Feb. 28, 2017
IN THIS ISSUE
UPCOMING EVENTS
Feb. 28
Transitioning into High School:  Secrets of Success in High School; SUSD Board Room from 10am - 11:30am. Click here to register online.
Mar. 3
F amily Literacy (1st - 3rd Grade Families Only) at Barnes & Noble in the Weberstown Mall; 5:30pm - 7:00pm. Click here to register online. 
Mar. 4
Fathers & Floats at Home Depot, 3818 E Hammer Lane; 9am - 10:30am. Click here to register online.
Mar. 15
Mar. 18 CCHS Performing Arts Fundraiser Dinner at the Buddhist Church of Stockton (2820 Shimizu Dr.); 5:30pm. Contact Patricia Clark for tickets at (209)405-1720
Mar. 29 - May 3
R.A.D. Parent Academy at Weber Institute. Register by phone:  Kim Romena (209) 933-7470 ext. 2228.
Coming in April *SAVE THE DATE*
Kinder Roundup!
Kindergarten enrollment for Fall 2017. For info, call SUSD Educational Services at 933-7040.
COLLEGE & SCHOLARSHIP RESOURCES
High school families: Now is the time to apply for financial aid, scholarships and grants to help pay for college! Important application deadlines are approaching for seniors. Please look at the SUSD College and Scholarship Resources page , where we've gathered helpful resources for your college and scholarship search. For more information, contact your school counselor.
IT'S CRAB SEASON AGAIN!
Your school is very likely doing a fundraiser this year and chances are, especially for the high schools, a crab feed in in your future. There are some changes in locations this year, so check before you go.

Call your school to find out more. The schedule currently looks like this:
  • Kohl, Saturday, March 11,  2017 at 5:30 p.m., Scottish Rite Temple, 33 W. Alpine,  Stockton (Tickets call 933-7235)
  • Walton, Saturday March 18, 2017 at 5 p.m., Stockton Ballroom, 9650 Thornton Road, Stockton (Tickets call 933-7315 or 629-5459)
PARENT  TIP
Being Tardy Takes a Toll
  Missing school-even part of a day-can have long-term effects on your child's academic achievement. Effects such as:

- Low grades. Students who arrive after class begins miss important elements of a lesson.
- Poor communication. Tardy students often miss hearing announcements and updates from the teacher. They may also miss hearing about homework assignments.
- Loss of valuable learning time for all. A student's late arrival affects more than the tardy student. It affects everyone in the classroom as the teacher takes a few minutes to get the student caught up.


If your child is frequently tardy:

- Monitor your child's sleep. If your child frequently oversleeps, then you may need to establish an earlier bedtime.
- Make mornings go smoothly. Give your child an alarm clock. If necessary put it across the room so your child will have to get up to turn it off. Allow plenty of time for using the bathroom, eating breakfast and gathering items for school.
- Ask for help. If family problems interfere with getting your child to class on time, make an appointment to talk with your child's teacher.
PHOTO GALLERIES
Miss California Visits Adams Elementary



Students from Adams Elementary and Primary Years Academy were in for a surprise when Miss California 2016 Jessa Carmack visited their schools! Wearing her sash and sparkling tiara, Jessa gave a lesson on living a healthy lifestyle.

The message, Carmack said, is to practice healthy habits now and by the time the third-graders become college students, it'll be second nature. 

Carmack began her lesson talking about eating healthy, emphasizing that students should eat from the five major food groups and, only in moderation, enjoy a sweet treat. She then encouraged students to exercise at least one hour a day before concluding her lesson with a piece on having a healthy mind. "Whenever you're having a bad day, I want you to share that with a classmate or friend, teacher, parent, brother, sister, grandparents - even your dog."

Thank you for the lesson and for visiting Adams Elementary and Primary Years Academy, Miss California!

Thank You for Another Successful Rotary Read-In!
Thank you to all of the hundreds of volunteers and the Rotary Read-In directors who staged another wonderful reading event for Stockton students on February 23. We had community members reading in just about every pre-k through 3rd  grade class in Stockton Unified School District and the students loved every minute of it. We had Mayor Michael Tubbs, Superintendent Eliseo Dávalos and SUSD Board President Maria Mendez, accompanied by a beautiful Snow White to help Wilson pre-schoolers better understand the fabled fairy tale.
There were students from our own Chavez Interact Club, the University of the Pacific and San Joaquin Delta College. There were clubs and agencies, private and public, all volunteers and all helping promote literacy in our community. Thank you.

We know your time is important and we appreciate your spending some of it with us. Our students are our single most important asset and we appreciate all your support to help them succeed. Thank also for the generous gifts of beautiful children's books for our libraries and classrooms. As our district strives for ever greater academic success, the annual Rotary Read-In is more important than ever! This is a year-long planning effort by the Stockton Rotary organizations and this year's event went off beautifully as a result of their good work. Again, our great thanks for this very valuable event!

View photos >

Kennedy First Graders Interview New York Times Best-selling Author

Kennedy Elementary students in Mrs. Stephanie Marchant's and Mrs. Margaret Stirton's classes had a great Q&A session last week when they interviewed New York Times best-selling children's book author Jean Reagan via Skype!

