The TLC Newsletter for the week of October 14th.....

Charter Chatter

A weekly newsletter written to parents of the Tracy Learning Center

                 

Oct. 18, 2013                                                                                         No.11

Virginia Stewart

 This week has opened my eyes to how hurtful missing assignments can be to a student's grades and their learning.  When assignments are missing the consequences go beyond the zero that goes in the grade book.  The student now loses out on the learning that happens during that class period because of not being prepared for the lesson.  They are not able to ask questions or push their understanding without having completed the homework ahead of time.  And finally there are the assessments that become harder to prepare for when you are behind in the work.

As teachers, we try to stay on top of students and their work and we also provide many opportunities to get help or extra time to complete work.  We know hoe important the those small assignments can be.  As parents, you can also provide support by checking agendas, calenders and web pages to remind students of what is due.  Parents are encouraged to also contact teachers if they see students struggling with work so we can get them the help they need to succeed.  Together we can make a difference and it is the little things that go a long way

Misc. Announcements

Hearing Van Re-checks

Wed. Oct. 23, 2013

Next Parent Council Meeting

Thurs. Nov. 21 @ 4:15 in P5

ELAC Meeting

We are having an ELAC committee meeting on Thursday, October 24^th at 4:00 pm.  We will meet in room D-7. Any parent who would like to share an opinion regarding English language learners is invited.  We will focus on discussing what resources are available and how to further support EL students.  Your input is greatly appreciated.  If you have further questions, please contact Rosario De La Torre at rdelatorre@tracylc.net.

La siguiente junta del comité de ELAC se llevará  a cabo el 24 de octubre a las 4:00 pm.  La junta tomará lugar en el salón D-7.  Cualquier padre que esté interesado en compartir su opinión sobre los alumnos aprendices del inglés (English learners) es bienvenido.   Estaremos discutiendo el cómo mejorar los programas actuales que la escuela  ofrece para beneficio de estos estudiantes.  Si tiene preguntas, por favor de contactar a Rosario De La Torre al correo electrónico rdelatorre@tracylc.net.

Haunted High - Time to SCREEEAAMMM!!!!

Come see the other side of Alice in her Wonderland at this years Haunted High on Friday, October 25th. 

This event is mainly for Discovery and Millennium students but we will have some activities for the younger ones. 

This years haunted high will feature more carnival games, food, and a kid zone for all ages. 

Carnival games and kid zone will run from 5:00 - 8:00 and the haunted high from 5:00 - 10:00. Haunted house trips will cost $5.00 while most carnival games will be around $1.00. See you then!

                     

PCS/DCS Lunch Menu Week Oct. 21- Oct. 25 Mon. –   Pizza Tues. –Chicken Quesadilla Wed  – Chicken Patti Sandwich Thurs. –No Meat Spaghetti Fri. –  Hamburger

Primary Charter

PCS PE

This week we would like to recognize the following students for earning a shoe token for demonstrating Respect, Responsibility and Good sportsmanship in PE: John Mendez, Carson Edwards, Cameron Williams, Brandon Harper, and Santiago Reynoso. 

We would also like to congratulate the following students for earning their Strong Paw award for completing 15 perfect push-ups. (Not pictured Kamal Frazier)

PCS Gold

Golden Highlights:

Primary Gold’s student leadership has been very busy planning a canned food drive for November. Additional information about this fundraiser will be coming soon!

Did you know that National Make a Difference Day is Saturday, October 26^th? TLC wants to do our part by helping the families at the Tracy McHenry House. Our goal is to provide household supplies to the seven families in need of a helping hand at the McHenry House. Each grade level is assigned to a household item to donate. PCS Gold and Sapphire are assigned toilet paper. Please bring in a single roll of toilet paper by Friday, October 25^th.

Reminders:

Halloween is right around the corner! This year’s Halloween parade will be Thursday, October 31^st at 9:00 on the field. Parents are welcome to join and watch the parade! Look for information from your student’s classroom about details for Halloween festivities!

Red Ribbon Week is October 28^th-November 1^st! The theme this year is “Band Against Bullying.” Be sure to wear RED on Friday, November 1^st!

The mornings are very cold, 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 7:45 in the morning, as they will be unsupervised.

Sapphire PCS

The Sapphire Team had a great week!

P1 has been busy learning about patriotism this week; ask your child what they have learned.

P6 students have been learning and making posters about sea creatures which they will present to the rest of the class.    

P5 has been continuing to work on their character posters. As we finish drawing the character and setting, we will add details about the character’s traits, adding quotes from the book to support these ideas.

We will be celebrating Red Ribbon week the week of October 28th – November 1^st.  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.

PCS ART

This week in Art: The K/1’s began drawing and painting pumpkins, which will be made into Jack 0’ Lanterns next week. The 2/3’s finished their bird collages and began drawing their cat portraits. The 4^thgrade multi-cultural art classes began Metal Embossing for their Haiti project.

When your student brings home their artwork, please ask them how they made it, what they learned, what they like about it, and what they would do differently next time. Talking about their art helps them to feel a real sense of accomplishment!

