The Q Connection: December 2, 2011

MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Parents,

Welcome back from the Thanksgiving Break. We hope you enjoyed some time off to spend with family and friends. We are just 2 weeks shy of the Winter Break! We understand that December is usually a busy time for everyone. That said, we'd like to ask for your support in making sure your student is in school every day, on time, and ready to learn. Let's all stay focused on learning the next couple of weeks! December 2nd marks the end of the 2nd 6-week grading period. Progress reports will be distributed on December 9th in your student's 4th period class. Make sure to ask for it! If you have questions regarding your student's progress, please contact your student's teachers or counselor. Parent Connect is also a great online tool for monitoring student progress. Grades will be posted on Parent Connect December 9th. If you would like to sign up for Parent Connect, please stop by the Main Office or the Family Resource Center, Room 231, with a picture ID to request a PIN and password. The end of the semester is only six weeks away (not including the two week holiday break in December). It's important students remain focused for the remainder of the semester on school and academics. Before they realize it, the semester will be over and semester grades will assigned.

As always, thank you for your support of our students and the school.

-Principal Michael Jimenez

FROM THE COUNSELING OFFICE:

• Financial Aid Night is Tuesday, December 6th at 6:00 pm in the Serra High Media Center. Parents of Seniors, please plan to attend this very informative meeting! All Senior parents will receive a packet with information regarding the Free Application for Free Student Aid (FAFSA). Parents with underclassmen are also welcome to attend if you would like to find out what is in store for you and your student, however, please keep in mind that informational packets will only be available to the Senior parents. See you on December 6^th!

• Counseling is in need of donations: spiral notebooks, composition books and notebook paper for students who do not have such supplies. Thank you!

• Naviance (www.connection.naviance.com/serra) is a web-based service designed especially for students and parents. Family Connection is a comprehensive website that you can use to help in making decisions about colleges, careers and courses, meanwhile tracking academic progress as you aspire to post secondary education options. It is especially useful in searching for Scholarships! To log in students simply use their Student Connect log in number and password. Parents will be able to get their code from Ms. Turnberg by emailing their request to mturnberg@sandi.net.

• The new College Center in Room 401 is open! Students are encouraged to stop by on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays during Advisory and lunch. Through January, a counselor is in the room during Advisory and lunch to talk about college applications, help with FAFSA, common app and other relevant college application questions. Beginning in January, after seniors finish their applications, the focus will be on SAT and AP prep for seniors, juniors and sophomores. Questions? Contact your student’s counselor.

FROM THE ATTENDANCE OFFICE:

Parents, please remember the front office is short-staff and do not have office monitors to deliver messages to students. Of course, please know if there is any type of EMERGENCY (i.e. hospitalization, death in the family, deployment etc.) the attendance office staff will assist the parent as needed.

Please support our efforts in making sure all students come to school on time everyday, ready to learn. Tardies are highly disruptive to the learning process. Excused tardies include medical, dental, and court appointments. A doctor/dental or a court document must be presented to the attendance office in order to clear the tardy. You may also fax the excused note to: 858-571-3457. Unexcused tardies include car trouble, oversleeping, traffic, power outage, etc.

The 2011 Serra High Winter Concert is just around the corner. Come out and enjoy a family-friendly evening of musical entertainment, prizes, and fun!

WHAT: The annual Serra High School Winter Concert.

WHEN: Thursday December 8 beginning @ 6:30, concluding around 8:30 pm

WHERE: Serra High School Auditorium

Concert tickets are only $5 for adults, $3 for everyone else! Refreshments on sale at the concert.

Dinner tickets (Pasta style) will be available for purchase for $5 through Dec. 5th. Please contact Mr. Boughner’s class for reservations. Food service begins @ 5:30 pm. Dinners will be sold on a 1st come/1st served basis for $6 on the evening of the concert.

Opportunity baskets with Holiday goodies may be available the evening of the concert!

Sponsored by the Serra Symphonic and Choral Music Boosters.

