Class of 2026 Families,

How quickly we arrived at the end of our first semester! Students are doing amazing things across all of their classes. As we rapidly approach finals, we cannot emphasize the importance of taking advantage of tutorial this week for students to wrap up this semester. In fact, as dances, holidays and time with family begin to fill our calendars throughout the final calendar months of 2024 we encourage students to take advantage of tutorial to stay current with schoolwork.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to the Grade Level Team or your students teachers with any questions, concerns or good news you would like to share with us. As always, continue to check in with your teenager on a regular basis.

Congratulations to Christian Okafor! Christian was a winner in BBB's Ethical Torch Essay Scholarship program for 2024 and was recognized along with others at BBB's Annual Torch Awards for Ethics luncheon.

Christian was one of 5 students selected from the San Diego area for his outstanding essay.

Congrats, Christian!

We will have a revised bell schedule during finals, school will end at 2pm. Click here for the revised schedule, hover your cursor on the schedule and scroll to page two to find the "Final Exam Bell Schedule."

Finals can be a stressful time for students and in your household. To support your student we encourage:

• Plenty of rest: aiming for 8-10 hours per night
• Healthy breakfast and lunch
• Regularly studying: not just completing homework but reviewing notes each evening for understanding, creating notecards where appropriate, brushing up on skills through programs like Achieve or Khan Academy
• Practice breathing to help calm anxiety

The Finals schedule has been revised. The updated schedule can be found below. This revised schedule will allow additional time for students to complete course feedback surveys in their classes and to complete learning experience reflections to help them with their Mid-High School Reflections and Senior Boards. It will also allow teachers more time to grade final assignments and assessments and to submit final grades for the semester.

We are hopeful that implementing this final exam schedule will end each semester in a more productive manner for both students and staff.

• Friday, October 11 - School is Closed for a Staff Development Day
• Monday, October 14 - Indigenous Peoples' Day (this is a school day)
• Monday, October 14 - C4ME invites are sent out
  
• Wednesday, October 16 - Atheltic Ability Determined
• Saturday, October 26 - PSAT (registration is closed)

We are so excited to embark on this college tour adventure! C4Me is a 5 day, 4 night field trip up and down California during Spring Break 2025. The purpose of the trip is for students to be able to visit UC and CSU colleges. Please see the timeline below.

C4Me Timeline:

- Invitations: Eligible students will receive invitations on Monday, October 14th via email

- Student Interest Meeting: Wednesday, October 16th

- Parent Information Meetings:

Tuesday, October 22 @ 6pm EXL (Boys)

Wednesday, October 23 @ 6pm EXL (Girls)

All students registered for the PSAT should have received an email from Ms. Lopez-Barajas confirming their registration. This email includes important information regarding what to bring to the exam, actions to take prior to the exam, as well as prohibited items.

If your student signed up to the PSAT, please have them read this email for more information.

Unfortunately, registration for the PSAT is now closed so if your student did not originally sign up for the exam, they are no longer able to take it. However, Blue Book is available to all students, regardless of PSAT registration, with free practice exams. We encourage students who will be taking the PSAT, or missed the registration deadline, to take advantage of this resource.

Blue Book Instructions

Must have a College Board Account in order to access Blue Book

To create an account:

1. Visit collegeboard.org

2. Select “Create an Account”

3. Select a “Student” account

4. Complete registration

To access Blue Book

You must be signed out of your Chromebook

1. Before you log into your account on your chromebook, on the bottom left of the screen there's a tab called "Apps.” Click on that.

2. Select blue book.

3. If the blue book isn't there, take your Chromebook to the IT office.

4. Prior to exam day, you can utilize Blue Book for practice resources.

Come learn about ASPIRE offerings and Performing Arts programs. Katie Pipes, Department Chair, will present about the programs, how to get involved, audition dates and more. This event will be held in our Performing Arts Center. Students are welcome to attend with parents/guardians. Registration not required, just show up! Doors open at 5:45. For translation services, CLICK HERE.

Learn more about the human labor and sex trafficking epidemic here in San Diego, how it affects our students and how we can spread awareness and response in our Helix community. This presentation will primarily address what we are presenting to students along with some helpful resources. Presented by Rebekah Smith, LCSW.This event will be held in the ExL building (room 1600) and is open to all parents and guardians. Registration not required. Students and siblings are welcome to attend with you. You can park in the staff lot located at 7323 University, above the big H. This is the entrance off of Unviersity & Yale. Snacks will be provided. For translation services, click here.

