Elk Grove Unified School District
Excellence by Design
 EGUSD News and NotesAugust 26, 2013 
In This Issue
Sac. County Teacher of the Year
Community Budget Meetings
Amistad Project @ Sunrise
New School Year = Update Your Info
Internet Safety Tips
2WebWatchers Logo

 

 

TIP:  Have children use child-friendly search engines when completing homework.

 

Register now for EGUSD Virtual Academy

  

EGVALogo  

 

 

Registration will close for the Elk Grove Unified School District (EGUSD) Virtual Academy for the 2013-2014 school year on September 10. The online academy is open to students living in Sacramento, Amador, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Placer, San Joaquin, Solano, Sutter and Yolo counties.

 

The EGUSD Virtual Academy offers an innovative learning experience for the 21st century student. This free online academy allows students in kindergarten through 8th grade to experience teaching and learning from virtually anywhere a computer will take them. All courses are aligned to the State of California's standards and benchmarks and have a strong emphasis on building skills and critical thinking.

 

Each EGUSD Virtual Academy student has an individualized plan for his or her course of study. 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.

 

Registration materials can be downloaded at http://blogs.egusd.net/egva/enroll/ or picked up at the Las Flores High School campus at 5900 Bamford Drive, Sacramento. 

 

For more information about the EGUSD Virtual Academy, contact (916) 399-9890, email egvirtual@egusd.net or visit http://blogs.egusd.net/egva/.

 

 

 6th Annual GOT MILK! Breakfast Challenge starts on August 26th

 

 

Want to earn $3,000 for your school? Just come to school and enjoy breakfast with milk!

 

The California Milk Processor Board (CMPB) has partnered with 21 school districts throughout California to continue the 6th Annual GOT MILK? High School Breakfast Challenge in support of daily breakfast consumption with milk in school cafeterias.

 

Beginning on August 26th for a three-week period, participating EGUSD high schools (Elk Grove, Florin, Laguna Creek, Monterey Trail, Sheldon and Valley) will compete to increase the breakfast with milk consumption at their school vs. the same time period last year. At the end of the three weeks, the school with the greatest increase in breakfast participation in its district will win $3,000.

 

Last year, Laguna Creek High School (LCHS) was deemed the winner of the 2012 GOT MILK? Breakfast Challenge for Elk Grove Unified, winning the $3,000 grand prize for increasing their breakfast participation compared to the same time period last year. LCHS increased their breakfast participation by 16 percent compared to the same time period the year before.

 

Click here for more information about the GOT MILK? Breakfast Challenge.

 

 

 New Elk Grove Unified Digital Citizenship Website!
    

Snapchat, Instagram, Tumblr, Vine. Are these terms you wish you were more familiar with? Are you concerned how these social media programs are being used (or misused) by young people? Do you know basic Internet terminology such as flaming, phishing and grooming?

 

Parents can learn more about these terms and find guidance on helping their students make responsible choices on social media through Elk Grove Unified School District's (EGUSD) new Digital Citizenship website.

 

EGUSD's Digital Citizenship Initiative is an on-going project and commitment. Through the work of the task force, EGUSD teaches digital citizenship curriculum at all grade levels. As new technology applications and tools are created, the district's Digital Citizenship Task Force expands the curriculum and staff trainings accordingly. Through the website, you will be able to view many of the lessons and materials being used at elementary and secondary schools throughout the district.  

 

The parent section of the new website includes parent tips, guides, videos and more. All resources support EGUSD's four main digital citizenship themes: cyberbullying, digital footprint, protecting privacy and respecting intellectual property.  

 

We encourage you to visit the website (http://blogs.egusd.net/digitalcitizenship) often, as digital citizenship is one of the fastest changing subjects in education. While EGUSD students are learning about digital citizenship in the classroom, it is important for parents to build upon these conversations.

 

Help us revamp the Attendance Campaign Poster Contest!

The 2013-2014 school year marks the 8th year of the No Excuses - Go to School Attendance Campaign. This year, we are looking to change the poster contest a bit by looking for examples of what students love about coming to school (i.e. "I love coming to school to learn from my teachers" or "My favorite part about school was participating in after-school sports") We'd love to hear what makes/made you excited about going to school.  Click here to take the survey. 

 

 

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.

Like us on Facebook  Follow us on Twitter

Florin High School teacher named Sacramento County Teacher of the Year 

 

  TOY-TimSmith  

    

Tim Smith, a math, Algebra I and AP statistics teacher at Florin High School in the Elk Grove Unified School District, has been selected as one of two recipients of the Sacramento County Teacher of the Year 2014 award.

 

Both Smith and Donna McNeel, activities director and reading and social sciences teacher at Katherine L. Albiani Middle School, were chosen as the Elk Grove Unified School District's 2013 Teachers of the Year in May. Smith and McNeel were recognized along with 14 other Sacramento County teachers at the Sacramento County Office of Education's Annual Celebration of Educators on August 16, 2013.

