Principal's Message

Dear Homestead,

Thank you to everyone who reached out to our students and staff after the sad news regarding the passing of an 11th grade Homestead student.  As I mentioned in the email home, the family wishes to remain anonymous and asks that you respect their privacy. In keeping with their decision, we cannot and will not be releasing any other information.  I do want to acknowledge the difficulty this may present for you and your family, but at times like this it is better to think about what we can do for those around us who may be hurting or to find ways to solidify our community bonds.

Our support staff is still available for students or staff in order to provide resources, respite, or reflection.  I do want to take a moment to publicly thank the members of our mental wellness team and school counselors as they have been doing a lot of great work in a terrible situation.  Those staff members are our School Based Therapists (Sarah Loyd, Shabbie Afshar, and Dawn Predium), School Psychologists (Emily Bersaglia and Ellen Lain), and our School Counselors (Mari Alanis, Marisa Amezquita, Derek Chan, Raquel DeJesus, and Wilma Wu).  Of course, many of our staff members have spent time this past week talking with students or with each other to provide safe spaces to listen, console, and answer questions.  I also want to thank Dr. Trudy Gross, Associate Superintendent, who spent time with our team and helped us develop a plan to support our students and staff.  As we progress through this year, this death as well as other incidents may find us in the position of looking for answers on how to support our students or each other so I wanted to remind you of the extensive list of resources that can be found at this link on our district webpage.  You can also find it by going to the Parent Portal on our HHS website, and clicking on the button marked “Prevention and Intervention Resources”.  There is also a long list of available resources under our Guidance and Student Support page by clicking the button labeled Student Wellness & Resources.

And to give another shout out to one of our community partners, I just wanted to thank Janet and Art from the Center for Living with Dying who have made themselves available to our campus and invite you to reach out if you have questions or need support at this time or in the future.  You can find out all about their services by clicking this link.

Coincidentally, the September advisory was one that focused on building a positive community, and used the example of the South African term of “Ubuntu” which loosely translates to ‘I am because we are” or “I am because you are” underlining the basic belief in the universal bond that sharing connects all humanity.  As I was working to finish this already late message, I awoke to the news of the horrifying event in Israel this past weekend.   Since the start of advisories, we have held schoolwide conversations on how to combat hate and encourage students to be upstanders for each other to make Homestead a safe and welcoming school community.  While we talked about battling hate against all people and groups, we sought to raise awareness about such injustices by sharing the experiences of many of our students and some adults through a lens of Anti-Racism/Anti-Bias.  With war breaking out between Israel and Palestine over the weekend, tensions will undoubtedly be running high. Hopefully, some of the lessons shared these past few years will resonate with students and will guide their actions towards each other.

These two events, the death of a student and outbreak of war, surely test our connections and community, but it is also during times like these when we need to remember how we are connected and how we can provide a safe and inclusive space for everyone.  Our hearts reach out to those Homestead community members whose families and friends are affected by these tragedies, and it is our hope that our words and deeds will show that share in their pain as well as in their wish for peace to triumph.

I would just like to restate that at Homestead we do not tolerate bullying, discrimination, or any form of harm to others. We believe in treating everyone with kindness and empathy. We also encourage every member of our community to be a part of our efforts to create a respectful and supportive community. Please stand up against bullying or discrimination whenever you witness it. Your actions contribute to a culture of responsibility among peers, and together, we can make a positive difference in the lives of those around us.

Dear Homestead,

Every November I try to start my monthly message with a quote about gratitude and then make a list of things for which I am grateful.  While I do have much to be thankful for and I truly believe that all of our staff members and students are wonderful, I thought I would highlight a group of people that often get overlooked except for when something goes wrong:  the Homestead Administration Team.  These eight people are the glue that holds this place together and are the reason our teachers are able to provide a high quality educational program and create a safe and welcoming environment for our students.  They are also the reason that I am able to do my job as these individuals have their hands on every single thing that goes on at Homestead, usually some of the first to come and the last to leave.

Starting with Tricia Crane, my executive assistant and classified manager.  She is the center that we gather around as she keeps us organized and moving forward.  Tricia has been at Homestead nearly 15 years and has three sons who have graced our halls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elder Fagundes is our Facilities Manager, and he has just had his one year anniversary with us.  He oversees all 40+ acres of our campus with two teams (day crew and night crew). Elder and crew help set up every event or activity on our campus plus keep the site looking good and properly running. Elder also speaks Portuguese!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Cafeteria Manager is Terri Fortson, and she has beenleading that department for over 20 years.  Her team consists of six members and a crew of student volunteers who help out at various times to prepare food and set up brunch or lunch.  Terri is Bilingual in Spanish and English.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Terri Hannigan is our Guidance and Scheduling Assistant Principal.  Prior to coming to Homestead in 2019, Terri was a chemistry teacher at Cupertino High School where she was also the Department Lead and a district New Teacher Mentor.  Terri’s oldest daughter Emily, was also an HHS math teacher for a few years before moving to Southern California. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Susan Rocha joined us at the start of the 22-23 school year as our Interventions Assistant Principal then took over as our Athletics/Activities Assistant Principal at this time last year.  Susan graduated from Cupertino High School and taught English there for over 20 years.  She also served as a Department Lead during her time there then moved on to administration where she has served Fremont and Lynbrook High Schools before becoming a Mustang.  Fun Fact, her mother was an Assistant Principal at Homestead too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paula Mockler has a long history as a Mustang as she was a Resource Department paraprofessional over 10 years ago before earning her Special Ed Science credential, teaching at Cupertino High School and Fremont where she was also the Department Lead before becoming a Dean with the Firebirds.  Paula is also celebrating her one year anniversary with us as she came over to be our Interventions Assistant Principal.  Her husband Toby was our Facilities Manager before Elder, and she has a brother and sister-in-law who teach in our district too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maria Trejo is half of our Dean Team and has been with us for five years now, one of my longest serving deans by the way.  Maria came to us from East Side San Jose where she held a plethora of positions from Migrant Ed Aide, Spanish Teacher, and the East Side equivalent to a Dean before joining our team.  Maria is bilingual in Spanish and English.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anthony Nguyen is the other half of our Dean Team, and has four years of experience with Homestead.  She and Maria are my longest serving Dean Team in my 11 years at Homestead.  Anthony was a Science Teacher in East Side, was also a department lead there and also held the position of Athletic Director before becoming a Mustang.  Anthony is bilingual in Vietnamese and English.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I thought it would be helpful for you to see and learn a little more about these amazing individuals, and even more important for me to publicly state my appreciation for their hard work and dedication.

Have a great November everyone!

Greg Giglio

Homestead Principal

Dear Homestead,

The 2023-2024 school year is off to a great start.  As predicted and promised, all construction projects were substantially completed and have allowed students and staff to have full access to the campus.  You will still see some small crews on campus working on landscaping around the library quad or painting at the S Building, but these tasks are simple and not blocking access.  I would like to thank the workers at both of our construction companies, Blach and Lathrop, for working so diligently to deliver the campus for the start of school.  We have no scheduled construction projects until after graduation when we will replace the turf for two of our three fields.

Believe it or not, the fields are nearly 15 years old and are ready for upgrades.  We are working with the vendors to improve our fields by using materials that will reduce the amount of heat reflected as well as replacing the infill with crushed coconut husks.   Overall, we have seen a reduction in injuries when we switched from natural grass to artificial turf as well as a significant reduction in water usage.  These fields were extremely helpful as we battled the drought of the past few years and then last year’s intense rainfall.  In previous years, either type of extreme weather would have made the fields unusable to our PE classes, athletic teams, and band.  Since installing the turf fields, we have not lost a single day of class, practice, rehearsal, game, or performance due to weather or field conditions.

