WELCOME TO LA PAZ
A PROFESSIONAL
LEARNING COMMUNITY
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2004
1992
1994
2003, 2007
OUR STPO
Outgoing President
Meg Gorham
Incoming President
Christina Salcido
OUR 07-08 STPO BOARD
Christina Salcido
Angie McElvin Sheri Sandler
Susie Whitney Ann Talamo
Katie Hanzel Sheri Espinosa
Stephannie Foundoulis Vicki Walters
Ann Marie Simsarian Lynn Young
Sue Cameron Pam Takamiya
Cynthia Makin Teresa Bonutto
Kathy Lauderdale
SUPPORT LA PAZ
STPO membership pay for:
Campus supervision
Health Aide
Library assistant
Year-end activities
FUNDRAISING
Four major sources
Magazine Drive
E-scrip
Box tops Marketplace
Program donations
CONTRIBUTE IMMEDIATELY
RENEW MAGAZINE
SUBSCRIPTIONS
ON-LINE
http://www.svusd.k12.ca.us/scho
ols/La_Paz/
CONTRIBUTE IMMEDIATELY
SHOP AT THE
BOXTOPS’
MARKETPLACE
http://www.boxtops4education.co
m/index.aspx
TRANSITION
PROGRAMS
6th Grade Student Orientation
Parent Orientation
Open House
Meet w/ K-6 Staff
Hand-schedule students
Leopard Run
First Day of School/PBS
Monitor
3-week Contact
OUR STUDENTS
Expecting About 1,100
From eight feeder schools including
Cordillera, Del Cerro, DePortolo,
Linda Vista, Lomarena, Montevideo,
O’Neill, Valencia.
DEMOGRAPHIC
African American 28/1208
American Indian or Alaska Native 6/1208
Asian 93/1208
Filipino 14/1208
Hispanic or Latino 191/1208
White (not of Hispanic origin) 873/1208
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged 118/1208
English Language Learners 83/1208
Students with Disabilities 84/1208
OUR STAFF
45 teachers
45 Support Staff
OUR TEACHERS
No “Sage on the Stage”
OUR TEACHERS
Technology has changed
the starting point for
students in the
classroom and
continues to
dramatically expand the
options for teaching and
learning in and out of
the classroom.
OUR TEACHERS
The challenge has been
transformed from making
knowledge available and
facilitating its simple mastery
(i.e. “Sage”) to understanding
issues of its categorization,
aggregation, and evaluation,
including its accuracy,
credibility, and reliability, its
relevance and priority for use.
OUR TEACHERS
Highly Qualified (NCLB)
Credentialed in their content area
Middle level professionals
Trained in differentiating
instruction to meet the needs of
mixed ability classrooms
Role models
OUR STAFF
Office Manager - Linda Copple
Psychologist - Brent Call
Guidance Specialist 7 - Karen Lynch
Guidance Specialist 8 - Lisa Shortley
Librarian - Marlene Foster
OUR
ADMINISTRATION
Allan Mucerino
Principal
Tammy Blakely
Assistant Principal
OUR COUNSELORS
Karen Lynch
Grade 7
Lisa Shortley
Grade 8
OUR FACILITY
41 Classrooms
PE area
Multipurpose Room
Library & Media Center
Foods Service Center
OUR SCHOOL
National Blue
Ribbon Exemplary
School
1993, 2004
OUR SCHOOL
One of only two schools
in Orange County to win
4 CA. Distinguished
School Awards
1992, 1994, 2003, 2007
OUR SCHOOL
Academic Performance
Index (API) = 869
LA PAZ 869
CAPISTRANO U.S.D.
Aliso Viejo Middle 857
Avila (Don Juan) Middle 839
Las Flores Middle 859
Newhart Middle 832
Niguel Hills Middle 811
LA PAZ 869
F.V.S.D. Masuda Middle 850
F.S.D. Parks Junior High 867
H.B.S.D. Dwyer Middle 816
H.B.S.D. Sowers Middle 857
LA PAZ 869
I.U.S.D. Lakeside Middle 917
I.U.S.D. South Lake Middle 897
I.U.S.D. Venado Middle 879
Laguna Thurston Middle 838
LOS AL. McAuliffe Middle 886
LOS AL. Oak Middle 870
LA PAZ 869
O.U.S.D. El Rancho Charter 863
P-LY.U.S.D. Yorba Junior High 832
S.V.U.S.D. Rancho Santa Margarita
Intermediate 868
T.U.S.D. Hewes Middle 870
Philosophically
speaking…
Our programs and policies are
research based and take into
account the unique
characteristics of young
adolescent children.
