DON JUAN AVILA MIDDLE SCHOOL
DJAMS NEWS
Principal: Chris Carter
January 15, 2009
_______________________________________________________________________

NO SCHOOL ON MONDAY, JANUARY 19, MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY

Monday, January 19, is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a legal holiday for students and staff. We hope you enjoy a nice three-day weekend.

DOMINO’S PIZZA NIGHT – PTSA FUNDRAISER

PTSA is holding a fundraiser night at Domino’s Pizza on Wednesday, February 11. A certain percentage of your dine-in or take-out orders will be donated to DJAMS PTSA! Flyers available in the office.

7TH/8TH GRADE TECHNO GLOW DANCE IS COMING!

7th and 8th graders will want to attend this first dance of the new year! Friday, January 23, 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the MPR. Signed permission slips must be turned in. Glow-in-the-Dark attire is recommended.

FEE-BASED AAA/GATE TESTING

Registration forms for the fee-based AAA/GATE test are available at www.capousd.org/aaa. Forms are due at the CUSD AAA/GATE office by January 21. Testing takes place on Saturday, February 2, 2009, at George White Elementary School. Qualified students who were absent during the site-based AAA/GATE test (January 14) received a voucher and may appear on that date to take the test free of charge. Results of the test will be sent to the school site in March, and mailed to parents in April. Any schedule changes that result from this test will take effect the following school year.

COLLEGE PREP NIGHT

Meeting College Entrance Requirements – What Middle School Parents Need to Know – Wednesday, February 11, 2009, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Aliso Niguel Middle School.

The PTSA’s at both DJAMS and AVMS are working in partnership with school administration to bring you this important information. Please mark your calendars and plan on attending this educational event.

ACADEMIC PENTATHLON

Nine 8th graders are moving on as members of our 8th grade Academic Pentathlon Team. They will be studying hard over the next few months to prepare for the competition in March. Congratulations to team members Darren Cheah, Patrick Cruz, Merak Melikian-Hatounian, Flo Pankam, William Rhee, Sajan Shah, Alec Sheedy, Ryan Song, and Alex Tarkoff.

Our 7th grade team is: Nick Blackmore, Ryan Bresnan, Alec Cwener, Kieran Ishimaru, McKenna Jarrell, Bryce Keeler, Jasmine Lee, Kelly Lee, Jake Pollard, Andrew Tran, Carina Yao

A big thanks to all contestants who tried out and made choosing the teams so competitive and difficult.

DJAMS’ 8TH ANNUAL SPELLING BEE

Approximately 100 students participated in the classroom written spelling bee round last Friday, January 9. The on-site written and oral competition will be held Wednesday, February 4. The top 10 spellers from this round will go to the county-wide written round on Monday, February 23. Then, on Monday, March 2, the county-wide oral round will take place. Good luck to all our expert spellers!!

THE PARENT PROJECT – Classes Offered

Parents of teens are invited to attend a series of 10 consecutive classes presented by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department-Mission Viejo Police Services.

THE PARENT PROJECT

Wednesdays, March 4 through May 13, 2009, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Mission Viejo City Hall-Saddleback Room

200 Civic Center, corner of Marguerite Pkwy/La Paz Rd.

Cost: $60

Register Now at Mission Viejo Police Services 470-8433

Get concrete answers for every question you ask:

· Never argue again with your child

· Improve school attendance and performance

· Prevent or intervene in alcohol & other drug use

· Find resources to help

For more information, go to www.parentproject.com.

PREVIOUS NEWS

TALENT SHOW AUDITIONS

Students interested in signing up to audition for the Talent Show can do so all week outside Ms. Berndt’s Room 608. Auditions will be held Tuesday and Wednesday, February 3 and 4. We are looking forward to seeing all of our talented students perform. Talent Show is on Thursday, February 26. Details to follow.

8TH GRADE YEARBOOK ADS

The deadline for purchasing an ad for your son/daughter is Friday, January 16. No ads will be accepted after that day. Please see the Yearbook Information on Edline for an order form. If you need more information, please email Mrs. Olson at seolson@capousd.org.

PI (3.14) DAY IS COMING!

The math department is planning to celebrate Pi Day early this year on Friday, March 13. Students can be a part of the Pi-Day celebration and buy a special Pi Cubed t-shirt for only $15 cash or check made out to DJAMS by the January 29 deadline.