While it is sometimes easy to complain about the noise and chaos of construction, we are extremely grateful for all the work that has been done on our campus over the past 15 years to transform our campus into a modern facility that is ready for another 60 years of educational excellence.  None of this would have been possible without the generosity of our parents and neighbors passing several Bond Measures.  And while we are enjoying the silence at the moment, we are also thankful for all of the following improvements that you have made possible these past 15 years:

• New football stadium with lights
• Three multi use turf fields
• Solar Panels in Staff and Student Lots
• Field House
• Innovation Hub
• Cafeteria and classrooms in the K Building
• New Main Quad
• New Guidance Student Services Building
• Modernized A, B, and S Buildings
• Numerous upgrades and improves to utilities such as electrical, plumbing, and technology
• New Library Quad

On the future work list for Homestead on our existing Measure G Bond are new C and L Buildings but there is no definitive date yet for that work.

We will be hosting a grand opening for the A, B, and S Buildings in our new Library Quad on Wednesday, September 6th at 4pm just prior to our first in person Back to School Night.  We hope to see you at both events as we celebrate our 61st year of operation and welcome the Class of 2027 to our Mustang Family.

Until then, please remember that our 23-24 Parent/Guardian &Student Survey is live and waiting for your questions, concerns, suggestions, ideas, shout outs, and recognitions. Here is looking forward to the rest of year!

Greg Giglio

Homestead Principal

Dear Homestead,

Welcome to the 2023-2024 school year!  We look forward to welcoming our newest students from the class of 2027 as we continue our tradition of excellence.  Whether it is in the classroom, on the athletic fields, in the performing arts, or through our outstanding extracurricular clubs like Future Business Leaders of America, Robotics, Speech and Debate, or any other of our over 90 student run clubs; Homestead is a great place to learn and work.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome these new staff members to our Homestead family:

• Maricarmen Alanis -- School Counselor for last names Ve-Z
• Norma Abarca -- Spanish Teacher
• Tsegay Biadgo -- ACT Paraeducator
• Melissa Chavez -- ACT Paraeducator
• Pratibha Gopal -- Math (welcome back, Pratibha!)
• Alex Han -- English Teacher
• Kris Hughes -- Behaviorist
• Robert Igoe  -- Math Teacher
• Jodi Johnson -- Art Teacher
• Phil Lee -- Math Teacher (welcome back, Phil!)
• Teresa Lunnon -- Social Studies Teacher
• Manisha Mangla -- ACT Paraeducator
• Andres Mendez -- EL Paraeducator Bilingual
• Nancy Ngyuen -- ACT Paraeducator
• Marlon Portillo -- Intervention Paraprofessional
• Dylan Remahl – ACT Paraeducator
• Amy Scruggs -- ACT Paraeducator
• Josh Uribe -- ACT Paraeducator

We also have several current staff members who will be taking on new roles on our campus, so we would like to welcome them to their new positions as well:

• Alana Caires -- Drama/Theater Arts
• Chris Grossman -- Athletic Director
• Luis Mayorga -- Bilingual Aid

Construction Update:  All projects have been completed or are nearing on time completion, so we are very excited to have a project free 23-24 school year! We are excited about opening up the newly modernized B and Science Buildings as well as our new Library Quad.  Our pool was also replastered, and the Large Gym floor refinished and painted. Please enjoy our newly renovated areas on campus as well as the silence! We will be hosting a Grand Opening at our Back to School Night on September 6th

Here are a few other pieces of information that will be helpful for a successful start of the school year:

Important Opening of School Dates:

• Homestead Orientation Program or ‘HOP’ Wednesday, August 14th.  Freshmen and all new students to Homestead High School are encouraged to participate 
• Parent Orientation Day or ‘POP’ will be held virtually on Wednesday, August 14th from 6:00 to 7:30 pm so that we can take you through expectations for the year and answer your questions as you meet the Homestead staff and administration
• Round-Up will be held on Monday, August 14th and Tuesday, August 15th 
• First day of School is August 21st 
• Back to School Night – Will be held in-person on Wednesday, September 6th

Here is also a quick at a glance view of important dates for the entire 23-24 school year:

• August 21 First Day of School
• September 4 Labor Day - no classes
• October 9 Teacher Non-Duty Day - no classes
• November 10 Veterans Day - no classes
• Nov. 23 to 24 Thanksgiving Break - no classes
• December 22 Teacher Work Day - no classes
• Dec. 25 to Jan. 5 Mid-Year Break - no classes
• January 8 School resumes for second semester
• January 15 Martin Luther King Day - no classes
• Feb. 19 to 23 President's Week - no classes
• March 18 Non-Duty Day - no classes
• April 15 to 19 Spring Break - no classes
• May 27 Memorial Day - no classes
• June 6 Last day of the school year/Graduation

Weekly Video Messages/Parent Survey:  Every week I send out a Weekly Video Message to help you stay connected with news and events on our campus.  You can use this survey to send in questions, comments, concerns, and suggestions as well as send in shout outs and recognitions for staff and students.  You may send in as many submissions as you wish, and I will answer your questions and respond to comments and suggestions in the video messages as well as bring in “guest stars”.  

Our staff has been hard at work this summer improving lesson plans, coordinating curriculum, and creating relevant and rigorous content to keep your students engaged and learning at the highest levels.  We look forward to getting the year started with you and your students!

Happy New Year!

Greg Giglio

Homestead Principal

Dear Homestead,

Welcome to June and Summer Break!  This has been quite a year and while we are always sad to see our seniors go, we are also excited to celebrate their four years here at Homestead and wish them well on the next leg of their journey.  This senior class were just 9th graders when we shut down for the pandemic and they did not return to campus until the end of Sophomore year or beginning of Junior year for many.  Even in that short time they left their mark on our campus and our hearts, so with a tinge of sadness we look forward to gathering with you and your families for one last time as the Class of 2023 on June 8th at Mustang Stadium for the graduation ceremony.

This is also the time of year when we say goodbye to staff members who are also making their way towards their own next chapters.  The following staff members will also be part of the Class of 2023, and we will miss their leadership, creativity, humor, and dedication to Homestead.  Please join me in a fond farewell to our four retirees:

Steve Lavelle -- English

Leslie Lloyd -- Drama and English

Katie Schiltz -- Art

Debbie Vanni -- English

We also had two office staff members retire in first semester, but they still deserve a shout out at the end of the year:

Rita Figueroa -- Attendance Clerk

Heidi Parrish -- Data Technician

The following staff members will be moving on or have already done so, and we thank them as well for their time here on campus:

Liz Angel -- AP Secretary

Luis Barbeito -- Spanish

Guiliana Chion -- School Psychologist Intern

Jaqi Falla -- Bilingual Aid & Academic Center Advisor

Luis Mayorga -- Long Term Sub in PE

Eric Medeiros -- School Counselor

Matangi Rajamani -- Math

The following staff are moving out of positions but staying on campus but they deserve a big shout out from us.  Thank you to Mallory Lantz as our outgoing Athletic Director and to Rohan Prakash who will be a New Teacher Mentor.

