Major General Murray High School

MARCH 2026

Campus and Community

Community School Updates: Building Skills and Shaping Our Future

Welcome to our latest community newsletter! We have an exciting month ahead filled with hands-on learning, leadership opportunities, and professional development. Here is what’s happening around campus.

🔨 Trade Skills in Action: Welding, Construction, & Cosmetology

Our CTE (Career Technical Education) programs are heating up!

Welding Program: A huge congratulations to the 16 students who have successfully advanced into Welding 2! We are also thrilled to welcome 4 new students beginning their journey in Welding 1. Under the guidance of Derek Mendiola, these students are gaining the high-demand skills needed for a bright future in the industry.
Construction Class at RBV: Ready to build? The next construction cohort led by Landon Cardenas begins soon at Rancho Buena Vista.
- Program Dates: February 5 – April 23 (10-week duration)
- Schedule: Thursdays, 4:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Cosmetology: This is a full-year, free Thursday PM school program. It runs 30 weeks at 3 hours each week, totaling 90 hours (rounded up to 100) that count toward the 320-hour State of California Cosmetology license requirement. After 100 hours, the student will receive their State of California Pre-Apprenticeship License that allows them to legally work in a business. The cosmetology school will track all student hours. If a student joins later in the year, their program begins at that point and continues into the following year.

🗣️ Community Translation Course

We are opening our doors to students, parents, and community members for our upcoming Translation Certification Course. This is a fantastic opportunity to gain professional certification while serving our multilingual community. Please refer to the program flyer for registration details and start dates!

Healthy Campus

We were happy to continue our partnership with Healthy Campus to bring additional mental health and well-being support directly to our students!

Healthy Campus hosts on-campus lunchtime groups designed to help students navigate the twists & turns of school and teen life. These sessions focus on:

Building Coping Skills: Practical tools for managing stress and anxiety.
Healthy Relationships: Strategies for communication and building positive connections with peers.
Social-Emotional Support: A safe, facilitated space for students to grow and thrive.

These groups are designed to be convenient and accessible, meeting students right where they are during the school day. We believe that when students feel supported emotionally, they perform better academically and socially.

Student Advisory Rep Council

Meets bi-monthly to make changes in the school, plan events, and leadership activities

MGM Students participate in the Chick-fil-A Leadership Program and are working on implementing an Impact Project. Both sites are currently focusing on gaining student feedback on a new cell phone policy for next school year as well as ways to make our PM Programs & and Internship Pipeline even stronger.

Community School Collaboration:

We are excited to share a video highlight of our Community Schools partnership currently taking place within our district. This collaboration brings together students and staff from MGM & ALTA and Grapevine Elementary School and focuses specifically on supporting our English Learners at both the elementary and secondary levels, fostering a unique mentorship environment.

"GANAS" Partnership - Bridging Generations: The EL Mentorship Partnership

This video captures the dynamic "GANAS" collaboration between our Community Schools: Major General Murray and Alta Vista High School, and Grapevine Elementary School. Centered on the shared goal of empowering English Learners, the program creates a unique ecosystem of support where secondary students from our alternative education sites serve as mentors and role models for elementary learners.

Key Highlights of the Partnership:

Targeted EL Support: The partnership is specifically designed to enhance English language acquisition through peer-to-peer interaction and collaborative academic activities.
Cross-Level Mentorship: Secondary students from MGM and Alta Vista develop leadership and communication skills by guiding younger students at Grapevine, while elementary students gain confidence seeing older peers succeed in their language journey.
Building Community: By connecting alternative education high schools with a local elementary site, the program strengthens the district's community school culture and provides EL students with a sense of belonging across different educational stages.
Student Engagement: The "GANAS" framework encourages students to take ownership of their learning, demonstrating that language barriers are bridges to new opportunities rather than obstacles.

This collaboration serves as a model for how our schools can leverage their unique strengths to ensure every student, regardless of their starting language, has the support they need to thrive.

