PTMS Weekly Parent Newsletter

I. Coming Up (calendar items in the coming week or so)

II. Message from the Principal

III. Message from the Assistant Principal

• From the Attendance Office

IV. Counseling Corner

• Information on Wellness and Suicide Prevention
  

V. From the PTSA

VI. ASB and Student Announcements

VII. Shout Out Marquee Tiles Now Available!

VIII. Department News

• Learning Commons
• PE
• Science
• Yearbook
  

IX. Clubs (periodic information on extracurricular school activities)

X. Nutrition Services

XI. Multilingual Corner (includes information on ELAC other community resources)

XII. Ethic Studies Engagement Plan - 2024-25

XIII. Special Education Sessions and Events (parenting classes, family events, informational sessions)

XIV. San Dieguito Union High School District Job Opportunities

XV. Community Events (opportunities/events involving the district and its schools)

XVi. Other Important Items (links to the PTMS Family Handbook, Boys & Girls Club, Webstore, etc.)

Wednesday, September 18 - Rock Painting in the Wellness Center from 11:40-1:00 p.m.

Friday, September 20 - PTSA General Meeting/Coffee w/ Principal - 8:45 a.m. - Learning Commons

Wednesday, September 25 and Tuesday, October 8 - 7th and 8th grade Picture Days thru PE classes

Wolfpack families,

Happy Friday! The lower temperatures have been a welcomed relief from last week's heat wave, and it feels like we are inching closer to fall weather. We have had a full week on campus this week. Typically, when we say the word "classroom" we think of walls, desks, and a whiteboard at the front. While this can and is true, our teachers have been stretching this paradigm a bit. In 7th grade science, our teachers brought students outside for a lab in which they looked for biotic and abiotic factors in the grass. This led them further into their study of living things as they conducted a lab on flatworms. Our PE students were all over campus engaging in ultimate frisbee on the fields, doing WODs (Workout of the Day) in the quad and MPR, and square dancing in the gym. It brings me great joy to see the learning opportunities that our teachers provide for students, and the smiles on the students' faces when they learn, grow, and have fun in the process.

Congratulations to all of our students who tried out for our Boys and Girls Club fall sports. Rosters were announced this week, and I'm thrilled that we have enough interest to field two girls flag football teams. I hope to get out and watch all of our athletes compete this season as they represent the Wolfpack!

Our counselors led our campus in activities around "Suicide Prevention Week". There is more information below, including a presentation for students on Monday, and a mental health workshop for parents on Monday night. Many students visited the Wellness Center on Wednesday to connect with the therapy dogs that visited, and today our counselors had a banner signing in the quad. ASB supported today's activities with music, fun games and face paint. Our continued focus on building community, along with educating students about mental health, serves students in their development and understanding of themselves and others. I encourage you to check in with your child regularly about how they are doing, and remember, if you ever need additional support, our staff is here to help.

Finally, our PTMS fundraiser is doing incredibly well! To date, we have raised $73,910. We have one week left to reach our goal of $100,000. For next week only, every homeroom that raises at least $1000 will get a treat of their choice courtesy of ASB! So thank you to those who have contributed, and if you have not done so, I encourage you to do so by clicking here.

Have a wonderful weekend and we look forward to seeing your student on Monday.

In gratitude,

Scott Wild Ed.D.

Principal

If students are not in their assigned classroom when the period begins at the bell, they can be marked tardy. If you would like to know if your student has any tardies, please check your Aeries account. If you need help accessing Aeries, please contact our front office staff for assistance. Finally, teachers may not verbally notify students when they have been marked tardy. The Attendance Office will notify you via Parent Square when your student has been marked tardy. Once five tardies have been accrued, your student may be assigned to after school detention, which will occur weekly on Wednesdays from 2:45-3:15 p.m. If the student doesn’t show up to detention, students and their parent/guardian may be called to a parent conference. If your student needs to reschedule their detention, it’s no problem to reschedule by contacting the Attendance Office. After the first detention, students will be assigned detention after every third (3rd) tardy. The purpose of this protocol is to guide students towards punctuality, good attendance, and time management skills that will serve them in college, career, and beyond.

For more attendance information, please see the PTMS Family Handbook posted on the homepage of our website, or you can refer directly to the Attendance Page. If you have questions or concerns, please contact our Attendance Secretary, Elizabeth Williams, at (858) 500-1000 ext. 4609. Thank you!

