Your source for all things SVA.

February 5, 2016

SVA News & Notes

What's Happening at SVA?

Feb 8 -- Pennies for Patients Begins

Feb 8 -- PTO Meeting

Feb 12
-- PTO Fundraiser Ends

Feb 12 -- Student Council's Twin Day

Feb 15 -- Holiday, No School

Feb 17

-- 2016-17 Admission Lottery

HELP WANTED!

Full-time Teacher 2016-17

SVA is looking for a talented teacher to join our staff next year. Here's a link to the posting on EdJoin. Pass it on!

Substitute Teachers and Instructional Aides

We pay substitute teachers $116/day.

Substitute Instructional Aides earn $10.30-14.42/hr (depending on education & experience). Must have Tulare County fingerprint clearance. For more information on qualifications and requirements, contact office@sycamorevalleyacademy.org.

Pennies for Patients

February 8-26

SVA Student Council has organized school-wide participation in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Pennies for Patients campaign.

Students across the country are collecting spare change during the campaign. Proceeds help fund blood cancer research and provide treatment for patients.

Since 1994, millions of dollars have been raised in pennies and other spare change by more than 10 million elementary, middle and high school students throughout the country.

Send your loose change to your child's classroom starting Monday!

Attention Parents of

7th & 8th Grade Students

VUSD College Readiness representative, Paige Loverin, is coming to SVA to talk about transitioning to high school, high school graduation requirements, and college entry requirements.

Parents are encouraged to attend.

Thursday, February 11, 2:00PM

SVA Cafeteria

Sweaters and Coats

Parents, please write your child's name inside their jackets.

Encourage your children to keep track of their own items at school.

Have your children check for their name before taking items home.

Please check for names in the items that have been brought home to be sure they are yours.

New Immunization Law

Effective January 1, 2016, a new law prohibiting exemption from immunization requirements for personal beliefs went into effect.

If your family is affected by this change please read the letter from Tulare County Health & Human Services linked here.

For more information you may contact Tulare County Public Health at (559) 687-5725 or visit www.shotsforschool.org.

Art Supplies Needed!

Ms. Bennett is collecting old CDs, scrapbook paper and yarn for upcoming projects. If you'd like to contribute materials, please send them to your child's classroom teacher.

Thank you!

DE Session - Feb 1-12

Destination: Music Makers

Music surrounds us throughout our day, whether it is made by musicians or the beat of our hearts. Listen to music and make your own in this DE session. Feel the rhythm!

Honoring Student Achievement

Sixth grader Douglas Ferguson earned a purple belt in karate last week. To advance to this status, he underwent a rigorous 5 hour test which included running 5 miles without stopping and completing 600 situps and pushups on top of performing his karate moves. Way to go!

Congratulations, Douglas!

We accept nominations for student recognition on an ongoing basis, so be sure to let us know when something great happens! If you would like to nominate a student for their extra curricular accomplishments, complete this form.

Excellence or Bust!

SVA will be hosting an event especially for educators on April 1 and April 8.

Leaders in education will visit our school to learn about our programs and instructional practices.

If you are an educator, download the invitation here. Feel free to share with other educators in the community.

Explorers Basketball

SVA Basketball still needs volunteer referees!

We need 2-4 referees for all home games.

Explorer Basketball Home Schedule

February 16 - 3:30 - 5:30

March 3 - 3:30 - 4:30

March 8 - 3:30 - 5:30

March 10 - 3:30 - 4:30

Please contact Jessica Bennett ASAP if you can help out! jbennett@sycamorevalleyacademy.org

SVA PTO NEWS

Next PTO Meeting

Monday,

February 8, 6:00PM

Round Table Pizza

4035 S. Mooney Blvd.

Meeting Agenda

Jog-a-Thon Coming Soon!

Attention Parents! Business sponsors are needed for the 20

16 SVA PTO Jog-a-Thon.

PTO has expanded sponsorship opportunities this year. Sponsors will be recognized on event signage (Silver level $50 and up) and event t-shirts (Gold-Diamond level, $250-$750). Please help us make this event the huge success it was last year.

Use this letter to reach out to your contacts in the community.

Student pledge forms will be sent home on April 11 for parent and family Jog-a-Thon sponsorships.

Tomato Garden

Fundraiser

January 26-February 12

Click here for more information.

Gardens 4 Education Fundraiser ends soon!

Tell One Person

The admissions period is a time to reach out to our community, to

increase access to our option by increasing awareness of our option.

Please commit to telling one person about SVA, and encourage them to apply to join us.

Here are a few easy ways to spread the word about SVA:

1. Please forward the email you received two weeks ago with the subject line "Special Announcement - 2016-17 Admissions" to anyone you know who may be interested in our excellent option for education.

2. Invite someone to attend an informational meeting or take a campus tour. Info meetings will be held at 6PM in the cafeteria on Jan. 25, and Feb. 16. Tours will be held at 8AM on Feb. 4, and Feb 11. Call ahead to reserve a spot on the tour. Spanish translation is available for all tours and info meetings.

3. Post about us on social media. Share a link to our website's admissions page via social media. Here's that link: SVA Admissions. Share a post from Ms. Dutton or another staff member, or write your own post about our awesome school. #SVArocks

4. Print the application, linked here, and hand it to someone you know.

5. Just talk. By telling others about the positive experience your family has had at SVA, you can help others in our community who value education gain access to this option. Share a story about a moment when you were grateful for SVA, share your child's success, or - better yet, ask your child to tell someone why they love SVA.

You've seen how Sycamore Valley Academy ranked against other districts in the county on 2014-15 CAASPP scores, now take a look at how we stacked up against other VUSD schools.

Check out the table below to see how SVA compares to the best of VUSD.

Way to go SVA!

This table compares achievement in like grade levels at top performing VUSD schools.

Community Events

CAG Parent Workshop

California Association for the Gifted is hosting a parent workshop at their annual conference on February 26 in Palm Springs. Pre-registration is required. Click here for more information.