The Crusader Times

Dear Bonita Vista Middle School Community,

Good evening/morning! I hope everyone had a safe and wonderful weekend. As we enter the final week of the school year, I want to express my deepest gratitude to our parent and guardian community for their consistent partnership throughout this academic year. Your unwavering support, open communication, and collaborative spirit have truly made a positive impact on our school community and really helped our efforts in turning our school culture around.

To the parents of our 8th graders, I want to extend my best wishes to you and your students as they transition to high school. We have worked hard to prepare them for the challenges ahead, and I am confident they will excel.

For our 7th grade parents, I am excited to begin scheduling proactive meetings as we prepare for the upcoming school year. I can't wait to see the growth and progress our 7th graders will achieve! Looking ahead to next year, I am filled with enthusiasm for our incoming 8th grade class, and I am eager to continue our strong partnership. Thank you for your ongoing support, and let's make the next school year even more successful!

End of Course Exams:

Last Friday, May 31, 2024, our 8th graders successfully completed their End of Course Exams. I'm delighted to announce that our 8th-grade students collectively demonstrated improvement in all four core subjects: English, Math, Science, and Social Science. Congratulations to our 8th-grade class for ending the academic year on a high note!

Meanwhile, our 7th graders are currently in the midst of their End of Course Exams, which commenced last Friday, May 31st, will continue on Monday, June 3rd, and will conclude on Tuesday, June 4th. Let's continue to support and motivate our 7th graders to perform their best as we aim for a strong finish from this group as well! Please note that all week (until Wednesday), we will follow a minimum day schedule, and students will be dismissed at 12:50 pm every day. The semester ends on Wednesday, June 5th for both 7th and 8th grade students.

Promotion Ceremony:

We are excited to announce that our Promotion Ceremony for eligible 8th Graders will take place on Tuesday, June 4th at Bonita Vista High School. For students who are not eligible for promotion, our counseling department has sent a formal letter via email and made a phone call to notify them. If you are unsure about your student's eligibility, please feel free to contact Veronica.sandoval@sweetwaterschools.org, our head counselor. Additionally, you can find the respective promotion ceremony times on the attached flier (below).

While not all 8th Grade students will be promoting at Tuesday's ceremony, we want to emphasize that all 8th Grade students will be advancing to high school. We extend our best wishes and congratulations to all students as they prepare to take this next step in their academic journey.

Lastly, we would like to remind you that the last day of school for all students is this Wednesday, June 5th. School Dismissal all week will be 12:50 pm.

Sincerely,

Dr. Salazar

We are excited to announce our Promotion Speech Winners for this year's Promotion Ceremony 2024. For our 3:00 pm Promotion Ceremony, 8th Grade student, Isabel Estill will be addressing the Promoting Class of 2024, Graduating Class of 2028. Congratulations Isabel Estill!

For our 6:00 pm Promotion Ceremony, 8th Grade student Evanna Heredia will be addressing the Promoting Class of 2024, Graduating Class of 2028. Congratulations Evanna Heredia!

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).

All 8th Grade students were treated to an outdoor picnic that included a DJ, Free Costco Hotdogs, Game Truck (Student Favorite), Corn Hole Game, Connect 4, Selfie Station, and the choice to buy food from some of our local vendors.

Students had an opportunity to hang out one last time, socialized, signed yearbooks, and began the process of saying good bye to teachers, friends, and other staff. It will be sad to see our Promoting Class of 2024. They truly have been a great class!!! Congratulations to all 8th grade students who will be moving on to high school this fall. BVM is proud of you all!

Our BVM talented Choir Group (BVMS Crusader Chorale) had the opportunity to perform our Spring Sing #49 at Southwestern College this past week. Our Crusader Chorale performed the following songs:

"Put a Little Love in your Heart/Love Train"

"Stars I Shall Find"

"Confitemini Domino"

"Break My Stride"

"I'm just Ken" (with BVHS)

"Falling for Ya"

and a solo performance by Roberto Saucedo, "All of Me."

