Amazing Raider Families,
“There's no success without action.” ~John Maxwell~
Happy New Year! I hope that each of you had an amazing break.
During the break, my husband watched the movie Six Triple Eight, a film that showcased the contributions of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, an all-Black and all-female battalion, in World War II. Led by Major Charity Adams, the battalion was finally given orders to turn the school into a post office and barracks and clear a two-year backlog of undelivered mail. The deadline was intended to ensure their failure. After receiving notification that the majority of their efforts in the first two months resulted in undeliverable mail, her troops told her some of the major challenges such as the use of nicknames instead of real names or that the address to which the letters were sent were incorrect because the soldiers had been transferred to other bases or stations or the writing was illeligible. Refusing to give up and realizing the importance of mail reaching either the soldiers or their loved ones, Major Adams abandoned the methods they were using; instead she recognized each individual talents and used that in sorting the mail. For example, one female soldier was very skilled in recognizing perfume. Another soldier was great in geography. Finally, one of the women recognized that on and in the letters, soldiers included symbols that represented the area at where they were stationed thereby giving their families clues as to their locations. Consequently, in using this clue, they were able to sort and send the mail within the six month windows. Success came because Major Adams acted by not accepting defeat; instead, she let go of "normal" mail sorting practice in favor of innovative methods to solve an assignment was doomed to fail. To date, their efforts still remain largely unrecognized. Major Adams was finally recognized as Fort Lee was renamed in her honor. As we start the year, I want to encourage you to look beyond your normal daily habits and embrace new ones so that will help you experience success. Releasing takes courage. Let's have an amazing Semester 2.
No School on Monday
January 13 is professional development day for teachers It is a working day for all staff but no school for students.
First Day of Semester is January 14, 2025 (Late Start)
For planning purposes, January 14, 2025 is the first day of Semester 2. It is a Late Start, which means the first bell will ring at 9:20am. The schedule is Periods 2, 4, 6, 8. It is also Early Dismissal, so, school ends at 3:00pm. Please complete the following tasks before you arrive to school:
- Check Campus Portal to make sure that you are in the right Period 2 class. It might have changed.
- Charge your laptop. Be ready to begin Day 1.
- Be on time. The first bell will ring at 9:20am.
Semester 2 Class Changes
Families, in preparation for Semester 2, counselors are making student class changes for a variety of reasons. The most salient reason is to meet the teachers' union guidelines for class caps and daily 176 counts. Additionally, we may have to change a teacher's teaching schedule, if needed. If changes occurred in your Semester 1 schedule, please reach out to your counselors or Mr. Contreras. The counselors are busy making these changes right now. Thank you for understanding.
Credit Recovery Classes During Semester 2
Students, we will be offering Credit Recovery in the following courses listed below. If you failed one or more of this classes, you will called in by your counselors that you will need to potentially attend credit recovery before school, after school, Saturday or a combination of all three times. These courses are being offered because they are not available in APEX or in Summer School.
- PE
- World Language (Spanish and/or Spanish Speakers)
- Chemistry
Black Student Union RISE Conference is January 28, 2025
Students, we want to send a delegation to the RISE Conference, which will be held at Southwestern College on January 28 from 9:00am - 2:00pm. This will be considered a field trip and you will need to register and complete a field trip permission form. Please see Ms. Huntley in Room 310.
Let's have a wonderful week!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Finley
