November 20, 2020

 

This past weekend family and friends joined me in volunteering to reseed some of

our burned hillsides in Vacaville. On Saturday we helped out Zinger Ranch.

We planted native grasses, acorns, and pollinators. This should help with erosion

as well as provide food for local honeybees. We had a great time and look forward

to our next reseeding opportunity.

ENCOURAGING CAMERAS ON!

I read a great article on ways to encourage students to turn their cameras on. From playing a game, to giving them options, to using ice breakers, we want to encourage them to turn their cameras on. We know, however, that this cannot be forced (and even with parent permission, need to be done carefully).

While this article is focused on Zoom users, there are some very helpful ideas on how we can get students to feel more comfortable in turning their cameras on even if for a brief moment. After building relationships with our students and polling them, they may have some "out of the box" ideas on how they can show their face or space on camera!

----->Take a look at the full article HERE!<-----

Several of you have asked about food service for our students. Please encourage our

families to apply for free and reduced lunch on the FSUSD website through the child

nutrition department. 

Please post this on your Google Classroom and send out in your newsletters. 

As a result of teachers posting the link in their Google Classroom, several more parents

submitted applications. If you would like to do the same, here are links your teachers

can use: 

For electronic submittal: My School Apps (FSUSD) (parents can toggle to select their preferred language at the top of the webpage)

PLEASE WELCOME

Starting November 30th, Mrs. Kalyuta will be going on Maternity leave until late February. Mrs. Del Dotto and Mrs. Butler will be the long term subs during this time. Please see notes from each of them below. 

Hello, 

My name is Meredith Del Dotto and I am looking forward to teaching ELA and

History during Mrs. Kalyuta's leave.  I have been a long term sub for about

8 years and have been subbing for 12 years.  All three of our boys attended

Suisun Valley from Kindergarten to 8th grade and it has a warm place in my

heart. Feel free to contact me at meredithd@fsusd.org

 

Hi!

 My name is Sandra Butler and I am going to be joining Meredith Del Dotto as a

substitute teacher for you 8th graders!  

A little bit about me...

I have been a FSUSD substitute teacher off and on since 1995.  I used to

substitute teach quite a bit at Suisun Valley School. I even taught 8th grade

for a month from November thru December while they were looking for a full

time teacher. Not only was I a substitute teacher, I also taught an art class for

K-8 classes and an after school art class at Suisun Valley School. 

My two sons, Blake and Spencer Butler, had the privilege of attending Suisun

Valley School from kindergarten thru 8th grade!  Blake is now 25 years old and

Spencer is 23 years old. Meredith's and my children grew up together!  Thank

you for bringing me on board and I look forward to meeting all of you! 

I am thankful for a wonderful school community, loving family, friends, and that we are all healthy. This holiday season we are thinking of others  and helping out families in need, whether it is reseeding farms or delivering meals to families. My dad had his surgery on Monday night and has been in a medically induced coma since then.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and be safe. Put your phones and computers away if you can. 

Board Policy Information 

The Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District maintains Board Policies and Administrative Regulations that provide guidance to the operations of the district based on current State and Federal law.  Please read the following policies listed below.

BP 5141.4 Child Abuse Prevention and Reporting AR 5141.4 Child Abuse Prevention and Reporting

Pursuant to Education Code 44691, the California Department of Education (CDE) is required to disseminate information to all school districts regarding the detection and reporting of child abuse and to provide guidance on the responsibilities of mandated reporters.  The Governing Board is committed to supporting the safety and well-being of district students and desires to facilitate the prevention of and response to child abuse and neglect.

BP 5145.3 Nondiscrimination/Harassment AR 5145.3 Nondiscrimination/Harassment

Education Code 234.1 mandates that districts adopt policy prohibiting, at school or in any school activity related to school attendance or under the authority of the district, discrimination, including discriminatory harassment, intimidation, and bullying, based on the foregoing characteristics. The Administrative Regulation identify the employee(s) designated to coordinate the district's efforts to comply with state and federal civil rights laws (e.g. Title IX and Section 504 coordinators), including the investigation and resolution of discrimination complaints under AR 1312.3 - Uniform Complaint Procedures.

