April is Autism Acceptance Month!

Dear HTeX Community,

One of HTeX’s vision statements is to create an environment where the diversity and cultural backgrounds of our students and families are appreciated and represented in our daily curriculum. We strive to acknowledge the important and significant contributions made by all people. As part of our vision for this month, HTeX has been proudly celebrating April’s Autism Acceptance month! 

April is Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month—a great opportunity to celebrate neurodiversity and help students better understand their peers with autism. We’ve selected books, resources and videos about and by autistic people to help our community learn. It is important to emphasize that autism is a spectrum and everyone will present differently. 

Ms. Isabel, HTeX Speech Language Pathologist, and Ms. Beth, HTeX Education Specialist Special Day Program TK-3, collected a few resources for our Community. The following videos and read alouds are linked into different age groups to help share awareness of what Autism is, how to be a good friend and information about Autistic changemakers. We invite you to connect with your student and teacher on these powerful moments of learning and celebration. 

We also have an action step! We'll be making a rainbow infinity sign in the gathering area. Please reach out if you have any questions! We hope these resources help. 

Thank you for your support in fostering an inclusive and inspiring learning environment for all!

With joy and gratitude,

Dr. Melissa

Read Alouds and Videos about Autism

Highlighting Autistic Contributors/Changemakers  

Temple Grandin, The Girl Who Thought In Pictures (Read Aloud) 

Armani Williams, NASCAR driver (Video)

Greta Thunberg, Climate Activist (Interview video)

Satoshi Tajiri, Creator of Pokemon (Video)

Please mark your calendars for the following important dates:

• Mon, April 28: Monthly Monday Morning with Melissa & Brian 8:30am-9:30am @ Gathering Area

• Fri, May 2: No School - Snow Day

• Mon, May 12: Welcome Reception for New Families 4pm-5pm @ Playground

• Mon, May 19: Monthly Monday Morning with Melissa & Brian 8:30am-9:30am @ Gathering Area

• May 27-30: HTeX Spring Exhibition (please see our HTeX Google calendar for grade level specific dates and times)

As technology continues to play an important role in our children’s education and social lives, we want to take a moment to highlight the importance of monitoring your child’s use of technology—both at school and at home.

While the internet offers amazing opportunities for learning and creativity, it also comes with serious risks. Unfiltered access can expose children to inappropriate content, cyberbullying, online predators, and unsafe interactions in chat rooms or on social media platforms. Many of these online spaces are not designed with children in mind and can be unsafe without proper supervision.

Online chat rooms and messaging apps—whether built into games, websites, or social platforms—can seem harmless but often lack the safeguards necessary to protect young users. Strangers can easily make contact, and without careful monitoring, children may unknowingly share personal information or become victims of manipulation or bullying.

It’s also important to remember that elementary-aged children are still developing critical thinking skills, emotional regulation, and impulse control. Their brains are not yet equipped to fully understand the consequences of digital communication—whether through text messages, videos, or social media posts. This can make it incredibly difficult for them to navigate complex social interactions or recognize red flags online.

We encourage you to:

• Set time limits and screen-free times.

• Monitor your child’s devices and talk with them regularly about what they’re doing online.

• Teach them to never share personal information.

• Keep communication open so they feel safe telling you if something makes them uncomfortable.

Here are some helpful resources to support you in creating a safe online environment for your child:

• Common Sense Media

• Netsmartz- Kids

• ConnectSafely

• Stop Bullying

Mental Health Supports for Explorer Students

If your child is experiencing social, emotional, and/or behavioral difficulties that are impacting them at school, wellness check-ins are available to all students as a support. Wellness check-ins can take place as needed throughout the year.

This year we will also work to offer monthly lunch bunches for students struggling to connect with their peers during unstructured times. This support will also be available to all students throughout the year.

If you have any questions about any of these supports please email Ericah Edwards at eedwards@hightechhigh.org.

Let’s continue to work together this school year to create a community that connects all students to the supports that they need and deserve!

Mental Health Supports In-Home + Community

Rady Children's and SDCOE have collaborated to create a webinar series for parents and caregivers that addresses mental health challenges faced by youth. These are a great opportunity for families to connect to resources and have some of their questions answered by clinicians. Some of the topics include bullying, self-harm, and stress/resilience. 