 

Smith was presented with the Sacramento County Board of Education's Elinor L. Hickey Award of Merit - the highest honor bestowed by the Board - and a perpetual trophy from the Sacramento Scottish Rite Bodies of Freemasonry.

 

Deanna Victor, a 4th/5th grade combination class teacher at Mariemont Elementary in the San Juan Unified School District, was also selected as Sacramento County Teacher of the Year for 2014.

 

Both Smith and Victor are now eligible to advance to the statewide competition, where five teachers will be chosen as California Teachers of the Year. The five California Teachers of the Year are responsible for representing the teaching profession in a variety of settings and assisting their colleagues in numerous ways throughout the calendar year of 2014. Their names and that of the one individual of the group selected as the state's nominee to the National Teacher of the Year Program will be announced later in the fall by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

 

For more information about the Sacramento County Teacher of the Year program, click here. For more information about the California Teachers of the Year Program, click here.

 

EGUSD's Board of Education to hold Community Budget Meetings

   
ComBudMtgs1

     

The Elk Grove Unified School District will hold seven Community Budget Meetings with EGUSD Board members at seven locations throughout the district from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 17, 2013.

 

To ensure that all students have the opportunity to reach their greatest potential, the Board of Education's Community Budget Meetings are intended to engage the public in a transparent and collaborative process.

 

The objectives of this meeting are to:

  • Seek input for the Board's funding priorities;
  • Engage the public in the budget development process; and
  • Introduce California's new Local Control Funding Formula and Accountability Plan.

Each board member will simultaneously host a meeting at a separate school site. The meeting will include a presentation about the district's budget as well as time for questions and answers. The seven meetings will be held simultaneously. The public is invited to attend any one of the meetings.

 

Meetings will be held at the following locations:

  • EGUSD Board President Chet Madison, Sr.: Valley High School (Multipurpose Room)
  • EGUSD Board Clerk Jeanette Amavisca: Edward Harris, Jr. Middle School (Multipurpose Room)
  • EGUSD Board Member Priscilla Cox: Pleasant Grove High School (Multipurpose Room)
  • EGUSD Board Member Carmine Forcina: Sheldon High School (Small Theater)
  • EGUSD Board Member Steve Ly: Carroll Elementary School (Multipurpose Room)
  • EGUSD Board Member Anthony "Tony" Perez: Florin High School (Black Box Theater)
  • EGUSD Board Member Bobbie Singh-Allen: Elliott Ranch Elementary School (Multipurpose Room) 

 

Sunrise Elementary School students interact with children's book author

 

  AmistadProject  

Sunrise Elementary School students in Melissa Azevada's 4th/5th classroom commemorated a month-long book study of Africa is My Home: A Child of the Amistad by connecting with Monica Edinger, the author of the book, through an interactive video conference. Over the course of the month, students had been tasked with reviewing the uncorrected proof of the true story of four children taken from their homes in Africa and transported across the Atlantic Ocean on the Amistad slave ship.
 

It's not every day 4th and 5th grade students get to provide feedback on a book that will be published. But Edinger knows from first-hand experience that elementary school students are capable of dealing with complex historical issues - such as slavery - when provided with accessible, engaging historical content. She is a 4th grade teacher at Dalton School in New York City and has developed and published curriculum and resources to ensure young students have the chance to act as historians when interpreting documents and artifacts from the past.

 

The Sunrise students were given the opportunity to participate on the project through Gail Desler, technology integration specialist for Elk Grove Unified. Edinger was one of Desler's mentors during Desler's participation in the Library of Congress American Memory Project in 1999.

 

"Monica has a track record for making primary sources - even on tough topics such as slavery - accessible to elementary school students," Desler said. "She draws upon her own experiences as an elementary school teacher to share her first-hand insights on best practices in teaching students how to read and interpret historical documents."

 

Azevada was thrilled that her students were given such a rare opportunity to interact directly with an author.

 

"The opportunity for my students to connect with an author who generally valued their input was a remarkable experience, one they will remember for a long time to come," Azevada said. "With the Common Core State Standard's emphasis on primary sources, close reading and collaborative writing, I look forward to more opportunities to connect my students to outside experts and to provide them with an authentic audience and an authentic purpose for their writing."

 

New School Year = Update Your Information
 

UpdateInfo  

  

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 so that 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.

The District's emergency auto dialer system calls all home phone and cell phone numbers associated with a student's parents and guardians.  This year, a new feature has been added to our emergency auto dialer system. Parents will have the option to choose to have a text message rather than a phone call sent to their cell phone in case of an emergency.

In order to choose to have a text rather than a phone call, you will need to text the word ALERT  to 22300 from the mobile phone(s) listed with the school for a student's parent/guardian. Please note that the text feature is associated only with the emergency auto dialer system, not with the system that informs you about events at a school or student absences.   
In addition to the usual means of communicating with parents - phone calls, flyers sent home and newsletters, the Elk Grove Unified School District also 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.