January 17, 2018
Dear UPHS Families,
Welcome to spring semester 2018! We are off to a great start with a large number of students enrolled in both UPHS and COS classes. The faculty and staff are excited to see students continue to grow and build upon their successes from fall semester. Based on the reported COS grades, UPHS students, as a group, earned over a 3.0 GPA average in their COS classes! We are very proud of this achievement, as it demonstrates our students’ commitment to high levels of achievement in their college classes. Final fall semester grades will be mailed home on Monday, January 22nd.
Activities and Events to Look Forward to this Semester:
UPHS Leadership Semi-Formal Dance “Hollywood Glam” on January 27th @Lampliter Inn 8pm-11pm
· Mock Trial competes on January 22nd, 23rd, & 30th and February 2nd, 8th & 20th
· PSO Family Game Night on February 9th@Gateway Church from 6pm-9pm
· National History Day Competition is February 16th
· "Light Up the Sky" play opens February 22nd
· Science Olympiad competes March 3rd
· College Trips March 9th
· Sadie Hawkins Dance @NAZ Youth Center March 22nd 7pm-10pm
· The Robotics Team competes April 5th-8th
· UPHS Prom 2018 is April 28th (This is a Destination Prom)
· Step Up competes May 17th
· Class of 2018 Graduation is May 31st @TCOE Mooney Conference Center
This semester offers many opportunities for students to participate in a wide range of activities and academic endeavors. To support our high achieving and busy students, we will continue to offer after school tutoring in Yokut 9 for all subject areas, including COS classes Monday-Thursday from 3:45pm-5:00pm. Students are also encouraged to talk with their teachers and seek extra help before school, at lunch, and/or after school.
Also, in order to be academically successful, students must make every effort to be in class. While illnesses and family emergencies happen, I want students to remember everyone signed a Mutual Accountability Statement committing to 95% attendance for the semester. I am proud of the students’ commitment to their education during the fall semester. Because of the students’ efforts, UPHS has attained an unprecedented 97% overall attendance rate for the fall 2017 semester.
We are also in our recruiting season, and we know some of the best students come to UPHS based on recommendations from our families. If you have a family member, friend, or neighbor who would be a good fit for UPHS, please invite them to attend one of our UPHS Information Nights to learn about the school and everything we offer students.
UPHS Information Night Dates:
· Thursday, February 8th 6pm-7pm in Yokut 9
· Thursday, February 22nd 6pm-7pm in Yokut 9
· Thursday, March 8th 6pm-7pm in Yokut 9
· Thursday, March 22nd 6pm-7pm in Yokut 9
Please call Araceli Alcala at 559-730-2529 to RVSP to attend one of these Information Nights
On behalf of the faculty and staff at UPHS, I want to thank all our families for their support during the fall semester, and I look forward to an exciting spring semester and seeing everyone at the PSO Family Game Night on February 9th!
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me or call me at school 559-730-2529.
Sincerely,
Eric Thiessen, Principal
December 30, 2017
Dear UPHS Families,
As we approach the second semester, I am always amazed at how quickly each semester passes. I am very proud of the efforts and successes of our students. The faculty and staff continue to watch students building upon success after success in both their high school and college classes.
Here are just a few highlights from the first semester:
Our academic teams are busy preparing for their competitions in the spring semester
Mock Trial
Science Olympiad
Robotics
History day
Step Up
Our Fine Arts Department Music students performed outstandingly in December
The Folklorico Dance students shined at the Winter Rally
"Light Up The Sky," our Spring play, opens in February
I want to encourage students to strive to reach their maximum potential, to continue to work hard, to ask for help when needed, and to finish the school year strong. This semester we will offer after-school tutoring in Yokut 9 for all subject areas, including COS classes. Students are also encouraged to talk with their teachers and seek extra help before school, at lunch, and/or after school.
In order to be academically successful, students must make every effort to be in class. While illnesses and family emergencies happen, I want students to remember each of you signed a Mutual Accountability Statement committing to 95% attendance for the semester. I am proud of the students’ commitment to their education in the fall semester. Because of the students’ efforts, UPHS has attained an unprecedented 97% overall attendance rate for the fall 2017 semester.
By being in class every day on time, students receive the maximum instructional time, which always translates to a deeper understanding of the material and stronger grades. If a student misses class or is late, then there is a disruption to the student’s learning and the overall learning environment. Due to the nature of a dual enrollment program, absences and tardiness do impact a student’s learning. I monitor attendance regularly and talk with students who are late to class or absent excessively. As adults, we know 90% of one’s success in life comes from simply showing up regularly and on time, and we all want our students to succeed in school and life.
On behalf of the faculty and staff at UPHS, I want to thank all our families for their support during the fall semester, and I look forward to an exciting spring semester, which will include the PSO Spring Fundraiser—Family Game Night on February 9th! In five short months, we will say goodbye to the Class of 2018.
