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Guidance
Student Request to See An Academic Advisor or School Counselor
Do you need to meet with your Academic Advisor or School Counselor but haven't been able to stop by and see them? Click on the link below and the LFMS Academic Advisors & School Counselor will be notified you need to see them.
The Guidance Secretary/Registrar is the first point of contact for parents and students enrolling in Las Flores Middle School. Transcript requests should also be made to the registrar. Should you have any questions regarding enrollment, transferring to another school, or transcript requests, please contact Brook Goins at (949) 589-6543 during office hours or by email at brgoins@capousd.org.
| Teri Graffeo | (949) 589-6543 ex: 26005 | Academic Advisor |
| Deborah Miller | (949) 589-6543 ex: 26004 | Academic Advisor |
Academic Advisors help students reach their educational and career goals by providing students with information and resources to help them succeed in reaching their individual goals. They can assist in this process by helping students create an educational plan, understand their options, determine resources and, when necessary identify alternatives.
Academic Advisors work with parents, students and teachers to assist students in meeting their individual needs through individual meetings, group presentations, and leading parent-teacher-student conferences. Academic advisors meet with students struggling in academics as well as students seeking academic guidance and planning throughout the school year. Their duties include most aspects involved with academic planning, career guidance, and placement testing as required.
Students are assigned to an academic advisor alphabetically, according to their last name. Although making an appointment is advised, students are always welcome to stop in to see their academic advisor during non-class time if they have questions or need assistance. The Las Flores Middle School Academic Advisors are Debbie Miller (last names A-P) and Teri Graffeo (last names Q-Z).
If you have questions or concerns related to a student's academic performance, our Academic Advisors will do their best to assist you in meeting the needs of your children.
You may contact our advisors through email - Mrs. Miller at dejmiller@capousd.org or Ms. Graffeo at tmgraffeo@capousd.org or you may call the school at (949) 589-6543 during the hours of 8-3:30.
| Omero Corral | (949) 589-6543 ex: 26013 | School Counselor |
Las Flores Middle School has a School Counselor on site every day.
The School Counselor works with students in the following areas:
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Short Term Individual Counseling
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Crisis Counseling
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Small Group Counseling
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Classroom Guidance Lessons
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Community Resource Referrals
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Conflict Mediation
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College & Career Month Activities
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The Where Everybody Belongs (WEB) Program
Students may be referred by a teacher, staff member, parent, or self-referred. If the counselor is unavailable, students should fill out a student counseling referral form with Mrs. Douglas or another office staff member. If it is an urgent request, possible abuse, neglect, threat to self or others, the School Counselor will be contacted and student will be seen the same day. The counselor may also be reached by phone (949) 589-6543. The counselor may also be reached via email at ocorral@capousd.org.
See the Counselor's Corner for more information.
| Lindsay Depass | ex: 26012 | School Psychologist |
The school psychologist is responsible for evaluating the needs of students in an educational setting and may perform psychoeducational assessments to determine appropriate programs and instructional processes to enable students to achieve maximum achievement and adjustment. The school psychologist is part of the school's Student Study Team, which assists in understanding and seeking solutions to students' social, emotional, or academic problems and issues.
The School Psychologist provides direct support and interventions to students, consults with teachers, families and other school educators to improve support strategies and collaborates with community providers to coordinate needed services. The mission of the school psychologist is to help students, families, and educators understand and resolve both long-term, chronic problems and short-term issues that students may face that may affect their academic success.
The School Psychologist will seek to:
- improve academic achievement by promoting student motivation and engagement, conducting psychological and academic assessments, collecting and interpreting student and classroom data, and reducing inappropriate referrals to special education
- promote positive behavior and mental health by improving student communication and social skills, assessing students emotional and behavioral needs, and promoting positive peer relationships and social problem solving
- support diverse learners through assessment for diverse learning needs, plan appropriate Individual Education Programs for students with disabilities, and monitor and communicate with parents about student progress
- create a safe, positive school climate by supporting social-emotional learning, participate in the implementation of school-wide positive behavioral supports, identify at risk students and school vulnerabilities, and provide crisis prevention and intervention services when necessary
- strengthen family-school partnerships by assisting with the navigation of special education processes, connecting families with community service resources, and help engage families with teachers and other school staff
You may reach our School Psychologist, Ms. Lindsay Depass by email at ljdepass@capousd.org.
FAQ's
Q - What is the criteria for my child to be placed into Accelerated Courses?
A - The placement for accelerated English and Social science is located on the district website using the following link - Performance Based Middle School Program. Students will be placed into both courses if the criteria is met. If there is additional space in these courses, students with A's in all four quarters of their English and Social Science courses will be ranked by their ELA SBAC scores and placement will be for one year only. Math placement criteria is based solely on a student's performance in the prior school year. Students meeting the performance criteria for math will be placed in the appropriate math course. Math placement criteria is sent home at the beginning of the school year and parents and students returned a signed acknowledgement that they have received and understand the criteria. A copy of these letters is on the Academics Math Department page.
Q - What's the difference between School Loop and Parent Portal?
A - The parent portal should be used for the following:
- Annual online summer re-registration is available via the portal, saving time and eliminating the need to complete the large traditional paper packet.
- Emergency contact information can be updated at any time
- Real-time period-by-period attendance data
- Medical information can be viewed and updated
- The following can be viewed and printed at any time:
- Report cards and unofficial transcripts
- Test scores, including college test scores
- Class schedules
- Graduation status reports
School Loop may be used to:
- View homework assignments
- View current quarter course grades/homework/test scores
- View attendance from the previous day
- Receive daily email with grades and homework assignments
- Email teachers through Loop Mail; individually or as a group
- View school news postings
- Access teacher websites
Q - What is a progress report?
A - The purpose of a progress report is for teachers to be able to communicate with parents when a student may be struggling in class whether it is a lower than average grade or below satisfactory work habits or citizenship. The purpose of this reporting is to describe students’ progress in meeting the district’s learning and behavioural expectations for each marking period.
The progress report is intended to inform parents about their child’s learning successes and to give guidance for improvement efforts when needed. Progress reports are sent at the midpoint of each quarter and do not go on the student's permanent record (transcript).
Q - How do I access my child's grades on the parent portal?
A - Once you sign in to the parent portal and select your student (if you have more than one), click on 'Grades'. Your child's current year grades will show for each quarter and progress reporting period (if a progress report was sent). If you click on 'PRINT", a report will be generated with your child's grades and current comments (if any).
Q - Why does the parent portal show a different grade than School Loop?
A - There may be more than one explanation for this. Firstly, check to see if there is more than one grade for a particular quarter for the subject in question. If there is a grade in both columns, your child likely received a progress report during the quarter which is a temporary grade. All final grades that are included on the student's actual transcript are those showing in the 2nd column for each quarter. Another reason may be that the School Loop grades posted are not the final grades. School Loop stops importing and updating grades at the end of the quarter in order to allow for the new quarter grade books to be set up. Teachers may still update grades for missing test scores or assignments not shown on school loop but for which are included in the students final quarter grade shown on the Parent Portal.
