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September 21, 2012, Issue #1 Petaluma Junior High School
Phone: 778-4724, Fax: 778-4600 Principal, John W. Lehmann
Website: Petalumajuniorhigh.org Asst. Principal, Nancy Emanuele
Principal's Note
Dear Parents,
Thank you for attending the August 29th Back to School Night. I hope it was as informational as it was pleasant. I appreciate your membership in our PTSA and remind some of you that you may still join! Forms are available in the office.
Our first grading period ends Thursday, September 27th. Please maintain communication with teachers and children by checking the daily planner, calling the homework hotline and checking teachers' websites.
We will publish this newsletter five times this year and will send it home with your child on Fridays. The newsletter will contain updates from the academic and elective departments, a Principal's message and updates from the PTSA. Together with the weekly phone messages, the marquis on the front lawn, handbook, website, homework hotline, and this newsletter, we will continue to maintain communication with you regarding important events and dates. Do not hesitate to call the office or email me at jlehmann@petk12.org if and when you have questions.
As part of our Building Excellent Schools Together (BEST) training PJHS conducts a weekly Monday morning full school assembly during which we, conduct the pledge, read the daily bulletin and recognize students for academic and social accomplishment both in and out of school. If your child has participated in a meaningful activity, in or outside of school, please give the office a call so we can recognize them in front of their peers. Recognition for academic excellence, our Renaissance Awards, will take place next week for those 8th graders who scored on the honor roll in their last semester of 7th grade. The honor roll certificates for this year's 7th and 8th graders will take place at the semester end in January.
The PTSA has been very busy and already scheduled our annual Pasta Feed for Wednesday, October 24th, from 5:30-7:30pm. In addition to great pasta provided by the Pasta King, we will have a silent auction and an old fashion cake walk sponsored by the 6th Grade Academy. More information and flyers will follow as the date grows near.
Many thanks to Ms. Tricia De Carli, our PJHS Volunteer Coordinator, who has created a data base of interested and motivated parents who are beginning to help out in many capacities here on campus from before and after school greeters, Library helpers, and lunch time club organizers. We have lots of needs and if you have free time please consider volunteering your time. You may contact Tricia at tndecarli@comcast.net for more information or to sign up to help!
We conducted our first Fire/Emergency drill last Tuesday morning and within four minutes the entire school had lined up in orderly rows on the blacktop. We will conduct additional drills so that in the event of an actual emergency we will be ready to respond quickly and safely. PJHS is fortunate to have a large campus with space, and a dedicated staff that take these drills seriously.
Thank you for your patience in dropping off and picking up your children from school. Slow and steady is the key.
If you are interested in carpooling, send me an email and I will create a data base to share names and numbers.
We are off to a great start!
John Lehmann, Principal
Assistant Principal's Greeting
Welcome to the 2012-2013 school year at PJHS! My name is Nancy Emanuele, and it is my pleasure to serve students, families and staff in my role as assistant principal. I invite you to contact me (email is always good!) with any concerns you may have about your student's well being and ability to access her/his education fully at PJHS. Our goal is to provide a safe and engaging learning environment for all students.
As you know, the junior high school years are a time of enormous physical, emotional and cognitive growth in your child. At no other time since infancy will your child change so much in a relatively short period of time. Please take a moment to look over the attached schedule of free, PTSA-sponsored parent education workshops. Susan Victor, Sonoma State Professor (Department of Secondary Education), and parent of two teenagers in our Petaluma community will conduct an engaging, interactive workshop entitled, "Overview of this Generation and Adolescent Development." We hope you will attend the Thursday, September 27th workshop from 6:30-8:00 in the PJHS library.
Looking for some reading on adolescents and bullying? Check out Barbara Coloroso's book, The Bully, the Bullied and the Bystander. Coloroso is nationally recognized for her research into bullying and how to positively affect the behavior of bullies and strengthen the resiliency of targets.
Please remember that Petaluma City Schools' district policy requires that junior high students attending high school events must be accompanied by an adult.
Thank you and I hope you and your student have a great year!
