SAUSD E-Blast for December 8 , 2017
The weekly e-blast is designed to keep the Santa Ana Unified School District Community informed of district and educational information, recognitions, opportunities, and resources.  Please feel free to share with others  who  are not on the SAUSD distribution list.
DISTRICT  RECORDS VIDEO FOR 'WE CARE' CAMPAIGN 
  
SAUSD Board of Education members, Superintendent Dr. Stefanie Phillips, department leaders, and staff gathered December 6, 2017 to record part of a new video that, when released in January, will kick off the district's "We Care" suicide awareness and prevention campaign. The video and other outreach efforts that will debut in 2018 are the district's response to a 21% increase nationwide in suicide rates, and to AB 2246. To read more, click here. Superintendent Dr. Stefanie Phillips has also recorded a new video about the significance of the We Care campaign. To watch it, click here.
VICTOR DE LOS SANTOS NAMED FINALIST FOR 2018 GRAMMY MUSIC EDUCATOR AWARD       
  
Victor de los Santos, Director of Bands for Santa Ana High School, has been named one of 10 finalists nationwide for the 2018 Grammy Music Educator Award presented by The Recording Academy and the Grammy Museum. As a finalist, he will receive a $1,000 honorarium, and the school will receive a matching $1,000 grant. "I'm really happy for Santa Ana High School and the district," de los Santos said. "And, I'm especially happy for our students who get to be proudly connected to Santa Ana. This is a great story for the kids more than for me." To read more, click here.
SAL TINAJERO NAMED STATE EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR BY NATIONAL SPEECH GROUP
  
Sal Tinajero, a Program Specialist for SAUSD, has been named the 2017-2018 California Educator of the Year by the National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA). Tinajero was selected from more than 5,000 member coaches and teachers across the country because of his unwavering commitment to speech and debate education. "Here at the Santa Ana Unified School District, we work as a team to improve the students' trajectory as they graduate and move onto college. So in essence, this award is recognition of what we do as a team here at SAUSD," Tinajero said. To read more, click here. 
SAUSD SPEECH AND DEBATE STUDENTS WIN SWEEPSTAKES, INDIVIDUAL AWARDS AT BRADLEY ARMSTRONG TOURNAMENT 

SAUSD recently sent students from Santa Ana and Century high schools to a speech tournament at Bradley Armstrong University in Peoria, Illinois, from which they returned victorious. SAHS won the Small School Sweepstakes trophy, and various students came home with individual honors. The district's growing Speech and Debate program is in its second year and is supported by Santa Ana Kiwanis. For a list of finalists, click here.
SAUSD ABSENTEE RATE LOWER THAN BOTH STATE AND COUNTY AVERAGES  

New figures released this week by the state show that more students are consistently attending SAUSD schools on a daily basis compared to other districts in the county and state. SAUSD ended the year with a 6.3% chronic absentee rate, compared to the county average of 8.3% and the state average of 10.8%. "This metric is indicative of our work as a District," said Sonia Llamas, Ed.D., Assistant Superintendent of K-12 School Performance and Culture. "We have been a three-time Distinguished Model SARB and have been deliberate in our actions to support our students." The state released chronic absenteeism data for the first time to identify which schools, districts, and populations are in need of prevention and early intervention. The data is available here.
BOARD HIGHLIGHTS  
 
The next Regular Meeting of the Board of Education will be held on December 12, 2017, at 6 p.m.  

Members of the SAUSD Board of Education  

John Palacio, President 
Valerie Amezcua, Vice President
Cecilia "Ceci" Iglesias, Clerk
Alfonso Alvarez, Ed.D., Member
Rigo Rodriguez, Ph.D., Member 

Stefanie P. Phillips, Ed.D., Superintendent
OFFICERS ASSOCIATION RECOGNIZED FOR PROVIDING STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS    
  
