News from EGUSD

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"Students Reaching Out" to others at Jackman and Valley

Thirty Samuel Jackman Middle School and Valley High School students are making a difference in their community through the Students Reaching Out (SRO) program.

Through the program, facilitated by People Reaching Out, students design environmental and media campaigns aimed at addressing alcohol, tobacco and other drug issues. SRO students are trained in the areas of environmental substance abuse prevention, media advocacy, social marketing and community mobilizing.

SRO students also work in conjunction with the Valley Hi Youth and Adult Coalition (VHYAC). The group was created in 2006 out of concern in regards to an increase in violence in the Valley Hi community. The coalition consists of leaders from a variety of area organizations, including SRO, People Reaching Out (PRO), the Elk Grove Unified School District, youth services departments for the City of Elk Grove and City of Sacramento, the Department of Justice, Kaiser Permanente and a host of other various community organizations.

"VHYAC exists to create opportunities for Valley Hi children, youth and families to have successful experiences in their school and community and to promote positive growth and development," said Tami Silvera, an advisor for SRO students at Jackman and Valley. "We value youth and adult partnerships, fun and collaborative leadership."

The partnership between the SRO students and VHYAC has grown into a strong and productive one. At the beginning of the 2008/2009 school year, two community presentations were held to present the findings of the Valley Hi Community Survey about youth violence. Presentation attendees included Sacramento City Council Member Robbie Waters, Sacramento County Board Supervisor Jimmie Yee, EGUSD board member Brian Myers and EGUSD Superintendent Steven M. Ladd, Ed.D. The SRO students are also key participants in monthly VHYAC meetings and have been involved in various community events - including the 3rd Annual Family Fun Day.

For more information on PRO and SRO, visit

www.peoplereachingout.org.

Students show their college spirit at Arnold Adreani Elementary

USC. Stanford. Notre Dame. Cal-Berkeley. On one Friday each month, t-shirts and sweatshirts from these colleges and more can be spotted on the campus of Arnold Adreani Elementary School as a part of College Spirit Days.

On these designated days, students at Adreani are encouraged to wear a college t-shirt or sweatshirt of their choice. The two classes with the most participants win a 10 minute spirit recess, complete with special recess equipment.

"We want to promote the importance of continuing their (students) education after high school ends," Teuber said. "In our multipurpose room we have four bulletin boards on display - Arnold Adreani Elementary School, Katherine L. Albiani Middle School, Pleasant Grove High School and a college - California State University, Sacramento. We have items from each school on the boards so the students can see the progression from elementary, middle and high school and on to college."

Each classroom also has a designated bulletin board with a college name displayed on it. These boards can include college t-shirts, flags and other paraphernalia. Many teachers received these items for free from their alma maters.

Teuber has big plans for expanding the concept of College Spirit Days.

"I would love to see College Spirit Days include a college fair at some point," said Teuber. "This event could include guest speakers and booths. Parents who attended college and recent college graduates could be at the booths to share information."

Internet Safety PSA contest winners recognition

Twenty-seven students were recognized by the Board of Education and U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott in December for their work on Internet Safety Videos.

Mathletes program grows at Florin High School

Do you know what 3x + 2 = 20 means? If so, you just might have a future on a Mathletes team.

Florin High School boasts one of the largest and most active Mathletes teams around. Florin recruits for their Mathletes team by giving each math teacher 10-20 invitations at the beginning of the year for interested or promising students. During the 2008/2009 school year, 92 students signed up for Mathletes and 42 students are actively participating in the program.

The team meets each Tuesday after school to take practice tests in at least three of the five competition categories: arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trig/analysis and problem solving.

Florin's Mathletes team is designed to make sure the maximum number of students will have the chance to compete. Florin math teachers and Mathletes team members encourage students from a broader skill level to join the team - usually from the top 25 percent of a class.

"We always have students who are clamoring to go compete," said Tim Smith, Florin's Mathletes coach.

Last month, the team placed 15th out of 17 teams.

"We usually have the largest team at the competition," Smith said. "We rotate the team members so all students have the chance to be on a scoring team."

Mathletes are also very active on campus and beyond. Their activities have included:

On the last Pi Day - March 14 - math teachers at Florin brought in real pies and the Mathletes served a slice of pie to the entire staff at Florin. A total of 23 pies were served during lunch.

Last spring, half of the staff at Florin participated in a two-week math competition. Each day, a math problem was sent out to staff members to solve. The competition concluded with the Math Department recognizing the winning staff members on Open House night. The competition was a joint effort by the math teachers and Mathletes.

Florin was also the leader in rekindling the Middle School Math Competition held two years ago. Now Franklin, Laguna Creek and Sheldon high schools are working hard to plan this year's competition to make it a success.

"Although participating in Mathletes could be seen as an 'uncool' activity, most students and staff here at Florin will tell you that belonging to the Mathletes team is cool," said Smith. "We are all well respected and team members take pride in being on our team."

Overall, Florin High students are showing a strong interest in math. A large percentage of students at Florin are in Honors and AP math classes. At one point during the 2007/2008 school year, 1 in 3 students at Florin were enrolled in an Honors or AP math class.

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