Charter Chatter
A
weekly newsletter written to parents of the Tracy Learning Center
Oct. 24, 2013 Vol. 12 No.12
Lately I have received many calls and e-mails about concerns
parents have regarding their child being “bullied”. I realize that we have many posters up all
over our schools about respect and not being a bully and I know that it is a
real concern in the modern world we live in.
This month we have focus on educating and advising students on how to
deal with the problem. Our efforts have
helped give a voice to those students who may not normally speak up if there is
a problem. There are some clear distinctions
I would like to make with regards to bullying.
1.
Name calling is mean, and it is hurtful, but in
itself it is not bullying.
2.
Bullies threaten and force students do give up
lunches, money or other things. They are
usually physical and verbal and intimidate over long periods of time. I actually feel that we do not have that sort
of bully on campus.
3.
On the other hand, we have students who are
insensitive and mean and do say hurtful things to others. This is not right and should be stopped, but
there are things that can be done to stop this.
a.
First and foremost the student being called
names needs to take a stand. The student
needs to use his or her own strong voice
to say, “Stop!” and if that does not work, the student needs to report it to a
teacher and ask the teacher to meet with the child and the name caller so that
the child can once again explain it is to stop happening.
b.
If this happens, in most cases it stops. If it does not stop, the student needs to go
back to the teacher and let that teacher know it is still happening. (if the child never returns, the teacher
assumes it has stopped.)
c.
Then when the student returns, the complaint
should be in writing as a referral and reported to me. If it does not stop at my level, suspension
would be the next recourse. Most of the
time, it never goes that far.
d.
The other thing to remember is that students
often hear what others are saying by way of another student. It needs to be directly stated….not second
hand.
e.
One other thing, students who are called names
sometimes respond with name calling as well.
That does not help…it fuels the fire.
4.
If a student is having a problem in one class, we
encourage the student should not wait until her or she is in another class to
talk about it. (For example, it happened
in PE, but the student talks about it to the English teacher.)
I agree, we all need to protect our children, and my job is
to keep the students safe and secure, but in addition to that, we all need to
help our children to become advocates for themselves as well. We teach students so much about learning and
knowledge but we also focus on learning how to be a strong successful person.
Next Parent
Council Meeting
Thurs. Nov. 21 @ 4:15 in P5
Appreciation
McHenry
House extends their gratitude and appreciation for the generous donations of
household supplies toward the seven families residing in their family
shelter. We appreciate all the students, families, and staff who helped
with our Make a Difference Day…Pictures coming soon!
Everyone
is invited to the Tracy Make A Difference Day event this Saturday,
October 26. This will take place at the Downtown Farmers Market (B
& 10th Streets). We will be kicking the day off with a Ribbon
Cutting Ceremony at 8:00 am (B
& 10th Streets) followed by a singing of the Star Spangled
Banner, where dignitaries from our District, County,
and City will be in attendance. We're asking everyone
to arrive by 7:45 am,, if
you would like to be a part of the beginning ceremony. Please leave
time for parking, as some of the streets will be blocked off for the Farmers
Market.
PCS/DCS Lunch Menu
Week Oct. 28- Nov. 1
Mon. – Pizza
Tues. –Bean or Beef Burrito
Wed – Chicken Patti
Sandwich
Thurs. – Ghoulish Chicken Fettuccini
Fri. – Hotdog
|
PCS PE
The following students earned their orange Strong Paw Awards for completing 20 perfect push-ups.
Not pictured Kamal Frasier.
We would like to recognize the following students for earning shoe tokens!!! These students went above and beyond to demonstrate respect and responsibility in PE. Noah Palma, Liam Adamas, and Steven Medoza.
Primary PE would like to give a special thank you for the generous equipment donations from the Frasier and Lang families!!!
PCS Gold
Red Ribbon Week is October 28- November 1. Our theme this year is "Band Against
Bullying." Students will receive their "Band Against Bullying"
bracelet on Monday to wear during the week. Don't forget to wear red Friday,
November 1st.
