Panther Parent Update

De Portola is a welcoming diverse learning community. We foster individuality by empowering and developing students’ communication, curiosity, and critical thinking skills through a growth mindset. We are Panthers! Rooooaaaarrrrrrrr!!

2/3 - 2/13 ASB Love Buckets P5

2/3 - 7th Grade Field Trip Sign Ups (Lunchtime)

2/4 - Foundation Meeting @ 4PM

2/5 - Kona Ice

2/11 - Luv Your Team Rep Your Team (ASB Spirit Day)

2/12 - Fun Accessories (ASB Spirit Day)

2/13 - Valentine Grade Color Wars Spirit Day (6th White, 7th Red, 8th Pink)

2/13 - Panther Pride Run

2/14 NO SCHOOL

2/17 NO SCHOOL

2/19 - 7th Grade to attend SDSU Women's Basketball Game

2/19 - Spanish Club Field Trip (Old Town)

2/21 - Rock, Paper, Scissors (Lunch time ASB activity)

2/26 - SGT Meeting @ 2:45PM

2/28 - Wonka Jr. 6:00pm

3/1 - Wonka Jr. 1:00pm & 5:00pm

3/2 - Wonka Jr. 12:00pm

We are excited to launch our fundraising for our Panther Pride Run. Our goal is $23,000. Just click the PLEDGESTAR link to register and donate today. Feel free to send to all your family members and rich friends. We will be sending frequent updates as we make progress towards our goal. The actual run will be held on Thursday, February 13. All families are welcome to attend and blast their kids with water guns as they go running by.

School Wide Prizes:

$10,000 - 10 Minute Extra at Lunch

$15,000 - 15 Minute Passing Period

$18,000 - Phones at Lunch

$20,000 - Ice Cream Sandwiches

Individual Prizes:

$10 - Otter Pop

$30 - Gatorade

$50 - Popcorn

$100 - Wear your AirPods for a day

$250 - Golf Cart Escort

$500 Lunch with Mrs. Jaramillo

$1000 - $100 Gift card of your choice

We were made aware of an incident last week before school where a driver came close to hitting a student at the crosswalk turning east on Clairemont Mesa from La Cuenta. The student thankfully looked up from their phone in time to run out of the way. The driver did pull over after noticing what they had done. This is a friendly reminder to please drive cautiously during drop off and pick up. Also, remind your students to not use phone while using crosswalk.

Kona Ice will be on campus this Wednesday, February 5th during lunch. 6th graders will be released to lunch 5 minutes early this Wednesday. This will help with the Kona Ice lines.

Small - $5

Medium - $6

Large - $7

Refillable - $8

Students can pay with cash. Kona Ice also accepts Apple Pay, so students will be permitted to use their phone at point of purchase. The sales from Kona Ice go directly to the PE Department for equipment.

On Wednesday, January 29, De Portola held a Spelling Bee. After 17 rounds we want to congratulate our 2nd Runner-Up 6th grader: Jaclyn Valdez, our 1st Runner-Up 7th grader: Yosan Kahsai and our Champion - 6th grader Cecilia Nordmann with the winning word "Bibliophile" which means a person who collects or has a great love of books.📚 Cecilia will go on to the San Diego County Scripps Regional Spelling and represent our school on Thursday, March 6, 2025, at the Jackie Robinson Family YMCA.

Thank you to all the students for doing a great job of not only participating, but supporting their fellow classmates. Special thank you to our Speech Pathologist, Ms. Megan who was the lead judge along with judges Ms. Rachel from Prime Time, Ms. Diana our school Registrar, Ms. Paulina our Network System Tech and parent volunteer Mrs. Jessica Crouch. Thanks also our Site Tech Steven Fong and Charisma Johnson for help in preparation and support.

With gratitude,

Cindee Therriault

Library Tech

We have our 7th grade field trip on Wednesday, February 19th. They will be attending the SDSU women's basketball game at Aztec Arena. Students will have the opportunity to choose their preferred field trip groups tomorrow, February 3rd during lunch. Permission slips were passed out last week, if you have not received this permission slip from your student or have any other additional questions, please e-mail trodriguez1@sandi.net

The PE Department is in need of an extra large dryer. If you are upgrading your appliances and would like to donate your "in good condition" dryer, the PE Department would be very grateful. They probably run 2-3 loads of "LOANER" laundry every day.

We will also take this opportunity to ask you to check in with your student about the last time they brought their PE clothes home to get washed. Some of the dirty clothes we see can practically stand on their own because they are so stiff with dirt. Yuck!

And lastly, students can purchase PE sweats from the front office. It is going to be cold this week and some students choose not to dress out because it is "too cold." Students can wear a plain grey crewneck sweatshirt and plain navy blue sweatpants if they choose not to buy ours. Sweats can not have zippers, pockets, or hoods.

Repeated information from previous weeks.

Starting January 5th, 8th Grade Ads for the yearbook are available to be purchased at www.yearbookforever.com. 8th graders will be receiving a flyer this week with the sizes and prices of the ads. THE ADS WILL BE DUE ON FEBRUARY 27. Please, please, please do not wait until the last minute to purchase your ad, this has caused people to not be able to have an ad in the yearbook in the past. Please email Ms. McIntosh at smcintosh@sandi.net with any questions.

The yearbook price will go up to $60 on March 3rd, order one before the price increases!

The yearbook is currently $55 and will go up to $60 in March, so get it for the cheaper price! When ordering, please choose your students' 1st period teacher from the drop-down menu labeled "Homeroom".

We will be hosting our annual De Portola Bowling Night on Friday, May 2nd, 2025. This event is adults only and will be held at Aztec Lanes Bowling Alley. This event is sponsored by De Portola Foundation and benefits De Portola. Please mark your calendars! More information to follow.

School dismisses at 2:30. We only allow early release at 2:00pm or earlier. If you child has an appointment and needs to leave, please email Ms. Charisma at cjohnson7@sandi.net or leave her a message her at 619-605-4800 and press 3. She will send a pass and have your student waiting in the office at the expected departure time. This is not a perfect system, but we do our best to accommodate everyone. If your child has PE at your time of departure and you have not given us prior notice, it can take up to 20 minutes to locate your child, send them to locker room, and head up to office. Planning ahead makes this a very easy process.

Full day absences need to be reported to Charisma Johnson at cjohnson7@sandi.net. Please include your student's full name, DOB, reason for illness and the day or dates they are absent.

We do not accept food deliveries for students. Additionally, parents cannot drop off fast food for their student (Subway Included). If a student forgets their lunch, we offer free lunch every day. If a parent drops off a student's lunch bag, we will have the student come up to office at 12:00pm. If a parent brings lunch from Cotijas (or anywhere else), we ask that you stay and enjoy it with your student.

All sports practice throughout the year will be held on Mondays and Wednesdays from 2:45 - 4:30 with games on Saturdays. Students can only participate in one sport per season. Please review the Middle School Athletics page for more information. Also, email Mr. Steven at sfong@sandi.net for any questions.

Fall Sports: Basketball and Track & Field

Winter: Soccer and Volleyball

Spring: Flag Football, Cheer, and Wrestling

For the 2024-25 school year, De Portola Middle School will provide both BREAKFAST and LUNCH for all students. Breakfast will be served in the lunch arbor from 7:30 - 7:50 AM. Students just need to input their six digit student ID number and make their food selection.