DCS 5^th/6^th

Field Trips:

We are in need of parent volunteers for the exciting field trips we have planned!

Garnet- Information about the Eagle Lakes field trip went home this week. Contact Mrs. Wallace(dwallace@tracylc.net) for more information.

Gold- Information about the Academy of Sciences field trip went home this week. Contact Ms. Pelaez (lpelaez@tracylc.net) for more information.

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.

Lost and Found:

Cold mornings and warm afternoons have led to a number of forgotten sweaters and jackets. When these items are discovered they are brought to the lost and found. Thank you for reminding your child to check the lost and found when you notice a missing item.

     

DCS Dance:

The fall dance is after school Wednesday, October 30th. More details to come!

PHSA 7^th and 8^th

Here’s what happened this week in PHSA!

In Mr. Mitri's class we're reading “The Pearl" and analyzing how literary devices contribute to literature.

In Mr. Lasnier’s social studies, students learned about the differences between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson and presented their group posters. 

Mrs. Carr’s classes: Call of the wild unit projects are due Monday! Starting a new unit Tuesday.... 4 weeks left for AR points...

Mrs. King:

Geometry is working hard on mastering proofs, Getting better every day.

Pre-Algebra is learning about scientific notation and using it in multiplication, ordering and solving word problems.

Pre-Algebra has wrapped up a small section on integers and is studying for their first unit final on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Mr. Adams:

Algebra classes had their mid term exams this week

We also worked on borrowing fractions

Mrs. Powers:

Science-
Learned about elements, isotopes and ions. Started the lab

Science Enrichment-
Learning about force and how to find net force

Ask your student what THEY learned this week!

The Science Olympiad event wish lists are due.  Please make sure you have submitted you partner and event choices to Mrs. Powers or Mr. Snell

MHS

Next week MHS will recognize the “Week of Respect.”  The week will focus on respecting our families, peers, teachers, school, and the community.  We look forward to a respectful and successful week for all falcons.

MHS is hosting its 4th Annual Haunted High next Friday, October 25th from 5pm-10pm. Come out and show your support. The event has attractions for all ages. There will be a kid’s zone which will include a bounce house, miniature golf, bean bag toss and some gruesome carnival games. The adult attraction is the haunted house located in the gym. The haunted house attraction is highly recommended for ages 13 and up. You can purchase a $5 ticket for a one time trip into the gym or a $20 unlimited pass which includes 15 tickets and an unlimited pass into the gym. We hope you can make it to help support MHS's Art Department. 

Students had a great time on our field trip to San Francisco State University and Ex’pressions College this week.  Our next field trip is scheduled next month in November to UC Davis and Sacramento State University…details coming soon!

Together, TLC Can Make a Difference!

Dear TLC Families,

It’s that time of the year again…students at the Tracy Learning Center can make a difference on “National Make a Difference Day”.   As part of a school-wide project, TLC will be participating in a donation project to help the McHenry House of Tracy-Family Shelter.  Our goal is to provide much needed household supplies to the seven families awaiting help at the McHenry House.  Each grade level is assigned a different household item to donate.  Below are the items per grade level and where to drop off donations:                                               

                       Primary Gold and Sapphire - Single Roll of toilet paper

                        (Drop off to homeroom team)

                               Discovery- Cleaning Wipes

                       (Drop off to 1^st period teachers)

PHSA- Single Roll of Paper Towel                  

            (Drop off to 1^st period teachers)

Millennium- Tissue Boxes

          (Drop off to nest leader’s classrooms)

Drop off  items the week of October 21^st – 25^th. 2013.

If you have any questions please contact Mrs. Schaffran at tschaffran@tracylc.net

Thank you to the wonderful visitor we had this week in our Career Education classes: Sherri Cantalano from Expression College.

Community Service

1.       United Way Haunted House- October 17-31^st students can volunteer to help out at the West Valley Mall haunted house. For more information please see Ms. Lunn.

2.       Central Elementary School- Tuesday- Fridays, Central Elementary Library is looking for help from 12-2pm. For more information please see Ms. Lunn.

3.       Millennium Basketball Homes Games: Ms. Balsamo is looking for help for each of the JV, Varsity Boys and Girls basketball home games. She is looking for students that would be willing to work the snack bars as a on-going opportunity. The hours would be from 4:30-9:30pm. The opportunity will begin starting in November. If you are interested please come see Ms. Lunn in the counseling office!

Spring Delta College Info

This week, there was an information meeting for all students interested in taking Delta College classes next Spring.  If a student missed the meeting, he or she can get the information from the Counseling Office.  Parents needing information can visit http://www.tracylc.net/college-early-start.html to find out about the College Early Start program and dates/deadlines for the Spring semester.

Senior Info

The college application process for seniors have begun! Counselors visited classrooms last week and have been meeting with students regarding how to apply, completing college applications, and answering any college related questions.  The following power point presentation is available for viewing:

MHS Senior Info PPT