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District Digest - Volume 4, Issue 2
December 3, 2014 |
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Dear Friends,
December is the start of the holiday season for many in our community, and a time when I find myself reflecting on my own good fortune. It is the most rewarding of things to be an educator, to watch skills take root and confidence build, and to know that inside the four walls of a school, the potential for the greatest innovations of the future is developing.
It is exciting to be doing this work in the midst of the inspiring and culturally diverse Silicon Valley; it is particularly rewarding to be doing it in a school district that is able to provide for the specific requirements of each and every student, due in part to widespread community support and beneficial partnerships with universities, businesses, and nonprofit agencies. It’s the difference between knowing what a child needs for learning success and actually being able to deliver it. I feel very fortunate indeed!
It is also gratifying to see that our district is getting stronger all the time. Foundational to all of our schools is an emphasis on language arts and mathematics mastery, and opportunities for students to access accelerated learning programs and personalized interventions as needed. In addition, while many public and private schools struggle to provide the basics, every Sunnyvale School District student benefits from music, dance, art, living history, hands-on science, project-based learning, and state-of-the-art tools and instructional technology.
But there is more to come in 2015! Our plans for offering four schools of choice within district boundaries are coming to fruition. Starting in February, we will be registering kindergarteners in our dual-language immersion program at San Miguel School, and enrolling children in grades K through 5 in Fairwood School’s highly successful parent participation program. Vargas School’s emerging science magnet is taking shape, and we soon will be accepting applications for Columbia Middle School’s University Partnership Program, a unique instructional partnership the school has formed with Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education. Please look for more details to come about these special program options in the coming months.
It is our job to inspire, challenge and support our young students, and it is a responsibility that all of us in Sunnyvale School District takes to heart. We are honored to have your trust and are wholeheartedly committed to doing right by your children. We are grateful for the opportunity.
I wish you and your family the warmest of winter holidays, and great health and prosperity in the coming year.
Sincerely,
Benjamin H. Picard
Superintendent of Schools
Below is the 14th issue of The District Digest, an online newsletter produced by the Sunnyvale School District. Articles are published online at http://sesd-district-digest.org/; in general, stories from the past three months are collected for each emailed "digest".
In the 2014-2015 school year, we will publish the District Digest in September, December, March and June (on the first school day on or after the first of the month); article submissions are welcome, please submit at least 10 days before each publishing date (info@sesd-district-digest.org).
Your comments and feedback are especially welcome!
In this Issue
- Civil Engineering Lesson for Lakewood Students
- Fairwood Explorer Information Nights
- Safe Routes To School in Sunnyvale
- District and Public Safety Working Collaboratively In Our Schools
- Our Nurse’s Corner: Meet The District’s Health Services Staff
- Noontime News: Conflict Resolution Training
- District Receives Computer Donation
- Kindergarten Readiness: Activities to Prepare for School
- Student Store Motivates Students at Columbia Middle School
- Disability Awareness Day Celebrated in Sunnyvale
- Vargas Elementary School Teacher Wins “Most Beautiful” Pumpkin!
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Civil Engineering Lesson for Lakewood Students
Lakewood Elementary School has been undergoing major renovation and Sunnyvale School District’s Chief Operations Officer, Rob Smiley, had the idea of offering Lakewood students a “teachable moment”, figuring out how much concrete will be needed for the construction project at their school. [Read more] |
Fairwood Explorer Information Nights
Come get information on Sunnyvale School District’s Fairwood Explorer Program. This parent-participation program began as a pilot program in 2010-11 and just admitted its first full class of Explorer students this fall. Fairwood Explorer is a K-5 program providing hands-on instruction and project-based learning. Everyone living within Sunnyvale School District’s boundaries is eligible.[Read more] |
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Safe Routes To School in Sunnyvale
On Wednesday, October 8, 2014 San Miguel Elementary School in Sunnyvale, “Kicked-Off” International Walk and Bike to School Day. Principal Christina Ballantyne and her staff encouraged students and parents to “Walk and Roll” to school. Two walking school buses were formed and were led by Sunnyvale City Council Members and Sunnyvale School Board Members. [Read more] |
District and Public Safety Working Collaboratively In Our Schools
Creating a safe and supportive environment in our schools is essential to ensuring students’ academic and social success. To that end, the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Sunnyvale School District (SSD) are committed to collaboratively working together to ensure school campuses safety. [Read more]
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Our Nurse’s Corner: Meet The District’s Health Services Staff
The Sunnyvale School is fortunate to have such a passionate Health Services team that consists of 3 full-time Nurses and 6 Health Assistants who take care of our students with medical needs every day - helping all of our students stay healthy and ready to learn. [Read more]
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Noontime News: Conflict Resolution Training
Everyday our students are assisted during their lunchtime by Noon Aides, caring adults who take two hours out of their day to help our students. Recently, Noon Aides from each of the Sunnyvale School District sites gathered together for a training to learn how to better serve our students. [Read more] |
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District Receives Computer Donation
The Sunnyvale School District school sites have created wonderful partnerships with top businesses within the Silicon Valley throughout the years. The community partnerships have funded programs, special projects, and/or equipment for students within the District. Recently, one of our community partners, LinkedIn, made a very generous donation to the District which included 125 MacBook Pro’s and 2 Dell Laptops. [Read more] |
Kindergarten Readiness: Activities to Prepare for School
The Sunnyvale Public Library will be hosting a Kindergarten Readiness Workshop on Tuesday, January 20, 2015 from 6:30-8:30 p.m in their Program Room. Experienced staff from the FIRST 5 Santa Clara County Learning Together Initiative Family Resource Center will be there [Read more] |
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Student Store Motivates Students at Columbia Middle School
Students at Columbia Middle School (CMS) look forward to redeeming “Bulldog bucks” for prizes and school supplies at their student store on Wednesdays at lunchtime. Students line up, Bulldog bucks in hand, eager to see what is new at the store, and looking forward to cashing in hard earned bucks for Jamba Juice, Guadalajara Market gift certificates or even AMC movie tickets. [Read more] |
Disability Awareness Day Celebrated in Sunnyvale
Many organizations come together every year to celebrate Disability Awareness Day to empower children, families, and educators. On October 16, the Sunnyvale School District celebrated its 1st Annual Disability Awareness Day held on the Vargas Elementary School campus. This was a great opportunity to promote awareness and appreciation of people with differing abilities not only in our school community but the community as a whole. [Read more] |
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Vargas Elementary School Teacher Wins “Most Beautiful” Pumpkin!
The Half Moon Bay’s 41st Annual Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off was held on October 13th where about 25 (down this year due to the drought) accomplished, veteran mega-gourd growers from California brought their biggest and best pumpkins to be weighed. Using a 5-ton capacity digital scale, a forklift, and harnesses pumpkins were carefully lifted onto the scale for the weigh-off. [Read more]
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