Dear Birmingham Families,

The holidays can be a joyous time of the year but also stressful. Please take care and be mindful of the mental health of your students. Birmingham has a number of resources to support students and families. The Parent Center is your one-stop-shop to get information about any of our services. As you know, Birmingham academic counselors are also an important resource when you have concerns about your student. From there, the counselor can recommend support by one of our grade level social workers (PSWs) if mental health is a concern. Please know that mental health encompasses a lot more than mental illness. If a student is not functioning to the best of their ability, it's possible that they may be positively served by receiving mental health support. Anxiety, stress, situational depression can impact us all and need to be managed so we can thrive. Our PSWs can coach students on ways to address the stresses of life.

Please know that we also offer Care Solace as a free service to our students and families, so the process for your student to receive outside professional support is streamlined and easier for you to manage. Care Solace provides 24/7/365 Multilingual Support to help you understand options and resources for you and your family and to help set up appointments with a provider covered by your insurance or Medicaid. In short, Care Solace connects students to care. At no cost to you, Care Solace will quickly find available mental health and substance use providers matched to your needs. You can contact them at 888-515-0595 or at caresolace.com/bcchs

As this is the final Newsletter of 2023, please be reminded that when students return from the Thanksgiving Holiday, there will only be three weeks left in the semester, and Final Exams will be upon us soon thereafter. Attendance every day and diligent preparation for exams will give your student the best possible chance to earn high grades. Exams will take place from December 12-15. Please do not plan any vacations/trips during this time. Teachers are not obligated to allow students to make up exams unless there is a legitimate reason for their absence. Please help by making sure that your student is in school and prepared to do their best.

I'm grateful to the entire Birmingham Community for your partnership and support. I wish you all a healthy, happy holiday season and New Year!

Principal Bennett

Dream It. Do It. Birmingham!

November Focus: EMPATHY

November PBIS Pledge:

“Empathy-Connect, Understand, Thrive”

REACH Week: November 13th through the 17th

Lunch Event: Thursday November 16th in the Quad

Students will write a kind post-it note to be placed onto a large heart poster! Their participation will be rewarded with a FREE slushy! Posters will be hung around campus for all to read and enjoy! ☺️

You are almost halfway through their last year of high school!

Last month, our Homecoming was a success! The week-long celebration continued into Friday night's football game against El Camino. Before the start of the game, Birmingham clubs paraded around the football stadium flaunting their beautifully decorated floats. At the Halftime Show, we were entertained with awesome performances by the Cheerleaders, Dance Team, Band and before the end of the show, Seniors Laura Ngabirano, Natalie Lopez and Jeffrie Menjivar were crowned as the 2023 Homecoming Royalty! Congratulations to them and all those who were nominated! At the Homecoming dance, students mingled with their friends and also had a blast participating in games and most of all the music kept the students on their feet as they danced the evening away.

November is an important month for Seniors as they put their finishing touches and submit their College Applications. Our awesome College and Career Counselors have been working diligently with all our Seniors and we truly appreciate them! As the College Seminar class comes to an end, we would like to give a BIG SHOUT OUT to our College and Career Counselors Erika Lopez, Wendy Quinonez and Angela Zook for their endless dedication to our students.

In recognition of Thanksgiving, students will have a one week break from November 20th through November 24th to be with family and celebrate this special holiday.

December is around the corner, which means our Fall Semester is almost over. All students should continue to focus on striving to complete all their classes successfully and communicate with their teachers on any concerning issue as soon as possible.

GREAT NEWS…This year, Seniors will be gifted their Caps and Gowns for their graduation and so please remember to Thank Mr. Bennett for his generosity! Yearbooks can still be ordered and purchased through Jostens website, as well as graduation announcements, class rings and other Senior Class of 2024 memorabilia. There will be a preview day on campus on Monday, December 5th during lunch so that students may ask questions and/or place orders directly with a Josten representative.

Fall Semester Finals begin Tuesday, December 12th through Friday, December 15th. A detailed period by period schedule of Finals Week will be posted as we get closer to the week.

Winter Break will begin after school on December 15th and will end on Monday, January 8th. Students' first day of Spring Semester will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 9th.

BEST OF LUCK ON YOUR UPCOMING FINALS SENIORS...LET’S FINISH WITH A BANG!

We wish you all Safe and Happy Holidays!

12th Grade Level Academy Team

Mr. Elmore - Administrative Director

Mrs. Franco - 12th Grade Coordinator

Mrs. Reisbord - 12th Grade Dean

Mrs. Martinez - Counselor (A-F)

Mrs. Marquez - Counselor (G-N)

Mrs. Mutia - Counselor (O-Z)

Mrs. Lopez - Psychiatric Social Worker

Ms. Sedani - 12th Grade Administrative Assistant

Mrs. Venegas - 12th Grade Clerk

Junior Students and Families,

We are so proud of the hard work and dedication you have shown in the past months. This school year has had many challenges, but you have met them and are doing very well! Over 300 of you made it onto the honor roll for the second progress report and we are so proud of the work you have done!!!

