Honoring our Volunteers
John and Martina Kanae of
T.R. Smedberg Middle School
John and Martina Kanae were recognized as Education Partners
at the October 6, 2009 meeting of the Elk Grove Unified School District Board
of Education.
Both John and Martina have been actively involved at their
children's school for many years. Martina has been an art docent, school site council member and
yearbook committee member when her children were attending Robert J. Fite
Elementary School. More recently, she
served on the Smedberg School Site Council and on the Superintendent's Parent
Advisory Committee. Martina has been a
regular volunteer on campus - assisting in distributing schedules on the first
day of school and chaperoning dances and field trips. John is entering his fourth year of coaching Smedberg's
basketball team and closely works with staff on several critical fundraising
opportunities. The Kanae's have two children - Christian, a sophomore at
Sheldon High School and Alyna, an 8th grade student at Smedberg.
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EGUSD to hold Community Budget Meetings
The Elk Grove Unified School District is holding community
budget meetings in October to provide parents, staff, students and community an
opportunity to hear information and ask questions about the district's budget
cuts. The meetings will be held from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the following
sites: - October 13 - Florin High School
Theater
- October 21 - Franklin High
School Theater
- October 22 - Pleasant Grove High
School Community Room
If you have questions about these meetings, please email the Communications Department
or call (916) 686-7732.
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EGUSD Athletic Budget Reductions Community Meetings
The Elk Grove Unified School District will be holding four community meetings in October to discuss possible cuts to athletics in the 2010-2011 school year. The proposed cuts to athletics are part of $40 to $42 million in reductions to the district's budget as a result of the state's lack of funding for public education.
The meetings will provide parents an opportunity to hear information and discuss ideas. More information about EGUSD's budget and athletic cuts can be viewed here. The meetings will be held from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. for the following schools at the meeting locations: October 12 - Florin High School
October 14 - Pleasant Grove High School
October 15 - Franklin High School
October 19 - Cosumnes Oaks High School
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Walmart donates to Herburger teachers
On September 23, Walmart presented 10 Roy Herburger Elementary School teachers with $100 gift certificates and a box of school supplies through their new Teacher Rewards program.
To help offset rising expenses for classroom supplies this back-to-school season, Walmart and Sam's Club have launched Teacher Rewards, a new program to provide more than $4 million to 40,000 deserving teachers across the United States. Focusing on schools with high levels of need, each Walmart store and Sam's Club location across the nation will select one local kindergarten through eighth grade school to participate in the Teacher Rewards program. Ten teachers per school will be randomly selected to each receive a $100 Teacher Rewards card to purchase classroom supplies from Walmart, Sam's Club or online at Walmart.com or Samsclub.com. These funds will help teachers purchase classroom supplies for the new school year.
The teachers at Herburger were selected by grade level and are sharing the gifts with their respected grade level team.
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Donuts for
Dads/Muffins for Moms comes to Markofer Elementary
On October
2, Florence Markofer Elementary School welcomed first-grade parents to campus
to participate in their 3rd Annual Donuts for Dads/Muffins for Moms
event.
Over 100
family members attended the event to spend the morning reading to their
children. The event began with a welcome
by Eric Murchison, principal at Markofer, followed by a short presentation by
the first grade teachers to parents about the importance of reading. First grade teacher Debbie Heuer read the
book "The Bears' Day Out" before allowing parents to read to their
children.
"It's
amazing to see the power of simply reading to your children," said Murchison. "This is one of our favorite events at
Markofer and we are pleased to see that everyone had a great time."
Donuts and
muffins were donated for the event by JR's Donuts and Mimi's Café.
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Welcome to eguNews, an EGUSD email newsletter published every two weeks. If you have questions about eguNews, you can email communication@egusd.net or call (916) 686-7732.
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EGUSD celebrates Walk to School Day
On Wednesday, October 7, walkers, bikers and skateboarders flooded the sidewalks as Elk Grove Unified elementary school students made their way to school on International Walk to School Day.
"Our principals and their staff members have taken Walk to School Day to new heights with their innovative ideas," said Bob Roe, director of elementary education for the district. "Walk to School Day presents an excellent opportunity to not only highlight the importance of fitness, but to reinforce safety rules for walking to school as well. It is wonderful that we had 100 percent participation among our elementary schools for Walk to School Day this year."
Schools participated in Walk to School Day with an array of activities. "Walking school buses" were a popular activity. Walking school buses, which are groups of children accompanied by adults that walk to school together, can meet at one designated location or may "pick-up" students along the way.
Other schools held health fairs, class participation competitions and raffles for prizes, offered healthy snacks and stickers to students who walked or rode bikes or skateboards to school and partnered with high schools to assist in Walk to School Day activities.
Schools in rural areas also participated in Walk to School Day festivities by walking their tracks or blacktop areas during recess and participating in class discussions about making safe and healthy choices when walking or riding their bikes.
The first National Walk Our Children to School Day was held in 1997 by the Partnership for a Walkable America. By 2002, International Walk to School Day had nearly 3 million participants in all 50 states.
For more information about International Walk to School Day, click here.
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Handbells ring at Anna Kirchgater Elementary School
Ding! Dong! Ring-a-ling!
