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!!

1/6 - NO SCHOOL (NON-INSTRUCTIONAL DAY)

1/7 - SCHOOL RESUMES ON TUESDAY

1/7 - FOUNDATION MEETING @ 4PM

1/9 - Minimum Day @ 1PM

1/13 - 1/17 - 3 ON 3 Basketball (Lunchtime Activity)

1/15 - SGT Meeting @ 2:45PM

1/16 - Minimum Day @ 1PM

1/17 - ASB Dance

1/20 - MLK Day - NO SCHOOL

1/22 - SSC Meeting @ 2:45PM

1/23 - Minimum Day @ 1PM

1/29 - Spelling Bee (Media Center)

We hope the winter break brought you all the rest and relaxation everyone deserves. The Jaramillos had a very busy break maximizing our time with family and fun. We had a quick stop in Phoenix for an NBA game as we headed to Albuquerque to spend Christmas with my husband's family. We spent New Year's in Mammoth where we all snowboarded, ate really well, and played games. The laughter, the homemade food, and the time away from school and work combined perfectly to provide all the restoration my heart and body needed to be fully charged for 2025.

As we return to school, we are heading right into the heart of flu season. We want to remind everyone to increase their hand washing, drink plenty of water, and balance your diet for all the proper energy your body needs to stay healthy. If your child has flu symptoms, please keep them at home. We are just starting a new semester, so there is plenty of time to get caught up if they miss school. You may email our school nurse, Michelle March at mmarch@sandi.net with any questions regarding your child's health.

The DP Foundation will hold their monthly meeting on Tuesday, January 7 at 4:00pm in the teacher's lounge. All our welcome. We have some big events happening in the next few months including Panther Pride Run, Military Fitness Day, Staff Appreciation Week, and Panther Bowling. All of these events are dependent on volunteers and any support you can provide is greatly appreciated. We try to keep the meeting to an hour so everyone can get back home in time to manage nightly family obligations. See you there!

Our PE department is getting us right back in action with a 3v3 basketball tournament held during lunch during the week of January 13. Sign ups will begin this week with the PE teachers. Teams can be multi grade level and coed.

Looks like we are going to have a sunny start to the New Year and what better way to enjoy that than with Kona Ice. Remind your students to bring their reusable cups and cash. Kona also takes ApplePay. Students must put their phones back in their backpacks after using them to make purchases.

If your student received a new phone over the break, please remind them of our school policy: Phones must be zipped up in backpacks at all times. Students can ask any adult on campus for permission to check a message or call their family.

We strongly discourage the use of social media. The legal age for social media 13. We see that students misuse these platforms to send cruel messages to each other about themselves and others. They also create bullying accounts that spread fake news about relationships, extra curricular activities, and all other types of nonsense. If your student has an IG account, please monitor it. We suggest that you go into their IG search, type in dpms, and see which of the bullying accounts they follow. We try to report these pages when we can, but the students still find a way to make them happen. Mediating social media bullying is one of our least favorite things to do. Thank you for any added measures you can provide to reduce the number of follows and likes on these pages.

We will be hosting our annual De Portola Bowling Night on Friday, May 2nd, 2025. This event is adults only and will be held at Aztec Lanes Bowling Alley. This event is sponsored by De Portola Foundation and benefits De Portola. Please mark your calendars! More information to follow.

Repeated information from previous weeks.

Starting January 5th, 8th Grade Ads for the yearbook are available to be purchased at www.yearbookforever.com. 8th graders will be receiving a flyer this week with the sizes and prices of the ads. THE ADS WILL BE DUE ON FEBRUARY 27. Please, please, please do not wait until the last minute to purchase your ad, this has caused people to not be able to have an ad in the yearbook in the past. Please email Ms. McIntosh at smcintosh@sandi.net with any questions.

The yearbook price will go up to $60 on March 3rd, order one before the price increases!

The yearbook is currently $55 and will go up to $60 in March, so get it for the cheaper price! When ordering, please choose your students' 1st period teacher from the drop-down menu labeled "Homeroom".

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.

All sports practice throughout the year will be held on Mondays and Wednesdays from 2:45 - 4:30 with games on Saturdays. Students can only participate in one sport per season. Please review the Middle School Athletics page for more information. Also, email Mr. Steven at sfong@sandi.net for any questions.

Fall Sports: Basketball and Track & Field

Winter: Soccer and Volleyball

Spring: Flag Football, Cheer, and Wrestling

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.