From the Superintendent

February Greetings to All,

I want to thank so many of you for responding to the recent survey regarding strategic planning. The results (which will be shared with you in the near future) show fairly strong support for the existing mission statement and belief statements (which were actually written in 1999), as well as strong support for the Operational Vision graphic which was created just this year. I also want to thank you for all the great suggestions for the district slogan. At last count there were nearly 273 suggestions, so the Board should find it interesting to sort through them all as they make a decision.

One comment that caught my attention, repeated several times in different wording, was a concern that we might be losing track of our fundamental obligation related to academic rigor because of the attention being given to "relevancy" and to "relationships". I want to assure you that this is not the case, and in fact, it is just the opposite.  As we think about where learning is at its best, it is typically in classes where the learning is made relevant to the students' world and in classes and schools where students feel safe, and teachers build healthy, caring, and appropriate relationships with their students. I encourage you to think about your own experience in school. I suspect that the classes where you succeeded and learned the most were academically demanding, taught by master teachers who cared about you as a person and who made the curriculum as relevant as possible to your life. This is one aspect of education which has not, and should not change.

Another comment that surfaced by some was a concern about "teaching to the test " because of state standards. The reality is that California, along with every other state, mandates certain standards that are used to measure student learning, as well as to indicate how schools and districts are performing. (In 2014 we will be converting to national standards, such as you find in most developed countries, which will give us a more uniform comparison of school systems between states.)

There is no doubt that we pay attention to these standards and the required exams.  I would like to believe that our focus on them is at an appropriate level as we all know they do not reflect the whole picture of a school's performance or that of the whole child. I do, however, generally support them for the following reasons:

1. The standards reflect important skills. There may be too many of them, but I seldom find anyone who disagrees with their importance in terms of the skills they represent.

2. As for "teaching to the test," if we believe the standards are important skills, it makes no sense to teach one thing and test on something else. That would be setting up kids for failure which we would never do.

3. Test results help us track our strengths and weaknesses as a school district, creating accountability which is important.

4.  Finally, at a very practical level, our district test results, which are among the highest in state, continue to be a reason families move here and one of the reasons parents and community continue to support our district and our schools in so many different ways.

We are indeed a very good school district, but perhaps our greatest strength is that we are not resting on our laurels, but instead continue to strive to be even better. Our attention to standards, combined with a commitment to bring relevancy to our 21st Century classrooms, in a strong, supportive environment of strong healthy relationships reflect this commitment to continuous improvement.

Thank you for reading my letter and for your continuing support of the San Ramon Valley Unified School District. Have a great month of February.

Steven Enoch

Superintendent of Schools

PARENT FEEDBACK ZONE..

View results of January 2011 parent survey related to “school/district communications”
http://www.zoomerang.com/Shared/SharedResultsPasswordPage.aspx?ID=L26Z26L2B6GL

View results of December 2010 parent survey related to “Homework”
http://www.zoomerang.com/Shared/SharedResultsPasswordPage.aspx?ID=L24P6FP5GMQZ

View results of November 2010 parent survey: “Technology Use” http://www.zoomerang.com/Shared/SharedResultsPasswordPage.aspx?ID=L24MA5RNLKP8

View results of Special parent survey related to the 2011-12 District Calendar
http://www.zoomerang.com/Shared/SharedResultsPasswordPage.aspx?ID=L24N9UBEXR24

SRVUSD hosts first-ever Speaker Series for High School Students and Parents

The theme of the 2011 Speaker Series is "The Skills and Ethics Needed for Success in the 21st Century." The series is geared to high school students and parents in our community. Every session is open to our entire community. We have four fabulous presentations lined up...

