District Digest: News from FCUSD schools

Wednesday, February 15, 2017 | Volume VII, Issue XXV

Your weekly recap of student success

Cordova High students deliver Valentine's Day cards

Students and staff at Cordova High School made and delivered 120 Valentine cards to senior residents at Casa Coloma Health Care, as part of their Random Acts of Kindness activities this week.

The cards were made during lunchtime by many students and staff the day before Valentine's Day. Some students delivered the cards to residents after school to wish them a Happy Valentine's Day.

Casa Loma Resident Dorothy Tyler, said students were very thoughtful in the design of the cards they made for residents and it was a lovely thing for young people to do.

"I don't have a sweetheart anymore, so this card was a special one this time", she said.

Watch the heartwarming video story here

Parent Summit: a pathway for student success

Studies have shown that students whose parents are actively involved in their education achieve higher grades and test scores, have better social skills, and are more likely to graduate high school and attend college.

FCUSD's third Parent Summit allowed families to gain insight on what their students are learning and how they can support their students both in the classroom and at home.

To read the full Parent Summit article click here

Click here for the full video

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Rain doesn't stop P.E. fun at Oak Chan Elementary

With multiple rainy days in the forecast recently kids still need to get their energy out.

Rainy weather challenges P.E. teachers like Ms. Zoe Winters, at Oak Chan Elementary School to be creative, so students are still active and have fun in the process.

Ms. Winters has been teaching for the school district for 29 years and has been a P.E. teacher at Oak Chan Elementary for 20 years.

It seems her most popular course based on community feedback is her Kinder Buddies program and we were fortunate enough to film that on a rainy day recently.

5th graders are partnered up with kindergartners and they do all sorts of fun exercise activities together. The 5th graders are the "Big Buddies" and kindergartners are the "Little Buddies."

In order for 5th graders to participate in the weekly Kinder Buddies program they must be achieving academic and behavioral goals in the classroom. It gives the 5th graders a chance to practice leadership skills and be role models for our newest Oak Chan Dragons, said Winters.

The 5th graders also have their regular P.E. time once a week. They are engaged in more advanced games and activities using skills they've developed through the years at Oak Chan, she said.

Ms. Winters said, she loves being able to teach kids and see their growth from K-5th grade.

If you haven't already seen the video story on Facebook that the community is loving, click here!

STUDENT VOICE: Sandra J. Gallardo Elementary

The district's communication office has started a new monthly video feature called Student Voice. This will be featured on our district's social media pages. Facebook page.

This month we feature students from Sandra J. Gallardo Elementary School.

We went out to the school to ask them questions about being kind to people for example: what to do or say if you don't agree with people? How to help if someone is sad?

Given the amount of insults on social media with some grown-ups, we thought it would be refreshing to have our students remind us of how to be nice human beings and post their positive answers online.

Click here to hear what the students have to say about being nice!

If you are interested in having your school be featured please contact us. Questions and topics will change depending on what is happening within schools, the community and current affairs.

Folsom High decathletes win medals regional competition

Congratulations to Folsom High School Bulldogs Academic Decathlon team!

They broke many records at this year's Sacramento county regional decathlon event that was held Feb. 4 at Inderkum High School, in Natomas.

9 FHS students will advance to the state competition in March and were awarded medals at a banquet held at Sac State on Feb 8.

The team earned 27 individual medals, had 4 super decathletes and student Anish Adoni scored 9,047, which is huge. In addition, FHS had two of the three overall top speeches by students Chase Bowker (score 1000) and Ellie Nations (score 995.)

Folsom High School Decathlon team took 2nd place in the regional competition.

No school Monday and Tuesday next week

There will be no school on Monday 2/20 and Tuesday 2/21 next week due to the President's Day and Lincoln's Birthday holidays.

There will be no District Digest next week. We will resume distribution of the District Digest on Wednesday, March 1st.

In other news ...

College Promise Program Accepting Applications

Graduating seniors of the Class of 2017 at high schools in Rancho Cordova have the opportunity to attend their first year of Folsom Lake College fee-free thanks to the College Promise Program

What does fee-free mean? That covers the cost of enrollment tuition for up to 12 units at Folsom Lake College. Selected students will receive $579 each semester, plus get their Universal Transit fee covered which allows students to ride the bus or light rail for free to school, said Kristy Hart, Public Information Officer at Folsom Lake College

Students are encouraged to apply for Financial Aid (by completing the FAFSA application).

To receive funding, students must be a current resident in Rancho Cordova, graduate from high school or receive a GED during the 2016-2017 academic year, and plan to enroll in Folsom Lake College full-time for the Fall 2017 semester.

To find out more about the Promise Program click here