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!!

01/03 School resumes

01/04 Minimum Day 2:00pm Dismissal

01/04 Incoming 9th graders meeting at Canyon Hills Library 6:00pm

01/09 DP Foundation Meeting

01/15 MLK Holiday - No School

01/19 End of Semester 1

01/24 8th Grade Panoramic Picture

I hope everyone had a wonderful winter break. My son, Donovan, was home from college and we took full advantage of the beautiful weather we had on Christmas Day. As a family, we took time to appreciate everything from 2023 highlighting best moments and acknowledging our short comings. We are ready to bring on 2024 with our family motto, "Work hard. Have fun!"

There are just two weeks remaining in the first semester. Please be sure to have your student check their grades in PowerSchool and turn in all missing/late assignments. Each teacher indicates their own late work deadline and reassessment/resubmission policies. Please reach out to your teachers directly for any questions regarding this.

All students who finish who have 9 tardies or less in the second quarter (last nine weeks of semester one) are eligible to attend our next dance scheduled in February.

If your family experienced any hardship over the break that may impact your student's educational progress, please reach out to our counseling team for assistance. Lindsey Hudson, lhudson@sandi.net, supports students with last names A-L and Amy Ericson, aericson@sandi.net, supports students with last names M-Z. Ryan Cheshire, rchesire@sandi.net can support our Spanish speaking families.

We will be having a new bell schedule for the 2024-25 school year. We are currently gathering input from the staff and our public committees. There will be two 30 minute parent information meetings on zoom to gather input when we return in January. The first one will be Jan 9 at 8:00am and the second one will be Jan 10 at 6:00pm. Zoom info will be listed in next week's Panther Parent Update.

The De Portola 2023-2024 Yearbook is now on sale for $55 at www.yearbookforever.com. The price will go up to $60 on March 1st, so get yours early to save a few bucks! 8th Grade Ads will go on sale on Sunday, January 7th.

Our walk to CHHS was so much fun. The ASB hosted an exciting pep rally, there was a club expo during lunch, and we re-connected with Panther alumni. There is an in-person parent meeting this week at Canyon Hills in the media center.

1/4/24 Canyon Hills High School 9th Grade Parent Night in their Media Center 6pm-7pm

1/5/24 Canyon Hills High School counselors present to all the 8th Graders 9am-10am

1/10/24 All Articulation Cards are due by 12pm

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.

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.