Weekly Newsletter for the week of October 28th, 2013

Charter Chatter

A weekly newsletter written to parents of the Tracy Learning Center

                 

Nov. 1, 2013                                                                                         Vol. 13 No.13

Virginia Stewart

What is new in education is the turn from our usual standardized testing to a new set of standards called common core.  Here is a look at what is coming in mathematics:

The Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practice are becoming increasingly integral to school systems nationwide. While it has its critics, the appeal of having math curricula meet a uniform set of standards and practices does have valid merits.

The CCSS differ from concept-based curriculum standards. Each Common Core mathematical practice is designed to help students learn to think logically, which will help teachers  go beyond drills and work towards creating  young mathematicians.

The goal will be to improve student reasoning and thinking as it relates to math.  The students will learn how to solve problems in a variety of ways and to figure out what the math problem really is.  Hopefully as a result of the new standards, there will be a greater understanding and connection of math to the real world. 

I personally hope that students will remain excited about learning math and enjoy it more than they seem to at the present time. 

As the state moves in this direction, testing will change and how testing is done will change as well.  Currently, we are in transition and will have to wait to see how common core standards become reality in our schools.

Misc. Announcements

Next Parent Council Meeting

Thurs. Nov. 21 @ 4:15 in P5

Next School Holiday

Monday, Nov. 11, 2013

Entire Thanksgiving Week

PCS/DCS Lunch Menu Week Nov. 4 - Nov. 8 Mon. –   Pizza Tues. –Nachos Wed  – Chicken Nugget Wednesday Thurs. – Mac and Cheese Fri. –  BBQ Rib Sandwich

Primary Charter

PCS PE
P2 won the Golden Shoe Award for the month of October.  Great Job Everyone!!!!

PCS Gold

           

PCS Gold had a fantastic week! Yesterday students walked in a parade and went trick-or- treating in the Discover Classrooms. Everyone looked wonderful in their costumes!

Our canned food drive has started! For the entire month of November we will be collecting canned food items. All items will be donated to Tracy Interfaith.

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.

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      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. Also, students must be supervised after carline. Please do not let them shout or play in the tan bark in front of the administrative office and classrooms while learning is going on.

November 11- Veteran's Day. No School.

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PCS Halloween Album

Sapphire PCS

The Sapphire Team had a sparkling week!

The Halloween parade was fun for all the staff, parents and students.  The costumes were amazing this year and a BIG THANK YOU to DCS and PHSA for allowing us to “trick or treat” in their classrooms; the students had a blast!!

 Our elected officers have been busy planning and have decided to take on philanthropy as their main focus.  We plan to help local military (past and present) throughout the 2013-2014 school year.  Members have prepared cards for the Sapphire Pod to decorate and write thank you letters to local veterans.  We are also collecting powdered hot chocolate packets and store purchased cookies to send to 8 local military men, women and their units who will be deployed during this holiday season.  Look for information on how you can help with this great cause in your child’s green folder! All items need to be donated no later than Tuesday November 12, to allow us to get them to Military Moms of Tracy to ship overseas.

Parent Teacher conferences will be held the week of November 18 – 22; look for sign up times that will be coming home in your child’s folder.

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

This week in Art:  the K/1’s finished their painted pumpkins and added a crazy face just in time for Halloween. The 2/3’s completed their painted cat faces, drew a haunted house with implied texture, and started working on textured trees. 4^th grade Multicultural Art learned how to mount finished artwork using their Haitian metal art. They then “traveled” to their new location of the Pacific Islands and learned how to make Tapa Cloth.

DCS 5^th/6^th

Healthy Bodies:

A large portion of our adult bone mass is formed between the ages 9 and 15. This is a critical time for children to eat a healthy diet and get plenty of exercise. Teachers see many DCS students participating actively in high impact, bone building activities during P.E. and after lunch. Help us encourage healthy behavior by asking your child about favorite physical activities at school.

Field Trips:

 Students have been submitting field trip permission slips for Eagle Lakes (Garnet) and the Academy of Sciences (Gold). Many parents have offered to volunteer as chaperones. We greatly appreciate this support. If we have more volunteers than necessary a lottery system will be used to select chaperones and you will be notified soon after.

SWO (School Wide Outcomes):

The Cooperative Collaboration portion of the SWO's were due this week. Many students worked feverishly to put them together in time for submission. Our next portion will be Personal Awareness. It is a great idea to get an early start! This will involve a compare and contrast essay as well as a left and right hand scrapbook page. Students should focus on using photos that demonstrate the character traits they possess or desire.

    

Report Cards:

The trimester is winding down. AR point submissions, project completions, and final exams are in the air. Report cards will be going home soon.

Science Olympiad 5/6:  We will be holding an informational meeting on Monday November 4th at 6pm in Mrs. Pelaez's room.  I will have event assignments and partners as well as other information on the event.  Hope to see you there.

