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Honoring Our Volunteers
Julie Moriyama of Arlene Hein Elementary School 
Julie Moriyama was recognized as an Education Partner at the November 13, 2012 meeting of the Elk Grove Unified School District Board of Education. Moriyama is always around at Arlene Hein Elementary School. She can be seen in the PTO office, in her children's classrooms, in the library, on the playground or in the multipurpose room - leading a Girl Scout troop or setting up for another event celebrating children, families and teachers. Since Hein first opened it's doors in 2004, Moriyama has been there. In 2006, she joined the PTO Board, serving as PTO Board President in 2007, 2008, 2011 and again this year in 2012. As a leader on the board, Moriyama has built capacity in new parents. Her friendliness and model volunteerism encourage others to participate in the school's successful events and reach numerous people in the diverse Hein community. Moriyama coordinates a variety of events on campus. She has organized Hein's book fair every year since 2007. Moriyama coordinates the school's Jog-A-Thon, Read-A-Thon and also ensures that Hein's Bingo Night is an evening celebrating togetherness for families. To encourage diversity in volunteers - as well as celebrating all the ways parents contribute to Hein - Moriyama created the Hein Five Star Family Program. The program speaks to the true connectedness that she fosters. Her husband Cliff is also active at the school. When he is not performing his duties as treasurer for the Cosumnes Oaks High School Touchdown Club, he is at Hein helping with events. Julie Moriyama also volunteers for the Touchdown Club at Cosumnes Oaks and at Elizabeth Pinkerton Middle School. The Moriyamas have four children: Alex - a junior at Cosumnes Oaks, Evan - an 8th grade student at Pinkerton, Emily - a 6th grade student at Hein and Brandon - a 3rd grade student at Hein. |
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EGUSD receives $10,000 Indian Education grant from Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation
The Elk Grove Unified School District's Indian Education Program has been awarded a $10,000 grant from the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation Community Fund. This grant will be used to support the expansion of cultural activities and community events for EGUSD Native American students and families.
The grant will also supplement the Title VII Federal Grant and allows EGUSD's Indian Education Program to bring in members of the academic and Indian communities to give motivational, educational and inspiring presentations; to recruit cultural instructors that will facilitate strong and significant projects specifically for secondary level students; provide field trip opportunities for high school students to area colleges, universities, museums and cultural centers for academic and cultural purposes; as well as allow staff to participate in professional development.
The Yocha Dehe Community Fund is dedicated to creating a healthy community through engaged philanthropy, deep community knowledge and awareness and active leadership. Since it's inception in 2000, the Community Fund has provided more than $19 million in philanthropic funding to more than 290 diverse organizations.
Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation is a federally recognized Native American tribe. Their Community Fund is recognized as one of the first such funds formally established by a Native American tribe. Click here for more information about the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation Community Fund.
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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.speakup4schools.org/speakup2012/.
The survey and subsequent results are free of charge to both the people taking the survey and EGUSD.
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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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Sheldon High School alum and America's Got Talent finalist David Garibaldi paints to support music programs
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This image is from http://garibaldiarts.com/home/
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Have you ever wanted to own something iconic? Unique? Original?
Here's your chance! Sheldon High School alum and America's Got Talent finalist David Garibaldi will create and raffle up to six original works of art to raise money for the Sheldon Band Boosters and the Sheldon Visual and Performing Arts Academy. All proceeds raised from the raffle will benefit these organizations.
Raffle tickets are $5 each or seven for $30. Tickets can be purchased at Sheldon High School's main office Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. or online through PaySchools.
Raffle winners will be invited to attend the assemblies where Garibaldi will be producing their paintings live on Friday, December 7, 2012, at Sheldon High School's Performing Arts Center.
Inspiration serves Garibaldi in his art and his life. "Living with passion and purpose" drives Garibaldi every day to transcend what he does as an artist into a philanthropist. A high school animation teacher first inspired him to take his passion for graffiti and turn it into a more positive and creative direction. Garibaldi never forgets this encouragement and more importantly the value of someone believing in him. Every performance is an opportunity to give back - either through teaching youth or providing resources to the community.
In a few short years, and at 29 years old, Garibaldi has raised over $1 million for non-profits and charities across the country through his art. He works closely with charities such as Special Olympics, Echoes of Hope, Sacramento Children's Home and World Vision.
Click here for more information on Garibaldi.
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World-famous Tuskegee Airmen land at
John Ehrhardt Elementary School
On November 13, students had a chance to see firsthand memories of World War II come to life through the eyes of the famous Tuskegee Airmen during a special visit to John Ehrhardt Elementary School.
"The Ehrhardt community has been interested in bringing in role models for all of our students onto campus to provide students with real-world applications for their studies," explained Robin Riley, principal at Ehrhardt. "The Tuskegee Airmen were a perfect representation of what we were looking for."
