Dear Bonita Vista Middle School Community,

Good morning! We hope you all are having a great weekend. Last week was super busy on campus with Picture Days and Grade Level Expectations Assemblies on Wednesday and Thursday, along with our first Safety Evacuation Drill earlier in the week. If your student missed taking their pictures, don't worry - we'll have a Make-Up Picture day on Friday, September 6 in our adaptive building.

Please be mindful of our 4 Essential Rules that were covered at our Grade Level Expectations Assemblies this past week. We encourage you to discuss these rules with your student where they should be able to explain the reasons for these rules by now.

1. No Cell Phones

2. No iPad misuse

3. No hoodie on head

4. No Air or Ear pods

Fall Sports Tryouts Begin:

This week, many of our Fall Sports Tryouts begin, so be sure to scroll down in this newsletter to view more specific information.

Students from China visiting BVM:

We will also have some special guests joining us this week all the way from China. Our ASB students will be paired up with 1 or 2 student from China. Our Chinese guest students will shadow our ASB students all week and follow them from class to class. We will have the pleasure of hosting our guests from China for the entire week.

Student Class Changes:

Our main message this week is about managing expectations around student schedule changes--particularly over the next couple of days. Counselors will continue working on "balancing" our schedules until our 10th day of school (Tuesday, August 6th). This may mean a student gets a new teacher or period while keeping the same course. In a few cases, a student may switch to a different class (electives or from regular to accelerated). We know that teachers early in the school year focus on culture building and students begin to get used to their teacher, but we assure you that your student will be fine should they end up with a different teacher or different class this week. Although these changes can't be undone, we're making sure all students have access to a great education by ensuring that teachers work within their professional learning communities and follow similar pacing guides and curriculum. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation ahead of time as we work to provide a positive student experience, balance our classes and minimize schedule disruptions as much as possible.

Sincerely,

Dr. Salazar

Post Script: Please make sure to join me this Wednesday at 5:15 pm for our first Coffee with the Principal (Virtual Only).

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.

Students (incoming and returning) wishing to participate in our Middle School Athletics League, are required to have an online consent completed as part of the athletic clearance process. Please click on this link to start the process: https://www.registermyathlete.com/login/. Soon we will be switching over our clearing process to HOME CAMPUS. For now, use Registermyathlete to register for Fall Sports and all registrations there will be saved before we transition over to HOME CAMPUS sometime very soon. More information will follow regarding our Fall Sports Offering and HOME CAMPUS.

For any other questions, please make sure to contact our athletic director, Ivan.quijas@sweetwaterschools.org.

For this season (FALL), we are offering the following sports: Girls/Boys Cross-Country, Girls/Boys Basketball, Baseball or Fast Pitch Softball. Make sure to register at bonitavistacrusaders.com. Remember, any questions, please contact Ivan.quijas@sweetwaterschools.org.

Scan the QR Code Below to attend the Cross Country Informational Meeting that will take place this Thursday, August 8 (on ZOOM) beginning at 5:30 pm. No experience necessary! Please attend the meeting to any student interested.

TRYOUT SCHEDULE:

FRIDAY, AUGUST 9th and August 16th AFTER SCHOOL TILL 3PM, ON THE OUTDOOR COURTS.

You will be evaluated on your:

ATTITUDE

HUSTLE

SKILLS

Bring your basketball shoes, shorts, and some water.

For more information please contact:

Coach Mike Nelson

619-997-1745

19nelson@att.net

Please note that our Information Technology Technician, Bruno.Zamorano@sweetwaterschools.org, is available to all students in our school library for iPad support. Here are some links to provide further assistance with student iPads:

How to set-up your iPad at home: https://s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/post.jupitered.com/v3/p131557892/1/92657356/iPad_Setup_at_home_Instructions_2024-2025_updated.pdf

How to login to your student email account:

1. Your general password is your birthday written in the format below, followed by an exclamation mark, and two capital Z’s.

Example: If your birthday is September 12, 2012 then your password would be Sep122012!ZZ

2. Once you are logged in, look for the email with the subject titled: “Jupiter login instructions for new families” that was sent on 7/23/24. Clicking on the link in this email will prompt you to set a password for your Jupiter Grades account.

How to download the essential apps that students will need this year: Please open the attached PDF document below

Parents and guardians, to ensure a smooth flow of traffic during drop off and pick-up, please follow our traffic guidelines: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1h0yXoyV5YvLAWlj7qBZbbvb0RKGKkEYAoAGqUStI1Bg/edit.

