Dear Falcon Families,
Tomorrow we welcome our Falcons back to Scripps Ranch High School for another incredible year! I would like to thank our staff, families, and students for their diligence and hard work preparing for the new year. Our students will arrive tomorrow, ready to begin a successful year, thanks to all these efforts.
We encourage all our Falcon Families to be active, engaged participants in their students’ education. By working together, we will continue to foster a positive, rewarding learning community. As your students get ready for tomorrow, they should check their PowerSchool Portals to review their schedules. This is also a good time for families to check their portal status and make sure they have all the appropriate log in access, to help support your student throughout the year. Tomorrow, the administration, counseling, and other staff will be available and circulating campus before school, and during the passing periods, to help students find their classes and to answer any questions.
Once again we will celebrate the beginning of a new school year with a Welcome Back pep rally in the quad. Instead of reporting to their first period to begin the school day, students should report to the quad area at 8:35am. At the conclusion of the pep rally, students will report to their first period class. Please see the schedule below and share this information with your students.
Save the date! Our “Back to School” night will be Wednesday, August 26th at 5pm. More information will be coming in the next few weeks with further details.
As a reminder, Mondays are “modified” with a school dismissal time of 2:29pm. Early dismissal makes it possible for students and teachers to create opportunities for tutoring and meetings regarding grade restoration, reassessments, and other things. Please have your student review their teachers’ individual schedules in order to plan a meeting with their teachers when needed.
Today’s update includes reminders about the pep rally schedule, the bell schedule, student parking, where to park and drop off, our Week of Welcome, updated attendance policies, information about what to do if your student missed Kick Off (including picture make up day, picking up your books, and other items like purchasing your parking permit, a yearbook, or your PE clothes), and much more. Senior families, please be sure to review the note from the registrar.
We look forward to seeing our students tomorrow and having a great first day of school and an even better school year. Welcome back!
See below for the latest updates as of 8-9-26.
Upcoming Calendar Events for August, September and October
- 8/10 - First Day of School, Early out Modified Monday (8:35-2:29pm)
- 8/17 - Early out Modified Monday (8:35-2:29pm)
- 8/24 - Early out Modified Monday (8:35-2:29pm)
- 8/26 - Back to School Night 5pm
- 8/31 - Early out Modified Monday (8:35-2:29pm)
- 9/7 - Labor Day, No School
- 9/14 - Early out Modified Monday (8:35-2:29pm)
- 9/18 - End of the first grading period
- 9/21 - Early out Modified Monday (8:35-2:29pm)
- 9/25 - Homecoming Rally and Homecoming Football Game
- 9/26 - Homecoming Dance
- 9/28 - Early out Modified Monday (8:35-2:29pm)
- 10/5 - Early out Modified Monday (8:35-2:29pm)
- 10/12 - Non-Instructional Day, No School
- 10/19 - Early out Modified Monday (8:35-2:29pm)
- 10/26 - Early out Modified Monday (8:35-2:29pm)
- 10/30 - End of the second grading period
Attendance: A Major Focus This Year - Reminder
One of our biggest areas of focus this year will be student attendance. I want to be direct about why.
Over the past several years, we have seen a significant increase in full-day absences, late arrivals, early releases, and students missing individual class periods. It has also become too common for students to ask their parents to excuse them from school because they do not want to attend or they want to leave early.
To put the problem into perspective, there were approximately four different days last year that students treated as unofficial “Senior Ditch Days.” Many of those absences were then reported by families as illness. We also had multiple days when our attendance staff had to prepare more than 200 “blue slips” for students to leave school early. The amount of staff time required just to process that many early releases was significant.
The impact goes far beyond the attendance office. When students repeatedly miss class, teachers must adjust instruction, reteach missed content, create and supervise makeup assessments outside of the school day, and provide additional individual support to help students catch up. This negatively impacts teachers and takes time away from planning and providing the highest-quality instruction possible for all students.
This message is not about students who are legitimately sick, have a medical appointment, experience a family emergency, or need to miss school for another valid reason. We understand that those situations happen. This is about preventable absences and a growing mindset that missing class is acceptable. Missing class does have a big impact, especially when it becomes a schoolwide pattern.
This year, SRHS will place a much greater emphasis on protecting instructional time, identifying concerning patterns early, supporting students who are experiencing legitimate barriers, and holding students accountable when they repeatedly miss school or class. Families play an important role in this effort. Please do not excuse your student from school simply because they do not want to attend, want to avoid a particular class or assessment, want to leave early, or are participating in an unofficial ditch day.
