BVM Community,

Good morning! I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful Fall/Winter weather this weekend. We are excited to kick off our Winter Wonderland Spirit Week! Please encourage your student to participate—details about the days are included in the flyer below.

I’d like to remind everyone that week of December 16 - December 20 will be an all minimum day schedule for the EOC exams. Again, starting Monday, December 16th through Friday, December 20th, we will have minimum days, so please plan accordingly.

This week, we are thrilled to recognize students who have demonstrated remarkable academic improvement by raising at least two letter grades in one of their core classes (English, Math, Science, or Social Science). Be sure to check out the list of Most Improved Students below and join us in celebrating their hard work! It’s vital that we keep our focus on academic success, especially as we approach the final two weeks of the semester.

As we prepare for finals, please support your student in submitting any late assignments or retaking exams that can help improve their grades. Our goal for all students is to avoid Ds and Fs, with a preference for As and Bs on report cards. This is also the final week we will offer tutoring, so please review the tutoring schedule below and encourage your student to attend after school for extra help.

Finally, I invite you to join me for Coffee with the Principal this Thursday, December 12, 2024, from 5:15 pm to 6:15 pm. We will discuss our upcoming Winter Break Parent Challenge, and I hope you’ll participate! Don’t forget to check out other exciting events happening this week on and off campus.

Let’s make it an awesome week, BVM Community!

Sincerely,

Alex Salazar

BVM Students,

The BVM Spelling Bee is/will be on January 29, 2025. Please fill out the Google form below if you would like to participate. We encourage you to sign up and give it your best shot!

docs.google.com/forms/d/1vTajeHRrpSiKBBJ_0us8lsAWxy6v32aNGSTSLwEvz74/edit

Katherine Kavouklis
English 7
BVM

Parents and guardians, to report a student absence, please make sure to fill out the following form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScLJrFXTi9s9G9nIzEOJSMEn2NeMLbDqMYUseHAKr5YRwJmYQ/viewform.

For any absences extending to 5 or more school days, please contact Ana.Monge@sweetwaterschools.org, our Attendance Coordinator, to complete an short-term independence study contract.

Please contact Ms. Rubi.deleon@sweetwaterschools.org, our attendance technician, to report any attendance errors.

The Acknowledgment Corner will be continued to be used to highlight and celebrate our students at any opportunity that we can! If you would like your student acknowledged for something we may not be aware of, please feel free to contact me (include a picture or video if possible).

Congratulations to our most improved students this semester! The criteria used was the following:

*Improved at least 2 letter grades in one of their CORE subjects (English, Math, Science, or Social Science)

*No Ds or Fs in any subject

A special shout out goes to the following students who improved by two letter grades in multiple subjects: Aaliyah Briones, Santiago Camberos, Gerald Dawson, Jayden Echeverria, Roman Flores, and Kassandra Layno! Let's continue to improve and finish the semester on a strong academic note! Below you can see all students that improved at least two letter grades in their respective subjects!

Let's go BVM!

Nominated by Coach Beck, Sofia Moreno Ranon! Sofia is another 8th grade student whom is present daily and strives to be her best. She has A's and I am so prooud of her and her excellent effort! Let's go BVM!

Nominated by Mr. Atwood, Arleth Alcaraz. Arleth is a stand-out in our Choir Class. Arleth comes to class everyday with a smile on her face, and always ready to work. Arleth is proactive in our rehearsal structure and serves as a model to other students. Our Choir Ensemble is a better place because of Arleth's exemplary participation. It has been an honor to watch the growth in Arleth even in two short years here at BVM!!! Let's go BVM and thank you to our awesome Choir Director --Mr. Atwood!

Winter Sports is here! Check out the Winter Sport Schedules below for: Soccer and Field Hockey

Coach will be keeping all our students who tried out for the Girls Field Hockey Team this past Friday. We are excited for a competitive season and cannot wait to support our Girls Field Hockey Team as they participate in the Middle School Athletic League beginning next Saturday! Let's go BVM! Check out their schedule below!

Our Crusaderbots were back in action this time at Bonita Vista High School take on some tough competition. In my talks with our awesome Robotics Advisor, Mr. Dougherty, this year--he has shared with me that all Crusaderbot teams continue to improve and learn with every outing. #ContinuousImprovement! Let's go BVM! Let's go Crusaderbots and thank you to our awesome students who choose to engage in a positive and learning activity during their time away from school!

Wonderful to see our Drone Club busy at work this past Saturday with their club advisor, Mr. Claudio! I also had an opportunity to run into Drone expert and SUHi Alumni, Cesar Gonzalez who has been not only helping out our Drone Club at BVM, but he has been helping out other Drone Clubs across our district! #COMMUNITY!

