• December 1: 6/7/8 Dance

• December 3: International Day of Disabled Persons

• Evening of December 7--December 15: Hanukkah
  

• December 25--January 5th: District Recess

• December 24: Christmas Eve

• December 25: Christmas Day

• December 26--January 1: Kwanzaa
  

• December 31: New Year's Eve

In the spirit of the month, we are thankful for the opportunity to serve as Design Facilitators.

The role of a Design Facilitator isn't just about managing logistics or overseeing curriculum. It's about designing an atmosphere that nurtures courage, audacity, and the continuous pursuit to change education. We are gifted the chance to help shape the future, to foster an environment where each individual feels seen, heard, and valued. We are elated to support a culture that celebrates diversity, embraces inclusivity, and encourages everyone to thrive.

Every day brings new challenges; however, the tenets of our campus encourage us to view them not as hinderances, but as opportunities to design, to innovate, to inspire, to foster change. Whether it's an amazing design challenge, a school-wide exhibition, or creating spaces for creativity and self-expression, the privilege to facilitate outstanding learning experiences is never taken for granted.

Being a Design Facilitator provides an infinite source of gratitude and fulfillment. It's a role that extends far beyond a job title; it's an opportunity act as a catalyst for positive change in the lives of students, Learning Experience Designers, and the entire D39C community. Ultimately, we are thankful for the privilege to be a part of your family's educational journey. It's an honor to be entrusted with the responsibility of guiding and shaping future thought leaders, elevating humanity.

International Day of Persons with Disabilities is celebrated every year on December 3.

The annual observance of the International Day of Disabled Persons was proclaimed in 1992. The observance of the Day aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities. It also seeks to increase awareness of gains to be derived from the integration of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.

When we speak of inclusion at D39C and in PUSD, we speak of including everyone, including people with disabilities. Doing so is a crucial facet in fostering and maintaining a truly inclusive society. This goes beyond ensuring accommodations; it's about creating environments, both physical and social, where everyone can participate fully and equally as their authentic selves. This includes ensuring accessibility in infrastructure, employment, education, and social activities. It also means embracing diverse perspectives and abilities, valuing each individual's unique contributions, and providing necessary support and resources to empower everyone to thrive. By championing inclusivity, we not only honor diversity but also enrich our campus community by harnessing the vast array of talents and experiences that people of all abilities bring to the table.

Our Outstanding Team

Matt Bibby (last names A-I): mbibby@powayusd.com

Jennifer Asmann (last names J-R): jasmann@powayusd.com

Andrea Guevara (last names S-Z): aguevara@powayusd.com

Service39 would like your help to support families in need. Please pick up a leaf for a gift card or sign up on Sign-up Genius for a gift or gift card. Bring gifts to the Welcome Center between December 4 - 8th. Thank you and happy shopping! For more information, contact Linda Mauch @ slmauch@yahoo.com subject line: Giving Tree

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C054AAAAE2BAAFA7-46205174-2023

Fire Season and Emergencies: With fire season upon us we want to assure parents and guardians that we have appropriate response systems in place when emergencies arise. Our first priority will always be the safety of our students and staff on campus.

When Design39Campus becomes aware of any incidents in the geographic area of the school site, we will focus first on the safety of our campus while working with law enforcement, emergency responders, and the District for guidance and support for communication. Communication with parents is part of the response plan, but will be secondary to immediate safety. As soon as we can, we will message families with details of school-wide incidents such as lockdowns or evacuations. Please ensure your contact information is up to date in ParentVue in the “My Account” section.

Finally, we have been asked by first responders to remind our families NOT to come to campus in times of emergency – there have been several instances when officers, firefighters, and their ability to respond to the emergency have been hindered by parents rushing to the scene. We will send out messages about dismissal or reunification procedures for families when first responders indicate it is safe to do so.

Cuyamaca Outdoor School (6th Grade Camp): February 5th through the 9th, 2024. Detailed Camp Packets will be coming home soon. Please take a look home soon! For information on camp, please check out this movie, or this slideshow, or you can go to their website. It is the best week of middle school!

It is never too early to begin preparing for one of the most momentous events of middle school, 6th Grade Camp. D39C 6th grade students will be attending Camp Cuyamaca February 5th through the 9th, 2024. This is not a dusty tent camping experience in the wilderness. Camp Cuyamaca is a fully accredited outdoor school run by the San Diego County Office of Education based in our local mountains. Students will engage in science and problem solving activities and also enjoy hiking, rock climbing, and so much more!!!

The cost of the five-day program will be $455***; which includes transportation, food, lodging and medical insurance. It is an incredible experience and we are so excited to offer this opportunity to all students in PUSD.

You have two payment options:

1. Cash
2. Check (made payable to PUSD; please write your child's name in the memo line)

***Scholarships are available. Please see your LED for additional information***

Attendance and OCIS Contracts: With the holiday season rapidly approaching, we often have families who choose to take time off from school to travel. While we strongly encourage families not to miss school days, I also want to make you aware of our policy if you choose to take time off.

If you have a student who will not be in class for 5-14 days, please notify the office so we can have the parents fill out an OCIS contract for their child. The forms will have to be completed and signed by parents 5-10 days in advance of the absence. Click here for a link to the OCIS Contract.

Parents are required to give 5 days notice for absences up to 5 days, 10 days notice for absences more than 5 days.