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. To register for this class or other classes offered through Capistrano Community Education, please log on to 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

January 19 No School/Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day/Legal Holiday

January 23 7th/8th Grade Techno Glow Dance, 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., MPR

January 30 No School/Student Holiday/First Semester Wrap-up Activities

February 11 College Prep Night @ AVMS, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. (Focus on High School Requirements A-G)
February 13 Lincoln Day, Legal Holiday
February 16 Washington Day, Legal Holiday
February 16 SRLA Team Runs the L.A. Marathon
March 12 PTSA Meeting, 2:30 p.m., Library

March 13 Pi Day
April 6-10 Spring Recess – No School
May 14 PTSA Meeting, 2:30 p.m., Library
May 20 Open House, 6:30 p.m.
May 25 Memorial Day, Legal Holiday
June 18 Last Day of School

CAPISTRANO VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT WINS THREE ANIMATION AWARDS
Mission Viejo, December 10, 2008–Kelly Mitchell, a student in Kent Baker’s animation class at Capistrano Valley High School, has just won her third ACME Animation competition since September. Kelly already has two first place wins, and this week, received third place for her entry in ACME Animation’s “Mr. Bean-Boing Lifts Weights” contest. The competition included other high school and Regional Occupational Program students throughout California and five other states.
Baker’s students actively participate in ACME Animation, a program of The ACME Network, a non-profit organization. ACME connects middle and high school classrooms to professional animators from all of the major studios and to college animation programs in an online community targeting animation, mentoring and effective communication. “We’re lucky at Capo Valley,” says Baker, “to participate in both the ACME teleconferencing and website. Live professional feedback really gets the students excited, and they can begin tackling college-level challenges with the help they receive online from animation students at a number of universities and art schools. ”
For the recent ACME competition, Kelly’s work was first selected by the students in her class to represent their class. The contests were judged by John Ramirez and Dave Master. Ramirez is a professional animator whose credits include films such as “Aladdin,” “The Lion King,” “Hercules,” “Toy Story II,” “Tarzan” and “Looney Tunes, Back in Action.” Master is an internationally-recognized educator, former Director of Artist Development for Warner Bros. and a founder of the ACME Animation program.
It doesn’t surprise Master that a student in Baker’s class came out with two first place and one third place win in ACME’s blind review process. “We see a lot of work on ACME Online and ACME On-Air,” says Master. “Kent Baker’s class puts out some really great work for beginning students. You can tell that Kent’s building a class culture that’s serious and squeezes the most out of every suggestion they get. It shows in what they say and write, and what they draw. Kelly’s work shows she’s put in a lot of pencil miles, as we say in the business.”
“ACME is a model of the future for ROP,” says Dr. Rick Bogart, CEO of Capistrano-Laguna Regional Occupational Program. “It helps good teachers bring professional expectations into their classroom every day, no matter where they are.” Animation is a vitally important field for our local and national economies, and with ACME, Capo-Laguna ROP is making it possible for Kelly Mitchell and her classmates to build the skills they need to succeed in the profession.”

Attempting to minister in the lives of children around the world is an important part of what we do here at Stoneybrooke Christian Schools. Each classroom is involved in a missions project that reaches beyond the school’s ‘four walls’ and involves them in the life or lives of someone else hundreds or thousands of miles away. The students bring money and pool it each month to help sponsor a child or a ministry somewhere outside the borders of the United States.
Each January there is a school-wide mission’s emphasis week where outside speakers who have either actually work in foreign countries come and share their work with the students. Over the years the school has invited people to speak who have ministered in Africa, South America, Mexico, Europe and Asia. This year students were challenged by speakers from the Congo, Haiti and South Africa.
Students also responded to two challenges: a used shoe drive and a canned goods drive. Our student council collected over 1,500 good used pairs of shoes and passed them out to the needy on a street corner in San Juan Capistrano. Plus, the students brought in four huge barrels of canned goods which were donated to a local food bank.
Stoneybrooke kids realized they are blessed and are generous in sharing part of their blessing with others!

DON JUAN AVILA MIDDLE SCHOOL
DJAMS NEWS
Principal: Chris Carter
January 2009
_______________________________________________________________________

Dear Parents,

Welcome back from winter break! Hopefully everyone had a restful vacation and students have made their New Year’s resolutions to excel in school as we finalize this first semester. Please remember that the best way to keep tabs on your child’s progress in school is to check Edline.

TOYS FOR TOTS A BIG SUCCESS

We surpassed our Toys for Tots goal by quite a large margin this year at DJAMS! Generally, schools in the area fill 15-20 large boxes each for this cause. DJAMS filled 28 boxes from our students’ donations! Thank you to our students and families for doing an awesome job.