1. Pat Lencioni, local best-selling author and speaker(photo to right)
   Topic: "Your Thinking Today Shapes Your Reality Tomorrow"
   Wednesday, March 2, 2011
   6:30-8:00 PM
   San Ramon Valley High School Performing Arts Center, 501 Danville Blvd., Danville
2. Kevin Lovell, District Manager, Safeway NorCal Division
   Topic: "The Skills Companies Require of Today's (and Tomorrow's) Workers"
   Wednesday, March 9, 2011
   6:30-8:00 PM
   Dougherty Valley High School Performing Arts Center, 10550 Albion Road, San Ramon                    
3. Newell Arnerich, Council Member, Town of Danville
   "Am I a Leader? You bet! You just may not know it yet!"
   Wednesday, March 16th, 2011
   6:30-8:00 PM
   Monte Vista High School Theater, 3131 Stone Valley Road, Danville
4. A Panel of Local Business People/High School Students (Co-sponsored by San Ramon Chamber of Commerce)
   "Next Generation Workforce - What it Takes to Get the Great Jobs"
   Wednesday, March 23, 2011
   6:30-8:00 PM
   California High School Theater, 9870 Broadmoor Drive, San Ramon

There is no cost to attend the events. Donations accepted. All donations benefit the San Ramon Valley Education Foundation.

* Registration required through EventBrite. To register for any of the four sessions and for more information, go to www.srvusd.net/speaker_series_2011.

SRVUSD Middle School Career Tech Education (CTE) Evening

The SRVUSD Middle School Career Tech Education (CTE) Evening is Tuesday, February 8, 2011 from 6:30pm-8:30pm at California High School in San Ramon.  The event is for 7th and 8th grade students, accompanied by a parent, who are currently engaged in a CTE program at their middle school (as well as other students) and are interested in learning about CTE opportunities in high school and beyond.    For more information and to inquire about space availability, please contact your student’s middle school Counseling Office.

2011-12 Kindergarten Enrollment Window for Non- Siblings is February 1-11

The San Ramon Valley Unified School District is holding Kindergarten enrollment for the 2011-2012 school year through February 11. Parents of incoming Kindergarten students can download enrollment forms from our district website. Please refer to the district website (www.srvusd.net) for further information.
  

Eligibility for admission requirements:

•     The child must be five years of age on or before December 2, 2011.

•     At the time of kindergarten enrollment, an original certified copy of the birth certificate, passport, or baptismal record must be used to verify the student's birth date.

•     It is required by California State law that all students have complete records of immunizations prior to entering kindergarten. Children will not be admitted to a classroom in the fall unless the immunizations are up-to-date.   Please provide current immunization records at time of enrollment.  Any missing immunizations from the record will need to be given and proof provided to the school before the start of school.

•     The San Ramon Valley Unified School District requires a child to have a physical examination prior to entering kindergarten. At the time of kindergarten enrollment, parents are asked to provide the school with the scheduled appointment date for the physical exam. Children will not be admitted to a classroom in the fall unless the physical exam has been completed.

* Proof of residence is required at the time a packet is picked upand must be verified by one item from each category below:

1.    Current picture ID of parent/guardian:  Driver’s license, CA issued ID, passport, military ID.

2.    Current mortgage statement,  Escrow papers that show close of sale no later than 7 calendar days after the student’s first day of school, grant deed, property tax bill, lease/rental agreement including property address, names of occupants, signatures of both parties with 2 months of canceled checks or bank transfer records within the school year.

3.    Current PG&E or water bill with name and address listed (provide within 45 days for new home purchases/rentals).

IMPORTANT DATES

February 1-11, 2011 - No Siblings

Current resident parents of entering Kindergartners without a sibling who already attends the school should go directly to the resident school with completed enrollment forms and proof of residency. These receive second priority at their resident school.  

Incoming kindergarten students with a sibling in an elementary Special Day Class outside the resident school may choose the school of residence OR the school which the Special Day sibling attends as the priority school.

Beginning the week of February 21, 2011 - Kindergarten lottery will be held (if needed) for enrollment received as of February 19, 2011,

March 15, 2011 - Open Enrollment Transfer Requests for 2011-12 are due to the SRVUSD Educational Services Department.

June 17, 2011 - Parents will be notified of kindergarten am/pm student designations.

 READ with SRVEF kicks off February 1st

Read with SRVEF (San Ramon Valley Education Foundation) will kick-off February 1st and run through March 2nd. This event will encourage children to read while raising money for our underfunded schools. We've got great prizes and incentives for elementary, middle and high school students. With your support and participation, we will make this a success for everyone!

Check it out at www.srvef.org/read. For more information or questions, email us at info@srvef.org

Student Recognition Project application deadline approaching

Attention high school students... Here is your chance to be recognized by your local community for something that you are interested in or passionate about! The Student Recognition Project is in full swing again after a terrific year where more than 150 high school students in the San Ramon Valley were recognized for their work in 26 different extra-curricular categories.

