May 17, 2012 (Sacramento): Student artists from Sacramento
City Unified School District will pound drums, breakdance, sing
and perform original theater pieces at the 25th annual Very
Special Festival of the Arts on Friday (May 18).
The one-day event is sponsored by I Can Do THAT!/Very Special
Arts, the only program in Sacramento County that provides
instruction in the arts to students with and without disabilities
together through artists-in-residence at schools.
May 16, 2012 (Sacramento): Eight hundred students from five
Sacramento City Unified School District elementary schools that
participate in the Carnegie Hall Link UP program will perform on
Thursday (May 17) at Capital Christian Center.
Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, in partnership with the
Sacramento Philharmonic and the Vocal and Instrumental Teaching
Artists Academy, brings music instruction to students at William
Land, Sutterville, Elder Creek, Abraham Lincoln and Maple
schools.
Students will demonstrate what they’ve learned in a concert.
May 10, 2012 (Sacramento): Students from Fremont School for
Adults – slated for closure in the fall as the Sacramento City
Unified School District grapples with $43 million in cuts – are
enlisting local restaurants in their efforts to keep their
programs going.
Zócalo, Tres Hermanas, La Fiesta Mexicana Bar and Grill, Coco
Loco Mexican Restaurant, La Placita and Ay Jalisco are donating
food to be sold at the historic midtown campus during the
upcoming Second Saturday celebration.
The idea for the fundraiser came from the students, many of whom
work in area restaurants.
May 9, 2012 (Sacramento): Sacramento City Unified School
District has been approved to receive $4.1 million in federal
grants to support and expand student learning before and after
the bell rings and during the summer.
The 21st Century Afterschool Program grants will allow SCUSD to
continue its innovative slate of programs aimed at enriching the
educational experience for kids, boosting their academic
performance and teaching them about healthy living.
The California Department of Education, which administers the
grant program, notified SCUSD that it intends to award
May 4, 2012 (Sacramento): The Jinan Peace Messengers
Delegation from Jinan, China, will visit the Mandarin language
immersion class at William Land Elementary School on Monday.
Eight middle and high school students will be part of the
delegation, along with two teachers. They will arrive at William
Land at 11:30 a.m. and stay through lunch. Four members of the
Jinan-Sacramento Sister Cities Corporation will accompany the
delegation.
“We are thrilled to host these young ambassadors of good will,”
said Principal Ellen Lee.
May 2, 2012 (Sacramento): Sacramento Ballet will perform in
C.K. McClatchy High School’s gym on Thursday to kick off the
school’s 75th anniversary year and to celebrate the long-standing
relationship between the company and the school.
The ballet – featuring principal dancer Alexandra Cunningham, a
McClatchy alum – will perform movements from “Jazzin’ ” by
Darrell Grand Moultrie to the music of Duke Ellington, Wynton
Marsalis and others. McClatchy’s Jazz Band will also play from
its repertoire of jazz standards.
May 1, 2012 (Sacramento): Statewide advocates for
strengthening the connections between K-12 schools, college and
the world of work will visit Health Professions High School on
Wednesday as part of an all-day Capitol-area tour.
The Spring 2012 Convening is sponsored by Linked Learning
Alliance, a collective of education, workforce and public policy
advocates.
WHAT:
HealthCorps®’ (www.healthcorps.org) three Sacramento-based
Coordinators and students at Hiram Johnson High School will
organize a healthy breakfast competition for a panel of
distinguished judges, including HealthCorps Chairman Dr.
April 25, 2012 (Sacramento): Nationally recognized bullying
expert Dr. Elizabeth J. Meyer, author of “Gender, Bullying and
Harassment,” will give the keynote address at Sacramento City
Unified School District’s “No Time to Lose” LGBTQ youth
conference this Friday.
The conference is a key component of SCUSD’s comprehensive
approach to combating bullying in schools and in cyberspace.
April 19, 2012 (Sacramento): Sacramento City Unified School
District’s Board of Education will consider a resolution in
support of both statewide tax initiatives headed for the November
ballot at its meeting tonight (Thursday, April 19).
The initiatives – one supported by Governor Jerry Brown and
teachers unions and the other by civil rights attorney Molly
Munger and the state PTA – would both raise revenue for
California public schools. Currently, both initiatives are in the
signature-collection phase.
April 18, 2012 (Sacramento): Kiyo Sato, 88, is a survivor.
A native of Sacramento, her Japanese American family became the
target of prejudice after the attack on Pearl Harbor and was
eventually forced to live in an internment camp in Arizona.
Despite these struggles, Ms. Sato eventually returned to
Sacramento, joined the U.S. Air Force, finished her education and
become a successful school nurse and award-winning author.
A rare pink almond tree on Folsom Boulevard near the Rancho
Cordova library is a survivor, too.
April 16, 2012 (Sacramento): Fourteen student “green teams”
from the Sacramento City Unified School District will showcase
projects to make their campuses more eco-friendly at SCUSD’s
first annual Project Green Showcase on Wednesday (April 18).
Viable projects are in line for $5 million in facilities bond
money set aside for green school initiatives.
“Not only are we encouraging our students to think deeply about
making our community a better place in the future, we are
providing them with the funds to take their projects from concept
to reality,” said SCUSD Superinten
April 12, 2012 (Sacramento) – The Rosemont community will come
together on Friday (April 13) for “Essence of Rosemont,” a giant
block party designed to demonstrate support for public schools,
kids and neighborhood unity.
Kids will be jumping, cheerleaders will be turning cartwheels and
bands will be playing at the third annual “Essence,” event, a
fun-packed evening of carnival games, bounce houses, live music
and an outdoor movie on an enormous 60-foot-wide screen.
