Class of 2026 Families,

Hooray! It's summer time. Our Grade Level Team looks forward to meeting with each of you during summer conferencing, throughout the month, to review 10th grade year and prepare for 11th grade. Can you believe it? In just two more blinks the Class of 2026 will be preparing for high school graduation.

During summer conferencing our GLT will review each student's progress towards graduation and discuss the post-secondary plans students are considering...college...military...trade school...work force. It is an exciting and nerve-wracking time for students and families alike.

We know that students are busy all summer long with ASPIRE camps, athletic programs, summer jobs and more. Families are encouraged to schedule time for intentional conversations about what Junior Year will look like and what goals your student would like to set for themselves. This summer students can explore their Xello accounts as they research post-secondary plans or participate in campus tours at local college and university campuses.

The Helix Administration Office will closed beginning Thursday, 7/4/24 and will re-open on Monday, 8/5/24. Don't forget, the first day of school is Thursday, 8/8/24!

We look forward to working with you over the next two years. Please do not hesitate to contact the Grade Level Team with any questions, concerns or good news you would like to share with us.

• Monday, May 27 - Memorial Day, No School
• Tuesday, May 28 and Wednesday, May 29 - Minimum Days for Senior Boards. 4th period ends at 12:30. Students can leave then or after lunch at 1pm. All seniors have an assigned day, time and room for their presentation. Click here to volunteer as a judge.
• Thursday, June 6 - Last Day of School & Graduation! Click here for info on senior activities.

Summer registration is mandatory every year for enrollment at Helix. If you have not already, please email your grade level team to schedule. During registration, enrollment is verified, student academic standing is reviewed with families, provisional class schedules are added, ID card/school pictures are taken and PE clothes and/or spirit gear is available for purchase. Appointments are approximately 90 minutes.

There are two amazing ASPIRE summer camp sessions happening this June, at no cost to Helix students! Camp will run Tuesday, June 10 through June 28, every day of the week. There are two sessions to choose from: 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. Find the schedule and register for a session here. Camps are open to students going into grades 10-12.

During Summer Conferencing, students will be taking their ID Card/Yearbook picture in the photo station. Make sure to come prepared!

Don't delay! We want to make sure you get your ID Card on the first day of school and have plenty of time to select the best photo for the yearbook.

We highly encourage students to utilize the summer to complete community service. Remember the graduation requirement is a total of 40 hours.

We suggest students think about what interests them, what potential career they are considering, to determine what types of community service they engage in. Some examples of places to volunteer are: the Humane Society, Food Bank, place of worship, local elementary/preschool, homeless shelter, hospital, etc.

Make sure to take the Helix Community Service Form with you when you volunteer. You can also pick up a printed version of the form in the office.

There will be two Summer School sessions for students who need to remediate classes they have failed. The sessions are as follows:

• Session 1: 8:00am-11:15am
• Session 2: 11:45am-3:00pm

Parents should have received an email if their student is required to attend Summer School. If you did not receive an email but believe your student should attend, please contact Mr. Gonzalez or Ms. Lopez-Barajas.

If your student will be parking on campus next year, please complete this form to register their vehicle.

The LMPD is holding its Youth Leadership Camp this summer on June 10 - 13, hosted and facilitated by La Mesa Police Officers. The purpose is to provide leadership training and life-enhancing skills, personal development training, academic enrichment, team building, and to teach responsibility to one's family and community. Participants will engage in classroom instruction, discussions, and scenarios; athletic and academic challenges (team and individual); field trips to volunteer and perform community service work; and other activities. Physical challenges may include hiking, kayaking and swimming. Participants will develop the concepts of becoming a successful leader. The Camp is four days long, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday – Thursday. Students will need to be dropped off and picked up at the La Mesa Police Department. Lunch, snacks, and beverages will be provided daily free of cost. Please fill out the application and submit by May 30 to be considered. It is first come first serve to make sure to turn it in soon if interested. Application can be found here.

A work permit is a legal document required by the state of California that allows a person under 18 years of age to hold a job.

There are four steps in obtaining a work permit:

1. Obtain a work permit application from Work Permit Supervisor. Email Coach Jones- Djones@helixcharter.net to get an application.

