Elk Grove Unified School District
Excellence by Design
 EGUSD News and NotesOctober 21, 2013 
In This Issue
Donner celebrates 20th Anniversary
Middle School Mathletes
Capitol & Courts Program @ Harris
Fitness Fridays @ EGUSD
Digital Citizenship Safety Tips
 
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Establish expectations and limits about the amount of time your children spend online and what they do.

Honoring our volunteers

   

Kimberley Traversi of Laguna Creek High School

  

   

Kimberley Traversi was recognized as an Education Partner at the October 15, 2013, meeting of the Elk Grove Unified School District Board of Education.

 

Traversi volunteers as Laguna Creek High School's International Baccalaureate (IB) coordinator assistant and has worked closely with Rod De Luca - LCHS' IB coordinator - for the past two years. Her responsibilities include inputting information into the IB Information System, running the IB Exam Registration process, preparing student "papers" for shipment throughout the world and keeping De Luca organized and on schedule. She is also an active member of the World Scholars/IB LCHS Parent Organization. In her spare time, Traversi drives LCHS' cross country team members to competitions in Southern California, opens her home to float building parties and is a true ambassador for LCHS.

 

Traversi has lived in the Elk Grove area since 1991. She taught middle school for six years and for the past eight years, she has served as a substitute teacher for EGUSD.

 

Traversi has been married to her husband Dave for 21 years. They have two children: Steven, a 2013 graduate of Laguna Creek who now attends UC Berkeley and Olivia, a junior at Laguna Creek. 

 

Elk Grove Unified and Beutler Air Conditioning & Plumbing Partner to encourage students to "Think Green"

 

The Elk Grove Unified School District and Beutler Air Conditioning & Plumbing, a residential heating and air conditioning company, has partnered with the Elk Grove Unified School District (EGUSD) this month to raise awareness for best practices in energy conservation with the "Think Green" contest. The contest encourages 7th through 12th graders to share their energy conservation ideas. October is recognized as Energy Conservation Month by the EGUSD, and the district hopes to expand their students' critical thinking skills this fall as a result of the "Think Green" contest.  

 

The Beutler and EGUSD "Think Green" contest invites all EGUSD middle school and high school students to enter their best ideas on how to reduce the load on the energy grid and share the type of impact their idea could have on the community. The contest is open to all "green" ideas, including essays, models and drawings. It will be divided into two categories based on grade level. One high school student and one middle school student will each be rewarded with a $150 cash prize; second place winners will each receive a $75 cash prize and third place winners each get a $50 cash prize. In addition, Beutler will match the total prize earnings with a $500 donation to the EGUSD. This money goes directly to the top high school and top middle school in the district that garners the most student participation in the "Think Green" contest.

 

Submissions for the "Think Green" contest will be accepted October 15 through November 14. To enter, students must submit an energy-saving idea in the form of a written essay, drawing or model. All entries must include a thorough explanation of the idea, the potential impact of the idea on the economy and/or community, and how the idea can be implemented throughout their community. Projects must be submitted to beutlerthinkgreen@boltpr.com no later than November 14, 2013.  

 

Click here for contest rules. 

 

For more information about the "Think Green" contest, please email beutlerthinkgreen@boltpr.com.  

 

For further information about the Elk Grove Unified School District's Energy Conservation Program, visit http://www.egusd.net/energy/.  

 

Samuel Jackman Middle School steppers perform at State Capitol

Samuel Jackman Middle School's step team performed at a Lights On Afterschool celebration at the California State Capitol on Thursday, October 17.

The Afterschool Alliance organized Lights On Afterschool to draw attention to the many ways afterschool programs support students by offering them opportunities to learn few things and discover new skills - such as growing community gardens, studying Tae Kwon Do and making music.

This was just one of a few of the more than 8,000 Lights On Afterschool events that took place in nearly every community in the country, and at U.S. military bases worldwide, this week.
 
Check out the photos on our Facebook page.
 

 

 

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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Elitha Donner Elementary School celebrates 20th anniversary
  

   

    

 

For one day, the students and staff of Elitha Donner Elementary School took a trip back in time to the Gold Rush days to commemorate the 20th anniversary of their school.

 

On October 16, students and staff participated in a Gold Rush-themed celebration to pay tribute to Elitha Donner - namesake of the school - who was one of the fortunate survivors of the Donner Party tragedy that occurred in the Sierra during the winter of 1846-1847. Elitha Donner lived the rest of her life in the Elk Grove area and is buried in the Elk Grove Cemetery.

