Internet Safety Tips
TIP: Children should not complete a profile for a service provider and children's screen names should be nondescript so as not to identify that the user is a child. |
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Honoring Our Volunteers
Felipa Armstrong of Florin Elementary School 
Felipa Armstrong was recognized as an Education Partner at the October 30, 2012 meeting of the Elk Grove Unified School District Board of Education. Armstrong is a parent that is seen often around campus. She chaperones field trips, organizes and participates in Florin activities and is a strong supporter of everything "Florin." She spearheaded the creation of Florin's newly formed Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) and is the proud president of the PTO. Over the years, Armstrong has created strong ties with many teachers at Florin, always checking in with teachers and volunteering to do what needs to be done to support not only her own children but all Florin students. Her dedication and loyalty to Florin Elementary contributes to her children's success and makes Florin a better school. Armstrong is married to Kenneth Armstrong. They have three children at Florin - Madison, a 6th grade student and twins Cady and Cody, both 4th grade students. |
EGUSD asks students, staff and parents to participate 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 http://www.speakup4schools.or
g/speakup2012 and select whether you fall under the category of parents, students or teachers & administrators. The website asks for the user to enter the state and name of the school. Survey takers will then 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 is open now and will close on December 14, 2012.
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, DC, national and regional conferences, email 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.
Sample questions on the surveys can be found online at: http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/pdfs/Sample_Survey_Jul%2020
10.pdf.
The survey and subsequent results are free of charge to both the people taking the survey and EGUSD.
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John Ehrhardt Elementary School partners with Lowes to revitalize school garden
John Ehrhardt Elementary School partnered with Lowe's to restore their school garden during the week of November 5. The Lowe's Heroes Program provided up to $1,200 in materials and employee volunteers to help install an automatic irrigation and drip system, flagstone planters, lattice for the garden perimeter, new soil, winter crops and new gravel for pathways. Students, staff, families members of the community and staff from Lowes worked on garden restoration throughout the week. Click here to learn more about the Lowe's Heroes program.
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EGACE to offer holiday cooking classes
Looking for that perfect cooking class to learn how to prepare delicious treats for the holidays? Look no further - Elk Grove Adult and Community Education (EGACE) is offering two fun, affordable classes to teach you how to prepare your own scrumptious treats at home. Classes are held in Room 1 at the EGACE campus (8401-B Gerber Road, Sacramento). Upcoming classes include: Chocolate Gifts from the Kitchen
Almond bark, chocolate dipped caramel pretzels, chocolate cherries and more! Students learn professional candy-making tips, storage and packaging tricks, as well as the best local and online places to shop for supplies. In this class, students will have hands-on practice and expert guidance ensures that creations turn out perfectly. Students will gain plenty of recipes to take home and should bring an apron to class.
Date: Monday, November 26, 2012
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Fee: $34, plus a $15 materials fee, payable in class Chocolate Truffles
This absolutely delicious and fun class will have you rolling and dipping truffles! Learn the best methods for garnishing and storing your creations. Surprise your family and friends with these homemade creations. Join Instructor, Michelle Lee of Michelle Lee's Truffles and Specialty Chocolate for this fun and affordable class!
Date: Monday, December 3, 2012
Time: 6:30 p .m. to 8:30 p.m.
Fee: $34, plus a $15 materials fee payable in class For more information or to register for classes, contact Therese Schultz at (916) 525-4744, ext. 2104 or tmschult@egusd.net. Students can also register online at http://egace-egusd-ca.schoolloop.com/.
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Welcome to eguNews, an EGUSD email newsletter published every two weeks. To subscribe to eguNews, click here. If you have questions about eguNews, you can email communication@egusd.net or call (916) 686-7732.
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EGUSD middle and high school students launch new anti-cyberbullying campaign
It's time to take a stand! On November 5, 2012, middle and high school students throughout the Elk Grove Unified School District stepped up to inspire others to challenge and delete cyberbullying with a new student-designed and student-driven campaign - #UnfollowBullying.
Today's students live in a digital world. The #UnfolllowBullying campaign recognizes that students are the ones who will lead the charge in their online communities to ensure that all students are treated with respect and kindness.
Just within the first few days of the campaign, hundreds of middle and high school students have signed a pledge in support of this important endeavor. At Florin High School, students signed each others plain white t-shirts that represented their Facebook wall. Other students used pens to write positive things on the t-shirts during a supervised activity. At Pleasant Grove High School students combined their campaign with a focus on Random Acts of Kindness.
During the first week of the campaign, Toby Johnson Middle School students dedicated their weekly video newscast to the campaign. Each day students addressed significant issues on cyberbullying such as strategies for combating it and laws that address it. At Harriet Eddy Middle School, students greeted other students with visual compliments as they came to school with posters, signs and high-fives.
The initial idea for a student-led campaign came from the EGUSD Internet Safety Task force. This group of staff, law enforcement and parent representatives felt that the most effective way to reach students is through their peers.
As a result of the task force's recommendation, EGUSD Superintendent Steven M. Ladd, Ed.D. asked his student advisory committee to select a digital citizenship campaign topic, create a name and design a campaign during their four meetings in the 2011-2012 and one in the 2012-2013 school years. Students selected cyberbullying as the topic of focus and brainstormed a number of campaign names before selecting #UnfollowBullying.
Although the campaign is student-led, it is not limited to students. The #UnfollowBullying campaign is an invitation for all stakeholders to take a stand against cyberbullying. Parents are a key component in the fight against cyberbullying. Parents can help by talking to their students.
Here are five tips for parents in stopping cyberbullying, courtesy of Common Sense Media:
- Teach your kids empathy. Nothing drives home a point faster than walking a mile in someone else's shoes. If your kids truly understand what someone else is going through, they're less likely to bully someone - or passively witness others being bullied.
