the
September 2014 PRESENTATION HIGH SCHOOL PARENT NEWSLETTER
LANTERN Student resources and reminders for the new year Presentation Study Center By Kara Westbrook, Academic Support Director
Attendance Reminders Parents, if your daughter is not coming to school or is coming to school late, please call the Attendance Office no later than 9 a.m. at 408-266-1060. When she returns to school, send her to the Attendance Office with a note from you. Your daughter is considered absent if she arrives at school after 8 a.m. (unless she has a free period), and will need a note. All absences require a written note signed by the parent the day she returns to school. Faxes and emails are not accepted. Notes can be written on the school’s Absentee Note, which can be found on our website; or you may use binder paper, note paper or index card. The Attendance Office voicemail is available 24 hours a day and the office is open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. In the rare instance when your daughter needs to leave school for an appointment, send her to the Attendance Office before school begins with a note from you stating the reason she needs to leave campus and the time of her dismissal. She will be given an Early Dismissal Notice from the Attendance Secretary, Ms. Furtado. She can leave class at the stated time on the Early Dismissal Slip. By law the school cannot dispense medication. Your daughter may carry Advil, Tylenol, Midol, cough drops, etc. in her backpack to use as needed. Please Note: The detailed Attendance Policy is located in your daughter’s Academic Planner on Pages 13-15. Please refer to this as needed throughout the school year or email the Attendance Office at cfurtado@presentationhs.org.
The 2014-2015 school year has just begun and the counseling department has had many girls stopping by to say “hi” or to find a quiet place to study. I am certified as a Language Development Specialist and to administer the California English Language Development Test (CELDT.) Before coming to Presentation, I had been working with at risk students through programs such as Reading Recovery and the United States Department of Education funded Supplemental Educational System. The wealth of knowledge I have gleaned working in these projects will now be focused on enriching the education of the girls at Presentation. I have worked with students from ages three to thirty in the areas of reading, math, spelling, comprehension, science and writing. I’m looking forward to giving the girls in the Study Center the hands-on support they need to achieve academic success. Additionally, I arrange for peer tutors in The Study Center. Any girl who has taken a course and achieved a grade of 3.7 or higher may be a tutor for that course. She must make a commitment to tutor an hour or more a week for the entire semester. If a student would like to be tutored, they can sign up in the Study Center, and I will match them with the appropriate peer tutor.
Inside this issue LETTERS Principal’s letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Parent Board letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Board of Trustees letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 DEPARTMENT UPDATES Welcome new faculty and staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Department Spotlight: Visual and Performing Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 College Counseling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Athletics: Varsity home games. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Campus Ministry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Community Involvement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Dance and Bella Voce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Performing Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Student Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 OFFICE OF ADVANCEMENT Auction 2014 - Hollywood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Starbucks cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Mother Daughter Breakfast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 SEPTEMBER CALENDAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12