Saddleback Valley Unified School District
Community Newsletter
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Rancho Santa Margarita Instrumental Music Program
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Dear SVUSD Families and Community,
I
wanted to take a moment to share my warmest holiday wishes for you and your family. As I reflect during this time of year and on the students who we serve in SVUSD, it is clear through my visits to school sites that the work of staff, teachers, and administrators is providing students with excellent educational opportunities. I have also enjoyed meeting many dedicated SVUSD parents and community members, who tirelessly support our students and schools. As you may know, we began this school year with our new vision, SV Innovates. SV Innovates focuses on intentional lesson design, engaging strategies for students, and innovative practices, all to create successful students, now and in the future. I am proud to say, that only a few months into our implementation of our vision, I am seeing these practices in place district-wide. Saddleback Valley Unified School District is a wonderful place for students!
I am thankful to all of you for entrusting your students with us. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!
Sincerely,
Crystal Turner
Superintendent
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Esperanza Participates in #GivingTuesday to Help Mission Viejo Animal Shelter
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#GivingTuesday is a global giving movement that connects individuals, families, organizations, businesses and communities in all 50 states and countries around the world for one common purpose: to celebrate and encourage giving.
Esperanza had their inaugural #GivingTuesday event, on Tuesday, November 28, 2017. The students, supported by the amazing teachers, staff, and families, made 24 blankets to give to the Mission Viejo Animal Shelter. The students wanted to make sure that the animals stayed warm in the shelter during the winter months.
Miss
Anne Lansburgh,
coordinated this incredible service project. In her words, "Esperanza is participating in #GivingTuesday because it is our turn to give back to the community. We have received help from others in the community in the past and it's important to teach our students the act of giving. This is a great opportunity for students to learn about gratefulness, community service, gratitude, volunteering, and acts of kindness."
The blankets were delivered on December 1, 2017 by Miss Lansburgh and her homeroom class to the animal shelter.
Esperanza is very grateful to
Mission Viejo Councilwoman Trish Kelly
for helping Esperanza to connect with the animal shelter and especially thankful to the patrons of
Cups for Caring
who made the purchase of the blanket materials possible.
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Montevideo Hosts "Officer Friendly Day"
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On November 29, 2017, Montevideo Elementary hosted an "Officer Friendly Day." As students came to school, they were greeted by their School Resource Officer (SRO) Deputy Krudwig and his friends, Deputy Warner, Deputy Hume, Deputy Pa'u, and Deputy Madrigal. The students were able to sit on a motorcycle and learn about the sheriff's vehicles. The deputies answered questions from the students about their uniforms and the job of a deputy. Montevideo is thankful to the Sheriff's Department for helping to keep their school safe.
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Trabuco Hills High School SRO Named City of Mission Viejo "Deputy of the Year"
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Deputy Travis Krudwig, a 10-year Sheriff’s Department veteran, has been named Mission Viejo’s Deputy of the Year for 2017. Krudwig is respected by his peers and supervisors and has been assigned to the city for the past four years, starting as a patrol deputy and working his way up to school resource officer for Trabuco Hills High School, Del Lago, Glen Yermo and Montevideo Elementary schools. Krudwig also founded, and currently organizes, the annual “Lacy Gives Back” charity golf tournament, which raises money for Operation Santa Claus. He received the Sheriff’s Department Medal of Lifesaving award in 2016.
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Orange County High School Esports League to
Start at SVUSD High Schools
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The SVUSD high schools have now become part of the Orange County High School Esports League. The schools will compete in this online gaming area. This rapidly growing form of entertainment is to connect students' interested in Esports to sportsmanship, entrepreneurship, and STEM interests. Ultimately, students will be able to increase positive school culture on campus, while also tapping into their leadership, problem-solving, and communication skills. Our students are very thankful for the opportunity to compete in Esports and know that it was a team effort for this to happen with SVUSD, OCDE and the Samueli Foundation. Thank you to
Debra Friedman
(CTE and district level advocate), and
Ozzy Cortez
(district technology advocate).
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The first week of December has become known for an exciting global STEM event, called "Hour of Code." Coding is the term for the foundational skills of computer programming. This movement to bring coding to students around the world started slowly and has grown exponentially each year. So far, it is estimated that a total of 498,952,640 students have participated world-wide over the past three years. This year, SVUSD had 15 of its 23 elementary schools participate in an Hour of Code. Students used the Hour of Code website, (Code.org), bitscouts, and ozobots to learn and refine their coding skills. For more information, please visit the website below and give coding a try!
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Laguna Hills High School Hosts "Hack-a-thon"
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On Saturday, December 2, 2017, Laguna Hills High School held a 12-hour Hack-a-thon. This was part of the internationally recognized Local Hack Day that took place around the world. There were over 150 participants, mostly from elementary and intermediate schools.
Joshua Martinez,
a freshman at Laguna Hills High School and a member of the Computer Science Club, organized the event that featured topics including 3D design and printing, building a PC, coding in Scratch & Python, application development, and collaborative tools used in technology and web design. In all, there were eighteen different classes about computers and coding that were taught throughout the day by Laguna Hills High School students.
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Students designing a 3D image to print
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Students learn to build their own PC
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Students learn how to code using Scratch
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Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention Presentation
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The Saddleback Valley Unified School District in conjunction with
Didi Hirsch,
a non-profit mental health organization, will be providing parent education on mental health awareness and suicide prevention. This presentation will take place at Rancho Santa Margarita Intermediate School on
January 16, 2018, from 5:30 - 6:30 PM
in the theater.
Being a teenager in today's society is a very challenging experience. With increasing access to social media, peer pressure, trying to fit in, pressure to perform academically, and the amount of stress and anxiety that can impact your child. Information will be provided on how to support your child's mental health needs and bring awareness regarding depression and suicide prevention.
SVUSD has piloted the Signs of Suicide (SOS) program for all intermediate students during the 2017-2018 school year. During the SOS presentation, students learn how to identify warning signs of depression and/or suicidal thoughts and behavior, how to respond appropriately to a peer in need, and the process of telling a trusted adult on campus.
Please join us to gain valuable information and insight regarding this important topic and to learn more about the suicide prevention curriculum being presented to students in our district. We look forward to seeing you there!
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December 25 - January 5
January 15
January 16
January 29
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Winter Recess (No school)
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Holiday
Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention Presentation
Staff Development Day (Non-school day for students)
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Superintendent
Dr. Crystal Turner
2018 Board of Trustees
President
Amanda Morrell
Vice President
Suzie R. Swartz
Clerk
Dr. Edward Wong
Members
Dolores Winchell
Dennis Walsh
Student Member
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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 at 6:00 p.m. Meetings are held in the SVUSD Education Center Board Room located at 25631 Peter A. Hartman Way, Mission Viejo.
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