At Anna Kirchgater Elementary School, the chimes of handbells are a familiar sound. The school handbell choir has been in existence for 10 years. It was originally created for Kirchgater students who wanted to play a musical instrument but couldn't afford the fees for instrument rentals or band instruction.
"The handbell choir was not only a hit because it gave our students a chance to learn a musical instrument, but (James) Rutter Middle School also had a dynamite handbell instructor and program that our students could feed into," said Patti Van Der Kamp, sixth grade teacher and handbell instructor at Kirchgater.
The program has since been discontinued at Rutter - due to the retirement of the handbell instructor - but handbells are still ringing at Kirchgater. The group has performed at Kirchgater's Harvest Festival and at school assemblies. The handbell choir has also performed at EGUSD Board of Education meetings in December for the past three years.
"The handbells are a required part of my curriculum in sixth grade," said Van Der Kamp. "We are now starting two fourth through sixth grade groups that will meet on Tuesdays. The only requirements are to come every time to practices and performances - because unlike regular band, when one of our members is missing, there is no one to play those notes."
No musical experience is needed to join the choir. Students can choose to join in on the handbell fun before or after school. Each group typically has 12-18 students.
The handbell choir has not only given students a musical outlet, it has also led to academic improvements for students. Van Der Kamp has seen an improvement in students' comprehension of math facts - particularly in fractions - when students learn about quarter and half notes and discuss their value.
In the future, Van Der Kamp would like to see the handbell choir expand their performances to include senior centers.
"I'm excited to see what the future holds for my handbell students," said Van Der Kamp. "All of the students work very hard and I am always amazed at what they can learn to do in a relatively short amount of time. We are very proud of what they accomplished so far!"
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Energy Conservation in EGUSD
The Elk Grove Unified School District is committed to saving energy and dollars through energy conservation. On March 3, 2009, the EGUSD Governing Board approved a new forward thinking board policy on energy conservation that demonstrates the district's commitment to conserve and use as little energy as necessary.
"School districts, including ours, spend more each year on energy than we do on computers and text books combined," said Robert Pierce, associate superintendent of facilities and planning for the district. "The good news is that we can easily change this trend through free energy-conscious behavior modifications. If we all do our part we can reduce our utility bills by nearly $2 million a year, which will allow the district to use its resources more effectively and in the classroom where they belong."
An Energy Conservation Committee created energy conservation guidelines to establish expectations, levels of individual involvement, and building operation standards. The committee will continue to meet, as needed, to solicit and share input, make appropriate recommended revisions to the guidelines and evaluate the success of the program.
The following simple, yet effective steps will realize immediate savings:
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Set thermostats at 68 degrees when in heat mode
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Set thermostats at 74 degrees when in cool mode
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Turn off lights when leaving an area
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Turn off computer monitor when leaving an area
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At the end of the day, turn off computer(s), printer(s), speakers, monitor(s) and other applicable equipment (fax machines not included)
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As lighting conditions allow, use natural light when possible
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Use one or two lamp switching opposed to all lights being on
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Do not turn anything on unless using it
For more information about EGUSD's Energy Conservation program contact Pierce at rdpierce@egusd.net.
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Storm Water Management Update
The Elk Grove Unified School District carries a reputation for being innovative and taking the lead on developing new policies and programs that are beneficial for our students and their families.
In 2006 EGUSD took on a new environmental endeavor by adopting a resolution regarding Storm Water Management throughout the district. The Storm Water Management Program seeks to reduce the dumping of water from school sites into streams, lakes and rivers within the district. The new path required the district to take a look at current policies and to discuss and implement new polices that are environmentally sound.
An example of a modified policy as a result of the new Storm Water Management Program is car washes on district property. Traditionally, student organizations have held car washes, usually in school parking lots, as fundraisers. However, water used in these car washes - containing detergents and other cleaning chemicals - were being washed down into the storm drains. The new policy stipulates that car washes now must take place in hardtop areas where dirty water can flow onto lawn areas for filtering where there is at least 20 feet of grass before a drain. Soaps, detergents, solvents or cleaners cannot be used and hoses must have an attachment that can stop the flow of water when the hose is not in use.
In addition to changing and updating policies, the Storm Water Management Program also provided a chance to educate the district's student population on the importance of proper storm water management as well.
In 2009, a poster contest was created so students could illustrate posters to educate the community on the impact of storm water pollution on the freshwater supply. Students could compete in four categories - elementary (K-3), elementary (4-6), secondary (middle school) and secondary (high school). Winners received certificates and had their work displayed at the district office. The winners of the 2009 Storm Water Poster Contest were:
- Elementary (K-3) - Dylan Almeida, 2nd grade - Joseph Sims Elementary School
- Elementary (4-6) - Lacey Lee, 6th grade - Anna Kirchgater Elementary School
- Middle School (7-8) - Dorian Chen, 8th grade - Toby Johnson Middle School
Students could also participate in a Storm Water Stencil Contest in 2009. Students were asked to created stencils that could be painted on storm drains throughout the district. Students competed in two categories - elementary (K-6) and secondary (7-12). The winners for the 2009 Storm Water Stencil Contest were:
- Elementary (K-6) - Joanna Tinoco, 6th grade - Anna Kirchgater Elementary School
- Secondary (7-12) - Jessica Yee, 8th grade - Toby Johnson Middle School
For more information about the district's storm water policy, please click here.
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