Halloween is almost here! Thursday, October 31st we
will have a Halloween parade followed by trick-or-treating. The parade will
start on the field at 9:00. Parents are welcome to attend this event.
Thank you for participating in "Make a
Difference Week." Primary did a fantastic job collecting toilet paper
rolls for the McHenry House. In November, we will be having a canned food
drive. Each classroom will be collecting a canned food item to donate for the
holidays. Information about his fundraiser will be coming soon.
We are excited to announce our 3rd Annual TLC's Got
Talent show which will take place this year at the Tracy Grand Theater on
Friday, January 17th from 6:30-8:30pm. Proceeds from this annual fundraising
event will benefit the Senior Class of 2014. To participate please complete the
participation form and permission slip that was sent home in Friday folders. A
total of up to 25 acts will be selected. Auditions will be held the week of
November 18th.
Reminders:
The
weather is starting to get colder, be sure to send your student to school with
a jacket! Jackets should be labeled with your students’ name.
·
Morning
carline starts at 7:45. There are not teachers at morning carline until 7:45.
Please do not drop your child off and leave before this time as they will be
unsupervised.
Sapphire PCS
The Sapphire Team had a wonderful week!
P1 students learned about the life cycle of a pumpkin and
did a really cool experiment with weight and capacity. They got to predict
whether a pumpkin would float or not and then they actually got to put the
pumpkin in water to see the results. P1 students are also very excited about
their upcoming Pumpkin Patch “fieldtrip!”
P6 students have started learning about the food chain. They have also been busy writing about and
drawing Halloween monsters and ghouls in writers’ workshop. See some of their work in the office
hallway!
P5 visited a PHSA classroom this week! The 7th
and 8th grade students presented their final projects- a book about The Call of the Wild to us. It was a
wonderful experience for all!
We will be celebrating Red Ribbon week the week of October
28th – November 1st. Our
theme is Band Against Bullying. We
will be planning lots of activities throughout the week. Each classroom will be creating a song, chant
or poem about banding against bullying and presenting it at unity to the
Sapphire Team. Monday will be P5’s
presentation; Tuesday P6 will be presenting and Wednesday P1 will be presenting
their song, chant or poem. Parents, as
always, are welcome to attend our Unity. In addition to our unity presentations
we will be wearing different colors each day….. your child may wear shirts,
pants, shorts, jeans, hair ties, etc of that color.
Monday – STAND UP against Bullying…..We will all wear RED.
Tuesday – SPEAK UP against Bullying…. We will all wear
bright NEON colors
Wednesday – BE A FRIEND to stop bullying……We will all wear
YELLOW.
Thursday - Halloween festivities.
Friday – STOP BULLYING….. We will all wear BLUE.
Helpful Tips:
Please remember that
there is NO supervision before 7:45 in front of the school.
Do not leave your car unattended during carline; this has
been causing us problems getting carline started in the afternoon.
Please make sure that
your PCS child is supervised at all times after pick up in carline and while
you are waiting for your DCS students.
PSC students are often playing/throwing tan bark and shouting right
outside the administrative offices and classrooms where learning is still going
on.
PCS ART
DCS 5th/6th
Absences:
Flu
season has started to creep our way causing some students to remain homebound
for a day or more. If you find your child in this position you may request
missed work from his/her teachers. Unfortunately, many assignments can only be
completed in class. Plenty of rest is especially important for a quick recovery.
SWO
(School Wide Outcomes):
Ms.
Pelaez and Ms. Rodieck will be hosting a Scrapbook-a-thon on Tuesday, October
29th from 4:00-5:00PM for any DCS students who wish to put finishing touches on
the Cooperative Collaboration pages in the scrapbook before submission. This
portion is due in homeroom by Friday, November 1.
