SAUSD E-Blast for June 15, 2018 
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.
THANK YOU TO STAFF PARENTS AND COMMUNITY FOR CLASS OF 2018

The graduation of our high school seniors is the most important day of the entire year in our school district because it's a culmination and representation of our goals, principles, and purpose - to educate students and provide the tools and support for them to graduate from high school and to continue successfully in college, the workforce, and beyond.

Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD) is proud to celebrate the class of 2018. More than 3,000 students graduated from our high schools with 36 also graduating with AA degrees from Santa Ana College and 19 of the 36 with AA honors degrees. With more than $12 million awarded in financial aid and scholarships, SAUSD students will be attending top colleges and universities across the country including Stanford, Tufts, USC, all of the UC and CSU campuses, Santa Ana College, and many other competitive higher education institutions.

To read a letter of thanks and gratitude on behalf of the Board of Education and Superintendent Stefanie Phillips, click here.
CULINARY ARTS STUDENTS WIN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 5 TIMES IN 7 YEARS 
 
Congratulations to the Valley High School High School Inc. Culinary Arts Team. For the fifth time in seven years, they are the national champions of the Cooking Up Change Competition in Washington, D.C. 

If you know of a student who has an interest in the culinary world, recommend Valley High School. For information on enrollment, visit https://www.sausd.us/valley.   
GODINEZ AND CENTURY RECOGNIZED FOR HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS COMPLETING COLLEGE FINANCIAL AID

Godinez Fundamental High School and Century High School are among the top 10 schools in the State of California with the best financial aid completion rate.

"This is a monumental accomplishment during a time when many schools are seeing a decrease in financial aid application and completion rates," said Brandi Augenstein, Program Specialist for SAUSD.
 
The California Student Aid Commission made the announcement earlier this week, and it comes on the heels of the recent presentation of the Arthur Marmaduke Award to Century High School Counselor Beau Menchaca. The Award acknowledges the highest level of service of counselors in the State by the California Student Aid Commission.
 
SAINTS CELEBRATE GRAND OPENING OF NEW KITCHEN AND SERVING AREAS

Healthy, fresh, new menu items will be the food of choice for students at Santa Ana High School as they select and receive meals in the school's new kitchen and serving areas. The new kitchen and serving areas will help to reduce the wait time for students and provide more choices such as a baked potato bar, salad bar, and hot and cold menu selections. 

The Board of Education celebrated the opening of the new kitchen and serving areas at a ribbon cutting held on Monday, June 11, 2018. As part of the celebration, students in the award-winning chamber choir and marching band entertained the audience with musical selections.

HEART OF AMERICA TRANSFORMS LOWELL CLASSROOM INTO MAKERSPACE FOR STUDENTS

Students at Lowell Elementary School will enjoy a new Maker Space Classroom thanks to the Heart of America Foundation. The Foundation selected Lowell as one of 14 schools across the country to receive new furnishings, equipment, and improvements to a classroom at no cost to the District. With nearly 55 volunteers, and only one day to complete the transformation, volunteers from Abbvie, transformed a traditional classroom into a fresh, new, colorful, engaging learning room for students.
VOLUNTEERS FROM DELOITTE BEAUTIFY WILLARD WITH MURAL AND OTHER ENHANCEMENTS

Thanks to volunteers from Deloitte, Willard Intermediate School is home of beautiful new professional murals that support the school's art culture. More than 50 volunteers contributed to the murals and provided enhancements to select classrooms and volunteer-led enrichment activities.
NEW OFFICERS JOIN SANTA ANA SCHOOL POLICE DEPARTMENT

The Santa Ana Unified School District Police Department welcomes three new officers. On Thursday, June 14, 2018, Chief of Police Anastasia Smith administered the Oath of Office to Police Officers Juan Noguera, Yesenia Contreras, and Angel Ojeda. One of the officers, Contreras, is a product of the Santa Ana Unified School District attending Jefferson and Franklin elementary schools, MacArthur Fundamental Intermediate School, and Segerstrom High School in 2009. 

"I have always wanted to come back to my community and serve, so I am extremely excited to be one of the District's newest officers," said Contreras.

BOARD HIGHLIGHTS    
 
The Santa Ana Unified School District Board of Education meeting was held on June 12, 2018. Board members and members of the audience were entertained with a performance by students in the Turnaround Performing Arts Program at Willard Intermediate School. The performances focused on two important topics - bullying and self esteem. To watch the link of the performances at the Board meeting, click here.

The Board received a presentation on the District's new Wellness Center and the proposed Local Control Accountability Plan and 2018-19 Proposed Budget.

The Board approved a number of items including Ratification of Tentative Agreement with CSEA for 2017-18 and 2018-19 school years, Adoption of Special Education Annual Budget and Services Plan for 2018-19 school year, and longevity increase for principals and assistant principals.

The next regular meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Tuesday, June 26, 2018 at 6:00 p.m.   
 
Members of the SAUSD Board of Education 
 
Valerie Amezcua, President
Rigo Rodriguez, Ph.D., Vice President
Alfonso Alvarez, Ed.D., Clerk
Cecilia "Ceci" Iglesias, Member
John Palacio, Member  
 
Stefanie P. Phillips, Ed.D., Superintendent 
NEW PRINCIPALS APPOINTED TO HEROES AND SANTIAGO ELEMENTARY

The Santa Ana Unified School District Board of Education appointed Jimmy Bruhl, a product of the Santa Ana Unified School District to principal at Santiago Elementary School.  Bruhl has extensive experience in the District serving in a variety of capacities including teacher, assistant principal, and most recently Coordinator of Special Projects.

Rebecca Churnside was appointed the principal of  Heroes Elementary School. Churnside began her career in SAUSD as a Bilingual Elementary teacher in 1991. She has worked as an outreach consultant, assistant principal, and coordinator of a reading program. Her most recent position in SAUSD was Assistant Principal at Madison Elementary School .
UPCOMING EVENTS 
JOIN THE SAUSD BOARD FOR A MEET AND GREET

Hearing the voice of the community is key in the Santa Ana Unified School District, the largest K-12 school district in Orange County serving nearly 50,000 students. "It's important for us to let our families and community members know that their voice matters, so we are creating more opportunities for those dialogues to happen," said Valerie Amezcua, President of the Santa Ana Unified School District Board of Education. One of those new opportunities for the District to connect with the community is a "Meet and Greet" on Thursday, June 21, 2018, between 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at the Valley High School Gymnasium, located at 1801 South Greenville Street, Santa Ana.
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 deidra.powell@sausd.us 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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