Dear Birmingham Families,

Happy New Year!

I'm hopeful that your family and friends have braved the January fires and are otherwise having a positive and productive January. As we welcome 2025, we hope this year brings growth, reflection, and new opportunities to everyone in the Birmingham Community Charter High School family. During this first month of 2025, consider taking a moment to pause and think about the past year. What brought you joy in 2024? What lessons will you carry forward? Reflecting on these moments can help set meaningful intentions for the year ahead.

January is National Thank You Month—a time to reflect on those who’ve made an impact in our lives and express gratitude. We are so thankful for your partnership with us, and we know as our partnership strengthens, we're more likely to be able to inspire the learning, growth, and compassion of our students. The practice of gratitude improves our overall mental well-being. Modeling gratitude with your student can have the double advantage of being good for your mental health, while also being an excellent example to our youth.

Now that we're in the second semester, I'd like to remind families about the ways we can maximize our partnership.

• First, help your student develop a schedule that includes a bedtime, wake up time, and designated homework and study time.

• Being organized and prepared helps mitigate anxiety and gives students the best chance for success each and every day.

• If at all possible, find a place in your home where your student can study or do homework without distraction.
• If you have not already done so, please register for and login to Aeries, Parent Square, and (optionally) Google Classroom, so you can monitor your student's progress including grades, missing assignment, attendance, and tardies.
• Finally, when your student is struggling with a class for any reason, your first step should be to reach out directly to the teacher. A strong relationship between parent and teacher can be the turning point toward greater academic success for students.
• If your problem or issue is not resolved, the next step would be to reach out to the supervisor of the teacher. Supervisors for teachers are organized by subject:
• Math/BVA/Counseling: Mr. Alatorre
• English/PE/Athletics:/Ms. Wilkins

• Social Studies: Mr. Avarca

• Special Education/Visual and Performing Arts: Ms. Walker
• World Languages/English Learners/Career Tech Education: Mr. Climaco

• Science: Mr. Elmore

• If your problem hasn't been resolved after speaking with the teacher and supervising administrator, I'd be happy to get involved and work collectively to address the issue.

On another note, for your planning purposes, please be advised that March 20th is an Open House. As a result of the late-night Open House, the following school day (March 21) will be a minimum day with dismissal at 1:10.

In a fast-paced world with that often causes the need for us to make adjustments and to be flexible, thank you for your patience and flexibility. And thank you for selecting Birmingham Community Charter High School!

Principal Bennett

Dear 9th grade families,

Welcome back! As we begin spring semester, your 9th grade team has a couple reminders for you and your students.

9th Grade Tips for Success

Here are some key tools to help you stay up to date on your student's education

1. Making use of tutoring

1. Before school in OA-2 : M, T, TH, F (7:30-8:20AM), W (8:30- 9:20 AM)

2. After school in OA-2: M, T, W, TH (3:30-4:30 PM)

3. After school in B-79: before every progress report

4. **Tutoring may be available with individual teachers. Your student should ask their teachers.

2. Setting Expectations with your student

1. What is your expectation of your student? (Ex. Grades of Cs or better)

3. What is the consequence if your student’s grades drop? (Ex. taking cell phone away, removing video game console)

4. Using Aeries

5. Having access to Parent Square

6. Accessing Google Classroom

7. Checking the teacher's syllabus for their contact information

Remember that you used Aeries to do data confirmation, and Aeries is one of the best ways to stay up to date with your child's education. You can use it to check grades and attendance. If you need assistance using Aeries, please contact our Parent Center for help!

ATTENDANCE MATTERS

Attendance is essential to academic success! Please contact Ms. Venegas to address your student's absence. It is important that we partner together to make sure our students are always at school except for valid reasons as established by the State of California Education Code and Birmingham’s Attendance Policy.

You can contact Ms. Venegas if you need to clear your child's absence at (818) 758-4481. You can also contact Ms. Aparicio (Attendance Counselor) at ​(818)758-4402 if you ​need any support with attendance issues.

