December 2, 2015
In This Issue
Upcoming Events
Dec. 2, 9, 16
Helping Children Succeed Parent Academy at Marshall Elementary, 8:30- 10am
Dec. 3, 10, 17
Helping Children Succeed Parent Academy at Peyton Elementary, 9am - 10:30am
Dec. 7 - 13
Hour of Code at many SUSD schools
Dec. 21, 2015 - Jan. 1, 2016
No School - Winter Break
Jan. 4, 2016
Students return to school

Save the Date
Mark your calendars: SUSD Magnet Fair 2016 will be held on Saturday, January 9, 2016 at the DeRosa Ballroom on the University of the Pacific Campus! The event is planned for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Come out and see all of the terrific programs SUSD is offering our students next year!
Kennedy Gets Gift from Walmart
Thank you to the team at Walmart on Hammer Lane for a generous gift of $50 gift cards for every teacher. The presentation of  22 checks this month included gift bags filled with items teachers had requested for their classrooms. The idea, said Walmart Assistant Manager Heidi warren, is to help teachers purchase needed supplies for classrooms.

Kennedy was selected as part of Walmart's Teacher Rewards program as a way of benefiting classrooms. Walmart representatives Warren and Shannon Paul and Kennedy Principal Carla Gonzales made a festive surprise of the gift cards, which were appreciated by Kennedy staff. Thank you Walmart for thinking of Kennedy School! 
Deadlines for Seniors
Testing deadlines are fast-approaching for the ACT and SAT! Be sure your junior or senior students sign up for these tests to ensure they are prepared for college applications!

Test Date
Register By
Late Fee Required
Feb. 6, 2016 Jan. 8, 2016
Jan. 9 - 15, 2016
Apr. 9, 2016 Mar. 4, 2016 Mar. 5-18, 2016
Jun. 11, 2016 May 6, 2016 May 7-20, 2016












Test Date
Register By
Late Fee Required
Jan. 23, 2016 Dec. 28, 2015 Jan. 12, 2016
Mar. 5, 2016 Feb. 5, 2016 Feb. 23, 2016
May 7, 2016 Apr. 8, 2016 Apr. 26, 2016
Jun. 4, 2016 May 5, 2016 May 25, 2016

Common Core Tip
Technology skills are valuable to school success

Incorporating technology in learning is a big part of the Common Core State Standards. Your child will be using technology for school assignments, research, assessments and more. And the technology skills she develops will be very valuable to her success in school.

You can help your child strengthen her technology skills by focusing on four areas:

1. Judgment. Some of what your child encounters online will be excellent, helpful information. And a lot of it will be trash. Can your child tell the difference? Talk to your child about the importance of evaluating online sources.
2. Planning. Ask your child, "Once you find information online, what will you do with it? How will it advance your learning?" Information found online can be added to research papers or used to practice homework problems.
3. Creativity. Almost anyone can create a computer slide show. But is there some unexpected, exciting way your child can use and present the information she finds?
4. Courage. Encourage your child to explore different types of technology and try new things. Tell her not to be afraid of making mistakes. That's how she learns!
Go Taylor! Go Irish!
Congratulations to Taylor third grade teacher Allison Silva and her class for having been adopted by Notre Dame University for a documentary on moving students into the college world! ND film crews captured a day in the life of Silva's class, where instruction was intense, learning evident everywhere and the room filled with the green, blues and golds of the students' adopted university.

The university hosted Silva for a campus visit and Sunday, her class attended the Notre Dame game at Stanford.

The class chose Notre Dame as part of the school-wide AVID program, in which students from families who did not attend college are put on a university-bound path. They studied the school, wrote about it, face booked and even tweeted. Silva's tweets were noticed by Notre Dame and the university responded, sending out a film crew as part of the college's new First Fans outreach program and inviting her back to see the school.

Between the filming and Sunday's game, the students say they are pumped for the Fighting Irish and going to college. "This makes us feel like we really are Notre Dame," wrote Taylor students Nyah, Mariela, Jordin, Jayden and Alazarria. Great work by Allison Silva and her third grade class!

A+ Literacy Award Winners Named
Congratulations to winners of the 2015 A+ Literacy Award winners! This year the organization, devoted to promoting literacy in San Joaquin County, awarded the Leadership at a School District top prize to SUSD School Board President Gloria Allen.

Allen has worked to promote reading in south Stockton and every summer runs a literacy camp in her front yard. The camp has grown to include young children of all ages and volunteers. Allen has served on the school board since 2008.

Also announced at this year's A + Gala were winners of the University of the Pacific "Attendance Matters" contest measuring attendance for the month of September as a way of improving reading skills and the A + Progressive book contest, in which students from every grade level contribute to an illustrated, bound storybook.

Great work by Nightingale School, where more than 85 percent of students were in class every day in September. And to  Bush School, where students wrote and illustrated a beautiful storybook  with contributions from every class, K-8.

SUSD is proud of these accomplishments promoting literacy in our community!
Assistance League Reads at Grunsky
Big thanks to the wonderful volunteers at the Assistance League of Stockton for all their support for Lottie Grunsky Elementary School. The volunteers have donated a collection of new books to the school library and provide weekly tutoring to students as part of the organization's focus on literacy. Special thanks to Peggy Sadek, Dory Nicolas, Pat Espalin and Camilla Wolak for bringing the tutoring "Book Buddies" to Grunsky and stocking the library for our students! In addition, the League runs Kids on the Block, teaching tolerance and safety, and Operation School Bell, which this fall provided clothing for 2,000 children.
SUSD Announcements
New District-wide Website
Stockton Unified and each of our schools launch unveiling our stunning new websites in January! The district website will still be located at www.stocktonusd.net -- each school will have a new and easy-to-remember web address.  The new website will boast a unique design, a single-login feature for district programs (such as Synergy and Moodle), a neatly organized calendar, and much more! Please be patient as we transition to our new portal. Look for the new district-wide website update soon.
We're revising our K-8 report card for the first time in years to reflect the new Common Core State Standards. Please take a brief moment to fill out the Parent/Guardian K-8 Report Card Survey. Your feedback and ideas will assist us with the upcoming report card design.
SECA Honors the Veterans
Members of SECA's National Honor Society honored military veterans in November with a moving tribute held in the school gym that included music, special recognitions and gift boxes especially packed for each special guest.

Honored were veterans from the US Army: Elaine Atad, Calvin Bear (Vietnam War), William Michailoff, Leon Russel Susbilla and SECA Assistant Principal Andres Uyeda. Also honored were Bruce Able, US Navy, Jeff Atad, Marines and Army Special Forces, Green Beret, Marlow Benner, US Navy (Korean War),Kenneth Edwards, US Navy, Navy  Reserves,  Bob Kapina, US Air Force (Vietnam War), Ellwood Machen, US Navy (WW II) and Lenny Susbilla, US Army Special Forces Green Beret.

Thank you SECA and organizer Andrea Beard for such a beautiful tribute to our forces!

¿Quiere que su noticia se publique en el próximo SUSD Connects? Envíe sus artículos por correo electrónico a  susdconnect@stocktonusd.net  para su consideración. Dada la limitación de espacio, puede que no podamos incluir to lo recibido, pero haremos lo que esté de nuestra parte por compartir sus novedades con la mayor cantidad de gente posible ¡Gracias!