Dear Falcon Families,
This week is Homecoming spirit week! Each day is a different spirit dress up day, leading up to the rally on Friday, the game against San Diego High Friday night, and the homecoming dance Saturday night. Students can take part by dressing up, helping with class floats, cheering on their peers at the rally, attending the game, and going to the dance. Please encourage your students to visit their class level Google classroom for information on these events, and many other school related activities, as well as helpful school information.
The end of the six week grading period was Friday, September 18th. Grades will be posted by Monday and available in PowerSchool by Friday, September 25th. Please remember the first six weeks marker is a progress report, and not the final grade for the semester. It is still early in the semester (ending December 18th) and there are two grading periods left. If you are seeing signs that your student is struggling, please follow up with your student’s teacher and encourage your student to take advantage of a teacher’s tutoring times and SR6 (Saturday School) sessions, especially if they have tardies or absences to recover. Students who pursue these opportunities to improve their grades and self- advocate, set themselves up for growth and success throughout the rest of the year.
Friday night was the "Battle of the 15" at Mira Mesa. The result didn't go our way, but we are so proud of our team and all their hard work. Our programs are back at it this week as they continue to prepare for games, shows, and competitions. Please make plans to join us to celebrate and cheer for our Falcons. For more information about athletics, go HERE, the Falcon Playhouse go HERE, our Music Program (marching band in the fall) go HERE, ASB updates go HERE, and our AFROTC program go HERE. Below, you'll find some incredible details and stories about some of our amazing Falcons and some recent achievements.
And on that note, please review the information below about our Falcon Shoutouts. We always want to celebrate our Falcons and their successes. See below for a way to send in the good news!
Our Wednesday College Series continues; updated information below. This weekly event is open to all students. Encourage your students to take advantage of these opportunities to visit with the featured colleges.
This week’s updates include information about our Pledge drive, the ongoing College series, our upcoming “What I Wish My Parents Knew” event, our SR6 Saturday Session opportunities for academic support, reminders from counseling and a list of upcoming important dates from the administration and ASB, and more. See details below. Homecoming is this week; dance tickets are on sale! Homecoming game is on September 25th, and the dance is on September 26th. Please remind your students to show their school spirit and check out all the fun events SRHS has to offer.
See below for the latest updates as of 9-20-26.
Upcoming Calendar Events for August, September and October
- 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
- 10/14 - What I Wish My Parents Knew, (5:00-6:30pm)
- 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
- 11/2 - Early out Modified Monday (8:35-2:29pm)
- 11/9 - Early out Modified Monday (8:35-2:29pm)
- 11/11 - No School, Veteran’s Day
- 11/16 - Early out Modified Monday (8:35-2:29pm)
- 11/23 to 11/27 - No School, Thanksgiving Break
- 11/30 - Early out Modified Monday (8:35-2:29pm)
- 12/7 - Early out Modified Monday (8:35-2:29pm)
- 12/14 - Early out Modified Monday (8:35-2:29pm)
- 12/16 - Semester 1 Final Exams (Full day, Per 1, Adv, Lunch, Per 3)
- 12/17 - Semester 1 Final Exams (Full day, Per 2, Adv, Lunch, Per 4)
- 12/18 - Semester 1 Final Exams (Full day, Per 5, Adv, Lunch, Per 6)
- 12/18 - Semester one ends
- 12/21 to 1/4 - No School, Winter Break
- 1/5 - First day of semester two
Pledge Drive — Support SRHS (from the SRHS Foundation)
At SRHS, we want our students to have access to the resources, programs, and opportunities they need to thrive. Many of these important investments go beyond what the district budget can provide. Through the SRHS Foundation’s Pledge Drive, your generosity helps provide additional resources and opportunities that enhance the student experience and strengthen our school community.
Donate today and help make a difference for all SRHS students! https://srhsfoundation.org/donate
Homecoming Attendance Deadline — This Friday, September 18th
As a reminder, the deadline for parents to call in to clear attendance for Homecoming eligibility has passed, which means calling in absences that occurred before 9/18 will no longer restore Homecoming eligibility. Families should continue to report new absences as usual. Students may also continue to use available attendance recovery opportunities next week and onward.
End of Grading Period
Friday, September 18th, was the end of Progress Report 1 (P1) grading period. Teachers will post grades Monday morning and they will later be available via PowerSchool on Friday, September 25th. These grades are a formative progress report and do not represent a final summative semester grade. The final summative grading period for semester one closes on December 18th.
Modified Monday
As a reminder, every Monday is a Modified Monday, with school dismissal at 2:29pm. If students need to see their teachers during this time, they should follow up with their teacher in order to schedule a meeting.
Wednesday College and Career Series
The Scripps Ranch High School Foundation is excited to announce the return of the Wednesday College Series, returning on September 23, 2026. This week students can chat with representatives from Drexel University, Emory University, Hamilton College, Purdue University, Saint Mary’s College of California, University of California, Merced, and the University of Florida.