Nancy Emanuele
nemanuele@petk12.org
Featured Article
Proposition 30
The Schools and Local Public Safety Protection Act of 2012
The initiative proposes to temporarily increase income taxes on high-wage earners and the state sales tax. Income taxes would increase 3 percent on households earning more than $1 million, increase 2 percent on households earning $600,000-$1 million and increase 1 percent on households earning $500,000-$600,000. The state sales tax would increase a quarter of a cent. The sales tax hike expires in four years; income taxes expire in seven years. Estimates of the revenue increases vary from $6.8 billion to $9 billion for 2012-13 and from $5.4 billion to $7.6 billion, on average; lesser amounts in 2018-19. These revenues would be available to (1) pay for the state's school and community college funding requirements, as increased by this measure, and (2) address the state's budgetary problem by paying for other spending commitments. The measure bars use of funds for administrative costs, but provides local schools governing board's discretion to decide, in open meetings and subject to annual audit, how funds are to be spent.
· Prop 30 is a balanced solution that will reduce the budget deficit and protect schools and students from deeper cuts. After several years of massive cuts, this initiative helps balance California's state budget without raising income taxes on those hit hardest by the recession.
· If Prop 30 fails in November, public education faces more than $5 billion in additional cuts next year. California schools have the largest class sizes in the nation. In many districts, art, music, vocational education, athletics, and after-school programs have been eliminated.
· Prop 30 guarantees that new revenue for education will be spent on schools at the local level. It also requires transparency through a public audit.
· In the past four years, public education has been cut by more than $20 billion, class sizes have soared at all grade levels, more than 40,000 educators have been laid off, and arts have been eliminated.
· State college and university fees have increased more than 300 percent, pricing many students out of obtaining a degree, while students at community colleges find it increasingly difficult to get the classes they need.
· Prop. 30 is supported by a broad coalition that includes the governor, legislators, educators, labor unions, community groups, and businesses.
· It is time to reevaluate how California funds schools and essential public services and to provide adequate per-pupil funding to ensure all California students have the opportunity for quality education.
Specific Impacts on Petaluma City Schools:
· Over the last five years Petaluma City Schools has made budget cuts of over $10,000,000, which includes eight days of work and pay for all employees (this includes the reduction of five days of school).
· Five years of no Cost Of Living Adjustments and cuts from the State have caused the State to withhold more than 22% of the funding to school districts. Base Revenue Limits is the largest funding source for school districts.
· In anticipation of Proposition 30 passing, the State did not cut school districts for 2012/13
· If Proposition 30 fails in November, the State will cut Petaluma City Schools funding by over $3,300,000 in January; the State will allow School Districts to negotiate a cut to the school year by an additional 15 days, down to 160 school days in 2012-13 or 2013-14. This will be down from 180 days that had been the minimum until five years ago when the State allowed districts to cut five days to help manage significant cuts to their funding.
Counseling Corner
WELCOME TO PETALUMA JR. HIGH!
The counselors would like to welcome both incoming 7th graders and new and returning 8th graders. We hope you had a safe and fun summer! Below you will find some information about some of the programs we have at PJHS as well as some ideas to help your student be successful.
If you would like more information or have questions, please contact your counselor—
Ms. Horwitz, (last name starts with) A-K counselor at 778-4730
Mr. Podbereski, L-Z counselor at 778-4729
To students:
1. Have a regular place to do homework: Be sure your place is quiet, well lit, well supplied and organized. When you get home from school, empty and organize your backpack. Save all your completed assignments in a box for future reference (study for tests, etc…).
2. Get into a homework routine: Plan to do your homework around the same time every day and stick to it. 1 – 1 ½ hours of homework each night is not uncommon.
3. Use your planner: This is the single most important tool for success. Be sure to write down your daily and long-term assignments each day. When you get home, check to see what's due the next day as well as in the future. Work a little each day on long-term assignments so that you don't have to do a big project at the last minute.
4. Ask for help: If you find that you are struggling in a particular class, ask for help. There are many ways to get help with schoolwork. You can ask your teacher, an aide, or a classmate.
To parents:
1. Stay involved: Parent involvement in middle grades is just as important as it was in elementary school. Communicate with your child's teachers, attend back-to-school night, volunteer at dances, join PTSA, attend PTSA and ELAC meetings and volunteer to tutor in the library after school. Students whose parents stay involved do better in school.
2. Access the PJHS website, www.petalumajuniorhigh.org, to 1) read the principal's newsletter which contains important information (sent home with students also), 2) read the daily bulletin, 3) click "staff" to connect with teacher websites and e-mail addresses, and 4) access the Parent Portal for homework info.
3. Check your child's planner and homework nightly: Be sure s/he is getting work completed and accurately.
4. Communicate with your child's teachers and counselor: Don't hesitate to call or e-mail teachers if you find that your child is struggling in a class. And, keep in touch with the counselor if there are personal issues your child is struggling with. We are here to help.