As a reminder, UPHS and COS classes begin on Tuesday, January 16th. We look forward to seeing everyone then, and we know all the students will work hard to finish the school year enthusiastically and with strong grades.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me or call me at school.
Sincerely,
Eric Thiessen
Principal
November 27, 2017
Dear UPHS Families,
Welcome back after Thanksgiving Break. I hope everyone had a restful and wonderful week off. On behalf of the faculty and staff at UPHS, I want to prepare everyone for the fast-paced month of December. Students you only have 3 weeks of classes before your UPHS finals. This is the time to maintain your focus and perseverance in order to finish the semester strong. The final month of work and final exam do make a BIG impact on your semester grades--keep working hard!
Some important dates to consider during our last month of school for Fall Semester 2017. COS will hold its finals December 13th-December 19th and UPHS Finals are scheduled from December 15th-December 21st. Please pay attention to the UPHS Bulletin and your teachers for the exact day of your final exam for each class.
If you are currently earning a 'D' or 'F' in a UPHS class--this is the month to really spend extra time retaking quizzes, doing test corrections, asking for extra help, and making sure ALL your work for ALL your classes for the last month of school is completed. Please remember, colleges do not consider 'D'/'F' grades passing. Also, if your semester grade is a 'D' or 'F' you will not be able to take a COS college class during Spring Semester 2018. We do expect that if students are in this predicament, they have worked hard academically over the Thanksgiving Break to make-up any work possible, and that they are planning to spend as many lunchtimes and after-school study hall days as needed to bring their grades up to at least a 'C' or better in every UPHS classes.
I am excited about concluding semester, as I have watched so many students grow over the course of the semester. We are excited to see our Fine Arts classes perform during the month of December--Do not miss these performances, because the students have worked very hard and the shows for each Fine Arts class are always amazing!
Please do not hesitate to call or stop by if you have a question or just want to chat.
Sincerely,
Eric Thiessen
Principal, UPHS
July 31, 2017
Dear UPHS Families,
Welcome to the 2017-2018 school year. We are excited for the upcoming school year, and we are excited to meet the new students who have chosen to become a part of our Panda Family. As you wrap up your summer vacations and family fun, we want to share a few items with you about the upcoming school year.
The UPHS office reopened at 8 am on July 31st. The first day back to school for students will be Wednesday, August 9th at 8:30 am. We will begin the school year with our Panda Orientation activities. These first few days provide time for our students to meet all of the staff, make friends, learn various policies and procedures, and it gives all students a few days to acclimate to life at UPHS.
Our freshman and new students will return to campus on Monday, August 7th for our Panda Buddies Day. This orientation day gives ALL NEW STUDENTS a chance to see the campus, meet their Panda Buddy, and learn about student life and activities at UPHS. All freshmen and new students need to meet in the quad area in front of the office at 9:00am, and they will be on campus until 12:30pm—lunch is included.
At this time, we are reviewing and revising our UPHS Parent/Student handbook. This handbook contains all of the information and policies for our school and for parents and students to know. The handbook will be posted on our UPHS School Information Web Site. We do ask parents and students to review this handbook, as knowledge of the items in the handbook ensures a successful school year. All families will be required to sign an acknowledgement page stating they have read and understand the handbook.
As a reminder, all students who wish to enroll in a COS college class must not have any D’s or F’s and must maintain a 95% attendance throughout each semester.
Please make a note on your calendars of our start date and make sure you are ready to start the school year. The first week of classes August 9th-11th the COS food facilities are closed. All students will be allowed to eat lunch off campus if they do not bring a lunch from home. Starting Monday, August 14th, all COS food facilities will be open and all UPHS students (grades 9th-12th) will be able to eat on campus or off campus.
Panda Buddies – August 7th 9:00am-12:30pm
First day of UPHS classes – August 9th 8:30am
Picture Day --August 9th 9:00am-12:00pm
Back-to-School Night - August 10th 6pm-8pm (Dinner Available starting at 5pm)
First day of COS classes – August 14th
We hope everyone has had a fun and restful summer, and we look forward to seeing everyone back on Wednesday August 9th at 8:30 am. The faculty and staff have organized activities, speakers, and ice breakers in order for our students to have a positive start to the 2017-2018 school year.
Sincerely,
Eric Thiessen, Principal
June 7, 2016
Dear UPHS Families,
Can you believe we have finished another year of school? We are so proud of the fifty-one seniors and one junior who have graduated and all of our students for finishing the year on a strong, positive note.
As you prepare for summer vacations and family fun, I want to share a few items with you for the summer and upcoming school year.
First, our office will be open from 9 am to 3 pm from now until June 15th. After June 15th the office will be closed for the summer until Monday July 31st. We will be checking the office voice mail and our emails throughout the summer. The first day back to school for students will be Wednesday August 9th at 8:30 am. We will begin the school year with our Alumni visit and two-day Panda Family activities.
