Downey High School

Vikes & Families, We hope this message finds you well. An important message was emailed out to all families and students this morning explaining the start of a new pilot Wednesday schedule which we hope will give students the flexibility they need to receive support in academics and social emotional learning. This pilot schedule will begin Wednesday, November 4th. Please check out all of the graphics and handouts for all of the information as well as a letter from our Princip...al and Fearless Leader, Mr. Tom Houts in your email inbox. You can also watch a short video from Mr. Houts here: https://youtu.be/pfLrVg-_cxU As always, we are here for you. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out using our Contact Us form on our DL website and someone will get back to you within 24-48 hours. You can also call us at the office directly at 562-869-7301 between the hours of 8am-3pm Monday-Friday. Stay Strong, Vikes! https://sites.google.com/view/downeyhighschoolclosure/home

Today is a sad day for our Downey High School family. One of our own Vikweens, Hanna Grace Campbell, lost her battle to cancer. What we, as a Viking family, will never forget about Hanna is the light she brought to all of our lives during her time here at Downey High School. Even in her darkest days, she continued to push herself to attend school because she valued education and what it means to be a kid. She was one of the strongest people we have ever known and we will fore...ver cherish the time we had with her. In lieu of flowers, her parents have requested families and friends to make donations to Hanna’s Pablove Foundation titled Hanna’s Hoops 4 Healing. If you are struggling with this loss, as we all are, please reach out to your school counselor, a trusted adult, a teacher, an admin, and/or anyone you feel comfortable talking to. We have supports in place to help our Downey family get through this together. Rest in Peace, Hanna Vike Vibe forever and ever. #vikevibeforever Donate here: https://give.pablove.org/campai/hannashoops4healing/c139791

Hey Parents! First quarter has officially come to a close and that means that grades are now available on Parent and Student Connect. You can check your student’s grades by visiting https://parentconnection.dusd.net/ and logging in with your parent email and password. You can contact your student’s counselor or any of their teachers directly by visiting the Teacher Directory tab on our Distance Learning Website. We have also added a 9th period Grade Level Canvas ...Course to all of our student schedules. This is a virtual homeroom where students can access all of the resources we have available in one easy, convenient, and clearly labeled location. Check out what the Freshmen: Class of 2024 course looks like in the photo below! Today marks the first day of Math Tutoring for ALL LEVELS of Math which is available to all students! No prior registration/sign up necessary - they can just drop in when they need the help. They can access these tutoring rooms simply by visiting their grade-level Canvas and clicking on the Math Tutoring button. As always, we are here for you and your student during this time. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have questions or need help. Sending you all of our Virtual Vike Vibes!

Hey Vikes, it’s your Fearless Leader, Mr. Houts. Today is another day in Distance Learning, but I am starting to focus on the light at the end of the tunnel. County-wide COVID numbers are declining and we are planning [at this time] to come back in-person, in one form or another, in January 2021, as long as the COVID numbers keep going in the right direction. The highlight of my day is seeing some of our sports teams coming back and solo conditioning (from a distance, of c...ourse) or seeing your faces on our Instagram stories or on Zoom. I am so proud of all of your perseverance and strength during this time. I truly feel that the worst is over and I am focused on the future. In the meantime, I’ve been playing a song on my iPhone - it’s an oldie, but goodie. Check it out: Touch of Grey by the Grateful Dead. Stay strong, Vikes - even when times seem rough, as The Grateful Dead say, we will get by! Make it a great day or not, Vikes - the choice is yours. Vike Vibe! #youwishyouwereaviking #virtualvikevibes #downeystrong See more

In honor of the We Love Our School Lunch Heroes contest, we want to share this heartwarming video put together by an amazing Gauldin Dolphin. Mr. Gomez, a tea...cher at Gauldin Elementary, created this video to share his appreciate for our Food Service staff for all that they have done for our families during the pandemic. A big thank you to Mr. Gomez for putting this incredible video together and an even bigger thank you to our Food Service Superheroes for ALL they have done and continue to do for our families during this challenging time. #WeAreDowneyUnified #ourkidsdeservethebest #lunchheroes

We are proud to share with our families that in partnership with the USDA and the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, we will be providing Protein Boxes tomorrow at... the following three meal pick up locations: Imperial Elementary, Rio San Gabriel Elementary and Warren High. Each family will be receiving one 20 pound box of frozen chicken and one 20 pound box of frozen pork, while supplies last. Please see the flyer for more information. Our usual breakfast and lunch meals will also be available for pick up tomorrow at all 15 of our distribution locations. #downeyunified #ourkidsdeservethebest

Hey Vikes! Our AMAZING College & Career Center is here for you! They are available to answer all of your questions about college, scholarships, financial aid, FAFSA, CSU Apps, the Dream Act, and SO much more! They can easily be reached by email or telephone and they have an awesome new website with up-to-date info! Check it out https://sites.google.com/dusd.net/collegecareercenter/home ... If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to these AMAZING Vikweens Mrs. Acosta, Mrs. Campos, or Mrs. Lopez.

Andrew Carrieri, Class of 2020, took his Vike Vibe this weekend to the brave firefighters who are working around the clock to keep California safe. Along with nine other Vikes, Carrieri organized a water bottle donation drop off at DHS on Friday, rented a @uhaul, and was able to fill it with over 600 cases of water donated by our amazing Downey community. I felt frustrated by the limits I saw in my ability to help the first responders who are fighting the fir...es. My natural response is to help, and if I could have become a firefighter in a week, I would have. But, since that wasn’t possible, I felt like I needed to do something. The idea of a water drive came as I considered what I could do to help in a short amount of time but still make an impact. I love helping people, and this was really such a small way to say thank you to the women and men risking their lives in the fires. It may not be much, but I hope it communicates a deep sense of appreciation for their sacrifice. From Monrovia, to Azusa, through Arcadia and Baldwin Park, Andrew & friends dropped off the donated water at as many fire stations & sites as possible. They were even granted access to head up to the command post near the Santa Fe dam to drop off the last of their donations. Carrieri + friends, you have made us SO proud. #vikevibeforever #youwishyouwereaviking #downeystrong #feelgoodsunday #communitymatters #givingback #dowhatyoucan See more

The Vike Vibe means love. The Vike Vibe means family. The Vike Vibe means that we’re all in this together. Shoutout to our Class of 2020 grad, Andrew Carrieri, for organizing, collecting, and distributing hundreds of cases of water to the brave firefighters who are working so hard to keep us safe. #onceavikingalwaysaviking #vikevibeforever

Happy Friday! Quarter 1 Progress Reports are available, beginning at 5pm TODAY, to view through your Q Parent Connect Portal or your Student Connection Portal. Please check your email for step-by-step directions. If you need to contact any of your student's teachers, you are able to send them an email directly through the Q Parent portal by clicking on the teacher's name.... If you need to speak with your student's counselor, you can find their contact info below! Have a great weekend & stay safe!

Attention all Downey Unified families! Have you applied for our Free or Reduced-Priced Meal program yet?! If not, apply today and you could be in store for an a...mazing surprise! Click this link for more details: https://web.dusd.net/blog/2020/09/17/fsraffle/ #downeyunified #ourkidsdeservethebest

Hey Seniors! Are you planning to apply to CSULB? Sign up for one of the admission workshops! ... https://sites.google.com/dusd.net/dhscounselors/ Have any questions? Reach out to your counselor!