South Bay Union School District

Community Update

December 2011
In This Issue
Superintendent's Message
Welcome New School Administrators
The Great California Shakeout
Proposition X Update
Taking a Stand Against Bullying
Reachout to Families Resource Center
Giving Thanks
Parent Institute for Quality Education
Education Foundation
Quick Notes

13 GREAT SCHOOLS SERVING STUDENTS IN SOUTH SAN DIEGO AND IMPERIAL BEACH

 

VIP Village Pre-School (Pre-K) West View Early Learning Center (Pre-K/K)

 

Bayside (K-6) │ Berry (K-6)

Central (K-6) │ Emory (K-6)

Imperial Beach (1-6)

Mendoza (K-6)

Nicoloff (K-6)

Oneonta (K-6)

Pence (K-6)

Sunnyslope (K-6)

 

Nestor Language Academy Charter (K-8)

Important Data:

Enrollment - 7,660

Week 10 Attendance - 94.18%

 

Important Dates:

Report Cards - December 16

 

Winter Break - December 19-January 6

 

Students Return to School - January 10

 

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday - January 16

Board of Trustees:

David Lopez, President

Melanie Ellsworth, Vice President

Chris Brown, Clerk

Elvia Aguilar, Member

Nicholas Inzunza, Member

Calendar Notes

 

South Bay Union School District will be on Winter Break from December 19, 2011 through January 6, 2012.  The Education Center will be closed during this break, but will be open to the public and staff on Friday, January 6 and Monday, January 9, 2012.  Students will return to school on Tuesday, January 10, 2012.

 

The Board of Trustees has reinstated Monday, April 9, 2012 as an Instructional Day.   

 

We look forward to seeing all our students at school!


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Superintendent's Message

 

Dear SBUSD Parents, Guardians and Community Members,

 

We are very pleased with the academic progress of our students so far this year. In sixth grade during the past six weeks our students have been working on identifying the structural features of text including newspapers, magazines, and online media to obtain information. They have also been learning to make reasonable assertions about text by providing supporting evidence and citations from the text. In preparation for middle grades, high school and college, they are learning how to create outlines, logical notes, summaries and reports. Nearly 70% of our students were able to demonstrate their proficiency in these areas on a recent district benchmark assessment.

 

Our younger students are continuing to develop the foundational skills that will allow them to demonstrate their own abilities in these areas. One of our principals reported to me yesterday that he had been observing a kindergarten class in which students were being asked to defend their answers with pictures or words from a primary text. They were highly engaged in thinking, discussing and reporting out their answers in complete sentences.

 

Our classrooms are very exciting places. Our teachers work very hard to develop lessons focused on challenging and rigorous learning.  Due to our high level of community support, we have an interactive white board in every classroom.  This technology assists teachers in communicating new concepts and providing opportunities for students to interact with the teacher through personal responders.

 

Thank you for your continuing support. We want every student to be eligible for a college/university program here in California or anywhere they wish to study.  Our mission is to work with you as partners to develop our future productive citizens, successful professionals and world leaders - who need to approach their work with intelligence and confidence.

 

We wish you a wonderful three-week winter break. We are eager to return to teaching and learning on January 10.

 

 Professionally yours,

  Carol

Carol Parish, Ed.D.
District Superintendent 
Welcome New School Administrators 
 
We are pleased to welcome three new administrators to the District!

Imperial Beach School - Pamela Reichert-Montiel has been named the new Principal.  Pamela started at the District in 1990 as a teacher at Berry School.  Since then, she has served as a Resource Teacher, Reading 1st Coordinator and a Reading Specialist.  For the past 7 years, Pamela has been at the Education Center as the Director of Educational Services. 

Sunnyslope School - Pearly Boone has been named Acting Principal effective January 1, 2012.  For the past two years, she has been the Assistant Principal at Mendoza School.  Since 1999 when Pearly joined the District, she has been a RSP Teacher, Program Specialist, Teacher on Special Assignment and a Coordinator in Educational Services.

Education Center - Amy Illingworth has been named Director of Educational Services.  Amy has previously been at Vista and San Diego Unified School Districts.  She has been in education since 1997, serving as a Teacher, Peer Coach, Vice Principal and Principal.

