NEWS For the parents, students, and community supporters of
Grace Davis High School
CALIFORNIA LEAGUE OF HIGH SCHOOLS DAVIS HIGH
ADMINISTRATION TEAM
Mike Rich Principal Delilah Martinez Associate Principal Curriculum & Instruction Ryan Reynolds Assistant Principal Pupil Services Richard Caldwell Assistant Principal Supervision
It is my great pleasure to nominate Mrs. Norma Rosas as the Grace M. Davis High School candidate for the California League of High Schools Educator of the Year award. Norma is a true professional and a pivotal member of our faculty. For the past 15 years Norma’s classroom has been a bastion of rigor and respect. Norma has an innate ability to instill confidence in all whom she teaches. For the last several years her assignment has been to teach the Spanish for Spanish Speakers courses. GDHS houses a unique program called the Language Institute, which takes in all 9-12 students in the city of Modesto who have been in the country less than four years and are in need of intensive English language instruction. An important facet of the institute is for Spanish speakers to continue learning their first language. This responsibility rests solely on the shoulders of Mrs. Rosas. When you walk into room 615, be prepared to speak in Spanish. Students are taught to rise when an adult walks in the room and greet them appropriately in Spanish. Mrs. Rosas’s expectations are not just for the students, but for the principal as well. For the past seven years, Norma has taught our AP Spanish Language class. As anyone who has ever taught an AP course before knows, the content is rigorous and demands vigilance throughout the entire school year in order to pass the AP exam victoriously. Mrs. Rosas’ students have done just that. During her seven-year tenure, her AP students have a 100% pass rate. That feat is unmatched in any other discipline on our campus and is a direct result of Norma’s daily efforts to pursue excellence. I am proud to have Mrs. Norma Rosas as a member of our Spartan family. She makes Grace M. Davis High School a better place. Mike Rich Principal
GRACE DAVIS HIGH SCHOOL 1200 W. RUMBLE ROAD MODESTO, CA 95350
MARCH 2015 | Volume 4 • Issue 4
2
GETTING ORGANIZED
PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE The supervision office is proud to announce that through the first semester we have seen a significant drop in every major discipline statistic. For example our suspension numbers have gone from 103 last year to 46 this year. We have also experienced a large drop in classroom referrals, tardies, and safety incidents such as fights to name a few. Along with this improvement we have also added some key additions to our schools PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports) plan. Our staff and students have worked together to develop our school wide behavioral expectations (please visit the supervision tab on the school website to see this chart). These expectations demonstrate the behaviors that we strive to see from students on our campus. The key characteristics from the expectations include the deliberate day to day effort to demonstrate Davis Pride. By Davis Pride we mean a number of key character characteristics such as; P ositive R espectful I ntegrity HS (2 Color/Printed) Beyer D etermined E xcellence
Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts
When students demonstrate these characteristics they are incentivized by rate em ower ac ie e staff with golden tickets. Every Friday we conductinte a drawing and a number of our students who have turned in golden tickets receive a reward. We look to Medica di A Assi istant continue this tradition and are now striving to integrate student created videos into our daily curriculum in order to systematically teach school 4712 our Stoddard Roadwide #200 behavioral expectations.AS in MR ec no o y Modesto, CA 95356
209 72
Financial Aid is available
se
Mike Rich Principal
Grace Davis HS (Full Color/Online)
ali
6000
www. urnick.edu www.facebook.com/ GurnickAcademyModesto
Schoology Calendar Long before the toaster oven was invented and dinosaurs roamed the Earth (ahem…maybe not that long ago), high school students struggled with keeping track of their school work and knowing due dates for their many assignments. Students at Davis High School have the privilege of using Schoology to keep track of their assignments. Did you know there is a built in calendar in Schoology? Every time a teacher assigns their students a project or something else to complete (example: Homework, Classwork), the assignment is automatically added to their students’ calendar in Schoology. Take some time today and find your Schoology calendar.
EXTENDED SUMMER SCHOOL (ESS) January 2015 to May 2015 Are you or have you failed a class in high school? If so, you are probably NOT on track to GRADUATE! You can make up failed classes and get back on track to graduate by completing “online” classes in ESS (afternoon classes). See your counselor to get a ballot and SIGN UP now! You can take up to two extra classes per semester.