We met with all students for our Suicide Prevention Presentation on Monday. We are proud of the serious and thoughtful way the students responded to the presentations and participated in our activities this week to support suicide prevention. This included a voluntary self-care workshop and creating a Chain of Hope during Homeroom that our ASB are busy connecting.

Our wolves also got to relax and de-stress when the Therapy Dogs visited our Wellness Center on Wednesday. It was a very popular event and over 300 students came to visit during their lunch break.

We are excited to offer several student connection opportunities coming soon. At the end of our presentation on Monday, all of our wolves filled out a survey to indicate if they were interested in any of our opportunities.

If you missed our Virtual Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Workshop, hosted by our PTMS School Social Worker, Anna Riley, you can view the slides here.

Lisa Curry, Counselor (A-Ll) lisa.curry@sduhsd.net

Carsen Anderson, Counselor (Lo-Z and MLL Students) carsen.anderson@sduhsd.net

Samantha Eels-Taylor, Student Support Facilitator samantha.eelstaylor@sduhsd.net

National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month - September (Link)

During National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, communities across the US raise awareness about the protective factors and help-seeking behaviors that help to build resilience and prevent suicide. We also reach out and support those impacted by loss and enhance efforts to connect individuals who may be at a heightened risk of suicide to qualified mental health systems.

Suicide Prevention Awareness emphasizes the power of connections and the importance of discussing mental health in everyday moments. These efforts aim to destigmatize individual experiences of distress as well as ongoing building of protective factors - the personal or environmental characteristics that help protect people from suicide.

Major protective factors for suicide include:

• Connectedness to individuals, family, community, and social institutions

• Life skills (including problem-solving skills and coping skills, ability to adapt to change)

• Self-esteem and a sense of purpose or meaning in life

• Effective behavioral healthcare

• Cultural, religious, or personal beliefs that discourage suicide

The work of youth suicide prevention is a community effort that includes families, schools, faith institutions, teams, public health officials, emergency responders, and more.

Suicide Prevention Week 9/8-9/14 promotes the commitment to working together to prevent suicide through increasing awareness about the complex set of causes, risks, and warning signs. It promotes compassion, care and action to connect those in need to qualified support.

SDUHSD

Our staff works to increase protective factors by fostering connections and building life skills, social-emotional competencies and a culture that encourages qualities such as empathy and optimism. The district suicide prevention policy and referral systems increase access to professional support; all student ID cards and the student start page have resources and students are encouraged to access support for themselves, a friend, family member, or colleague. A team of credentialed school-based professionals, including school counselors, school social workers, and school psychologists, along with school administrators, lead suicide prevention efforts throughout the school year.

Resources

There are multiple local and national resources available to help increase knowledge of suicide prevention, risks and warning signs, and provide crisis support - including for parents/guardians.

One California-based resource, Suicide Is Preventable Know the Signs, provides important information in multiple languages (available in English, Spanish, Tagalog, Khmer, Vietnamese, Chinese, Russian, Korean, Lao, Hmong, Punjabi) about identifying indicators of risk through conversations, actions, and social media. It provides a conversation framework for concerned family members or friends to start the conversation, listening and expressing care, creating a safety plan, and getting help.

Additional Resources

• CareSolace confidential counseling referrals with a live 24X7 concierge line (888) 515-0595

• Jason Foundation / Jason Foundation Parent Resource Program

• Preventing Youth Suicide - Tips for Parents NASP

• SDCOE Resources for High Priority Groups Suicide Prevention

• Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide

• Suicide Awareness and Guidance for Families

• Suicide Prevention Resource Center

• Talking to your Kids About Suicide - SPTSUSA

If you or someone that you know needs further assistance, please access these qualified crisis resources:

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 National Suicide Prevention Line 988 https://988lifeline.org/

• National Crisis Text Line: Text “HOME” to 741741 - Youth Crisis Line 800-843-5200

• Trevor Project: National Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention for LGBTQ Youth: 1-866-488-7386

If you or someone you know is experiencing an immediate crisis, call 911 or the San Diego Access & Crisis Line 888-724-7240

Mental Health & Wellness Resources for Students, Staff, and School Community.

