Week of December 15, 2008

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
As the end of the first semester comes to a close, and the Winter Holiday break approaches, it is a good time to stop and think about all we have to be thankful for. In challenging times such as these, we also need to think of those who are having even a harder time than we are. Many people are out of work, while others face uncertain times economically. If you get the chance to share some of your time, or even some of your limited resources, the long-lasting impression it will leave on others and yourself will have a permanent affect on how you view the world. Make joy and generosity a part of who you are.

We have accomplished many of our goals for the first half of this school year. In our math classes we have added response clickers to increase student engagement; the staff has completed making adjustments to the lesson pacing guides and benchmarks assessments; expanding our after school Algebra tutorial program for eighth graders; and in sports we have added JV basketball for both the girls and boys teams, as well as adding a golf team.

Next semester our goals include increasing proficiency rates in Language Arts; expanding our after school tutorial program to include seventh graders; begin meeting with students to provide individual academic goals; and fully implementing our new small engine repair class.

Attendance Matters!
Every day your child misses school is a day your child falls behind in achieving state standards. If your child is sick, then she/he should stay at home. However, if you are planning a vacation please do so during the designated time off for schools . . . every moment counts! Good attendance is one thing you can do to increase success in school. As part of our focus on good attendance I have challenged the other middle schools to an ATTENDANCE competition. The school with the least amount of absences each month will get to fly a PUSD School District banner on its flag pole for the following month. I hope you will join me in making our school ATTENDANCE CHAMPIONS.

In Closing…
As I end this message to you, I want to wish you all a wonderful and peaceful holiday season. I truly hope that you are able to find time to enjoy your family and friends and to do some of those special things that you have been postponing. While the holiday season can be very hectic, it can also be the time to try to stop for a moment and just spend time together. With my very best wishes....

Week of December 1, 2008

Semester Coming to a Close
We are now down to the last three weeks of the quarter/semester. Although the end of the semester closes with Winter Break at Christmas, report cards will not be mailed out until we return in January. With finals and entering grades in the computer, there is no way to get grades mailed before the Christmas holiday.

The after school intervention program is going well. Over 175 students, mostly eighth graders, are staying daily for help in Math and Language Arts. All sports students are required to work on homework forty-five minutes with their coaches before going out to practice. Before Christmads we will also be adding extra help in History.

The need to increase student proficiency has been hard work. Students are putting out the extra effort and parent flexibility has been real helpful. Thank you to both students and staff for making education a priority.

Vocational Education
As part of our educational opportunity to offer students build both academic and vocational skills, a new after school program has been added. This hands-on small engine class gives students a chance to build their knowledge and learn a skill. Students will learn how to rebuild small engines under the direction of a teacher and volunteer local business partners. This project-based learning experience will be expanding in the future to include other automotive applications.

Week of November 3, 2008

Helping Students Grow
Now that report cards are out and first quarter benchmark tests have been completed, it’s a good time to look at exactly what students have learned up to this point. Helping students grow academically is equally important with helping students mature emotionally and socially. I know students at school worry about what other kids think about them. But, spending too much time focusing on how they are going to fit in can be handled by teaching our students the value of a good education. Setting goals, getting organized, and keeping good habits also work in other areas of their lives, not just school work.

One way we are going to help students grow here at Sequoia is to provide learning opportunities starting November 10 that are fun and interesting as well as helpful. New after school programs will help students by creating confidence and success. While some students will be required to attend as part of their assistance plan by attending the homework center, others will want to join the program to learn a skill. The homework center will be for any student who did not complete their homework assignment. Not only does failing to do homework hurt students academically, but we’re finding out it is making their grades go down and making them ineligible for sports. We want students to be successful both in the classroom and on the court/field. For skills building, we have developed a vocational class for kids that enjoy building small engines. This is a great chance for students to work with their hands and a fun way to learn.

To make all this happen will require parent support. While I do not expect much complaining about helping students get their homework done or providing an auto shop class, flexibility is going to be a challenge. I have already thought of transportation and have arranged for buses to run at both the regular time and again at 4pm for students staying after school. But, I am sure there are other things I missed. That’s where I need your help. Anyone who sees a problem or has a concern that needs to be solved before getting this started should call me to help work out the kinks. Let’s work together to help students grow.