Please stop by and welcome Pamela, Pearly and Amy to their new roles!
The Great California Shakeout
shake

 

SBUSD schools  participated in the Great California Shakeout drill to practice our response to an earthquake.  The District used the internationally recognized "Drop, Cover and Hold On" protocol as detailed below:

  • DROP to the ground (before the earthquake drops you!),
  • Take COVER by getting under a sturdy desk or table, and
  • HOLD ON to it until the shaking stops.

The drill was useful for students and staff to recognize their roles and responsibilities during an emergency situation. Earthquake drills are among the many drills performed each month to ensure safety and preparedness in our schools.

 

Proposition X Update

 

SBUSD  has completed the following projects based on the various phases of the voter-approved Proposition X: 

  • Bayside  and Oneonta Schools: Full facilities and campus infrastructure modernization with a primary focus on all teaching environments. These projects were completed in the Fall of 2011. 
  • Emory School:  A partial site-perimeter enhancement development project with a primary focus on student safety and campus security. This phase was completed in the Fall of 2011.
  • Berry and Nestor Schools: Full facilities and campus infrastructure modernization with a primary focus on all teaching environments. Due to limited available funding, only the site infrastructure scope of work was completed over the summer of 2011. 

The balance of the modernization work for both Berry and Nestor is scheduled to be completed pending receipt of further State Funding.

 

Emory
Emory Enhancement Project and Marquee
Taking a Stand Against Bullying

 

On November 9, 2011, Nestor hosted an assembly to showcase an anti-bullying project completed by students Isabella and Raul Castillo. The students produced a video describing the serious impacts of bullying, which was played at the start of the assembly. The students and their parents, Cynthia and Raul Castillo, created an anti-bullying t-shirt that was distributed to students. The assembly concluded with students signing a pledge, promising never to take part in bullying. Thank you to the Castillo family for their hard work and support of Nestor!

 

Nestor students wearing the anti-bullying t-shirt, with the guidance of our Administrators and Teachers, stood side by side on the hallway leading to the exit gate of the school sending parents and students off for the 3-day weekend by cheering and jeering against bullying. Good job, Nestor!

 

Reachout to Families Resource Center

 

The Reachout to Families Resource Center provides resources to families in the South Bay Union School District and surrounding community, including emergency food assistance, connecting  families with basic services,  domestic violence assistance, child care, housing services, legal assistance, alcohol drug assistance, health services, and mental health services for children and adults.

  

The Center hosts several community events throughout the year for families in our community:

  • In November, the Center distributed food to 50 families, food baskets were provided to 38 families and 12 families were provided turkey dinners for the Thanksgiving Holiday. 
  • In December, the Gifts from the Heart Program will assist 60 families and 175 children in our community with food and toys for the holidays. 
  • In May, the Center hosts the Cinco de Mayo Resource Fair, which provides the community with information and resources from over 30 agencies (from the San Ysidro Health Center to the Military Liaison Program). 

In addition to these events, the Center also offers ongoing classes to benefit families and students.  Starting in January 2012, the following new classes will be held at the center: Nutrition class hosted by the I.B. Health Center (Languages: English and Spanish), Prime ALLY Program Effective Living Skills (Language: Spanish; Child care provided) Family System Workshops (Language: Spanish).  New classes with different goals and topics are always being developed and implemented.

 

If you have questions about the events or classes, or you find yourself in need of some assistance, please contact the Reach Out to Families Resource Center.  You can find us on the web at http://sbusd.org/Page/140 or call the Reach Out to Families Coordinator, Yolanda Araujo, at (619) 628-5087.

 

Giving Thanks

 

On Friday, November 18, Imperial Beach teacher Noemi Salcedo's fourth grade class was treated to a Thanksgiving feast from Hometown Buffet. Lisa Waln, the Community Liaison for Hometown Buffet and an IB parent, facilitated this donated meal.

 

In addition to organizing the donation, Ms. Waln and other parents served the Thanksgiving meal to the 4th grade students. The meal consisted of turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, rolls, and pumpkin pie.  Hometown Buffet has been a wonderful community  partner to Imperial Beach School. The Hometown Bee even led the school's Halloween Parade!