Students welcomed Reagan with a poem before asking their interview questions, such as, "Where and when do you like to write?" and, "Who is your favorite character from your books?" Reagan, who met Mrs. Marchant while hiking last summer, happily
 answered the students' questions and shared her experiences with becoming a first-time author. Reagan also gave the students a sneak peek into her newest book releasing this summer, "How to Get Your Teacher Ready," and will be sending the class a copy!

"Hearing the author speak honestly about her own difficulties in learning to read gave my first graders hope. Watching the interaction between Mrs. Reagan and the students delighted me," said Marchant. "Afterwards, her mentioning them on her Facebook page as 'amazing,' gave them a newfound confidence in themselves. This Skype experience benefited all involved. Best of all, it was simple to use and inexpensive!"


Thank you to Mrs. Reagan for taking time out of her busy schedule to Skype and educate our students!

SUSD Police Department Spring Open House
Parents, students and the community are invited to join us for our annual Spring Open House on Wednesday, March 15, from 4pm to 7pm!  Tour the building, meet our officers and see a live demonstrations by K9 Officers Yoda and Luke! Light refreshments will be served. We hope to see you here!


Let's Give a Dress for Prom 2017
It's nearly prom and time to make sure all of SUSD's students have the right dresses and accessories. Once again, the district is collecting donated prom dresses for the annual dance. SUSD Board Member Kathy Garcia will collect the dresses or you can deliver them to Health Careers Academy, 931 E. Magnolia Street in University Park.

HCA is accepting dresses, prom skirts, shoes and accessories. Students from area high schools will be invited to check out the dresses and choose theirs. The high schools can organize a field trip to HCA for dress selection later this spring.

SUSD wants to thank all of you who have so generously contributed your beautiful dresses for high school prom over the years. This hugely successful program insures everyone has a dress she loves for high school's biggest dance.

Call Kathy Garcia at 662-4161 to have your dress collected.
Parent/Community Empowerment
There are lots of great family activities and parent trainings happening soon! Don't miss out- register today!


Family Literacy Night
Fun for the whole family! Join us for Family Literacy Night at Barnes & Noble on March 3 from 5:30p.m. - 7:00p.m.



Fathers & Floats
Calling all Dads, Uncles, Grandpas or other male role-models.

Join our hands-on DIY (Do It Yourself) workshop! You and your child will build a free take-home project! Once your project is completed, you and your child will personalize it with paint & stickers.  The Fathers & Floats Workshop is recommended for children 5-12 years of age and parental participation is required.

* Must register to attend * This event is free of charge *

Time: 9am-10:30am
Date: March 4, 2017

Register here or by phone at (209)933-7470 Ext. 2228


High School RAD Parent Academy
In the RAD classes, parents learn how to:
  • Make an Academic Success Plan to be sure their student graduates from high school prepared to go on to college.
  • Become partners with their students' teachers and the school.
  • Motivate their student to do his or her best.
  • Encourage good homework and study skills.
  • Communicate effectively with their student.
  • Establish and maintain firm, fair and consistent discipline.
  • Make sure their student develops excellent reading skills ... and more! 
Registration is required to attend/Space is limited!
Please register by March 22, 2017 

Time: 10:00a.m. - 11:30a.m.
Date: Wednesday's, March 29th; April 5th, 12th 19th and 26th - May 3rd, 2017 

Register here or by phone at (209)933-7470 ext. 2228 
SUSD SPOTLIGHTS
Tubbs for Black History Month

Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs, the city's first black mayor, urged several hundred Bush students to honor Black History Month by becoming examples to the community of respect, kindness and leadership.

Mayor Tubbs was the honored speaker at a 75-minute Black History Month Assembly in which Bush students shared presentations on Black inventors and little known historical figures, re-enacted the Rosa Parks arrest that sparked the Montgomery bus boycott and recited Dr. Martin Luther King's "I have a Dream" speech along with poems by Maya Angelou.

Mayor Tubbs shared his favorite poem, "The Rose That Grew From Concrete," by Tupac Shakur. He also urged students to follow the examples of the Black figures they studied by working hard to achieve and becoming great citizens themselves.

 Bush students were thrilled to have Mayor Tubbs reminding them that they can overcome the challenges that come their way. The poem especially struck home: Said eighth grader Terrell Brown. "Even the most broken people rise up and become something amazing." 


Thank You to the Dollar General

A big thank you to Dollar General, which gave Edison High School a check for a stunning $50,000 earlier this month to help the school's literacy efforts.

Dollar General district manager Jeff Van Horn and store staff surprised Edison Principal Brian Biedermann and the district with the generous gift during a surprise donation in the school library.

The donation is part of the Dollar General Company's Reading Revolution program. Dollar General is located right across the street from Edison and Van Horn said the gesture was fitting for a good neighbor.

Since Dollar General started the reading program in 2013 the store has donated more than $2.3 million to 50 schools across the county. Principal Biedermann was stunned by Dollar General's generosity and is still fine tuning where the money will go. All of it will benefit literacy incentives. "I don't even know what to say," Biedermann said as Van Horn presented the check. "This is so generous. You have been so wonderful to our kids."

The money will go towards programs that support literacy, including the library and reading programs. A thank you so much to Edison neighbor and booster, Dollar General!  


W ant your news in the next issue of SUSD Connects? Email your stories and events to the SUSD Connects team at  [email protected] ! Due to space limitations, we may not be able to share all of the news we receive, but we will do our best to share it with as many people as possible. Thank you!