Do you plan to register for English 120 for next year? Wondering what the workload will be like? How much effort is expected? We welcome all students and families who plan to register for English 120 to hear the truth about the course from teacher Aleen Jendian. This event will be held in the ExL building (room 1600) and is open to all parents and guardians. Registration not required. Students and siblings are welcome to attend with you. You can park in the staff lot located at 7323 University, above the big H. This is the entrance off of Unviersity & Yale. Snacks will be provided. For translation services, click here.

We will host a blood drive in partnership with the San Diego Blood Bank on Tuesday, October 22 from 9:00 am - 2:30 pm. All blood types are greatly needed! With less than a one-day supply of most types, we are asking you to SCHEDULE YOUR APPOINTMENT HERE. Students, families and community members are welcome to donate. Helix seniors can get a red cord for graduation if they donate or if someone dedicates their donation to them. Parking is available at 4200 Lowell St. and the Blood Mobiles will be parked by our gym.

We hope all families will consider joining the Helix PTSA, click here to join. There is no commitment involved, it is just an annual, one-time donation of $13. The funds raised through PTSA memberships go directly back to the school and students, for scholarships, teacher supplies and needs, special programs and anything the students may need! We have student reps from each grade who attend the meetings and share requests and we try to accommodate them as much as possible. We have funds set aside for each grade.

If you want to make more of a commitment, consider joining the PTSA board! This means attending one meeting per month (if you're available) and being on an email distribution that shares information about upcoming volunteer opportunities. The meetings are typically held on the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 5pm at the school or via Zoom.

And if you just want to be informed about upcoming events and school news, follow us on social media at Facebook and Instagram.

Advanced Placement (AP) Students and Guardians: Please take a moment to review the following information for the 2025 AP Exams in May.

AP exam ordering is a THREE step process:

1. If students do not have a College Board account, the first step is to create an account with the College Board website.

2. The second step is to join the class using a unique join code obtained from their AP teachers (teachers will help students with this process during class).

3. Once students have an account and have joined their instructor’s course, the third step is to pay for the exam through Helix (either at the Dawg House or online).

**Exams will not be ordered without the completion of all three steps.

Exam Fees:

• Students who do not qualify for a Fee Reduction: the first exam will cost $99.00.

• Additional exams will cost $67.00 each (Helix helps to subsidize additional exam costs).

• Students who qualify for a fee reduction will pay $5.00 for each exam, as long as they are approved on time (fee reduction is NOT possible without filling out the LCFF survey - see instructions below).

Students who are eligible for a fee reduction must be approved through the Helix Alternative Income Local Control Funding Formula Form (LCFF), which was completed during Summer Conferences. If your household situation has changed since you submitted the LCFF Alternative Form this summer, or your family has not completed this form, please resubmit ASAP.

If your household qualifies under the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), you will be eligible for a reduced fee of $5 for each exam. To ensure your application is approved before the ordering deadline, please complete the LCFF form as soon as possible (all applications must be submitted no later than 9/10/2024).

The office will verify the eligibility and inform the Finance office, ensuring you are charged the correct fee. The Finance Office will receive a list of qualifying students starting 9/20/2024 and you will be able to check your eligibility by adding the exam to your online cart or asking Ms. Yeagle at the Dawg House. You can purchase your exams for $5.00 between 9/20/2024 and 10/31/2024. Please note that any exam purchased after 10/31/2024 will incur a late fee of $40.00, which is charged by the College Board, not Helix.

Students who do not qualify under the LCFF can purchase their exams online or in person through the Helix Web Store as soon as the window opens on 9/1/2024. The last day to purchase an exam without a late fee will be 10/31/2024.

• The Dawg House does not accept personal checks, so all purchases at school should be with a credit card or cash during the Finance Office Hours (see Ms. Yeagle in the Dawg House). Student hours are: Monday through Thursday 8-8:25am, Lunch, and 3:30-3:45pm, and Fridays 8-8:25am, Lunch, and 3:30-3:45 Parent and Community hours are: Mon thru Thurs 8-12:20 and 1:20-3:45, Fridays 8-11:45 and 12:45-3:45

• Please triple-check to make sure you are registering for the correct exam!

