Honoring our Volunteers
Bob and Jona Spano of
John Ehrhardt Elementary School
Bob and Jona Spano were recognized as Education Partners at the December 8, 2009, meeting of the Elk Grove Unified School District Board of Education.
Bob and Jona Spano have been involved with John Ehrhardt Elementary School since their daughter entered kindergarten seven years ago.
Jona has filled various voluntary roles at Ehrhardt over the years. She volunteers in the classroom on an on-going basis, has been an art docent for three years and is active in Ehrhardt's PTO. Jona has served as PTO president for four and a half years. During this time, the PTO has flourished and grown into a vital and vibrant organization at Ehrhardt.
Bob, a colonel in the California Army National Guard, is a pilot and flies Blackhawk helicopters. He has landed the Blackhawk helicopter on the Ehrhardt soccer field on two occasions and has visited classrooms to speak about his career.
The Spano's have two children, Sarah - a 6th grade student and Lucca - a 1st grade student. Both children attend Ehrhardt.
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EGUSD District Office Holiday Closures
The Elk Grove Unified School District's Robert L. Trigg Education Center and satellite district offices will be closed to the public from Thursday, December 24, 2009, through Friday, January 1, 2010.
Some departments and EGUSD Police Services will continue to work. To contact EGUSD Police Services, please call 916-686-7786. In the case of an emergency, call 911.
Questions regarding the holiday closures can be directed to Communications at 916-686-7732.
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Alpha Academy engages students - and parents
The Alpha Academy is facilitated by the Zeta Beta Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., in partnership with the Elk Grove Unified School District, Cosumnes River College and the Greater Sacramento March of Dimes.
The Alpha Academy meets at Cosumnes River College, once a month, for four hours for workshop sessions. The workshops bring together adult male professionals with male middle and high school students to discuss decision-making skills, academic performance, social responsibility, career goals and contemporary challenges.
Tutoring assistance is also available to participants twice a week.
The academy also involves the parents through their Parent Support Group. The group meets with a designated facilitator while their children participate in academy workshops each month. The support group covers curriculum that help students and parents navigate college preparation and entrance.
The Parent Support Group is designed to promote leadership, volunteerism, educational advocacy, parenting skills, parent rights and responsibilities that are essential in helping to close the academic achievement gap for all students. The parent group is a free service open to any parent that has children at any level in the educational system.
Currently, students from six EGUSD schools - Edward Harris, Jr. Middle School, Samuel Jackman Middle School, Franklin High School, Laguna Creek High School, Monterey Trail High School and Valley High School - participate in the program.
For more information on the Alpha Academy or how to get involved, click here. |
Harriet Eddy Middle School students write to brighten the days of troops overseas
Students at Harriet Eddy Middle School worked to brighten the days of troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan through a letter writing campaign.
A total of 160 letters were written to troops and will be sent to the troops in time for the holiday season.
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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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Multiculturalism celebrated
at Sheldon High School
The gymnasium at Sheldon High School resembled a mini-United Nations on December 4 as students representing ten cultural clubs and three campus organizations presented their 11th Annual Multicultural Assembly.
The annual event features dances and music from across the globe. The student performers practice for months leading up to the assembly.
"Our Multicultural Assembly is an opportunity for Sheldon students to share with one another -our histories, cultures and pride," said Paula Duncan, principal at Sheldon. "The assembly presents a collective opportunity to appreciate and celebrate our diversity, which is our strength."
A total of 13 groups presented performances at the Multicultural Assembly, including: the Sheldon High School Symphonic Band, Vietnamese Culture Club, Japan Club, Punjabi Rocks!, La Raza Latina, Desi Club, Pacific Islander Club (PIC), Hmong Club, Korean Club, Black Student Union, the Sheldon choir and Universal Rhythm - Sheldon's dance company.
The Tiniking dance, performed by PIC, was one of the highlights of the assembly. The Tinikling dance incorporates giant bamboo sticks that are hit together by two people while two dancers move intricately in and out of the moving sticks without getting caught. PIC returned to the stage later in the program with a presentation of a traditional Tahitian dance.
The show ended with a collaborative dance featuring dancers from all the cultural groups to Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror."
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EGUSD wants your input
in National "Speak Up" survey
The Elk Grove Unified School District is seeking input from students, staff and parents about technology use and education through the national "Speak Up" survey administered by Project Tomorrow, a non-profit education organization.
EGUSD stakeholders are asked to take the survey online at www.speakup4schools.org/speakup2009/ and select whether you fall under the category of parents, students or teachers & administrators. You will be asked to enter the state and name of your school. Finally, you will need to enter the "secret word" elkgrove to access the survey.
Individual responses are anonymous. They are associated with a school but are not tied to the individual. The survey will close on December 23, 2009.
The survey results will inform EGUSD about how participants feel about their education and the use of technology. Survey results may be used for planning and community discussion. Project Tomorrow releases national findings through a variety of venues including: Congressional briefing in Washington, D.C., national and regional conferences, e-mail distribution, Project Tomorrow website and through Speak Up partners. According to Project Tomorrow, local, state and national stakeholders report using Speak Up data to inform their new programs and policies.
Copies of the actual surveys - grade level, parent, teacher, etc. can be found online at www.tomorrow.org/speakup/speakup_surveys.html.
The survey and subsequent results are free of charge to both the people taking the survey and EGUSD.
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EGUSD students and employees "Celebrate the Season"
Thanks to the generous efforts of Elk Grove Unified School District students and staff, needy families throughout the district will enjoy a much happier and merrier holiday season.
These families in need were helped through the district's Celebrate the Season program. The program was created to help EGUSD students and their families who are in need of extra assistance during the holiday season. The families that are assisted through the Celebrate the Season program are selected from the district's Project A.C.T., Healthy Start, Foster Youth, CalSafe and Even Start programs. Anyone in the district is welcome to sponsor a family.
After being assigned a family - or in some cases, families - sponsors use wish lists filled out by their family to purchase gifts. After the gifts have been purchased and wrapped, sponsors deliver the gifts to their adopted family, giving both the adopters and the families a chance to meet and share this special moment.
"We are very thankful in Healthy Start for the Celebrate the Season program," said Diane Lampe, coordinator for the Healthy Start Program. "So many families receive much needed support for the holidays due to the caring and generosity of all of the adopters. It is wonderful to see how the program has grown so that more and more families are served each year."
Since its inception in 2003, the number of departments participating and the number of families assisted has grown.
In 2003 eight departments assisted eight families. In 2009, that number has grown to 104 departments/school sites/individuals assisting 127 families and seven foster youth.
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Feickert Elementary students seek to warm hearts and minds of children in need
The Ellen Feickert Elementary School student council and library employees are collecting new teddy bears, books, blankets and jackets for children in need for the holiday season.
All items collected will be donated to the Elk Grove Food Closet to supplement donations of food for needy families in the Elk Grove area.
"Last year we collected teddy bears and books to donate," said Mary Vogt, school librarian and coordinator of the collection effort at Feickert. "This year, the need shifted as many families are now living in cars or are not able to pay their heating bills. The addition of blankets and jackets to our donation helps meet this need."
Feickert students and staff will wrap the items together on December 15 throughout the day. The bundles will be delivered to the Elk Grove Food Closet on December 15.
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