Kind” week, a week filled with activities that helped students meet new people and connect with each other during games in the quad area at lunch. These awards and activities are designed to bring our students and staff closer together and to have an overall positive impact on our school culture.
Please be advised that we have a number of other activities and ceremonies that will take place later this month. Wednesday the 5th, we have our Junior/Sophomore College Night at 6:00 in the Performing Arts Auditorium. We’re excited to host the English Learner Awards Ceremony at 5:00 in the Faculty Dining Room (FDR) on February 12th. We will also have our Parent and Family Engagement Team meeting on Thursday, February 20th at 9:00 in the Principal’s Conference Room and Coffee with the Counselors on Friday the 21st at 8:30 in the library. We highly value your participation in these events and know that as our partnership strengthens, so will Birmingham.
Sincerely,
Ari Bennett, Principal
Mae Low
Don Boardingham
Arturo Meza
Melissa Reisbord
Junior Class
9th Grade Recognition
Coffee with Mr. Bennett!
Coffee with the Principal
Tuesday, Feb 25, 2020, 09:00 AM
BCCHS: 17000 Haynes St Lake Balboa, CA 91406 (FDR)
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
Coffee with the Principal
Coffee with the Principal
Coffee with the Principal
Family Strengthening Workshop #2 (Mental Wellness)
- FREE Parent Workshop!
- Same workshop will be given in the evening as well: 6:30 pm- 8:00 pm
Thursday, Feb 27, 2020, 08:30 AM
BCCHS: 17000 Haynes St. Lake Balboa CA 91406 (FDR)
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
Workshop #1
Workshop #1
Workshop #1
BCCHS students in action!
Success at school begins with arriving to school, and to class on time. School start times:
- Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 8:30 am
- Tuesday 9:00 am
Tardy Sweeps:
Tardy sweeps are occurring every day, and every period. It is imperative that students arrive to school and to class on time. Students who accumulate 6 tardies will be assigned a mandatory lunch detention. Tardies and detentions are tracked, and monitored through our new 360i Suite tardy software. Changes to our Tardy Policy are currently working their way through committee, and will include increased interventions. Parents, please help us by encouraging your student to get to school, and to class on time.
Student ID Cards:
Students MUST carry a BCCHS student ID card at all times on campus. During the week of February 3rd, during Tardy Sweeps, students without ID cards will be issued a new student ID card at no replacement fee charged to the student. Student ID cards are required to purchase tickets to dances, Prom, and Disneyland Grad Nite, receive discount tickets to sporting events, as well as participate in BCCHS sponsored field trips. Presenting student ID cards are always a great way of saving, and receiving discount tickets at various businesses in our community, especially movie theaters, and some amusement parks.
Birmingham Educational Complex Joint Task Force:
BCCHS collaborates monthly with the other six (6) schools within the complex, as LAPD, Los Angeles School Police, LAUSD, Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, and community leaders to address community concerns of school safety. Our efforts work towards the reduction of criminal activity, violence, and loitering in our area neighborhoods, shopping centers, and businesses.
Please visit our BCCHS website, under the “Dean’s Office” to get more updated information on our collaboration efforts.
Ms. Brittany Reisbord
Email: b.reisbord@birminghamcharter.com
Phone: 818-758-6529
Dr. Joseph Granish
Email: j.granish@birminghamcharter.com
Phone: 818-758-6554
Ms. Melissa Reisbord
Email: m.reisbord@birminghamcharter.com
Phone: 818-758-5248
Nixle:
With the recent extreme high wind warnings, and the Getty and Tick fires, it is essential that parents and students are well informed with essential information on how these events, and others may impact our school. ALL parent cell phone numbers have been imported into the Nixle parent platform from Aeries. ALL student emails have also been imported into the student platform from Aeries.
Please sign up if you haven't yet:
Health Office
There are rumours and misinformation regarding the new coronavirus from China. There has been fake web pages and even a fake news alert about the coronavirus being here at Birmingham—I assure you it is not. You can read more about the coronavirus at http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/
Steps taken at Birmingham to ensure we stay healthy include providing hand sanitizer at the door of each classroom and by excluding students who have an elevated temperature or other symptoms of a contagious illness.
One way to stay healthy is by thorough hand washing: rub hands under water for 20 seconds preferably with soap. Handwashing is especially important before eating and before touching the face. Hand sanitizer is an alternative to hand washing especially after being on the metro or other public places.
If your student has an elevated temperature (100.4 or above) keep them at home until they are fever free for 24 hours. You may email teachers for homework. Thank you and stay healthy!
PS It is not too late to get your flu shot.
Let’s spring forward into the second semester!
With the new semester comes an opportunity to reflect on the progress you have made during the Fall semester. If you are at Advanced or Proficient in attendance and grades, then keep doing what you are doing to ensure you experience the same success in your Spring semester! At this point, if you are on track you should have earned 30 credits in the Fall semester and you should have no more than 3 full day absences.