Week of October 27, 2008

A Music Program to be Proud Of
I am quite proud of our orchestra and marching band, as well as all the students in our music programs. To sit and listen to the orchestra play their stringed instruments is very impressive. Their hard work leading up to the annual Autumn Serenade certainly paid off. Under the direction of Pam Aucutt, the students are demonstrating their love of music as well as ability. With more performances to come, I encourage you to attend one of their future performances.

The marching band performed their first field show of the year last Friday night in Rankin Stadium at Granite Hills during the MHS JV football game half-time break. The patriotic tribute to Veterans was fitting given Veterans Day is just ahead of us. The band presented itself with honor despite the certain feeling of nervousness inside. The company front, a very difficult line formation marching forward in unison while playing their song, was well done. The dedication of the students in band and color guard, under the direction of band director Jillian Calvao and Monica Guerrera advisor, is obvious. Mr. Adams, the MHS band director, visits the Sequoia campus once a week providing that added touch and incentive for our band members. Our next field show is November 7. Come out and join us.

NASA News
The NASA Lunar Family Night will be held on Thursday, November 6, 2008. NASA representatives will be on hand for three days that week visiting classrooms, conducting lessons, and assisting with the family night. The astronomy evening is designed for family participation and exploration among the stars.

As part of our effort to provide all our students with interesting and challenging project-based, problem-solving courses, the NASA Explorer School program provides students with many opportunities for science exploration and experimentation. Schoolwide, there are four elective classes each semester for students. It was in one such class that a student micro-gravity project was created. The experiment has been selected by NASA to be conducted onboard a NASA test flight later this year. Take a look at your calendar and make every effort to attend the Lunar Family Night. It’s more than fun- it’s full of wonder.

Week of October 20, 2008

Beginning of the Second Quarter
This week marks the beginning of the second quarter. Teachers are posting grades for the first quarter report cards which will be mailed out early next week. The 8th graders have an advantage over the 7th graders. They already know how to juggle classes, meet with several different teachers each day, and what to expect. For 7th graders, it’s all brand new. New teachers, new schedules, staying organized, and not falling behind are huge changes for many incoming students. Though the change can be difficult, I believe it is worth the experience.

The middle school years are a great time of change anyway. The adjustments students make during these two years can create wonderful opportunities. I am proud of all our students. I am proud of their ability to adapt, form new friendships, strengthen old ones, try new clubs, go out for sports, and learn new ideas. Next week’s reports card grades will offer a look at how they are doing.

Sports
Let me hear a big Gi-normous YEAH! for our Hawk teams. The boys football team, led by Coach Daryl Lee, swept the Whitney League going undefeated and claiming the championship. Our young men worked hard, played as a team, and rolled over every team in the league. In volleyball, led by Coach Larry Haas, our team claimed a respectable third place. We played against some pretty tough teams who go on to be the same tough competition in high school. Our Lady Hawks know the game and looked as impressive as some high school teams. Way to go ladies! Our cross-country team, led by Coach Robert Steigleder, also captured third in league. Competing against as many as fifteen other schools during the regular season, our runners showed their strength and ability. We have proven Sequoia is now a major contender in sports. Congratulations to all our teams.

Tryouts/sign-up’s for girls basketball, boys soccer, and co-ed gold will be this week. Days and times will be announced at school.

Band
The Sequoia Middle School Marching Band will be performing their fieldshow during halftime at the MHS JV Homecoming football game this Friday night at Rankin Stadium up at Granite Hills High School. Our band is talented and has worked hard at putting this show together. Our students are led by Band Director Jillian Calvao. Come our and support the band. I'm sure you will like what you see and hear as well as get a glimpse at what high school life will look like. See you there!

Week of October 13, 2008

End of the First Quarter
This is the final week of the first quarter. It is full of activity both inside and outside the classroom. District Benchmark exams will be given in core classes on Tuesday and Wednesday. These benchmarks will provide the student and teacher information on how well the standards are being met. These results will assist in guiding future instruction and creating opportunities for students who need extra help. Accurately understanding student performance can pinpoint areas of growth.