And we sent two of our admin team members to the district office, so while they are gone from Homestead they are still nearby:

Brian Dong -- Assistant Principal

Toby Mockler -- Facilities Manager

Please note that while our campus is closed for the summer, it will be very active with construction projects that are rushing to be completed to start the 23-24 school year.  I would ask that you stay away from the staff parking lot as we will have three projects in progress that will take up a lot of space in the staff lot -- the Science Building Modernization project as well as the final stages of the modernization efforts for the B Building and the Library Quad.  Work has already started to replaster the pool and the large gym floor will be completely stripped, repainted, and coated during the summer as well.  As it stands right now, we do not have any projects scheduled for the start of the 23-24 school year, so we are eagerly looking forward to a construction-less school year after over 12 straight years of work.

So once again, congratulations to the Homestead Senior Class of 2023 as well as our graduating class of staff members.  We wish them all the best, and I wish all of you a very happy summer full of rest, relaxation, and time spent with family, friends, and loved ones.  Before you know it we will be back on campus for the first day of school on August 21st.

Take care and be well,

Greg Giglio

Homestead Principal

Dear Homestead,

Hard to believe that we are coming down to the last few weeks of the 2022-2023 school year, but graduation is just around the corner and the weather is slowly turning warmer.  I thought it might be worthwhile to discuss declining enrollment in our district as it will bring about changes to our school and our district in the coming years.

Across the state, districts are reporting declines in student enrollment.  There are a couple of reasons behind this decline such as the after effects of the pandemic, higher cost of living especially housing, and decreased birth rates in families.  Our demographer, who the district has been using for many years because of his accuracy, has predicted a sharp decline in all five schools over the next five years.  Previously, schools like Lynbrook and Monta Vista have been the ones to deal with shrinking populations but for the 2023-2024 school year, all five schools will be home to fewer students.  Homestead, while currently the largest school in our district at nearly 2,300 students, is predicted to lose about 140 students for the next year.  Even more shocking is the prediction that Homestead will lose closer to 700 students and see our student population decrease to between 1,500 and 1,600 by the 2027-2028 school year.  The predictions for the other four schools don’t look much better with Lynbrook hovering around 1,300 students, Monta Vista around 1,600 students, and Cupertino predicted to be a little larger but still in the 1,600’s.  Fremont is expected to be our largest school that year but even they will shrink to between 1,900 and 2,000 students.  While predictions are really just well educated and researched guesses, our current enrollment patterns are showing all schools in this declining pattern for next year.

Having fewer students means fewer sections of classes and fewer teachers as our schedule is designed around the premise of student choice.  These sections are built upon a student to teacher ratio that is negotiated by the district and the teacher’s union (FEA).  Depending on the course, there might be a smaller ratio or a larger one.  For instance, PE has always accommodated more students at a 40 to 1 ratio while a class like Algebra I is staffed at a 20 to 1 ratio.  On average, our classes are at 32.5 to 1 (with some slightly larger and some slightly smaller).  This ratio is designed to best support students while taking into account the number of classrooms on campus, the 7 period day, and the conflict matrix (which is a complicated process of minimizing classes that conflict with each other so that students have a better chance of getting the classes they signed up for).  

Looking at the schedule for next year, we can already see that we have a need for less sections and teachers.  Fortunately, we are able to cover these classes without having to lay off or reduce anyone on the teaching staff due to retirements, attrition, and reallocation of staff among the sites.  For example, we have 3.5 retirements in the English Department so we are able to hire back a temporary teacher on our staff as well as bring in teachers from other sites who may not have classes to teach on their current site due to the decline.  We can see that some of our departments like English, math, or PE have fewer requests so these are also acting like cuts but we don’t have to lay off anyone to achieve this.  

One additional solution that the district has been looking at is reducing the total number of World Languages offered at each school.  Currently, all five sites offer Chinese, French, Japanese, and Spanish.  While Homestead’s enrollment for World Languages has been strong due to our bigger enrollment the other sites are showing concerns in being able to support four languages.  Looking at other schools in our area, the trend data shows that schools with 2000+ students can support four languages, while schools that are around an enrollment of 1,600 can better support just three, and schools that are below 1,300 students really can only have two language programs.  As a result, the district has decided to reduce one World Language program at each site depending on the lowest enrolled program.  As of today, it looks like three schools would eliminate Japanese, one school would cut French, and Homestead would end our Chinese program.  This is not an easy decision to make as we know that our students and our teachers are thriving in these classes but something must be done to help address the declining enrollment and ability to faithfully support the program.  Probably, the hardest issue for Homestead is that there is very little difference between our two smallest programs and these two “smallest” programs are actually larger than the ones being cut at other sites.  As a result, there is still some ongoing conversation with the district in terms of waiting to see where the decline takes World Language enrollment at Homestead.  There is a meeting coming up later in the month that will look at and try to resolve this issue.  I can say though that we are looking at the reduction of one of our language programs.

The model for reducing a language program is something that we have already done before in this district when, due to low student choice and course selection, all five schools eliminated German from the World Language Department.  No matter what language, the process is similar in that there will be no changes made for the 23-24 school year; however, starting in 24-25 we would not offer Level 1 of that language and continue to reduce one level each year.  This means by the year 2028, we would have stopped offering that language as an option.  By doing it this way, rather than letting a program “die naturally”, we will be allowing both students and staff to make plans on how to move forward.  We are in conversation with our district leaders about how to accommodate students who may want or need that language to continue their learning or cultural connection.  We could be looking at a way to enroll students for a single course at another school, allowing students to transfer completely to a school that has the language they prefer to study, or allowing students to take the language at an outside school or program.

As we continue to discuss and adapt, I will be sure to keep you in the loop.  At least for now, we know that we are staying the course for the 23-24 school year as we begin to drop in the total number of students.  What won’t drop or decline is our staff’s commitment to serving our students and our families with a world class education.  We have seen a lot in our 60 year history including steep increases as well as decreases in student enrollment, and yet we continue to be a truly amazing place to learn and work.

 

Dear Homestead,

I hope your February ended well and that you all had a restful and relaxing break!  As we move into Spring and begin the month of March, I wanted to bring to your attention a special project that Homestead will be participating in over the next several weeks:  The American Heart Challenge in conjunction with The American Heart Association.

Just over one year ago, on 02-02-22 to be exact, the Homestead community experienced a traumatic event when one of our teachers, Steve Lavelle, suffered a sudden cardiac arrest during tutorial.  The story has a great ending though as our amazing students sprung into action to alert staff that their teacher needed help.  Several staff members immediately provided support to our students, called 911, began administering CPR, and eventually saved Mr. Lavelle’s life through the use of an AED machine before emergency paramedics arrived and transported Mr. Lavelle to the hospital.  This story is quite an unusual one, as the paramedics who arrived on scene and many other medical and emergency professionals later told us, because they rarely see anyone receive the immediate care and attention that we were able to provide.  This story ran in several newspapers and television news reports.  We were even interviewed by a local radio station to spread the good news.  Our story made its way to the American Heart Association who had been working with another student of ours and the idea for a partnership soon grew.

This story was a happy one because, fortunately, our staff has a great relationship with the emergency services teams of Sunnyvale, Cupertino, and Santa Clara as well as receives training regularly on emergency services.  This is not the case for many citizens in our community so the American Heart Challenge was developed as a way to spread information on life saving techniques and to help build awareness of what to do if and when a loved one, or a total stranger, has an emergency and needs your help.  Our students have been busy planning events on our campus to help further this cause and to make sure that others are alive to tell their stories.