PHSA 7^th and 8^th

This week in PHSA.....

Geometry just completed the unit on parallel & perpendicular lines.  The class did fantastically.  The average was 93%.  

Pre-Algebra is learning how to decipher word expressions and write them as mathematical expressions.  

Mr. Adams' math classes continue to explore graphing and linear equations 

Mr. Mitri's Language Arts classes explored how irony and paradoxes are used in literature.

In Science, we started Unit 4: Elements, Compounds, and Mixtures this week. Take time to ask your student about the difference between elements and compounds!

 

In Science Enrichment, students have continued to learn about forces. This week, students were introduced to gravity, tension, friction and compression. Next week, students will continue learning about what causes and object to move. THis weekend, ask your student about unbalanced forces!

Mrs. Carr's class is mastering multiplication of exponents and will tackle power of powers!  BTW...Tower of Power is my favorite band!

Only 3 more weeks left to obtain all of the trimester 1 Accelerated Reader Points! get reading!

In Mrs. Carr's classes, we took our firs LOTF quiz on Friday! Students are loving the novel and doing  a great job of identifying the underlying themes of our book....

Check AERIES or student agendas for current grades and email any teachers if you have concerns.

( this is just general PHSA info)- All SWO's were submitted last week and every student should have their scrap book and grade. For those that did nit pass, turned it in incomplete or not all, A MANDATORY work room during lunch starts on Mon. Nov 4th. It is one hour and students must bring their own lunch ( no buying). The purpose it to work on their scrap books until they are passed..The highest grade they can receive is a 70% ...FYI


Science Olympiad 7/8:

We are underway!  The teams and events have been assigned and it the guidelines have gone home.  We will begin the bimonthly after school practice times on Wednesday November 13th.  Please email Karen or Warren Snell if you have any questions.

MHS

 Thank you to the wonderful visitor we had this week in our Career Education classes: Mary Horning- SJVC, Dr. Hu Nelson- Orthodontics, Christina Raterman - University of Pacific and Abraham Lopez-UC Merced.

Community Service

1.       Tracy Buccaneers- Saturday, November 2^nd from 7:30-2pm and 1-7pm at Tracy high. Students will help with set up, snack bar and break down. If interested please ask for James Brakkee on Saturday.

2.       Brighter Christmas- Next Tuesday, November 5^th mandatory meeting at ST. Pauls Church, Community room (1635 Chester Dr. Tracy) at 6:30pm. Please plan to attend this meeting where Brighter Christmas and all volunteer opportunities are explained. Signups for activities will be taken. Hope to see you all there!

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.

  

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 12^th 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.

Passport to College

This is for all senior students and parents who are participating in Passport to College at Delta College. If you failed to register for Delta College and complete the assessment test by the advertised deadlines, those deadlines have been extended. You still have the opportunity to complete the steps and be included in the program.

Tracy Unified School District will be hosting twp Parent/Student Meetings for the 2013-14 school year. You may choose either of these meetings to attend, but your attendance at ONE of them is mandatory.

Tracy High School

November 12, 2013

6:30pm

Cafeteria

West High School

November 20^th, 2013

7pm

Gymnasium

Failure to attend one of these meeting could cause you to forfeit your two years of free tuition at Delta College. If you are unable to attend on this date, other dates in different districts are posted on the passport.deltacollege.edu website. However, you MUST attend ONE of these meetings to ensure your continued participation in the program.

For More information about these meetings or any other passport to college questions, please contact Diana Slawson at 209-954-5020.

Important Links:

DELTA registration procedures

Delta College Early Start Procedures

Spring 2014 - Important Dates

Other News

TLC”S Got Talent Show

We are excited to announce our 3^rd Annual TLC’s Got Talent Show, which takes place this year at the Tracy Grand Theatre on Friday, January 17^th, from 6:30-8:30pm. Students are invited to dust off their tutus, tune up their instruments, or warm their voices for any act under TWO MINUTES! To participate, please complete participation and permission form found in the Front or Counseling office. The deadline to apply is Friday, November 8^th… Auditions will be held and the best acts will be selected…space is limited. A total of 25 acts will be selected. Hope to see at auditions!

Conditioning

Coach Figueroa, Coach Lunn and Coach Reyes are all excited to announce the start of the Falcon Fitness Club! This club will begin on Tuesday, November 12th and last until the beginning of Christmas Break on Friday, December 20th. The club will meet Tuesday through Friday from 4pm to 530pm.

Your $100 entry fee will also get you TWO custom Millennium logo Nike Dri-Fit shirts and a pair of custom Millennium logo Nike shorts.

Participants can expect speed and strength training, along with a cross fit style atmosphere.

If you are looking for an edge before spring tryouts and mandatory conditioning begins, sign up with Coach Figueroa now, as space is limited to 20 student athletes.

We want to stress that by no means is this mandatory to try out for a spring sports team, and that anyone can join, even staff!