English Department News
Wow! The first semester is off to a fast start! In the English department, most of the first few weeks of school are spent setting up and practicing good work habits. These practices vary from teacher to teacher and include such tasks as using manuscript form, daily reading and/or journal writing, and taking quizzes about classroom policies.
At home, families can help perpetuate these habits by setting up a consistent place and time for doing homework, daily review of the student's planner, and discussion of syllabi and letters from teachers.
Another important habit to establish is staying current on what is going on in English class. Please frequently check the PJHS web site, teacher web pages, Aeries Parent Connect, the homework hotlines, and/or email for information on department events, class assignments, and your child's grades. If questions arise, please contact your child's teacher by either email or a phone call.
Thank you for all you do to help your child learn as much as is humanly possible.
Sincerely,
The English Department
Mr. Day, Ms. Sullivan, Ms. Miller, Ms. Mantoani, Ms. Jimenez, Mrs. Fillipo, Mrs. Salzano, and Ms. Kneeland
History Department News
The History Department is excited about the 2012-2013 school year and is pleased to introduce Mrs. Hilda Abate and Ms. Allison Schermerhorn our new 7th grade World History teachers. Mrs. Abate has been with the District for eight years and this is Ms. Schermerhorn's first year with Petaluma City Schools. Both are excellent teachers and we feel fortunate to have them on our campus.
Along with Mrs. Abate and Ms. Schermerhorn, Mrs. Nelson will explore the Medieval World starting with our Landforms Unit. The culminating project for this unit is the "Make Your Own Continent" in which students design a continent with 46 landforms colored according to their elevation key. Eighth grade teachers, Mr. Murphy and Mr. Lamansky, will study The United States through Industrialism and have started their units with the founding of the thirteen colonies and what lead to their clear independence.
Both the 7th and 8th grades use the History Alive! textbook. This text was developed by middle school teachers at the Teachers' Curriculum Institute (TCI) and has been endorsed by Kate Kinsella and other renowned educational leaders. Many of our elementary feeder schools use TCI and students are already familiar with the interactive text and simulations throughout the curriculum. The TCI approach to learning involves students in many exciting activities to bring History Alive!
We look forward to a productive and auspicious school year.
Independent Living/Culinary Arts News
Independent Living and Culinary Arts classes are "cooking up a storm" in room F-1 this year. Thanks to the generosity of many parents, the classes have been processing pounds of pears, zucchini, peaches, blackberries, and other produce for use in the cooking unit this month. Students have taken their utensil quizzes in Independent Living. All students have made breakfast burritos, black bean tostizzas, and next week will complete pasta primavera. The Culinary classes have also made bruschetta.
Our next unit in Independent Living classes is Interior Design. All students will be designing their "Dream Bedrooms." They must include samples of all surfaces, as well as a cost analysis of all furniture and materials. Students love this project. Most want pools, hot tubs, and basketball courts included into the bedroom design. Any Interior Designers out there? We would love some of your old design boards, and perhaps have you come in as a guest speaker.
Our garden needs serious help this year. Mrs. Nugent was unable to spend the summer here. Please consider assisting in the garden for just one hour a week! Contact Mrs. Nugent, if interested.
Classroom volunteers are welcome in this class. Volunteering doesn't have to stop in elementary school! Assisting in a class gives you an idea of what goes on in junior high, and assists our students as well. Contact Mrs. Nugent at the enclosed e-mail address if you would like to help.
Independent Living/Culinary Arts Wish List:
Snack-sized zip lock bags
Dish soap
Cleanser
White thread
Felt
Starts and bulbs for garden
Volunteers for cutting quilt squares
Guest speakers
Prizes for Nugent Note goodie box (grab bag items): non-food items
The Culinary Garden
Many changes are happening in the Culinary Garden, and many volunteer opportunities await parents.
The renovation of the garden is halfway complete; thanks to so many generous grants and donations from community businesses. This summer, Dave Martin and his crew from Creedence Construction volunteered their labor to construct a beautiful 10x10 garden shed to house the collection of garden items that has been previously cluttering the Culinary classroom. Mead Clark provided materials at or below cost, and our cookbook fundraiser from last fall allowed us to purchase materials. Thank you, Dave, Creedence, and Mead Clark!
Two grants were obtained, just recently, to boost us closer to our goal of building an outdoor amphitheater and stairs to reach the lower garden area. We were recently awarded a $500.00 grant from Kiwanis of Petaluma, and another $1500 from the 2011-2012 Leadership Class of the Petaluma Chamber of Commerce to help us along!
