MCHS FLC Newsletter

Welcome to the first edition of our FLC Newsletter 2020. We hope you had a restful and fun holiday season. We are excited to begin this new year, this new decade.

To recap 2019, we implemented our incentive program. Our program was designed to motivate our students to continue to grow academically by utilizing the resources, peer tutors and MCHS staff we have available. Husani Whitlock - MCHS Intervention Counselor created our incentive program. He designed Sundevil Bucks - looks similar to monopoly money. Our students are able to earn a Sundevil Buck for attending the FLC, for their grades and for displaying outstanding Sundevil Ways. Once they earn 4 Sundevil Bucks, they can exchange them for our premier snacks - Gatorade, cookies, large candy bars, beef jerky, Pringles, etc. The program has been well received by our students. At the end of the year, we are planning a field trip. We have pizza parties once a month. We have a great student community.

We have grown our student base from an average of about 8-9 kids to an average of 18 - 20 students per evening.

At the end of 2019, we were rewarded a sponsorship by the PQ Town Council. They gave us a check for $1,000. We are very grateful for their sponsorship. This enables us to purchase more chrome books and needed supplies and it adds another level of credibility to our Family Learning Center.

We also had the good fortune of partnering with Cal State San Marcos. Their students are able to volunteer at the FLC to fulfill required hours of training as part of their curriculum.

Our doors are always open to you for a visit. Thank you for entrusting us with your students. We have a great community of students and are excited about this academic year.

Cheers to this new year!

Vaping is inhaling aerosol from an e-cigarette or other vaping device that heats a liquid that can contain nicotine, marijuana (THC), cannabidiol (CBD) or other substances. Vaping creates a gas mist that enters the lungs. Most of the vaping gas is propylene glycol, the same mist in fog machines. Vaping devices burn at such high temperatures that users are ingesting metals and hazardous chemicals including formaldehyde. E-cigarettes are attractive to many young people because of their ease of hiding since they look like hard-to-identify items, reusability, flavored nicotine and ease of marijuana consumption.

They do NOT put out a healthy or “clean smoke”. Second-hand smoke from vaping is something to be concerned about. Just like cigarettes and hookahs, e-cigarettes contain nicotine, a highly addictive chemical. Besides addiction, nicotine can harm adolescent brain development.

Vaping has been known to cause adverse health effects for some time. Serious lung disease and deaths related to vaping are being investigated and health experts worldwide recommend avoiding vaping completely. From April, 2019 to December, 2019 there were 47 deaths and over 2,100 hospitalizations contributed to vaping in the United States. This number continues to c15% of those were under the age of 18. Here in San Diego there was a 13 year old hospitalized on life support due to vaping. In Detroit, a 17 year old had lungs that seemed to have “disappeared” when looking at his x-ray. He underwent the first double lung transplant - this was all preventable!

The cause: Vaping.

Even with this information now coming out - there has been a spike in the number of high school students who are vaping. 37% of Seniors reported trying vaping in 2018, compared to 27% in 2017.

Health symptoms of vaping-associated pulmonary injury include cough, difficulty breathing, fever, vomiting and sometimes diarrhea. If you or someone you know shows these signs and has used a vaping device, it is important to let your doctor know so that you are not misdiagnosed and therefore not treated properly in a timely fashion. It can be a matter of life or death.

Ready to quit? The first step is to create a plan so that you can stay focused, motivated and confident. Mt. Carmel students can get support with smoking and vaping cessation by contacting Mrs. Hatfield in Student Services. There are also several online resources such as smokefree.gov and nobutts.org.

For further information or resources, contact Sheila Hatfield in Student Services at shatfield@powayusd.com.

12/2019

Husani Whitlock - MCHS Intervention Counselor is an integral part of the FLC team. He is the liasion between MCHS and the FLC. Husani created and developed our well-received Incentive Program - our flyer and the Sundevil bucks. In addition to this, he created a postcard that was sent to families in our community letting them know about us. All of the FLC looks forward to Wednesdays when Husani Whitlock is with us.

Mission Statement of the PQ Town Council: The Rancho de los Peñasquitos Town Council is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to serve, represent, and promote the activities and interests of all Rancho de los Peñasquitos. As a forum for discussion and resolution of community issues, the Town Council will communicate ideas, recommendations, and concerns that impact Rancho de los Peñasquitos to residents, other community organizations, private and commercial interests, and government agencies, as appropriate.

One of the focuses of the PQ Town Council is providing grants and sponsorship. We are excited to announce that the Family Learning Center has been gifted a $1,000 Sponsorship from the PQ Town Council. It makes us proud not only to receive the Sponsorship but to have the backing of the PQ Town Council! They add additional credibility and awareness to the Family Learning Center. With this sponsorship, we were able to purchase additional chrome books and snacks and needed supplies for our FLC. Thank you PQ Town Council!

Did you know that Poway Adult School conducts ESL classes at the FLC during the morning hours Monday through Thursdays? Poway Adult School now has their new Spring and Summer schedule available: Live. and Learn schedule available.

There are many wonderful classes to choose from and they now offer online classes too. Why not take a look. You will be glad you did!

We are located on the grounds of Los Penasquitos Elementary School in room EB30. We are in a stand alone building at the end of the drive way. We are open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4:00 - 7:00.

For more information or for questions, please call Patti Park - Parent & Community Liasion at (858) 672-3600 ext. 3130 during business hours or send an email to ppark@powayusd.com.

Email: ppark@powayusd.com
Website: https://www.powayusd.com/en-US/Schools/HS/MCHS/STUDENTS/Family-Learning-Center
Location: 14125 Cuca Street, EB30 , San Diego, CA 92129
Phone: (858) 672-3600