Over the summer, we will be reviewing and revising our UPHS Parent/Student handbook. This handbook will contain all of the information and policies for our school and for parents and students to know so as to help ensure a successful school year. All families will be required to sign an acknowledgement page stating they have read and understand the handbook.
As a reminder, all students who wish to enroll in a COS college class must not have any D’s or F’s and must maintain a 95% attendance.
All students who have completed a concurrent enrollment for next fall semester will be required to have the appropriate high school grades and at least 95% attendance. What this means is students cannot miss more than four days in a semester. All absences and tardies will count against this attendance requirement, even excuse tardies and absences. In order for all students to be successful in college they must show due diligence in attending their high school classes. Students who turn in a concurrent enrollment form and do not meet the minimum requirements will not be allowed to enroll in a COS class.
We hope everyone has a fun and restful summer and we look forward to seeing you back on Wednesday August 9th.
Sincerely,
Eric Thiessen, Principal
November 2017
Dear UPHS Families,
Please pay close attention to your classes' academic calendar and to the UPHS 2017 Activities Calendar for April -June. There are many important dates, activities, and deadlines you will not want to miss during these last five weeks of school.
There are some students who need to be more proactive with their grades and class work. Please encourage your UPHS student to take time to speak with their teachers in order to make up quizzes, do test corrections, and to verify all their work has been graded and put into the PowerSchool Grade Book.
Also, research has demonstrated that students who work in groups or have academic accountability partners do better in their classes. The staff at UPHS does encourage students to get together with their friends to form study groups for their challenging classes both at UPHS and at COS.
Finals are just around the corner! Students need to start organizing their notebooks and folders, reviewing the information covered in their classes during the spring semester, and students should begin to set up a schedule to study in small chunks of time for their COS Finals and their UPHS Finals.
Final Dates:
COS May 19-May 25
UPHS Friday Classes Final May 19
Senior Finals May 22-May 25
Finals for 9th, 10th, and 11th Graders May 30, May 31, June 1
Just think our Seniors have only four weeks of classes and then finals--Grad Nite is May 30-31 AND Graduation is June 1st!!!.
All other students have five weeks of class and then finals!
As a reminder we will be completing our CAASPP Testing for juniors starting next week May 2nd. Also, COS registration for Summer 2017 and Fall 2017 is next Tuesday, May 2nd starting at 8am. Students can get help from Ms. Sarah in Yokut 9 on the morning of May 2nd.
It is getting busy. Stay on top of everything and before you know it we will be off to summer break.
I look forward to seeing all of you at the many events we have scheduled in the next couple of months.
Sincerely,
Eric Thiessen, Principal
UPHS Activities Calendar--April-June 2017
August 2017
Dear UPHS Families,
We have completed our first week of school. I am encouraged by the efforts our students are making already in their classes. This semester is underway, and I am excited to see our students and their excitement for our UPHS classes. Please remember, COS begins their semester on Monday, August 15th. This means the parking lots and campus will be crazy, and it will be hard to drop off and pick up your students.
Within this mailer, you will find our first semester activities calendar and your parent log in information for Power School. You will also find information about the California’s Health Insurance Program.
Some parents call our office asking how their student is doing in their college class. Unfortunately, due to the privacy laws, we are not allowed to access any UPHS student’s college grades and/or progress. Instead of calling our office, please ask your son/daughter to log into their Blackboard account at COS; and through that system, your son/daughter will be able to show you their assessed COS class work (if their instructor uses the COS Blackboard system). Additionally, your son/daughter can email their instructor and request information about their progress in their COS class.
We encourage our parents to visit our classrooms. This year we have implemented a Visitor’s Log In System. If you wish to visit a classroom, meet with a teacher, and/or volunteer in our classrooms/office, we now require all visitors to sign in and out in our office and obtain a visitor’s badge.
Finally, please be aware of where you drop off and pick up your UPHS student. Many parents are stopping along the red curb area on Woodland and Campus Avenue. Please be advised, you can be cited for stopping at a red curb. We are asking that you drop off your UPHS student at the drop off zone on Woodland Avenue between the Porter Field House and the Woodland Avenue parking lot. Also, please do not use the staff parking lot as a drop off and pick up area. You are allowed to wait for your UPHS student in the Woodland Avenue parking lot (the parking lot next to the COS staff parking lot). Please call the UPHS Office if you have any questions about parking at COS.
I look forward to meeting you this year and watching all of our students grow and develop academically.
Sincerely,
Eric Thiessen, Principal
July 27, 2016
Dear UPHS Families,
Welcome to the 2016-2017 school year. We are excited for the upcoming school year, and we are excited to meet the new students who have chosen to become a part of our Panda Family. As you wrap up your summer vacations and family fun, I want to share a few items with you about the upcoming school year.