GANAS REMIX.mp4

Please contact Rebekka Kinder or Danielle McKeever, MGM Community Site Leads,

if you have any questions or would like to be connected to any of these programs.

rebekkakinder@vistausd.org ▪ daniellemckeever@vistausd.org

College & Career News

March is full of opportunities- don’t miss out!

If you need help with:

FAFSA (Financial Aid)
Your Community College ID number
College applications

Please email me or stop by Room 204 to set up an appointment.

Palomar College is still accepting Palomar Promise applications! Remember, this is first come, first served, so don’t wait. Come see me as soon as possible if you’d like help applying.

We will also be taking a college tour to Palomar College on April 8. Space is limited! If you’re interested in applying or attending the tour, come see me right away.

MiraCosta College is hosting the Encuentros Barrio Empowerment Conference on March 27 from 9:30 AM to 2:00 PM.

This is a great opportunity featuring hands-on workshops and empowerment sessions. Space is limited, so students who are interested need to see me immediately so we can get you registered

Scholarships Available

There are many scholarship opportunities available right now. I am here to help you with applications and essays—don’t miss out on free money for college!

👨‍👩‍👧 Parent Support for Financial Aid

If your parents need help completing their portion of the FAFSA, I’m happy to set up an appointment with them. Please have them contact me juanrodriguez@vistausd.org

Let’s make March productive—your future starts now!

If you need help with any of these opportunities, please feel free to walk into Room 204 or email me at juan.rodriguez@vistausd.org to schedule an appointment. I’m happy to assist you in navigating these opportunities.

Manny Rodriguez, College and Career Tech (760) 631-2502 ext. 89214

A Message from your Community Liaison

I can be reached by email at adrianagaminodiaz@vistausd.org

or by phone at (760) 631-2502 ext. 89008

Happy March MGM Community!

Join us on any Thursday evening from 4pm - 7pm for our Community Garden (Garden 31), Kainga Music -Steel Drums, or Heavy Breathing - Fitness Club/Open Gym. They’re FREE activities for the community and all levels and ages are welcome to join us!

A friendly reminder that there are resources available to MGM Students and Families, we are here to provide food, school supplies, toiletries, and other essentials for students and families in need through MGM's Basic Needs Pantry. If you'd like to be connected to any of the above resources or additional food opportunities from Frazier Farms or Panera, please reach out to Family and Community Liaison, Adriana Gamino-Diaz at (760) 631-2502 Ext. 89008 or adrianagaminodiaz@vistausd.org for more information.

Attendance News

Message from Ms. Melanie

At Major General Raymond Murray High School, we are committed to supporting student growth—academically, personally, and socially. As part of this commitment, we emphasize the importance of regular attendance and have established attendance guidelines to help all students stay on track for success.

If your child will be absent, please report the absence by calling:
📞 (760) 631-2502 ext. 89005
Kindly leave a detailed message including the following information:

Date(s) of the absence
Student’s full name
Date of birth and/or grade level
Reason for the absence
Your name, relationship to the student, and a callback number

Important Reminders:

Parents/guardians have up to 72 hours (3 school days) after a student returns to report the reason for the absence and to submit any necessary documentation.
After 10 verified excused absences, all future absences must be supported with official documentation from a professional (e.g., doctor, legal representative, etc.).
Documentation must be printed on official letterhead and include the reason for the absence.

Medical and dental notes may be submitted via email or fax:
📧 melaniepagayonan@vistausd.org
📠 Fax: 760-631-2503

Thank you for your continued support in helping our students succeed!

Beatriz Barron: Social Worker Jasmine Suleiman: Counselor Lydia T. Contreras: Community School Counselor

Toni Masciola: Peace Ed Mentor Julie Guo: Pass/Ameri Corps Mentor

If You See Something, Say Something
Is something or someone bothering your student at school?

If it upsets your student, makes them feel unsafe, or affects their safety at school, let us know.

It is a secure, anonymous, and confidential safety tip line.
You do not have to provide your name unless you want to. The report will be forwarded to
the proper staff to help resolve the situation.

Reminder: Tips are only monitored during your school's operational hours. If this is an emergency or your student or someone you know is in danger or harm's way, please call 911 immediately.