Leonard Herman Intermediate School and the AdVENTURE STEM Program 5955 Blossom Avenue, San Jose, CA 95123 408.226-1886 Fax 408.226-1897 www.ogsd.k12.ca.us A California Laura Rodrigues Meusel, Principal Jeremiah Podczaszy, Assistant Principal Distinguished School August 15, 2016

Dear Herman and Adventure Community:

Welcome to the 2016-2017 school year! The entire staff is looking forward to an exciting and productive year with our new and returning families. Herman and Adventure both provide a safe and enriching academic environment for your children with a superb teaching staff. We have an excellent reputation for educating students and building a sense of community thanks to our staff and parent partnerships. Check us out on GREAT SCHOOLS where we are ranked a 9/10.

This year we welcome four new teachers to our staff: Christine Hogen-Esch (Adventure), Jodi Edwards-Wright (Adventure), Cassie Garcia (Math), and Megan Sullivan (Music). Construction We are under construction!! There will be no student drop off and pick-up on campus through the end of October. Please make plans to drop off and pick up along Blossom Ave. Students will then need to walk to Shawnee through our pedestrian gates. There is no access to the school from Blossom Ave. To reach Adventure, students and families will need to enter via foot along Shawnee and walk through campus to the Adventure side. There is no parking on campus during construction, if visiting the office, you will need to park on Shawnee Lane and walk through campus to reach the front office. This year we will continue to implement PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention Systems), the school mantra is BE RESPECTFUL, BE RESPONSIBLE and BE SAFE! Students are learning what that looks like in their classrooms, bathrooms, locker rooms, the cafeteria and outside areas the first week of school. This will be followed up a school-wide behavior assembly. We want all students to be rewarded for meeting the school wide expectations through Patriot Bucks, E2 Referrals, Student of the Month recognition, etc. One of our main focuses is on bullying and harassment. To support this effort, we have a link through schoolloop to report acts of harassment and bullying. Look under the NEWS and click on STOP BULLYING.

Once again we will offer parents and students access to grades, assignments and email through our communication tool SCHOOL LOOP. Students and parents may register at https://herman.schoolloop.com. All you need is an email address and your child's student ID which is found on their schedule to sign up. If you want to know what is going on around campus this is the place for all important information. We update it daily with school news and

José L. Manzo, Superintendent Board of Trustees: Jacquelyn Adams, Carolyn Bauer, Dennis Hawkins Jeremy Nishihara, Mary Noel An Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action Employer events. In addition, please check out our new school website at http:herman.ogsd.net.

Important Dates

Wednesday, August 18th Late Start Morning – 1st bell rings at 9:15, no students should be on campus prior to 9am as there is no supervision.

Thursday, September 1st Back to School Night – POSTPONED DUE to CONSTRUCTION (We will send a notification as soon as possible.)

Monday, September 5th Labor Day Holiday No School

Wednesday, September 7th Hispanic Parent Meeting – 7pm Library

Friday, September 9th Picture Day in PE, 7th grade Dance 2:30-4:00pm

Monday, September 12th Fund Raiser Kick Off – we hope to raise over $15,000 this year to support school wide events, homework center, after-school clubs, lunch time events, and other extra-curricular areas. Every year the fund raiser supports various programs such as after- school sports, physical education, arts, and our award winning music program. Please support our students by participating in our fund raiser or make a donation directly to Herman/Adventure, it is tax deductible. 770220148 Tax ID number.

The education of our children is a joint effort of our entire learning community: students, parents, families, staff, volunteers, district employees and the community at large. All of us at Herman and Adventure welcome you to join in any way you can to make a difference for our children. Our goal is that each child enjoys their years with us and comes away from Herman with the goal of being a lifelong learner. I look forward to working with you all. Please do not hesitate to call or email me with any questions and/or concerns at [email protected] or 408- 226-1886x304201.

Best regards,

Laura Meusel, Principal Herman Intermediate and the Adventure Program

Herman and Adventure’s Vision – To create a 21st century middle school that engages students, staff and the community.

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