Elk Grove Unified School District

Excellence by Design

EGUSD News and Notes

April 14, 2014

In This Issue

ASES SAIL Academy @ Jackson

Math Attack @ TJMS

YES Summit Academies

Science Fair/Invention Convention

Helpful Links
District Event Calendar

College and Career

Common Core State Standards

Digital Citizenship

Digital Citizenship Safety Tips

null

Visit age-appropriate sites. Find sites that promote learning, creativity, and that deepen your kids' interests. Also check out popular Web sites before your kids visit them. Despite what your kids might tell you, social networks like MySpace or Facebook are not meant for middle schoolers.

Honoring our Volunteers

Dorothy & Stephen Davidson of Sheldon High School

Dorothy and Stephen Davidson were recognized as Education Partners at the April 8, 2014, meeting of the Elk Grove Unified School District Board of Education.

Dorothy is committed to Sheldon High School's Parent Volunteer Program as a volunteer coordinator. She believes that any opportunity a parent has to become involved in a school event is special. The parent/guardian community at Sheldon High School has been able to meet most volunteer requests for its students, working in a collaborative nature with administration, event staff and teachers.

Dorothy also volunteers her time with the NorCal Cal Ripken organization of which Stephen is the State Commissioner. Both Dorothy and Stephen have worked towards helping and supporting numerous organizations on Sheldon's campus such as the band program, FFA and the Sober Grad Night Committee. They believe that volunteering creates a stronger and better community.

Dorothy and Stephen have been married for 22 years. They have three children: Joshua - a senior at Sheldon, Ian - a freshman at Sheldon and Kelsey - a 6^th grade student at Mary Tsukamoto Elementary School. The Davidson children also have a volunteer spirit. Whether spending a few hours at a fundraising event for a school or club, handing out toys during the annual Toys for Tots drive, helping clean up parks or spending time doing whatever is needed to get projects done, the Davidson kids are always willing to help out.

Common Core Parent Night

EGUSD parents interested in learning more about the Common Core State Standards are invited to attend an informational night.

This event will give parents an opportunity to learn more about the Common Core State Standards from Elk Grove Unified's curriculum experts, who will provide training and answer questions. The date and topic of the final Common Core Parent Night is:

April 23, 2014 - Supporting Students through the CCSS Transition

How will students show what they have learned?
How can I support my child at home?

The information night will run from 6:30 p.m to 8 p.m. in the Board Room at the Robert L. Trigg Education Center (9510 Elk Grove-Florin Road, Elk Grove 95624.)

Click here for more information about Common Core State Standards.

Samuel Kennedy Elementary School turns 50

Guess who's 50?

Samuel Kennedy Elementary School held their 50^th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, April 12, 2014. The event featured performances by the Kennedy After-School Recorder Program, the James Rutter Middle School drum line and cheerleaders, Hawaiian dancers, Mexican folkloric dancers, karate students and Hmong, Indian, Samoan and break dancers.

A roving clown provided comic entertainment and various community groups - including the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire Department, Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, Sacramento Public Library and Girl Scouts of America - staffed informational booths.

Samuel Kennedy Elementary School was the first school built by the Elk Grove Unified School District after the elementary schools of the area and Elk Grove High School unified into one district in 1959. Samuel Kennedy was a Florin community leader and a fruit grower who served on the Florin Board of Trustees for 25 years. The Kennedy family, related to the Jacksons, had come across the plains to California, as had many of the area's pioneer families.

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.

Joseph Sims Elementary School student wins $100,000 national college savings contest

Friday, April 11 is a day that third grade Joseph Sims Elementary School student Duncan Nakamoto will probably remember for the rest of his life.

Nakamoto was announced the winner of the Big Dreams Start Small $100,000 College Fund Contest at a special assembly at Sims. Nakamoto and his father, Calvin Nakamoto, entered the contest by submitting an original photo of Duncan "dreaming big" for the future, along with a caption of up to 140 characters. The photo of Duncan was selected from among nearly 3,000 entries by an independent panel of judges.

"Education is very important to our family and we have big dreams for Duncan," Calvin Nakamoto said. "Whether he decides to become a doctor, lawyer, astronaut or paleontologist, we are sure this award - and his hard work - will set him on the path toward achieving his dreams."

The Big Dreams Start Small $100,000 College Fund Contest launched in September 2013 as part of the AARP� College Savings Solutions from TIAA-CREF program. The winning photo/caption was selected by an independent panel of judges from nearly 3,000 entries.

