
Programs Minutes Newsletter PTSA Calendar Volunteer Information PTA Links General School Information Helix Charter High School Home Page Helix Daily Bulletin PTSA Home Page	General School Information
	Parent Teacher Conferencing. 1 Parent Involvement 1 Helix Community Outreach Program (H.C.O.P.) 1 Expected Exit Standards. 1 Restructuring Committee. 1 Attendance. 1 The Quarter System.. 1 The Career Center 1 Student Phone Messages. 1 Books and Equipment 2 Helix Foundation. 2			Helix Charter 2 Charter Board Meeting Dates. 2 Graduation Process. 2 Testing. 2 College Admission Testing Information 2003 – 2004. 2 SAT Prep. 3 Financial Aid. 3 Student/Parent Resource Center 3 Health Office 3
	Parent Teacher Conferencing · Parents are encouraged to call teachers to discuss student work. · Back to School Nights for both terms provide parents an overview of class content and student performance expectations. · Saturday Parent Conferences give parents, teachers and students the opportunity to meet and review student progress. Parent Involvement The Effective Parent Partnerships Coordinator, Dave Watkins, with the assistance of parents and PTSA has designed two unique programs: the Parent Volunteer Program where parents and staff work comfortably together, and the Helix Community Outreach Program where staff comes to parents in the form of community meetings and home visits. To volunteer, call Dave Watkins, Ext. 398. Helix Community Outreach Program (H.C.O.P.) H.C.O.P. consists of community-based town-hall meetings where teachers (and other community resource people) meet with parents at various locations throughout the “Helix” community to discuss, inform, communicate, relate, etc. The other main part of H.C.O.P. provides home visitation to those students and parents who feel that such a visit would be valuable. Expected Exit Standards · Informed Decision Makers · Effective Communicators · Involved Citizens · Constructive Thinkers · Self-directed Learners · Functional producers Restructuring Committee The Restructuring Committee guides changes at the school with teacher, parent, community and student representation. The following faculty focus groups are represented: · Vision, Culture & Leadership · Student Support · Assessment and Accountability · Curricular Paths · Powerful Teaching & Learning Open meetings are generally held the second Tuesday of the month and parents are encouraged to attend. Attendance STUDENTS—Any more than 5 non-attendance days in any quarter will automatically cause a student to FAIL the course. See the Student Handbook for attendance policies. *Schedule appointments outside of school hours to prevent absences.* The Quarter System Introduced in September of 1996, this schedule has reduced class size with classes meeting 90 minutes each day. Classes are scheduled in a term, allowing students to complete full course work while focusing on fewer classes at one time. The Career Center A career counselor is available in room 201 to assist students with career exploration, counseling, college information, financial aid, and scholarships. The Career Center is open every school day from 8:00 Am to 3:00 PM. Some of the information available includes: · College Information / College Catalogs · Scholarship Information · PSAT, ACT, and SAT applications · Career information / Military information · Work Experience / Youth Employment / Work Permits Work permits are required by law for all students under 18 who are employed. These permits must be renewed each year. Once a student has a job, he or she needs to apply for a work permit from the Career Center. During the summer, these permits can be obtained from the ROP Center located at 924 E. Main St., El Cajon. Student Phone Messages We will not interrupt a class to deliver a phone message to a student except in the case of an emergency. If there is such as emergency, please call the Asst. Principals’ office, state the nature of the emergency, and if approved, we will deliver the message as soon as possible. Making arrangements regarding work, babysitting, rides, celebration (balloon, flowers, etc.) or other activities of this type before school will keep lines open for school business and emergencies. Books and Equipment Students are responsible for any books or equipment issued to them. Fines will result from lost or damaged books or equipment. If you locate any library books, textbooks, or equipment belonging to Helix High, please return them to school. If a fine has been paid, it will be refunded. Helix Foundation The purpose of the foundation is to raise funds, promote Helix, preserve Helix traditions, and actively solicit the support of the community. You can support the Foundation through the purchase of SCRIP. You can purchase SCRIP to use for your purchases at participating companies. Funds raised from SCRIP can be used toward legitimate school expenses such as the cost of athletics or extra curricular activities. If you are interested in purchasing SCRIP, contact Helix Foundation ext. 522 Helix Charter The Charter allows for an innovative educational program that challenges students with higher expectations, giving all students opportunities to demonstrate skills they have learned. Students will learn to read, write, and compute. In addition to these basic skills, students will learn to communicate effectively, think critically, and produce significant work, which integrates all of these basic, and higher level skills. The school program and learning environment will provide multiple learning opportunities for its students, these opportunities will provide for continuous learning and support. Traditional time barriers to student success will be removed. The length of class periods, school day, and school year will be molded to meet student