Elk Grove Unified School District
Excellence by Design
 EGUSD News and NotesMarch 17, 2014 
In This Issue
David Garibaldi - The Art Docent
EGHS TDA ABC Project
CA Youth in Theatre Day
LCAP Survey
Digital Citizenship Safety Tips
 
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Minimize chatting with strangers. Tell your kids that people aren't always who they say they are on the Internet. Anyone can pose as a "buddy of a buddy." If kids are playing online games with people they don't personally know, they should be careful not to disclose anything personal.

Honoring our Volunteers

   

Jennifer Bacher of Katherine L. Albiani Middle School 
  

 

Jennifer Bacher was recognized as an Education Partner at the March 4, 2014 meeting of the Elk Grove Unified School District Board of Education.

 

Members of the Katherine L. Albiani Middle School staff were asked to share their comments about Bacher's contributions. Here are some of the things they said:

 

Albiani History Teacher Graham Stewart

"Jennifer is one of the reasons why Albiani is one of the best places to work in EGUSD. I first met her at the annual Falcon Fiesta where we open our doors so the incoming 7th graders can get their schedules and meet their teachers before the first day of school. Jennifer introduced herself and told me that she used to help out at her daughter's elementary school and would love to come in and help in my class on a regular basis. Every year, many parents make the offer to volunteer at the start of the semester but very few follow through once they adjust to the middle school experience. Not Jennifer. The first week of school, Jennifer showed up with a plastic trash bag full of Kleenex boxes and told me to take as much as I wanted. It was the nicest thing a parent has EVER done for me as a teacher. This was better than gift cards to Starbucks, coffee mugs or fresh homemade cookies."

 

Albiani Social Science Department

"Every four years, the Social Science Department holds a mock presidential election. We have 45 classes with over 1,100 kids voting for presidential candidates and California ballot initiatives. It is quite an undertaking. We conduct this election in addition to the lesson that we have planned for the day and we try to enlist parent volunteers to run the polls while we teach. Jennifer was an extraordinary volunteer. She was scheduled to stay for the first three periods, but she ended up staying all day when the other volunteer did not show. When asked if she could stay, she exclaimed 'Sure! I want to stay and see how this election turns out!' Jennifer stayed after school and helped the teachers count the electoral votes and the ballot initiatives."

 

Albiani Activities Director Donna McNeel

"When there is a need for parent volunteers, Jennifer is the first to say she will be there. Not only does she show up early and help tremendously, she is always the last one to leave in order to make sure everything is cleaned. You name it...Jennifer is at Albiani for dances, fundraisers, Student Store, fairs, ticket sales and Back to School Night. Whenever ASB is in a bind, Jennifer is there to cover the Student Store during both lunches, making sure activities here at Albiani are seamless. She has made the comment on multiple occasions that even when her child is not at Albiani, we can still count on her. We may hold her to that. The students here at Albiani know her and love her and we never want to know what it would be like without her. She is part of our school and I know personally the activities program would not be successful without her."

 

Bacher has a daughter - Kennedee, who attends Albiani Middle School. 


 

Florin Elementary School wins first place in International PBIS Film Festival   

 

Florin Elementary was awarded First Place in the "Overall PBIS Expectations" category at the 5th Annual International PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) Film Festival in Chicago, IL. 

The film, starring Florin students and a few staff members, was shown on the big screen at the International Conference on Positive Behavior Support with ten other top contenders.

Click here to view the award-winning video.

 

 

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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David Garibaldi - the art docent

      

 

It's not every day students get an art lesson from an internationally-recognized performance artist.  But that's exactly what the 5th grade students of Cindy Doyle and Teresa Harwood's classes at Elk Grove Elementary School had chance to experience when performance artist David Garibaldi stoped by their school on March 6.

 

Garibaldi visited Doyle and Harwood's classes to serve as their "art docent" for the day.  The students had been studying about Garibaldi as an artist. He spoke with students about his process when creating works of art and students then participated in an art lesson with Garibaldi where they created their own artwork using Garibaldi's style with his assistance. His visit was orchestrated by Garibaldi's high school animation teacher - Sheldon High School's Shawn Sullivan.

 

"Cindy Doyle is a big fan of David's work and all year, she has been sharing and talking with her students about his work," said Sullivan.  "She was an amazing choice as one of the District's Teachers of the Year in 2013 and David and I wanted to set this up for her and her students to thank her for all that she has done."

