February 26, 2021

Read Across America: March 2: In the past we have had community members visit our classrooms and read to our students. This year we are getting creative. We will share some videos with you of us reading books or poems. HERE IS MINE TO SHARE WITH KIDS Students (or you) can dress up in pj's or dress as your favorite character on March 2nd.

Here are some websites for Read Across America:

http://www.pinterest.com/teachingblogadd/read-across-america-ideas-for-teachers/

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/classroom-solutions/2012/02/five-ideas-perfectly-bookish-read-across-america-celebrations

http://www.seussville.com/Educators/educatorReadAcrossAmerica.php

You can ask parents to do this as well

Please welcome Ashley Cook she will be sharing the assignment of teaching 8th grade with Meredith Del Dotto while Alee is on maternity leave.  She will be taking over for Sandra Butler and starting March 22. Make sure you include her in all emails that you send to staff. Thank you so much Sandra for giving us your time here at Suisun Valley. We will miss you! 

From Ashley:

I am a graduate of the University of San Francisco where I earned a bachelor's degree in 2018. I am currently a graduate student at Sacramento State University where I am studying marriage, family, couples and child therapy. I have served FSUSD as a substitute teacher since November 2019. Prior to my current roles, I worked in corporate communications and public relations.  Above all else, I am very excited to work with Suisun Valley's super amazing 8th graders!

Also, during the weeks that I am "off," during this assignment, I will still be available to fill in for any of your other teachers who may need a sub during that time. 

Board Policies Update for Site Newsletters

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.  Over the next

few months, the newsletter will highlight one or two policies that are

required to be shared annually with FSUSD staff.  Our goal in

distributing a few policies each week is that you will be able to take

the time to review the policies.

BP 6153 School Sponsored Trips

AR 6153 School Sponsored Trips

The Governing Board recognizes that school-sponsored trips can be an important component of a student's development and supplement and enrich the classroom learning experience. School-sponsored trips may be conducted in connection with the district's course of study or school-related social, educational, cultural, athletic, school band activities, or other extracurricular or cocurricular activities.

BP/AR 6153 outline the processes and procedures that must be followed when

conducting a school sponsored trip.

BP 5145.12 Search and Seizure

AR 4145.12 Search and Seizure

The Governing Board is fully committed to promoting a safe learning environment and,

to the extent possible, eliminating the possession and use of weapons, illegal drugs, and

other controlled substances by students on school premises and at school activities.  When

conducting a search or seizure, employees shall act in accordance with law, Board policy,

and administrative regulation.

BP/AR 5145.12 outlines the processes and procedures that must be followed when conducting

searches and/or seizing of property.

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There: Be there for each other as we navigate the next month. 

Play: I love how creative you guys are with your virtual Dragon awards. The kids love it!! 

Choose your attitude: Be kind. Be kind. Be kind. Be kind. 

Make Their Day:  Thank you Kristin, Sarah, Heather M., and Daniel for making our 8th graders day on Wednesday! It was awesome to see them!! 

February 19, 2021

 

Maya participated in her first cross country meet this week as a freshman in high school. Can't believe she is in high school already! I missed it because I was working but Chris was able to be there and cheer her on :) I am proud of her and her dedication. They practice 6 days a week and it allows her to see other students and get outside during distance learning.

On Monday I will share letter of intent that will be sent to families and the letter describing the hybrid schedule.

COLLEGE ESSAY CONTEST - begins Feb. 22. Essays have to be turned in before March 19Students can participate virtually in our college essay contest. K-8 students will be asked to write an essay explaining why they want to go to college. Students can send their essays to Kristin kristins@fsusdr.org and she will add it to the folder below or you can directly add them to the folder below. A drawing will be held for a Kindle Reader one for K-2, 3-5 and 6-8. Remember college week will be March 22-26. We have dress up days that entire week. Let’s get excited about college!!

Add essays here

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There: Thank you for making online learning fun and engaging. I know it isn't easy but you make it look easy! 

Play: 5th grade worm digging lesson looks like fun! 

Choose your attitude: Be kind. Be kind. Be kind. Be kind. 

Make Their Day:  Thank you for connecting with students to make sure they feel connected to your classroom community. 

February 11, 2021

Dylan was nominated by his Science teacher to be Jepson's student of the week! 

 

From the book Your Students, My Students, Our Students explores the hard truths of current special education practice and outlines five essential disruptions to the status quo. Authors Lee Ann Jung, Nancy Frey, Douglas Fisher, and Julie Kroener show you how to establish a school culture that champions equity and inclusion. Remember this is the group of students at our school that continue to not make the growth that is needed on SBAC and MAP. Our work with Lori can help narrow that gap. 

• The Solutions 
• 
  

1. Build the belief among school teams that every student has value as an individual and is worthy of time, attention, and membership in every opportunity schools and society have to offer. 

2. See students with disabilities as general education students. 

3. Do not assign any students to a "track"; deliver instruction to students with disabilities in the general education classroom.

