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!!

09/15 School Governance Team 8:00

09/21 Back to School Night 5:00-7:00

9/29 Middle School Band Night at CHHS Football Game

We are excited to welcome parents to Back to School Night this Thursday, September 21, 2023 from 5:00-7:00pm. Once the main parking lots fill up, please follow the signs and staff directions to park on the dirt field. We will start in Weiner Hall at 5:00pm with whole staff introductions. Classroom visits will begin at 5:30 with your student's first period class. There will be a five minute passing period between each 10 minute class period. We ask that students and younger siblings stay at home if possible as classrooms get very crowded. Miss Cindee will be hosting the Book Fair in the library and the student store (cash only) will be open from 4:45 - 5:45. We are ready to provide you the full student experience while on campus. See you Thursday!

SDUSD has been shifting to Standards Based Grading for the last few years and every secondary school is in different stages of development. Year 1 of implementation for DP included removing behaviors from academic grade and allowing revisions/reassessments. Year 2 of implementation included teachers developing assignment/assessment rubrics so students knew exactly what to do to earn a 1-4. This year, De Portola staff is committed to using the same cut points in PowerSchool so that all percentages mean the same thing. We will continue our work with rubric design and refinement to provide clarity of purpose for assignments and assessments. Below are some resources provided from SDUSD to educate parents about Standards Based Learning. Thank you for your support as the educators at DP are committed to staying current with their instructional practices.

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.

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.