The UPHS office will reopen at 8 am on August 1st. The first day back to school for students will be Monday, August 8th at 8:30 am. We will begin the school year with our Panda Family activities. These first few days provide time for our students to meet all of the staff, make friends, learn various policies and procedures, and it gives all students a few days to acclimate to life at UPHS.
Our freshman and new students will return to campus on Friday, August 5th for our Panda Buddies Orientation Day. This orientation day gives all new students a chance to see the campus, meet their Panda Buddy, and learn about student life and activities at UPHS. All freshmen and new students need to meet in the quad area in front of the office at 9:00am, and they will be on campus until 12:30pm—lunch is included.
At this time, we are reviewing and revising our UPHS Parent/Student handbook. This handbook contains all of the information and policies for our school and for parents and students to know. The handbook will be posted on our UPHS School Information web site. We do ask parents and students to review this handbook, as knowledge of the items in the handbook ensures a successful school year. All families will be required to sign an acknowledgement page stating they have read and understand the handbook.
As a reminder, all students who wish to enroll in a COS college class must not have any D’s or F’s and must maintain a 95% attendance throughout each semester.
Please make a note on your calendars of our start date and make sure you are ready to start the school year. The first week of classes August 8th-12th the COS food facilities are closed. All students will be allowed to eat lunch off campus if they do not bring a lunch from home. Starting Monday, August 15th, all freshmen will need to stay on campus for lunch.
Panda Buddies – August 5th 9:00am-12:30pm
First day of UPHS classes – August 8th 8:30am
First day of COS classes – August 15th
We hope everyone has had a fun and restful summer, and we look forward to seeing everyone back on Monday August 8th at 8:30 am. The faculty and staff have organized activities, speakers, and ice breakers in order for our students to have a positive start to the 2016-2017 school year.
Sincerely,
Eric Thiessen, Principal
February 22, 2015
Dear UPHS Families,
As I sit here looking at the calendar, I cannot believe we are approaching the middle of the second semester. I am always amazed at how quickly the semesters fly by each year. I am very proud of the efforts and successes of our students. We are building upon success after success in both our high school and college classes.
Here are just a few highlights from the first semester:
Improv Shows by the Drama Classes
Club Rush & Diversity Day
Veteran’s Day Assembly
Our choir was invited to All Visalia Choral – Mrs. Guthrie was the only director interviewed by Visalia Times Delta
Soccer Club went to LA Galaxy
Magic Mountain Trip
Dia de los Muertos Activities
I would like to continue to encourage our students to strive to reach their maximum potential. Continue to work hard, ask for help when needed, and finish strong. We continue to offer after school tutoring in Yokut 9 for all classes, but we have teachers helping students in Mathematics and English. Students are also encouraged to talk with their teachers and seek extra help before and after school.
I also want to continue to remind our students, in order to successful, students must make every effort to be in class prepared to work. We understand illnesses and family emergencies happen, but we are asking students make attending class a priority. Therefore, I want to encourage everyone to continue keeping this is the forefront of their consciousness, as we are seeing student do everyday.
I want to personally remind everyone of the importance of being in class every day and on time. We have a number of students who miss school and are consistently late to class. This disrupts the learning environment and instantly sets the student back in their learning when they are late and/or absent from class. I monitor attendance regularly and talk with students who miss school. Please discuss attendance with your student and help them understand the importance of being in school and on time to class.
On behalf of the staff at UPHS, I want to thank you for all of your support this semester, and I look forward to an exciting spring semester. Before you know it, we will say goodbye to the Class of 2016. We look forward to see our seniors finishing this school year strong, and we are waiting in anticipation to know which college each senior will be attending next year!
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me or call me here at school.
Sincerely,
Eric Thiessen, Principal
University Preparatory High School
559-730-2529
October 19, 2015
Dear UPHS Families,
Every year I am amazed by how fast the school year goes. We have completed our first grading period and soon the end of semester will be upon us. I am encouraged by the efforts our students are making in their academics. This semester alone 62.5% of our students are co-enrolled in at least one COS class. As exciting as that news is, I would like to see at least 70% of our students enrolled in at least one class by the fall of next year.
Within this mailer, you will find your student’s progress report for the first nine weeks of school. Do not be alarmed if the grades are low. While these grades are not a permanent record, these grades represent your student’s progress nine weeks into our academic semester. Please take some time to discuss your student’s grades; and if they are struggling, we ask that you encourage them to speak with or email their teachers. If their grades are low and they say the class is hard or challenging; we encourage you to have them to attend our after-school tutoring, Monday through Thursday from 3:35pm-5:00pm in Yokut 9. Our English and mathematics teachers offer students additional instruction and assistance with completing their assignments during these after school sessions.
