Panther Parent Update

De Portola welcomes individuality by empowering and developing students’ communication, curiosity, and critical thinking skills through a growth mindset. We are Panthers! Rooooaaaarrrrrrrr!!

05/17 Track and Field Meet

5/18 Patriot's Day Parade

05/22 6th grade textbook return

5/22 Orchestra and Choir Concert 6:00pm

05/23 7th grade textbook return

05/24 8th grade textbook return

5/24 Deadline for promotion eligibility

5/27 NO SCHOOL Memorial Day

5/29 Band Concert 6:00pm

6/3 Yearbook Distribution

6/5 8th grade Field Day

6/6 8th grade Promotion 9:15

6/6 LAST DAY OF SCHOOL 2:00PM DISMISSAL

8/8 Panther Orientation 3:00 - 4:30

8/12 First Day of School 8:00am

Mrs. Liebke and I were honored to receive the CA Distinguished School Award presented by Tony Thurmond, State Superintendent. Superintendent Thurmond is very kind and passionate leader who shared his own, very moving personal journey through public education. De Portola was awarded this prestigious honor due to the demographics of our school community paired with our excellence in state testing. This success is only possible when all stakeholders (staff, students, and families) are committed to providing an amazing educational experience at De Portola. Congrats to us all!

Our students did an amazing job last week as we started state testing. They were thoughtful, patient, and thorough as we took the hardest test first. We will complete our state testing this week on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Thank you for supporting us in ensuring that the kids get a good night's rest and are well fed in the morning. We also have REALLY appreciated all the snacks that have been sent in. If you haven't done so already, please consider donating a box of snacks. Just label it with your child's name and we will be sure to deliver it to their testing room. All this brain work really builds an appetite for our middle schoolers. THANKS!

We would like to congratulate Michelle Flaska, PE teacher for being nominated by our staff as the De Portola Teacher of the Year. Last week, SDUSD honored all the teachers with a wonderful celebration downtown. The celebration included culinary work from SDUSD students, student performances, and beautiful presentations of the Teachers of the Year. Pictured here is Coach Flaska and Superintendent Dr. Lamont Jackson. Fun fact...Dr. Jackson used to work at De Portola and knows first hand how well deserving Coach Flaska is to receive this honor.

On Friday, May 17th, the Physical Education Department at De Portola, with the assistance of our staff and administration, will host grade level Track and Field Meets. The events include: long jump, shot put, 50m sprint, 100m sprint, 1600m run, and the 4 x 100 Relay. Come out and watch your child compete for a Track and Field record. The schedule for May 17th will be as follows:

Grade 8: Periods 1, 2 - 9:15 - 11:00 AM

Grade 7: Periods 3, 4 - 11:15 - 1:00 PM

Grade 6: Periods 5, 6 - 2:00 - 3:40 PM

Please complete this form if you are available to volunteer.

Attention parents of 8th graders going on the D.C. NYC trip this summer. We will be having a parent meeting on Wednesday May 22 at 5 pm in room 706. We will go over our finalized itinerary and flight information.

Builder's Club would like to thank everyone that donated to the toiletry drive. We had hundreds of items donated and will actually be serving two local organizations both Stand Up for Kids and Streets of Hope. Extra shout out to Mrs. Parinas's 1st period who brought in the most items. They will enjoy a special treat on Tuesday morning.

We encourage students to buy their yearbook before that date at www.yearbookforever.com for $60. Students will be able to buy a yearbook again starting Monday, June 3rd AFTER the pre-ordered yearbooks have been distributed.

From June 3rd on, students WILL NOT bring in cash, they will purchase the yearbook online at www.yearbookforever.com. When they come to school the next day, they will go to the financial office and Ms. Dora will give them their purchased yearbook. Please email Ms. McIntosh at smcintosh@sandi.net with any questions.

Madagascar, JR: Logan Memorial Educational Campus

Finding Nemo, JR: Knox Middle School

Junie B Jones, JR: Dana Middle School

Registration opens on Monday May 13th

Promotion will be on June 6 starting promptly at 9:15 and ending around 10:00am. The promotion is on the black top and seating is first come, first serve. There are no ticket limits. However, current De Portola 6th and 7th graders are not allowed to attend even if they are siblings or family members. Siblings can be released from class for family photos after the ceremony has ended. Please see the eligibility requirements below for our 8th graders. If you have any concerns about eligibility, please email your child's counselor and or teachers.

We will participate in state testing from May 7 - 17. Please avoid scheduling appointments (dr. dentist, ortho) before noon during these two weeks. We will send our our Testing Bell Schedule as we get closer. Thank you in advance for your support.

Students are responsible for the daily care of laptops. They must bring their laptops fully charged each day. We have seen an increase in damaged laptops. Improper care of laptops may result in fines to replace screens or the whole computer.

Charisma Johnson, Attendance Clerk cjohnson7@sandi.net. Please be sure to state your students full name, grade level, date of birth, and specific reason for absence. You can also email if you need to pick up your student early. Please provide at least a two hour notice to ensure that we can write and deliver a pass for your student. You can also call the school at 619-605-4800 and press 3 for attendance.