November 13, 2020

I have this picture in my office of my dad. He is on one of our oldest tractors (his favorite) as we were harvesting prunes. I know he isn't all dressed up and posed with a smile. We have plenty of pictures like that. I chose this picture because I spent over 35 years working side by side with him on the farm on a tractor all year long. This reminds me that everything we do may not be easy but we do it because we enjoy it. And I will say I did enjoy farming with him. Last week my dad had a horrible fall and he hit his head. At first, we thought that he only had a concussion but the next day he was speaking nonsense so he was rushed to the hospital and we learned that he has a brain bleed. Since then the surgery has been postponed for one reason or another and now he has pneumonia. We can't go see him because of COVID (thank goodness for Facetime) but they are allowing the same two people see him. Sarbjit and Jaz are taking turns to keep him company. It has been a week since he has been there and I hope he gets better soon :)

Suisun Valley STAFF  has adopted a family here in Fairfield. We have adopted family #21 and they have 6 children.  If you would like to participate just drop off your donations in our front office. The family is asking for gift cards from Target or Walmart. Remember even a $5 or $10 gift card can make a difference :) All gift cards have to be dropped off in our front office before Dec. 3 so I can drop them off on Dec. 4

State Board of Education Approves Shorter Standardized Tests to Give Schools Flexibility Amidst COVID-19 Uncertainties

Please read this article: https://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr20/yr20rel90.asp

As an educator and a parent myself, conferences can lead to a perspective where I can understand both positions. Parents want their children to feel safe, be happy and learn at school. I know EVERY parent wants this. That is why it is SO important that we make them feel welcome and part of the team when making decisions. Parent/teacher/student conferences is a great time to build relationships with parents. A great question to ask yourself is what do I want from my child's teacher? How would I want to be included? If my child was struggling with online learning how would I like to be approached?

Have you planned to have your students lead part of the parent/teacher conference? This can easily be done by using the RIT goals students have set for themselves. GREAT ARTICLE CLICK HERE

Honor roll and perfect attendance awards and certificates will be mailed out on Friday, Nov. 20.

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There: Thank you Heather H., Jamie, and Katie for keeping up with AR PPT every week!

Play: Thank you for taking time and connecting with your students.

Choose your attitude: Your attitude can decide how you will feel for the rest of the day- EVERY DAY!!

Make Their Day:   Thank you Heather M. and Daniel for having a special lunch planned with a student in their drive way! Thank you Sarah and Jen for delivering AR goal signs to your students.

November 6, 2020

Watch this! It is pretty awesome!! 

Dear Perfectionist Teacher, Your Small Win Is a Big Win in 2020

by Julie Mason

I have been thinking about perfection and teaching a lot lately. So many teachers are sharing on social media that they don’t feel like they are doing enough or they aren’t good enough. It’s heartbreaking to see the lengths that teachers are going to do better and be better, especially this year. Perfectionist teacher, I see you. I tried to be a perfect teacher. It was impossible and made it very hard. While there is no quick fix, there are a few things we can do to be kinder to ourselves. Here are the lessons my teacher friends have taught me along the way. 

• Your small win is a big win-  If you are a perfectionist you are really hard on yourself, and it’s difficult to turn off your negative self-talk. Learn to be kinder to yourself. It’s not easy to change your chatter, but if you’re looking for a place to begin, start noticing your small wins.

• There’s no perfect 10 in teaching 

• The glow instead of the grow-  I started asking them to share a glow and a grow from the week. What did they feel went well? What did we need to work on?

• You’re not good at everything, but you’re good at a lot 

• Your productivity doesn’t make you a good teacher- I know. Bear with me here. Working hard is something to be proud of. But working hard isn’t what makes you a good teacher. Taking the time to ask a student how they are doing and really listening to their answer makes you a good teacher. Recognizing that your students are frustrated, and pausing your lesson to take a break makes you a good teacher. Realizing that you are exhausted and hungry, and not finishing your grading so you can make something to eat and get some sleep makes you a good teacher.

Celebrate these small moments, and see them for what they are: big wins. You are showing up every day despite the uncertainty, anxiety, and impossibility of pandemic teaching. Celebrate that for what is: a big win.

District Writing Assessment (POSTPONED)

FSUSD writing assessment is postponed for this year while in distance learning. Once a plan is

finalized to make improvements to the DWA, information will be shared.

Teachers please support our school fundraiser https://www.valleyofthemoonfundraising.com/

Congratulations to Fern for our site teacher of the year! Your hard work and dedication to our students is impressive. 

Board Policy Information - please read

The Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District maintains Board Policies and Administrative

ions that provide guidance to the operations of the district based on current State and

Federal law.  Over the next few months, this document will highlight one or

two policies that are required to be shared annually with FSUSD staff. 

BP 4119.21 Professional Standards BP 4212.3/4312.3 Oath or Affirmation

The Governing Board expects district employees to maintain the highest ethical standards, behave professionally, follow district policies and regulations, abide by state and federal laws, and exercise good judgment when interacting with students and other members of the school community.  BP 4119.21 - Professional Standards - outlines these expectations. BP 4212.3 and 4312.3 reflect the Government Code requirements that public employees are disaster service workers.

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There: Thank you for working hard EVERY single day!!

Play: Thank you for dressing up during our spirit days.

Choose your attitude: Your attitude can decide how you will feel for the rest of the day- EVERY DAY!!

Make Their Day:   Make at least one positive phone home this week.