“We are so proud of our schools and so pleased that the community
has rallied to show their support for our stu
March 30, 2012 (Sacramento): Spring is a busy time of year
– especially for vandals, thieves and arsonists looking to take
advantage of empty school campuses.
In light of this, SCUSD is asking the community for help in
keeping schools safe and secure over Spring Break (March 31
through April 8 – school resumes Monday, April 9).’
“Most of our schools are surrounded by homes, and we need those
neighbors to join us in protecting these valuable and sometimes
vulnerable community centers,” said Sacramento Police Lt.
March 29, 2012 (Sacramento): Last Veteran’s Day, students
at Hollywood Park Elementary School wrote letters to veterans
thanking them for their service to the country.
On Friday, some of those veterans will return the gesture of
gratitude by presenting the school with a $500 check – and a
surprise for Principal Hamed Razawi.
March 29, 2012 (Sacramento): Students at Kit Carson Middle
School come from diverse backgrounds – families have roots in all
corners of the globe. To celebrate this diversity, the school on
Friday is holding a Multicultural Unity Day Celebration.
Activities at Friday’s event include performances by the Fenix
Drum and Dance Company, LeAnthony Castillo Dance Company, the
Leonardo da Vinci Very Special ARTS Blues Band and local martial
arts master Franco Parchamento.
March 27, 2012 (Sacramento) – A fancy restaurant – complete with
celebrity chef, fine linens, haute cuisine and “cocktail” bar –
opening in Oak Park this week is expected to draw a VIP guest
list of local movers and shakers.
The twist: This “Five Star Restaurant” will be run entirely by
fifth graders.
On Wednesday (March 28), a group of dedicated elementary school
students will transform the cafeteria of Oak Ridge Elementary
School in Oak Park into a “Five Star Restaurant,” an elegant
evening conceived, designed and executed by the students
themselves – with the help of midtown c
March 21, 2012 (Sacramento): Hundreds of Sacramento City
Unified School District youth will attend youth leadership
conferences this month aimed at empowering teens to take a more
active role in their futures.
The first conference, the African American Student Leadership
Conference, will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow
(Thursday, March 22) in the Student Union at California State
University, Sacramento.
March 12, 2012 (Sacramento): Administrators at John F.
Kennedy High School are coordinating a mega fieldtrip this week:
They’re taking every freshman student – all 500 – on a college
campus tour.
JFK ninth graders will travel by bus over two days to Sacramento
City College, where they will visit classrooms and meet with
students, athletes, professors – even cheerleaders.
March 8, 2012 (Sacramento): Teens at John F. Kennedy High
School – many of them new drivers – will witness the harsh legal
consequences of driving under the influence when the Real DUI
Court in School Program comes to campus this Friday.
The school’s gym will be transformed into the courtroom of a
local judge, and a driver previously convicted of DUI will be
sentenced and given an opportunity to address an assembly of
juniors and seniors.
March 7, 2012 (Sacramento): Kids at Rosa Parks Middle
School will learn the ropes – jump ropes – of how top boxers stay
in shape on Thursday at a kick-off event for Prime Time Boxing’s
national Knocking Out Obesity Tour.
Prime Time Boxing founders Cary Williams-Nunez and Angelo Nunez
will teach students non-contact boxing workout techniques from 8
a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, March 8.
March 1, 2012 (Sacramento): Children who are the best
prepared for school perform the best academically. To help get
kids ready for the rigors of today’s classrooms, the Sacramento
City Unified School District is sponsoring a School Readiness
Fair on Saturday.
Hundreds of families are expected to attend the fair to take
advantage of such free services as health screenings and dental
exams. Parents will also be offered information on kindergarten
enrollment, pre-school enrollment, pre-kindergarten summer camp
and community resources.
February 29, 2012 (Sacramento): Kids across Sacramento City
Unified School District will honor the birthday of Dr.
Seuss on Friday – Read Across America Day – by listening to
inspired renditions of the author’s best-loved books, including
“The Lorax.”
“Read Across America Day is a great way to bring the community
into our classrooms so students can see the joy that adults get
from reading,” said SCUSD Superintendent Jonathan Raymond. “These
great reading role models send a strong message that reading is a
pleasure and the key to success in life.”
February 23, 2012 (Sacramento): Alice Birney
Waldorf-Inspired eK-8 School students are staging a “Knit
Together” in Reichmuth Park on Saturday, part of a six-week
knit-a-thon to raise money for the school and supply needy
children with blankets.
The children have collected pledges for donations based on how
many knitted squares they can produce between when the
knit-a-thon started January 28 and March 2.
February 17, 2012 (Sacramento): A third-grader’s colorful
drawing of a garden filled with flowers has netted Mark Hopkins
Elementary School a “dream” school garden worth thousands of
dollars.
Melissa Martinez’s drawing was one of three top finalists in the
Karden Gardens Dream School Garden Competition, which was part of
last month’s Northern California Home and Landscape Expo.
February 17, 2012 (Sacramento): Oak Ridge Elementary School
has been awarded a three-year School Improvement Grant (SIG) from
the California Department of Education, with year one funding
(2012-13) of $1.5 million.
The grant will allow Oak Ridge to expand the school day by 45
minutes, increasing time spent in core academics, student
enrichment and teacher planning and collaboration.
Oak Ridge was eligible to apply for SIG funding because in
2009-10 it was ranked among the lowest 5 percent of schools in
the state in terms of academic performance.
February 15, 2012 (Sacramento): Sacramento City Unified
School District Superintendent Jonathan Raymond will testify
about the local impacts of state education cuts before the Senate
Budget and Fiscal Review Committee at tomorrow morning’s hearing.
SCUSD faces a $28 million deficit for 2012-13 under Governor
Brown’s proposed state budget.
