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Tip: Texting - If your kids are texting, encourage them to ignore text messages from people they don't know. |
Parent builds and donates new podium to
Florin High School
Badly dented and in need of repair, the staff at Florin High School knew the time had come to retire their old podium.
That's when Raymond and Jennifer Ishima, parents of Florin students Christian and Evan, stepped up to the plate. Raymond built a beautiful new podium and donated it to the school.
"We're extremely grateful for this generous donation from the Ishima family," said Don Ross, principal at Florin. "New podiums can cost well over $250. This donation will enable us to direct the funds that would have been used to purchase a new podium back into the classroom."
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Help EGUSD raise money for high school athletics with Sacramento River Cats
The Elk Grove Unified School District (EGUSD) has partnered with the Sacramento River Cats to raise funds for the EGUSD high school athletics program. EGUSD will receive 50 percent of the ticket price for tickets purchased for two Sacramento River Cats playoff games on September 9 and 10. Special promotions will be featured at each game. The game on September 9 is $1 hot dog and $1 dessert night. A fireworks show will occur after the game on September 10. Game attendees wearing school spirit gear to either game will receive $2 in Cat Cash - which can be used to purchase food and souvenirs at the ball park. The cost of the tickets is $10; therefore, EGUSD will receive $5 for every ticket sold. Click here to purchase tickets for these games and type in special offer code "athletics." Tickets must be purchased through this link for EGUSD to receive the 50 percent benefit. All proceeds raised from ticket sales will benefit athletic programs at all EGUSD high schools. Click here for more information on how to contribute to the EGUSD Athletics Program. |
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Back to School = Update Your Information
With the beginning of a new school year, the time has come to update your child's information at their school site. It is important that this information is up-to-date at the school site so you can be contacted in case of an emergency. Please update general information (address, phone numbers, emergency contacts, etc.) in your child's file if needed.
In addition to the usual means of communicating with parents - phone calls, flyers sent home, etc. - the Elk Grove Unified School District now has the ability to communicate with parents and guardians through an email system that is integrated with our student information system.
This system allows for increased district and school communication with parents about important information and events. It will also allow the district and schools to save money on paper and printing costs during these tough budgetary times. We understand that not all families have access to the Internet or email. Therefore, at this time, the emails will be an additional communication tool. Important information will continue to go home to parents in print format.
If you have already submitted your email address to your child's school you should be receiving emails. You can make certain that the email comes through by adding the email address donotreply@egusd.net to your acceptable email addresses in your spam filter.
If you would like to receive emails in the future, please contact your child's school to have your email address added to your student's registration information.
Should you have questions about the email system, please contact communication@egusd.net.
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Barbara Comstock Morse Elementary receives Target Books for Schools Award Barbara Comstock Morse Elementary School is the recipient of a $500 Target Books for Schools Award. Morse was selected for the award by the Target store on Cosumnes River Blvd. Through a partnership with First Book, more than 1,700 Target stores and distribution centers have donated thousands of books to children in need through the Books for Schools Award. First Book is an organization that addresses one of the most important factors affecting literacy - access to books. Click here for more information about the Target Books for Schools Award or other Target education initiatives.
