Exhibition on Thu, 12/8 at 5:30 PM, Note from SETPA
prin...@sethigh.org
Dear Students, Parents, and Guardians,
- Exhibition is on Thu, 12/8 at 5:30 PM (student attendance is mandatory)
- SET PA Beach Bonfire Get Together (tomorrow, @ 2:30 PM) Details embedded in SET PA announcement
- Exciting announcement from the SET PA
- ESports Mentoring Opportunity at UCSD
Exhibition is on Thu, 12/8 at 5:30 PM (student attendance is mandatory)
We are finally back to having exhibitions after a long COVID drought. Since this idea is new to many of you and most of the students, we know that we are going to have to gradually re-build our culture of doing, embracing, and enjoying exhibitions. I'll do my best to get you excited with a description of what it can be, but I know that words cannot do it justice and it will take a couple of exhibitions before we all buy into it again.
First, exhibition is for and about the students. It is a celebration of their learning. Every year that we have had an exhibition, I have walked away amazed by the particular growth that I have seen in at least one individual. There is something special about seeing a student proudly presenting their hard work, and realizing, perhaps for the first time, that they have learned something valuable and can communicate that knowledge intelligently to a bunch of adults who are probably learning the material for the first time. That is empowering and makes the learning that occurs every day real and relevant.
Exhibitions happen twice per year and are traditionally very well attended by the families and the community. We are only inviting families to this exhibition to make it a little more intimate and to provide another opportunity to help regenerate our family community after years of isolation. Hopefully this will build on the success of the Family Fun Day Picnic. We are expecting attendance to be a little lower this year because of the ongoing COVID concerns, but we do hope that each student can have at least one friendly family member to show off their learning to.
I apologize for the late notice of this event. Thanksgiving and the last minute decision to organize a Senior Retreat have had me a little distracted the last couple of weeks. I hope that your Thursday evening will still be free for you to be able to support your student.
Typical dress for the students during exhibition is business casual. Many of the students love to go all out and dress formally. I always tell students that how you look goes a long way to giving people a positive first impression that makes them want to listen to you. Just looking the part gets you most of the way there during any kind of presentation. No one should be making special clothing purchases for exhibition, but students should be digging deep in their closets to find their nicest clothes.
Students who are not able to attend will need a good excuse from a parent. Please email prin...@sethigh.org. Excused absences do not excuse the student from the work, but can excuse them from actual attendance. The student should check with each teacher to determine how the presentation part of the project grade can be made up. I do ask parents to make a special effort to get your student here. Even if they pretend that they do not want to come, they should be there and they should have the opportunity to celebrate their own growth and learning. For some, just dressing up and being here, even if they are not proud of their work, will move them in the direction where they will one day be proud of their work. Your support in this process will go a long way in making the student successful. End guilt trip. :)
I look forward to seeing everyone here and am so excited to bring back one of my favorite school traditions!
Note that masks will be optional, but we do encourage those who do not want to risk being sick for the holidays to wear a mask. We will have masks available.
Exciting announcement from the SET PA
Here is a message from the SET PA that you should have already received but I want to amplify it here:
Our fundraiser is well on its way, and we are still hoping to reach our $20,000 goal that would directly benefit our SET kiddos. Did you have a chance to contribute to the SET fundraiser yet? Please know that no amount is too small and THANK YOU to all the families that have donated.
On that note, we have some VERY exciting news that will double your impact!! A generous patron and SET family member has stepped up to MATCH ALL donations up to $5,000 for the next two weeks. This means that every dollar you donate is doubled until December 16th.
PLEASE donate now, so we can double the funds we raise for our school. WE CAN DO THIS TOGETHER!
Here is how to make your contribution:
https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/setpa22
Zelle: SETPA.t...@gmail.com
Your contribution will be matched after your donation is made. REMEMBER your donation is tax deductible!
Here are just some of the projects on our students' and school's wish lists that would benefit from the funds raised:
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- Sound proofing and dust collection in maker space
- Robotics budget gold standard
- Engineering budget gold standard
- Science budget gold standard
- New laser cutter
- Art supplies
- Individual Passion Project funding budget
Saturday December 3rd Bonfire
REMEMBER: Saturday Dec 3rd, meet us in Ocean Beach, adjacent to tower 4. We will reserve a fire pit and bring wood starting at 2:30PM. We ask you to bring the rest: chairs, food, beverages, volleyball nets etc. We are keeping this a low impact organized event, the idea is for us to just come together. The OB Christmas parade is happening the same day, so be mindful of parking and traffic.
Take care,
The SET Parents Association
ESports Mentoring Opportunity at UCSD
If you are interested in esports, UCSD has asked me to share the following opportunity with you. Additional information can be found in this link.
Thanks everyone. Sorry that I'll miss you at the bonfire. We are taking the Seniors on a Senior Retreat this weekend. See you next Thursday!
Dr. McCurdy