However, if you failed any courses last semester, or you had more than 3 full day absences then now is the time to start making some adjustments so that you can make improvements in your organizational skills, study skills, and/or level of motivation. If you feel you need extra support, seek out a trusted adult at school such as your Academic Counselor, a Teacher or your Pupil Services and Attendance (PSA) Counselor! Whatever you do, don’t get discouraged!
COLLEGE CENTER
Juniors and Sophomores Families:
- College Night Feb. 5th at 6 pm in the Sally Field PA
- Learn about the University of California, Cal State University, Private Colleges, Community Colleges, and financial aid. Ask Questions – Get Answers! There will be Spanish Translation
- Free SAT PREP Course offered through Horizon education at Birmingham in preparation for the March SAT exam. Go to www.HorizonEducation.com to enroll today.
- Class Starts Feb. 8th.
Seniors:
Need money for college? Complete your financial aid application today!
- For undocumented students go to: https://dream.csac.ca.gov/
- For US Citizens or Permanent Residents go to : www.fafsa.gov
- Deadline to complete your FAFSA or CA Dream Act is March 2.
To help students we will be having two after school late evening Workshops.
FAFSA/Dream Act Workshops (Bring your parents 2018 taxes):
- Tues. Feb. 11 4:30 pm to 7 pm
- Wed. Feb. 19 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm
12th Grade
It's hard to believe that in just a few short months, our seniors will be graduating and pursuing their post-secondary aspirations. College acceptances have started to roll in, and students and faculty alike have been delighting in the good news. Please remind your children that our College and Career Counselors, located in the Library, are willing and happy to help them plan out a suitable path for life after high school.
We will continue to celebrate the success of our seniors throughout the month of February. A Recognition Pep Rally will take place on Monday, February 3rd, and later in the month, we will hold a special Awards Luncheon for seniors who have made great improvements in their academics, attendance, and attitudes.
Stay tuned for future announcements regarding an upcoming College and Career Fair, Mindfulness Meditation assembly, and career and culture related field trips.
11th Grade
Have a fabulous February,
Jenina Franco & Bertie Navarro
Class of 2021
10th Grade
The Class of 2022 will be visiting Cal Poly Pomona on March 5, Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, March 28, and Cal State Long Beach on April 14. Parents and older siblings are encouraged to attend the visit to Cal State Fullerton with their students to get a college experience. Permission slips can be picked up in E24 and the Counseling Center. Please encourage your students to attend one of the visits and consider joining us as well!
Programming for next year will start in mid-February. Therefore, attendance is going to be very important during the month. Graduation checks will be sent home in March once programming is complete.
9th Grade
We are excited to leave next Monday for college visits to UCSB and Pepperdine. We are taking 100 freshmen to these two universities. Our next field trips, scheduled for February 25th, will be going to LMU and Cal State Channel Islands. Please sign up with Mr. Dinielli in room J 108 or with Mr. Saracino in room 404.
Also on February 20th we will be having our freshmen recognition for grades during lunch time. Over 315 freshmen will be recognized and will be invited to this event.
Parent ESL Classes (Tuesdays and Thursdays)
Tuesday, February 4, 2020:
5:30 pm- 7:00 pmRoom B79
Thursday, February 6, 2020:
5:30 pm- 7:30 pm
Room B79
Tuesday, February 11, 2020:
5:30 pm- 7:30 pm
Room B79
Thursday, February 13, 2020:
5:30 pm- 7:30 pm
Room B79
Tuesday, February 18, 2020:
5:30 pm- 7:30 pm
Room B79
Thursday, February 20, 2020:
5:30 pm- 7:30 pm
Room B79
Tuesday, February 25, 2020:
5:30 pm- 7:30 pm
Room B79
Because I Love You
6:30 pm- 8:00 pm
Room B80
Tuesday, February 11, 2020:
6:30 pm- 8:00 pm
Room B80
Tuesday, February 18, 2020:
6:30 pm- 8:00 pm
Room B80
Tuesday, February 25, 2020:
6:30 pm- 8:00 pm
Room B80
Sophomore & Junior College Night
7:00 pm- 8:30 pm
Performing Arts (PA)
School Site Council
5:00 pm- 6:00 pm
Faculty Dining Room (FDR)
Aeries Parent Portal Sign-Up Day
6:00 pm- 7:00 pm
Multi-Purpose Room (MPR)
FACTOR Program Orientation (Morning)
8:30 am - 10:00 am
Multi-Purpose Room (MPR)
AND Faculty Dining Room (FDR)
FACTOR Program Orientation (Evening)
6:00 pm- 7:30 pm
Library
Coffee with the Principal
9:00 am- 10:00 am
Faculty Dining Room (FDR)
FACTOR Class #1
6:00 pm- 7:30 pm
Classrooms: B79, B80, B82