| Honoring Our Volunteers
Sandra Robinson of James McKee Elementary School
Sandra Robinson was recognized as an Education Partner at the March 1, 2011, meeting of the Elk Grove Unified School District Board of Education.
Sandra has served on the James McKee Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) for five years. She has served as president for the past two years. In addition to serving on the PTO, Sandra has served as a chaperone for numerous study trips, as a classroom volunteer and as a leader for dozens of school events. Sandra also volunteers for the Boy Scouts in her spare time.
Sandra is married to Anthony Robinson. They have two children - Zachary, a 7th grade student at Joseph Kerr Middle School and Aaron, a 5th grade student at McKee. Both sons have served on McKee's student council. Zachary headed the school's anti-bullying committee during his time at McKee. Aaron is an outstanding scholar and has played on the school's football, basketball and track and field teams, as well as the regional wrestling team. He also plays the saxophone in the school band.
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New immunization law for secondary students
A new California law now requires that students entering 7th through 12th grades in the 2011-2012 provide schools proof that they have received an adolescent pertussis (whooping cough) booster shot (Tdap) prior to starting school. The new law was enacted following a widespread pertussis epidemic in 2010. The Elk Grove Unified School District urges parents of current 6th through 11th grade students to get the booster shot now to avoid the back-to-school rush this summer. Students will not be able to attend school in 2011-2012 until they show proof of the booster shot. After students receive the Tdap booster shot, parents should bring the written proof to the front office at their current school. If students have already received their Tdap booster shot, parents should also bring the written proof to their student's school. After the 2011-2012 school year, only students entering 7th grade will need to show proof of having received the adolescent pertussis booster shot. For more information, a fact sheet from the California Department of Public Health is available here.
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Elk Grove High School wins regional Mock Trial competition
Elk Grove was announced the winner of the 2011 Gordon D. Schaber (GDS) Mock Trial Competition at a reception held on Monday, March 7. Elk Grove defeated Rio Americano School to capture the title. Elk Grove is now eligible to represent Sacramento County at the California Mock Trial competition to be held in Riverside from March 25-27.
Earlier this year, the Elk Grove High School Mock Trial team placed fifth at the Empire Mock Trial Invitational in October. The Empire Mock Trial Invitational, sponsored by New York University, is a highly competitive international mock trial tournament held annually in New York City.
The GDS Mock Trial competition simulates a trial-level proceeding in which students portray the roles of pre-trial counsel, prosecuting and defense attorneys, witnesses, court clerks, bailiffs, and jurors before a single presiding judge and two scoring judges. It includes courtroom art and courtroom journalism competitions.
All high schools throughout the Sacramento region are invited to participate in the competition. Teams from 20 Sacramento County high schools, as well as four teams from El Dorado, Placer and Yolo counties, competed in the 32nd annual event. Volunteers from more than 60 local law firms and other legal organizations served as scoring and presiding judges for the five-day event.
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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 Holds Community Budget Meetings
The Elk Grove Unified School District is holding public meetings throughout the month of March to discuss the state of California's budget crisis and its effect on public education. EGUSD faces a $40 million budget shortfall if Governor Jerry Brown's proposed tax extension measure fails to appear on a special election ballot and pass in June. In order to meet its fiduciary obligations and state mandated timelines, the district has identified a combination of cuts that impacts all district divisions and schools, as well as the use of one-time dollars. The proposed reductions total almost $35 million, potentially affecting nearly 440 full-time equivalent positions. EGUSD is also working on identifying the budget cuts that would be needed should the tax extension measure pass. Although the budget reductions would be significantly less, EGUSD faces a structural deficit in subsequent years following three years of using one-time dollars to retain as many positions and programs for students as possible. The meetings will be held on these dates at the following locations: March 22, 2011 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Valley High School - Cafeteria 6300 Ehrhardt Avenue Sacramento, CA 95823 March 24, 2011 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. James Rutter Middle School - Cafeteria 7350 Palmer House Drive Sacramento, CA 95828 March 31, 2011 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Franklin High School - Cafeteria 6400 Whitelock Parkway Elk Grove, CA 95757
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EGUSD Virtual Academy registration opens on March 15
The Elk Grove Unified School District Virtual Academy will begin taking registration for the 2011-2012 school year for students in grades K-12 beginning Tuesday, March 15.