Fall sports’ playoffs also begin this week. The Volleyball and Football playoffs start Tuesday (time/location TBA). Winners will advance to a second round on Wednesday (time/location TBA). The final round of competition for volleyball will be held on Thursday in Woodlake at 4pm. The final round fro Football will also be on Thursday hosted by Los Tules in Tulare at 4pm. We have a good shot at making it to the finals in both volleyball (one loss this season) and football (undefeated). Our Cross-Country team will compete in its final meet Wednesday at Veterans Park.

Our Madden ’09 Video Tournament continues this week. The noontime class competition is exciting to watch and the students are loving it. Words like “awesome” and “fun” are frequently heard. Its great to watch these students interact and compete, get excited, shout, cheer for one another, and sometimes offer friendly advice. Some of the students know the game so well that they push buttons with barely looking at the screen, as if they already know what is coming and can’t wait to respond. Its as if the machine is slowing them down. It makes my head hurt sometimes just to watch it and keep up. All in all, the video tournament is part of our school culture because that’s what this generation does. Next up in our video lineup - Guitar Hero III. (If you haven’t heard of it, just ask any kid.) Based on last year’s intense competition, I’m in for another mind whirling event.

Week of October 6, 2008

Looking Forward
As I look forward to the coming week’s activities, I like also to take a look back at the previous week’s events. It helps to evaluate our progress and implementation of the vision and goals we have established here at Sequoia. Part of our vision and goals include developing students as leaders in learning by supporting students in a wide variety of interests. Academics, sports, clubs, service opportunities, and leadership experiences are some of the opportunities we are creating.

Over the past week I have seen students scores on common formative assessments (CFA’s) increase, volleyball again achieved victory, cross-country took first place in the Burton Invitational Meet where fifteen different teams competed, Student Council organized another great School Spirit day, SOAR Club planned service involvement activities, and the Recycling/Environmental Club began a school beautification project. We are also in the middle of lunchtime football tournaments. Intramural sports are coed and played outdoors during lunch. Indoors we are providing a video tournament. Each class chooses a player/players to compete against other classes in Madden ’09 video football games. This is also a lunchtime activity played on the big screen in fornt of 500+ cheering fans and the students really seem to be enjoying it. You can track the tournament online by clicking on the link on this page or the main page. Our Video Production class is not discouraged as they continue to produce daily announcements in spite of repeated difficulties with our new equipment and software. (There is a link on this page as well as our main page to the daily video bulletin - check it out.) Our video announcements broadcast current and upcoming events.

School Site Council Elections
A ballot is being sent home this week to fill several vacancies. Parent involvement through school advisory is an important part of school life. I hope you will take the time to vote and attend future meetings.

New Sign
We have added an electronic notice sign visible from the student drop off area. Look through the gates and catch current and upcoming event notices.

Week of Septemer 29, 2008

How Important Are Grades?
It’s hard to believe that the end of the first quarter is nearly here. Officially, the quarter ends on October 17. Progress reports were sent out the week before last, so everyone should have a copy by now. Progress reports, like report cards, are good feedback tools to communicate how each student is doing. It shows both performance and ability.

Reporting grades can also give us a chance to see where more work is needed. Students may need closer monitoring academically or just simply encouragement. Whatever the case may be, using grades to monitor students’ progress is a good practice. I encourage parents and students to go online and check their grades regularly (weekly). A link to online grades and teacher gradebooks for each student in all subjects can be found in the links section on this page and on our website’s homepage for quick access. If you have any difficulties getting online, call the office (788.0925) and we’ll walk you through it.

Thank you to everyone for taking the time to complete our weekly surveys/polls found on this page. Working together we can achieve our goal of helping our students become Leaders in Learning.

Sports
Congratulations to our sports teams for a strong posting last week. The Lady Hawks swept Burton while falling to Garvey in a very close match-up. The Cross-country team took third once again with many of our Hawk runners improving their times. We are continuing to get better every meet. Congratulations also to our men’s football team for crushing Garvey. Execution was key and we’re very proud of our squad. In fact, if you have come out this year, you know all our teams are strong performers. If you haven’t attended one of our teams’ games, come out and join us this week. I am sure you will be just as impressed with our teams as I am.