DCS
Dance:
The
fall dance is after school next Wednesday, October 30th. Permission slips were
distributed this week. Tickets for the dance are $3. Candy grams will also be
sold during lunch Monday and Tuesday for delivery Wednesday afternoon. Parent volunteers for the dance are needed
and appreciated. If you are interested in volunteering please contact Mrs.
Beckner
PHSA 7th and 8th
This week in PHSA:
SWO project scrapbooks were due today. It was great seeing the final product; we are proud of all their hard work!
In Mr. Lasnier's social studies classes, we have been learning about the challenges of George Washington's presidency. We also began working on our U.S. Foreign Policy Timeline project.
In science, students wrapped up Unit 3: Understanding the Atom and took the Unit test on Friday. Next week, we will be starting Unit 4: Elements, Mixtures, and Compounds.
In Science Enrichment, we learned about forces that act on objects. Ask your student about gravity, compression, tension, and friction!
Mrs Carr's LA classes have begun reading Lord of the Flies this week. One of the student's favorite books every year. We also presented our Call of the Wild books to the Primary students. What a great opportunity for our kids to share their hard work.
Our first team meeting will be Wednesday October 30th at 6:00p.m. Meeting in Ms. Power’s room- D12. The $35 Science O participation fee (checks made to TLC) will be due at this meeting.
If this fee is a hardship for your family please contact Mr. Snell regarding scholarships for participating.
Partner and Event Assignments will be announced at this meeting. This will also be a good opportunity for you and your child’s partner and parent to meet to discuss the student’s events.
MHS
This week Millennium Falcons honored,
“The Week of Respect.” This initiative helped students to respect their peers,
families, teachers, campus and community. It also recognized the diversity of
Millennium students and recognized their cultural and religious differences.
The students at MHS responded positively to the activities offered on campus
and showed a great deal of respect towards their peers throughout the week.
Click on our links below to see a glimpse
of our week.
Thank you to the families that
participated in the Haunted High event! There was a huge amount of support from
our TLC families! All the proceeds from the event will go directly to our fine
arts department. Mr. Snyder and his students did an amazing job on
transforming the gymnasium into an interactive and frightening haunted house!
Mr. Young also did a wonderful job turning our campus into a festive carnival.
Thank you again to the staff, students and parents who made this successful
event possible!
Thank you to the wonderful visitor we had this week in
our Career Education classes: Judy Bietz and Alyssa- Worknet.
Community Service
1. Halloween Movie Night- Friday, October 25th, from
5:30-9:15pm at Hawkins Elementary. Students will help with set up, concession
stands and clean up.
2. Southwinds Church Festival- Sunday October 27th, from
1:30-6:30pm at Southwinds Church, they will be hosting a festival. Students
will help with set up, festival booths and clean up.
3. United Way Haunted House- October 17-31st students can
volunteer to help out at the West Valley Mall haunted house. For more
information please see Ms. Lunn.
4. Central
Elementary School- Tuesday-
Fridays, Central Elementary Library is looking for help from 12-2pm. For more
information please see Ms. Lunn.
Spring Delta College Info
Parents of students who are interested in taking
classes at Delta College for the Spring 2014 semester need to carefully read
the important steps listed below regarding the early start procedures. Additional information can be found at http://www.tracylc.net/college-early-start.html Please
remember that students participating in the College Early Start program must
follow dates and deadlines and receive prior approval to take college classes
while attending high school. TLC
provides reimbursement for tuition for those who have prior approval to take
specific classes with proof of payment and a successful course completion with
a grade of “C” or better. Textbooks and
additional fees are not reimbursable.
Important Links:
Senior
Info
Every Tuesday and Thursday there is an open lab for
students seeking help with the college applications and/or any other college
related guidance. The computer lab will
be in Mr. Roger’s Room M8 during lunch from 12:10pm – 12:50pm.
Counselors are still taking individual appointments
with students to assist in guiding them through the college application
process.
Save the Date for December 12th at 6pm for MHS’ Financial Aid Information
Night. Important topics will be covered such as the types of financial aid
available for college and application deadlines will be discussed.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