Mr. Atwood also wanted to join the performances and put his best voice forward! It was a wonderful evening and a wonderful platform where our BVM students had the opportunity to showcase their talents! Thank you to all our Choir members:

Arleth Alcaraz

Aubrey Barajas

Elibeth Cesena

Danica De La Cruz

Madison Farrar

Bianca Hernandez

Haley Housand

Juliana Macario

Briana Maldonado

Jessica Maldonado

Alissa Martinez

Samanthamarie Nora

Yaretzi Rodriguez

Elizabeth Saucedo

Roberto Saucedo

Noami Teran

Alec Zelaya

Mr. Bangle, in collaboration with Bonita Vista High School, found another way to connect students to their future high school. Our students had an opportunity to perform for their future Band Director at Bonita Vista High School. #OneCommunity! We are excited for our 8th Graders who will soon begin their High School Careers at Bonita Vista High School.

Ms. Monge, our BSU Advisor, had the opportunity to join our very own 8th Grader, Nova Elago-Edwards who BSU honored with a District BSU Pin. Nova earned this pin by being an active member in BVM's BSU Club, attending meetings regularly, and attending a minimum of two district-hosted events this school year. Congratulations Nova Elago-Edwards --you have made us proud again!

Our amazing and talented Cheer Team held their banquet this past Saturday alongside their Cheer Advisor, Coach Wegener, and their Assistant Coach, Coach Alyssa (who will be taking over duties next year--thank you Coach Alyssa). Our Cheerleaders, were treated to El Tapatio catering, were all given a gift bag, certificates, and spent their Saturday night at KOA camping!

On behalf of BVM, Cheerleaders, thank you so much for being such a huge source of pride for our school. You showed up to every event and made our school look awesome! I'm thinking back to the litter girl who attended our Incoming Parent Night back in March and told her mother "I want to be a Cheerleader when I come here!" Ladies, job well done!!! Let's go BVM!!!

Below you will find valuable resources for our students and community, including our tutoring schedule!

Hi,

How are you? I'm Dr. Virginia Hyannis Lee, DACM. I'd like to invite students at your school to check out UCLA's Integrative Medicine summer online class and UC Berkeley's Introduction to Integrative Health I & II classes. I'm also offering free webinars to those interested in pursuing a career in healthcare and/or wanting to boost their college applications while learning study skills.

I have a request. I'll be guest lecturing at UCLA's class and teaching at UC Berkeley's classes this summer. They're both completely online courses and are open to middle school and high school students. I was wondering if you could pass the info about my online courses to your students please? Perhaps some of your students may be interested. I'm passionate about teaching health and would love to inspire young minds. I'd greatly appreciate your help in disseminating these flyers.

These classes may be of particular interest to students who may be considering entering the healthcare profession in the future. It is specifically designed to provide students with the opportunity to learn and interact with subject matter that they might not otherwise experience in a regular school year classroom. The classes I teach at Berkeley have no graded homework assignments or exams. It is an excellent opportunity for students to investigate and learn something new, just for the sake of learning. All students will receive a certificate upon completion of this course, which they may share about on their college applications.

The UCLA course is really fun and includes many things about lifestyle medicine which will help alleviate the healthcare crisis. Lifestyle medicine will help people to live healthy lives by creating healthy lifestyle habits that contribute to wellness & longevity. The UCLA course is a great opportunity to learn about integrative medicine that is currently being practiced at major hospitals including Johns Hopkins, Harvard, and UCSF.

I've attached my free webinar flyer, the UCLA flyer, and UC Berkeley summer course link here.

Link to Introduction to Integrative Health Course I & II:
https://atdp.berkeley.edu/programs/ex/catalog/

If students have questions about UCLA's summer program, they could email YLing@mednet.ucla.edu.

If students have questions about the UC Berkeley program, they could email the Academic Talent Development Program at UC Berkeley via this email address: atdpoffice@berkeley.edu.

If students have any questions for me about any of the courses, they could reach me at hyannis@berkeley.edu.

