Elk Grove Unified School District
Excellence by Design
 EGUSD News and NotesFebruary 3, 2014 
In This Issue
Open Enrollment
Raise the Bar Pledge
Live the Dream @ Jackman
An Hour of Code @ Reese
Digital Citizenship Safety Tips
 
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Know who children are exchanging e-mail with, and only let them use chat areas when you can supervise. Limit chatroom access to child-friendly chat sites.

 

 

 

Honoring our Volunteers

   

The Taylor Family of Raymond Case Elementary School 
  

 

The Taylor family was recognized as Education Partners at the January 21, 2014 meeting of the Elk Grove Unified School District Board of Education.

 

The Taylors have been actively involved at Raymond Case Elementary School since 2006. Robin Taylor has been the PTO president for the past two years and was actively involved on the PTO prior to holding this position. During her tenure on the PTO, she orchestrated many outstanding activities to support the students and staff at Case. Under her leadership, activities such as the Fall Carnival, Red Ribbon Week and the Jog-A-Thon have all become highly successful fundraising and community events at Case. Robin has also inspired many parents to become involved with the PTO through her leadership.

 

This past fall, Robin coordinated Case's 26.2 Run Club. Approximately 70 students stayed after school to jog and walk around the school's track. With support from other parents, Robin tracked each student's mileage. On Sunday, December 8, the students completed their 26.2 miles by running the MaraFun Run prior to the California International Marathon finishers crossing the finish line. Todd Taylor, a veteran elementary physical education teacher in Elk Grove Unified, was also there with his students from Robert J. Fite Elementary School.

 

Besides being instrumental with so many successful activities at Case over the past nine years, Robin also truly looks out for the best interest of all students. As a parent chaperone at Sly Park last year, she not only helped chaperone Case students, but went out of her way all week to support a child from another school who had special needs. During the 26.2 Run Club, she spent extra time encouraging a reluctant participant to challenge himself and keep trying. Although the student did not complete the full 26.2 miles, the experience has made a profound impact on the student's effort level at school. Both of these examples are a true testament to Robin's commitment to all students.

 

Robin and Todd have two children who attended or currently attend Case: Trenton - a 7th grade student at Joseph Kerr Middle School and Troy - a 2nd grade student at Case.

 

 

 

 

EGUSD invites parents to take online parent survey  

 

Elk Grove Unified parents are invited to take the District's Parent Survey online. This survey has been offered every two years for over 20 years. The survey helps guide the District and schools in evaluating programs and finding areas of improvement. Parent opinions are very important.

Click here to take the survey.


 

Sheldon High School's Universal Rhythm Dance Company to present 16th Annual Mainstage Production

Students in Sheldon High School's Universal Rhythm Dance Company will present their 16th Annual Mainstage Production on February 6-8, 2014 at the Sheldon High School Performing Arts Center.  Showtimes start at 6 p.m. on February 6 and 7 p.m. on February 7-8.  

 

The show will feature a vast spectrum of dance styles, including lyrical, hip-hop, contemporary, jazz, cultural and theatrical.  

 

The mainstage production also includes guest performances from other local dance groups, including Press P.L.A.Y., Impulse Dance Company (Franklin High School), DanceFX Dance Company (Oakmont High School), Universal Rhythm Dance Company alumni, Precision Drill Team and JRene Dance Academy.

 

Pre-sale tickets will be available through the Sheldon High School Dance Department for $8 each.  Box office tickets will be available for $10 each at 5 p.m. on February 7 and 6 p.m. on February 8-9.


 

 

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 offers Open Enrollment at 14 secondary schools

 

   

 

 

On January 21, 2014, the Elk Grove Unified School District's Board of Education gave staff direction to open enrollment at seven middle schools and seven high schools for the 2014-2015 school year. The open enrollment applications are posted on the District's website and are available at all EGUSD schools.

 

Open Enrollment applications for students currently enrolled in the 6th and 7th grades for the 2013-2014 school year will be accepted for the following middle schools: Harriet Eddy, Edward Harris, Samuel Jackman, Joseph Kerr, Elizabeth Pinkerton, James Rutter and T.R. Smedberg.

 

Open Enrollment applications for students currently enrolled in the 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th grades for the 2013-2014 school year will be accepted for the following high schools: Cosumnes Oaks, Elk Grove, Florin, Laguna Creek, Monterey Trail, Sheldon and Valley.

 

Parents are invited to attend informational open enrollment meeting
at 6:30 p.m. on February 3 at Sheldon High School.

 

To apply for Open Enrollment, parents/guardians should complete one Open Enrollment form for each student. Parents can get forms from schools, by calling the Secondary Education office at (916) 686-7706 or going online to www.egusd.net.