- Help kids understand the line between funny and cruel. Kids' online communication is often purposely ambiguous or accidentally cruel - both of which can lead to misunderstandings. If drama starts brewing, ask your kid to call or speak face to face with their friend to clear it up.
- Make sure they talk to someone (even if it's not you). As kids enter the middle school years, their circle of friends and trusted adults widens. Kids need a responsible adult to confide in - their school counselor, their music teacher, even the parent of a friend. Talk to your kid about who they can go to if trouble is brewing.
- Help your kid be an upstander - not a bystander. Kids are hesitant to get involved, in case the bully turns their sights on them. But there are ways to allow your kid to work behind the scenes to reach out to the victim, get an adult involved, and prevent more cruel behavior.
- Show your kid how to stop cyberbullying. Tell kids not to respond or retaliate. Not feeding the bully can stop the cycle. And - if anything does happen - save the evidence.
Click here for more information about the #UnfollowBullying campaign.
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EGUSD schools honor veterans for their service
In recognition of Veterans Day, Elk Grove Unified School District students and staff commemorated Veterans Day with various ceremonies and activities. On Friday, November 9, several EGUSD schools honored veterans for their service to our country.
At Samuel Kennedy Elementary School, student and staff presented an extensive celebration, which included the recognition of veterans and distinguished guests in attendance, an awards presentation, the raising of the colors by the Criminal Justice Cadet Program from John F. Kennedy High School, the singing of the National Anthem and a brief presentation of the history of Veterans Day.
Veterans were welcomed at Prairie Elementary School as well. The assembly included the singing of several songs by students and staff - including the National Anthem, America the Beautiful, recognition of veterans and currently-serving Marines at the assembly and a presentation about the five branches of the military. The assembly concluded with students, staff and veterans singing "I'm Proud to Be an American" as a sign language interpreter signed the song.
At the secondary level, Katherine L. Albiani Middle School held two assemblies to commemorate Veterans Day and participated in the History Channel's Take a Vet to School Day program. Past and current military members and their families were invited to the event to thank them for their service and sacrifice to protect the country. Their assemblies featured the presentation of colors and a flag folding demonstration by the Valley High School JROTC, the singing of the National Anthem by Albiani students, an introduction and honoring of veterans in attendance, as well as a closing video.
Click here for more information about the Take a Vet to School Day program through the History Channel.
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Elk Grove High School students prepare for CyberPatriot competition
Navigating damaged computer code with the greatest of ease, the next generation of computer whizzes are being groomed right here in Elk Grove. At Elk Grove High School, this next generation is preparing for the upcoming Air Force Association's National High School Cyber Defense Competition called CyberPatriot V.
Sean McNally, a math teacher at Elk Grove High School and coach of the CyberPatriot team, brought the program to Elk Grove last year after speaking with Dave Fields, a family friend with the Air Force Association. Currently, there are nine students in grade 9-12 participating on the team at Elk Grove High School. They are diligently preparing for their upcoming competition every Wednesday after school with their mentor James Vahanian, a network security technician from Wells Fargo. This year, the team from Elk Grove is the only high school in the district in the CyberPatriot competition.
"I truly saw the merit in the program," McNally said. "I wanted to give our students every opportunity to learn more about science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and saw that this program addressed all of those elements."
During the competition, students must remove or disable all vulnerabilities in one to three computer images over the course of six hours. There can be up to 20 vulnerabilities in each image for students to find. Through the competition, students are learning organizational skills that allow them to track their efforts and see what will and will not work. Using the Google search engine, students learn how to search for unknown items to determine if the searched items are vulnerabilities or not, as well as how to fix the problem.
Elk Grove High School's team is competing in the open division's first round competition on November 17th. If the team performs well, they will advance to round two of the competition in December. They hope to ultimately make it to the National Finals Competition held in Washington D.C. March 14-15, 2013.
"What makes this program so fun and interesting is the fact that students can actually go inside of a computer's hard drive and look into it to see what's wrong and what vulnerabilities there are that need to be fixed," McNally said. "Personally, I think that this program is a great way for people to learn about the inter-makings of a computer and how to change them without actually messing up their computer."
Last year, the team from Elk Grove High School placed first in the Northern California region and McNally hopes to repeat this achievement this year.
The Northrop Grumman Foundation is the Presenting Sponsor for CyberPatriot V. CyberPatriot's founding partners are SAIC and CIAS at the University of Texas-San Antonio. Click here for more information about the CyberPatriot National High School Cyber Defense Competition.
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Arnold Adreani Elementary School "fuels their school" with Chevron and DonorsChoose.org
When you fill up, schools in Sacramento County win!
Thanks to Chevron and DonorsChoose.org's Fuel Your School program, schools throughout Sacramento County now have a chance to receive funding to support special projects.
For Tracey Jerome's third grade class at Arnold Adreani Elementary School, their teacher's participation in the program means they now have a chance to learn and have fun while doing that through educational science games. A total of 12 teachers at Adreani have also received funding for projects through the Fuel Your School program.
Chevron and DonorsChoose.org joined forces to present the Fuel Your School program. Chevron is providing the funds for schools by donating $1 per eight-gallon or more fill-up - up to $500,000 - to support public education in Sacramento County. Donations collected through the Fuel Your School program are distributed throughout the county to help fund eligible school projects registered with DonorsChoose.org.
Teachers interested in participating in the Fuel Your School program in Sacramento County may visit http://www.donorschoose.org/teachers/ an "Eligible Classroom Project Request." Chevron will fund projects until November 30, 2012 or until the maximum funding allowed for an area is exhausted. Click here for more information about the Fuel Your School program in Sacramento County.
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