Viking Newsletter

Dear Vikings,

For those of you who I have not met yet, my name is Amy McGinnis and I am the proud principal of Blair High School. I want to extend a warm welcome to the 2024-2025 school year! Each week, on Sunday evening, I will send home a SMORE newsletter (like this one), to provide you with valuable information regarding Blair. I hope it serves as a useful resource for all of you during the school year.

This year we will begin with our new block schedule. We are very excited about this new schedule as it will provide us the ability to fully implement the International Baccalaureate programs at Blair. We are a wall-to-wall IB school. ALL students are part of the IB program. We have the Middle Years Program (MYP) in grades 6 - 10, the Career Program (CP) and the Diploma Program (DP) in grades 11 & 12. As you already know, whenever you try something new, you discover new things. This year is a learning year for all of us, so please be patient as we learn our new schedules. Your feedback and input is invaluable to us, so please let us know what you think.

School begins on Monday, August 19th! We can't wait to see you all!

Here is some helpful school information:

School Hours:

Monday: 9:20am - 3:28pm

Tuesday - Friday: 8:30am - 3:28pm

Front Office Hours: 8:00am - 4:00pm

Viking Bell Schedule 2024-2025

Class schedules will be available via Aeries on or before Monday, August 19th after 4:00pm. Parents can access student schedules through the Parent Portal. Students can access their schedules through their Student Portal. We will also have paper copies available beginning at 8:00am on Monday, August 19th.

If your child would like to inquire about a potential schedule change, this can be done by scheduling a conference with their counselor before school, during lunch, or after school within the first two weeks of school. We cannot make any changes after August 30, 2024. Please note that not all schedule requests can be accommodated. There must be a valid reason for the change. Thank you for your understanding.

Back to School Night is the second week of school! Please plan on joining us on Wednesday, August 28th from 6:00 - 8:05. Click HERE to see the flier.

Please note that with our new block schedule, your child will attend all classes on Monday and follow an A/B schedule Tuesday through Friday. Attendance is very important as your child will miss a significant amount of class time if they are out of school.

One last item, the Allendale Library will be closed from August 8, 2022 through October 9, 2022. They will reopen to the public on October 10, 2022. I know some parents allow their children to study at the public library after school. Please note that this will not be available for the first few months of school.

I look forward to seeing you all in a few days!

Principal McGinnis

If you were not able to attend Viking Days last week, please come this week on the following days to return any books you have from last year, get your list of classes, and pick up your textbooks for this year.

Hours:

Monday, August 12th

Tuesday, August 13th

8:00am - 12:00pm

Lunch Break

1:00pm - 4:00pm

Mr. Goffred our amazing librarian will be available to accept any textbook returns on Monday, 8/12 or Tuesday, 8/13. Please bring any textbooks you need to return on those days or the first few days of school. If you need to replace a lost textbook, please bring cash. No checks will be accepted. Once school starts, you may pick up textbooks and/or return textbooks before school, during lunch or after school only.

Dear Viking Students,

We have received the student codes for the Go Pass Metro TAP cards. You can ride free on the Metro with an activated TAP card. We are still waiting for the physical TAP cards, so if you do not already have a student TAP card, you will need to wait until we receive them from the district.

Here is the information for those of you who already have a TAP card:

• TAP Card Codes will be available in the high school main office on the following days:
• Monday, August 12th from 9:00am - 3:00pm
• Tuesday August 13th from 9:00am - 3:00pm
• Thursday August 15th from 9:00am - 3:00pm
• Friday August 16th from 9:00am - 3:00pm
• You can also bring your TAP card with you when school starts and visit either the middle school or high school office before school or after school for the activation code.
• If you do not have a physical card, we will notify you once they arrive on campus.

This year we would like to welcome some amazing new teachers & staff to the Viking Family:

Ms. Zalma Felix - Science and Math (SPED)

Mr. Bruce Walker - Evening Custodian

I would also like to introduce our Alder Resident Teachers. These amazing graduate students will be co-teaching alongside some of our current teachers in order to earn their teaching credentials. This is a rigorous program that will help PUSD grow and retain excellent teachers.

Ms. Erica Murphy - Ed Specialist --- Ms. Pearl Lee, lead teacher

Mr. Aurelio Osorno - Social Studies ---- Mr. Irad Orduña, lead teacher

Ms. Evelyn Serrano - Science --- Ms. Isabel Reynoso, lead teacher

Ms. Barbara Thomas - Ed Specialist --- Ms. Monique Baca-Geary, lead teacher

Please join me in welcoming all our new Vikings to Blair!

Dear Blair Community,

We are excited to kick off our Annual Fund Direct Ask Campaign with a goal of reaching 100% parent participation. Our target is to raise $25,000, and we need your help to get there!

In the past, the Annual Fund has been instrumental in purchasing the new marquee and helping match with boosters to raise funds for the weight room. We have many more exciting ideas for the future, including a new marquee board at the middle school, new chairs, bleachers, and lights for the field. Your contribution will help us make these projects a reality.

We are asking for a contribution of $50 per student, but any amount you can give is greatly appreciated. No donation is too small. Every gift helps us provide vital resources and enhance the educational experience for our students.

As a token of our gratitude, each donor will receive a Blair Annual Fund sign to proudly display. You can choose to make a one-time donation or sign up for monthly recurring donations to fit your budget.

Together, we can achieve our goal and make a significant impact on our school community. Thank you for your continued support!

https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E10123&id=35

Warm regards,
The Annual Fund Team

Susan Rangel

Blair Annual Fund

blairannualfund@gmail.com

Please exercise caution during drop off and pick up at Blair High School and Blair Middle School. Marengo is a busy street, so traffic backs up quickly. Please make sure you pull ALL the way up in the morning and in the afternoon. It is also very helpful if students can quickly and safely exit the car. I have a few favors to ask of all parents:

• Do not drop students off in the high school parking lot. The entrance is narrow and it causes traffic to back up. There are also many students walking through the parking lot from the bus and train stops which adds an element of danger when cars are driving through the lot.

• Do not drop off kids in the red zone. This causes the intersection of Marengo and Glenarm to become congested causing unsafe conditions.

• Please continue through the cone zone. Do not pull out before the cones or in between the cones.

• Please do not park or wait in the Allendale Library parking lot. We have a positive relationship with the library and do not want to be disrespectful to the library or its patrons.

I really appreciate all of you for following these guidelines. It really does make drop off and pick up quicker and safer. Thank you!

Website: pusd.us/blair
Location: 1201 South Marengo Avenue, Pasadena, CA, USA
Phone: 626-396-5820