In regards to college classes, College of the Sequoias does not provide us with access to information connected to our students’ college classes, due to the privacy laws. In order to access your student’s grades and progress in a college class, your student needs to log into their Black Board account to display their current grades. If Blackboard is not used; then your student needs to email or speak personally to their instructor about their grades.
Up-Coming Activities:
· Last Day to Drop a COS Class with a ‘W’—Friday, October 23rd
· ACT Test—Saturday, October 24th
· Red Ribbon Week—October 26th-30th
· Halloween Dance—Friday, October 30th 7:00pm-10:00pm @ Naz Church Youth Center
· PSO Business Meeting—Tuesday, November 3rd 6pm in Yokut 9
· Magic Mountain Trip—Saturday, November 7th
· SAT Test—Saturday, November 7th
· Veteran’s Day Holiday—Wednesday, November 11th—No School
· CAASPP Interim Assessment (Mathematics and English)—Friday, November 13th
· Thanksgiving Break—Monday, November 23rd-Friday, November 27th
I encourage you to refer to our school website for all information and updates. You can find our website at https://sites.google.com/a/uphsconnect.org/uphs-school-information-2014-2015/
Sincerely,
Eric Thiessen, UPHS Principal
August 17, 2015
Dear UPHS Families,
I hope by now you and your students have settled into the first week of school and are ready for college classes to start on Monday.
I want to remind everyone of the drop off and pick up procedures for our students. Also I want all parents, who need to park when coming to school, to know what to do to avoid being ticketed.
When you drop off your student, please be sure to use the drop off area on Woodland Ave next to the Porter Field House. Also, when picking up your student, please use the same area or you can park in the student lot next to the baseball field. This lot does not require a parking sticker after 2 pm.
I must warn you that Visalia Police do ticket drivers who even stop at a red curb to drop off or pick up. Also, please know that the side streets off of Woodland Ave are restricted and parking is ONLY for residents in those area. The COS Police also do not want parents parked in or circling the staff parking lot off Woodland Ave. If you are waiting to pick up your student, please park in the student lot.
If you must come to school and need to park, you can call our office for a parking pass if you plan to park for an extended period of time. If you need to park for a short time (to drop off something for your student or to sign your student out for t he day), you can park in the drop off zone on Woodland Ave as long as you pull to the far (north) end.
Please be mindful of traffic on Woodland Ave and students crossing Woodland Ave and Campus Ave. Please do not park/stop in red zones and do not block the crosswalk on Campus Avenue.
We want all UPHS families to be good neighbors and to not be block streets and/or driveways.
Remember, COS begins classes Monday and this area will be very crowded.
If you have any questions about parking at COS, feel free to call me.
Sincerely,
Eric Thiessen
UPHS Principal
August 5, 2015
Dear UPHS Families,
We have continued to work through the summer to learn more and more of the features of PowerSchool. We are very happy to let all our families know that PowerSchool now has an easy to use application for iphones and android phones. We are encouraging all families to set up their PowerSchool app account. When your student picks up his or her schedule all the PowerSchool login information will be attached. This information will help you set up your account and be able to use the PowerSchool Application on your personal device.
One reminder—PowerSchool is not “live” for the 2015-2016 school year until Monday, August 10th.
To use the PowerSchool application on your personal device, you will need to go to the Apple App Store/Play Store and download the PowerSchool for parents. In order to access your student’s information through the application you will first need to go to this link and create an account: https://uphs.powerschool.com/public/
To create an account, you will need to use the PowerSchool Login information that will be attached to your student’s class schedule. You need your student’s Access ID and Access Password. (Again, we are giving these out with schedules and in your students Panda Packet).
Once you have created an account through the link above, you can then log into the PowerSchool App. You will need our school code which is FPFR. The user name and passwords are the ones you created through the link listed above.
If you have questions or need further assistance, please call Enoch or Jennifer in our office 559-730-2529.
We hope by having access to this App on your personal devices, you have an easier time keeping track of your student’s classes, work, homework, tests, and grades.
Sincerely,
Eric Thiessen,
UPHS Principal
July 27, 2015
Dear UPHS Families,
Welcome back to University Preparatory High School and to the 2015-2016 school year. I am excited for the upcoming school year, to see all the returning students, and to meet all our new students on Monday, August 10th starting at 8:30am. We have many things planned for this upcoming year, and we know you will have an AWESOME year at UPHS.
First, I want to welcome our new staff members, Ms. Kyra Muhs, English, Mr. David Rasner, English/Drama, Mr. Josh Curtiss, Mathematics, Mrs. Amber Block, PE/Health, and Mrs. Elaine Hoff, School Counselor. We are very excited to have each of these educators join our UPHS Team!
One major change we have made for this upcoming school year is in our grading periods. We will no longer have six grading periods. We will now have four—A mid-semester grade check and then a final semester grade. In other words, we are now on a 9 week quarter assessment system.