There are 3 weeks left of the semester. If you want to make a change, now is the time to do it! Reach out to your teachers because they are your best resource to improve your grades.

Counselors: Grad Checks were completed in October and a copy has been mailed home. Parents and students also received an email with the student's graduation and A-G status. Please let the 11th grade office know if you did not get it so we can get another copy to you. This information can also be accessed on Aeries.

Tutoring: Tutoring is available every day in Oral Arts 2 before and after school. Take advantage of it if you need extra support as we move into the last part of the semester. Information can be found on the attached flier.

Halloween Door Decoration Contest: For Halloween, many of our Academy Periods took part in the annual Door Decorating Contest. Congratulations to Annette Bedrossian and her Academy students for winning this year!

“Pink out” Football Game Breast Cancer Awareness Sophomores came out to support Breast Cancer awareness. Seeing everyone in our community come out to support this Great cause was an amazing night!

Sophomore Senate created a Float with the theme being “Mario Kart”. The parade started before the Varsity game and went around the Track. Also riding on the Float was the Sophomore Royalty Court. Check out our Instagram @BCCHS_26

Sophomores came out to the Homecoming Dance ready to DANCE! ASB did an amazing job and the students Danced the night away.

In the sophomore's Academy period they were given an opportunity to compete for the best sophomore Academy class, the prize was a Donut party for the winning class. So many classes did an amazing job and the 9th grade senate voted on the best decorated door. The winner was Ms. Choudhury’s academy period Class.

We want our Sophomores to finish strong this year, the last progress check has been sent out already. We have four weeks left until the semester is over and Counselors are meeting with students to encourage them and give them any needed support. We wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving !!!

-Ms. Amanda Fitzpatrick 10th GR Coordinator

Dear 9th Grade Families,

Over the past month, in addition to all the wonderful concepts our students have been learning in their classes, they have had the opportunity to experience many exciting activities outside of the classroom.

During Academy in late October, students watched a thrilling performance entitled T.R.U.S.T. by the dance company, Diavolo: Architecture in Motion. Following the performance, each student received a voucher allowing them to attend one Birmingham performance free of charge. The arts are such an important part of self-expression, and we happily invite all our students to enjoy their peers’ performances and learn more about our Theatre, Choir, Band, and Dance programs.

Fall Fest was a relaxing and fun-filled afternoon of free snacks, games, and prizes sponsored by our Link Crew. Those who attended had a wonderful time, and we thank our Link Crew for working hard to create this meaningful event for our 9th graders.

Over the past month, students were also given the opportunity to explore outside of Birmingham. 9th grade Biology classes attended a field trip to the Natural History Museum, and a large group of 9th grade students and Link Crew Leaders visited UC Santa Barbara to gain a better understanding of what college life is like. At the end of the month, 9th grade English classes will be visiting the Museum of Tolerance as a follow up to the novel they are reading, “Night,” by Elie Wiesel.

We are grateful to be able to work with such a wonderful group of students this year. We wish you and your family a restful and fulfilling break and a joyous Thanksgiving!

With gratitude,

The 9th Grade Team

Michele Wydra

9th Grade Coordinator

Jose Luis Navarro

9th Grade Administrative Director

Lillian Galvez, Lisa Gazarian, Stephanie Scherrer, & Monica Montoya

9th Grade Counselors & PSW

Nick Halic

9th Grade Dean

Jenny Constanza

9th Grade Office Technician

ASB is pleased to announce the 1st Annual Spirit Cup Competition. ASB Clubs/Activities on campus will compete to earn the profits of a ticketed event through ASB at the end of the school year! The total profit will depend on the number of tickets sold, which could bring in $100 - $1000 for the club! The best part is that ASB will do all the work! How will ASB decide the winner? Spirit Points are given to each student affiliated with an ASB Club/Activity when they check in to a BCCHS event at the ASB 5 Star Kiosk. The club that collects the most points will win the Spirit Cup!

Food Fest was on Wednesday, November 15th!

Students were able to choose from a variety of restaurants like Chick-Fil-A, In-N-Out, panda Express, Porto's, Krispy Kreme, and many more! If you missed out, ASB will hold one again in the spring!

Fall Sports/Activities Assembly is being held on Friday, December 1st during lunch in the Quad!

ASB will recognize the achievements of Fall Sports and Activities at an extended lunch Pep Rally on Friday, December 1st. Each sport and activity participating will be given the opportunity to recognize their season's stand-out matches, star players, and seniors playing their final high school season.

The Winter Wonderland Mindfulness Festival is coming on December 8th during lunch in the Quad!

As students prepare for finals, ASB is hosting a gathering geared toward mindfulness practices that will help students get grounded and excited for the holiday season! There will be an art display from the Visual Arts Department, a bunny petting zoo, "Crunch Time" snacks from Chartwells and the BCCHS Wellness Committee, holiday crafts, and a photobooth with Santa!