Middle College News 1 • February 2010

Principal's Corner By Greg Quigley

Welcome to the students and their families who joined the Middle College program in January and welcome back to continuing students and their families.

Fifty-eight students are participating in the program this semester. While the first day for official parent/guardian visits isn’t until the Open House on Feb. 24, parents/guardians are encouraged to maintain contact with the high school teachers, Jennifer Fraser and Mike Clardy.

Students off to a slow start this semester received a three-week interim progress report. Official reports will be mailed to all students in early March.

The students are in their fourth week of college classes. All students should have finalized their schedules as of Feb. 1, the last day to add semester-long classes. Senior advisor Mr. Clardy met with the seniors to review the courses needed to complete graduation requirements by June 1. If students have questions about which classes are needed, they should contact Mr. Clardy. Students have received an updated transcript.

Ms. Fraser has met with the juniors to review progress toward meeting graduation requirements. Some juniors may need to take summer school classes if they expect to graduate with their class in June 2011.

Juniors who need to pass the high school exit exam (CAHSEE) to meet a graduation requirement must take math and English-Language Arts tests at their home school March 16-17. Contact me for more information.

All students continuing at Middle College or at CSM in Fall 2010 must complete or revise a Student Education Plan (SEP). The students can design their SEP with Mr. Basques or with Ms. Fraser. Mr. Basques is available most Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9am-11am. The SEP deadline is April 20. Students must meet this deadline to get priority registration.

Seven students served as group leaders at the San Mateo County Outdoor Education program in La Honda the week of Jan. 11.

Thanks to the families who contributed to the Middle College Scholarship Fund. We will award financial scholarships to some seniors at our graduation ceremony on June 1. If you want to donate, view our website.

Middle College News 1700 W. Hillsdale Blvd., San Mateo, CA 94402 (650) 574-6101 Volume 11, Issue 7 Member of the Middle College National Consortium February 2010

Middle College Calendar Date Event Time Location February 12, 15 No school, President’s Holidays February 19 End of six-week grading period February 24 Middle College Open House 6pm-7:30pm Bldg. 14, room 215 March 10-12 High School classes only 9am-Noon TBD Week of March 15 College midterm exams Weeks of March 29 and April 12

STAR Testing for juniors 11:10am-2pm TBD

April 3-9 No school, Spring Recess April 20 Student Education Plan (SEP) deadline

Open House on Feb. 24 Middle College hosts its annual Open

House for current students and their parents/guardians on Wednesday, Feb. 24 from 6pm-7:30pm in Bldg. 14, room 215.

This event gives parents a chance to learn more about what students have done in their high school classes to date and what assignments and projects are required of the students throughout the semester.

Our goal is to have 100 percent of our students represented by at least one parent. Please mark your calendar.

Refreshments will be served.

Fall 2010 applications Middle College will be accepting new

students for the Fall 2010 semester. The application deadline is March 25.

Applications will be mailed to the counseling offices of district schools in mid-February and will be available on-line at the Middle College website: www.collegeofsanmateo.edu/middlecollege

For more information, call the Middle College office at 574-6101.

Contact MCHS staff Jennifer Fraser, English teacher: 574-6537

Email: fraserjen08@yahoo.com Mike Clardy, social science teacher: 574-6114

Email: clardymichael@hotmail.com Tony Basques, Counselor: 574-6468

Email: basques@smccd.edu

Middle College News 2 • February 2010

✔ SAT/ACT deadlines The next SAT and Subject Tests will be Saturday, March 13 with a February 10 registration deadline. View www.collegeboard.com for details. The following test will be May 1. The next ACT will be April 10; the registration deadline is March 5. See www.act.org for more information.

✔ Career 122 All students are required to take and pass CRER 122

(“Strategies for Educational Success”) to meet a graduation requirement for Middle College. Most new students began the CRER 122 on Jan. 19. This eight-week class covers such topics as time management, organization, note-taking and test-preparation. The class runs through March 11.

