|
Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015 | Volume VI, Issue V
|
|
|
|
This week's recap of school success
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Spring testing results to be released this month
|
Later this month, families of students who were in grades 3 - 8 and 11 last spring and took the new Smarter Balanced computerized assessments will receive individual score reports by mail. These reports will provide an overview of individual students' performance in English-language arts and math. The scores will be one of many tools families and their students' teachers can use to measure academic progress this coming year.
Before results arrive, Folsom Cordova Unified encourages students and families to visit our website,
www.fcusd.org/testing, for an overview of what the score reports will look like, explanations for what they mean, and answers to many common questions. Families also have the ability to submit questions directly to the District.
In the meantime, the California Department of Education has tentatively scheduled a statewide release of test results on Sept. 9. The results will include data from districts, individual schools, and statewide results, but it will not include any individual student's test scores.
The Smarter Balanced tests are aligned with the state's new content standards, which have raised the bar and expectations for our students. These tests represent a new starting point for measuring student achievement: we've hit the reset button, and teachers now have a better measure of where our students are academically, and how close they are to developing the skills necessary to succeed in college and the workforce.
Once individual score reports arrive, we encourage families to speak with their child's teacher to learn more about what the scores mean, and how they will be used to support their success.
|
|
FCUSD students shine, earn silver honors in Genius Olympiad
|
 Each year, the State University of New York in collaboration with Terra Science and Education organizes and hosts the GENIUS Olympiad. It's an international high school competition project focusing on environmental issues. Students compete in projects across various disciplines: business, visual & performing arts, design, science, and creative writing.
For the genius science category, students provide understanding and solutions to environmental problems using and applying scientific knowledge. They are expected to present a written description of their research supported with data, graphics, photos, and drawings.
This year, three Folsom Cordova students finished strong with their impressive projects:
Sophomore Sanika Mane represented Vista del Lago High School in the competition's science division received a silver medal, an HP tablet, and a scholarship to any of the SUNY campuses for her research and scientific analysis on enhancing the production of second generation biofuel from inedible biomass.
Two sophomores represented Folsom High School at the Genius Olympiad,
Medha Aiyah and Hiba Elkhatib. They brought home a silver award for their joint project on natural variations to drought response among two district tomato species. Medha also won a bronze award for her solo project entitled "Efficacy on the sterilization of E-Coli bacteria through wide spectrums of light."
There were 67 countries participating this year; this allowed students to learn from the cultural diversity that others brought to the week long experience. Congratulations to our Folsom Cordova scientists!
|
|
#fcusdimpact: Back-to-School Photo Contest winners!
|
 Thank you to everyone who participated in our Back-to-School photo contest! There were great photos posted with inspiring messages on how they plan on making a difference in their school communities.
Even though the contest is over, we encourage you to carry on the hashtag
#fcusdimpact. Continue to post pictures on
FCUSD Facebook and
Twitter pages. Let's keep the message going how you plan on making a difference in your school community.
The winners of this contest were determined by how many
FCUSD Facebook "likes" they received between Aug. 24-31. Although all the photos were fabulous, we can only have three winners.
Congratulations to:
1st Place goes to Facebook user Mandie Clarke with 196 likes
2nd Place goes to Facebook user Granny Jannie with 170 likes
3rd Place goes to Twitter user @addie_mcbee with 106 likes
|
| #cool2Bkind: Cool 2B Kind week has kicked off! |
During this week, all FCUSD schools will have a kickoff with the theme "Cool 2B Kind". There will be different activities for each day of the week that focus on the importance of increasing kindness, empathy, and consideration for others throughout the District.
It is important for students to learn that being kind to others goes a long way. A simple smile or hello can brighten someone's day. Kindness can spread; when you are kind to someone and others see this, they will hopefully pay it forward and be kind to others as well.
Send us your Cool 2B Kind photos! We're compiling a photo gallery of activities across the District. Send your photos to smello@fcusd.org, or post them to our Facebook or Twitter pages, using the hashtag #cool2Bkind!
|
|
|
|
|
City provides new pianos to Cordova High
The City of Rancho Cordova is proud to support art programs that enhance educational opportunities for students and increases the opportunities for enhancing the quality of musical and other artistic performances taking place in the community.
The new grand pianos and accessories funded by the Community Enhancement Fund will be used at Cordova High School in classrooms and in the Performing Arts Center located at the school for years to come.
Read more:
click here
More photos: click here
|
Bring Your Own Device wireless network
Due to the District's acknowledgement of the importance of personally owned laptops, tablets, and other portable devices' role in education, our Education Technology & Information Systems (ETIS) office has announced a new BYOD Policy, approved by the FCUSD Board.
Click here to view the policy concerning bringing your own device to connect to the District's WiFi network: FCUSD BYOD Policy
While it is important to know that ETIS wants your device to be safe while connected to the District's network, ETIS does not support or repair student or staff personally owned devices.
|
Board of Education Update: Sept. 3, 2015
The FCUSD Board of Education will hold its regularly scheduled meeting Thursday, Aug. 20 at 6 p.m. Among the agenda items are:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
