Hopefully you and your student(s) have settled into the new school year and are taking advantage of all the activities and events offered at Foothill. It was great to see so many parents at Back-to-School night and we hope you enjoyed the refreshments provided by the PTO. We took the opportunity that night to talk about the three main elements of PTO's role:

• Information - we strive to keep parents up-to-date with school events through our PTO meetings, Roundtable newsletter (thanks for reading!), Edline messages, and PTO Directory.

• Recognition and Appreciation - we recognize student achievement at Honor Roll Socials,   Order of the Knight lunches, Academic Awards of Excellence, and Senior Awards. We show our appreciation for our wonderful Foothill teachers at the luncheons we organize for Back-to-School, the holidays, and Day of the Teacher.

• Support - we provide the people power (unpaid labor!) wherever and whenever it is needed on campus. We provide financial support for student events such as Battle of the Bands, Mock Trial teams, and math tutoring.

Your $30 membership fee not only helps pay for all of the programs mentioned above and more, but it also entitles you to an all-school directory - so please join the PTO! Click Here for Membership Form.

Jo Hodgetts and Kerry Racanelli, Co-PTO Presidents

Yep, Oct 1, 8 and 29. Why do we have Late Starts?

• Teachers benefit - it allows them the opportunity to meet together for staff development,  department meetings, etc.
• Students benefit - better prepared teachers means better learning experiences for students. Plus, students can sleep in, and that's good for their bodies, minds, and grades.  

How it works: First (1st) period will begin at 9:29 a.m. sharp for all students. Zero (0) period is cancelled for the Fall Semester ONLY on Late Start Days. Sixth (6th) period will end at the regular time, 2:48 p.m.

Note: Nov 26 will also be Late Start. For Late Start dates click here for schedule  (page 2 is Fall Semester), but note, schedule is tentative, it may change! Check FHS website for updates. 

• Oct. 19th is FHS' annual Feast & Joust. This will be students' opportunity to support  Foothill clubs that will be selling snacks to raise money for their various philanthropic organizations.
• The Homecoming Game will be held on Oct. 19th at the Northrop Stadium at 7pm, at which the Homecoming Queen will be crowned.
• Foothill is getting ready for its first dance of the year! ...

 "A Knight on Mt. Olympus: A Greek Homecoming" tickets will be on sale Sept. 27th - Oct. 17th, and will increase in price weekly, so buy your tickets asap (ticket prices click here).  The dance will be the following day from 8-11pm in the Foothill Quad. Please Note: A parent/guardian signed permission slip is required for each student, and an additional slip (side two of permission slip) is needed when FHS students wish to bring a Non-FHS student to the dance. Click here for dance permission slip.   

For those of you who are new to Foothill or whose children haven't participated in the school dances before, we thought you might appreciate a brief guide to the school dances at Foothill. There are 4 dances:

• Homecoming - October 20 - 8pm-11pm
• Winter Formal - January 19 - 8pm-11pm
• Sadies Hawkins - March 16 - 8pm-11pm
• Prom - April 27 - 8pm-11:30pm

Homecoming takes place on campus. It is a semi-formal dance. Girls generally wear short, cocktail-style dresses, and boys are fine in slacks, shirt and tie (although some may choose to wear a jacket as well, or a suit). The boys ask the girls out for this dance and the current trend is to try to come up with the most creative form of invitation - think clever props with cute messages - delivered at school or to the girl's house.

As the name suggests, Winter Formal is a little more formal. The girls wear short or long dresses and most of the boys are in tuxedos or suits. For this dance, the girls invite the boys to be their date and they also try to find a cute way to deliver that invitation. Typically the dance has taken place off-campus but this year it will be in the Foothill Event Center.

Sadies Hawkins is probably the most informal of the four dances. Each year there is a different theme and students dress in costume based on the theme. This dance also takes place at Foothill.

Prom is reserved for Seniors and Juniors only and is the most formal and elaborate of the dances. It is held off-campus at a hotel or other venue.