4. Ensure every student receives quality core instruction every day. When students don't respond to instruction, consider changes to the instruction itself. 

5. Provide every student with access to accommodations and modifications when these are needed. 

6. Supply students who need support with evidence-based interventions that support the skill and help them achieve meaningful growth. 

• 
  

To realize authentic and equitable inclusion, we must relentlessly and collectively pursue change. This book—written not for "special educators" or "general educators" but for all educators—addresses the challenges, maps out the solutions, and provides tools and inspiration for the work ahead. Real-life examples of empowerment and success illustrate just what's possible when educators commit to the belief that every student belongs to all of us and all students deserve learning experiences that will equip them to live full and rewarding lives.

Google Meet Invader Solutions! *REMINDER*

We seem to have surges of students who are not from GVMS coming into Google Meets again. Here are some quick fixes to help control it:

Utilize the Quick Access feature of Google Meet to be disabled By default, it is enabled. This setting allows any Student within the FSUSD network to join a Meet without requesting access to the Meet.

Use only the Meet link in Google Classroom (only your legit Students), regenerate it after each Meet concludes (so that other Students can't join a Meet using the old Meet ID), and once Students have joined, disable Quick Access to force any others wishing to join to generate a Join Request.

To disable Quick Access, go to the bottom right corner of the Google Meet screen, click the 3 vertical dots, click Settings, click Host controls and disabled Quick Access (left/Gray). Google Meet will remember this setting upon exit from the Meet, so if you want it enabled for the next Meet, you will have to enable it before you leave the Meet.

Another suggestion is that when you leave the Meet, select the option that says 'End meeting for all' to ensure all Students are removed from the Meet.

To regenerate the Meet link, go to the Google Classroom Stream tab, click the cog/gear at the top right, scroll down to the camera icon on the green background, and on the right, click the drop down and click Reset. Now close the window by clicking the big 'X' at the top left. Click on the regenerated link to enter the new Meet and establish yourself as Host, disable Quick Access unless you want it to remain enabled, then leave the Meet as normal.

-----> CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO INSTRUCTIONS <-----

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There: Thank you for being there for each other!! 

Play: Have a fun 4 day weekend!! 

Choose your attitude: Be kind. Be kind. Be kind. Be kind. 

Make Their Day:  Thank you Heather H. and Daniel for having lunch with a student in the garden! 

February 5, 2021

 

5 Ways to Conduct Formative Assessments Virtually

To check for student understanding during remote learning, teachers can adapt old standbys and embrace new digital tools.

To learn more strategies for formative assessment during distance learning, check out “7 Ways to Do Formative Assessments in Your Virtual Classroom.”

Upcoming Governing Board Meeting:

On Thursday, January 28th our Governing Board engaged in dialogue regarding the return to in-person instruction. Take some time to watch it so you stay informed.  FSUSD Governing Board Meetings are archived on the FSUSD Broadcasting Channel, bit.ly/2Y1yHcy.

A vote on a decision regarding the return to in-person instruction will take place at the Feb. 11 Governing Board Meeting. Here is the link:http://bit.ly/fsusd-stream

Student Passwords:

In an effort to ensure the protection and safety of our students and their FSUSD accounts,

students should change their password from the standard password they are provided.

This will allow for greater security and help stop against “hacking”. Thank you for helping

us to keep our students’ digital content and devices secure from hacking.

Please ensure that you are kept aware of ALL of the information regarding COVID, notifications, periods of quarantine times and more. Please take a few moments to review some critical pieces of information.

-----> Communication Tree/Protocol <-----

-----> Guide For Families <-----

Suisun Valley Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Site-Specific Plan

Board Policies Update for Site Newsletters

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.  Over the next

few months, the newsletter will highlight one or two policies that are

required to be shared annually with FSUSD staff.  Our goal in

distributing a few policies each week is that you will be able to take

the time to review the policies.

BP 3260 Fees and Charges

AR 3260 Fees and Charges

A district is prohibited from requiring students to pay a fee, deposit, or other charge in order to participate in an educational activity as defined in Education Code 49010. A district is also required to provide the supplies, materials, and equipment needed by students to participate in educational activities.  Districts may charge fees only when specifically authorized by law.

BP/AR 3260 outlines what fees are prohibited and what fees are permissible.

BP 4137 Tutoring

The Governing Board expects teachers and other members of the instructional staff to make every effort to resolve students' learning problems at school before recommending that parents/ guardians engage a tutor or other professional help. To preclude conflicts of interest, teachers may not accept any kind of remuneration for tutoring a student enrolled in any of their classes. 

BP 4137 outlines the expectations regarding an employee who provides fee-based tutoring support to students.

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There: Thank you being on time and actively participating when working on math and ELA strategies. 

Play: Love the 100th day activities that many participated in today. 

Choose your attitude: Be kind. Be kind. Be kind. Be kind. 

Make Their Day:  Thank you for thinking out of the box on how to connect with a student. Kristin has really been going above and beyond to ensure our students are attending intervention.