October 8, 2010
Teaching and Learning
Collaborative Leadership: Professional development at the Serna Center this week focused on building effective teamwork and cultivating a culture of shared leadership focused on student learning. Led by Mike Mattos, author of The Collaborative Administrator: Working Together as a Professional Learning Community, sessions were held for school-based and central office leaders.
College Fair: Hundreds of students and their parents –estimates put the number of attendants at 1,500 – learned about a vast array of post-secondary options at the district’s annual _ollege Fair, held last Sunday at C.K. McClatchy High School. Students waited in lines to ask questions of representatives of such institutions as Stanford, UCLA, CSU Sacramento, Sacramento City College, ITT Tech and Penn State.
Common Planning Time: School-based leaders also attended a workshop on the productive use of Common Planning Time. Teachers this year will be meeting for a total of 20 hours, where they will work together to focus on three areas: What they want students to know and be able to learn; which student artifacts they will look at to analyze learning; and what next steps they will implement to increase mastery of standards.
Achievement Recognized: Joseph Bonnheim Elementary School will hold its second annual Academic Celebration on Monday and Tuesday evenings. Students who achieved “proficient” and/or “advanced” on the STAR-CST in English Language Arts, Mathematics and Science during the 2009-10 school year will be recognized with a medallion and a certificate. Additionally, three girls will receive special recognition for achieving perfect scores on the mathematics portion of the CST. In September, students who made improvement were recognized with a wristband that read “CST Bandjumper.”
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Projects Approved: At its October 6 meeting, the State Allocation Board gave unfunded approval to five SCUSD projects totaling $676,690. The projects include shelving for Alice Birney Waldorf-Inspired K-8 School; repairs to ceilings at Fruit Ridge Elementary School; a new dishwasher at Fern Bacon Middle School; flooring at Rosa Parks Middle School; and asphalt repairs to Sacramento Charter High.
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Family Reading: Ethel I. Baker Elementary School held its Annual Family Reading Night on Wednesday. The turnout was great: 197 participants enjoyed the interactive evening, engaging in Reader's Corner, Story Quilt Making, Word Bingo and other literacy related activities.
Walk and Roll to School Week: To celebrate both healthy living and International Walk to School Week, Sutterville Elementary School students walked and rolled to school this week, culminating with 377 students participating on Thursday. For students who live too far from school to participate, teachers and Principal Lori !oun met students and parents at “park and walk” sites. Parent volunteers also led “walking school buses” or groups of students on bicycles. The event dramatically reduced traffic congestion around Sutterville, and benefitted the environment by decreasing pollution. See photos below:
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Snacks for Kids: Edward Kemble Elementary School has formed a partnership with Foodlink, a service of the Food Bank. Starting last Friday, Foodlink is providing weekend “snack packs” to every student at Kemble.
Engagement Increased: About 300 people attended Fern Bacon Middle School’s _ack to School Night on Tuesday, a huge increase over last year’s turnout. The evening included hot dogs and chips, entertainment by the Phoenix Park _oncert _hoir, a principal’s welcome and classroom visits according to the bell schedule. On a related note, the Phoenix Park _oncert _hoir director will be directing the school’s newly formed chorus after school two days a week.
Full House: Father Keith B. Kenny Elementary School had a full house at its Back to School/Community meeting Wednesday evening. The event opened with piano selections played by the school’s music specialist, the introduction of staff, and a presentation about the school in the multi-purpose room. Next, FKBK guests were treated to refreshments and a drawing for books before visiting classrooms. A librarian from the Sacramento Public Library also attended the event to give parents the opportunity to sign their children up for library cards.
OfficeMax Honors Teacher: Golden Empire’s October Fire Drill was a little more celebratory this month. Office Max, the sponsor of the “Day Made _etter” program, honored sixth grade teacher, Kim Engstrom, with more than $1,000 worth of classroom supplies. Kim was acknowledged at the school-wide assembly following their monthly fire drill. Congratulations Kim!
Generating Learning: The Physics Department and students at George Washington Carver School of Arts and Science are now the proud owners of a Van de Graaf Generator. The $700 generator was donated to the school through the Donors Choose program. The Van de Graaf is an electrostatic generator which uses a moving belt to accumulate very high electrostatically stable voltages on a hollow metal globe on the top of the stand. Donors Choose is an online nonprofit organization that allows teachers to post requests for supplies or other aid. For more information, watch this CNN report:
Upcoming Events
Rosemont Homecoming Tonight, October 8 – 5 p.m. The second annual homecoming parade, themed “Rhythms of the Word,” begins at 5 p.m. and goes from Kiefer Boulevard at South Port Drive to Rosemont High's administration building. The varsity football game against McClatchy is at 7 p.m. Participants in the parade include elementary and middle schools, various youth organizations, Rosemont Community Association, as well as student and teacher groups of Rosemont High School.
Community Challenge Saturday, October 9 – 8 a.m. The Sacramento Valley Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators is sponsoring a Community Challenge Weekend beautification day at Camellia Basic Elementary School. The association is donating lumber, plants and volunteer labor to spruce up the campus and create shelving in a P.E. equipment storage area.
Hmong Conference Saturday, October 9 – 9 a.m. The 11th Annual Hmong Educational Conference will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Genesis High School, 5601 47th Ave. Students from throughout SCUSD will gather to share ideas about ways to succeed in school and life. The event is free and will feature entertainment by two B-Boy groups and a keynote address by motivational speaker Tou Saiko Lee.
