Designers' Reminders

Oct. 20: Walk for a Change Event

Oct. 21: Middle School Lunch Activities

Oct. 23: Fire Drill

Oct. 26-30: Autumn Spirit Week

Oct. 26: School Site Council Meeting

Nov. 5: PUSD Board Meeting

Nov. 6: End of Trimester 1

Nov. 10: Secure Campus Drill

Nov. 11: Veterans Day (No School)

Nov. 16: Learner Conference Day- (Non-student Day)

Nov. 17-20: Learner Conferences (Half-day Dismal 1:10)

Nov. 20: Wear Your Creative Confidence Spirit Day

Nov. 23-27: Thanksgiving Break (No School)

Nov. 30: Fire Drill

Nov. 30: School Site Council

Please join us on Tuesday, October 20, from 8:45 AM to 10:45 AM at the Upper Blacktop. Check in at the bus loop gates and grab a visitor sticker.

Created by our 3rd and 5th grade designers to support Hawaiian communities impacted by Hurricane Lala, this event features lap walking/running, learning opportunities, and fun activities.

Ways to Support:

• $10 suggested cash donation

• Bring supplies to donate to Hawaiian schools & community

• Bring cash for designer booth activities

K-8th grade classes have been invited to attend once attendance is taken in homerooms. Please note that while all 3rd and 5th grade learners will be participating, your TK-8 grade learner’s homeroom may or may not be in attendance.

With Halloween approaching, we wanted to share our perspective on celebrations at Design39Campus. While Halloween is a cherished tradition for many, it is not universally celebrated, and school-day festivities can unintentionally create inequities. In keeping with our district-wide commitment to fostering a sense of belonging, we strive to maintain inclusive, welcoming environments for all students and families.

Therefore, as in prior years, Design39Campus will not host a Halloween celebration, such as a parade or costume contest. However, students are welcome to wear a costume on Friday, October 30, if they celebrate Halloween.

We ask that all families and students be mindful of which costumes are appropriate for school:

• No weapons: Knives, guns, batons, or any items that could be considered weapons are not permitted. Staff will remove any such items and return them at the end of the day.
• No inflatable costumes: This includes any costume that requires batteries or inflates in any way.
• No masks or face coverings: Students’ faces must remain visible throughout the school day.
• No offensive costumes: Costumes should not stereotype or mock someone’s culture, gender, heritage, or religion.
• No violations of the PUSD/D39C dress code: Costumes shall not depict violence, alcohol, or drugs.

Please save your scary costumes for the evening, and send your child in clothing that will not “scare or spook” our young designers. Students wearing questionable costumes will be asked to change into appropriate school attire.

To help our learners know what is on our breakfast and lunch menus, we will post them monthly in our newsletter. Our team appreciated the feedback that some of our lunch choices were running out, so we adjusted our order counts to prevent this from happening again. A big thanks to our child nutrition team for serving our learners each day.

Applications are open to become a D39C volunteer!

• Please refer to the "Guideline for Volunteer Application" See attachment below.

• Please email d39cvolunteer@powayusd.com if you have any questions.

We know many of you are eager and excited to get involved on campus—and we love that! At Design39Campus, one of the things that makes our learning environment so special is the strong relationship between learners and their LED (Learning Experience Designer). Building that connection takes time, which is why we hold off on having volunteers in classrooms for the first six weeks of school.

Would you like to become a part of the Design39Campus Team? Do you like to be outside and work with children? If so, we are looking for a few quality Motion Managers to help support our designers during body breaks and lunch during the middle of the day. Possible times are 10:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. or 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. If interested, please apply through Poway Unified School District at the this link.

To help students build independence and responsibility, we ask families to avoid dropping off forgotten items at the Welcome Center whenever possible. We know emergencies happen, though, and in those cases you’re welcome to drop items off in the Welcome Center.

For everyone’s safety, prescription and over-the-counter medications can’t be left at the front office. Students and parents/guardians will need to meet with our Health Tech in person to arrange these.

Students also aren’t able to receive food dropped off by parents or delivered by services like DoorDash or Uber Eats. If your student forgets their lunch, no worries: free meals are always available in the Servery.

From October 19- November 13 Design39Campus will engage in lessons on GRATITUDE through Character Strong. Expand the newsletter to get more information.

Our district’s Caring Connections Parent Education website has new and exciting courses being offered. Check the website at the beginning of each term for the new courses offered to parents, families, and our school community; scholarship opportunities may be available. Click HERE to view the PUSD CCC Parent Education Fall Courses.

Amanda Grassia (last names A-G): agrassia@powayusd.com

Jennifer Asmann (last names H-O): jasmann@powayusd.com

Andrea Guevara (last names P-Z): aguevara@powayusd.com

The D39C Collaborative is a 100% volunteer-run foundation designed to be responsive to the needs of students, parents, and learning experience designers of Design39Campus. Their mission is to expand and enhance the educational experience of every student attending Design39Campus.

Planning for your child’s future can feel overwhelming, but having the right information can bring peace of mind.

Join us for an upcoming Knowledge & Network webinar featuring the Executive Director of the Special Needs Trust Foundation and the organization’s Legal Counsels. They will share helpful information about:

• 🏡 Estate planning and planning for your child’s future

• 💰 Special Needs Trusts – what they are and when they may be appropriate

• 📝 Setting up and executing a Special Needs Trust

• 💳 How funds can be used and distributed

• ❓ Common questions and considerations for families

📅 Date: Tuesday, October 20, 2026
🕐 Time: 10:00 to 11:30 am
💻 Location: MS Teams Webinar

🔗 Registration: Registration is required. Please register here.

Note to registrants:

After registration, you will receive a confirmation email with a link to join the webinar and an option to add the event to your calendar. Please check your Spam folder if you did not receive the confirmation email. It is recommended to add notifications@powayusd.com to your contacts or safe-sender list to prevent reminder emails going into the spam folder again.

Join us for an upcoming Knowledge & Network webinar featuring the Executive Director of the Special Needs Trust Foundation and the organization’s Legal Counsels. They will share helpful information about:

• 🏡 Estate planning and planning for your child’s future
• 💰 Special Needs Trusts – what they are and when they may be appropriate
• 📝 Setting up and executing a Special Needs Trust
• 💳 How funds can be used and distributed
• ❓ Common questions and considerations for families

📅 Date: Tuesday, October 20, 2026
🕐 Time: 10 to 11:30 am
💻 Location: MS Teams Webinar

🔗 Registration: Registration is required. Please register here.

Note to registrants:

After registration, you will receive a confirmation email with a link to join the webinar and an option to add the event to your calendar. Please check your Spam folder if you did not receive the confirmation email. It is recommended to add notifications@powayusd.com to your contacts or safe-sender list to prevent reminder emails going into the spam folder again

The Poway Unified School District (PUSD) is an equal opportunity employer/program and is committed to an active Nondiscrimination Program. PUSD prohibits discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying based on actual or perceived race, color, ancestry, national origin, nationality, immigration status, ethnicity, ethnic group identification, age, religion, marital or parental status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or gender expression or association with a person or a group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics. For more information, please contact: Title IX/Equity Compliance Officer, Melissa Griffith, Associate Superintendent of Personnel support Services, Poway Unified School District, 15250 Avenue of Science, San Diego, CA 92128, 1-858-521-2800, extension 2121, mgriffith@powayusd.com. For students, you may contact Title IX Coordinator/504 Coordinator Jessica Pineda, Director of Attendance and Discipline, Poway Unified School District, 1-858-521-2843, jpineda@powayusd.com.