needs. The school will continue to reduce class size compared to the rest of the district. Increased student and teacher accountability are fundamental to obtaining these skills and reaching higher expectations. The Helix Governing Board sets school policy. Notification of meetings is posted in the front office of the school. Meetings are open to the public in accordance with the Brown Act. · The Board consists of the following: · Richard Sutton, President · Cathy Singer, Certificated Staff · Leslie Messier, Certificated Staff · Richard Sutton, Certificated Staff · Peggy Crabtree, Classified Staff · Lori Free-Trout, Parent · Robin Peterson, PTSA President · Ed Aceves, Community Representative · Amy Lam & Patrick Porter, Student Representatives · Doug Smith, Principal Charter Board Meeting Dates The Helix Charter Board (typically) meets on the third Monday of each month unless otherwise indicated. Scheduled public meeting times are from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Helix Library. Agendas are posted and available in the Helix High School office. The following meeting dates are scheduled:
	May 17	June 21		July (no meeting)		August 16
	Sept. 20	Oct. 18		Nov. 15		Dec. 13
	Jan. 24	Feb. 28		March 14		April (Date not set)
	The Helix Charter Board will reorganize at the April meeting and future meetings dates will be determined. Graduation Process Graduation from Helix is completed in a two-step process - Division I and Division II. Students, who are beginning high school, enter Division I. The program of study in Division I will focus on student demonstration of literacy and numeracy. Additionally, every student will develop a statement of educational purpose that will reveal personal responsibility and determination for their own educational direction. Completion of Division I will typically take place at or near the second year at Helix. Students fulfilling Division I requirements enter Division II. The program of study in Division II will further develop student literacy and numeracy in breadth and depth. Every student will complete as part of Division II requirements, one of the four option programs. The four option programs are Option 1- Career Path completion, Option 2- Focused Elective Program, Option 3- Off Campus or Helix ROP Program and Option 4- Early Entrance into SDSU. A complete description of the Graduation Options is available in the Counseling Office, Career Center or on the Helix Website at www.Helixcharter.net. Any student completing all Division I and Division II requirements is entitled to graduate from Helix Charter High School. Testing College Admission Testing Information 2004 – 2005 The PSAT/NMSQT (Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test / National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test) will be administered on October 13, 2004 and October 16, 2004. Juniors planning to attend college should take this test. The following are the test dates for the SAT I and SAT II. Applications can be obtained in the Counseling Office or the Career Center. *To register on-line — http://www.collegeboard.com/* *Registration deadlines are at least 5 weeks prior to test*
	October 9, 2004	November 4, 2004		December 4, 2004		January 22, 2005
	March 12 (SAT I only)	May 7, 2005		June 4, 2005
	*The following are the test dates for the ACT* *Apply on line at www.act.org*
	Sept. 25, 2004		Oct. 23, 2004		Dec. 11, 2004
	Feb. 12, 2005		April 9, 2005		June 11, 2005
	Students applying for admission for the fall term to either the University of California or the California State University System must complete all college admission testing by November of their Senior year. SAT Prep Classes are sponsored by AVID and PTSA. Two sessions are offered. Classes run each Thursday evening in October and in March. Financial Aid A financial aid workshop for Seniors and their families is traditionally held in early January soon after the Free Application for Federal Student aid (FAFSA) is made available. Contact the College and Career Center for more information and useful web sites. Student/Parent Resource Center (SPRC) provides our students and their families resources from County/Community Health Services. Those services might include some or all of the following: · Referrals for medical care · Family and individual counseling · Health Insurance Access Through Schools (HATS) · Substance abuse counseling · Violence prevention · Anger management · A multitude of others Staff members currently refer students. Our SPRC is a developing program that hopes to expand services and availability in the next school year. For more information on the Parent/Student resource Center, contact your counselor or anyone in the Guidance Center at school. Health Office The health office is located in the administration building. Students who are ill are encouraged to go to the health office for assessment. The students who go home due to illness are released only to parents and/or designated people stated on the pink Medical Information Card through the health office only. Students who call their parents outside of the health office (personal cell phones, classroom, etc.) still must present to the health office for release. Medication (prescription or over the counter) is only dispensed through the health office. There are a few exceptions (inhalers, Epi-pens, etc.). All medications are to be accompanied by a current school year medical from completed by the parents AND the prescribing physician. This is the state law and cannot be amended. Medications found on a students person or in their belongings will be confiscated and their parents notified. For further information call the health office at 644-1940 ext. 271.

General School Information

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