Sincerely,
Virginia Hyannis Lee

National College Resources Foundation, producers of the Black College Expo, San Diego County Office of Education, and the Association of African American Educators invite San Diego Black High School Graduates to participate in our FREE Rites of Passage Celebration on Monday, June 3rd, 6 pm -8 pm at Bayview Baptist Church, in the MLK Center, Auditorium.

A Rite of Passage is defined as an African ritual or experience that marks a major milestone or change in a person’s life, and we want to celebrate the 2024 San Diego Black Graduates, both 8th grade and 12th grade. Each graduate 8th grade graduate will receive a Rites of Passage bracelet and each graduating senior will receive a Kente Cloth Sash that you can wear for graduation and other events and ceremonies in your life.

Rites of Passage ceremonies have one trait in common: They provide a social frame to ease an individual into a new stage without creating uneasiness or disruption. In a nutshell, they provide a way to make official an important change. And you are changing, transitioning, and transforming from one stage of your life to the next. Rites of passage foster a sense of renewal since they mark the beginning of a new phase in your life. They remind us that we are constantly evolving, and that life is a transformative journey. On the other hand, they also provide a sense of belonging, since a rite of passage is always performed by and for a community and that's why we want to celebrate you Monday, June 3rd, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm in African Tradition “A Rites of Passage”.

Please register today! It's Free! Refreshments will be served. Family members are invited. For any questions contact brittny@ncrfoundation.org.

Congratulations class of 2024. We are so proud of you.

Click HERE to register!

May is Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month.

At last month’s Board meeting, the trustees voted unanimously in support of Resolution 4892, designating May 2024 as AAPI Heritage Month.

Southwestern College Y.E.S. Academy is now open for registration for summer 2024! Attached is our class schedule, full of fun and enriching activities, with a majority of the classes taught by our current college faculty. Also attached is a flyer for all Summer Camp Activities at Southwestern College.

Parents and guardians, remember an enriched summer experience can make a huge difference in your student's sense of self, confidence, and overall growth! Check out the offerings below!

Summer school will run from June 10 - June 28 this year. Students eligible for summer school will be contacted by their counselors to sign up for summer school. Essentially, students who have failed either an English, Math, Science, or Social Science class will have to make up the lost credit during the summer. Mr. Bonilla will be the Bonita Vista Middle Summer School Principal for 2024. Please make sure to contact him or our counseling department for any questions (Roberto.bonilla@sweetwaterschools.org or Veronica.sandoval@sweetwaterschools.org).

As we begin to plan for our summer school programs, we will be putting out more information. For now, please save the date below if you anticipate that your student will be enrolling in summer school.

• 8:00 am - 10:30 am --First Block
• 10:30 am - 11:00 am --Nutrition Break/Passing Period
• 11:00 am - 1:30 pm --Second Block

BVM Current 8th Grade Students:

To sign up for the IM I acceleration course for summer school please contact Nicoleta.Bogart@sweetwaterschools.org at Bonita Vista High School. This course is intended for current 8th grade students enrolled in IM8, have earned an A in the class, and feel that they can take IM I over the summer in order to take IM II in 9th grade and place them on track for AP Calculus in their Senior Year.

Again, this course if offered to students who will be able to take IM II in 9th grade, and to place them on track for AP Calculus in their senior year.

Before deciding interested 8th grade students or parents of 8th grade students, first consult with your student's current math teacher at BVM.

Thank you,

Dr. Salazar

Ms. Caldwell has served the Sweetwater Union High School District and Bonita Vista Middle School for 38 years. She has always taught and served our students enrolled in our Math classes with consistency, predictable routines, and high levels of structure—all elements of effective instruction. We will sorely miss her, her unwavering commitment to her professional learning community, and we will forever be grateful for her service and dedication to Bonita Vista Middle School.

Ms. Laura Hulsey will also be retiring this year. She proudly served as our school psychologist at Bonita Vista Middle School for several years. She assembled a team of special education teachers that boasted the lowest D/F rate among our students enrolled in our special education program in 5 years. We will miss her, and we are forever grateful for her commitment to excellence and upholding all our students to the highest of standards at Bonita Vista Middle School.

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