After a busy summer, we are ready to have our students back on campus!

We have started a tradition of making the first two days back to school “Welcome Back Days.” We use these days to focus on connecting students to staff and peers, building community and culture, reigniting school spirit and making all students feel welcome and safe. Students will attend their classes, but the bell schedule will be shortened which will allow for the last two hours of each day to be filled with fun activities where students can meet each other and discover campus.

Friday, Aug. 11 will be our ASPIRE kickoff party. ASPIRE Clubs are made possible through a grant we get from the SDCOE, which allows Helix to offer high quality before and after school clubs free of charge. These clubs include Dungeons & Dragons, Yoga, Gaming, Sand Volleyball, Musicals, and much more. Club leaders will be available to talk to students about the different clubs at the kickoff party and help them sign up.

Back to School Night is on Thursday, Aug. 24 from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. This is an opportunity for parents to meet their student’s new teachers and get familiar with the instructional programs.

Parent/Guardian Shadow Day is on Thursday, Aug. 31 from 8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. We invite parents on campus during the school day to observe student’s classrooms and school environment.

Our Family First events will continue in the library this year while the 1600 building is under construction. Every Thursday at 6 p.m., Helix staff or special guests present on different topics applicable to high school parents. These events are open to the public! See below for our upcoming schedule:

Tech Info Night – Thursday, Aug. 17 at 6 p.m.

Join us for an info night all about the different systems we use at Helix to keep track of grades, assignments, communication etc. Brian Kick, our chief information officer, and Dianne Damschen, our Ed Tech TOSA, will walk you through the different platforms, how to log in and stay connected.

Mental Health Reminders for Teenagers – Thursday, Aug. 31 at 6 p.m.

We are collaborating with San Diego Youth Services to present to parents, guardians and students about general mental health reminders as well as suicide prevention. This will be presented by licensed social workers from our Wellness Center and Marriage & Family Therapists from SD Youth Services. This event will be held in the Helix library and is open to all parents and students. Dinner will be provided! RSVP is required here for food ordering purposes.

Screenagers Movie Showing – Thursday, Sept. 7 at 6 p.m.

Join us in our Performing Arts Center for a showing of Screenagers – an important movie about teenagers and technology. Registration is not required and students are welcome to attend. Refreshments will be provided and doors open at 5:45. Movie Description: Are you watching kids scroll through life, with their rapid-fire thumbs and a six-second attention span? Physician and filmmaker Delaney Ruston saw that with her own kids and learned that the average kid spends 6.5 hours a day looking at screens. She wondered about the impact of all this time and about the friction occurring in homes and schools around negotiating screen time—friction she knew all too well. In SCREENAGERS, as with her award-winning documentaries on mental health, Delaney takes a deeply personal approach as she probes into the vulnerable corners of family life, including her own, to explore struggles over social media, video games, academics and internet addiction. Through poignant, and unexpectedly funny stories, along with surprising insights from authors, psychologists, and brain scientists, SCREENAGERS reveals how tech time impacts kids’ development and offers solutions on how adults can empower kids to best navigate the digital world and find balance.

We look forward to welcoming everyone back to campus on Aug. 10!

– Lauren Knuth is the community relations & engagement coordinator at Helix Charter High School.