Please take a few minutes to read our 2026–27 SRHS Family Attendance Guide. It explains how to report an absence, late arrival, or early release; which absences may be excused; chronic absence and truancy; attendance recovery; and how attendance may affect dances, prom, senior activities, commencement, and other school privileges. A few key changes families should know right away:
- Early-release requests must be submitted through the SRHS Attendance Form by 10:00 a.m. If a request is not submitted by 10:00 a.m., a parent or guardian will need to come to the Attendance Office in person, show identification, and check the student out. This also applies to students who drive themselves.
- Attendance forms must be submitted using a parent or guardian email address listed in PowerSchool. Submitting the form verifies the reason provided, but it does not automatically mean the absence or late arrival will be excused.
- Students who become sick during the school day must report to the Health Office. Students should not text or call a parent to arrange to leave campus on their own. The Health Office will contact the family and coordinate the release when appropriate.
- Absences should be reported within 24 hours. Requests involving older, repeated, or multiple absences may require administrative review. Families should regularly check PowerSchool and not wait until a dance, senior activity, or commencement deadline to address attendance.
- Unexcused absences will now be included when determining eligibility for school activities. Students will receive a one-time grace allowance for one parent-verified, full-day unexcused absence per semester. This does not apply to selectively missing a class, leaving campus without permission, or spreading absences across multiple days.
Our expectation is that students should be in every class, on time, every day. We need our families’ partnership in reinforcing that expectation at home and avoiding preventable absences whenever possible.
Amendment to last week’s Attendance Message:
For parents/guardians who have a gmail account, the SRHS Attendance Form is the preferred method for reporting a full-day absence, late arrival, or early release.The form must be submitted from a parent or guardian email address listed in PowerSchool.
For parents/guardians without a gmail account, a direct email to the students’ attendance clerk is the preferred method for reporting a full-day absence, late arrival, or early release. The email used must match a parent or guardian email address listed in PowerSchool. For last names A-R contact Thomas Ligon at [email protected]. For last names S-Z contact Grace Parra at [email protected] .
Directions for the First Day of School August 10
We will not be printing schedules for students, so students should check PowerSchool the morning of August 10 to see their final schedule. Their schedule may have changed since Kick-Off. If a student is NOT able to access their schedule on PowerSchool during the morning of August 10, they may see a staff member at the front of the school or go to the library starting at 7:30am to get a copy.
Counseling Updates
Counselors have reviewed all Schedule Change Request Forms submitted on 7/29 & 7/30, and made changes when possible. If your student has an error on their schedule, they should come to the counseling office on the first day of school. Only scheduling errors will be addressed during the first week of school.
Errors include: duplicate class, empty period (1-6), wrong grade-level class, missing required core class.
Not errors: requested change didn't happen (class was full/didn't fit), wanting a level change, not getting top elective, changed mind about a class.
School Pictures Are Ready!
Your school photos are now available to view and order from Jostens!
To access the photos, please use the email address listed in your Parent Portal PowerSchool account. This is required for security reasons. Click HERE to login.
Picture Make-Up day is scheduled for October 27, 2026. We are working to secure an earlier date and will notify families of any updates.
Missed Kick-Off? Here is What You Need to Know
- Books & Schedules: Pick up books during the first week of school. Class schedules will be available on the first day on PowerSchool.
- 9th Graders: Bring your current Chromebook and charger to exchange for a new one.
- Picture Make-Up Day: Scheduled for October 27, 2026. We are working to secure an earlier date and will notify families of any updates.
- School Nurse: Visit only if your student needs medical support or must submit Physician’s Orders. Orders are required for all medications, including inhalers, EpiPens, diabetes supplies, and migraine or seizure management.
- Finance Office Purchases: Buy PE uniforms, ASB stickers, and parking permits (ages 16+) at the Finance Office or online via School Cash Online. Accepted payment methods: cash, check, debit/credit cards (no AMEX), and digital wallets.
- Pre-Ordered Item Pickup: Pick up items at the Finance Office with a photo ID and a printed receipt or digital proof of purchase Monday-Friday before school from 8:00-8:25 am and lunch time. The finance office will not be open after school.
SRHS Sexual Health Education - 10th Grade Students or Biology Students
This week you will receive an email to the email address on file in PowerSchool explaining the state requirement for high school students to receive comprehensive sexual health and HIV prevention education. Details can also be found here: Sexual Health Education
Bell Schedule - Reminder
See the 2026-2027 Falcon Time Schedule for this year’s bell schedule. During “Modified Mondays,” school will begin at 8:35am and end at 2:29pm.