Philosophically
speaking…
We strive to appreciate the uniqueness
of early adolescence and recognize the
variety of developmental needs,
variations in the maturation rate, and
complexity due to their simultaneous
occurrence.
Philosophically speaking…
We focus on the key developmental needs
that characterize early adolescence:
positive social interaction with adults and
peers
structure and clear limits
physical activity
creative expression
competence and achievement
meaningful participation in families, school,
communities
opportunities for self-definition
Philosophically
speaking…
"Every child wants to believe in himself
or herself as a successful person; every
youngster wants to be liked and
respected; every youngster wants
physical exercises and freedom to move;
and youngsters want life to be just"
(Stevenson, 1992).
Philosophically
speaking…
The emotional centers of the brain are
very active. However, the prefrontal
cortex, the part of the brain in charge of
planning, organizing, setting priorities,
making sound judgments, anticipating
consequences, controlling impulses and
calming unruly emotions is the last part
of the brain to mature.
Philosophically
speaking…
In other words, teens only
think they think like adults.
Most teens are
physiologically incapable
of thinking maturely.
Adolescence is a period of growth
and change rivaling infancy in its
speed. It is also a time of risk,
where young people begin to adopt
ways of thinking and behaving that
will accompany them for years to
come. For parents, it can be a time
of helplessness, where it is all too
easy to lose touch. Or it can be a
parent's last best shot at helping
adolescents emerge on the other
side of childhood as competent and
caring young adults.
Changes and demands from presentday society and peer pressure, create
conflicts and tension in the
adolescent, which are reflected in their
behavior in school and at home.
Young people at this age show a
good number of contradictions and
conflicts, which is normal. There is no
"model" adolescent. All young
persons are individuals with strong
and weak points and with positive and
negative qualities.
They want to be independent from
their families, and at the same time,
they need to be pampered and
protected. They withdraw and want a
private life, and at the same time, they
worry about being accepted by their
peers. They demand privileges but
avoid responsibilities. At the same
time, they are developing an
awareness of social problems and the
welfare of others.
Adolescents from other cultures
sometimes face an additional burden
as they develop their identities and try
to comply with the requirements of
home and school. On one side, they
have the values and customs of the
home that the family wants to
maintain, and on the other, they have
to respond to the demands of their
peers and teachers, who have a
different set of rules.
WHAT IS A MIDDLE SCHOOLER
What is a middle schooler? I was asked one day.
I knew what he was. But what should I say?
He is noise and confusion. He is silence that is deep.
He is sunshine and laughter, or a cloud that will weep.
He is swift as an arrow. He is a waster of time.
He wants to be rich, but cannot save a dime.
He is rude and nasty. He is polite as can be.
He wants parental guidance, but fights to be free.
He is aggressive and bossy. He is timid and shy.
He knows all the answers, but still will ask “Why?”
He is awkward and clumsy. He is grateful and poised.
He is ever changing, but do not be annoyed.
What is a middle schooler? I was asked one day.
He is the future unfolding, do not stand in his way.
Adolescence is a
period of rapid
changes. Between the
ages of 12 and 17, for
example, a parent ages
as much as 20 years.
Philosophically
speaking…
Not meeting the needs of young
adolescents often results in alienation
from school, loss of general self-esteem
and a sense of belonging, and
destructive methods of coping, including
delinquency and drugs.
MEETING THE
DEVELOPMENTAL
NEEDS OF
STUDENTS IS
CRITICAL AND IT
REQUIRES A
PARTNERSHIP
OUR STANDARDS
FOR PROMOTION
1.5 OVERALL GPA
&
MUST PASS ALL THREE
TRIMESTERS OF MATH
AND ELA OR REPEAT IT
REPORTING PERIODS
THREE TRIMESTERS
12 weeks x 3 = 36 weeks
3-Week Contact for <C
Progress reports mailed home
every six weeks
Grades on-line everyday
OUR STANDARDS
FOR BEHAVIOR
P.B.S.
POSITIVE BEHAVIOR
SUPPORT
OUR STANDARDS
FOR BEHAVIOR
The Three “R’s”
Respect
Responsibility
Readiness
OUR GROUPING
STRATEGIES
Students are grouped into
“Villages”
or
“Learning Communities”
of around 150 students.
OUR GROUPING
STRATEGIES
Students share 5 teachers
(all but electives) and a
common set of rules,
policies, and standards.