Thank you!

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).

Character building is embedded in an IB education. We want our students to learn and embody 10 Learner Profiles (See attachment below). Our first Learner Profile: Caring includes students who have made a personal commitment to service, and act to make a positive difference to the lives of others and the world around them. We know that during summer breaks, our students provide services to others to make our world a better place. We are asking families to send us pictures and stories that they can share of how their students made a world a better place over this past summer. We will feature these students in future newsletters and in morning announcements to promote the IB profiles and behaviors we want to see in all our students. You can email me directly pictures and stories of how your child provided a service to others this past summer: alexander.salazar-arbelaez@sweetwaterschools.org.

IB Learner Profile Caring: students who are caring show empathy, compassion, and respect towards the needs and feelings of others. They have a personal commitment to service, and act to make a positive difference to the lives of others and the world around them.

This past summer, our awesome 7th grader, Ethan Frondarina and his younger brother, Eli, helped out at Feeding San Diego this year. They found out how this organization helps people who don't have enough food.

Ethan worked on sorting and packing apples that would be given to people in San Diego and other places. This involved making sure the apples were good, weighing them, and putting them into bags. This is a commitment to service and caring that we want all our students to embody! Great job Ethan and thank you for making Bonita Vista Middle School and your community proud!

11th grader, Vincent Gonzalez is a kind and empathetic person, often demonstrating his thoughtful nature. In social settings, he can be reserved but once he feels at ease, his playful side emerges. On the 4th of July, while many families were enjoying the beach, Vincent chose to pick up trash. Along the shore, he diligently collected straws, lids, plastic, and more. This act isn't confined to special occasions - it's part of who Vincent is. He consistently takes the initiative to pick up litter he encounters. His actions have left a strong impression on me and inspired me to follow suit. Vincent's care for our world and his dedication to preserving it are truly admirable. Thank you Vincent for making our community proud!

In our counselor, Woodie Taeatafa, you will not find a more caring and dedicated team member at Bonita Vista Middle School. Mr. Taeatafa, for approximately 15 years, has been deeply committed to the mission of BVM and truly caring for his students. This weekend alone, he spent the majority of his time in service, reviewing student schedules, to make sure all classes were balanced. He routinely provides social emotional support for students in need and even staff in need. His colleagues recognized Mr. Taeatafa as our certificated employee of the month for July. Congratulations Mr. Taeatafa and thank you for personifying the IB Profile Caring!

Congratulations to the Bonita Vista Middle School students who participated in the National Junior Olympics at Stanford last weekend! One of the teams finished 4th in the country in the Platinum Division, while the Southern Water Polo Club's 14U girls team secured 13th place in the Silver Division. Additionally, two girls from the Bonita Vista Summer Bridge program played for the SD Shores 12U girls team and achieved a commendable placement in the Platinum Division. Great job to all the participants!

Crusader of the Week

Students are nominated for Crusader of the Week in the following areas academic achievement, improvement in behavior, demonstrating kindness and so much more. After the 10-day balance period at the beginning of each semester, teachers may begin submitting their nominations. Each week one 7th and one 8th-grade student will be recognized. If more than one student in each grade level is nominated next in line will be recognized the following week. Students may only receive Crusader of the Week once in the school year. Those who earn Crusader of the Week will be mentioned in the Principal’s newsletter, and the morning announcements, and receive a certificate and a small treat in front of their peers.

Straight A Luncheon –

Students (7th & 8th) who earned Straight A’s in BOTH Scholarship and Citizenship on the Fall Semester Report Card are recognized with a luncheon at the end of January/beginning of February.

Outstanding 8th Grade Students (We select two per year)

8th-grade teachers and other school staff nominate two students who have been outstanding the entire school year in all subject areas and extracurriculars. Those nominated then go on a ballot and are then voted on by the admin, counseling team, and other school personnel for the award. Each member of the voting team gets 1 vote. This award is then presented at 8th grade awards night, each May.

The San Diego County Office of Education and Computers2Kids are hosting an event for families to purchase affordable computers on Saturday, August 17, 2024 from 9 to noon at San Ysidro Adult School Parking Lot located at 4220 Otay Mesa Rd. San Diego, CA 92154 (Drive Thru Event).

See attached flyer or on this link for details.

Educational Technology Team

Innovation Division

San Diego County Office of Education

Email: edtech@sdcoe.net

Web: www.sdcoe.net/edtech

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