3
C&I OFFICE
It may seem too early for planning for next year, but the time has come for students to plan for the classes they will be taking in the 2015-16 school year. Starting the end of January through February your students will bring home their paper ballot on which they have chosen their classes for next year. Students will be able to go online to ballot for their classes and then met with a counselor who will check their ballots to ensure that each student is on track to graduate. These forms have a place for a parent signature, and need to be returned, signed to their Social Science teacher. Course additions for next year will include: Veterinary Science for juniors and seniors, and the addition of two more college classes in our Spartans 101 – Middle College program. Parents with questions about the Middle College program are invited to attend a parent information session on February 11th at 6:30 in the Davis Little Theater. FREE COLLEGE TRIP to Sacramento for parents and students on Saturday, February 7th. The district’s Parent and Community Support Services office is sponsoring a free trip to Sacramento State. There is seat availability to take a maximum of 60-65 which includes students, their parents and siblings. On the day of the event the bus will depart at 10:00 A.M. to arrive by 11:30-11:45 A.M. From 122:30 P.M. Parents and their students will be able to attend workshops in both Spanish and English, and visit college booths. At 2:45 we will depart to CSU Sacramento for a tour and following the tour we will return back home. If interested call the Davis High School office. Parent empowerment classes will be offered this spring on the Davis campus. This will be a series of classes designed to assist parents with their high school students’ needs and plans for their future. Stay tuned for more information to come with dates and times.
CINDERELLA
SATURDAY, MARCH 7TH, 2015
St. Joseph’s Catholic Church/Father O’Hare Hall 1813 Oakdale Rd. Modesto, CA 5:00 PM—Cocktail Hour 7:00 PM Dinner Served Menu includes: Crab, Tri-Tip, Pasta, Salad, Dinner Rolls Drinks can be purchased: Beer/Wine/Soda/Water NO OUTSIDE ALCOHOL PLEASE Tickets are $45 per person in advance ($50 at the door) For tickets call (209) 985-6378 or (209) 872-7090 Reserved seating for groups of 8+, Silent auction begins at 5pm ends at 6:30pm Live music by: Neil Buettner & Matt Harrington
LEAVE YOUR MARK!
Many put everything into their high school years leaving with only memories. This new and amazing opportunity will allow for the making of permanent memories…this fundraiser will allow students and alumni to leave a piece of them behind. Bricks may be purchased throughout the year and inscribed with the names of existing or former students. These commemorative bricks will be permanently affixed to a planter box in the Activity Court near the cafeteria. Prices vary from $35-$40. Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity to memorialize your time spent as a Spartan!
Cinderella will be performed March 13, 14, 15 at Davis and March 19 at the Gallo Center for the Arts. Tickets for the Davis shows are $7-9 and can be reserved by emailing Bryan.L@monet.k12.ca.us. Gallo tickets can be purchased through the Gallo box office at www.galloarts.org.
BALLOTING FOR NEXT YEAR’S CLASSES
What Should You Expect? It’s that time of year again! Students will be provided ballots to select their classes for next year. A great deal of consideration should be given to selecting your classes. Choosing the wrong classes could prevent you from being eligible for a 4 year university. Counselors will visit classrooms beginning in January and talk to students about their options and graduation requirements. We will also discuss how to electronically ballot for classes using PowerSchool. If students wish to gain access to higher level classes, it will require a signature on the paper ballot from a current teacher indicating the students are ready for the higher level course. Some basic considerations should include: • Higher level classes for college readiness. • Which elective classes will prepare you best for your goals after high school? What are your top choices? What are your “back-up” choices if you don’t get your first pick? • Are you interested in a special program such as Middle College, Public Safety (Fire/Police), Health Careers, Agriculture, AVID. • Do you need a certain class for college such as a foreign language? • Are you interested in playing a sport next year? • If available, would you like to fit in an extra class through 0 or 8th period? Students will be given a deadline to finish their online ballot. After the deadline, counselors will meet with students to review what they have selected.
OPERATION 9-2-99
Tuolumne River Clean-up project Do you want to make a difference in your local community? The Tuolumne River needs your help! Your tap water and electricity comes from the Tuolumne River. However, the area of the river from the 9th Street bridge to Highway 99 has been heavily polluted with tires, shopping carts, and garbage. We need volunteers to: üü Haul tires and shopping carts out of river üü Remove trash and camps along riverbank Positive Outcomes: üü Restoration of a natural habitat üü Safe, beautiful park for our community to enjoy üü Community service hours for students üü Certificate of completion For more information and To sign-up: • www.tinyurl.com/operation9-2-99 • Chris Guptill - guptill.c@monet.k12.ca.us Partnered With and Supported By: • The Tuolumne River Trust • Dry Creek Trails Coalition • Love Modesto