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Weekly Updates

Mid-Week Update Sept. 3-6

Hello Junior Titan Families

Here are some midweek updates

  • iReady: Tomorrow and Friday, students will be taking the English and Math iReady diagnostic. Please make sure your students charges their tablet tonight and brings it to school tomorrow. 

 

  • SSC & ELAC:  We are looking for Parents to join our School Site Council (SSC) and English Language Advisory Council (ELAC)
    • The SSC annually reviews and updates the School Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA), including proposed expenditure of funds allocated to the school. The SSC supports student achievement through continuous development, monitoring, and evaluation of the SPSA. The SSC meets roughly once a month, and is composed of Parents, Students, Teachers and Staff members. This is an elected position, with a 2 year term. We have 2 vacancies to fill. If you are interested please fill out the linked form.
    • The ELAC provides the site with input in support of our English Learners. We need one member who is the parent of a student in ELD class. If you are interested please fill out the linked form. 

 

  • ID’s: Students are required to wear their student ID’s while on campus and at school events. Please make sure your student has their ID with them every day. Students without an ID will report to the office or scan our QR codes in their classrooms to get one. Replacement ID’s cost $5.00 each. Please remind your student to wear their ID every day. 

 

  • Back to School Night: Next Thursday, September 12th is Back to School Night. Families are invited to campus from 5:15-7:30. We will begin in the cafeteria from 5:15-6:00 with a parent welcome and information session. Class visits will go from 6:00-7:30. Students will bring home a half sheet of paper with more information on Tuesday. 

 

  • Office Check In: Students who arrive at school after 9:00 AM must report to the office before going to class. Students arriving prior to 9:00 AM can proceed straight to their 1st period class. The turn around gate closes at 9:00 AM. After 9:00 please use the main gate to drop off students. 

 

Have a great evening and remember to stay Titan Strong.

Week of Sept. 3-6

Hello Junior Titan Families

The first two weeks of school are now in the books. All of our classrooms are staffed with either a teacher or a long-term substitute. The Welcome Back Festival last Friday was well attended and was an amazing time. I am excited for what this school year holds. 

Here are this week's updates:

Monday: Monday is the Labor Day Holiday. School is closed. We will see everyone on Tuesday.

SSC & ELAC:  We are looking for parents to join our School Site Council (SSC) and English Language Advisory Council (ELAC) 

  • The SSC annually reviews and updates the School Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA), including proposed expenditure of funds allocated to the school.
  • The SSC supports student achievement through continuous development, monitoring, and evaluation of the SPSA.
  • The SSC meets roughly once a month, and is composed of parents, students, teachers and staff members. This is an elected position, with a 2-year term. We have 2 vacancies to fill. If you are interested, please fill out the linked form.
  • The ELAC provides the site with input in support of our English Learners. We need one member who is the parent of a student in ELD class. If you are interested, please fill out the linked form. 

ID’s: 

  • Students are required to wear their student ID’s while on campus and at school events.
  • Please make sure your student has their ID with them every day.
  • Students without an ID will report to the office or scan our QR codes in their classrooms to get one.
  • Replacement ID’s cost $5.00 each. Please remind your student to wear their ID every day. 

Band and Orchestra: As our Band and Orchestra classes are back in full swing, we are taking stock of all of our instruments. If your student borrowed an instrument over the last couple of years and you still have it home please return it to the office. We got a few back to start the year and hope to find a few more. 

 

As the year begins, I want to let you know that the school board has adopted an Antiracism Policy (0415.3) that the district is implementing. As we start the year, I want to remind everyone that racialized language causes real harm and is not permissible. In addition to being harmful, this type of language goes against our Titan values: Titans are Kind, Titans are Safe, and Titans are Responsible. 

  • If there is an incident of racialized harm, please report it to the office immediately so we can quickly investigate and address it. We utilize a combination of consequences and education when addressing situations.
  • Hercules Middle School strives to use restorative practices as we move towards equipping our students to be supportive and inclusive members or our community and to repair harm.
  • Please talk with your students about the importance of using positive language and refraining from derogatory language of any kind.
  • We are having our first grade level assemblies this week and empathy, kindness and using positive instead of harmful language (including racialized language) will be the topic. 

