October 2023
October 5th, 2023
The Principal's Update!
Dear Birmingham Family Parents and Guardians,
As fall is upon us, we are moving quickly into outreach to inform the community about the many outstanding programs and accomplishments of our school.
I know how important word of mouth is to parents in determining a school for cousins, siblings, friends and other family members.
The 2024-2025 Lottery Application Window opens 10/28/2023 and ends 1/26/2024.
- We will have a Virtual Enrollment information Day on October 28, 2023, at 11:00 AM. During the event, we will review the application process, lottery, home school requirements, priority enrollment, waitlist and more. A zoom link will be posted on or just before October 28th: https://www.birminghamcharter.com/admissions/application-process
- Please know that we have limited lottery seats which results in a long wait list for those that don't submit their lottery application during the window.
- We now have waitlists at every grade level and weren't able to admit hundreds of rising 9th graders this past year.
- Because of the increasing demand to attend Birmingham, we will now validate addresses for those who apply as attendance boundary students to ensure the lottery process is fair for all.
- If your friends or family don't live in our attendance boundary and they’d like to have a chance to attend Birmingham, please make sure you submit your lottery application during the window from 10/28 - 1/26.
- Please note that the LAUSD School Choice application deadline is usually due in the middle of November, so it's a good idea to come out to see what Birmingham has to offer before then.
Consider some of the unique opportunities and accomplishments of our school in just the past two years.
- #1 of Southern California Public High Schools in acceptances to UC Berkeley
- #2 of Southern California Public High Schools (Santa Monica High #1) in acceptances to UCLA
- #2 of all local Comprehensive High Schools in English Language Arts Performance on the Smarter Balanced Assessment with over 70% meeting or exceeding standard.
- 2023 College Board AP School Honor Roll
- 2023 Daily News Readers Best Public-School Award
- 2022 National Education Equity Lab School of Excellence (with Birmingham student course access to Stanford and Yale courses online)
- 2022 California Pivotal Practice Award
- We’ve also been blessed with award winning Theater, Music, and Dance programs including opportunities to compete across the state
- We offer 7 Career Technical Education Pathways
- Students have three languages of study to choose from including Spanish, French, and ASL
- Our incredible coaching and facilities have led to 15 Open Division City Championships in the last two years
- Other Reasons to attend Birmingham:
- 250:1 student to counselor ratio
- Free College Bound Summer Institute and Career Academic Preparation Academy including overnight stay during the summer in the UCLA dorms for 50 rising seniors and 50 rising juniors
- Free Parent Ambassador Program for 25 parents including an overnight stay at UCLA to learn all about the college experience for students.
- 7 person multi-disciplinary support team including a social worker for each grade level
- Link Crew to support acclimation and building connections for all new students in grade 9
- 24/7 security on campus with over 160 cameras to ensure student safety and security
· To learn more about Birmingham, please see the following Birmingham website links and consider contacting our Parent Center for a tour: 818-758-5281
o Dream It. Do it: Dream it Do It. Birmingham!
o Admissions: Why Birmingham
o Community: Community
Senior Sunrise!
Senior Senior Sunrise was a success! Seniors started with having a yummy breakfast that included pancakes, hash browns, sausage and eggs and for the first time, we had a private barista trailer company that provided a variety of warm drinks! It was great to see Seniors partake in this yearly tradition in which they come together before school to enjoy the festivities. This year, Seniors participated in jumbo games, an inflatable lounge area, a “Selfie” photo booth, Senior sunglasses area where students were able to individually decorate to use at all Senior events this year. Lastly, they were able to create a Senior Memory Book that they could add all their memories of their last year of high school.
As a reminder the Senior Calendar of Events was shared to all Seniors via Google Docs and Senior Parents via ParentSquare. This calendar along with the Senior NO GO List may also be found in the 12th Grade wall case located alongside the H-hallway in front of the covered lunch area.