Starting March 1st, we have planned the following activities to take place either during tutorial, lunch, or after school:  CPR workshops, Yoga Demonstration, pig heart dissection,  suturing instruction, dance battle, card and poster making activities, and guest speakers from the medical field.  Our guest speakers are . . . 

• Edward Ruppel is the CEO of Shape Memory Medical. He has been involved with many facets of the medical device industry from finance to R&D, but will share how ultimately his passion for mechanical engineering led him into a career working with medical devices.

• Dr. Kenneth Mahaffey is a cardiologist and clinical trial specialist. He is the head of the Stanford Center for Clinical Research and an associate dean at the Stanford School of Medicine. He will present his interests in multicenter virtual clinical trials and share what a career in clinical research looks like.

• Mitsutaka Shimabe is the CEO of Minaris Medical America (formerly Hitachi Chemical Diagnostics). He intends to share how he has been able to use his background in business, sales, and marketing to lead an enterprising medical device company that sells products around the globe.

We will be kicking things with a video that will be shown to all students that explains everything and you can watch the same video by clicking this link as well.

I would like to thank the following students and staff members for their help and support in getting this project off the ground:  Ms. Jessica Kirby and the ASB Leadership Students, The Yoga Club with advisor Kelly Ronsheimer, The Future Physicians of America Club with advisor Natalie Della Santina, The Homestead Red Cross Club with advisor Steve Lavelle, and The Mental Wellness Space with Advisor Sarah Loyd.  A special shout out to Neel Sudhakaran, Class of 2024, who was the one who brought everyone together and was the organizing force to get this off the ground.  Of course we are indebted to our partners at the American Heart Association as well as our guest speakers.  Finally, I would like to express my deep gratitude to the following staff members for helping out that day:  Byron Lee, Harry Unsinger, Eileen Jones, Nicole Zambrano, Dan Yusim, and Louise Garces as well as the other members of the admin team and other teachers who I know were there but can’t remember that may have helped in some way way.  And of course, a big shout out to Steve Lavelle and his wonderful wife, Susan. 

Dear Homestead,

As we return to school for the second semester, I can’t help but notice that the calendar reads January 9th, 2023.  This date is memorable for two reasons, first it is my mother’s birthday, and second it marks the 10 year anniversary of my very first day as principal at Homestead High School.  Looking back over these 10 years I have learned a lot and we have accomplished many things, and I am eager to see what the next 10 years will bring.

When I first stepped on to campus, we were just breaking ground for the Field House which followed the completion of the “new” Mustang Stadium with lights and turf fields.  Solar panels were also installed in the staff and student parking lots.  After the Field House was opened, we went to work on a new cafeteria that included three new science classrooms and a brand new quad.  Then it was time to tear down the old F Building and put in its place the Innovation Hub, a building unlike any other in the district for its design and flexibility.  Our next project was the Guidance Student Services (GSS) Building which helped create a new front of school and a more accessible front office.  These changes also have helped us to upgrade campus security by limiting access to campus and improving foot traffic.  Around the same time we installed security cameras (and have more coming as well as vape sensors for the bathrooms!). After the GSS, we shifted into modernization projects with the upgraded A Building opening for students and staff in August of 2023 and the B Building currently undergoing the same renovations (and scheduled to be open for the 23-24 school year).  We will also be modernizing the Science Building over the summer of 2023.  Along the way, there was a lot of work done underground to upgrade the technology and utilities on our campus (not quite as glamorous or noticeable as those other projects but definitely necessary and helpful).  In the meantime, we have been able to add nearly 20 charging stations for electric cars thanks to a community grant so that our students, staff, and neighbors can benefit from easy access.

So if you were keeping track that is one new football stadium, two turf fields, a field house, three new buildings with 13 new classrooms, a cafeteria with upgraded food service and kitchen, two modernized buildings with 32 renovated classrooms, two parking lots full of solar panels, miles of underground utilities, and 20 electric charging stations.  Another interesting set of numbers is the ratio of students to computers.  In 2013, our ratio was 1 computer for every 8 students but with generous help from both the district and PTSA, we had reduced that ratio to 1 computer for every 1.5 students before we went to a Bring Your Own Device system.  None of this would have been possible without the support of our community and the three bond measures passed during those same 10 years.  And the work is not done as our most recent bond measure will bring about more work to update or replace the current C and L Buildings as well as to modernize the performing arts building.

In those 10 years, we have also had over 6,000 graduates who have left their mark upon our campus and are doing their best to keep up the Homestead tradition of changing the world.  They have endured atmospheric rivers and school closures due to the Pandemic -- truly the most unusual thing I have ever dealt with in my 10 years here or in my 25 years of education.  These students and their classmates have been responsible for hundreds of athletic championships; countless awards and scores of Superior or Unanimous Superior in Marching Band, Color Guard and Percussion competitions; consecutive state FBLA titles along with almost consecutive national titles; numerous National Merit Scholarships; and ever increasing recognition in Robotics, Mock Trial, Speech and Debate, and Model UN.

Even more impressive are the daily accomplishments that I have witnessed during my decade here.  I have said it often, and will say it again (and probably not for the last time) but this has been the hardest working and most dedicated group of educators that I have ever worked with.  From  the support staff in the front office to the instructional aides in the classrooms, from our veteran teachers to our newest recruits, from our custodial team to our cafeteria workers -- They are all extremely skilled at what they do, they care about students, and they love Homestead.  Not to mention our amazing coaches and advisors who provide outstanding athletic and extracurricular programs.  Put them together with our extremely talented, creative, thoughtful, and dedicated students and we have an amazing congregation of individuals who come together every day and make Homestead a great place to learn and to work.  

Of course Homestead could not be what it is today without mentioning our supportive and caring Parent community.  Research has clearly shown again and again, that students who attend a school where there is a supportive and involved parent community perform well.  And we have an abundance of areas where parents are present, active, and engaged in the well being of all students such as our PTSA, Foundation, Booster programs, School Site Council, English Learner Advisory Committees, Citizens Advisory Committee, WASC focus groups, and all the parent volunteers and coaches. 

As I celebrate my 10th year and we continue to honor the 60th anniversary of Homestead, I would like to wish you and your family a happy new year.  Here is hoping you have a wonderful second semester as we continue to grow and learn together.

Respectfully,

Greg Giglio, HHS Principal

Dear Homestead,

As the first semester has come to a close, I wanted to wish the entire Homestead community a peaceful, restful, and relaxing holiday break.  As we do head out, we do so with a heavy heart with the passing of Shreyas Kelkar.  His death has been at the forefront of our thoughts and actions these past two weeks as we grapple with this tragedy and with the loss we are feeling.

It is times like this when we can truly feel the community spirit as students, staff, parents, and community members banded together to support each other and help those in need find a way to keep moving forward.  Some of us may even find it a bit hard to enjoy the upcoming celebrations and festivities, but one thing that has become evident is the need to not only express how we are feeling but to also find ways to make ourselves happy or to feel comforted.  The holidays bring many traditions and activities that are meant to help us reflect on the entire year, celebrate what we have accomplished, or give us the opportunity to make things better than before.  I invite you to take part in whatever celebrations or traditions you have as you have earned your place at the table.