Back to School Night - Reminder
This year’s Back to School Night will be Wednesday, August 26 at 5pm. We look forward to seeing you on campus.
From the Office of the Registrar - Reminder
Welcome to the 2026-2027 School Year. At the beginning and end of each semester, please have your student review their transcript to ensure all information is correct (GPA, courses listed, grades on their transcript). Reach out to the registrar if there are any errors on your student's transcript. (This does not include entry and exit date; this is automatically set by SDUSD every school year). If you have a senior (class of 2027), please ensure your student regularly reviews their student email, and their class of 2027 google classroom for messages from the registrar.
Please bookmark the registrar's linktree for contact information, transcript requests and records related information: https://linktr.ee/srhsregistrar
Yearbook Sale - Reminder
Don't miss your chance to grab this year's yearbook at the best price you'll see all year!
- KICKOFF SALE: $80 (Now through August 28)
- After August 28: Price increases to $100
This is the lowest price the yearbook will be offered all year, so don't wait!
How to order:
- Order online through the Jostens link, or
- Purchase in person through the Finance Office
Jostens Link: https://jostensyearbooks.com/?REF=A01006935
From Yearbook: A Note About This Year's Cover: Senior Signatures
This year's yearbook cover will feature something special: the names of our seniors, styled to look like handwritten signatures, worked right into the artwork on the front and back cover. Names will be pulled from the official senior class list in PowerSchool and rendered in a signature-style font as part of the design.
With roughly 450 seniors in this year's class, we simply don't have the physical space to fit every name on the cover itself while keeping the design something everyone will be proud to hold. So here's how we're handling it fairly:
- We'll use a random drawing to select approximately 200 senior names to feature on the front and back covers, and the placement of each name will also be randomized.
- Every senior whose name isn't selected for the cover will still, to the best of our abilities, be recognized in a place of honor elsewhere in the book, in the senior section.
We want to be clear about why we're doing it this way: this is purely a matter of physical space and artistic design. A cover with 450 names crammed onto it would be unreadable and wouldn't do justice to anyone. Random selection ensures the process is completely impartial. It has nothing to do with anyone's involvement, achievements, or standing, and every senior will still be represented in the book.
We appreciate your understanding as we work to make this year's cover something the whole class can be proud of.
Week of Welcome - Reminder
This year, we are excited to start our school year off with our annual “Week of Welcome.” During the first week of school, we will have various activities to help students build relationships with their peers/staff, review our Falcon Pride values, build school spirit, increase student connection with the school, and more. During Monday and Tuesday, teachers will give a brief overview of their classes as well as take students through various fun and informational activities. Wednesday and Thursday teachers will begin their classes and students will continue with school culture building activities during their advisory period. The week will finish with class level assemblies and a fun lunch activity on Friday.
Student Parking - Reminder
The student parking lots are located inside the campus gates, and the gates will be closed during the school day. Student parking lots will be the South Parking Lot, the west side of the Bungalow Lot, and certain spots in the parking lot outside of the 700 building. See the Student Parking Lots for a visual.
Student Drop-Off and Pick-Up - Reminder
At Scripps Ranch High School, traffic during student drop-off and pick-up can be challenging because our campus has only one way in and one way out. To help reduce traffic as much as possible, we are asking parents and guardians to drop off and pick up students at the designated locations along the east side of Falcon Way, Scripps Lake Drive, or Treena Street. Please see the Student Drop-Off & Pick-Up information for additional details.
Finance Office Hours - Reminder
Starting Aug 10th: Monday-Friday before school from 8:00-8:25 am and lunch time.
The finance office will not be open after school.
9th & 10th Grade Student ID Card Distribution - Reminder
Student ID cards will be distributed at lunch during the first week of school. Additional details will be posted in the "Class of" Google Classroom. Please encourage your student to login to check this platform regularly for announcements, events, policies and school updates.
Grad Nite - Reminder
Shared on behalf of the Foundation and the Grad Nite committee:
- Calling all SRHS Seniors and families—stay connected as we kick off an unforgettable year. Grad Nite Hub.
- Merch and flocking are available for everyone who wants to show their Falcon Pride. Store
- Seniors, your Kickoff Package is live now. Exclusive items, limited quantities, and the presale closes August 9. Order Today
That’s all for today. We look forward to welcoming everyone tomorrow for the first day of the 2026-27 school year!
Sincerely,
Matt Lawson, Ed.D
Principal
Scripps Ranch High School