• https://drive.google.com/file/d/12m2SwqAJ4O0C5WPu22eKa0Y7ut6PFoob/view

• https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VII7yBVVSxE56QH-WEA2dZ6JKywQ79oL/view?usp=drive_link

As part of the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative’s (CYBHI) to improve equitable access to mental health support for all young Californians, two free programs — BrightLife Kids and Soluna — were created in partnership with CalHOPE.

• https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wP4-T_E8TLewycrEVwdYIAMbPgexyzMN

Additional Resources:

• Parent Guide to Mental Health and Wellness/ Guia Para Padres de Salud y Bienstar Mental

• Call the National Parent Helpline: 1-855-4A PARENT (1-855-427-2736) to get emotional support from a trained Advocate and become empowered and a stronger parent. They are available Monday through Friday from 10 am to 7 pm

Dear HTeX Community,

As the end of the school year quickly approaches, there are still so many fun events and experiences for our community to enjoy. If you would like to help out or be a part of the planning process, please sign up to volunteer or join a committee on Konstella.

We are also preparing for elections for next year’s Parent Association Council, if you are interested please reach out to Marissa at htexpapresident@gmail.com. Our next PA meeting will be on May 14th at 8:30am in the gathering area, hope to see you there.

• Teacher Appreciation Week= May 5-9

• Field Day= June 4th

• Volunteer appreciation tea= June 6th 2:00-2:45

• 5th grade/ Kinder Promotion= June 11th (set up June 10th)

Best Wishes,

Marissa

(On behalf of the PA)

Friendly Reminders: Absences

While we love to see your children’s smiling faces in school, and regular daily attendance is important to all we do, we do want to remind you to keep students home if they are ill, particularly if they have a fever.

COVID-19 Reminder For Students

• If they are symptomatic, they should be encouraged to test and/or share with parents they should test.

• If they test positive, they should also stay home if they are symptomatic.

• They can return to school when they are also fever-free for 24-hours without the use of fever-reducing medications and other non-fever symptoms are improving.

• If they test positive but are asymptomatic (no fever, and no other symptoms) they can remain at school unless symptoms develop.

• They should be encouraged to wear a mask through Day 10 (masks should be available at the front desk).

Tests

• Everyone can, once again, order four free boxes of COVID-19 tests via USPS. This can be done through this link.

Please continue to communicate with the school if your child will be absent due to illness by contacting Maggie at mfragoso@hightechhigh.org. Please notify Ms. Maggie the day of student absence.

We are looking forward to an exciting school year of learning and want to help keep our community healthy!

HTeX Community Meetings - Call for Presenters

The HTeX Community Meeting is a cherished time for our entire school community to unite, creating a space for collective learning, sharing valuable information, and celebrating the diversity and achievements within our community. It serves as a focal point where students, parents, and educators come together to strengthen the bonds that make our community special.

Our Community Meetings are co-led by our Student Ambassadors and mentor staff, Ms. Nikki, Ms. Clara, and Ms. Destiny! We hold our Community Meetings once a month on the black top.

If you are interested in presenting to our students for our school wide Community Meeting, please complete this form.This is an OUTDOOR event. Presentations will be up to 20 minutes.

We will reach out to you to follow up.

-Ms. Nikki, Ms, Clara, & Ms. Destiny

Author Visit: Wednesday, April 30

Support for Homeless Students and Families

Talent Show - Calling all Performers! 

Dear Families,

We hope everyone is having a wonderful Spring Break! We had such an incredible time during camp and are so grateful to everyone who helped make it special.

Throughout the week, campers got creative with fun and colorful art projects, cheered on the Padres at an exciting game (Go Padres—they won!), and picked up new skills on the tennis court thanks to our amazing instructor, Tony. Whether they were brand new to the sport or already had some experience, everyone had a blast learning and playing together.

We ended the week on a high note with a popsicle and pizza party—two of our favorite things! But what truly made this camp unforgettable was the connection between students and staff from both HTeX and HTe. It was so heartwarming to watch new friendships form, teams collaborate, and everyone come together with joy and teamwork to make the week so successful.

We can’t wait for more fun to come!

The After School Staff 

Copyright © High Tech Elementary Explorer. All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
2230 Truxton Rd San Diego CA 92106

Questions?
Email us at htexpacommunications@gmail.com