PTSA NEWS

Meeting College Entrance Requirements – What Middle School Parents Need to Know – Wednesday, February 11, 2009, Aliso Niguel Middle School.

The PTSA’s at both DJAMS and AVMS are working in partnership with school administration to bring you this important information. Please mark your calendars and plan on attending this educational event. More information concerning content and the start time of the event will follow.

E-Scrip Online Shopping Supports the DJAMS PTSA

Thank you to all of you who did your online holiday shopping by accessing your favorite website from the E-Scrip home page. Your actions brought extra cash to the DJAMS PTSA! Remember, this option is available to you year-round. Simply go to escrip.com and click on Shopping in the upper left corner of the home page and you’ll have access to the websites of over 200 popular online stores. There is no cost to you! The stores pay to be listed with E-Scrip.

Don’t Toss Those Old Books!

Please remember the Annual Book Fair as you clean out your child’s bookcase to make room for the new books that were received over the holidays. Each May the PTSA collects used children and teen books to pass along to students within our School District. Storing those extra books for a few more months will help to spread the gift of reading within our community.

TALENT SHOW AUDITIONS

Students interested in signing up to audition for the Talent Show can do so all next week outside Ms. Berndt’s Room 608. Auditions will be held Tuesday and Wednesday, February 3 and 4. We are looking forward to seeing all of our talented students perform. Talent Show is on Thursday, February 26. Details to follow.

8TH GRADE YEARBOOK ADS

The deadline for purchasing an ad for your son/daughter is Friday, January 16. No ads will be accepted after that day. Please see the Yearbook Information on Edline for an order form. If you need more information, please email Mrs. Olson at seolson@capousd.org.

7TH/8TH GRADE DANCE

7th and 8th graders are looking forward to their first dance of the New Year on Friday, January 23, 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the MPR. The theme of the dance is Techno Glow and students are encouraged to wear glow in the dark attire. Students must turn in a completed permission slip to attend.

PI (3.14) DAY IS COMING!

The math department is planning to celebrate Pi Day early this year on Friday, March 13. Students can be a part of the Pi-Day celebration and buy a special Pi Cubed t-shirt for only $15 cash or check made out to DJAMS by the January 29 deadline.

DJAMS IS GOING GREEN!

DJAMS has begun a new recycling program with the help of PAL. All classrooms and office areas have blue bins for paper in addition to red bins for aluminum and plastic products. PAL students will make their collection rounds on campus regularly to help save our school’s resources.

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. To register for this class or other classes offered through Capistrano Community Education, please log on to 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

January 19 No School/Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day/Legal Holiday

January 30 No School/Student Holiday/First Semester Wrap-up Activities

February 11 College Prep Night @ AVMS, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. (Focus on High School Requirements A-G)
February 13 Lincoln Day, Legal Holiday
February 16 Washington Day, Legal Holiday
February 16 SRLA Team Runs the L.A. Marathon
March 12 PTSA Meeting, 2:30 p.m., Library
April 6-10 Spring Recess – No School
May 14 PTSA Meeting, 2:30 p.m., Library
May 20 Open House, 6:30 p.m.
May 25 Memorial Day, Legal Holiday
June 18 Last Day of School

Aliso Niguel High School and Supporters,

It’s a new year with a ton of new chances to make our school a better place. The only way to do that is to continue supporting our school to the best of our ability. ANHS Associated Student Body has made a partnership with Daphne’s Greek Cafe and as a result the following athletic events will have freebies and coupons that will be accessible at the following league basketball games.

January 14, Boys’ Basketball:

Coupons and Freebies will be handed out to the winning team during the halftime competition.

January 22, Girls’ Basketball:

Coupons and Freebies will be handed out to the first 40 seniors with black cards who attend.

January 23, Boys’ Basketball:

Coupons and Freebies will be handed out to the first 50 Students with ASB cards.

February 10, Boys’ Basketball:

Coupons and Freebies will be given out to the most spirited students at the game.

Also, other dates to remember are:

January 22, Daphne’s Fundraiser

20% of the proceeds go toward our school. (See the activities section of the school website for flyer)

February 10, Cosmo’s Fundraiser

(See the activities section of the school website for flyer)

February 23, Rubio’s Fundraiser

20% of the proceeds go toward our school. (See the activities section of the school website for flyer)

For all fundraisers please bring the flyers to the restaurant at the time of purchase.

Thanks and hope to see you all there!

Evi Hayhurst

Aliso Niguel High School

Commissioner of Marketing

evi.hayhurst@yahoo.com