Students are invited to come to the Library at lunch from 12:55-1:25pm to visit with college admissions representatives and learn about colleges and majors. All grade levels are welcome to attend. Follow this link for the 2026: Wednesday College Series
CSF Fall Application Due September 23
Fall Applications for the California Scholarship Federation run from now to Wednesday September 23rd. CSF honors students for excellence in their grades and optional volunteering with a diploma gold seal, transcript recognition, a stole/cords at graduation, and much more. 10th, 11th, and 12th graders can join the official honor society with a simple 5-minute application found on the SRHS CSF website. By applying, students will set themselves up to become Life Members of CSF! Membership is not retroactive if you have applied in the past, as students must apply 4 total semesters including once senior year. For any questions about the application, the organization in general, or anything else CSF-related, please email [email protected] or reach out to an officer or Mrs. Rodríguez.
What I Wish My Parents Knew — Save the Date
Please save the date for Wednesday, October 14, from 5:00–6:30 p.m. in the SRHS Library.
What I Wish My Parents Knew is an evening for parents and guardians to hear directly from SRHS students about what it’s like to be a teenager and navigate high school today. A panel of our students will share their perspectives, experiences, and insights with families.
More details will be shared as the event approaches.
Picture Make Up Day
School picture Photo Make-Up & Retake day is just around the corner. Underclassmen pictures are scheduled for October 2, 2026, and senior portraits will take place on October 27, 2026.
Click here for specific picture day details and logistics
Share Your Falcon Shoutouts
One of my goals this year is to share and celebrate the many great things our students do. We know our students are accomplishing incredible things both at school and in the community, and we want to celebrate that.
To help collect all the good news that comes in, we now have a new email address: [email protected].
If your child, team, club, or extracurricular group has done something you are proud of, we would love to hear about it. Just send us a few sentences and, if you have one, a photo. There is no form to complete or special format to follow.
We'll use these Falcon Shoutouts to celebrate our students through this Weekly Update, our Instagram, staff communications, and other opportunities throughout the year. If something great is happening with one of our students, we want to know about it.
And we're starting right now. Below are our first five Falcon Shoutouts. Enjoy!
Senior Raghav Vaidyanathan's Research Heads to Portugal
Senior Raghav Vaidyanathan has accomplished something we are all very proud of. Research he led has been accepted for presentation at the IEEE conference on Body Sensor Networks in Porto, Portugal, an international engineering and medical research conference held next month. Raghav is the first author listed on the study, alongside six researchers from Auburn University.
What makes it even better is how he got there. Raghav did not make the basketball team, so he got curious about how athletes get injured instead. He earned an internship at a motion analysis lab, and then he wrote to more than a hundred university professors asking for a chance to do real research before one of them finally said yes.
His research looked at military boots with special inserts that are supposed to make carrying a heavy pack easier. What he found is that those inserts may put more pressure on a soldier's foot than anyone realized, which is how injuries start on a long march. That is real work that could keep soldiers healthy.
Click the following link if you want to read the full article.
A $30,000 Grant for Our Weight Room
Two of our standout sophomores, Thomas Massey and Jack Silva, took the initiative and wrote a funding proposal to revamp our weight room. Much of the equipment in that room goes back to 1993, when the school opened, so this has been needed for a long time.
The great news is the Leighton Foundation accepted their proposal. SRHS will be getting ten new half-rack stations, three cable-training systems, and commercial rubber flooring. This is a $30,000 investment! We have a lot of gratitude to the Leighton Foundation for their support. The new equipment will serve our physical education classes, the weightlifting club, and every boys' and girls' athletic program.
Great job Jack and Thomas!
Our JROTC Academic Bowl Team Wins Its First Round
Each year, our JROTC program competes in the Academic Bowl, a quiz-style academic competition among the 14 JROTC programs in San Diego Unified. Teams play four rounds, and the top four advance to the Brigade Finals.
The great news is that our team, CA-935, hosted its opening round and won it with 175 points. This puts us second in the brigade with three rounds still to go. Great job Manit and team, and good luck in round two!
A Great Day for Cross Country
Our cross country program had a terrific showing at the River Park Invitational. Freshman Hailey Hunsinger won the Frosh-Soph race and led her team to a second place finish, and our JV boys team, led by senior Dante Hinckley, finished first. That is a strong way to open a season. Great job Hailey, Dante, and both squads. Go Falcons!
Shreya Rathore, Published Poet
Junior Shreya Rathore is a published poet. She entered the American High School Poets contest over the summer and was named a Topical Winner in the My World category. Her poem "Almost the Same" was published in a book you can find on Amazon. Great job Shreya!
Reporting Absences, Late Arrivals, Early Releases - Reminder
When reporting a student absence, please use the SRHS Attendance Form (available on the Attendance Website) or email your student’s attendance clerk. These are the primary methods our attendance clerks use to process requests efficiently, issue blue slips, and update PowerSchool records in a timely manner. Phone calls and voicemails should be used only as a secondary option.
SAVE THE DATE! College Showcase - Reminder
The College Showcase is coming to Scripps Ranch on Thursday, October 15th from 6-8pm in the SRHS Gym. Here is the list of Colleges currently registered to attend: The College Showcase
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.
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
That’s all for today. Enjoy your weekend.
Sincerely,
Matt Lawson, Ed.D
Principal
Scripps Ranch High School