With school closing for two weeks, I invite you all to take time with your family and your friends to tell them how you appreciate them or what you appreciate about them.  This is also a time to acknowledge your feelings and emotions and to allow yourself the opportunity to work through whatever you are feeling.  I ask that you be mindful of each other and take extra steps to check on friends or family members who may need someone to be there by their side this holiday season.  You may not be able to solve their problems but the act of being there and listening is the important factor in helping us heal. I also hope you take the time to do the things that will recharge your batteries and refill your empty tanks.  We have all done a lot of good work these past five months, and we need to give ourselves credit where credit is due.

I would very much like to thank the Homestead staff for their support and outpouring of care and concern for not only these past two weeks but for the whole semester.  I am also grateful for the parents who have stepped up to offer support, encouragement, and resources to us and to Shreyas’ family.  I would especially like to thank the Homestead Mental Health Team of Sarah Loyd, Dawn Predium, Shabbie Afshar, Emily Bersaglia, Ellen Lain, Giuliana Chion, Marisa Amezquita, Raquel DeJesus, Wilma Wu, Derek Chan, and Eric Medeiros for their work and guidance.  They have been supported by members of the district mental health team like Nancy Sullivan, Hayley Giniger, and Leila Lurie.  I would also like to acknowledge the support and work of others around the district who have supported us such as Graham Clark, Tom Avvakumovits, Christine Mallery, Denae Nurnberg, Brian Dong, and Rachel Zlotziver.  I would also like to give a huge shout out to Trudy Gross for her dedication and compassion in the organization and application of the care response actions.  I am also indebted to the staff members of The Bill Wilson Center and the Center for Living with Dying who have been on our campus and in our community helping comfort all of us.  Finally, I am thankful and grateful to our entire student body as they have been amazing in their support and swift in their help.

I look forward to seeing you all again in the new year but until then please have a wonderful holiday break.

Respectfully,

Greg Giglio

November 2022 Principal’s Message -- Gratitude

In a 2021 article from Harvard Health Publishing, the university found that “gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.”  So since we are heading into November and are preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving, I thought I would take some time to show some gratitude and help improve my own mental health at the same time.

People and things that I am grateful for at Homestead High School are . . .

• Being back to “as close to” normal as we can be

• Our teachers who work so hard, provide a high quality education for our students, and who care so deeply about the health and success of our students

• Our counselors who guide and mentor our students towards their post secondary goals

• Our office staff for providing the support and structure we need to effectively run our school

• Our paraprofessionals or instructional aids who work closely with students and staff to provide that extra support on a daily basis

• Our cafeteria staff who have been going like gangbusters since the pandemic and still serve upwards of 1,000 students at brunch and lunch each day

• Our custodial staff for keeping our campus in tip top condition and providing support for our numerous on campus activities

• Our school mental health team comprised of School Based Therapists and School Psychologists who help students, staff, and parents maintain that work/school/life balance

• Our Fall Athletic teams and coaches (Football, Field Hockey, Girls Volleyball, Water Polo, Tennis, and Cross Country) who have displayed sportsmanship both on and off the field, and who have been excellent representatives of our school

• All of our athletic teams and coaches as they begin the winter season and prepare for the spring one!

• Our outstanding advisors and volunteers who support our over 90 student clubs on campus

• Our student leaders -- whether in ASB, Clubs or Athletic Team Captains -- who proudly represent our school by being role models and exemplars of excellence

• Our district office administration who provide innumerable resources and opportunities for us to improve and grow as educators

• To our school board members for being our compass and for supporting us at every step

• To the community members who have supported our bond measures so that our campuses are more up to date and energy efficient than ever before

• To our alumni who over the past 60 years have helped us build Homestead into the amazing place that it is and who have then helped make the world a better place after they have graduated

• And finally for each and every one of our students as they are the reasons we do what we do!

I have changed the Parent/Student survey for November, so please take a look at the new one and send in your questions, concerns, ideas, suggestions, shout outs, and recognitions so that I can review or address them in the weekly video message.

I hope that you and your family get time to rest, relax, and show each other some gratitude as we start the holiday season.  And here is looking forward to all that is still to come this year.

With Gratitude,

Greg Giglio

Homestead Principal

Dear Homestead,

As the saying goes, “the only constant is change” so we continue to adapt and move with the times.  As I have mentioned in several other places, we are losing two valued members of our administrative team as they transition to new positions at the district office.  Brian Dong is leaving after 10 years on our campus to take over as Alternative Education Assistant Principal where he will be working with the Educational Options program and overseeing academic recovery programs such as Eighth Block and Summer School.  Toby Mockler, our Facility Manager, has been with us for five years and is taking on the new position of District Office Facility Manager to oversee the new district office, educational options, and adult ed campuses.  We wish both of them all the best as they continue to serve students in the Fremont Union High School District.

I am happy to announce that Paula Mockler will be returning to Homestead after a nine year absence as the Interventions Assistant Principal.  Paula started with us as a classified instructional aide in the Special Education Department while she was earning her teaching credential.  She was hired at Cupertino in their Special Education department to teach science until taking over at Fremont High School as the Department Chair for their Special Education program.  She was then hired as a Dean of Students at Fremont, setting the stage for her return to Homestead.  Her new duties will include interventions, COVID Designee, CAASPP and SAT testing as well as others.  She will be supported by Lisa Fisher.

Susan Rocha, who started at our campus this year as the interventions AP, will be assuming the duties of the Athletics/Activities Assistant Principal.  Susan will be supported by Liz Angel.

Just to give you an overview of the entire team, here is a chart to guide you:

Name:	Title:	Supported by:
Greg Giglio	Principal	Tricia Crane, Executive Assistant
Terri Hannigan	Guidance Assistant Principal	Cori Esquivel, AP Secretary
Susan Rocha	Athletics/Activities Assistant Principal	Liz Angel, AP Secretary
Paula Mockler	Interventions Assistant Principal	Lisa Fisher, AP Secretary
Anthony Nguyen	Dean of Students
Maria Trejo	Dean of Students
TBD	Facility Manager

For more specific details about duties and responsibilities please refer to the revised admin duties chart or alphabetical resource list

We have interviewed candidates for the Facilities Manager position and have narrowed down a potential candidate but are waiting for the process to finalize before we announce the new manager so stay tuned.

No matter who is on our administrative team, our goals remain the same.  We are looking to provide a rigorous educational experience for ALL students so that each and every one can realize their post-secondary goals and dreams in a safe and nurturing environment that is guided by staff, students and family input.  Our administrative team will accomplish these goals by building strong and positive connections with our students, families, staff, and community partners.  We also seek to provide appropriate and supportive resources for our students who are struggling or at-risk by promoting an equitable and anti-racist environment.  These are lofty goals but with our amazing students, dedicated staff, and devoted parents we know that Homestead is a great place to learn and work.

Meanwhile, we are also excited to be heading into Homecoming week on October 3rd through 7th.  We have a week full of spirited events so please encourage your students to get involved and come out to enjoy our daily activities in the quad such as Jersey Day/Sports on Monday, Celebrity Dress Up Day on Tuesday, Plushie Day on Wednesday, Class Theme on Thursday (Freshmen = Toy Story; Sophomores= Smurfs, Juniors = Alvin and the Chipmunks, and Seniors = Despicable Me) and Green and White Day on Friday.   Be sure to come out for the Homestead Parade on Friday immediately after school, which is followed by the Homecoming Festival for students prior to the Homecoming football game vs. Mountain View at 7pm.  

We will introduce our new admin team in an upcoming weekly video message, and in the meantime if you have any questions, concerns, suggestions, ideas, or recognition please be sure to send in a submission to our Parent/Student Survey.

