Elk Grove Unified School District

Excellence by Design

EGUSD News and Notes

November 18, 2013

In This Issue

LCHS GETA headed to Sierra Leone

Future Olympian @ Smedberg?

Student-athletes sign letters of intent

Veterans Day @ EGUSD

Helpful Links
District Event Calendar

College and Career

Common Core State Standards

Digital Citizenship

Digital Citizenship Safety Tips

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Avoid strangers. Tell your kids that people aren't always who they say they are in cyberspace. Explain that if someone they don't know talks to them, they shouldn't respond but should let you know.

Honoring our volunteers

Michael & Louisa Farruggia of Maeola Beitzel Elementary School

Michael and Louisa Farruggia were recognized as Education Partners at the November 5, 2013, meeting of the Elk Grove Unified School District Board of Education.

The Farruggia's have been a part of the Maeola Beitzel Elementary School family since 2009. Louisa currently serves as secretary for the Beitzel Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) and supports many Beitzel events.

Michael serves in multiple functions, including as PTO treasurer, classroom helper and in Beitzel's Watch D.O.G. program as "Top Dog" organizing the school's dads who volunteer for the program. He also donates generous amounts of time to run copies for grade levels and all school functions.

The Farruggia's have two children, Ryan - a freshman at Sheldon High School and Sophia - a 4^th grade student at Beitzel.

John Ehrhardt Elementary School TK/kindergarten students create projects with Home Depot

Transitional kindergarten and kindergarten students at John Ehrhardt Elementary School got a special treat on November when Rod Miller, manager of the Home Depot store in Lodi, and other Home Depot volunteers visited their school to help them build special projects as a part of a social studies unit on people in the community and homes.

Each student was given an apron by Home Depot and one hour to build one project (tool box, bird house, plane, etc.) Home Depot also donated flowers and fertilizers to Ehrhardt for their school garden.

Through Team Depot, The Home Depot's associate-led volunteer program, associates work side-by-side to create life-long, meaningful relationships between the company, neighbors and associates. Formalized in 1992, Team Depot programs bring together volunteerism, do-it-yourself expertise, product donations and monetary grants as a way to support the communities where the associates live and work. Every Home Depot retail store in the U.S., Canada and Mexico has a Team Depot program and Team Depot volunteers. Projects are led by Team Depot captains (trained volunteer leaders) who also serve as ambassadors to the community.

Upcoming Fall Plays

November is a very busy time for high school plays! The following plays are in production for the upcoming weekends:

Theater students at Florin High School will present their rendition of "Seussical: The Musical" on November 22-23. Seussical is a high-energy, heart-warming musical based on the wonderfully wacky stories of Dr. Seuss that is fun for all ages. Showtimes start at 7 p.m. on all nights, with a 2 p.m. matinee on November 23. Tickets are $10 general admission and $8 for children under 10 and students with an ASB sticker.

Valley High School Theater will present 10 student-written Romeo & Juliet vignettes on December 13 and 14. Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of William Shakespeare about two young star- crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. Valley theater students have written 10 original short plays based on the premise of this story. Showtimes start at 7 p.m. on both nights. Tickets are $5 for general admission.

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LCHS green tech students raise money to take solar cases to Sierra Leone

For the past four years, students in the Green Energy Technology Academy (GETA) at Laguna Creek High School have been building "solar cases" that have been sent across the globe to small villages in countries where electricity is mostly non-existent. Now those same GETA students are fundraising to have the chance to deliver those same cases personally - and teach students in the villages about how solar energy works, how to benefit from it and how to possibly duplicate it in the future.

The "solar case" is a portable photo-voltaic lighting system, powerful enough to illuminate a small room and power small applications such as recharging laptops, cell phones, AA and AAA batteries. The solar case stores power where power is unavailable and is able to restore and maintain the necessities of life. The cases are also used during critical medical procedures, which enables medical staff to save lives in places where electricity was previously unattainable.

"Although the solar case was created as a learning platform for our academy students, it has an end user in mind that is half a world away," said Eric Johnson, GETA academy coordinator at LCHS. "The fact that these students have an opportunity to actually deliver their creation to the people who will benefit from it is the chance of a lifetime. It's our hope that with our fundraising, the cost to students will be minimal."