OUR GROUPING
STRATEGIES
Students are grouped
heterogeneously with each
quartile nearly equally
represented in each
classroom.
OUR DELIVERY
MODEL
Content, instruction, and
assessment is differentiated
to meet the needs of all
levels of learners.
OUR SPECIAL
PROGRAMS
Honors
RSP
SDC
OUR SPECIAL
PROGRAMS
Benchmark Writing
EETT
AVID
OUR SPECIAL
PROGRAMS
Instrumental Music
Theater Production
Yearbook Production
OUR SPECIAL
PROGRAMS
Student Council
Johns Hopkins
UCI Talent Search
OUR SPECIAL
PROGRAMS
National Spelling Bee
National Geography Bee
MathCounts
OUR SPECIAL
PROGRAMS
California Junior
Scholarship Federation
Gold Seal for students
who meet community
service requirements
OUR BELL SCHEDULE
Homeroom (8:30)
Mod 1
Mod 2
SNACK
Mod 3
Mod 4
LUNCH
Mod 5
Mod 6 (3:10)
OUR EARLY-OUT WEDNESDAY
BELL SCHEDULE
Homeroom (8:30)
Mod 1
Mod 2
SNACK
Mod 3
Mod 4
LUNCH
Mod 5
Mod 6 (1:40)
OUR CORE
CURRICULUM
Life Science
World History
Pre-Algebra
Language Arts
Physical Education
HOMEWORK
HOMEWORK
HOMEWORK
HOMEWORK
WARS
How You Can Help
1. What worked for you may not work for your child, so resist
imposing your own schedule. Remember, too, that there isn't
any "right" way of getting homework done.
2. Help him get organized. Take a trip to the office supply
store so he can select binders or color-coded notebooks with
inside pockets for each subject (that way tests and other
important papers won’t get lost)
3. Keep a calendar of family events, athletic activities, and
doctor’s appointments posted where everyone can see it.
Schedule study time accordingly.
Monitor homework so that
assignments are completed
and handed in on time, but
don’t do the work for her,
and don’t play teacher. Not
only will you confuse your
child you risk undermining her
confidence.
She may begin to think she can’t
do the work unless you’re at her
elbow. Also, resist the urge to
correct mistakes; if you do, the
teacher won’t be able to see where
she needs help. If you just can’t
help yourself and feel you need to
call her attention to mistakes, put a
dot in the margin so that your child
knows to check that line for errors.
Offer support from the sidelines.
Listen to an oral book report before
he presents it to class, quiz him on
verb tenses for his Spanish test, or
brainstorm themes for his English
paper. If he's doing research for a
report, you might show him how to
find Web sites covering the topic, or
point him in the direction of sites that
offer general homework tips.
Stay tuned in. If you sense that
your child is struggling in a
subject, talk to her teacher or
advisor to see what additional
help is needed. Perhaps one or
two tutoring sessions are all it
would take to get her up to
speed.
OUR H.W. Expectations
Constitutes up to 30% of a
grade
20-30 minutes per subject
per night
Meaningful assignments,
not busywork
OUR WHEEL
ELECTIVES
Trimester-long
Drama
Art
Keyboarding
Video Production
INTRAMURALS
Year-round sports
program during lunch
OUR EXTENDED
LEARNING
OPPORTUNITIES
7:25 - 8:25 am
12:40 - 1:10 pm
(mandatorials)
3:25 - 4:25 pm
LUNCH AND SNACK
Food Prices vary from
school lunch $2.75 to a
variety of ala carte items
such as pizza and hot
dogs and hamburgers
UPCOMING
DATES
&
EVENTS
Open House - Thursday,
April 26
6:00 - 7:00 Food and
Entertainment
7:00 - 8:00 Classroom
Observations
SUMMER SCHOOL
Tuesday, June 26 - Friday, August 3
(No school Wednesday, July 4)
Times: 7:40 a.m. - 12:00 noon
Course offerings include Skills Reinforcement
Courses for incoming 7th & 8th grade students and
Make-up Courses for current students who need to
successfully complete 7th and 8th grade promotion
requirements in summer school.
Registration materials will be
available in mid-May.
June 5 Students are
invited to take the
algebra readiness
test based on past
performance.
2 Important Summer Dates
1. POSTCARD MAILED IN JULY
Registration packets available
in the school office starting
Monday, August 13.
2. THE LEOPARD RUN
Registration for 7th graders is
on August 21.
The Leopard Run is
our registration event.
Parents return information
packets and students get
their class schedule.
8/21(Grade 7)
8/22 (Grade 8)