A few general tips that might help with preparations for the dances:

• Generally speaking if your child goes to the dance with a date, the person who invites the date buys the tickets (usually the boy's family buy for Homecoming and the girl's family buy for Winter Formal)
• Ticket prices go up the closer you get to the date of the dance so buy early!
• It is customary for the girls to wear a flower corsage and the boys to wear a boutonniere. You may want to check on the color of the girl's dress so that you buy flowers that complement it.
• The dances don't start until 8pm and do not include dinner so many families arrange a "pre-party". The couple or group of students might eat together at a restaurant before the dance or one of the families may host a dinner at their home and invite the other parents to help provide the food/beverages for the students.
• Everyone will want to get lots of photos so plan on a "paparazzi moment" at home, at the home of your child's date, or at the "pre-party". In addition, there will be a photographer at the dance location prior to the dance so that you can arrive early to have professional photos taken if you would like.
• Details of ticket prices & dates, photographs and a permission slip will be sent home prior to each dance. Students are required to bring their student ID to show at the door.

We hope you find these tips helpful - the dances are a fun time for the parents as well as the students so enjoy!!

FHS students - want to showcase your musical talents? Well here's your chance. Choir sponsors an "Open Mic Night" three times a year and all students are invited to audition, even those not in choir or band.  Sign up in the choir room to audition asap because auditions are Oct. 4 and 5. Open Mic Night will be Oct 9, 7-9pm.

Measure S would generate approximately $135 million over 30 years to improve local schools by:

• upgrading classroom computers, instructional technology, communication networks
• upgrading tools for career training in science, technology, engineering, math, skilled trades and other fields
• attracting and retaining qualified teachers
• providing modern science labs and equipment at the schools that do not have them

Measure S will be on the Nov. 6th ballot. The cost to property owners would be approximately $19 per $100,000 of assessed value of property in the District. (The rate is based on the assessed value of property, not on market value.)  

Want to help??

• To help get the word out click here.
• To join Al Marzilli and staff at the phone banks on Oct. 25th or 30th, click here.  
• Most importantly, Vote on November 6!!

Measure S information click here               

Incoming freshmen will not use the point system to determine eligibility as they do not have any credits from high school courses. Instead, they will submit their completed application (without the courses & grade section filled out) and a copy of their spring semester middle school report card. They will be considered eligible (for this semester only) if they obtained A's & B's in all of their Middle School classes.

To signup: bring completed application and supplemental application to the Gym at lunchtime from Oct. 1st - 5th. Please note: students must participate in a community service event planned by CSF (see application for choice of dates).   

The first Munch is on Oct. 31st. It's a costume event, breakfast will be served and there will be a hypnotist there to perform. It is located off campus. Tickets are on sale from Sept. 24th until Oct. 5th. A parent/guardian signed permission slip is required.  Click here for Munch details and forms.

• Does your student need information or guidance regarding life after Foothill? Students and parents can visit the Career Center at Foothill. It's a goldmine of information and help. Computers, resources and Mrs. Hermanson are all there to help students find their best fit out of high school, whether it's college or a trade school. Also available is ROP information for students age 16+. Career Center website here. 

Foothill is so fortunate to have a supportive community of volunteers who donate thousands of hours to make our PTO student, staff and parent programs possible. Although we can't thank everyone by name (literally hundreds), we would like to send our heartfelt appreciation and special "kudos" to:

 THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

2012-2013 Contributors Campaign Donors

as of 09/23/12

LIFETIME DONORS

KNIGHT TRUSTEES  

KNIGHT FOUNDERS  

KNIGHT PATRONS

KNIGHT ADVOCATES

KNIGHT SUPPORTERS

   Thank You for Your Commitment to

Excellence in Education

 We strive to correctly list all donors and apologize for any errors. 

Please contact FoothillEducationFoundation@gmail.com with any necessary corrections.