The ONLINE application process is easy!

Applications and criteria forms for this year’s project are available NOW! All students in district high schools are encouraged to participate (at no cost) in the program by submitting a project in any of the following categories:

·         Acting

·         Applied Design

·         Architecture

·         Community Service

·         Computer Aided Design/Drafting

·         Creative Writing

·         Culinary Arts

·         Dance

·         Digital Arts

·         Early Childhood Development

·         Entrepreneur

·         Fashion Design

·         Financial Planning

·         Journalism

·         Instrumental Music

·         Instrumental Music – Piano only (*new category)

·         Vocal Music

·         Film Photography

·         Digital Photography

·         Poetry and Prose

·         Robotics

·         Science

·         Video Production

·         Visual Arts (Black/White)

·         Visual Arts (Color)

·         Web Design

 

To apply for the Project, view the promotional video and for other information, go to:http://www.srvusd.net/srp

The online application deadline is February 11^th.

For more information, please contact one of the following school administrators:
 

• Jennifer Tilton, California High School
• Lucy Dagget, Del Amigo High School
• Bridget Vorhees, Dougherty Valley High School
• Joy Brahmst, Monte Vista High School
• John Walker, San Ramon Valley High School
• Matt Hermann, Venture School

The Student Recognition Project is sponsored by the San Ramon Valley Business and Education Roundtable. It is a competition that recognizes and rewards students for projects completed outside the normal classroom curriculum. Projects are judged by local community members who are experts in these categories. Winning projects receive a gift card, recognition by local legislators, and an invitation to be recognized at the annual awards breakfast in the Spring.

"Science on Saturday" begins February 5th

Students, teachers and parents are invited to attend Science on Saturday (SOS).  SOS is a four-week series of science talks with demonstrations highlighting cutting edge science at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The talks are offered FREE OF CHARGE. The program runs   February 5 through March 5, 2011.  (Please note that no talk is scheduled for Feb 26).

LOCATION: The Bankhead Theater, 2400 First Street, Livermore.

TIME: Two presentations on each Saturday: 9:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.

SEATING IS FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED: No pre-registration.   Seating is limited.  Come early to ensure a seat. 

PROGRAM FLIER:  Print the program flier in color or black and white from the SOS web site http://education.llnl.gov/sos.

STUDENT NOTES WORKSHEET: Students receive a worksheet to record the details of the talk. The worksheet is hand stamped at the end of the session.

TEACHERS:  Receive a FREE copy of the Power Point slides and a DVD of the video recording of the talk by mail.  Be sure to complete a mailing label. 

CONTACT: Richard Farnsworth, Manager, Science Education Program (SEP), e-mail: farnsworth1@llnl.gov<mailto:farnsworth1@llnl.gov> .

WEB SITE: Details about the program are available at http://education.llnl.gov/sos/

FEBRUARY 5:  - Proton Therapy for Cancer: Addressing a Big Problem With a Small Machine.

FEBRUARY 12: - It's Gust about Time: Harnessing the Wind for our Future Energy Needs.                        

FEBRUARY 19: - Withstanding Climate Change: You Can Change the World.

MARCH 5: - Superheavy Elements: Search for the End of the Periodic Table.

Registration Open for 17th Annual "Youth to Youth Conference"

Youth to Youth was founded in 1982 as a small community drug prevention program for middle and high school youth. The focus of its many programs is harnessing the powerful force of peer pressure and turning it around to become a positive force that encourages youth to live tobacco, alcohol, and drug-free lives.

The conference will be held:

Saturday, March 12, 2011

8:00 AM - 10:00 PM

California High School, San Ramon

Conference Fee: $35 advanced registration, $45 after February 26th

For more information, visit www.srvcasa.org

"Honoring Valley Veterans" on display at Museum of the San Ramon Valley

The Museum of the San Ramon Valley at the Railroad Depot in Danville is hosting an exhibit "Honoring Valley Veterans--Heroes in Defense of Freedom" until March 5, 2011. Students and their families are encouraged to visit.

The displays are dramatic and should provide an educational experience for all ages. For more information, visit www.museumsrv.org