Three Tuskegee Airmen from the George S. "Spanky" Roberts Sacramento Chapter spoke to students at Ehrhardt - chapter president Water M. Suggs, George W. Porter and Leonard Y. Yates. Approximately 400 students in grades 4-6 attended the Tuskegee Airmen's presentations in the school library. The airmen spoke to students about perseverance and to not let hate prevent students from achieving their goals. They also spoke about both the pilot and mechanic experience during World War II.
Before 1940, African Americans were barred from flying for the U.S. military. Civil rights organizations and the black press exerted pressure that resulted in the formation of an all African-American pursuit squadron based in Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1941. They became known as the Tuskegee Airmen. "Tuskegee Airmen" refers to all who were involved in the so-called "Tuskegee Experiment," the Army Air Corps program to train African Americans to fly and maintain combat aircraft. The Tuskegee Airmen included pilots, navigators, bombardiers, maintenance and support staff, instructors, and all the personnel who kept the planes in the air. The Tuskegee Airmen overcame segregation and prejudice to become one of the most highly respected fighter groups of World War II.
Overall, the visit was well received by the students.
"The students were thrilled to meet them," Riley said. "They eagerly stood in line for autographs, shook hands and took pictures with them and went back to class with a deeper appreciation for what these men did for our country and commitment they made to excel despite huge obstacles. George Porter has even offered to come back to Ehrhardt in the future and speak to smaller groups of students."
Click here for more information about the Tuskegee Airmen.
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Salad bar pilot program debuts at Carroll Elementary School
Fresh watermelon, tomatoes, mushrooms and cucumbers - these vegetables and fruits are now available to students at Carroll Elementary School through EGUSD Food and Nutrition Services Department's newest salad bar pilot program.
Created through a partnership with the University of California, Davis, the salad "harvest" bar consists of four fresh vegetable choices and one fresh fruit choice. The vegetables and fruit are presented in bulk so that students are able to select their own portion size. Carroll is the only EGUSD school participating in the pilot program.
"The harvest bar is part of an ongoing research project at Carroll called Shaping Healthy Choices," said Michelle Drake, director of food and nutrition services for the district. "The Shaping Healthy Choices Program is working with fourth grade students to learn the best way to implement nutrition education programs in schools."
Each week, the offerings in the harvest bar change, exposing students to a variety of fresh vegetable and fruit options while allowing them to manage their own portions. Past offerings have included broccoli florets, cucumber slices, jicama sticks, grape tomatoes, mushrooms and watermelon.
"Our students are really enjoying the salad bar addition," said Paul Hauder, principal at Carroll. "It's a great vehicle to teach students about the importance of eating a variety of fruits and vegetables as well as moderation. Many students who each lunch at our school partake in the bar and are excited to see the different kinds of vegetables and fruits each day."
Currently, EGUSD's Food and Nutrition Services Department is in the process of obtaining five additional salad bars. They plan to roll out the new salad bars before the next school year.
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EGUSD develops CCCS focus on writing in English/Language Arts
Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are now a reality, and the Elk Grove Unified School District is continuing to take steps to implement them across all grades and subject areas.
This year, the Elk Grove Unified School District has begun its transition to new standards. In the subject of English/Language Arts (ELA), the district has developed an initial focus on the area of writing connected to reading. Writing is not only an essential avenue of communication and expression, but the tools and structures of well-crafted writing when paired with reading help students to improve their reading comprehension as well as to increase their critical thinking skills.
CCSS acknowledges three purposes and types of writing. These are: opinion/argument - writing to persuade; information - writing to report or explain; and narrative - writing to tell a story or share an experience. LaRae Blomquist, ELA Curriculum Specialist for EGUSD, and the K-6 ELA Steering Committee have embarked on a year-long effort to develop grade level-specific rubrics for each of the three purposes of writing. Their efforts will assist teachers in calibrating the new performance level expected in students' writing and will help students learn how to improve their own writing.
This year, teachers in grades 3-6 are implementing CCSS for ELA. During the 2013-14 school year, teachers in grades K-2 and 7-12 will implement CCSS for ELA.
Although the full set of the rubrics for the purposes of writing are still under development, most are already posted on EGUSD's CCSS blog. Rubrics are posted for grades K-6 for opinion/argument, informative/explanatory, and narrative writing. In addition, persuasive writing rubrics are posted for grade levels in secondary. Click here to view the rubrics.
In August 2010, California's State Board of Education adopted CCSS, which are an updated set of curricular standards that have been developed with the intention of unifying curricula and standards across all 50 states. Currently, a total of 45 states have adopted CCSS. CCSS have been developed for English/Language Arts and mathematics. These standards affect history/social science and science literacy instruction but not content standards.
Click here for more information about CCCS for English/Language Arts in EGUSD.
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