Utt Falcon Flyer page 1, September 2015

FALCON FLYER
September, 2015
Welcome Back!
Welcome back Utt Falcons! I’m pleased to report
a smooth school opening. To begin our schoolwide theme of “Teamwork,” the Utt Staff created
inspirational chalk art on the school grounds and
created a Teacher Tunnel for the students to walk
through as we opened the gates on the first day of
school. Teachers and students alike enjoyed the
high energy kick-off to the school year. This year,
our theme is focused on building a “Team”
atmosphere both in an out of the classroom at Utt,
or to put it in middle school terms, #teamutt.
Toshiba - Perfect Attendance Program
The Tustin Unififed School District is partnering
with Toshiba to highlight students who model Above: 7th Grade Falcon enjoys the Teacher Tunnel Welcome!
exemplary attendance. Toshiba has generously
donated 29 Toshiba ChromeBook2s and 29
Encore Toshiba Encore 10 Tablets. One of each device will be given away at every school site in TUSD.
All students who maintain perfect daily attendance at TUSD schools will have a chance to win! Check
out the link on our website for program’s details at: www.tustin.k12.ca.us/Domain/37. Remember, to be
eligible, you need perfect attendance. You can do it!
Interactive Read-Aloud
Bystander. What does that mean? Am I one? These are a few of the questions students are already
pondering as we begin our year with a school-wide read aloud of the novel Bystander, by James Preller.
In this novel, teachers are modeling proficient reading and sparking
rich discussions with our students as the plot unfolds. Students will
be asked to examine how characters and people can change over
time, as well as how bystanders affect change in situations of
bullying or disrespect.
Reading this novel school wide is one way that we are building
#teamutt. Our theme for the year for students and staff is that we
are all one team and teams work together to be great. Part of this
team goal is to teach students to #standup - stand up to bullies,
stand up for what’s right, stand up for change. We will be using our
Core Values of Attitude, Commitment, and Achievement to help
drive this theme and teach students how to #standup.
We encourage families to read Bystander at home and to discuss
the issues in the book. Discuss what it means to be a team and
family and how #standup pertains to life outside of school.
1
1
Falcon Flyer
September, 2015
School-Wide Expectations
All of our expectations are explained in
detail in the binder reminder that your
child uses daily. Here are just a few
highlights:
• Dress code: no solid white crew neck
shirts, tank tops are now allowed as
long as the straps are 2” wide and
undergarments are not showing,
shorts and skirts must be mid-thigh or
longer than fingertips, and any rips or
holes in pants/shorts must be below this
same length.
• Skateboards, bikes, and scooters: if you ride to school, please make sure you have a proper lock and
helmet. You will not be allowed to continue riding if you do not follow these procedures.
• Cell phones: students must have the power off all day and may only use with staff permission. Any cell
phone violations will require parent pick-up of phone and will have a corresponding consequence.
• Tardies: The tardy bell rings at 7:50am (8:55am on Wednesdays). Students tardy to 3 or more classes a
week will receive an after school detention and may be placed on an attendance contract. Tardies and
absences can be checked on the Aeries Portal.
Guidelines for Student Fees in Tustin Unified School District
The California Constitution mandates that public education be provided to students free of charge. For
more information on Tustin Unified School District’s policies on Guidelines for Student Fees and
Permissible School Fees, visit this link on our website: http://www.tustin.k12.ca.us/domain/1075.
C.E Utt Middle School Statement
of Non-Discrimination
The Tustin Unified School District
does not discriminate on the basis of
race, color, national origin, sex,
sexual orientation, gender, age, or
disability. The District will take steps
to assure that the lack of English will
not be
barrier to admission and
participation in District programs. A
copy of the the District’s
nondiscrimination policy is available
from the Tustin Unified School
District Office or on the Utt Website
under the tab, Policies and
Procedures at:
http://
www.tustin.k12.ca.us/domain/1075.
Follow us on Instagram to see cool happenings,
like the picture above, around Utt at
TUSDuttmedia. The picture above features Utt
teachers, Tess Karol and Kiara Moreno creating
welcoming messages for the first day of school.
2
3