August 2021

Dear Students and Parents,

Welcome to the 2021-2022 school year.  I’m happy to have you as a part of our schools, and I’m excited about starting a brand-new year.   Our commitment to you is to do our very best to teach students to be Effective Communicators and Critical Thinkers. This year I look forward to student growth, both academically and personally. 

I’m excited to have all of our teachers and students back in person this school year.  All four of our teachers are returning: Mr. Anderson (History, Government and Economics), Ms. DeLeon (English and P.E.),

Ms. Dennen (Science, Art & online learning) and Mrs. Seeley (Math and Coding).  Lill Aspoy-Codiroli will be returning as the secretary for SMHS as well as Julie Corda, our secretary for Carpe Diem.  We will continue to utilize the services of Valarie Alston, our college and career specialist, to provide critical instruction and support for all students as they prepare for life after high school. Our teachers are easiest to reach via Parent Square or district email through the Aeries.net Parent Portal. Secretaries can be reached via email, Parent Square or phone.

Please make attendance a priority!!  Our district greatly benefits from revenue generated by student attendance.  

Attendance Policy:

• Must be present 90%+ to receive accelerated credit schedule (based on ACTUAL attendance)
• Attendance at less than 85% will result in 20% credit reduction
• Attendance at less than 70% will result in NO semester credit

Parents, you should expect a phone call each day that your student is absent.  We work closely with the district to monitor attendance.  In addition, because tardies cut into instructional time, we have a no-fault tardy policy and expect students to make up time that they miss in class, after school on the day they miss it. Students not keeping up academically, behaviorally or with attendance will be considered for a different placement (see credit earning agreement).

All students and staff, regardless of the vaccination status are required to wear an appropriate mask when entering the building, and masks are to remain on at all times while indoors.  Students, while outside (break, lunch, walk etc.) may remove their masks. While unmasked, we expect students to keep appropriate social distancing.

Please be sure to fill out the daily health screening for your student each day.  If your student is not feeling well, please do not send them to school.

Aeries Data Confirmation- If you have not done so yet, please complete the Aeries Data Confirmation piece on your Aeries account.  This is basically equivalent to our annual registration for your student.  This needs to be completed by Tuesday, August 17th (the first day of school).  If you need assistance, please contact the secretary of your school: 

SMHS Lill Aspoy-Codiroli <laspoy-codiroli@petk12.org> or CDHS Julie Corda <jcorda@petk12.org>. 

For the 2021-2022 school year, all students will receive free breakfast and lunch.  We still ask that the lunch form be filled out for every family as it provides a great, positive financial impact on our district.  Meals will be picked up in the cafeterias at their respective schools (SMHS @ CGHS & CDHS @ PHS).

Lunch Program Applications- As a large part of our District’s funding is based on data collected from the National School Lunch Program, it is imperative that each and every family complete the Free and Reduced Lunch application form.  Our first choice would be that you use the online application; otherwise you may use the paper/hard copy and return it with your packet.  All links are provided below:

• Online application: Go to Titan School Solutions [family.titank12.com] and click “Apply For Meals Today”, then find your district/school, and complete the application. Once you finish, you're done! If you have questions, please see the help documents from Titan linked below:

Titan Parent Portal FAQ PDF (English)

Titan Portal de Padres FAQ PDF (Spanish)

• Paper/PDF application: Complete the 2020-21 Application for Free and Reduced-Price Meals form (PDFs linked below) and return it to your school office.

2020-21 Application for Free and Reduced-Price Meals English

2020-21 Application for Free and Reduced-Price Meals Spanish

2020-21 Letter to Families English

2020-21 Letter to Families Spanish

Welcome back to school.  We look forward to seeing all of you this year.

Greg Stevenson, MA

Principal, Carpe Diem and Sonoma Mountain High Schools

gstevenson@petk12.org