Viking Vibes

The Viking Spotlight is the part in my weekly newsletter used to highlight and celebrate our students and staff anytime we can! If you would like your child acknowledged for something they have accomplished, whether on campus or off-campus, please feel free to fill out this google form HERE. I look forward to celebrating our Vikings and all of the great things they are doing!

Thank you to the parents who attended Viking Shadow Day and Coffee with the Principal this past week! We hope your experience was beneficial and enjoyable. If you missed Coffee with the Principal, you can click HERE for the presentation that was given.

Our Fall Sports kicked off their season this past weekend!! 🤗 Congratulations to our boys basketball team and our softball team on their victories! Kudos to our baseball team and our girls basketball team for their hard work, even if they came up short! We are so proud of all of you and look forward to a great season! ⚾🏀🥎

The events that occurred last week at Apalachee High School in Georgia are a parent, teacher, student, and community's worst nightmare. My heart goes out to the staff, students, families, and community at Apalachee High School as they grieve this tragedy. That event inevitably hit close to home and had me reflecting about school safety. As Captain Scott Kelly, astronaut and commander of the International Space Station said, "Safety has to be everyone's responsibility." Much like in space where astronauts have to prepare for all possible threats to their safety, we do similar actions on a school campus. While we have safety drills planned throughout the year and hope students take them seriously, each of us must take additional responsibility for keeping our campus safe. Here are some ways in which all stakeholders, can contribute to a safe campus:

• Do not bring any weapon or replicas of weapons to school.
• Do not participate in unsafe behaviors, such as fighting, vandalizing school property, ditching, just to name a few.
• Do not make threats to anyone, in person or online.
• If you hear or know potential unsafe conditions, report it to an adult immediately.

Know that if you participate in unsafe behaviors, you will be held accountable for these behaviors and/or participation. SAFETY IS PARAMOUNT TO LEARNING. Let's do our best to work together as administration, staff, students, and parents to ensure our school is a safe place for all.

Let's make it a great week, Vikings!! 💛

Vikings, be sure to give a warm welcome to former MVA Principal, Mr. Tom Winters, as he will be covering for Ms. Scott in her absence this week and next week. We know Mr. Winters will slide right in and him and Mr. Murillo will take care of the skip with no hesitation. Mr. Winters, thank you for your time and dedication to ensuring our students and staff are in good hands!

Due to the heat and high levels of toxins in the air from the Tijuana River Valley area, as a precautionary measure, Sweetwater Union HS District has issued a directive for all outdoor activities to be limited for Monday, September 9th at Mar Vista High, Mar Vista Academy, Southwest High, and Southwest Middle. This means that all PE and after-school outdoor activities will be moved indoors, as well as students will be instructed to go into classrooms during Nutrition Break and Lunch. Thank you in advance for your patience as we work through this environmental concern.

Be sure to participate and go check-in with an admin, Dr. Portaro, Mr. Barajas, Mr. Arista, Mr. Garcia, or Mrs. Faiai to earn your individual participation points!! Also, come out to the Viking Stage at lunch every day this week for different activities!! 🤗 Then, we end our awesome Spirit Week with a Rally! Let's show that school spirit, Vikings!! 💛

As you know, our first round of Progress Report grades came out this past Friday. Students on the NPL are not allowed to attend rallies, school dances, and other extra-curricular activities due to one or more of the following reasons:

• Earning one or more D’s or F’s in Citizenship on the Quarter 1 Progress Report

• Earning frequent disciplinary detentions

• Suspended from school from July 24-September 6

• Excessive number of tardies (12+) from July 24-Sept. 6

Students remain on the NPL until the next round of grades, in this case, the next progress report is November 1st. However, for tardies, students can come off the NPL sooner if they attend Saturday Academy and clear all of their tardies. Please note: 1 Saturday Academy clears 12 tardies or 1 full day absence. Full day absences are cleared before tardies.

Click the link HERE or the button below to see if you're on the Non-privilege List!!

If you have any questions, please ask Mr. Murillo.