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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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No Excuses - Go to School Attendance Campaign returns for 6th year
 The No Excuses - Go to School Attendance Campaign will kick off its sixth year with its official launch today, September 6, 2011. The campaign is designed to encourage students to attend school consistently in all grades. The 2010/2011 No Excuses - Go to School Attendance Campaign was one of the most successful years yet for Elk Grove Unified. Average Daily Attendance (ADA) increased by .38 percent, netting an additional $1.4 million in funding for the district. One of the highlights of the Attendance Campaign are the monthly incentive prizes. Support for the Attendance Campaign is sought through monthly incentives donated by local businesses and community members. Every month, one student with perfect attendance at 63 Elk Grove Unified schools is selected to receive an incentive prize - just for having perfect attendance for that month. The Elk Grove Auto Mall (EGAM) Graduating Seniors Attendance Drive will also return for its sixth year in 2011/2012, giving students in the Class of 2012 the chance to win $20,000 to purchase a vehicle from any dealership at the Elk Grove Auto Mall. This year's contest will include a new twist. Students will need to have at least five months of perfect attendance and a 2.0 GPA to be eligible. Last year, Melayne Alexander from Elk Grove High School took home the $20,000 grand prize and purchased a silver Toyota Corolla with her winnings. Nine runners-up each received a $100 VISA gift card. The runners-up were: Elizabeth Schneider (Cosumnes Oaks High School), Tai Huynh (William Daylor High School), Nancy Xiong (Florin High School), Nicholas Ruebel (Franklin High School), Gagandeep Saini (Laguna Creek High School), Justin Phan (Monterey Trail High School), Xochitl Orozoco (Pleasant Grove High School), Kile Casto (Sheldon High School) and Jeanette Dominguez (Valley High School). Elementary school students also had a shot at earning an end-of-the-year grand prize for having perfect attendance. The Perfect Attendance Bike Giveaway allows each of Elk Grove Unified's 39 elementary schools to award one new bicycle and helmet to one student who obtained perfect attendance for at least one calendar month throughout the school year through the Perfect Attendance Bike Giveaway. One student at each of Elk Grove Unified's middle and high schools had the chance to win a new iPod Shuffle at the end of the school year for having perfect attendance - for the entire year - from August 16, 2010 to May 6, 2011. New for this year, middle school and high school students in grades 9-11 will also have a chance to win an end-of-the-year grand prize through the Perfect Attendance Laptop Giveaway. One middle school and one high school student in grades 9-11 will walk away with a new laptop computer and printer at the end of the year - just for having at least one month of perfect attendance. Similar to the Bike Giveaway, students will earn entries for each month they have perfect attendance. At the end of the school year, one student from each middle school and one student from each high school will be selected from the entries to attend a Grand Finale Event for the chance to win the grand prizes.
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Union House Elementary School educator creates website to help students
"Be Bright"
Elementary school students throughout the Elk Grove Unified School District are now seeing the subject of math and science in a whole new light through the creation of a new website developed by an Elk Grove Unified educator.
"The Be Bright website is dedicated to improving the academic achievement of socioeconomically disadvantaged students in math and science," said Jack Ferreira, academic program coordinator at Union House and creator of the website. "The entire website was developed and built using effective research-based methods that have been proven to be effective. All of the resources provided on Be Bright are free for everyone to use and access."
The inspiration for the website came to Ferreira when he was enrolled in a class taught by EGUSD Superintendent Dr. Steven M. Ladd.
"At the time, I was doing research on the lack of minorities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers," said Ferreira. "Dr. Ladd gave us a project in which we had to identify a problem and do something about it so I chose to try and increase math and science achievement of socioeconomically disadvantaged students. As my final project in the class, I presented the idea for the Be Bright website and decided to actually build the website using my research after the class ended."
The Be Bright website integrates the best free math resources found on the Internet into an organized and easy to access format. The website helps increase math achievement through high-interest and exciting free online games, printables, center activities, SMART Board lessons and PowerPoint presentations targeting basic math skills and grade level standards. Vital links to resources and information for parents about community programs can also be found on the website.
The website took over two years and over 1,000 hours to develop from conception to publishing on the web. One year into developing the website, Ferreira applied for a $5,000 grant from the NEA Foundation to help fund the website. The grant was subsequently funded and Ferreira now has a team of six teachers who help to continually update the website.
Currently, many kindergarten through 6th grade teachers across the district use the website to reinforce math skills in a fun and interesting way. Teachers use the website to help guide parents to local community resources through the parent resources page. The Be Bright website is also used in the classroom, as many teachers use the online games as central activities and have students use the website on classroom computers. Teachers who have SMART Boards - interactive white boards - in their classrooms use the online games and activities on the Be Bright website as an interactive tool during lessons.
Overall, the feedback Ferreira has received about the Be Bright website has been very positive.