At present, tomatoes, rhubarb, and zucchini abound. We are frantically roasting, blanching, chopping and freezing our precious bounty for use in Independent Living and Culinary classes throughout the school year. Our production garden saves us approximately $1000 in grocery bills per year, and nothing goes to waste.
Our fall garden work day will be held this year on Saturday, September 22nd from 9-12:00. Please bring your hammers, drills, pruners, shovels, weed-whacker, and chainsaw to help us trim bushes and trees, dig the hillside for stairs, and build a composting station. If your child is enrolled in Independent Living, Life Skills, or Culinary Arts, they will receive bonus points for your efforts.
Volunteers can call Charlene Nugent at 778-4724 or email at cnugent@petk12.org.
Library News
I always enjoy starting the new school year in our beautiful library. The library was completed in July 2010, thanks to a bond measure passed many years ago. Our students love the library!
All sixth and seventh grade students receive an orientation on how to use the library during the first weeks of school. Eighth grader refresher orientations are in progress to review using the library catalog and finding books on the shelf. For all grades, I review a selection of books that they might be interested in, and many students check out these books.
***Overdue library books***
One area where I really need parent assistance is in getting students to return their library books on time. Students stamp their books with the due date when they check them out, and usually receive a notice in class if books are overdue. Fines of 10 cents per school day are charged on overdue books.
Expect a letter from us if the book is still not returned. If there is still no response, your student will receive lunch detentions until the book is returned or paid for. Even if you think you have resolved the problem by sending a book or a check, your student may be still carrying something around in his or her backpack that has not reached the library.
You may wonder why junior high and high schools charge overdue fines. As I am sure you know it is difficult to get students this age to do things like return books unless there is a consequence. I do allow students to work off their fines and charges for lost books by working in the library.
If your student thinks they have lost a library book, I have a detailed list of suggested places to look. Remember that library books have a label on their spine.
***Tutoring Program***
We ran a very successful tutoring program during the last two years thanks to parent volunteers, with up to 24 students in the library after school. Lori Krist, parent of ninth grader Robert and sixth grader Tyler, was the volunteer who kept our program going along with me. Unfortunately, her teaching schedule this year will no longer allow her to tutor. In order to restart after school tutoring this school year, I need a minimum of two volunteers working together for an hour after school on the same afternoon. So far I only have one maybe. Tutoring volunteers need to be able to come on a regular basis. Contact me or volunteer coordinator Tricia DeCarli if you are interested.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or your student needs any assistance.
Karen Andresen, Teacher/Librarian
kandresen@petk12.org
Math Department
The math department would like to welcome Ms. Seeley to PJHS. She is teaching both 7th and 8th grade Math. Ms. Seeley has experience teaching at both the junior high and high school level and adds some great knowledge and expertise to the department.
The 7th grade Pre-Algebra text and 8th grade Algebra I text have the textbook, videos, quizzes, and games online at pearsonsuccessnet.com. The user name and passwords are: seventh/7seven and eighth/8eight. The Geometry text also has support at classzone.com.
The complete solutions to all of the odd-numbered problems can also be found at Hotmath.com, using the login "mathrocks7:". We encourage students to use these resources.
We also encourage students to use their resources at school. All of the math teachers would like students to come and see us as soon as possible if they have questions or are absent.
All students have had a "math facts" test and will spend time in the computer lab if they still don't have their multiplication facts memorized. If your child still does not have these facts committed to memory, please help them work on this important skill.
Unfortunately at this time, we do not have extra textbooks to send home with students who live in more than one household. We do have the texts on disk and online for students to use.
Ms. Sager and Mrs. Behm would like to invite any interested student to join the Math Club to create our very own Math Olympiad team. We will meet on Tuesdays at lunch to work on interesting problems and prepare for a national online competition.
Ms. Sager and Mrs. Behm were also fortunate recipients of a Major Impact Grant from PEF. We both have new Smart Boards in our rooms and are exploring the incredible resources that are now available to us through the SMART Board software and online.
The Math department is looking forward to a productive, successful year with your children.
Parent Education
How to Help Obese Teens
This article is a portion of an article published in the San Francisco Chronicle on Monday, June 4, 2012 titled, "Oakland, Stanford Programs Tackle Teen Obesity," by Erin Allday, San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. This is reprinted with permission from the author, by Karen Andresen, PJHS Teacher Librarian. The full article is available on the San Francisco Chronicle's web site, sfgate.com.