Every September 11, we commemorate largest terrrorist attack on the United States and remember the heroism of many individuals who died in protecting our country. September 11, 2001 left many indelible marks in the lives of people not just in America but around the world when we saw hijacked planes: two planes purposefully crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City and another into the Pentagon. A fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania because the brave passengers decided to prevent a fourth plane from headed to Washington D.C. The loss of life and damage that these hijackings caused form the biggest act of terrorism ever on United States soil. Nearly 3000 people died in the attacks and the economic impact was immense.

On this day, we also recognize the first responders who, on a daily basis, are the first ones to arrive at a scene described above. Many responders lost their lives that day. If you are first responder, we thank you for your service.

Makeup Picture Day is coming up on Friday, September 13th. Students who missed the first two picture days will be required to take their picture. Also, anyone who missed ordering pictures, please review the flyer below.

Would you like to retake your school photo? Click the link below to fill out the Google Form no later than Thursday, September 12th.

The time has come...cheer tryouts!! No experience necessary, just come out and learn this week and tryouts start next week!

The game schedule is out!! Come out and support our Fall Sports Athletes this Saturday at Otay Ranch and Olympian High School!!

Interested in going to Atlanta to tour Historically Black Colleges and Universities?!? Come to the informational meeting on Monday, Sept. 9th where Landmark Educational Tours will go over all of the details and cost! Click the link below for more info!

We are grateful to Mar Vista Academy and students for hosting our international students last month! While your students have been getting to know our international students, learning about their culture, and hearing them talk about food, hometowns, etc., we are hoping that we could also create an experience for your students as well, for them to go and learn for themselves about another culture! This would be an opportunity for our local American students to experience another culture, not just by hearing about it from our international students, but through their own firsthand experience!

This trip is provided by EduAbroad during the two-week Spring Break in 2025. We have organized this trip yearly since 2015 and are happy to offer this unique, educational and cultural experience to your students in 2025.

Our trip is all-inclusive, including airfare, hotels, meals, exciting attractions, and transportation. The only thing that isn't included is if students want to buy additional snacks outside of meals, or shopping for gifts for themselves or others. This makes it simple for students and their families.

For any questions, please contact us at 858-605-0085.

Hiromi Shimamura, CEO

Hiromi.Shimamura@eduabroad.us

www.eduabroad.us

Help our school be a safe place for you and your friends! If you have information on incidents surrounding bullying, vandalism, safety concerns, etc., report it anonymously to p3tips.com or use the app!

In an effort to help support our MVA students, we welcome any donations of school supplies and/or money. All funds would go directly to supporting our MVA students in the form of spirit shirts, celebrations, recognition awards, school supplies, and more. Checks can be made payable to Mar Vista Academy ASB and tax-deduction forms will be provided upon receipt. Any questions, please email Ms. Scott.

The mission of Mar Vista Academy is to engage, educate and empower each student to thrive in the global community.

• 2024-2025 Bell Schedule
• 2024-2025 Important Dates
• 2024-2025 Daily Calendar

Please reach out with any questions, comments, or concerns!

The Sweetwater Union High School District prohibits discrimination, intimidation, harassment (including sexual harassment) or bullying based on a person’s actual or perceived age, ancestry, color, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, immigration status, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or association with a person or a group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics. For questions or complaints, contact Equity Compliance Officer Dr. Vernon Moore at 1130 Fifth Avenue, Chula Vista, CA 91911, (619) 691-5564, vernon.moore@sweetwaterschools.org; Title IX Coordinator Robert Hughes at 670 L Street, Suite G, Chula Vista, CA 91911, (619) 600-4900, robert.hughes@sweetwaterschools.org; and Section 504 Coordinator Sonia Picos at 1130 Fifth Avenue, Chula Vista, CA 91911, (619) 691-5564, sonia.picos@sweetwaterschools.org.

Email: sasha.scott@sweetwaterschools.org

Website: mva.sweetwaterschools.org

Location: 1247 Thermal Avenue, San Diego, CA, USA

Phone: (619) 628-5100