Panther Parent Update

De Portola is a welcoming diverse learning community. We foster individuality by empowering and developing students’ communication, curiosity, and critical thinking skills through a growth mindset. We are Panthers! Rooooaaaarrrrrrrr!!

4/21 - 4/24 - Scholastic Bookfair (Media Center)

4/23 - Open Mic @ 5:45 PM, Shelter Island fire pits in Point Loma

4/24 - Lunch on the Lawn and Spring Showcase (OPEN HOUSE) 12:30PM - 2:00PM

4/28 - 5/8 - State Testing

5/2 - Panther Parent Bowling Night

5/6 - Foundation Meeting @ 4PM

5/7 - Mr. White's Taylor Guitar Field Trip

5/9 - 8th Grade Career Day (Period 1)

5/9 - ASB Knotts Berry Farm Field Trip

5/13 - 6th Grade Field Trip (SeaWorld)

5/13 - Spring Band and Choir Concerts

5/15 - AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam

5/16 - Band/Choir Knotts Field Trip

5/22 - Spanish Medal Ceremony 5PM

5/27 - Yearbook Distribution (Period 1)

5/28 - 8th Grade Promotion Practice 8:40AM-9:40AM

5/28 - 8th Grade Field Day 9:45AM-12PM

5/29 - 8th Grade Promotion 9:15am

A huge shoutout to our PE Department for running our annual track meet. We were grateful for a cloudy (and a few minutes of rain) day and we had so many great competitors this year. We also had a great turn out from parents. Sixth grade parents had the greatest attendance!!

Come join your students this Thursday, April 24th for Lunch on the Lawn followed by our Spring Open house. All families are invited to have lunch with their students on campus this day from 12:30 – 1:00PM. Once school is dismissed at 1:00PM, all classrooms will be open until 2:00PM for families to visit classrooms and celebrate and share their success this year. We will also have Kona Ice on campus this day for purchase. We hope you all can join this Thursday, April 24th from 12:30PM – 2:00PM.

Students Alternative Bell Schedule

Period 1 8:00AM – 8:40AM

Period 2 8:45AM – 9:25AM

Period 3 9:30AM – 10:10AM

Period 4 10:15AM – 10:55AM

Period 5 11:00AM – 11:40AM

Period 6 11:45AM – 12:25PM

Lunch 12:30PM – 1:00PM

Spring Showcase 1:00PM - 2:00pm All classrooms open for students and parents.

We wanted to let you know that we have seen significant improvements with time in class since the students have been using the health office bathrooms. We have made some adjustments to the bathroom availability during instructional time:

7:30 – 8:00 Bungalow bathrooms (4 stalls), PE bathrooms (6 stalls), Health Office (2 stalls)

8:00 – 9:00 Health Office (2 stalls)

9:00 – 11:00 700 Bathrooms (8 stalls)

11:00 – 12:00 Health Office (2 stalls)

12:00 – 12:30 LUNCH Bungalow bathrooms & Health Office

12:30 – 2:30 Health Office

Additionally, we open restrooms during passing period and all students have access to the bathrooms in PE building during the first and last five minutes of their PE period.

Message repeated from February 9, 2025

There have been continued incidents of students selling items on campus out of their backpacks. One student had various items such as chips, candy and soda and was carrying around a significant amount of cash. This is not allowed. Please speak to your student and let them know that this is not allowed, and items will be confiscated for parents to pick up after school.

Please review the below Promotion Requirements with your 8th grade students.

• You can only have one “D” or one “F” (no combinations) on final report card in S2 column.
• No “U’s” for citizenship, period!
• Beginning Grading Period 4 (March 17th), no more than 9 tardies.
• Beginning Grading Period 4 (March 17th), no suspensions.
• Deadline for raising grades: May 16th!

If you have any questions/concerns, please contact your student's counselor;

Students with the last name that begins with A-L - Mrs. Hudson Lhudson@sandi.net

Students with the last name that begins with M-Z - Mrs. Ericson - Aericson@sandi.net

Homework Help List 24/25

Promotion will be held on Thursday, May 29 at 9:15am.

Repeated information from previous weeks.

Our Scholastic Book Fair will continue until Thursday, April 24th. Media Center hours are 7:30AM - 3:00PM daily. Bookfair will be available during Lunch on the Lawn as well as Open House.

Our “Open Mic Night” is ON!! That means we have 8 sessions to write and practice! If your child is interested in joining Writers’ Corner, please email Mrs. Soto-Nauta at esoto@sandi.net. The club meets every Tuesday, after school, from 2:50-3:50 PM starting March 4th. Students can wait outside room 714 from 2:30 - 2:50. This is a free course, thanks to De Portola’s Foundation. Thank you, Foundation!

On Wednesday, April 23rd, beginning at 5:45 PM, at the Shelter Island fire pits in Point Loma, we will have our Writers’ Corner Finale “Open Mic!” The students will share written excerpts with family and friends in the twilight and glow of the bonfires! Please, do not miss this!

Please take a moment to view our new Panther Parent Bowling Night flier. Tickets are now available to purchase, please use the QR code below. $60 includes OGGIEs Dinner, Bowling, Games and 1 Beer/Wine ticket.

We are reaching out to kindly request donations of gift cards in any amount and from any retailer. These donations will help support the De Portola Middle School Foundation’s fundraising efforts, which directly benefit our school and students. The gift cards will be used as prizes in our upcoming raffle at the DP Bowling Night. Your generosity is greatly appreciated, and we thank you for supporting our school community! Donations can be given to the office.

Yearbook Pre-sales will end on May 13th. If a yearbook is not purchased before that date, you will need to wait until Yearbook Distribution on May 27th. The yearbook is $60 and can be purchased at www.yearbookforever.com.

Please email Ms. McIntosh with any questions at smcintosh@sandi.net. Get yours today before they sell out!

We are currently working on the next year's schedule. To make this schedule as accurate as possible please fill out this google form if you student is not attending De Portola next school year.

School dismisses at 2:30. We only allow early release at 2:00pm or earlier. If you child has an appointment and needs to leave, please email Ms. Charisma at cjohnson7@sandi.net or leave her a message her at 619-605-4800 and press 3. She will send a pass and have your student waiting in the office at the expected departure time. This is not a perfect system, but we do our best to accommodate everyone. If your child has PE at your time of departure and you have not given us prior notice, it can take up to 20 minutes to locate your child, send them to locker room, and head up to office. Planning ahead makes this a very easy process.

Full day absences need to be reported to Charisma Johnson at cjohnson7@sandi.net. Please include your student's full name, DOB, reason for illness and the day or dates they are absent.

We do not accept food deliveries for students. Additionally, parents cannot drop off fast food for their student (Subway Included). If a student forgets their lunch, we offer free lunch every day. If a parent drops off a student's lunch bag, we will have the student come up to office at 12:00pm. If a parent brings lunch from Cotijas (or anywhere else), we ask that you stay and enjoy it with your student.

For the 2024-25 school year, De Portola Middle School will provide both BREAKFAST and LUNCH for all students. Breakfast will be served in the lunch arbor from 7:30 - 7:50 AM. Students just need to input their six digit student ID number and make their food selection.