"The kids love the games while the teachers love the free printables and resources offered on the website," said Ferreira. "Teachers and parents also appreciate the organization and ease of use in accessing California's math standards. Parents are excited to have a fun way to reinforce math skills at home, as well as being able to access valuable community resources."
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Hands-on science helps test scores soar at Katherine L. Albiani Middle School
At Katherine L. Albiani Middle School, hands-on, collaborative group work has proven to be a successful teaching method in science classes.
Since Albiani opened in 2005, test scores have seen steady, continuous growth through the years. Students scoring advanced/proficient in science at Albiani started at 56 percent in the 2005/2006 school year. In the 2010/2011 school year, the number grew to 92 percent of Albiani students scoring as advanced/proficient in science. From 2010/2011 total, 79 percent of students at Albiani are classified as advanced.
Albiani students participate in a variety of hands-on activities that reinforce scientific concepts, including tug-of-war for forces, playing with Hot Wheels miniature cars for speed and building boats for buoyancy. Students even make their own videos demonstrating different science concepts.
"Students today are growing up in a world that is highly collaborative and social," said William Carlton, science teacher and department chair at Albiani. "If a teacher can harness their energy and structure their classes correctly, they can use this as tremendous advantage. Because of this, we try to do labs or hands-on activities at least 3 days a week."
In addition to the "fun" hands-on activities, students also keep a science notebook with their work, labs and notes. Students who do not complete their work on time are not automatically given zeros. Instead, students are encouraged to finish the work, although it is late. Most science teachers at Albiani also open their classrooms at lunch for students who need extra time. This year, the science teachers plan to continue to build upon these activities and incorporate new ideas where possible.
"Our goal this year is to look at the work we are having the students do and what level of inquiry we are really asking the students to do," said Carlton. "We're hoping to use what we see has a springboard to infuse more inquiry-based science into our curriculum."
"Our science teachers are truly phenomenal educators," said Melanie Dopson, principal at Albiani. "They collaborate, encourage creativity and innovation and expect the best from each other. As a whole the department believes student engagement and critical thinking are key factors in student success. In turn, our students enjoy their science classes and are eager to learn from their teachers. Their outstanding teaching and collaborative nature is reflected in our scores."
Carlton is quick to point out that it is a collaborative effort among all science teachers as the reason for the high test scores at Albiani.
"Everyone teaches differently - no two teachers are the same," said Carlton. "This diversity of instruction allows for us to learn from each other and try new things. We are constantly growing and learning from our successes and failures. It is the high level of collaboration among my colleagues and myself that I truly believe makes the difference. I have worked with many great teachers during my career and this is the finest team I have ever been on."
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LYON Real Estate starts Adopt-A-School program with EGUSD
Thanks to the generous employees of Lyon Real Estate, several Elk Grove Unified elementary schools will receive school supplies through Lyon's new Adopt-A-School program.
"Our vision for the program is to collect money from more than 70 agents in our office each month and use the money to purchase supplies for the teachers and students in the Elk Grove Unified School District," said Don Buol, manager of the Elk Grove Lyon Real Estate Office. "Our agents are already very active in supporting the community, and this program allows us to make a larger contribution to our great teachers and students than we could individually. I asked for $5 a month and the response was outstanding!"
Participating elementary schools are selected by the Elementary Education Department at Elk Grove Unified. Buol then contacts the school to find out what their needs are and then purchases as many supplies as possible with the funds collected.
Buol and several agents from the Elk Grove LYON Real Estate office delivered the highly anticipated supplies on August 29 to the eager staff at Franklin Elementary. Donated supplies will be evenly distributed amongst the grade levels at Franklin.
"We are extremely grateful for the thoughtfulness and generosity of Lyon Real Estate," said John Santin, principal at Franklin Elementary. "We have 29 teachers here at Franklin and each one appreciates the opportunity for additional school supplies. We definitely welcome the help and support during these tough budgetary times."
The next EGUSD school on Lyon's list is Mary Tsukamoto Elementary in September.
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