The EGUSD Virtual Academy offers an innovative learning experience for the 21st century student. This accredited online academy allows students in kindergarten through 12th grade to experience teaching and learning from virtually anywhere a computer will take them. The curriculum is provided through a partnership with K12, a national online program. All courses are aligned to the State of California's standards and benchmarks. Classes span from core subjects to a wide variety of electives with a strong emphasis on building skills and critical thinking.
Student learning is guided by Elk Grove Unified teachers. Students have access to their teachers in person, online and by email. Parents play a critical role as learning coaches in the EGUSD Virtual Academy to support their students' learning.
The EGUSD Virtual Academy is part of a free public education system. Students enrolled in the EGUSD Virtual Academy can earn an accredited high school diploma through the Elk Grove Unified School District. This academy is open to students living in Sacramento, Amador, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Placer, San Joaquin, Solano, Sutter and Yolo counties.
For more information on and to register for the EGUSD Virtual Academy, visit http://blogs.egusd.net/egva/.
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Pleasant Grove High School wins 1st Annual Loren & Kimberly Roberts Boys Golf Tournament
On February 28, young student-athletes representing eight EGUSD high schools came together to compete in the inaugural Loren and Kimberly Roberts Boys' Golf Tournament. The tournament was held at Rancho Murieta Country Club.
"We were able to save both the boys' and the girls' golf programs in Elk Grove Unified for the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 school years, thanks to PGA Tour pro golfer Loren Roberts' generous $70,000 donation last year," said Jim Smrekar, district athletic director. "Today's tournament and the girls' tournament last fall were created to honor the Roberts family's generosity to Elk Grove Unified."
Loren Roberts attended the tournament and passed out awards to the winners. He also posed for photos with each team.
A total of 41 golfers competed in the event. At the end of the day, it was the team from Pleasant Grove High School that came out on top with a score of 412. Pleasant Grove's name will be engraved on a perpetual plaque that will memorialize the girls' and boys' champions each year.
Franklin High School finished second and Elk Grove High School took third place honors.
Pleasant Grove High School's girls' golf team took first place honors at the girls tournament last fall.
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Project Lead the Way shines at EGUSD
Thanks to the Project Lead the Way (PLTW) program, the magic of science comes alive for students at three middle schools in Elk Grove Unified.
PLTW was introduced to the Elk Grove Unified School District by Dr. Steven M. Ladd, EGUSD's superintendent, in 2005. Harriet Eddy Middle School was the first school site to offer PLTW's middle school program Gateway to Technology (GTT) as an 8th grade year-long elective course. Samuel Jackman Middle School introduced GTT curriculum a year later and James Rutter Middle School followed shortly after.
GTT is a project-based program designed to challenge and engage the imagination of middle school students. The program is divided into six independent units: design and modeling; automation and robotics; energy and the environment; flight and space; science of technology; and magic of electrons.
Students at Eddy have just completed learning CAD (computer aid design) programming using Autodesk Inventor Software Suite 2011. The students designed and fabricated a puzzle cube toy and packaging following an engineering design process. The students are currently working on a robotics unit using LEGO Mindstorm Robotics curriculum, a six week program that introduces students to robotics and programming using NXT software.
"We'll finish up our school year with a unit on the science of aeronautics and space," said Diana Brooks, a science teacher at Eddy. "During this unit, students will be able to earn opportunities to command a Cessna aircraft using the X-plane flight simulators. In addition, as an added bonus to this unit, Ret. Major Brooks, USAF, B-52 pilot, is custom designing an aviation lesson reviewing the physics of flying and general aviation terminology culminating in applying their skills building and flying a glider."
For more information about Project Lead the Way in California, click here. Information about the national program can be found here.
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