As always, please reach out to anyone on our team if you have any questions or concerns.

Leila Haghi

9th Grade Coordinator

The 9th Grade Team

Edwin Avarca- 9th Grade Administrative Director

Leila Haghi- 9th Grade Coordinator/ Lead Teacher

Hiyas Mutia, Sabrina Marquez, and Cindy Martinez- 9th Grade Counselors

Brooke Lopez-Psychiatric Social Worker

Melissa Reisbord- 9th Grade Dean

Rebeca Venegas - 9th Grade Office Clerk/ Primary Parent Contact (818) 758-4481

**Happy New Year, Everyone!

** We're thrilled to share some exciting updates from our 10th-grade adventures!

**10th Grade Field Trip to CSULB-Cal State Long Beach ** Students signed up on January 27, 2025, and are very excited to see this beautiful campus. There was so much enthusiasm that over 180 students signed-up!

**10th Grade Honor Roll Certificate Distribution for Fall 2024 GPA ** On January 24, 2025, we celebrated our amazing Sophomores who made the Honor Roll for their Fall 2024 GPA—over 385 of them! Each student proudly received a Certificate and an Honor Roll Pin in their Period 2 class.

**Here’s the breakdown of our Honor Roll stars:** **Silver (GPA 3.00 - 3.59):** 161 students - **Gold (GPA 3.60 - 3.99):** 96 students - **Platinum (GPA 4.00 and above):** 128 students Congratulations to all our students for their hard work and dedication! We’re so proud of every one of you! Here’s to more fun and exciting events this semester! 🎉

Amanda Fitzpatrick 10th Grade Level Coordinator (818)758-4428 Class of 2027 Student Senate Advisor Birmingham Community Charter High School

Junior Students and Families,

Welcome back! Despite the slow start, Spring Semester is now in full swing.

Junior year can pose a challenge for many students. This is when they begin to adjust to the demands of a more rigorous course load, and some students find it taxing to balance academics with extra-curriculars while still managing to nurture their friendships and life at home. However, if last semester is any prediction of the success that our 11th-grade students will enjoy in this new year, then we are very hopeful that the Junior class will continue to thrive.

During the Fall 2024 semester, a surprising 476 students made the Honor Roll! We want to congratulate everyone who had a part in making this happen, including parents, faculty and staff, and of course, our hard-working and dedicated students! Let’s keep this momentum going! We will be awarding all Honor Roll students a certificate and pin to commemorate their success; these will be distributed towards the end of this month. Students, please put your pins away for safekeeping so that you can proudly display them on the day of your graduation.

This semester, all of our 11th-Graders will take part in standardized testing. They will be taking the SBAC and CAST tests from April 28-May 1. In addition, our Emergent Multilingual students will be taking the ELPAC from March 10-14. Students will receive the support they need to succeed on these tests in their English, Math, and Science classes. Students will participate in a rigorous “Boot Camp” in which they will take a series of practice tests, after which they will review with their teachers testing tips, tricks, and strategies. Our goal is to have students experience no surprises on their standardized exams. They should feel confident and well-prepared to tackle these challenging tests.

To better prepare for the future of our Junior Class, we are offering several opportunities to students and parents alike. We are opening applications for the Academy Group as well as advertising scholarships through the Horatio Alger Association. We are also offering a College Symposium class that will allow students to begin to navigate the complicated process of college applications. Finally, we are inviting parents to attend college information sessions (offered in both English and Spanish) via Zoom. Please see the attached flyers for more information on these topics and consider taking advantage of one or more of these exciting opportunities!

Happy New Year and welcome back to the final semester for Seniors!

January was off to a great start! At the end of last semester, we had an outstanding number of Seniors that made the honor roll. There were 210 of our Seniors that completed their Fall Semester with a GPA of 3.0 - 3.59 earning them on the Silver Honors List. Another 117 students made the Gold Honors List by receiving a GPA of 3.6 - 3.99. The Platinum Honors List, with 169 Seniors achieving a 4.0 or above! Our Birmingham family is proud to recognize all the students who performed diligently in their academics during the Fall Semester. CONGRATULATIONS!

