End of year final updates

[prin...@sethigh.org]

Dear Students, Parents, and Guardians,

• 11th and 12th graders raised our test scores again!  Thank you!
• Bathroom project ready to start soon
• Finals on 6/3 and 6/4 (release at 12:30)
• Graduation Details (school on 6/5 will be in Balboa Park at the graduation ceremony)
• Final day of school (6/6)
• Surveys will be sent out to parents and students
• Remembering Andrea Craig-Sansone (mother of Lorenzo)
• SET PA call for members

11th and 12th graders raised our test scores again!  Thank you!

The scores haven't been certified, yet, so I can't comment on the actual values, but I'm excited to report that our 11th graders did extremely well on the Math and English tests this year, raising both scores quite dramatically!  Our 12th graders also did really well on the Science test that they took earlier this year raising that score once again.  So much of this is about the students caring about their education enough to learn the material in the first place, but also caring about the school community and wanting to perform for us and the future SET students.  As I've said so many times before, the student performance on standardized tests are what determine whether or not we continue to exist as a school.  The scores do little for the students but they mean so much for the school's future.  We can't thank the students enough for delivering.  A special shout-out to the staff who have done such a great job not only teaching the students, but also building the relationships that make the students want to and feel safe trying at their highest level.  

Bathroom project ready to start soon

We are excited to finally be able to begin work this summer on the bathroom project that we are confident will finally solve the bathroom antics that have plagued our school (and every school, for that matter) during the Tik Tok challenge generation.  We thank all of the students and families for being patient with us as we employed stop-gap measures while we waited for a long-enough break to be able to do the construction that is necessary.  Each of our bathroom stalls and urinals will be converted to individual rooms, allowing us to treat the individual stalls as the private bathroom spaces, and thus turning the larger bathroom areas into monitored common spaces.  Bathrooms have always been a problem on campuses (and in the general public) because they wind up turning into a closed-off hybrid public and private space.  All new public bathroom designs are moving towards removing those ambiguous spaces, making it so that the actual stall is 100% personal and 100% private.  In both school and public settings the private stalls reduce the opportunity for hijinx since the actions will be individual actions instead of group actions.

We're excited about this change and look forward to a time when the restrooms will be used primarily for toileting!

Finals on 6/3 and 6/4 (release at 12:30)

It's that time!  1st, 2nd and Advisory periods will be on 6/3.  3rd, 4th, and 5th will be on 6/4.  School will get out at 12:30 on both days.

Graduation Details (school on 6/5 @ 9AM will be in Balboa Park at the graduation ceremony)

Graduation is on Thu, 6/5 at 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Spreckels Organ Pavilion (it usually ends by 11:30)

Our graduations are open to all and since it is on a school day, we hope to have most of our current students in attendance.  Our graduation ceremonies are always amazing celebrations of our individual seniors, and one of the common refrains from graduating parents is that they wish they knew how special our graduations were so that they could have attended earlier ones.  Here is your invitation!  Don't have any regrets.

Also know that since we do the graduations at the Organ Pavilion, there is plenty of seating.  Graduates do not have a limit on the number of people they bring, and there really aren't any bad seats at that venue, so don't stress about needing to get there early to get the best seats.

Final day of school (6/6)

We will have a full day of school on the last day of school.  We'll have final classroom parties, games, yearbook signings, and other fun activities, but there won't be any actual instruction.

Surveys will be sent out to parents and students

Every year we survey our students and parents to see what we can improve upon.  You'll be receiving a separate email tomorrow with a survey specific to your group (parent or student).  Please be sure to fill out the survey over the next couple of days.  I will need to analyze the results so will close the survey on Friday (6/6) at midnight.  Thank you!

Remembering Andrea Craig-Sansone (mother of Lorenzo)

It is with a heavy heart that I relay the terrible news that we have lost another member of the SET community.  Lorenzo's mother passed away last week.  She was an integral part of our community and a wonderful mother to Lorenzo.  Lorenzo will be finishing up this school year with us virtually and then moving to New Jersey to attend high school closer to his remaining family members.  Our hearts go out to Lorenzo and the Craig family.  We already miss you Lorenzo!

SET PA call for members

Here is a message from the SET PA:

Join the SETPA Board!

SETPA was founded in 2019, but like many organizations, it lost momentum due to the pandemic. In 2021, a fresh group of parents relaunched SETPA, revitalizing its mission to support SET staff, faculty, students, and the broader community. Now, it's time to pass the torch! Four of our five current board members have graduating seniors, and we need new leaders to continue the great work.  Some of us had never served on a Board and learned as we went, so anyone is welcome to join!

Why Join the Board?

Board members play a vital role in shaping the school's success, supporting teachers, students, and families through funding initiatives and community events. The commitment is manageable—just one monthly meeting (about an hour), plus a bit more time based on your role. Check out the positions below and find one that suits you best!

Board Positions

President: Provides general supervision, direction, and leadership. Responsibilities include running monthly board meetings (agendas, Zoom links, etc.), facilitating teacher grant requests, occasionally purchasing items or writing reimbursement checks, and serving as the main point of contact with the school administration.

• • The current President will train you!
  • Meeting agendas and grant request processes are documented and ready to go.
  • Time commitment: ~3 hours per month.

Vice President: Supports the President and steps in when needed. This role is designed as a one-year training position before transitioning to President.

• • Time commitment: ~1.5 hours per month.

Treasurer: Oversees financial management, keeps SETPA’s books, provides monthly financial summaries, submits nonprofit filings, and processes fees.

• • The current Treasurer will train you!
  • Time commitment: ~2 hours per month, plus 1–2 hours reconciling donations after fundraisers and 2–3 hours per school year filing state and federal non-profit document requirements.

Secretary: Records minutes during Board meetings, sends them out for review, and summarizes them for SETPA newsletters.

• • The current Secretary will train you!
  • Meeting minute and newsletter summary templates are documented and ready to go.
  • Time commitment: ~1.75 hours per month.

Communications: Collects news, updates, and important announcements from the Board and SET and compiles them into a clear, engaging monthly newsletter to keep families informed.

• • The current Communications lead will train you!
  • We use SurveyMonkey to send out newsletters.
  • Email processes and previous newsletters are documented and ready for you to revise to suit the Board’s needs in the future.
  • Time commitment: ~4 hours per month.

Events: Plans and manages community-building events such as the annual back-to-school parent coffee, school picnic, and Teacher Appreciation Week.  (The Spring Soiree is organized by a separate group of wonderful parents!)

• • The current Events lead will train you!
  • Best practices are documented and ready to go.
  • Time commitment: ~1 hour per month for meetings, and:
    • Back-to-School parent coffee in August: 
      • 30 minutes planning and 1 1/2 hours the day of the event
    • Fall Picnic in September/October:
      • 4 to 5 hours planning and 4 hours the day of the event
    • Teacher Appreciation Week in May:
      • 1 to 2 hours planning and 1 hour for the potluck set up and clean up

Member At Large: Attends monthly meetings and lends their skills as needed.

• • Two Member At Large positions are open.
  • Time commitment:  1 hour per month for meetings and time helping when available.

Interested? Email William Frantz at william...@sethighpa.org  or join our SETPA meeting on Saturday May 31, 2025 7:00 pm on Chime:  https://chime.aws/william.frantz, Dial-in: 855-552-4463  PIN: 5081134548

 

Thank you everyone!  Hope to see you at graduation!

Dr. McCurdy