Character building is embedded in an IB education. We want our students to learn and embody 10 Learner Profiles (See attachment below). Our Fifth Learner Profile: REFLECTIVE: We thoughtfully consider the world and our own ideas and experience. We work to understand our strengths and weaknesses in order to support our learning and personal development.

IB Learner Profile Reflective: We thoughtfully consider the world and our own ideas and experience. We work to understand our strengths and weaknesses in order to support our learning and personal development.

Good morning, Crusader Community!!

I’m Jared Phelps, the IB Program Coordinator at BVHS. Next Saturday, December 14, from noon-7pm, Barnes & Noble in the Otay Ranch mall will be hosting a fundraiser to support our IB programs at Bonita Vista High School. A portion of all sales (books, games, toys, cafe items, everything!) will be donated to our school! There will also be a code issued closer to the event that will allow you to make online purchases count toward the event as well.

We'll also have a few different fun events taking place during the time period of the fundraiser:
--At noon, author Shugri Said Salh will be hosting a Writer's Workshop for future authors of all ages.
--At 2pm, there will be a craft station set up with supplies to create glitter jars.
--At 4pm, there will be a craft station set up for kids to turn Pokemon cards into 3D Pokemon cards!
--At 5pm, there will be a read aloud of some of some fantastic children's books.

There will also be a few events happening throughout the day:
--A scavenger hunt themed around the IB Learner Profile will be available to win a prize!
--A LEGO table will be set up for all to express their creativity.
--The B&N Cafe will be serving special BVHS IB themed drinks.
--Mr. Phelps will be at an IB table at B&N to answer questions you or the community might have about IB!

This is a great way to support our school and get some of your holiday shopping done all at once! Here's a link to part of the flyer that we'll have printed out at the fundraiser on Saturday (no need to print it yourself!):

drive.google.com/file/d/16lbCoO_L7rbyK1J8MZRc8Z3aqvj1de7L/view?usp=sharing

Looking forward to seeing you there!
Jared Phelps
IBDP Coordinator
Bonita Vista High School

Download, Print, and Post the Flyer Below on your Refrigerator Please :)

We understand that with busy schedules and different work commitments, finding time to eat together can be challenging. However, research shows that teens and kids who share meals with their families regularly are significantly more likely to achieve excellent grades—up to 40% more likely to earn A's and B's compared to those who have fewer family dinners each week.

At BVM, we encourage you to prioritize family meals, even if it’s just on weekends or during holidays. These moments you share around the table can strengthen your family bond and create great memories, fostering communication and support.

We recognize that every family's situation is unique, and even a few shared meals can make a big difference. So, let’s celebrate those opportunities to come together, nourish our bodies, and deepen our connections whenever we can. Thank you for your efforts to make family time a priority!

Congratulatoins to our amazing ASB Dean, Ms. Schroeder! Ms. Schroeder oversees our ASB, all our student activities, our student recognition awards, and our 8th Grade promotion. She does everything and anything for our school including playing a major role in the leadership development of our ASB students! We are grateful for Ms. Schroeder, her positive attitude, and her sincere efforts each and every day! Let's go BVM!!!

We have been reviewing the study cited above in our efforts to always work on improving our school culture. Although we have seen significant improvements in student behaviors the past 5 years (according to our student incident data), we are always looking for areas of improvement. Our latest area of focus is targeting behaviors related to bullying, especially the bullying of students with disabilities. In following some of the strategies cited in the Princeton study above, we will be pursuing the following steps:

1. Setting Clear Expectations --In Progress

2. Enforcing Consequences for Bullying Behaviors --In Progress

3. Recruiting the help of our Students to Improve Student Culture and Target Bullying Behaviors (Begins 2nd Semester)

Remember to report Bullying of any kind Crusaders:

Assistant Principals:

Students Last Name (A - L): Roberto.Bonilla@sweetwaterschools.org

Students Last Name (M - Z): Marisol.Higadera@sweetwaterschools.org

Counselors:

Students Last Name (A - Gomez): Woodie.Taeatafa@sweetwaterschools.org

Students Last Name (Gon - Mc): Monica.Echegaray@sweetwaterschools.org

Students Last Name (Me - Z): Veronica.Sandoval@sweetwaterschools.org

General Support:

MTSS Coordinator: Karla.Leonhardt@sweetwaterschools.org

Prinicpal:

Alexander.salazar-arbelaez@sweetwaterschools.org

Reach out and communicate with us!

Email: alexander.salazar-arbelaez@sweetwaterschools.org
Website: http://bvm.sweetwaterschools.org/
Location: 650 Otay Lakes Road, Chula Vista, CA, USA
Phone: 619-397-2200
Twitter: @BVM_Principal