GETA at LCHS is designed for students interested in the energy and utilities sector. Students learn about solar energy, wind turbines, photovoltaics, biodiesel, hydroelectricity and hydrogen fuel cells. GETA students can earn industry-recognized certification. Click here to learn more about LCHS GETA's solar suitcases project.

LCHS GETA students are raising funds to finance their trip to Sierra Leone to teach the village residents how to use the solar cases firsthand. Click here to contribute to LCHS GETA's Sierra Leone efforts.

Smedberg Middle School student
moves closer to Olympic dream

T.R. Smedberg Middle School 8^th grader Marlina "Mina" Luz isn't just an honors student. She will also represent Team Sacramento at this year's Infantile Pan American Judo Tournament in El Salvador on November 14 - 21.

The Infantile Pan American is a competition for athletes 12-14 years old. Luz was selected to represent Team Sacramento and USA Judo because of her dedication, performance and perseverance. She qualified to participate in the Pan American tournament by winning gold medals in three Junior National competitions this year, as well as accruing the most points in her age division needed to be selected by USA Judo, America's governing body of the sport.

In Luz's family, judo is a family sport. Her father started competing when he was in high school and her older brothers have been competing since they were young. Luz started judo at the age of three.

"I used to go when I was two with my older brothers and run around the mats while they practiced," Luz said. "After sitting on the sidelines watching them, I decided I wanted to do it to."

When asked if she was following in her father's footsteps, she replied, "Well I am, but I want to pass him up."

Luz won her first major national award in 2006 when she was 6 years old. Since then, Luz hasn't stopped winning. She has won more than 30 bronze, silver and gold medals since 2006. All of the wins are preparing her for her ultimate goal: competing for the United States in the 2020 Summer Olympics.

EGUSD student-athletes sign letters of intent for college scholarships

On Wednesday, November 13, 2013, 14 student-athletes from the Elk Grove Unified School District were recognized for signing an NCAA National Letter of Intent for a college scholarship. These student-athletes will be attending an array of colleges and universities, both here in California and across the country. The ceremony took place at the Robert L. Trigg Education Center.

The following students were recognized:

Cosumnes Oaks High School:
Julia Morales (Softball - Oakland University)

Elk Grove High School:
Morgan Evangelista (Softball - Bowling Green University)
Derek Hill (Baseball - University of Oregon)

Florin High School:
Dalayna Sampton (Women's Basketball - University of Hawaii)

Laguna Creek High School:
Malik Pope (Men's Basketball - San Diego State University)

Monterey Trail High School:
Jasmine Redmon (Women's Basketball - University of Hawaii)

Pleasant Grove High School:
Sarah Debnekoff (Golf - Morehead State University)
Martin Gonzalez (Soccer - Dominican University)
Marissa Maligad (Softball - California State University, Sacramento)
Aaliyah Pena (Women's Basketball - University of California, Riverside)
Matt Spallas (Swimming - Texas Christian University)
Vanessa Washington (Softball - Delaware State University)

Sheldon High School:
Anessa Kaylor (Softball - San Jose State University)
Zamari Hinton (Softball - California State University, Sacramento)

EGUSD schools honor veterans for their service

Elk Grove Unified School District students and staff commemorated Veterans Day with various ceremonies and activities.

Samuel Kennedy Elementary School held their Veterans Day assembly on Friday, November 8. Kennedy's assembly included buglars, a variety of patriotic songs sung by Kennedy students, the history of Veterans Day and the military, as well as the official songs from each branch of the military. After the assembly, veterans and their guests were invited to a reception in their honor in the school's library.

The students and staff at Katherine L. Albiani Middle School also held a Veterans Day assembly on Friday, November 8. The Valley High School Air Force Jr. ROTC made a special appearance for the presentation of colors during the assembly and also performed a flag folding ceremony. Veterans from the U.S. Army and Marines were recognized for their service to the country and Albiani leadership students read a special poem for the veterans. Blue Star Moms were also recognized during the assembly.

Maeola Beitzel Elementary School recognized veterans on Tuesday, November 12 with an assembly that included student readings, performances of patriotic songs by Beitzel's choir, a performance by the school band and a presentation of colors by members of the Armed Services. The celebration also featured Beitzel's band teacher, Elizabeth Tubbs and her husband Bill performing on their bag pipes.

Click here for more information about the Take a Vet to School Day program through the History Channel.