 

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. Sullivan 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.

 

Garibaldi was a contestant on the 7th season of the popular television show America's Got Talent, making it all the way to the finals and eventually finishing in fourth place.  In a few short years, 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 about David Garibaldi. 

 

 

Elk Grove High School TDA students bring the ABCs to Florence Markofer Elementary School
 
   

Technology and Design Academy (TDA) students at Elk Grove High School are getting a chance to use their talents and give back to the community through their "ABC's Project" with Florence Markofer Elementary School.

 

Through the ABC's Project, the graphics and photography senior classes in TDA designed posters for each letter of the alphabet for the 1st grade at Markofer. Each class designed their set of the alphabet in a different style. Each poster includes a letter of the alphabet paired with an animal corresponding with that letter.

 

"The ABCs project was created because we wanted to incorporate a bigger picture into the TDA Academy," said Kent Pickering, creative coordinator for TDA and photography teacher at Elk Grove High School. "One important part of design is to make lives better through great design. Most importantly, we wanted students to begin to think about giving back to the community and this is a great way to do it. The students have really developed great design skills in TDA and this was the perfect way for them to see their work have an impact."

 

Currently, Markofer is the only school participating in the project, although Pickering has plans to expand the project to other local elementary schools in the future.

  

Elk Grove's TDA Academy is for students interested in media advertising and entertainment industries. Students will learn film making, photography and digital design in the Technology and Digital Arts Academy. TDA also offers students several opportunities to earn articulated college units. Click here for more information about TDA at Elk Grove High School.  

 
EGUSD middle school students perform at and attend California Youth in Theatre Day
 
TheatreMasks

 

On March 11, theatre students from Samuel Jackman and T.R. Smedberg middle schools joined over 300 of their fellow theatre students, educators and administrators from throughout California to have breakfast with legislators and legislative aides at 17th Annual California Youth in Theatre (CYIT) Day.

 

Prize-winning theatre students were invited to perform at the Sacramento Theatre Company (STC) during CYIT Day. Allison Hoagland, a 7th grade student at Smedberg and Dyanna Rodriguez, a 7th grade student at Jackman, were selected to give special performances at the event.

 

In addition to Hoagland and Rodriguez's performances, the following student delegates also attended the event: Tommia Thompson, Willie Lee Lewis, Debra Medearis and Marciano Navavarro (Jackman) and Mackenzie Ariss, Mary Hatchett, Joseph Ungureanu, Hayley Vining and David Zekaris (Smedberg).

 

Following the performances, students had the opportunity to participate in workshops from STC staff, enjoy a Southern California ComedySportzLA match, listen to inspirational speakers and received certificates from the California Educational Theatre Associate (CETA). CETA awarded each student and theatre educator in attendance with certificates declaring "Excellence in Theatre."

 

Jackman and Smedberg students also had the chance to meeting with Assembly Member Ken Cooley and visit the Senate floor on a tour guided by Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg's Assistant Press Secretary Nick Cronenwett.

 

California Governor Jerry Brown and the California State Legislature declared March 11, 2014 as California Youth in Theatre Day. Click here for more information about CYIT Day.

 

EGUSD engaging stakeholders in the Local Control Accountability Plan

   

      

 

The Elk Grove Unified School District has launched an online survey to engage stakeholders in the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP). In June of 2013, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law one of the most significant changes to the way California's school districts are funded. This new system - the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) - changes the way the State of California allocates funds to school districts. The LCFF provides base funding for all students as well as supplemental and concentration funding to support students from low income families, English Learners and foster youth. The LCFF went into effect as of July 1, 2013.


Under the new funding rules, school districts are required to adopt a Local Control Accountability Plans that describes the actions, services and expenditures that support student growth. The LCAP clarifies how programs/services will be measurably improved in quantity or quality, proportionate to the increase in funding. It also requires the engagement of parents, staff, students and other stakeholders in the building of the LCAP. The LCAP is a three year plan that must be adopted by July 1, 2014, and updated each year.

 

EGUSD is in the process of building the LCAP.  To help the District in this process, a parent LCAP survey has been created.  To take the online survey, visit http://blogs.egusd.net/lcff-lcap/survey/.  To learn more about LCFF/LCAP visit http://blogs.egusd.net/lcff-lcap/.