Week of September 22, 2008

Preparing Quality Lessons
During the Staff Professional Development Day last Friday, I was pleased to see the level of commitment demonstrated by teachers. They were working together to build common lessons, select strategies that match each day’s learning objectives, and determine which skills need strengthening to help students both in their own classroom and someone else’s classroom as well. It was not enough for our teachers to write lessons that students could achieve just in their class. They wanted to make sure that the learning experiences would help students achieve in any classroom and in any school. The Sequoia staff is committed to providing our students a path to become Leaders in Learning. Take a look at the survey on this page and let us know how we’re doing. Your opinion matters, so join us in evaluating our performance.

Sports
I am very proud of our students and coaches who are competing during this Fall sports season. Our volleyball, football, and cross-country teams are good athletes and are committed to doing their best. Currently our football team is undefeated – YEAH! – and the volleyball team has suffered only one loss. Our cross-country team has not placed lower than third this year in their performance in a field of runners representing seven, and sometimes eight schools at every meet. Please check our sports schedule. Then plan to come out and see the energy and excitement our Hawk athletes bring to the game. Go HAWKS!

Week of September 15, 2008

Follow-up on Back to School Night
Last week's Back to School Night was very well attended. Nearly 300 of our 500+ families turned out to hear more about our school programs and offerings. It was nice to see the entire family come out. It certainly places a high value on education when all family members attend, ask questions, meet the staff, and learn additional ways to get involved.

At next year's Back to School Night, we will be making adjustments to the evening in an effort of continually striving to improve on the year before. I hope you enjoyed this year's event and I look forward to next year Back to School Night.

Clubs
There are many clubs for Sequoia students to join. Most clubs meet weekly and are a great way for students to get involved and make friends. One group that will be meeting this week is our Astronomy Club. This curious bunch of stargazers will meet after school on Thursday from 3-3:45pm. A special Star party will held at Circle J Ranch up above Springville later this month. Contact Sequoia Science/NASA teacher Mrs. Phipps, the club advisor, for further information.

For a complete list of our clubs for students to join, please visit our website.

Sports
I was very proud of athletes who competed last week. The cross-country team took 3rd in the Exeter meet and our volleyball team and football team schooled Bartlett. This week's games and meets are all out of town. Volleyball is at Woodlake on Tuesday and Pioneer on Thursday. Cross Country is away at Woodlake on Wednesday and foot is away on Thursday at Pioneer. While Thursday’s games are at Pioneer, I hope many of you will be able to attend. Go Hawks!

Week of September 8, 2008

Back to School Night
I am looking forward to seeing all of the parents at this week's Back to School Night on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 starting at 5:45pm. We will begin with a general parent meeting in the Multi-purpose room(MPR)/gym followed by visits to the classrooms. Information will also be presented about our schools STAR test scores.

Classroom visits are a great time to meet your daughter's or son's teacher and hear a little about what they will be learning this year. Assignments, class expectations, and grading will be covered. Hopefully there will be enough time to answer general questions. As a parent, if you have specific questions, please ask the teacher for a meeting time to go over any concerns and/or questions.

We will be selling school HAWK SPIRIT t-shirts, special early bird pricing for yearbooks, and snow-cones. There will also be a Book Fair found in the library.

Please plan on joining us for Back to School Night!

Sports
We had several students tryout for volleyball, football, and cross-country. I want to thank all the students who tried out and congratulate those selected to represent Sequoia during the Fall sports season. Games begin this week. Please check the Fall Sports Schedule found on our website. Come out and support our teams.



Band
Our band is sounding great and getting better everyday. The students are excited and are working hard as they are learning the songs and getting ready for their first fieldshow. This year the Sequoia Middle School Marching Band will be performing at two half-time shows at MHS JV football games. The first game is the MHS vs. Granite Hills game and the second is on MHS homecoming night. I feel we have earned the right to perform and feel confident our students will do well. Why? Because HAWKS ROCK!