 

Throughout the day, students had the chance to participate in different activities from the Gold Rush era, including making homemade butter, gardening and learning about the music and musical instruments of the time. Students also had the chance to learn about the Pony Express and "deliver the mail" from station to station using teamwork, hear about the rescue of the Donner Party by members of Sutter's Fort, view a video about Elitha Donner and meet Elitha Donner's great-granddaughter.

 

Donner Elementary first opened its doors in 1994 with only 425 students as a "hopscotch" school - meaning the entire campus consisted of portables. In 1997, the permanent campus was completed. Today, over 900 students attend the school.

 

Middle school mathletes flex their mathematical muscles

 

   

 

Outstanding young mathematicians from throughout Elk Grove Unified School District gathered at Florin High School on October 17 for the first Middle School Mathletes competition of the year. The mathematics competition for middle school students is facilitated by mathletes from Florin High School.

 

"Florin's Mathletes take care of everything," said Tim Smith, mathematics teacher and Mathletes coach at Florin High School. "They are the master of ceremonies for the event; proctor, grade and score the tests; serve the food and host the teams."

 

The Middle School Mathletes competitions were created to promote mathematics throughout the district. Mathletes problems require students to think critically. Many of the problems also include real-life context and require the skills emphasized in the new Common Core State Standards. All of the problems are foundations for more complex problems eventually encountered in Calculus and Statistics. Each competition consists of five tests: Arithmetic 1, Arithmetic 2, Algebra, Geometry and group problems.

 

Each tests consists of three problems, with the exception of the group test, which is given one problem.  Students are given eight minutes to complete the tests. 

 

"We have had nothing but positive feedback from the students, parents and coaches about the competitions," Smith said. "The students wear their Mathletes t-shirts and have loads of math spirit. In fact, all of the high schools whose feeder middle schools competed last year report an increase in freshman participation in their Mathletes programs this year. It's amazing to see that the middle school competition is having an impact on math throughout the district, even after its first year." 

 

 

Edward Harris, Jr. Middle School students attend "Capitol and Court" Program
 

 

  

On October 16, 62 students from Edward Harris, Jr. Middle School made the trek from their campus in Elk Grove to downtown Sacramento to participate in the 1st Annual Nossaman Capitol and Court program, sponsored by Nossaman LLP.

 

The purpose of the program is to expose students to career opportunities in the law and public policy fields. Students selected to attend the program participate in the Sacramento Sheriff's Activities League (SAL) program which uses athletic and academic activities to develop a bond between law enforcement officers and youth in the community. The Capitol and Court program was originally designed to serve students in the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program, but was expanded to include SAL students.

 

In addition to learning about the law and public policy fields, students also received a behind the scenes look at the State Capitol and the Sacramento County Courthouse. The Capitol segment of the program includes a tour of the State Assembly Chambers and a discussion between the students and legislative staff members who participated in various Capitol intern and student outreach programs. John Scribner, a member of the Sacramento County Board of Education, was also one of the speakers. The courthouse segment featured a talk with Superior Court Judge Geoffrey Goodman and representatives of the Sacramento Sheriff's office who help administer the courtrooms.

 

"The presentations were both informative and engaging," said Jeff Dresser, a teacher at Harris. "Judge Geoffrey A. Goodman was particularly informative as he educated the students on the legal system process and the trials, challenges, and benefits that come from jobs in the law genre.  Students were given ample opportunities to ask meaningful questions and were even given an opportunity to sit in juror seats and those of the law professionals." 

 

 

Fitness Fridays kicks off at EGUSD

  

 

Time to lace up those sneakers and get moving!

 

Each Friday through the end of the 2013-2014 school year, EGUSD employees will celebrate fitness and nutrition by wearing their fitness shoes to work for "Fitness Fridays."  On Fridays of each month, emails and information will be sent out to employees that encourage employees to make healthy choices based on that month's theme. Employees are also encouraged to take things one step further by going for a walk or exercising before or after work or during lunch or breaks - and encourage their co-workers to join them. 

 

The monthly fitness themes are:

 

  • October - Walk and Roll - Get Your Move On
  • November - How Sweet It Is
  • December - Maintain Don't Gain
  • January - 30 Day Challenge
  • February - Heart Healthy
  • March - Nutrition Matters
  • April - Fun Field Days
  • May - Brain Power

 

Fitness Fridays is a part of the EGUSD "Your Health, Your Choice" Employee Wellness Program, which encourages health awareness for employees. The purpose of the program is to promote good eating habits, physical activity and overall health awareness for employees. For more information and to view highlights of the program, check out the Your Health, Your Choice website.