Respectfully,

Greg Giglio

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Espanol:

Querido Homestead,

Quería anunciar varios cambios en nuestro equipo administrativo:

•  Brian Dong se trasladará a la Oficina del Distrito

•  Susan Rocha asumirá muchas de las funciones anteriores de Brian

•  Paula Mockler ha sido contratada como nuestra nueva Subdirector de Intervenciones Académicas

•  Toby Mockler, nuestro Gerente de Instalaciones Escolares, también se trasladará a la Oficina del Distrito

•  Actualmente estamos en el proceso de entrevistar y contratar a un nuevo Gerente de Instalaciones Escolares 

Aquí está una imagen de nuestro nuevo equipo:

Nombre:	Títiulo:	Con el apoyo de:
Greg Giglio	Director	Tricia Crane, Asistente Ejecutiva
Terri Hannigan	Subdirector de Orientación Académica	Cori Esquivel Secretaria del Subdirector
Susan Rocha	Subdirector de Deportes/Actividades	Liz Angel Secretaria del Subdirector
Paula Mockler	Subdirector de Intervenciones Académicas	Lisa Fisher Secretaria del Subdirector
Anthony Nguyen	Decano de Estudiantes
Maria Trejo	Decano de Estudiantes
Por determinar	Gerente de las Instalaciones Escolares

Para detalles más específicos sobre los deberes y responsabilidades por favor refiérase a la tabla de deberes administrativos o a la lista de recursos en orden alfabético 

Presentaremos a nuestro nuevo equipo de administración en un mensaje de video semanal, y mientras tanto, si tiene alguna pregunta, preocupación, sugerencia, idea o reconocimiento, por favor, asegúrese de llenar el formulario de la encuesta en: Encuesta de Padres/Estudiantes.

Respetuosamente,

Greg Giglio
_____________________________________________________________________________________

親愛的 Homestead，

我想宣佈幾項我們的行政團隊改變：

·  布萊恩·董/ Brian Dong 將轉到學區辦公室

·  蘇珊·羅查/Susan Rocho 將擔承布萊恩大部份職責

·  寶拉. 莫克勒/Paula Mockler 已被聘為我們新任助理校長

·  托比·莫克勒/ Toby Mockler，我們的總務經理，也將轉到學區辦公室, 我們目前正在面試招聘一名新的總務經理

以下是我們的新團隊展望：

姓名:	職稱:	助理/秘書:
Greg Giglio 葛雷克. 紀理歐	Principal 校長	Tricia Crane/ Executive Assistant 翠珊. 可雷亞/行政助理
Terri Hannigan  泰莉. 漢尼根	Guidance Assistant Principal 教務助理校長	Cori Esquivel/ AP Secretary 可麗. 雅斯科維佛/秘書
Susan Rocha 蘇珊·羅查	Athletics/Activities Assistant Principal 體育/活動助理校長	Liz Angel/ AP Secretary 麗紫. 安卓/秘書
Paula Mockler 寶拉. 莫克勒	Interventions Assistant Principal 調解仲裁干預事務助理校長	Lisa Fisher/ AP Secretary 莉莎. 費雪/秘書
Anthony Nguyen 安東尼. 阮	Dean of Students 訓導處主任
Maria Trejo 瑪麗亞. 崔亞何	Dean of Students 訓導處主任
TBD 尚未定案	Facility Manager 總務經理

有關更多具體的職責細節，請參閱行政管理職責修訂圖表  revised admin duties chart 或按字母順序排列的資源清單 alphabetical resource list

我們會在即將到來的每周視頻消息中介紹我們新的管理團隊，同時，如果您有任何問題，顧慮，建議，想法或認許，請踴躍提交家長/學生調查問卷  Parent/Student Survey。

葛雷克. 紀理歐/ Greg Giglio 謹上，

亲爱的 Homestead，

我想宣布几项我们的行政团队改变：

·  布莱恩·董/ Brian Dong 将转到学区办公室

·  苏珊·罗查/Susan Rocho 将担承布莱恩大部份职责 宝拉.

·  莫克勒/Paula Mockler 已被聘为我们新任助理校长

·  托比·莫克勒/ Toby Mockler，我们的总务经理，也将转到学区办公室， 我们目前正在面试招聘一名新的总务经理

以下是我们的新团队展望：

姓名:	职称:	助理/秘书:
Greg Giglio 葛雷克. 纪理欧	Principal 校长	Tricia Crane/ Executive Assistant 翠珊. 可雷亚/行政助理
Terri Hannigan  泰莉. 汉尼根	Guidance Assistant Principal 教务助理校长	Cori Esquivel/ AP Secretary 可丽. 雅斯科维佛/秘书
Susan Rocha 蘇珊·羅查	Athletics/Activities Assistant Principal 体育/活动助理校长	Liz Angel/ AP Secretary 丽紫. 安卓/秘书
Paula Mockler 宝拉. 莫克勒	Interventions Assistant Principal 调解仲裁干预事务助理校长	Lisa Fisher/ AP Secretary 莉莎. 費雪/秘书
Anthony Nguyen 安东尼. 阮	Dean of Students 训导处主任
Maria Trejo 玛丽亚. 崔亚何	Dean of Students 训导处主任
TBD 尚未定案	Facility Manager 总务经理

有关更多具体的职责细节，请参阅行政管理职责修订图表  revised admin duties chart  或按字母顺序排列的资源清单 alphabetical resource list

我们会在即将到来的每周视频消息中介绍我们新的管理团队，同时，如果您有任何问题，顾虑，建议，想法或认许，请踊跃提交家长/学生调查问卷  Parent/Student Survey 。 

葛雷克. 纪理欧/ Greg Giglio 谨上，

Dear Homestead,

It’s never too early to start talking about keeping students and staff safe at schools.  Afterall, a major factor in student learning is helping them feel safe from the moment they step on campus until they return to your doorstep at the end of the day.  This is a monumental task, but one that we take very seriously.

This year, the HHS Deans and I along with other admin team members from the various high schools in our district, took part in an all day virtual training with the Sandy Hook Promise team.  This group was organized after the horrible tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary and has been working with law enforcement and schools to provide training, tools, and programs to support a healthy and safe environment.  This was followed by an exercise that the district participated in with the city of Cupertino to practice and refine our Incident Command System in the event of an emergency.  We also discussed the Incident Command System at our district retreat and will review our practices throughout the year.  

At our August Staff Development days before school, the entire staff went through a review of our emergency procedures which was facilitated by our two school resource officers, Deputy Patel and Deputy Bui.  We have also moved up our fire drill and run/hide/defend drills to September 2nd and September 7th respectively.  During these first two weeks of school, teachers and staff will be reviewing emergency protocols with each class period so that everyone is prepared and aware of our procedures.  Speaking of Resource Officers, we are glad to partner with both Sunnyvale and Santa Clara Sheriffs who provide us resource officers to help support the needs of our students and staff.  They do not have offices on our campus but are on call and drop by from time to time.  These officers are specially trained to work with students and truly enjoy getting to know them and helping to build positive relationships with them and their families.  

While it is great to be prepared to react in an emergency, the experts agree that the best way to be prepared is to build proper prevention strategies among staff and students.  As part of the Sandy Hook Promise presentation, we will be refining our threat assessment tools and procedures so that we can use early detection signs to provide support and resources when students, staff, or parents are in need.  This is also where our Student Safety Report and Wellness Check forms on our website can be extremely useful.  Look for the diamond shaped rainbow Mustang symbol to click on and start filling out these reports when you have an issue or see something concerning.  These reports go directly to the Deans who will begin assessing or investigating.