Another BIG event that we are fastly approaching is, HOMECOMING and this year's theme is "5 Nights at Birmingham". You do not want to miss the float parade at our Homecoming Game on Friday, October 13th. The Senior Class Senate will be decorating their float train based on the “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and the Halftime Show will include performances by marching band, dance, cheer and Senior Royalty Court reveal along with a firework show! The Homecoming “Midnight Mansion” Dance will be held at our Gym on Saturday, October 14th from 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm. Tickets are on sale at the Student Store before school, at lunch and after school. However, the Homecoming kick off celebration begins 4 days prior with the HOCO Spirit Week beginning on Monday, October 9th.
Lastly and most importantly, ANY Senior who has not already scheduled their Senior Portraits with White Studios must do so ASAP to prevent from being left out of the yearbook! Below is the link to set up an appointment at either the North Hollywood or Northridge locations. Pictures were supposed to be done on or prior to October 1st. NOTE: There is at least a 2 week advance wait time and you must create a username and password first and wait until you receive an email from White Studios to continue to book. (Link below)
Happy October Junior Families!
The semester is almost halfway done! We are so excited with the hard work and progress you are making.
Over 350 students received notification that they are on Honor Roll because of the 1st progress report. That is an amazing accomplishment and we are all impressed with your hard work! The next progress report will be coming out at the start of November. Please encourage your student to continue their hard work!
Graduation Checks are happening right now for all Juniors through their math classes. There will also be individual meetings with students who need extra support.
If you are considering attending a 4 year college, start looking right now! Here is a site you can use to continue the search: https://collegematch.prephero.com/.
Sophomores are off to a great start for this new school year 2023-2024! 😊
I am excited to announce that we had our first Class of 2026 Student Senate meeting on Monday, August 28, during lunch. We have a lot to plan, discuss, design, and simply have FUN! All Sophomores are welcome to join! We meet every Monday in F-39 at 11:40 a.m. during lunch.
Honor Roll Recognition Letters were mailed home to our students and parents for Progress Check One. For Silver: 3.0-3.59, Gold: 3.6-3.99, Platinum: 4.0-above. We are so proud of our students and excited to see who makes it for the 2nd progress check on October 25th.
Some things to look forward to for October, it is an exciting month! October we will have our Homecoming Spirit Week 10/9 -10/13, along with our homecoming game on 10/13 theme, Blue and Gold. We as a Class of 2026 will have our own float for the Parade. Then on 10/14 is our Homecoming Dance at 7 pm, Tickets are available at the student store. Look out for more to come Next Month.
Thank you,
10th Grade Level Team
Tadeo Climaco Administrative Director
Amanda Fitzpatrick Grade Level Coordinator
Dear 9th Grade Families,
It was a pleasure meeting so many of you at our Back-to-School Night last month, and we hope to see you on campus again soon. Birmingham offers many opportunities for parents to engage, and you can read more about that and view our Parent Calendar here:
https://www.birminghamcharter.com/our-community/parent-center
Our students also have many available opportunities to network, meet new people, and get involved in campus activities. Below is a link to a list of our current student clubs. Please encourage your child to join at least one!
https://www.birminghamcharter.com/our-community/clubs
Lastly, please remind your child to continually check their Birmingham email. I will be sending an email soon advertising an upcoming field trip to UC Santa Barbara. It is important that students check their emails daily so they do not miss out on important information.
As always, please reach out to anyone on our team if you have any questions or concerns.
The 9th Grade Team
Michele Wydra
9th Grade Coordinator
Jose Luis Navarro
9th Grade Administrative Director
Lillian Galvez, Lisa Gazarian, Stephanie Scherrer, & Monica Montoya
9th Grade Counselors & PSW
Nick Halic
9th Grade Dean
Jenny Constanza
9th Grade Office Technician
Hello from PBIS!
The PBIS focus for the month of October is ACCOUNTABILITY.
The October PBIS Pledge is “Be Accountable-Treat Yourself, Don’t Trick Yourself.”
All staff will be reminding students to be ACCOUNTABLE in the following areas:
· Checking AERIES
· Doing their work
· Keeping grades up
· Turning in missing assignments
ACCOUNTABILTY RAFFLE BY GRADE LEVEL!
All students who are on time to periods one and five beginning Monday October 16th through Tuesday October 31st with ZERO tardies for this time period will have their name entered into a raffle.
Each grade level will have a winner and the prize is a $25 gift card to In and Out!