Crusader Times

Dear Parents,

Hard to believe that we are at the end of this school year!! I am very happy to see how our students have had so much success this year. I’m also very excited to see our 8th graders promote and move on to high school, but we are sure going to miss this 8th grade class. However, we are looking forward to having our incoming 7th graders being part of our Crusader family and our current 7th graders become their role models. I want to thank teachers and staff for all their dedication and hard work in ensuring students success. I also want to thank all our parents for their continuous support. I wish all of you a great end of the year and an awesome summer.

Eduardo Reyes, Ed.D.

We would like to congratulate Midori Castillo Meza for all of her accomplishments in tennis! This past year, she received the opportunity to play in tennis tournaments in Europe, Austria, and Italy. She participated in the ITF World Junior Tennis April 20, 2017, in Campeche, Mexico in which she won 1st place and 3rd place. In addition, she was the 2017 Girls 14 Singles Winner in the Esme Pearson Memorial Junior Open. While playing tennis tournaments halfway around the world, she still has managed to maintain a 3.8 GPA. Congratulations Midori and we wish you the best of luck in all of your future endeavors.

We want to congratulate our 8th grade student, Sophia Epley, for receiving an honorable mention at the California State Science Fair for the junior behavioral sciences division, first place in junior behavioral sciences at the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair, and the sweepstakes award in Life Sciences at the Sweetwater Union School District science fair. She also qualified to apply for the Broadcom Masters Science and Engineering Fair, which is a national level science fair! We are very proud of all your amazing accomplishments!

Star Wars was the theme of the BVM Instrumental Music Spring Concert, complete with a visit from Darth Vader and friends. The bands, mariachi, guitar class and Exploring Arts all performed. It was a full house and a fantastic show!

The Tri-M Music Honor Society completed a landscaping project on campus. They wanted to create an outdoor retreat for BVM staff. Mission accomplished! Thank you to Lowe’s of Eastlake for working with the group and providing a 50% discount! Here are pictures from before, during, and after!

Students took the stage to show off their amazing singing and dancing at our BVM's Got Talent Showcase on Thursday, May 11th. The students hosted, organized, and put on the entire production and it was a huge success! Congratulations Crusaders in putting on an amazing show!

On May 5th, our Mariachi played alongside BVH Mariachi for our students during lunch. Thank you for the lovely entertainment Crusaders!

Our 8th grade DLI students were recognized for their hard work and dedication to the Dual Language Immersion Program over the past two years by their DLI Teachers on Friday May, 12th. Not only are these students enrolled in accelerated classes, but they take half of their accelerated courses in Spanish. Over the past two years, they have hosted community cultural events on campus, conducted student open houses, and completed rigorous curriculum in two different languages. These students will be continuing the program in 9th grade in an effort to acquire a bi-literacy seal when they graduate from high school. We are very proud of all of your achievements Crusaders!

In March students from BVM had the opportunity to go to the Qualcomm Thinkabit lab to learn about STEM careers and engineering. Students spent some time learning about careers they are interested in and also discovered some they never knew existed. Then they had the opportunity participate in an engineering challenge and design a solution for it. Then it was into the actual lab where students learned how to program an Arduino microprocessor to control a motor. Then using a ton of art supplies they were able “to make something that does something” to solve their engineering challenge. Students utilized their newfound knowledge of computer coding and mechanical engineering with some serious crafting skills to create some really interesting projects, from a robotic street sweeper, to drones to monitor traffic, and even a squidlike underwater exploration robot.

Twenty seven of our students were recognized for their achievement in Reclassification to Fluent English Proficient (RFEP) alongside their parents over breakfast on Friday, May 5th. Once classified as English Learners, these students worked hard to meet all of the criteria to RFEP. Keep up the great work students!

This month we would like to congratulate our Special Education teacher, Darci Comer-Davies, for truly exemplifying the belief that we are teachers to every student on campus, not just the students that we have on our classroom roster. Just last month she witnessed a student who appeared to be in distress walk past her classroom during lunch and she took it upon herself to bring in the student into her classroom to talk about how might be feeling. Not only is Darci a fabulous teacher inside the classroom, but she continues her role outside the classroom as well. Thanks Darci for all that you do!

We are almost to the end! Students be sure that you get rest and be ready for the End of Course exams. 8th graders, good luck on your new journey at the high school and be sure that you complete all your assignments. High School is a big transition with most of what you do will be on your own. 7th graders, be sure you complete all your assignments and turn them in so that you can have the most up to date grade. Please make sure that all your late assignments have been turned in and recorded before grades are turned in. With so many late assignments from students, the expectations of the teachers to record all late work over night is unrealistic. Please be patient as they are patient with the late work. 7th graders that failed any of the core classes will need to attend summer school to make up the credit be on track for promotion. Summer school this year will be for current 7th graders and will start, Monday, June 5 and end Thursday, June 29. Be sure that you cannot miss days and will be required to complete all assignments. Attendance is the first part of the class, but you will need to participate and complete all assignments. In addition, you will have to demonstrate proficiency with passing the class. School starts back again, Thursday, July 20th so be sure to take the break and enjoy your time with family and much rest. Good luck!

As a college student, I found that Symbaloo, an online bookmarking tool, helped me stay organized. With this platform I could put all my frequently visited sites and assignments in one place. Many teachers use this tool because of its user-friendly design and compatibility with Google. Students also find Symbaloo helpful as they consider their own personal learning environment. What is a personal learning environment (PLE)? In a nutshell a PLE is a self-directed learning space that contains both digital and non-digital resources. Learners can customize their own PLE based on their personal interests and school activities. Think of your preferences in both physical and digital spaces. Maybe you like a quiet study area in your bedroom, or perhaps you’d rather work in a noisy Starbucks. Décor, books, music and equipment can also be part of what we think of as a PLE. In the online world, think about the kinds of digital platforms or games that spark your creativity? Do you like doing things on your own, or would you like to develop your ideas with others in a blog or wiki? For more information about designing a PLE using Symbaloo, and getting your own PLE started, I’ve provided a video link: https://youtu.be/6Zg1br-gQSg

As you get ready to turn in your iPad it is important to make sure that you back up all your work into Google Drive so you have a record of it.

To back up your Notability notes into Google Drive follow these instructions:

1. Tap the icon for Notability on your home screen

2. Tap the Settings icon, it looks like a gear

3. To set up auto-backup tap Google Drive

4. Type your district email and password

5. Tap Sign In

6. Tap Accept

7. Tap OK. Your notes will now automatically back up to Google Drive

8. Tap Close

If you have work saved in other apps many of them will allow you to back it up to Google Drive using a similar process to Notability. If you have any video projects in various apps, save them to you camera roll and then send them to Google Drive.

If you need any help backing up your information please come visit the Genius Bar in Room 606 during Advisory. Ask your Advisory teacher for a pass.

05/24 - 05/25 - 8th Grade iPad Collection

05/25 - Yearbook Distribution and 8th Grade Awards

05/26 - Promotion Practice and 8th Grade Party

05/26 - 05/31 - 7th Grade End of Course Exams

05/29 - Memorial Day - No School

05/30 - 8th Grade Promotion

05/31 - Spring Sports Banquet

06/01 - 06/02 - 7th Grade iPad Collection

06/02 - Last Day for 7th Grade

Email: Eduardo.Reyes@sweetwaterschools.org
Website: http://bvm.sweetwaterschools.org/
Location: 650 Otay Lakes Road, Chula Vista, CA 91910, United States
Phone: (619) 397-2200
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bonitavistamiddleschool