Please Note: Any exam purchased after 10/31/2024 will risk not being ordered and receive a late fee of $40. In addition, any unused or canceled exams will also be charged a fee of $40 (these fees are administered through the College Board and Helix cannot reverse these charges).

Should you have any questions, contact Ms. Skullerud (skullerud@helixcharter.net) or Mrs. Trevino (trevino@helixcharter)

If you're interested in purchasing school pictures, visit cherishedmemoriesphotography.com/order/, type in Helix for the school, select Fall Portraits and then enter your student's email address (studentID@helixcharter.net) to order.

An updated list of community service opportunities can be found at helixcharter.net/community.

LivingWorks is committed to equipping individuals with the skills to support those experiencing a mental health crisis. From now until December 2024, they are offering a FREE 90-minute suicide prevention training.

Given the importance of this topic, we will award any student who completes the training 3 hours of community service upon submitting their certificate of completion. Please submit your certificates to Ms. Lopez-Barajas. Click the link below to access the training.

Students are permitted to wear Halloween costumes to school on Thursday, 10/31/24. We encourage you to be creative, dress up with friends, and have fun with the spirit of the holiday.

Students who do not conform to the Costume Guidelines listed below will be asked to change their clothing or be sent home to acquire an appropriate alternative.

All regular Helix Dress Code Policies apply including:

• MUST Wear Appropriate Shoes
• NO Face-Paint - including costumes related to clowns
• NO Weapons - including pretend props/replicas of weapons
• NO Masks - you must be able to see, breath, and hear. Any mask that prevents Helix Staff from identifying students are not allowed.
• NO Inappropriate Apparel - costumes cannot promote the use of drugs, alcohol or violence of any kind. Costumes may not be offensive, inappropriate in any way or target any groups of people.

Remember that the SAT is still required for some in-state private universities and out of state colleges. We encourage students to sign up for the Spring Test Dates.

Remember that the ACT is still required for some in-state private universities and out of state colleges. We encourage students to sign up for the Spring Test Dates.

The Wellness Center is here to support you and your family with any social-emotional needs.

If students need support during school, they can drop by their Grade Level Team in the admin building or the Wellness Center, located at the back of the school by the IT service window. If you would like to get in contact with the Wellness Center, you can reach them at HWC@helixcharter.net or by phone at 619-644-1940 x 580.

Here are the different types of support offered by the Wellness Center:

• Individual check-ins

• Support groups

• Consultation/collaboration with families, administration, School Psychologists, teachers, coaches, etc.

• Crisis intervention

• Referrals to therapy/community support services

• Home visits

• Parent workshops

• Homeless/foster care/military liaison

• Project Safe (Human & Labor Trafficking) liaison

Looking for a mental health provider but not sure where to start?

You're not alone, this can be the biggest barrier to getting help. Helix partners with Care Solace to help solve this problem. Care Solace helps individuals find mental health care providers and substance use treatment centers. Their Care Companion™ team is available any time of day to quickly connect you to carefully verified providers in your community. Students, staff, and families may access Care Solace services in two ways:

• Call (888) 515-0595 at any time. Support is available in 200+ languages. A dedicated Care Companion™ will help you every step of the way to research options, secure appointments, and follow up to make sure it is a good fit.

• For an anonymous search, answer a few questions to get matched with an extensive list of care providers at www.caresolace.com/helixcharter

Care Solace is now available for use at no cost to you. They will connect you with providers accepting all medical insurances including Medicaid, Medicare, and sliding scale options for those without insurance. All information entered on the Care Solace tool is completely confidential and securely stored.

For more information, visit the Wellness Center's website:

Check out the link below to learn more.

Mrs. Paula Ann Trevino (trevino@helixcharter.net) - Grade Level Principal

Mr. Hugo Gonzalez (gonzalez@helixcharter.net)- School Counselor

Ms. Rebekah Smith (rsmith@helixcharter.net) - School Social Worker

Ms. Lopez-Barajas (lopez-barajas@helixcharter.net)- Academic Advisor

Ms. Cabral-Grajeda (cabral-grajeda@helixcharter.net) - Administrative Assistant

Ms. Brenda Flores (bflores@helixcharter.net) - Attendance Technician