Another change we will be making is to GO GREEN. We have been working on eliminating paper, mailing home school information, and grade reports. We are encouraging everyone to bookmark our UPHS School Information Website and to download the Powerschool App/Use your parent and/or student Powerschool log in information (This information will be made available to all students and parents the first week on school August 10th-14th in the UPHS Office).
One of our goals is to send alerts to families through our email system to alert parents regarding school information, school events/activities, and when grades are ready for viewing and printing (make sure you have given us an accurate email address, as you will receive emails on a regular basis). If you go to the App Store/Play Store and look up Powerschool, you will find Powerschool Parent and Powerschool Student Apps. We are asking everyone to download these apps and use them regularly. They are free and will be essential for tracking your student’s academic progress at UPHS.
We also are asking everyone to frequent our school webpage at:
https://sites.google.com/a/uphsconnect.org/uphs-school-information-2014-2015/
Here you will find all of our school information. This website is kept up to date with all school events and items of importance. You will also find all of our school forms on this site for you to download. One example is the form for Student Computer Check Out. It is important that you download the form and return it to the UPHS Office to Mr. Enoch by Thursday, August 6th. This form is required to check out a student laptop—By dropping it off in the UPHS Office by August 6th, you will ensure your student is able to receive a computer on Wednesday, August 12th.
Also, all the forms needed for the start school are also on the UPHS School Information Web Site. These forms also need to be downloaded, filled out, and returned by Friday, August 7th between 12pm- 4pm. Students who have these forms turned in will be able to pick up their schedule on Friday also. Please make every effort to submit all start of school forms on Friday, August 7th as this will make the start of school much smoother.
We are also still holding our Panda Buddy Orientation Program for all new UPHS Students. All new students are invited to come to UPHS to meet their Panda Buddy on Friday, August 7th from 9:00am-1:00pm (Lunch is included). If you are a new student; then please make every effort to attend this event—it will give you the chance to meet other students, learn where all your classrooms are located, meet your teachers, and if you return your start of school forms when you arrive for Panda Buddies, you will also be able to pick up your schedule when Panda Buddy Orientation is over.
We are also holding our school wide Panda Orientation “Pandation” on Monday, August 10th and Tuesday, August 11th. Pandation gives students the opportunity to learn all our school systems, our policies and procedures, new class descriptions, and how to stay on top of both their UPHS work and COS class work. We will have guest speakers in the afternoon, and all students will be able to eat lunch on or off campus on those days (Students can eat lunch on or off campus all of the first week of school). On Wednesday, August 12th, we will hold UPHS Alumni Panels; all students will take their school pictures, and receive their UPHS School ID.
Finally, please take time to look up our UPHS School Information Website and familiarize yourself with the different tabs. Our school website will answer almost all of your questions. Take a look at our school calendar, teacher website links (still being developed), and view the list of activities we have already planned for our school year. Make sure to review our Parent Support Information (PSO) tab and website, as our PSO is very active and is always looking to offer support to all UPHS students and their families, Melanie Almarez is the PSO President currently, and she can be reached at melanie.almarez@uphsconnect.org.
Again, we welcome back our returning students, and send a big PANDA welcome to our new students. August 10th is our first day of school, and we look forward to seeing everyone there at 8:30 am sharp. The PSO is hosting a Back-to-School breakfast of muffins, drinks, and fruit for all students so plan to arrive around 8:00am to grab a few yummy food items and hang out with all your friends and staff at UPHS.
Sincerely,
Eric Thiessen, UPHS Principal
Monday, June 8, 2015
Dear UPHS Families,
Can you believe we have finished another year of school? We are so proud of the thirty-four seniors who have graduated and all of our students for finishing the year on a strong, positive note. To all our incoming Freshmen—Welcome to UPHS! We look forward to meeting all of you in August
As you prepare for summer vacations and family fun, I want to share a few items with you for the summer and upcoming school year.
First, our office will be open from 8 am to 5 pm from now until June 26th. After June 26th, the office will be closed for the summer until Monday August 3rd. We will be sending out Spring Semester 2015 grades the week of June 8th and various handouts you will want as you consider the upcoming school year at UPHS.
Over the summer, we will be checking the office voice mail and our administration will be checking their emails. The first day back to school for students will be Monday, August 10th at 8:30 am. We will begin the school year with our three day Panda Family activities and school pictures.
At this time, we are finalizing an updated UPHS Parent/Student handbook. This handbook will contain all of the information and policies for our school and for parents and students to know so as to help ensure a successful school year. All families will be required to sign an acknowledgement page stating they have read and understand the handbook in the fall.
The biggest change that will be happening next year is the adherence to the concurrent enrollment agreement. All students who wish to enroll in a COS college class must not have any D’s or F’s in their COS and UPHS classes and all students must maintain 95% attendance.