Click here for more information about the Big Dreams Start Small contest.

Isabelle Jackson Elementary School students set "SAIL" in after-school enrichment program

After school, the campus of Isabelle Jackson Elementary School is transformed into a place where students can get help on their homework and have a little fun as well - all through the school's SAIL (Students Achieving Independent Learning) Program. The SAIL Program is Jackson's ASES/21^st Century after-school program.

The ASES/21^st Century After-School Grant Program is currently at 17 of EGUSD's elementary schools and three EGUSD middle schools. ASES programs seek to provide safe and educationally enriching alternatives for students in kindergarten through middle school during non-school hours. The purpose of the program is for students to receive academic support, homework assistance, tutoring and an engaging enrichment program.

The SAIL Program runs from 2:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. every weekday and consists of three major program strands: literacy instruction, homework/intervention and enrichment activities. Jackson's SAIL Program enrichment activities include the Jackson Media/Technology Club, Coast 2 Coast Soccer, Black Belt Fitness, Nature Bowl, Cooking Club, Running for Rhett, Reader's Choice Circle and chess. EGUSD's Food and Nutrition Services provides a daily snack and beverage for each student, along with a light supper.

Carly Davenport, Jackson's academic program coordinator, sees the program continuing to expand in the future.

"We have expanded our number of classes this year and it will continue to grow," Davenport said. "The program's focus will also be able to accommodate a variety of learners and cater to all different levels of instruction. We would also like to integrate monthly Parent Nights to come watch students demonstrate their martial arts, display monthly art projects and become better connected to the SAIL Program. We also plan on expanding our enrichment opportunities and developing our academic curriculum to improve student achievement in order to close the Achievement Gap."

Valley High School students bring anti-bullying message to John Reith Elementary School students

When John Reith Elementary School principal Gordon Blackwood was looking for an anti-bullying program to be presented to his students, he knew exactly where to go to find the perfect ambassadors - Valley High School's ASB students.

Blackwood contacted Dan Laine, activities director at Valley, to explain what he was looking for. Laine presented the idea to his ASB students and a total of 33 Valley students created an anti-bullying program and spent a day presenting it to Reith students. The assembly at Reith tied in perfectly with the #UnfollowBullying campaign EGUSD middle and high schools have been participating in since November 2012.

"The assemblies were wonderful because they not only encouraged students to not be mean to one another, but it also gave students the power to recognize bullying and not fall victim to it," said Blackwood. "The students were quite excited to participate in the assemblies and loved every minute of them."

The assemblies featured shared stories about bullying, hands-on activities about what bullying is and presentations on ways students could feel empowered to diffuse bullying situations. Valley's ASB students created the "High Five Approach" as a guide for students to become an "unbullyable" child. Reith students also took a pledge to not bully others and signed a pledge wall.

"I definitely hope we can find a way to sustain the partnership between Reith and Valley to continue to provide this program," Blackwood said. "Hopefully we can have more frequent events or daily assistance from high school students. The assemblies definitely had an impact here at Reith. "

The assemblies build on the work of high school students across EGUSD who designed the popular #UnfollowBullying campaign. Valley students are continuing to take the #UnfollowBullying message to the next level by visiting Samuel Jackman Middle School during the month of April.

Click here for more information about the #UnfollowBullying campaign.

2014 EGUSD Science Fair and Invention Convention winners announced

Which paper airplane can fly the farthest? Does the amount of light affect how big a plant will grow? Can dog drool kill germs?

These inquiries and many others were among the questions solved at the 2014 Elk Grove Unified School District (EGUSD) Science Fair and Invention Convention, held from March 27-28, 2014.

This year, 32 elementary schools, as well as one middle and three high schools submitted over 159 entries to the annual science fair contest. A total of eight entries district-wide were submitted for the Invention Convention. Entries were judged on March 28, 2014 and displayed in the board room at the Robert L. Trigg Education Center from March 27-28, 2014.

"Each year, schools are asked to conduct their own site science fairs to determine one representative from each grade level to represent their school," said Raymond Pietersen, science program specialist for the District. "The entries in the District science and invention fair include many of the bright young science scholars of tomorrow."

First place winners will be notified by the Department of Curriculum and Professional Learning of their achievement. They will be recognized at the April 22, 2014 EGUSD Board of Education meeting.

Click here to view a list of winners from the 2014 EGUSD Science Fair & Invention Convention.