Two Year Olds Invited to Make History with New Class

Aliso Viejo, CA, April 6, 2009 – St. Mary’s, a non-denominational Christian School, with a rich tradition of serving local families, Preschool to Grade Eight, is pleased to open its doors to create its first ever two year old classroom. With tremendous schedule flexibility of five days a week, three days a week, and two days a week either full day or half day option, and no potty training required, all students age two years zero months to two years 11 months by September 2009 are encouraged to apply. Upon acceptance, even the youngest students will be invited to join St. Mary’s Preschool this September.

With a classroom ratio of 1:6, students will be engaged in an inquiry based environment to develop the whole child with social-emotional, physical, cognitive and spiritual growth. Our excellent teachers foster a hands-on learning environment with love and guidance so that children gain academic knowledge in a safe and secure environment that instills a sense of belonging. The students will participate in art, language, math, music, Spanish, and science in both small and large group guided activities as well as free-exploration to learn self-reliance as they grow.

St. Mary’s believes in an open door policy, and you are invited to visit any time or attend our upcoming Open House for Prospective Families (preschool to grade 8) on Thursday, April 23, 2009, 9-11am to understand the distinctive qualities of St. Mary’s, an independent, Christian school with an International Baccalaureate Programme.

To complete an application or for more information, please contact Amy Gritters, Preschool Principal at (949) 448-9027 ext 326 or amy.gritters@smaa.org or www.smaa.org

Contact: Doug Fleischli, Marketing Director

St. Mary and All Angels School

7 Pursuit Aliso Viejo, CA 92656

Ph: (949) 448-9027, ext. 328 Cell: (949) 233-5993

Email: doug.fleischli@smaa.org Web: www.smaa.org

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5th Grade
Science Camp
Bergeson
2 0 0 9

Come meet Thousand Pines Science Camp representatative Christian Day to see an exciting presentation
about Bergeson’s upcoming Science Camp. Science Camp is a 4-day/3-night annual tradition
for our 5th graders, and we are one of the few schools in the district to provide this enrichment for
our students.
Please bring your 4th grader [no siblings, please] and come learn more about this educational
opportunity. You’ll get the chance to ask questions and pre-pay your $150 deposit. Childcare for siblings
is available through the YMCA. Contact Dorain Cassell, our YMCA afterschool director, at
dcassell@ymcaoc.net to make your reservations.

Dates to remember:

* April 22 [Wednesday]: Science Camp presentation, 7pm, MPR
* May 6 [Wednesday]: Deadline for Science Camp deposit of $150
* June 4 [Thursday]: Open House pizza sales and sweatshirt reservations [*volunteers needed]
* June 8 [Monday]: Science Camp logo design competition entries due
* June 12 [Friday]: Science Camp logo design winner announced at morning assembly
* October 6-9: Thousand Pines Science Camp, Crestline, CA [thousandpinesoutdoored.com]
* Volunteers, earn $5 per volunteer hour toward your child’s 2009 Science Camp registration fees. To volunteer,

contact Joan Sprick at joansprick@cox.net or 949-235-0025. And remember, you can also earn credit toward your
child’s fees through Bergescrip. Just pick up an order form from the front office or download it from the foundation
website [friendsofbergie.org]. Be sure to designate that you want your funds to go toward your child’s camp fees

DON JUAN AVILA MIDDLE SCHOOL
DJAMS NEWS
Principal: Chris Carter
April 2, 2009
_______________________________________________________________________

Dear Parents,

Our staff wishes you a very relaxing spring break next week. Students will be off school April 6-10. We will look forward to the first day of the fourth quarter upon our return on Monday, April 13.

ACADEMIC PENTATHLON

It was an exciting Saturday as DJAMS 8th and 7th grade Academic Pentathlon teams battled it out with teams from around the county to see who’s smarter. We’ll know the results in a few short weeks, when they announce the winners and hand out medals at the Awards Ceremony on April 21. Good luck to our team members: 8th graders – Darren Cheah, Patrick Cruz, Merak Melikian-Hatounian, Flo Pankam, William Rhee, Sajan Shah, Alec Sheedy, Ryan Song, and Alex Tarkoff; 7th graders – Nick Blackmore, Ryan Bresnan, Alec Cwener, Kieran Ishimaru, McKenna Jarrell, Bryce Keeler, Jasmine Lee, Kelly Lee, Jake Pollard, Andrew Tran, and Carina Yao.

ATTENTION PARENTS OF AAA/GATE STUDENTS

If your child was enrolled this year in an AAA/GATE class (Grades 3-8) or accelerated, Advance Placement (AP), or International Baccalaureate (IB) course (Grades 9-12), you are invited to participate in an online survey regarding the AAA/GATE program at our school.