Click on the QR code to discover your PTMS Support Staff.

Dear PTSA Families,

We are heading into the last week of our fundraiser, so if you haven't donated yet, please do so and make a difference in enhancing our children’s school experience.

We have raised $72K, a big thank you to the families who already donated.

This year, the school goal is to raise $100K. We’re asking each family to consider making a donation of $250 to support our school’s enrichment programs.

In order to reach our ultimate goal of $100,000 we have added a new incentive! Any homeroom that raises a total of $1,000 between now (Fri Sep 13) and the end of the fundraiser (Fri Sep 20) will earn a snack party of their choosing hosted by ASB! That's just 4 suggested donations of $250!

Also, an update on the raffle!

The raffle will be held on Wednesday, Sep 25th during homeroom and lunch (video of some of the prizes). Winning names will be announced at that time. Students can pick up their prizes after school from room B125 that day. If they have ISPE, they can pick up at the start of 6th period. Prizes will be held for any students that cannot pick them up that day. Only students can pick up their prizes, and they must pick them up after school only (or start of 6th period for ISPE).

Why $250?

Because every dollar of your donation will go directly toward enhancing our students' educational experience this year : After school Academic Power Hour, Teachers' mini grants, Health and wellness initiatives (red ribbon week, wellness center,...), PE equipment, school events, lunch activities and clubs, campus beautification and so much more!

We understand that every family's situation is different, so please know that every amount, big or small, is greatly appreciated and makes a real impact. Please check with your employer for donation matching ( U.S. Tax ID/EIN: 901080675 )

Donating is easy! Simply visit https://app.99pledges.com/fund/ptms, or drop off your contribution check at the school office. And remember, all donations are tax-deductible!

In case you missed it, to make this fun, here is how Principal Scott plans to celebrate with the school...

If we get to $75,000, he will dress as our school mascot Waldo for the day, and be available for pictures before and after school.

If we get to $100,000, the school will get to vote on a new hairstyle for the principal. This can include dying his hair green and blue in our school colors, a mohawk, or some other creative idea that the students choose.

Thank you for your continued support and generosity!

~ PTSA Activity will be posted here throughout the year. You can visit their webpage by clicking here.

See this presentation for more information.

We will have two Picture Days this year through PE Classes. The first Picture Day on Wednesday, September 25, will be the during PE Periods 2, 4 and 6. The next Picture Day on Tuesday, October 8, will be the during PE Periods, 1, 3 and 5. Gerardy will email proofs to parents about 2 weeks after each Picture Day. For students who miss those days due to being absent from school, the Make-Up Picture Day is the morning of Monday, October 14. Absent students will receive passes from their Elective classes to report for getting their picture taken.

You can check them out on the Students tab of our website under "Student Announcements" for a running post of each week's student announcements.

Is your student having a birthday? Or just accomplished a great sporting feat? Maybe your student aced a recent test. Well, here's your chance to send a "Shout Out!"! Your $25 purchase of a Shout Out Marquee Tile will have your Shout Out projected on the marquee that is mounted on the gym wall facing the parking lot for five business days beginning the day after you place your order. Proceeds will help ASB with scholarships for students for getting dance tickets, PE clothes, Disney tickets, and more. You can order your Shout Out marquee tile on our webstore. Type in what you want to say when you order. Careful, your note is limited to 100 characters.

Please click here to see everything that the Learning Commons has been up to so far this year.

Please follow us on Instagram to see what your student is up to during PE class.

Order your PE clothes here.

Pre-order your Yearbook here. Don't delay! Order your 2024-25 Yearbook TODAY!

Science Bowl (https://science.osti.gov/wdts/nsb) is a buzzer-based national competition where teams of students from different schools compete in head-to-head science competitions with questions in math, biology, the physical sciences, Earth/Space, Energy, and general science. Students will compete in a regional competition in late February, and will compete in the national round if they win.

PTMS Science Bowl Club that is sponsored by Mrs. Griffen and will be coached by CCA students. Weekly meeting will be held on Tuesdays 3:45-4:45pm in the PTMS Multi-Purpose Room (MPR) Starting September 24th, 2024. Please register using this link: https://forms.gle/GSpar7iUqkxcEmXU9

Posted on the Activities Page of our website, you can see all the various Clubs now being offered to all students who would like to join (and it continues to grow!) If your student would like to join one of the listed clubs, all they need to do is talk to the Advisor named with the club.

