Student Council Letter to School Board Oct 09
October 28, 2009
Dear School Board Members,
Here we are nearly half-way through the second grading session. Eight new students have arrived this month, with more on the way. We were excited to see the results last month of the District API scores, with a 13-point increase, and our own “amazing 79-point gain.” We were encouraged by the results and are working towards continued improvement and success.
This month passed quickly with our monthly school-wide assembly featuring Dr. John Schinnerer who spoke to us about positive thinking, self-esteem, anger management, and dealing with emotions. We also participated in our semi-annual Blood Drive, with more than two-thirds of our students and staff volunteering to help others in need. (One-third passed the medical screening and donated blood.) We had our End of Session celebration on October 1st, this time with a Fiesta theme and enchiladas that Mr. Melgoza’s mother came in to help us prepare.
Our Student Advisory Council met with representatives of the District Climate Committee to provide feedback on our school’s culture. We had two students volunteer for a week at Camp Caritas, and the staff there was so impressed with their efforts that they are sending a representative to visit us on October 29th to recruit more students as counselors. We announced our Student Standouts and held a raffle-style drawing of student names to win prizes donated by the staff. Chosen prizes included Panda Express gift cards, County Connection bus passes, a trip to the San Francisco Zoo and gift certificates at Ruggie’s Restaurant.
Mr. Melgoza’s Economics class is currently having a competition to create a product to try and virtually “sell” to the students and staff. The focus is creativity, information, research, cost, and target market. Ms. Carpenter’s Health and Psychology classes welcome two speakers per month, the next of whom will talk about domestic violence. She is a professional in the field and currently works in local shelters helping victims of domestic abuse. Next week the Leadership class from Del Oro High School will be touring our school and participating in a group discussion with members of our Student Advisory Council.
Our new mural is taking shape and we are looking forward to seeing the final product. We continue focusing on 21st century learning and student engagement and are participating in an Advisory curriculum centered on finding our individual spark. We will end the month with a Rotary Career Breakfast, courtesy of Danville Rotary Club. We will feast on a delicious Mexican breakfast prepared for us by their members, prior to attending presentations by various club members and others who will educate us about their professional careers. The Art and Cooking classes will provide Dia de los Muertos decorations such as “Calaveras de Sucre.”
As we head into November, we are preparing for the CAHSEE and hope to achieve high passing scores. Our students and staff are starting to plan for a Thanksgiving lunch on November 20, 2009 for our school community and invited guests. We would like the board members to put this on their calendars and watch for their official invitations very soon.
Sincerely,
Students Representing Del Amigo High School