The survey will be conducted during April 1-15, 2009. In May, I will meet with our principal, AAA/GATE teachers, and AAA/GATE parent advisors to review our school’s survey results and discuss ways to improve our school’s AAA/GATE program.

To participate in the survey, please visit the new CUSD AAA/GATE website at http://gate.schoolloop.com. Please click on the Parent Resources tab and then click on the Online GATE Program Survey link. If you have more than one child in the AAA/GATE program, please complete a survey for each of your AAA/GATE children.

Sincerely,

Tracy Alexander

AAA/GATE Coordinator

CHESS TOURNAMENT

The annual DJAMS chess tournament has finally come to a close. Congratulations to the following place winners:

6th grade tournament – 3rd place, Eugene Lee; 2nd place, Ji-Hong Sohn; 1st place, Soma Szeier.

7th/8th grade tournament – 3rd place, Trevor Murphy; 2nd place, Darren Cheah; 1st place, Erik Garcia.

MARCH TABNESS

Congratulations to the following homerooms for donating the most tabs for March Tabness. They truly assisted families in need through the Ronald McDonald House. Third Place: Mrs. Balogh; Second Place: Mrs. Riddle; First Place: Mr. Ortiz. Great job to all students and staff members who have been collecting tabs!

INCOMING 6TH GRADE PARENT NIGHT AT DJAMS (Parents Only Please)

Parents of incoming 6th graders are invited to attend our Incoming 6th Grade Parent Night on Wednesday, April 22, 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the MPR. AAA/GATE Parent Meeting will be held from 6:00-6:30 before the main presentation.

DJAMS TO VISIT ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

Academic Advisors will visit 5th graders at the following elementary schools to distribute registration materials and give a brief presentation:

Canyon Vista

9 a.m., Thursday, April 16

Oak Grove

12:35 p.m., Monday, April 13

Wood Canyon

9:30 a.m., Thursday, April 16

Don Juan Avila

12:35 p.m., Friday, April 17

SOUTH COAST YMCA

Do you have a child entering the 6th grade next year? Would you like your child to be in a fun filled and rewarding program? Would you like your child to participate in art activities, sports games and meet new friends? All this could happen at one of our middle school programs! We offer fun and exciting activities at Aliso Viejo Middle School, Don Juan Avila Middle School and Niguel Hills Middle School. Our buildings are right on campus. For information please call the YMCA Main Office at 949-495-9622 or e-mail Lori Rodriguez at lrodriguez@ymcaoc.net

ALISO NIGUEL HIGH SCHOOL WALK-IN SESSIONS

8th grade parents will have the opportunity to meet one on one with an ANHS academic advisor to ask all questions and discuss necessary steps to create an easy transition into high school. No appointments necessary.

Where: ANHS Library

Time: 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Dates: Mondays, April 20, May 4, May 18, June 1, and June 15

SCHOOL HEALTH AND SAFETY EXPO AND OPEN HOUSE

You are cordially invited to an expo in violence prevention, student health and safety and intervention which will be held on Wednesday, April 15, from 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. at the CUSD District Office (address below). Tours of the District Office facility will be given this evening as well.

The expo is a showcase of the programs and services provided through the collaboration between CUSD, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, Orange County Sheriff’s Department, and other community organizations.

Come and learn how this multi-agency approach is benefiting our schools and students. Exhibits will include: CUSD Emergency Operations Center, Drug Use is Life Abuse, Dana Hills High School Intervention, School Mobile Assessment Resource Team (SMART), School Resource Officers and a showcase of items collected, Tobacco Prevention, Gang Reduction Intervention and Prevention (GRIP), CUSD Foundation, Safety and Services, Web-based Safety Plans, and Is Your Teen at Risk, to name a few. Over 40 exhibitors will be on hand.

Many CUSD students have directly benefited from the services provided through this collaborative partnership.

For more information, please contact Julie Hatchel, jhatchel@capousd.org. CUSD is located at 33122 Valle Rd., San Juan Capistrano.

ONGOING WEIGHT TRAINING CLASS

It’s never too late for students to join Mr. Binley’s weight training session. Classes are held from 3:40 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, in our DJAMS Weight Room. This class is designed for all 7th and 8th graders interested in beginning weight training. On-line class registration is available now through Capistrano Community Education, at: www.capousd.org/adult or call 489-7202. Feel free to contact Mr. Binley if you have any questions regarding the class.

DATES TO REMEMBER

April 3 End of Third Quarter

April 6-10 Spring Recess – No School

April 22 Incoming 6th Grade Parent Night, 6:30 p.m., DJAMS MPR

April 27 Applications for Bronco Pride Awards Due
May 14 PTSA Meeting, 2:30 p.m., Library
May 20 Open House, 6:30 p.m.
May 25 Memorial Day, Legal Holiday

May 25 SRLA Team Runs the L.A. Marathon
June 18 Last Day of School