2. Fill out the personal information at the top of the application, get your prospective employer to fill out the information required in the middle portion, and have a parent or guardian sign the bottom portion of the application.

3. Scan or take a picture of completed Application and email to Coach Jones Djones@helixcharter.net . Your work permit will be processed and sent to you electronically.

4. Bring the work permit back to the prospective employer.

Work Permit Supervisor:

Mr. Damaja Jones

(619) 644-1940 ext. 130

Djones@helixcharter.net

To learn more about work permits, visit the site below.

Congratulations to Jacob Drake! Jacob placed 7th in both the 50 and 100 free for Class II para-athletes! He competed with the top athletes in the state and did well in both of his events.

The boys track team won the Section Championships on Saturday at Mt. Carmel. The boys 4x4000 relay took first place and the girls 4x100 relay was third. Congrats to sophomores, Aaliyah Payne and Asia Broussard, who have qualified for the State CIF Championships in Clovis.

At the ACE Club Student Showcase at SDSU this past Saturday, our students presented the low-income housing complex that they designed and virtually built this year to an audience of their peers, families and industry professionals. The culminating part of the Showcase is scholarship awards and many Helix students earned quite a bit of money!

Nathan Christiana (10th grader) was hired as an intern by one of the construction firms present!

Zoe Jauregui was just chosen as one of 12 students in San Diego County to go to University of Colorado-Denver for ACE Mentor Camp this summer! She will stay in the dorms and work with students from all over the US on an architecture, construction and engineering project.

It has been a wonderful year filled with fun and challenges at the ASPIRE MESA Club! Check out some of their accomplishments below! (10th graders bolded)

NEDC (National Engineering Design Competition)

Sonija Lam (12th), Nathan Christiana (10th), Ian Kim (10th): 1st place at Regionals and Prelims

At the end of the month, these students had a whirlwind 24 hours of travel and competition at the MESA NEDC State Championships at San Jose State University!

*Participation in this competition requires a huge commitment and a lot of hard work.

*They designed a hat for the visually impaired that had an ultrasound sensor which alerted the user of any overhead obstacles.

*They placed 3rd Place for both the Design Proposal and the Academic Poster.

Moon Base Competition

Devon Loy (11th), Gavin Nascimento (10th), Evan Tran (9th): 2nd Place Overall at Regionals

(Impact-to-Mass Ratio: 1st Place at Regionals; Innovative Engineering Design: 3rd Place at Regionals)

Python Coding Solutions - Novice

Sujal Kharel (10th), Eli Gossman (10th): 2nd Place at Prelims

Math Escape

Elicia Young (12th), Karen Barranco (12th)

Caylie Lansang (11th), Ayana Funaki (10th), Camryn Lansang (9th)

Cargo Glider

Zoe Jauregui (10th), Elliot Trevino-Alatorre (10th), Loki Street (9th): 1st Place at Prelims

10th grade Leo Nolan had the opportunity to participate in the honor jazz band for the Grossmont Union High School section at Grossmont College last month. Huge opportunity for Leo and the other students who participated!

Huge congratulations to our entire Helix Instrumental Music department! They were acknowledged as one of the best communities for Music Education in the entire country by the NAMM Foundation for their commitment to and support of music education.

So well deserved!

Class of 2026 families:

It is bittersweet for us to announce that Mrs. Joan Urich will be retiring after 29 years of service to Helix. Mrs. Urich, a graduate of Valhalla High School, has faithfull served Helix as a counseling secretary, Vice-Principal secretary and Grade Level Principal Administrative Assistant. She keeps the team running smoothly and has always been a great point of contact to help resolve concerns.

We are so happy for her to be able to spend more time with her family and grandson. She is looking forward to waking up later in the morning, traveling in months that don't start with "July" and having unscheduled time.

Fun fact: Mrs. Urich has only missed 3 days of work in 29 years and has had perfect attendance for the past 17 years!

Once A Scottie... Always A Scottie...

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

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

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

Ms. Joan Urich (urich@helixcharter.net) - Administrative Assistant

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

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