~ Club activity will be posted here throughout the year. To get a list of all Clubs currently active, please check the Activities page on our website.

School Meals Reminders:

• School meals are free for all students.

• Know your student ID# for meals.

• Breakfast Daily: 7:40 - 8:10am.

• Breakfast Late Monday: 8:50 - 9:20am.

• Nutritional Break: 9:45 - 10:00am.

• Lunch Daily: according to the bell schedule.

Each student is entitled to one breakfast and one lunch per day.

You can either receive Breakfast before School OR during Nutritional Break.

If you or someone you know is interested in joining our team, PTMS is hiring for food service workers . Click on the links for more information.

If you need to check our menu in advance you can follow the link: https://www.schoolnutritionandfitness.com/index.php?sid=2011131648587358

Last week, our school community elected volunteers to the English Learner Advisory Committee (ELAC), which advises school administration on topics related to multilingual learner students. For more information about the ELAC, you can review these slides from the recent informational meeting on August 22, 2024.

The results of the election are:

Chair: Ely Martinez

Vice Chair: Adam Salti

Secretary: Hangjun Cao

DELAC representative: Claudia Sia

Thank you to all the parents who came to the ELAC informational meeting and participated in the election process. We look forward to a productive year and having many parents involved in supporting our ML students. If you have any questions, please contact andrea.grillot@sduhsd.net.

Thank you,

The PTMS MLL Team

Stephanie Hake, PTMS VP

Carsen Anderson, PTMS ML Counselor

Andrea Grillot, PTMS ML Lead

SDUHSD invites you to get involved in the Ethnic Studies Engagement Plan 24-25. The district has developed an Ethnic Studies Engagement plan which will become a graduation requirement for high schoolers in a few years. For more information, including opportunities for involvement in the engagement process, please visit the Ethnic Studies Graduation Requirements webpage.

Below are the meeting dates:

Community Engagement Meeting Dates:

8/14 - 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm @ Earl Warren Middle School

9/17 - 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm @ Earl Warren Middle School

10/8 - 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm @ Earl Warren Middle School

11/7 - 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm @ Earl Warren Middle School

For a list of Special Education Informational Sessions and Family Events, please click here.

SDUHSD is seeking individuals who want to make a difference in children’s lives as a classified staff member. Current job opportunities include Nutrition Services Assistant, Instructional Assistant, Campus Supervisor, Custodian, and Student Health Care Specialists. We have both full and part time positions at campuses throughout the school district. The District offers great benefits, including paid time off and health and retirement benefits for eligible positions.

Our job opportunities can be viewed here. If you have questions, please contact us at classifiedpersonnel@sduhsd.net.

High school students from Canyon Crest Academy and others across the US are hosting free online coding camps for middle school students. They offer Introductory Python, Intermediate Python, Introductory Machine Learning, and Project-Based Machine Learning with more programs planned, and their past programs have achieved 800+ enrollments throughout the country with dozens of positive reviews. These programs usually meet bi/tri-weekly for two to three weeks for one-hour classes. More information on dates can be found on their flyer and their website, and the enrollment form is linked here.

~ Activities at our sister schools or district-sponsored events will be posted here.

- Boys & Girls Club - Seasonal sports information/registration.

- PTMS Family Handbook. - PTMS Cell Phone Policy

- PTMS Live Calendar of Campus Events and 2024-25 Instructional Calendar.

- PTMS Student Vehicle Permit - Register your bike/e-bike/scooter/skateboard with PTMS. Complete this form and turn in to the office.

- PTMS Webstore - PE clothes and Limited Series Clothing (While Supplies Last)

- PTMS Yearbook. - Order today!

- San Dieguito Alliance for a Drug-Free Youth - complete the Parent Pledge here.

- San Dieguito Boys & Girls Club - click the link to the left for 2023-24 athletic schedules.

This newsletter has also been posted to our website under "Parent Communications."

Deadlines to submit articles for publication are Thursdays.

Email: vetha.pierce@sduhsd.net
Website: pt.sduhsd.net
Location: 5975 Village Center Loop Road, San Diego, CA, USA
Phone: 858.509.1000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pacifictrailsmiddleschool