March 16, 2018

The month of March kicks off the SVUSD Area Music Concerts and Vocal Music Showcase! These performances will highlight our 6th grade Band, Advanced Strings, and Performing Arts students performing alongside our Intermediate and High School students. These performances will replace the Bren Center District Showcase the district has done in the past. A list of the area concerts with the schools performing are listed below:

March 20 - Vocal Music Showcase 

Laguna Hills Community Center 7:00 pm

Performances by selected SVUSD elementary, intermediate and high school students

March 28 - El Toro High School

6:30 pm Orchestra

7:30 pm Band

Performing - ETHS, Serrano, Gates, Glen Yermo, Lake Forest, La Madera, Olivewood, Portola Hills, Rancho Canada, and Santiago

March 29 - Mission Viejo High School

6:30 pm  Orchestra

7:30 pm  Band

Performing - MVHS, La Paz, Cordillera, de Portola, Del Cerro, Montevideo, and Robinson

April 10 - Trabuco Hills High School

6:30 pm Orchestra

7:30 pm Band

Performing - THHS, RSM, Cielo Vista, Del Lago, Foothill Ranch, Melinda Heights, Trabuco Canyon, and Trabuco Mesa

April 17 - Laguna Hills High School

5:30 pm Orchestra

7:30 pm Band

Performing - LHHS, Los Alisos, Linda Vista, Lomarena, San Joaquin, and Valencia

The elementary school choice applications are now being accepted for the 2018-2019 school year for all SVUSD students entering into grades K-6th. This process is for SVUSD residents only, who wish to transfer their student in the 2018-19 school year to another school within SVUSD, including our two new magnet schools.

The Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) Region 17, recognized El Toro High School student, Danielle Azua, as a recipient of the "Every Student Succeeding" award.

Danielle was nominated by her principal, Terri Gusiff, for her hard work to achieve academic success, her personal triumph over adversity, and for being an inspiration to everyone around her. 

There was a recognition breakfast on Friday, March 9 at the Bowers Museum located in Santa Ana for all nominees to be celebrated and honored.

Sixty-four Laguna Hills High School students were recognized on Wednesday, February 28, for passing the Diploma of Spanish as a Foreign Language (DELE) exam last May. The exam certifies the degree of competence and mastery of the Spanish language, granted by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport of Spain. As a DELE center, Saddleback Valley Unified School District is proud to support our students’ preparation for a global society. The DELE’s international recognition will assist them in getting jobs and is prestigiously regarded in business and universities worldwide. 

Award recipients were congratulated by Mr. Bill Hinds, Principal at Laguna Hills High School; Mr. Dennis Walsh, Member of the SVUSD Board of Education; Dr. Ron Pirayoff, Director of Secondary Education; Mr. Mark Pérez, Director of Communications and Administrative Services; Mrs. Jara Salguero Muñoz, Education Advisor from the Consulate of Spain; Dr. Rowena Mak, Coordinator in the Services for English Learners Department; Mr. Rich Freda, Principal at Los Alisos Intermediate; Mrs. Karin Fortt, District Bilingual Resource Teacher; and Laguna Hills High School Two-Way Immersion (TWI) Teachers: Mrs. Tonya Iribarne, Mrs. Maria Di Antonio, and former TWI teacher Mrs. Yoleisy Avila. Parents were also invited to attend the ceremony which took place in the Laguna Hills High School theater.

Del Lago students participating in 

Dr. Seuss activities at THHS

THHS students perform Dr. Seuss

March 2 marks the birthday of Dr. Seuss and Read Across America. Trabuco Hills High students and teachers organized fun educational activities for the students of Del Lago Elementary school. The highlight of the day was when the Del Lago students watched a production of "Seussical" performed by Trabuco Hills High School students.

Laguna Hills High School hosted the 2nd annual SVUSD ASB Leadership Retreat with the goal of bringing intermediate and high school students together and building their leadership skills.

Pictured with the high school mascots are high school activity directors:

Chelsea Maxwell (LHHS), Jennifer Ryan (MVHS), Jennifer Arthur (THHS), and Chris Nguyen (ETHS).

Orange County is participating in a statewide Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) & Dream Act Challenge facilitated by John Burton Advocates for Youth (JBAY). Our goal is to track and increase FAFSA completion for foster youth in 12th grade. Currently, the FAFSA completion rate in California for all students is 60%, with SVUSD's goal of reaching or exceeding this percentage with our foster youth.

Incentives to increase submitted applications for Orange County include 30, $500 scholarships. Three participating counties with the highest rates among counties with comparable size will be awarded $1,000 unrestricted grants to promote Foster Youth success for graduation. 

On Friday, February 23, 2018 SVUSD hosted a FAFSA/Dream Act Workshop for all of its foster youth seniors at Mission Viejo High School. SVUSD provided transportation for all the students and their intervention counselors so that they could attend. Katelynn Cope from Saddleback College’s Financial Aid Office came to assist students with their applications and also provided a presentation. 



Laguna Hills High School, Trabuco Hills High School and Mission Viejo High School were represented and all their respective Intervention Counselors were in attendance to support their students. Four of SVUSD’s foster youth seniors who are able to access a college program or curriculum successfully completed FAFSA applications, resulting in a 100% application completion rate!

March 24

March 30

April 2 - 6

April 11

April 12

April 18

April 24

April 26

STEAM Expo - Laguna Hills High School 3:00 - 5:30 pm

Elementary School Choice Closes - 4:00 pm

Spring Break - No school

Intermediate Open House

Board of Education Meeting 6:00 pm

High School Open House

Esperanza Open House

Elementary Open House (Not Valencia)

March 31- 10:00 am - 1:00 pm

Kids Factory will host the special event "Bunny Days" at the Norman P. Murray Center in Mission Viejo

Youth Sports will be running the 1st Annual Spring Break Sports Academy at Laguna Hills High School.

For more information contact the Youth Sports office at (949) 460-2731.

Superintendent

Dr. Crystal Turner

Board of Trustees

President

Amanda Morrell

Vice President

Suzie R. Swartz

Clerk

Dr. Edward Wong

Member

Dolores Winchell

Dennis Walsh

Student Member

Daniel Choi

                 Board of Education Meeting Dates

The Saddleback Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees encourages community members to attend and participate in its business meetings whenever possible.

Closed session board business is typically conducted at 5:00 p.m. followed by open session business typically beginning at 6:00 p.m. Meetings are held in the SVUSD Education Center Board Room located at 25631 Peter A. Hartman Way, Mission Viejo.