 

Parent Institute for Quality Education

 

Are You Interested in Learning More About How to Assure Your Child's Academic Success?

 

SBUSD will be sponsoring a 9-week program for parents taught by instructors from the Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE).  PIQE creates partnerships between parents, students and educators to further student academic success. This program, which is designed to enlist parents in becoming more involved in their child's education,  is having a positive effect when it has been implemented by schools and school districts.  PIQE's signature program is the Parent Engagement Education Program.  True to the organization's mission, the program educates parents on how to foster a positive educational environment for their children both at home and at school.

 

The schedule of classes begins on January 25, 2012 and continues on February 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, March 7 and 14.  The classes will be held at Sunnyslope or Nicoloff, depending on parent response.  If you are the parent of an SBUSD student and you are interested in participating in this program, please contact the SBUSD Student Services Department at 619-628-1660.   

Education Foundation

  

Please mark your calendars for the following Education Foundation fundraising events: 

  • Cosmic Bowling on Saturday, January 28, 2012 at Brunswick Premier Lanes in Chula Vista. Tickets are $15 and include 2 hours of cosmic bowling and shoe rental. If you wish to purchase tickets, please contact Dana at dtomlinson@sbusd.org.
  • The SBUSD Education Foundation will host its Stars under the Stars dinner/dance on April 28, 2012. 

Since the Imperial Beach Sandcastle Competition has been permanently canceled, the SBUSD Education Foundation will no longer reap the benefits of our annual parking fundraiser, which yielded our highest income.    We are now counting on you more than ever to donate and support our other fundraising events.

Quick Notes 
  • Thank you to the Bikes For Kids Foundation for supplying bicycles this year for some of our disadvantaged 3rd Graders.
  • Congratulations to Sunnyslope School for their selection as the only school in San Diego County to participate in the Mission Federal Credit Union Charger Touchdown Challenge!  Charger Quentin Jammer visited the school on December 6 to congratulate the students and staff.  The essay contest winners attended the Charger game on December 11 and accepted a $5,000 donation to the school!
  • Congratulations to Mendoza School for their selection for the 2010-2011 California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE) South County Region 4 English Language Learner Significant Gain Award to recognize their +26 gain on API results on the CSTs!
  • Congratulations to the Board of Trustees and the SBUSD Proposition X Management Team!  The District received a Gold Vision Award from Constructech Journal at an awards dinner in Chicago on September 14, 2011.  The team was recognized for their use of technology in an innovative method towards effective construction and program management.  The award was presented to the Board by SGI Construction Management at the November 10, 2011 Board Meeting. 
  • At this year's California School Board Association Annual Education Conference,the South Bay student achievement success story was told in a Workshop on Thursday, December 1, 2011.  Board President Chris Brown, Superintendent Carol Parish, Assistant Superintendent Shelley Burgess and Oneonta Principal Marla Fernandez shared the exciting things that are happening in South Bay classrooms and the difference our staff and students have made!  Great job to all!
  • Mendoza School  would like to thank and recognize the Sean O'Shea Foundation and Myrna Canizalez, Mendoza social worker, for implementing a program consisting of seven consecutive weeks of yoga lessons, nutrition and optimistic teaching for our 52 fifth grade students.  It has been a positive experience focusing on respect, patience, increased self-confidence, health improvement and increased awareness.  This program encourages students to develop a sense of gratitude, responsibility to the environment, ability to share their enthusiasm and appreciation of life.
  • A big thank you to the Kiwanis Club of Imperial Beach-South Bay for their generosity!  Beginning this year, in honor of their guest speakers, the Kiwanis will be donating books to SBUSD.  The books will be collected, delivered to the Education Center, and distributed to the schools on a monthly basis.  We appreciate the Club's ongoing support of our students!
  • Your decorations could mean money for Imperial Beach Schools!  Patch.com is hosting a holiday decorating contest!  For more information, see the full story at:

    http://imperialbeach.patch.com/articles/deck-your-house-and-win-100-000-for-imperial-beach-public-schools