Jostens will be on campus on February 20th during lunchtime at the Quad for Seniors to place their cap, gown and tassel order ($27.00), as well as the optional stole ($20.00) and any other Class of 2025 memorabilia. Don’t miss this last opportunity to speak to our school's representative from Jostens. Any ordering questions and/or concerns pertaining to graduation ordering can be clarified at this time.

Seniors that had 10 or more (non COVID related) absences, 10 or more period by period absences, received 50% or more U’s, 6 or more tardies in the Fall Semester of 2024 will need to appeal in order to attend Prom. Students were notified via their school email, sent through the US postal service to their mailing address on file and were also hand delivered to them through their 2nd Period on January 17, 2025. At which point students will need to follow the detailed instructions that were provided to them and must be returned no later than Friday, February 21st to Ms. Franco in H68A no later than 3:00pm. NO LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ALLOWED.

Upcoming Senior Events:

JANUARY 13, 2025

GRAD NITE TICKET SALES BEGIN (DISNEYLAND/CA ADVENTURE) – PARENT CENTER - MARGARITA PONCE $300

JANUARY 17, 2025

PROM APPEAL NOTIFICATIONS SENT OUT VIA EMAIL, POSTAL SERVICE & HAND DELIVERED

JANUARY 20, 2025

NO SCHOOL - MLK

JANUARY 26, 2025

LAST DAY FOR YEARBOOK PERSONALIZATION @ Jostens.com

FEBRUARY 1, 2025

YEARBOOK PRICE INCREASES TO $100 – UNTIL SOLD OUT

FEBRUARY 17, 2025

NO SCHOOL - PRESIDENTS DAY

FEBRUARY 19, 2025

1ST SPRING PROGRESS REPORT

FEBRUARY 20, 2025

LAST DAY FOR GRADUATION STOLE PURCHASE

FEBRUARY 20, 2025

JOSTENS ON CAMPUS – (SENIOR CLASS RING, Graduation Announcements, etc.) AT LUNCH ON QUAD STAGE

FEBRUARY 21, 2025

DEADLINE TO APPEAL FOR PROM @3:00 P.M. - H68A

MARCH 2, 2025

FAFSA/CADAA DEADLINE

LET’S CONTINUE TO WORK HARD THIS LAST SEMESTER!

12th Grade Level Academy Team

Mr. Elmore - Administrative Director

Mrs. Franco - 12th Grade Coordinator

Dr. Granish - 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

Welcome Back to the Spring 2025 Semester!

As we embark on this new semester, we want to extend a warm welcome back to all our students and families. The importance of attending school cannot be overstated—it is a vital step towards achieving your goals and building a brighter future. Each day in the classroom is filled with opportunities to learn, grow, and connect with one another.

We also want to acknowledge the recent fires in Los Angeles that may have affected some of our families. Your safety and well-being are our top priorities. If you or your student are in need of support during this challenging time, please reach out to us. We have resources available for mental health support and are here to help you navigate any difficulties you may be facing.

Let's make this semester a great one together!

January 2025

Hello Patriot Family!

Happy New Year! As a Community School, we’re excited to kick off 2025 with even more resources, support, and opportunities to help every student and family thrive.

The HUB – Our On-Campus Food Pantry:

Open Monday–Friday from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, The HUB is here to support any families in need of grocery essentials. No appointment needed—just stop by and take what you need! (See below for current inventory.)

Thank you for being such an important part of our school community. Together, we’ll make this year one to remember. Whether you need a helping hand, want to get involved, or simply wish to learn more, our doors are always open. We look forward to seeing you at our events and continuing to grow together as a community.

-Cecilia Macias

Community Schools Coordinator

818-758-4411

c.macias@birminghamcharter.com