The SAUSD Board of Education recently presented a Certificate of Appreciation to the Santa Ana Police Officers Association (SAPOA) for providing annual college scholarships to SAUSD students. SAPOA President Gerry Serrano accepted the award. "Since 2001 we have awarded over $72,000 in scholarships to high school students that have excelled in and outside the classroom," he said. To read more, click here.
CENTURY STUDENTS THANK PEERS, PARTNERS WITH 'SHOUT OUTS'
  
Century High School students on December 6, 2017 gave "shout outs" to acknowledge and thank peers and school partners during a special holiday luncheon at the Nicholas Academic Center # 3 on the Century campus. Nearly 100 guests attended. "I am really pleased that our students are acknowledging our partners, staff as well as being acknowledged themselves at this holiday gathering," said Principal Jonathan Swanson, Ed.D. "This event gives me another opportunity to emphasize that all partners form part of the CHS family."
VILLA IN FINALS FOR NATIONAL AVID DEMONSTRATION SITE STATUS  
  
Villa Fundamental Intermediate has made it to the finals for receiving the award of AVID National Demonstration Site. On January 30, 2018, a committee will pay one last visit to Villa for the school's final evaluation. "This award is truly an honor and a testament to the dedication of our exceptional staff," said Principal Anissa Sorley Sequeida, Ed.D.
GODINEZ SINGERS SELECTED FOR DIVISION HONOR CHOIR
  
Twelve Godinez Fundamental High School singers auditioned for and recently made it into the American Choral Director's Association Western Division (California, Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah) Honor Choir. Students from the western states audition for spots in the three honor choirs that will be performing at the ADCA Western Division conference in Pasadena this coming March.
WILSON RAISES FUNDS FOR HEART HEALTH    
  
Wilson Elementary School scholars were recently visited by a special guest, Mr. Healthy Heart. Students raised $1,600 to benefit kids with special hearts by participating in the Jump Rope for Heart sponsored by the American Heart Association. This event engaged students, parents, and teachers by using jump ropes to empower them to improve their own health as well as to help other kids with heart-health issues. "We are proud to partner with Wilson Elementary School, a school that is making an impact in our local community," said Audra VomSteeg, OC Youth Director. "We would not be able to do what we do without our amazing Wilson Scholars, who demonstrated their generosity in this way.".
UNIVISION AIRS STORY ON CENTURY MUSICIAN  
  
Univision has recorded a new video segment about Century High School Senior Douglass Torres, who has been selected to participate in the 2018 Tournament of Roses Honor Band and will perform in the New Year's Day Rose Parade. To view it, click here.
UPCOMING VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS EVENTS AT SAUSD SCHOOLS    
  
SAUSD schools are performing various concerts, plays and other works in the weeks leading up to winter break. Click here for flyers, an event round up, and more.
COASTAL ART & POETRY CONTEST ON NOW
  
Attention students, parents, and teachers - it's time to enter the Coastal Art & Poetry Contest! California students in grades K-12 are invited to submit artwork or poetry with a California coastal or marine theme to the annual Coastal Art & Poetry Contest. Entries must be postmarked by January 31, 2018 to be eligible. For more information, click here.
DONATE TO CENA TO BRING HOLIDAY CHEER TO CHILDREN   
  
Please keep our annual CENA event in mind, as your help is needed to make our annual SAUSD holiday tradition a success. Each year, employees, family members, and friends support Caring Educators Nourishing All (CENA). This year, it will be held from 8:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. on Sunday, December 24, 2017 at Santa Ana Valley High School, 1801 S. Greenville St. It's an opportunity to bring holiday joy to a child's face by providing warm meals, toys, books, dictionaries, and even a visit from Santa himself! Schools will collect toys and books, and we are also in need of monetary donations and volunteers. Please contact Michelle Dominguez in the Community Relations Office at (714) 558-5521 or [email protected] for more information.
SEND US YOUR NEWS
Your school news is important to us! To have your items considered for inclusion in our weekly eBlast and/or via other District media channels, please submit items to [email protected] by 5 p.m. Wednesdays for possible publication the following week. Due to space limitations, we may not be able to publish every item but will make every effort to share your news with the SAUSD community.
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