By Jennifer Osborn
Do you remember how crazy it was trying to plan your future as a teenager? If you do, you won’t be surprised that our students want to hear about the college, career, and life experiences from you, our alumni and members of our community. You’ve been here and done it. So your journey and expertise is real, relevant and authentic information that students want to hear. Speaking to students for just one hour can provide powerful insight, inspiration and motivation that they can make it too.
We are partnering with Alumni Toolkit to create an alumni and community advocate program focused on helping our students and programs succeed. Here’s how it works.
First, go to Alumnitoolkit.org. When you sign up, choose your schools — your home high school and any others you’d like to help. You can offer to help in a variety of ways. It can be as little as sharing your college or career experiences to a class or group of students, helping with student and class projects that match your career interests, or you can choose to go deeper as a tutor or mentor. It’s up to you. Next, you’ll be asked to complete a short college and career background profile so educators can match you with their program and student needs. It’s easy and rewarding to be a real-life influencer for students walking in your shoes. Come back and be the relatable adult you needed when you were in high school — once or once a month!
Highlander Open Golf Tournament
Come have a great day of golf, fun and food while helping to support local youth. The Highlander Open Golf Tournament will be held on Friday, June 7, at Carlton Oaks Country Club (Santee). Fees include cart and green fees, tournament gifts and range balls. Other opportunities include hole-in-one car and prizes, pre-tournament putting and short-game contests, closest-to-the-pin and long-drive contests, team awards and dinner.
Helix High School has been serving the families of La Mesa since 1952. The Helix High School Foundation gives back to the school by funding educational scholarships and educational programs that further the school’s mission of college prep and readiness for all. The golf tournament is our primary fundraiser each year and proceeds go to our scholarship fund. Register online at helixhighschoofoundation.com.
Performing arts calendar
Dance Concert ‘Musical Mixtape’ – May 3 and 4, 7 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $7 presale, $10 at the door. (Presale tickets can be purchased at ticketleap.com. Pricing ends 12 hours before each show. Cash only at the door.)
Instrumental Music Pops Concert – May 9 and 10, 7 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $10.
Vocal Music Spring Cabaret – May 14, 15, and 16, 7 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $10.
Spring achievements
The Advanced Sports Medicine program participated in a competition, challenging six other schools from around the county. The students came away with a second-place finish.
The speech and debate team qualified 12 students to the national championships in Dallas in June. The team also won the top sweepstakes prize in the speech division.
Five Helix teams participated in the regional competition for Mathematics, Engineering, and Science Achievement (MESA). Two of the teams received medals, and one will continue to the state competition at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in May.
The Colorguard took second place in the Winter Guard Association of Southern California Championships.
The boys’ swim and dive team took first place in the league championships meet, and the girls’ team took third place. The overall combined score was good enough for second in the league.
The boys’ track and field team defeated Steele Canyon, handing them their first league loss since 2010.
Judges needed for Senior Boards
Community members are invited to participate as judges for upcoming Senior Boards. All Helix seniors must complete the Senior Project, which entails creating a product, coordinating an event, planning a performance, or providing an actual service that has been designed by them. The final phase of the Senior Project is Senior Boards, which provide an opportunity for our students to shine and to feel a sense of accomplishment as they demonstrate their knowledge and skills to their community.
Senior Boards will take place on Tuesday, May 28, and Wednesday, May 29, from noon–4 p.m. Community members are welcome to participate in either or both dates. Please contact me at [email protected] to confirm your participation.
The Senior Project is just one example of Helix’s ongoing efforts to provide graduates with the tools necessary to succeed in their future endeavors, whether it is college, full-time employment, trade school, or the military.
Excellence in Education
If you are interested in finding out more about Helix Charter High School, please attend one of our Excellence in Education tours, held twice monthly. The tours for May are May 2 at 5:30 p.m. and May 17 at 8:10 a.m. Reserve your spot using our website, helixcharter.net.
As always, we welcome your input. Please don’t hesitate to contact me at [email protected].
— Jennifer Osborn writes on behalf of Helix Charter High School.