All students who complete a concurrent enrollment next Spring semester 2016 will be required to have the appropriate high school grades and at least 95% attendance. What this means is students cannot miss more than four and one half days in a semester. All absences and tardies will count against this attendance requirement, even excuse tardies and absences. In order for all students to be successful in college, they must show due diligence in attending their high school classes. Students who turn in a concurrent enrollment form and do not meet the minimum requirements will not be allowed to enroll in a COS class.
We hope everyone has a fun and restful summer and we look forward to seeing you back on Monday, August 10th.
Sincerely,
Eric Thiessen
UPHS Principal
Dear UPHS Parents,
As we prepare to submit our budget to the Tulare County Office of Education, we are asking all UPHS parents to complete a survey. This survey will help us build upon the already great things being done here at UPHS and help us determine how to better serve our students. We are asking all parents to take a few minutes to answer 25 questions about how you see our school performing.
I have had the pleasure of presenting information to our parents at the March PSO meeting and this week for other parents. If you were unable to attend, you can view the presentation please click on this link: LCAP Presentation to view in PDF.
Below is a link to our survey on the website Survey Monkey. All surveys are confidential and we will not know who said what. We ask that all surveys are completed no later than Thursday April 2, 2015.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2015LCAPparentsurvey
Please click on the link above or simply copy and paste it into your web browser.
If you need any assistance, please call our school.
Thank you for your input and your time. We are all looking forward to a new year and the potential it holds for our students.
Sincerely,
Eric Thiessen
Principal, UPHS
January 7, 2015
Dear UPHS Families,
Welcome back to the Spring Semester, 2015. I hope everyone had a restful and wonderful winter break. On behalf of Ms. Helen and the staff, I want to welcome or new students to University Preparatory High School. You have made a great choice to attend our school.
I want to thank everyone for your support as I embark on a new adventure in education as the principal of UPHS. I am excited and sad at the same time. This will be the first time in twenty three and a half years that I will not be in the classroom. I am excited to continue the Vision set forth by Mr. Kelly when he first started UPHS. I want everyone to know that I have an open door policy and welcome you if you wish to visit and discuss what is happening at UPHS.
This semester we want to welcome our new Physical Science teacher, Ms. Tibi Marin. Ms Tibi has a wealth of experience in science education as well as experience working with NASA. We also want to welcome Mrs Angie Goodwin. Mrs. Goodwin has been teaching one period of art and will now be teaching English three days a week in addition to her art class.
I am excited for this semester and look forward to meeting with and getting to know as many students and families as possible. Please do not hesitate to call or stop by if you have a question or just want to chat.
Sincerely,
Eric Thiessen
Principal, UPHS
August 24, 2014
Dear UPHS Families, It is with great pleasure that I again welcome you to the 2014-015 school year. Since our opening the first week of August, a lot of exciting things have happened at UPHS. Our Parent Support Organization has, as always, fulfilled its mission of welcoming new families, raising significant funds and supporting the school in every way imaginable. Students have participated in orientation, enrolled in both UPHS and COS classes, joined numerous UPHS clubs, held a pep rally that electrified all present and welcomed all our new students, attended our first “Ice Breaker” dance, received their UPHS laptop computers, and have settled into their academic and enrichment classes.
We held our first School Site Council (SSC) meeting on August 20th, at which we reviewed our Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) as well as our Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) and the 2014-15 school budget. I am happy to inform you that UPHS is on very solid financial footing, including adequate reserve funds as required by state law and funds clearly in excess of the requirements of our annual budget. Enrollment is up, and we continue to enroll new students weekly. With the constant support of Superintendent of Schools, Jim Vidak and the Tulare County Board of Education, UPHS is financially solvent and will continue to be so, permanently, into the future.
Our next School Site Council meeting will be held at 6:15 p.m. on Thursday, October 30, 2014. That is a particularly important meeting, because we will officially elect our officers for the 2014-15 school year. We invite all UPHS parents to attend and participate. The SSC is an important committee that oversees UPHS Title I funds, the LCAP, the SPSA, and professional development for UPHS teachers. Additional SSC meetings will be held on the following Thursdays, at 6:15 p.m. in the COS Yokut building, Room 8: December 16, 2014, February 17, 2015, April 21, 2015 and May 19, 2015.
On these same dates, at 7:15 p.m., immediately following the SSC, we will hold meetings for the UPHS School Site Board of Directors (SSBD). This committee is also very important to the UPHS mission. It oversees scholarships, college trips, as well as various school programs and policies. On Tuesday, October 21, this committee will meet and elect permanent officers for the 2014-15 school year.
