South Lake Newsletter 9/20/24

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Good Afternoon South Lake Families, 

Your child attends South Lake Middle School which receives Federal Title I funds to assist students in meeting state achievement standards. Much of the funding allocated to us through Title 1 is used for reducing class size, providing targeted supports for students not meeting proficiency in state standards, and mental health and wellness supports. As a parent/guardian, you have the right to request information about the qualifications of the classroom staff working with your child. Please see our Parent Right to Know Letter to learn more about this. Prior to the start of the school year, we shared our Parent-Student-Staff Compact in our Data Confirmation process. Our partnership is vital and necessary to ensure all students make the academic, social, and emotional growth. 
 
Our School Site Council (SSC) is a governing body that is made up of all stakeholder groups and provide input and feedback about how resources, including Title 1 funding, is allocated and prioritized. All parents/guardians are invited to attend SSC. We meet 4-5 times a year on Wednesday afternoons. The date for our first meeting is September 25th at 3:15pm, see the posted Agenda. All parent/guardians are welcome to attend. By law, we are required to have 3 voting members on our SSC and hold an annual election to vote them in. We have 2 returning 8th grade parents and need to hold an election to add a 7th grade parent. Please go to the Parent SSC Voting Ballot to choose one candidate…Thank you!
 
Through our Title 1 program, we will be offering Parent Engagement Activities  over the course of the year – flyers with more information will be created for each event over the course of the year.If there are topics you are interested to learn more about, please let me know and for any other information I can share about our Title 1 program at belindaaverill@iusd.org
 
Next week is our first Spirit Week for the year. This is a great time for your student to show their spirit and get involved at school! Each day is a theme where students dress accordingly – look out for some pictures on our Instagram page all week. 

We hope you enjoy your weekend…it’s a great day to be a Shark! 
In kindness,
Belinda Averill
Principal

Schedule for the Week of September 23rd - 27th 

Monday 

Tuesday 

Wednesday 

Thursday 

Friday 

Anchor Day 

8:15am – 3:02pm 

Bonus Period PE

Anchor Day 

8:15am – 3:02pm 

Bonus Period PE

Odd Periods

Late Start

9:00am – 3:02pm 

PTSA General Meeting

School Site Council 

Even Periods

Late Start

9:00am – 3:02pm 

Bonus Period PE

Anchor Day 

8:15am – 3:02pm 

Bonus Period PE

South Lake Information and Resources

PTSA Contact Info
If you have any questions regarding your South Lake PTSA or would like to get involved, please don’t hesitate to contact our PTSA President, Jill Pearson at JillKPearson@gmail.com. You can also visit our PTSA Website at South Lake PTSA. Please follow us on social media @southlakeptsa for all the up-to-date information of what’s going on at South Lake!
 
Shark Night Out
Our Shark Night Out was a huge success! Thank you to everyone who stopped by Chronic Tacos and Handle’s Ice Cream to support your South Lake Sharks! All money raised at our Shark Nights will go back directly to our students to help fund all the amazing programs we have at South Lake. Our next Shark Night Out is October 17th at The Kebab Shop.
 
PTSA - Shark Shoppe
The Shark Shoppe is open! Our Shark Shoppe is an incentive program for students to use their Shark Cards. The PTSA along with our South Lake community keep the Shark Shoppe stocked for our students. Please consider ordering some fun stuff or pick some of our students’ favorite treats by visiting our Shark Shoppe on Amazon! Everything will get shipped automatically to school so all you need to do is pick and hit submit. You can also grab things from your favorite store and donate to the front office. Let’s keep this fun tradition going! Shark Shoppe Link
 
PTSA – Reflections: “Accepting Imperfections”
Calling all creatives! We are so excited for our Reflections contest that is going on now. Deadline to submit your project is October 4th. Students must submit an entry form online at Reflections Submission Form. For rules on each category and additional resources, please refer to the following link Rules & Resources.  If you have any questions, please reach out to our Reflection Chairs at southlakereflections2024@gmail.com. We can’t wait to see your projects!
 
PTSA – PTSA Meeting: September 25th @ 9:15am
Please join us for our second PTSA meeting of the year as Principal Averill updates us about what’s going on at school and listen to our Counselor Katie Siapin talk about important topics she discusses with our students. There will be sweet treats and coffee! We hope to see you there!

Middle School Program (MSP)
If you are looking for great after school activities for your students that build community, have service components and are just plain fun…there are several upcoming events and classes to get involved with through our Middle School Programs hosted by the city of Irvine. Each of the flyers linked below have information about registration, cost and contact information. For more information, please contact Site Coordinator Karley Abeyrama at (949) 724-7190 or at KAbeyrama@cityofirvine.org
Beach Flag Football 
Irvine Bike Adventures
Grill Masters 
Outdoor Adventures 
Knott's Scary Farm 
South Lake Movie Night 
CO-ED Football 
Youth Action Team - Fall
MSP Fall Registration

iPSF Announcements 
SAVE THE DATE: TURN IRVINE ORANGE OCT 17 
 Wear orange Thursday, October 17 on IPSF Giving Day to show you value educational excellence in Irvine! Whether you are at school, work, or out in the community, rock your ORANGE to raise awareness about the importance of community support of public education! www.Ipsf.net/givingday   
 
BECOME AN IPSF VOLUNTEER
Are you and your children looking for ways to give back to the community? Support for IPSF’s mission comes in many forms, and we are so grateful for the passionate volunteers who dedicate their time throughout the year to help IPSF make a greater impact in our schools. Check out upcoming opportunities. https://ipsf.net/get-involved/volunteer 
 
IPSF SPIRIT OF EXCELLENCE GALA RETURNS
On November 9, join us for a night of celebration, community, and unforgettable memories at the Spirit of Excellence Gala. Enjoy an exclusive culinary experience by three celebrity chefs and a special appearance by this year's Spirit of Excellence in Music honoree, Multi-Platinum Top Billboard 200 Artists and IUSD alumni band - Young the Giant! Don’t miss out—limited seating packages remaining. www.ipsf.net/gala  

OCTA Transportation Information 
The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) is excited to announce the continuation of their “Youth Ride Free” promotional bus pass program.  This pass allows youth ages 6 to 18 to ride all OC fixed-route buses every day for free.  Last year’s purple/orange Youth Ride Free Passes expire September 30, 2024; the new blue Youth Ride Free Passes are valid now through September 30, 2025, and require a new Parent Request Form for each recipient.  To participate in the program complete a new Parent Request Form, available using the below links, printed forms are also available in the front office. 
Return the completed and signed Parent Request Form to the front office to be issued a blue youth bus pass for the 2024-25 school year. 
Parent Request Form:

OC Bus Ride Guide – How to Ride:

For more information regarding the program visit: OCbus.com/YouthRideFree.  OC Connect is another option for students. This is a free shuttle service that runs every 20 minutes between the northern end of Irvine and the Irvine Train Station.  This route drops off at Woodbridge High which is a short walk from here. The IrvineCONNECT webpage may be accessed through this link:  https://www.cityofirvine.org/transportation/irvine-connect. On the webpage there is a link to track the shuttles in real time, which can be used in a similar way to watching for an Uber to see how far out it is.
Bell Schedule
The 2024-2025 Bell Schedule includes all the minimum days and special schedules for the year.  Please make sure to review the start and end times for these schedules.  

Stay Connected
Stay connected by checking your email for communication from South Lake and IUSD.  South Lake is also on Instagram @southlakemiddleschool and our website is at www.southlake.iusd.org

Upcoming Dates to Calendar
September 23rd – 27th – Spirit Week 
September 25th – PTSA Meeting
September 25th – School Site Council Meeting