Dear Toro Families,

It was a true delight to see so many of our returning 8th graders and meet our new 7th graders during registration this week! We are also grateful to our YMS staff and teacher volunteers that supported a seamless station rotation for all.

It's time to start the school year! School starts Wednesday, August 21 at 8:15am. Gates will open at 7:45am, students will check in and receive their schedules in the quad.

Families, please note that all students enter school through the 300 gates off of Cambridge Street. We have plenty of supervision to help cars move quickly through our parking lot-please drive all the way up to the stopping post to let your student out of the car. **Note the parking lot off of Cambridge is for busses only. Thank you for your support and help.

With Toro Tenacity,

Dr. Mónica Luther

Principal

Yorba Middle School

• August 21: First Day of School 8:15 start/Early Release @ 1:00pm
• August 28: Early Release
• August 28: 5:30-6:30 PTO Meeting
• September 2: No School
• September 10: Back to School Night 5-7pm

Hello! My name is Allison Laurenson and I'm excited to join the Toro community. I recently moved up here from San Diego, where I was attending graduate school for my Master's of Education and teaching within San Diego Unified School District. In my free time, I enjoy reading, hiking, baking, and spending time with my loved ones. I am so excited to share my love for English literature, writing, and history with the students at Yorba, as well as have the opportunity to collaborate with the other amazing educators and staff here. Here's to the start of a great school year!

Hello! My name is Mr. Padilla, born and raised in Santa Ana to parents from Jalisco, Mexico. Without the guidance of school counselors throughout my educational journey, I would not have had the inspiration to become an individual that champions change in our community through the educational field. With the combination of work experience and my experience with school counselors, it became apparent that counseling was the profession for me. I received my Bachelors degree in Psychology from California State University, Long Beach in 2020 and soon enrolled at Concordia University of Irvine in search of a Master’s in School Counseling. This allowed me to intern at my alma mater, Lathrop Intermediate in Santa Ana. As a counseling intern at my own middle school, I took pride in making a difference by creating restorative workshops, assisting in crisis intervention, and rerouting behavioral concerns. Although a humbling experience with today’s mental health crisis, it assured my decision to passionately serve as an academic and social advocate for adolescents. It is with great honor to serve as Yorba Middle School’s counselor for the upcoming year. I am eager to meet all staff, students, and parents in efforts to collaborate on the wellbeing of our students and the community as a whole! Go Toros!

See below.

Hello, I'm Hector and happy to be a part of Yorba Middle School. I grew up in Garden Grove and have worked in schools for 5 years. You may have seen me around when I was substituting here in the spring. I hope to help keep this campus safe and clean for all of the Toros. We're going to have a great year! I'll work hard for you and this community. I"m also looking forward to my daughter being born this month.

You can come by the front office and pick up anything you need:

Prices:

1. PE T-Shirt-$10.00
2. PE Shorts-$12.00
3. YMS Short Sleeve Shirt-$15.00
4. YMS Long Sleeve Shirt-$18.00
5. YMS Pullover Hoodie- $27.00
6. YMS Zipper Hoodie-$30.00
7. YMS Sweatpants-$18.00

**School Spirit Wear is available for purchase $10.00

**Discounted gently-used uniforms will be available, too!

We can accept cash or credit card.

Yorba Middle School has two offices and we want to make sure you arrive at the correct office getting the service you need. Use the chart below to see how we are organized and know that we are willing and able to help you at either office!

We would love to hear from you regarding how the Yorba Counseling Department can best support the students hear at Yorba. Please take a moment to fill out this optional Google Form and let us hear from you.

English Form: https://forms.gle/BjxSnZRigjqVTziRA

Spanish Form: https://forms.gle/pEhqmjpVHed9fSuFA

Yorba Middle School's Parent Teacher Organization NEEDS YOU!

Our First Meeting will be on ZOOM on Wednesday, August 28 at 5:30pm.

Link will be sent out!

To continue fostering a College and Career atmosphere during middle School, Yorba Middle School students and staff participate in College Shirt Wednesdays! (including AVID & Military branch shirts).

Currently, we are collecting donations of new or gently-used college shirts. You can drop them off in either Front OR Attendance Office. These items will be available in the Toro Store! Students can redeem one by filling out the QR code in the Toro Store for a chance to win a free one! Last year, over 60 College Shirts were given out to students to wear on Wednesdays. Our goal this year is that 50% of students participate in wearing College/Career Shirts each Wednesday.

We are pleased to announce that, in partnership with the Orange Police Department, the District held its first set of workshops on best practices and tips for safe travel to and from school for the new school year. The next set of workshops, offered in both English and Spanish, will be held at the District Office on August 29 at 5 p.m. Recordings are available on the District website for those who cannot attend in person.

These workshops are part of Orange Unified’s collaborative efforts with the Orange Police Department and the City of Orange to help ensure the safety of students and other pedestrians following Orange City Council’s June 2024 decision not to provide crossing guard services to OUSD schools in the city of Orange due to budget shortfalls.

While the absence of crossing guards in the city of Orange poses a challenge, the combined efforts of parents, schools, and the community can help maintain pedestrian safety, especially during school hours. We ask our community members to remain diligent, drive safely, and observe the speed limits around our schools. The Orange Police Department remains committed to providing traffic safety and enforcement at and around our school campuses, and Orange Unified staff is working with the City of Orange to explore crosswalk visibility enhancements to high-traffic intersections. If you have any questions, please contact the Office of Student & Community Services. Thank you.

Thank you for reviewing our school's Cell Phone and Dress Code policies with your student.

We appreciate your support to ensure we are prioritizing an academic and healthy social emotional environment for our students.

Student cell phones are allowed, but must be kept off in and in the backpack at all times. Should a parent or guardian need to contact a student during the school day, they can do so by contacting the main office. Students also have access to the office phones as needed. Students violating the cell phone policy will have their phones confiscated. In the event a student’s cell phone is confiscated, it will be held in the attendance office and must be picked up by the student’s parent or guardian. LOST or STOLEN personal items are NOT the responsibility of the school to locate or replace.

School Uniforms and PE Clothes are available for purchase in the front office.

**Website for purchase COMING SOON

Further Information can be found in our student handbook, linked above.

Email: Yorbaprincipal@orangeusd.org
Website: orangeusd.org/yorba
Location: 935 North Cambridge Street, Orange, CA, USA
Phone: 714-997-6161
Facebook: facebook.com/yorbamiddleschool
Twitter: @yorba_DrLuther