Our Wellness Check forms can also be found on our website under the Student Portal (scroll down the list of buttons and inks on the right side of the page).  These forms are for students or parents to ask for support or check-ins from our School Based Therapist.  

Another part of our training comes from the state who mandates certain trainings every year such as suicide prevention or child abuse protection.  Every staff member on campus, including coaches and volunteers are mandated reporters who go through this training and are made aware of their responsibilities in reporting suspected abuse and neglect, as well as how to respond to potential suicidal thoughts and ideations from students.  Even from the start of employment, each employee and volunteer must go through a background check that includes fingerprinting through the Department of Justice.  If anything comes up in the check, the individual is not hired and is permanently banned from employment in the district.  After being employed, any issue that comes up will be reported to the district so that the appropriate actions can be taken.

Our campus does not allow unannounced visitors or permit non-students to walk around campus during the school day. To keep everyone safe, visitors must check in to the front office and receive a visitor’s pass.  Along those lines, you may be asked to show an id such as a driver’s license when picking up your student as a means of precaution.  Staff have access to a form where they can input the names, dates, times, and places for a visitor which helps the front desk keep track of who is here and how many passes are out.  Any adult or unfamiliar youth not wearing a visitor’s pass will be stopped and directed to either leave campus or to check in properly.  If you are coming to campus without an appointment, please check in at the office and do not wander around campus.  With our current gates and fencing, we block access from the North side (the front facing Homestead Ave) by closing and locking those gates after morning drop off, so the only way to access the campus is from the student lot or through the office.  Please do not prop open gates as they are equipped with crash bars to allow for easy exit in the event of an emergency but remain locked to the outside.  Security cameras are in operation throughout the campus with signs posted at every entrance.  The cameras are not constantly monitored but are used to go back to review incidents or accusations.  Video is kept for 30 days unless we save for a specific reason.

Building positive relationships with and among students is another key aspect of prevention.  Starting with our Homestead Orientation Program (HOP) we look for ways to get to know your students and provide support and guidance as needed.  One way we do this is through our advisory program where we have monthly whole campus educational experiences that help our students get to know each other, challenge their biases, and develop skills and habits that will help them now and throughout their lives.  We have also increased opportunities for social emotional learning in classrooms and during the tutorial period where we offer students space to practice helpful strategies such as mindfulness, breathing techniques, or coping strategies.  I am also very excited to be offering mental wellness resources for our staff throughout the year where they can participate in one on one coaching sessions or group restorative circles with a local mental health provider.  Our staff constantly looks for ways to personalize the learning experience, and encourage your students to get involved and to participate in the many amazing resources and activities we have on campus at Homestead.  Finally, every adult on campus is here to be a resource for students, so no matter what your question or issue is, we know that you can turn to any adult to ask for help.  If they can’t help you directly, they will help you find the person who can.

During the first week of school we held two “closed” tutorials where students stayed in their current period and watched a series of videos about the staff, resources, and expectations of our campus.  If you have the time and are interested in learning a little bit more about Homestead, please watch the following videos:

• GSS Guidance & Student Services (8 minutes) https://youtu.be/9oEEjyl3auc
• Cafeteria Procedures (3 minutes) https://youtu.be/pZPFAht8Gb4
• Construction Safety (3 minutes) https://youtu.be/umYMqMC1Mrg
• Zero Waste Committee "Stay Green @Homestead" (4:05 minutes) https://youtu.be/_yBX3i9l0jY
• Mustang Community Commitments & Attendance (11:29 minutes) https://youtu.be/C6qsFhSKLOk
• Tutorial Expectations (5:08 minutes) https://youtu.be/T2I1FqnoOEg

If you have questions, concerns, or needs regarding student safety I would invite you to contact me or the deans with your questions.  You can email me at greg_giglio@fuhsd.org and the deans at maria_trejo@fuhsd.org or anthony_nguyen@fuhsd.org.  I would also encourage you to participate in sending me general questions, suggestions, ideas, etc. through the weekly parent/student survey.  I use your submissions to fill my weekly video messages that go out with the weekly blast.

Thank you for doing your part in helping keep our students and staff safe.

Greg Giglio

~

Querido Homestead,

Nunca es demasiado pronto para empezar a hablar de la seguridad de los alumnos y del personal de los centros escolares.  Después de todo, un factor importante en el aprendizaje de los estudiantes es ayudarles a sentirse seguros desde el momento en que pisan la escuela  hasta que regresan a su casa al final del día.  Se trata de una tarea monumental, pero que nos tomamos muy en serio.

Aquí hay un breve resumen de la formación y los protocolos que utilizamos para mantener a todos seguros:

Asistimos a una presentación de la organización Sandy Hook Promise sobre la evaluación de amenazas

Participamos en una formación con la ciudad de Cupertino sobre la preparación para emergencias

Capacitación de todo el personal el 18 de agosto en nuestros procedimientos de emergencia

Programamos un simulacro de incendio para el 2 de septiembre y un simulacro de correr y esconderse para el 7 de septiembre para toda la escuela

Trabajamos estrechamente con oficiales especialmente entrenados de Sunnyvale y Cupertino

Proporcionamos recursos como nuestro Informe de Seguridad Estudiantil y Formularios de Registro de Bienestar donde los estudiantes y los padres pueden proporcionarnos información con respecto a las preocupaciones

Todo el personal participa en la formación obligatoria sobre la prevención del abuso sexual y la prevención del suicidio durante las primeras 6 semanas de la escuela

Todos los empleados son examinados por Recursos Humanos antes de ser contratados

Todos los visitantes están obligados a registrarse en la oficina y a llevar una tarjeta de visitante cuando están en el campus

Las puertas están cerradas desde el exterior para evitar visitantes no deseados, pero permiten a los estudiantes y al personal salir rápidamente en caso de emergencia.

El personal busca construir relaciones positivas con y entre los estudiantes a través de la orientación, los programas de asesoramiento y tutoría, y a través de las prácticas en el aula

Si tiene preguntas, preocupaciones o necesidades relacionadas con la seguridad de los estudiantes, le invito a que se ponga en contacto conmigo o con los decanos para plantear sus preguntas.  Pueden enviarme un correo electrónico a greg_giglio@fuhsd.org y a los decanos  maria_trejo@fuhsd.org o anthony_nguyen@fuhsd.org.  También les invito a que participen enviándome preguntas generales, sugerencias, ideas, etc. a través de la encuesta semanal de padres y alumnos.  Yo uso sus propuestas para completar mis mensajes de vídeo semanales que se envían con la difusión semanal.

Gracias por hacer su parte para ayudar a mantener a nuestros estudiantes y personal seguro.

