Holiday Stress and Student Support Services - As we enter the holiday season, it's important to remember that the holidays can be both joyous and stressful for many students and families. College application deadlines, family holiday expectations, and semester finals can add additional layers of stress for students with an already challenging schedule. Fortunately, M-A has a variety of Student Support and Counseling Services that can help students navigate through these strenuous times. Through our partnership with Starvista, a local non-profit organization, M-A provides on-campus counseling and prevention/intervention services that support our students' social-emotional wellbeing. Additionally, our Student Support Center offers case management, brief intervention counseling, bilingual parent outreach, and referrals to off-site agencies. Guidance counselors are also a primary source of support and can assist students and families with referrals. All of these helpful services are available to M-A students on a daily basis. Parents are encouraged to contact us with any questions.

Student Support Services

Miki Cristerna, MFT, Student Support Coordinator, mcristerna@seq.org

Starvista School Based Counseling Program

Matt Cusick, StarVista Site Coordinator, matt.cusick@star-vista.org

Bilingual Parent Outreach

Lilly Quinonez, Bilingual Parent Coordinator, lquinonez@seq.org

Guidance Counselors

Silvia Torres Garza, sgarza@seq.org

Lara Sandora, lsandora@seq.org

Karina Escobar-Weaver, keweaver@seq.org

Laura Duran, lduran@seq.org

Francine Andrade, fandrade@seq.org

Jason Kubo, jkubo@seq.org

 M-A Holiday Gift Drive- 

Canned Food Drive 2014:  Ready, Set, Can! - The annual canned food drive has begun! To help alleviate hunger and draw attention to the hunger problem in our midst, the Leadership class coordinates an annual, award winning canned-food drive. This year M-A is again partnering with Second Harvest Food Bank (SHFB). The food drive is an opportunity for the M-A community to rally around San Mateo County residents struggling to provide food for their families. According to SHFB, one in four people in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties are at risk for hunger. Many of them are children, and some are our neighbors and classmates. 

Here are ways that you can help: 

• When shopping for your family, please add a few extra cans to your cart and drop them into the SHFB barrels. M-A students will hand out a list of most-needed items.
• Consider donating online at SHFB. Enter 'Menlo-Atherton' in the Food Drives search box so that your gift can be credited to the M-A outreach effort. 
• Encourage your student to conduct food drives in your neighborhood.
• Sign up for canning. Students do not have to be in the Leadership class to participate. Sign up in room B-21, or contact Mr. Amoroso at mamoroso@seq.org or Mr. Senigaglia at jsenigaglia@seq.org. 

If you would like to receive food, please leave a message on an M-A voicemail at 650-322-5311, ext. 50250. Questions can be directed to Lori Cohen and Paula Rash at feedourfamilies@mabearspta.org. Thank you for joining the fight against hunger!

Seniors: Important Information About Financial Aid - To help as many students as possible qualify for Cal Grants (free money from the state of California for students who plan to attend any type of college in California), the district has implemented a method for district-wide submission of a crucial form called the GPA Verification Form (GPA VF). Qualification for a Cal Grant is based on a combination of two factors: family financial information as reported on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the student's Cal Grant GPA (unweighted GPA for 10th and 11th grades not including PE). The California Student Aid Commission (CSAC), which processes applications for Cal Grants, must receive both the FAFSA from the student/family and the GPA VF from the high school to calculate eligibility for a Cal Grant. CSAC now permits "Non-SSN Submission," which means that student GPAs can be submitted without a Social Security number. Instead, each school or district sends the Cal Grant GPA along with other identifying information from the district's Student Information System. All schools in our district will participate in the non-SSN submission.

To opt out of the process, families can make a request to Alice Kleeman (AKleeman@gmail.com). There is no compelling reason to opt out, since families that choose not to apply for financial aid will be unaffected if the student's GPA is submitted. CSAC will process Cal Grant applications only for students who submit both a FAFSA and a GPA VF. If they receive one but not the other, they will not review the student for a Cal Grant. Submission of student information will NOT include a Social Security number, and submission takes place through a secure web site. With the knowledge that sending this information will not have any negative impact on any student, please let Alice Kleeman know no later than Thursday, January 15 (in writing) if you wish to opt out of the GPA VF.

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Go Bears. Grrrr!

Thank you from the BearNotes Staff: Cindy Butler, Dianne Child, Pam Fernandes, Sue Olson, Jenny Pont, Kelly Stewart, and Bobbie Wood