 

For the application to be accepted the completed form must be postmarked or delivered to the Secondary Education Office at the Robert L. Trigg Center at 9510 Elk Grove-Florin Road by 5 p.m. on Friday, February 7, 2014. Late applications will not be considered.

 

In addition, in order for the application to be accepted, the address on the application must MATCH the address that is listed with the District. Parents/guardians can verify that their address listed with the District is correct or change it by contacting their child's school.

 

Open enrollment is open to all secondary students who live within the District's boundaries as of January 1, 2014. The District reserves the right to limit the number of students transferring into or out of any schools.

 

Parents/guardians of students granted an Open Enrollment Transfer are responsible for providing transportation for the student to and from school. EGUSD will not provide transportation for these students. Open Enrollment Agreements apply only to the student submitting the application. It does not include siblings.

 

The Open Enrollment process is optional. Parents who wish to have their student remain at their current school do not have to complete the Open Enrollment process.

 

Students currently enrolled at a middle or high school on Open Enrollment, who intend to continue at their current school, DO NOT need to reapply for Open Enrollment.

 

No elementary schools are included in Open Enrollment for the 2014-2015 school year.

 

Questions can be directed to the Secondary Education office at (916) 686-7706.

 

 

 

James Rutter Middle School wins $10,000 through Gabby Douglas' "Raise the Bar" Pledge
 

 

 

It's not every day you get to Skype with Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas and win $10,000 for your school. But that's exactly what students at James Rutter Middle School had the opportunity to do on Monday, January 27th.
 

Rutter was selected as the winner of the Douglas' nationwide Raise the Bar Pledge contest. To enter, students asked to pledge to "raise the bar" through their own creative pledges. The top three pledges were selected based on creativity, ambition and how they reflected the goals of their school as a whole. Rutter principal Yuri Penermon then composed a short description on how $10,000 would help his school and students raise the bar.

 

As winners of the contest, Rutter students had the opportunity to Skype with Douglas during an assembly where the school was presented with a $10,000 and then view her new Lifetime movie, "The Gabby Douglas Story."

 

Click here for more information about the Raise the Bar Pledge contest.

 
Samuel Jackman Middle School students and families learn how to "Live the Dream"

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On Tuesday, January 21, Samuel Jackman Middle School students and parents were given the opportunity to learn how to prepare for both high school and college at Jackman's 2nd Annual "Live the Dream" College Night.

 

During the event, student participants were divided into three groups and followed a schedule of "classes" so each group could spend equal time with each presenter. There was also a separate session for Latino/Spanish-speaking families to discuss the Dream Act. Local restaurants provided gift cards for families as an extra treat.

 

Jackman's Live the Dream event was created to give Jackman families the tools needed to start having conversations about their student's college and career goals now, as well as how to prepare their students for both high school and college. Students were active participants in both the planning and execution of the event, with Jackman leadership students advertising the event and Valley High School leadership and Jr. ROTC students assisting with running the workshops on the night of the event.

 

The event featured a representative from California State University, Sacramento with a presentation on financial aid, the "ins and outs" on how to apply to college and what to expect, as well as a University of California, Davis representative discussing goal setting and life planning with students. Valley High School counselors were also on hand to talk to students about transitioning to high school.

 

"Many of the students seemed to really enjoy the evening and the information they received," said Matthew Jacobson, a counselor at Jackman. "We were very lucky to find presenters who were able to deliver the information in a relatable, easy-to-understand way. The response from parents and the community has been overwhelmingly positive."

 

David Reese Elementary School students participate in "An Hour of Code"

 

  

  

 

David Reese Elementary School 6th grade teacher Bill Ferreirae's class recently earned $1,000 while participating in the nationwide project "An Hour of Code." Sponsored by Code.org, the project is a campaign to demystify code by recruiting schools, teachers and parents across the country to introduce students to computer science for one hour.

 

After completing the initial program, students embarked on completing the entire K-8 Intro to Computer Science program. Students learned the basic concepts of computer science with drag and drop programming. They completed programming activities and game-like, self-directed tutorials starring video lectures by Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Angry Birds and Plants vs. Zombies. Students were also introduced to repeat-loops, sequencing, conditionals, parameters, computational thinking, basic algorithms, abstraction, decomposition, functions and variables.

 

In partnership with DonorsChoose.org, $1,000 in classroom funding was offered to the first 1,000 U.S. public school teachers who successfully established the course and led at least 15 students through the course. A total of 15 Reese students completed the course and earned all 27 "concept mastery" trophies, receiving a $750 DonorsChoose.org gift code. Seven of the students were female, qualifying them for an additional $250, for a total gift of $1,000 in DonorsChoose.org funding.

 

Mr. Ferreirae's students are continuing coding using a variety of different online activities, and are excited and ready claim their career from the 1.4 million computing jobs that will be needed by 2020. For more information on Mr. Ferreirae's class' coding activities, visit http://goo.gl/ZhLcNE.