Questions? Contact Mr. Boughner at rboughner@sandi.net

SPORTS NEWS

The schedules for Winter Sports have now been posted. Click on the following link for more information: http://serra.sandi.net/athletics/

FROM LORENE DABNEY (PE TEACHER, GIRLS/BOYS TENNIS COACH): Our tennis courts received a much needed "face lift" recently! This was made possible by the joint efforts of Open Space and the school district. It has been a very, very long time since they were re-surfaced and there were spots that had worn down so much that players were slipping, tripping over cracks, and getting injured. The new surface will be decked in our Serra colors, too!! If anyone has a chance, come out and see our award winning teams play and check out our beautiful courts!

Many thanks to Jan Eby, President of Open Space, Monica & Pat Weishan for spear-heading the process, Jon Pisapia, Athletic Director and Mike Jimenez, Principal for supporting our efforts in completing this project. Our tennis program is grateful for everyone involved and we look forward to hosting visiting schools as we represent Serra with pride!

A "ribbon cutting ceremony" will be held on Monday after school and all are welcome to to attend!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

Senior Exhibitions will be held on January 25 and 26, 2012 from 12:30-3:00pm each day. We will need plenty of volunteers to ensure the success of this event. Please consider giving a few hours of your time to support our students.

The Senior Exhibition Project is a graduation requirement for all students in the San Diego Unified School District. In order to successfully complete this project, Seniors must reflect upon their accomplishments at Serra High School in front of a panel of teachers, parents, community members, and fellow students.

For the Exhibition, each student has 8 to 10 minutes, in a job interview-type setting, to demonstrate to the panel that they have met each Q-5. The students are also required to submit a skilled-based resume. The presentations conclude with a question and answer period, allowing the panelists to dive deeper for more information. All students are encouraged to use their creativity to make their Senior Exhibition Project as meaningful, enjoyable, and unique as possible.

The requirements for volunteers serving on a Senior Exhibition panel are to listen to the presentations, actively participate in the Q&A period, and score each presentation. This is a great opportunity to learn about the knowledge, skills, and accomplishments of our amazing students! Many of our volunteers tell us that being a Senior Exhibition panelist is their favorite volunteer assignment!

If you are interested in helping out with Senior Exhibitions, please contact Marie Byrd (mbyrd@sandi.net or call 858-496-8342 x231).

EVENTS

Saturday, December 3

All day - CHEER CAMP-CHG
All day - NJROTC Drill Meet @ Paloma Valley
8:00am - Biotechology Field Trip
8:00am - SATURDAY SCHOOL
5:00pm - Key Club Division Spirit Battle

Sunday, December 4

All day - NJROTC Charger Game Fundraiser

Monday, December 5

All day - Pink Progress Report Day
All day - Beginning of 3rd Grading Period
All day - Club Elevated Coat Drive
9:00am - College Fair Field Trip
6:00pm - AP BIO Study Group

Tuesday, December 6

All day - Club Elevated Coat Drive
6:00pm - College Financial Aid Night
6:00pm - ELAC Committee Meeting

Wednesday, December 7

All day - Club Elevated Coat Drive
6:30pm - Foundation Meeting

Thursday, December 8

All Day - Club Elevated Coat Drive
8:00am - Biotechnology Field Trip
6:30pm - Choir & Orchestra Winter Concert

Friday, December 9

All day - Club Elevated Coat Drive

Saturday, December 10

All day - CHEER CAMP-CHG
All day - NJROTC Drill Meet @ PHHS
8:00am - SATURDAY SCHOOL

Sunday, December 11

All day - NJROTC Charger Game Fundraiser

SPORTS

Friday, December 2

All day - Boys Varsity Bball West HillsTourney/TIME TBA
All day - Girls Varsity Water Polo Invite/TIME & LOC.TBA
3:00pm - Boys JV Bball Tourney vs MHS @ Lincoln
5:00pm - Girls JV Bball Tourney vs Sweetwater
5:30pm - Powderpuff Game(tentative)
5:30pm - Girls JV Soccer @ Helix
7:00pm - Girls Varsity Bball Tourney vs Sweetwater