 

I hope everyone has a great weekend and remember to Stay Titan Strong. 

Greetings Junior Titan Families.

 

Welcome to the 2024-2025 School Year. Our staff has been working hard to get the campus ready and we are excited to welcome all of our students back to school on Monday. This update will include a ton of information to help with the start of school.

 

Bell Schedule

School starts at 8:40 this year. We encourage all students to be on campus prior to 8:30 daily. The turn around gate will open at 8:00 AM. Students who did not complete the walk through registration earlier in August should report directly to the cafeteria. If you did not completely walk through parents may accompany their student to the cafeteria. School is out at 1:45 on Monday. 

 

Student Drop Off and Pick Up

Traffic on Refugio Valley Road can quickly back up. Dropping off early and picking up 10 or more minutes after the end of school will help avoid some of the traffic. When dropping off you may use the turn around. The turn around gate is where students should enter the school if they arrive prior to 9:00 AM. After school the turn around is blocked off to accommodate our school buses. Please make arrangements to meet your student at an alternative location such as Redwood Street. With ongoing construction, we will be looking for ways to adjust drop off and pick up as needed. Please do not park in the Staff Parking Lots. 

 

Schedules 

Students will receive their schedule on Monday morning in their advisory period. At the time you are reading this the schedules in PowerSchool will be set for Monday. We have been working hard to create schedules based on student requests, needs and availability within the master schedule. Please note our policy on class changes. Changes are only available for the following reasons.

  • Schedule mistakes such as a missing period or double periods of the same course.

  • Being placed in the wrong level for the course

Requests based on teacher or period preference or switching Elective topics will not be granted. If there is a larger issue to consider, please contact your counselor. Please understand that there has been a large volume of emails at this time and it may take 24-48 (business) hours to respond.

 

Counselors

Serve our students we have two fantastic counselors. 

 

Closed Campus

For the safety of all of our students and staff we are a closed campus. We utilize the turn around gate as our single point of entry and exit. Students are not allowed on the High School side of campus unless accompanied by an adult. All visitors are required to sign in at the front office. 

 

Lunch

We are continuing with the universal lunch program. All students have access to free breakfast and lunch in the cafeteria. As always, students can also bring food from home for lunch. Students and Parents are not permitted to use food delivery services such as DoorDash, Uber Eats and the like. Thank you for your understanding. 



Deliveries

From time to time items like homework, musical instruments, lunches, etc. are forgotten at home. Parents can bring the items to the turn around gate up to 9:00 AM or go to the front gate after 9:00 AM and the item(s) will go to the main office. Students can come and pick them up during lunch, passing periods or after school.

 

IDs

Students are required to wear their student ID’s while on campus and at school events. Please make sure your student has their ID with them on Monday. Students without an ID will report to the cafeteria to get one. 

 

Cell Phones

Hercules Middle School is a cell phone free zone from the start of school to the end. This policy is in place to support students in maintaining an academic environment that minimizes distractions. Each classroom this year will have a cell phone locker. Teachers will either have students place the phones in the locker at the start of class or have them place them in their backpacks. The phones should be off in either location. If a student is using a phone during class time the teacher will have them place the phone in the locker or the student will be sent to the office. Lunch and passing periods are also cell phone free times. If a student needs to contact you by cell phone they can come to the main office during lunch or passing periods to make the call from there. EXCEPTIONS- If a student has a documented medical condition that requires their phone for health reasons they will keep their phone on their person. 

 

Upcoming Dates

Friday August 23rd- Welcome back festival

Tuesday August 27th- 6th Grade Desert Luck

Thursday September 12th- Back to School Night

Thursday September 19th- Principals Coffee Chat

 

Once again welcome to the 24-25 School Year. I am looking forward to greeting our students Monday Morning. Have a great weekend and Remember to Stay Titan Strong.