Please note: On Thursday, September 2nd, at 6:00 p.m. we will hold a meeting in COS Yokut 8 for UPHS families to discuss the UPHS Internet policy. There have been some concerns about the new program called “Vision,” which is installed on UPHS computers, and we want to have a dialogue with all stakeholders before this program is activated. I do want to assure you that this program will be activated in order to meet our requirement to offer the safest Internet policy possible for high school students. Even with Vision activated, UPHS has a much more open Internet policy than other schools in the area. One key question that has arisen is whether or not the Vision program can operate when students leave UPHS and use their computers at home or in other locations. The answer is definitely no. Vision, which offers a variety of services that enhance teaching as well as the ability to monitor and prevent students from visiting inappropriate sites, only works while computers are activated on the UPHS campus. I look forward to this public discussion prior to activating the program.
I am extremely happy to announce that Ms. Helen Milliorn-Feller, our English Department Chairperson, has been selected as the 2014 High School Teacher of the Year! She will be honored at a ceremony on September 25 at an event that is a partnership between the Tulare County Office of Education and the Central California Chinese Cultural Center in Visalia. All of us are very proud of Ms. Helen and want to extend our heartfelt congratulations for an award that she so richly deserves.
Finally, I want to again welcome all of you to what is going to be an exciting school year for all UPHS students and their families. Thank you for all you do to support our efforts at UPHS.
Sincerely, John Kelly
Principal, UPHS
July 12, 2014
Dear UPHS Families,
All of us at UPHS send you a warm summer greeting and very much look forward to seeing you in the fall. Classes begin on August 6th. This will be another wonderful year at UPHS. This is the largest freshman class ever at UPHS. Over the course of the several months of interviews required to induct so many new students, all of us on the UPHS faculty and staff have been consistently impressed with the commitment of our new 9th grade students and their families. Additionally, we welcome several new students and families to grades 10, 11 and 12, each of whom has honored us with the decision to attend our school. With good cause, we are enormously proud of our returning sophomores, juniors and seniors. In the past year, all of these UPHS students have distinguished themselves as academic students, as community servants, and as emerging leaders.
UPHS really is a place “where positive futures are created.” We have much to celebrate and to be proud of, from our academic standing—which is highly respected statewide—to our overall college readiness program, which is strong and growing stronger in every way, to our community service and leadership programs. Our graduating students have been accepted at several of the finest universities in California. UPHS students who chose to matriculate to the College of the Sequoias (COS) do so with a significant number of college classes to their credit, and are well prepared to transfer to a major university with all of the advantages that come with graduating from an early college high school program. Additionally, we are particularly proud of our arts program. At a time when many schools are struggling to provide high quality arts programs, our music, art, drama and dance classes offer students extraordinary opportunities for personal growth, teamwork and leadership. We will always be in the debt of County Superintendent of Schools, Jim Vidak and the Tulare County Board of Education, who, in addition, to providing all of the financial, legal and educational support necessary for a high quality program, early on provided the extra funding needed to make sure that UPHS would always be a school that has a robust arts program.
As always, we are deeply indebted to the UPHS Parent Support Organization (PSO), which time and again for the last five years has done virtually everything imaginable to support UPHS academic and extracurricular activities. Personally, I believe we have the finest parent support organization in the state, and I invite all parents and guardians to join our PSO this year. You will meet deeply dedicated and experienced families who have consistently supported UPHS and made it the extraordinary success it is.
Additionally, we owe a great debt of gratitude to the College of the Sequoias, whose faculty, staff and administration have enthusiastically supported our mission from the very beginning. We are fortunate indeed to have this special relationship with such an outstanding educational institution.
I invite you to come and meet our faculty and staff in person, as soon as the school year begins. Our office will open again on July 31st, and we look forward to welcoming all our new students and our returning students. We are currently arranging our annual school calendar, bell schedule, and will soon announce important dates for the 2014-2015 school year. We are holding our Back to School Night early in August , so please watch for this very important date, as it does provide a wealth of information about our school and our academic programs.
Also, we are creating a new school web site in our Google Site system. This site will house all important information, paperwork, dates, and much more. We are asking that all families visit this web site often (at least weekly), and we are also hoping each UPHS family will submit an email address for us to use to disseminate information. For now, if your family does not have an email on file; then we will be sending information through your UPHS student’s uphsconnect email. Please make sure your UPHS students is checking this email daily for updates and for information that everyone will need to help us start the school year smoothly. This letter is the first significant piece of information we are sending to our families. We will be sending a link for the new school web site and a link for a Google form for all families to update and/or submit their preferred phone and email contact information for our upcoming school year.
If ever you will meet a dedicated group of educators, you will meet them at UPHS. We have many staff members who have been working throughout the summer to ensure we have a great start to our upcoming new year!
Finally, I want to personally thank you for entrusting us with your child’s education. All of us at UPHS pledge our commitment to seeing that our students receive the best high school education and college-preparatory experience possible.
Sincerely
John Kelly
University Preparatory High School, Principal