In the United States, hundreds of programs like Healthy Hearts and a Stanford clinic have sprung up in recent years. They are designed to help obese teenagers whose weight is putting them at risk of developing chronic conditions, like heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. These programs target what doctors consider an especially vulnerable, and difficult to treat, population. Often, their goal isn't even weight loss, but weight maintenance - to help the kids stop gaining - while doctors and patients attack some of the more problematic symptoms of chronic disease.
Dr. Lydia Tinajero-Deck and other doctors who specialize in treating teenagers said it's clear why kids in this age group are at risk of gaining weight and developing the earliest signs of chronic disease. Teens can be impulsive and a little reckless, and they don't always put much thought into the long-term consequences of everyday decisions - from what they'll eat to whether they'll go for a walk or watch TV after school. Many of them don't get enough exercise, either in organized sports or P.E. classes at school.
And then there are the self-esteem issues. Almost every teenager goes through a period of faltering confidence, and a weight problem may only make matters worse. That's why many physicians said they talk to teens about improving their health, not losing weight.
"Success with weight-management programs with teens - it's been patchy," said Dr. Padmaja Padalkar, "The best way to reach out to teens is to allow them to dictate what it is they can work on and what they can't. We try to set very, very small goals for these patients. Any small step is a step in the right direction."
Most of the teen weight-loss programs involve entire families - with the idea that kids are going to need all the support they can get - and preach the basics of good nutrition and exercise.
In the Healthy Hearts program, patients and their families participate for six months, during which they have monthly doctor appointments, plus meetings with nutritionists and a variety of health and fitness experts.
Physical Education Department www.pjhspe.com
With school underway the PE Department is looking forward to positive, productive and healthy school year. We encourage all parents to visit our PE department website (listed above) and our individual class websites (listed below) that explain our PE expectations and guidelines. Many questions about PE goals, grading policies, make up information, and medical/health concerns can be answered by visiting the PE websites.
Mr. Dee: www.pjhspe.com/dee
Mr. Gragg: www.pjhspe.com/gragg
Mrs. McGaughey: www.pjhspe.com/mcgaughey
Mrs. Teeter: www.pjhspe.com/teeter
Mr. Tucker: www.pjhspe.com/tucker
Each of the PE classes is starting of the year with an introduction to Physical Education which includes daily warm ups, stretches, exercises, cardio, fitness, equipment, facilities and general class routines. The first few weeks also cover an introduction to our PE fitness lab which includes our class set of spin bikes and various strength training equipment/machines. Students will be participating in different group/team challenges and activities that get them to not only work with one another, but also help them work on positive life skills such as cooperation, teamwork, sportsmanship, communication and respect.
Science Update
The science teachers are looking forward to another great year at PJHS. The students are sharing their summer stories in between the instructions of lab rules and regulations.
The seventh grade teachers will be Mr. Larry West, Mrs. Sara Brooks Long and Ms. Terra Hazen, a new addition to our staff from Gravenstein Elementary School. Seventh grade science started out small—very small, with the microscope and cell biology. The unit culminates with a cell project in several weeks. This is the nucleus of the students understanding of Life Science.
Mr. Thomas Lang, Mrs. Shannon Petersen and Ms. Terra Hazen will be coordinating the eighth grade physical science program. Using the scientific method, they are getting things in motion so students will learn about the Force. Science uses the metric system. Let's all start thinking in terms of grams, liters and meters when we do our daily calculations.
Teachers in the science department use various methods to communicate information about homework. These include: assignment lists in student binders, planners, homework hotline or teacher web sites.
The science program at Petaluma Junior High School will have more equipment, labs and activities this year because of parent generosity. The voluntary lab donations are welcome and appreciated. Thank you.
PJHS Athletics
PJHS is proud to offer the following after school sports:
•Girls Basketball: currently underway
•Girls Volleyball: tryouts begin Monday,
November 5th
•Boys Basketball: tryouts begin Monday,
November 5th
•Co-Ed Wrestling: conditioning begins Monday,
January 28th, practice starts Monday,
February 4th
•Co-Ed Track & Field: practice begins Monday,
February 25th
A student who wishes to participate in PJHS Athletics must first have a completed Athletic Clearance Packet on file in the main office. Athletic Clearance Packets can be picked up anytime in the main office. For any questions about PJHS Athletics please e-mail Athletic Director Zack Dee at zdee@petk12.org.