Greg Giglio

~

親愛的 Homestead，

談論在學校如何保護學生和教職員工的安全是個永遠不會太早的話題。 畢竟幫助學生從踏入校園那一刻起有安全感，直到在一天結束回到家門口是學生學習的一個主要因素。 這是一項艱巨的任務，但我們非常重視這項任務。

以下是我們將使用來確保每個人安全的培訓和草案的簡潔摘要：

·        出席參加桑迪胡克承諾組織/ Sandy Hook Promise Organization 有關威脅評估的演講

·        參加了與庫比蒂諾市/City of Cupertino 舉行的應急準備培訓

·        8月18日對全體員工進行了應急程序培訓

·        定於9月2日進行消防演習，9月7日 全校舉行“奔跑隱藏防禦”/ Run Hide Defend 演習

·        與來自桑尼維爾/Sunnyvale 和庫比蒂諾/Cupertino 經過專門培訓的警員密切合作

·        提供我們的學生安全報告和心理健康檢查表等資源，學生和家長可以向我們提供相關疑問和顧慮的資料

·        全體員工在開學6周內參加預防性虐和預防自殺的強制性培訓

·        所有員工在被雇用之前都經過人力資源部門的篩選

·        所有訪客在校內均須先到辦公室辦理登記手續並佩戴訪客證

·        大門從外面鎖上，以防止不速之客，但允許學生和教職員工在緊急情況下迅速離開

·        員工希望通過新生訓練，諮詢和輔導計劃，以及自習課和課上實習與學生, 並且學生彼此之間，建立積極的關係

如果您對學生安全有疑慮或需求，我邀請您聯繫我或主任，並提出您的問題。我的電子郵件 greg_giglio@fuhsd.org  或 主任 maria_trejo@fuhsd.org  以及  anthony_nguyen@fuhsd.org。  我還鼓勵您透過每周的家長/學生調查參與/ the weekly parent/student survey 向我發送一般問題，建議，想法等。 我會使用您的提交資訊作為我每周視頻消息，這些訊息會與每周爆破/Blast 一起送出。

感謝您為保護我們的學生和教職員工的安全盡自己的一份力量。

Greg Giglio

Dear Homestead,

Welcome to the 2022-2023 school year, the 60th anniversary of our first year of operation!  Homestead High School opened up to Juniors only in the 1962-1963 school year, and this class went on to become the first graduating class of 1964.  We have had an amazing 60 year run as our students and staff have helped to change the world in a variety of ways.  We look forward to welcoming our newest students from the class of 2026 to continue our tradition of excellence.  Whether it is in the classroom, on the athletic fields, in the performing arts, or through our outstanding extracurricular clubs like Future Business Leaders of America, Robotics, Speech and Debate, or any other of our over 70 student run clubs; Homestead is a great place to learn and work.

I would also like to welcome these new staff members to our Homestead family:

• Luis Barbeito -- World Language, Spanish
• Melanie Biddle -- ACT Teacher, Resource Department
• Alana Caires -- English
• Guilana Chion -- School Psychologist
• Chris Grossman -- Math
• Kaede Hamilton, Resource Department
• Damaris Llamas -- Attendance Clerk (starting 9/2)
• Eric Medeiros -- Guidance Counselor for students Ve-Z, split with FHS
• Trevor Patton -- Paraeducator
• Susan Rocha -- Assistant Principal
• Javier Valdez -- Paraeducator
• Rosalie Walton -- Guided Studies Intervention Program Assistant
• Ying Zhao -- Cafeteria

Guidance counselor added!  I am very excited to report that we have added a 5th counselor to our Guidance team.  We have added a part time counselor to both Homestead and Fremont High Schools, so we will be sharing Eric Medeiros with our Firebird friends.  Eric will serve students with the last names of Ve-Z and move between our two campuses with a regular schedule.  You can find Eric in the afternoons on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays and all day on Wednesdays (on Fridays he will be all day at Fremont).

COVID protocols for 22-23:  As we continue to live with COVID 19, we continue to look for ways to keep you, your students, and our staff as safe as possible.  While the virus is here to stay, we are moving back to “normal” as best as possible.  Masks are not required but are encouraged when indoors.  We would also encourage you to be as up to date on your vaccinations.  All events will revert to in person as allowable. Each site can and will provide at-home rapid antigen testing, and we would encourage everyone to test before returning to school this year.  We continue to ask you to keep your student home if they are not feeling well or are experiencing symptoms.  We are still committed to providing maximum fresh filtered air into the classrooms and continue to prioritize the servicing and maintenance of our HVAC systems.  All units are operational and are fitted with merv-13 air filters.  Brian Dong continues to be our COVID designee so if you have any questions or concerns, you can contact him for help (brian_dong@fuhsd.org).

Construction Update:  The A Building is on schedule to be completed, and staff will begin moving in starting August 8th. The building looks great, and we look forward to welcoming staff and students to this thoroughly modernized building.  The A, as well as B, C, and L, buildings are some of the original structures from when we opened 60 years ago.  To give us another 60 years, the A Building was completely renovated (all the way down to the cinder block walls) with new seismic upgrades, windows, HVAC units, plumbing, electrical, and technology.  The B Building is now being given the same treatment and is offline until the Summer of 2023.  Please be aware of the fencing around the B building and leading out to both the Staff and Student lots.  With the recent passage of Measure G (thank you everyone!) we will also be looking to upgrade the C and L Buildings as well as modernizing the Science Building.  When the construction trucks move out after the B Building is complete, we will also be laying in a new library quad area too.  

Here are a few other pieces of information that will be helpful for a successful start of the school year:

Important Opening of School Dates:

• Homestead Orientation Program or ‘HOP’ Wednesday, August 9th.  Freshmen and all new students to Homestead High School are encouraged to participate  

• Parent Orientation Day or ‘POP’ will be held virtually on Wednesday, August 9thth from 6:00 to 7:30 pm so that we can take you through expectations for the year and answer your questions as you meet the Homestead staff and administration 

• Round-Up will be held on Monday, August 15th and Tuesday, August 16th  

• First day of School is August 22nd

• Back to School Night – Will be held in-person on Wednesday, September 7th

Here is also a quick at a glance view of important dates for the entire 22-23 school year:

• August 22 First Day of School 
• September 6 Labor Day - no classes 
• October 17 Teacher Work Day - no classes 
• November 11 Veterans Day - no classes 
• November 24 & 25 Thanksgiving Break no classes 
• Dec. 23 Teacher Work Day - no classes 
• Dec. 23 - Jan. 6 Mid-Year Break - no classes 
• January 9 School Resumes - 2nd Semester 
• January 16 Martin Luther King Day - no classes 
• February 20 - 24 Presidents’ Week - no classes 
• March 13 Teacher Work Day - no classes 
• April 17 - 21 Spring Break - no classes 
• May 29 Memorial Day - no classes 
• June 8 Last day of school year/Graduation

Bell Schedule:  We have a new bell schedule that complies with the recently enacted California law that high school classes shall start no earlier than 8:30am.  It looks very similar to our previous schedules with a few minor changes:  our “skinny day” where all classes meet is returning to Monday with Tuesdays/Thursdays as block days for periods 1, 2, 3, and 7; and Wednesdays/Fridays as block days for periods 4, 5, and 6.  Each day starts at 8:30 (no more staggered late starts) but there are different ending times based on those skinny and block days.  There are still three tutorials now located on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. CLICK HERE for the printable bell schedules.

Here is the new schedule:

Weekly Video Messages/Parent Survey:  One good thing that I will continue from the pandemic is the weekly video messages supplied with content from the Parent/Student Survey.  Use the survey to send in questions, comments, concerns, and suggestions as well as send in shout outs and recognitions for staff and students.  You may send in as many submissions as you wish, and I will answer your questions and respond to comments and suggestions in the video messages as well as bring in “guest stars” to help me keep you up to date and informed about our school.

Our staff has been hard at work this summer improving lesson plans, coordinating curriculum, and creating relevant and rigorous content to keep your students engaged and learning at the highest levels.  We look forward to a landmark 60th anniversary year with you and your students!

Greg Giglio

Homestead Principal