✔ STAR Testing All Middle College juniors will take the state-mandated

STAR tests, just as they would have at the comprehensive high schools, the weeks of March 29 and April 12. The testing will be conducted during the three-hour block of high school classes. ✔ Attendance reporting Parents/guardians are reminded that they must call the Middle College office (574-6101) to report a student’s absence, otherwise the absence is considered a truancy. Students should not take vacations during the semester. Students, not parents/guardians, should call the high school or college teachers when the student is absent. Two reasons: the teachers sense the student is concerned about missing the class and class material; and the student can complete assignments at home and not fall behind. ✔ Graduation information

Seniors will be contacted by staff assistant Carol Ullrich regarding graduation info. Seniors need to provide their full name, which will be listed on their diploma. Also students will be placing orders for caps/gowns/tassels. The graduation is June 1 at the CSM Theater, 5:30pm.

✔ New MCHS office The Middle College office is in Bldg. 17, room 154. The MC

teachers, counselor, staff assistant and principal are all located in the same corridor. All phone extensions are the same.

Government/History reports By Michael Clardy, MCHS social science teacher The first several weeks of the government curriculum is centered on learning about the roots of American Democracy. We spend time examining the evolution of the political philosophies that frame the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. From there, we will learn about the structure of the branches of the federal government. The emphasis throughout the semester will be on how students can exert their influence over the political process. They will read current stories in order to place our studies in a modern context. Seniors should have completed their internship by now. If not, they need to see me with a timeline of how they are going to finish. We will begin working on the senior project in early February. For juniors, the curriculum is organized into thematic units that correspond to their English class. We are working on Americans as Materialist. Students are asked to consider if the costs of acquiring the material goods in our public and private lives outweigh the benefits that those goods bring. Students should expect a series of small quizzes, extended paragraphs, an essay, an exam, and to maintain their notebooks during this time.

Junior/Senior English reports By Jennifer Fraser, MCHS English teacher

Juniors are reading of The Great Gatsby and studying what the novel reveals about the “Roaring Twenties.” They have written two essays: a character analysis of a main character in Fitzgerald's "Winter Dreams,” thought to be a forerunner of the novel, and a creative assignment. The latter is in response to a ‘20s article by a teen who is accused of being a "flapper." Students will modernize the complaint, choosing a modern teen stereotype (ranging from Goths to Jocks) and, after analyzing the format of the original article, and will write a modern article in the same style.

Seniors are studying Shakespeare's Othello, act by act. Students will see the film

version of an act, then read the act at home. For each act, students do a write-up that consists of quotations relating to a theme they are tracking, a paraphrase of one speech containing figurative language, and an explanation of any one metaphor or simile that gives the reader further insight into the play's meaning. The three themes they have chosen from are racism in the portrayal of Othello, the concept of ideal love, and the representation of the ideal woman. The long-range question we are considering is whether Shakespeare's themes continue to be relevant today - and if so, how?

As their adviser, I’ve been meeting with new juniors to get a sense of their college and career plans and to make sure they are transitioning smoothly into the college classes.

Juniors should be completing their 24 required community service hours, a requirement to continue in our program next year. The hours need to be finished by May 15. Juniors who have not yet found a place in which to volunteer should see me about some ideas.

MIDDLE COLLEGE TEXTBOOK POLICY

The high school textbooks used by Middle College students will be checked out to the student during the school year. Students are expected to take good care of the textbooks and return the textbooks to the Middle College staff members by the conclusion of the course. Students who do not return the textbooks or who damage high school textbooks will be responsible for paying for a replacement textbook.

Middle College requires that students purchase their own college textbooks from the CSM Bookstore or from an on-line textbook service. Students will be able to write in and highlight in the books as needed, and later resell the textbook to the CSM bookstore or to an on-line business for a portion of the original purchase price. Students also can rent books from the CSM Bookstore. Many college students keep their college textbooks and use the books as a resource either for other courses or for occupational experiences.

Middle College has set up an account to help purchase textbooks for students with a financial need. Students who need financial assistance for textbook costs can complete a rationale for fee waiver. See the administrator for more information. These textbooks remain property of the SMUHSD and Middle College. Students who do not return these textbooks or who damage them will be responsible for paying for a replacement textbook. Student may not write in or deface the textbooks in any way.

The following guidelines have been established for Middle College students who need the program to purchase some or all of the college books:

• Books for dropped or withdrawn classes must be returned within first two weeks of the semester or student is responsible for purchase price of the book.

• Students are responsible for the cost of books in courses in which they receive an F or a non-credit grade.

Middle College News 3 • February 2010