Prepping work for students who are absent is an incredible amount of work for our teaching staff and we ask that you give your child’s teacher as much advance notice as possible beyond the above guidelines.

We do not write contracts beyond 14 days. If you plan to be away for 15 or more days please contact the Welcome Center for the necessary procedures.

Would you like to become a part of the Design39Campus Team? Do you like to be outside and work with children? If so, we are looking for a few quality Motion Managers to help support our designers during body breaks and lunch during the middle of the day. Possible times are 10:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. or 11:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. If interested, please apply through Poway Unified School District at the this link.

Attendance: To report your child's absence or early checkout, please email the attendance office at d39cattendance@powayusd.com before 10:00 am on the day of the absence. Please include your child's name, homeroom/grade, dates of absence, and reason for absence. We kindly ask that you avoid checking out your student during the lunch period from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm. Please refer to the attendance section of our Design39Campus website for protocols regarding reporting student absences and requesting early release for your student.'

California Education Code 48205 states that a student may be excused legally from school when the absence is due to:

• Personal illness or injury
• Quarantine under the direction of a county or city health office
• Medical, dental, or chiropractic services
• Attendance at funeral services for a member of the immediate family
• Justifiable personal reasons, including, but not limited to, an appearance in court, observance of a holiday or ceremony of his or her religion, attendance at religious retreats, attendance at an employment conference, when the pupil's absence has been requested in writing by the parent and approved by the principal or designated representative
  
• For the purpose of serving as a member of a precinct board for an election
• Exclusion for failure to present evidence of immunization
• Exclusion from school because student is either the carrier of a contagious disease or not immunized for a contagious disease

Communication with your Designer: If there is a need to communicate with your child during the school day, please send a message to your child’s LED or the Welcome Center. Please refrain from communicating with them directly through text messages or phone calls as it disrupts their learning.

Personal Items: For equity reasons, we are asking that students keep their personal playground equipment at home or in their backpack. Our wonderful Collaborative supplies us with enough funding to ensure that there is enough equipment during recess and lunch.

The D39C Collaborative is a 100% volunteer-run foundation designed to be responsive to the needs of students, parents, and learning experience designers of Design39Campus. Their mission is to expand and enhance the educational experience of every student attending Design39Campus.

Thank you, D39C Collaborative, for the wonderful pizza celebration this week. It was a nice treat for our students as the exited the campus on Tuesday.

Hello Families of Students served through PUSD Special Education programs and services. I am the new PUSD Parent Engagement Liaison, and I wanted to share my contact information as well as another wonderful resource we offer, the PUSD Parent Ambassadors program.

Parent Ambassadors are parent volunteers who have their own child(ren) accessing special education services through PUSD. They serve as mentors to guide and support parents of children with IEPs or those exploring special education options. Drawing from their own experiences, they offer invaluable insights and advice to encourage collaboration among parents and school staff on behalf of students.

To reach out to a Parent Ambassador, please submit a request through get connected form. TO apply to become a Parent Ambassador, please complete this application form.

PUSD Substitutes Needed: With flu, cold, and COVID season upon us, we are once again in need of qualified substitutes to support PUSD and our campus in the event of an LED absence.

If you or someone you know are interested in applying to become a substitute teacher with Poway Unified School District, please click here.

EmpowerED Digital Magazine: We are excited to debut the first-ever edition of our new EmpowerED Digital Magazine, to highlight all the ways you are empowering world-class learners every single day! We want to share with each other and the rest of our community what makes Poway Unified students, staff, and families so special in this visually pleasing, multi-media platform moving forward.

Click here or anywhere on the below image to be taken to a flipbook to enjoy the magazine. You'll see slideshows, links, and videos embedded in the pages. We hope you love it as much as we do! Feel free to share it with your family, friends, alum, retirees - anyone who might enjoy it too.

Parent Education Courses: PUSD is excited offer several Parent Education courses each month. Families are able to enroll and pay online at via Poway Adult School on their website linked HERE. You can search for the course you are interested in and enroll directly from the site.

• November 2023 Parent Education Courses:

  • Help Your Teen Manage Stress and Anxiety – 6th -12th Grade NEW
  • Early Childhood Development: Language is a Cognitive Super Power TK-3rd Grade NEW
  • Help Your Children Manage Stress and Anxiety – TK-5th Grade

Please note, scholarships are available to parents who may be in need. Parent can contact the Caring Connections Center for more information.

Thank you for supporting our PUSD Parent Education and for all you do for our students and families! May you have an amazing 2023-2024 school year!

Food and Nutrition Updates and Reminders: School breakfast and school lunch are FREE for all enrolled students, every school day. Meals must still be entered into the cafeteria computer by individual student account.

• Even though meals are free, families are still highly encouraged to complete the application for free and reduced-price meal eligibility. School site funding depends in part on the number of students eligible for free/reduced-price meals. Families that qualify for free/reduced-price meals may qualify for other benefits, as well. The meal application is available online at MySchoolApps.com.

• Printer-friendly PDF menus are available on the PUSD Food and Nutrition webpage. At the top of the page, click or hover over School Menus + and then Printable PDF Menus.

• Interactive, web-based menus containing nutrient and allergen details are available at MySchoolMenus.com, as well as via links from the F&N webpage.