April 2017
Please Welcome our New Superintendent
The Board of Education unanimously voted to approve Dr. Crystal Turner as the new Superintendent at the April 6, 2017 Board Meeting.

Dr. Turner has a rich history with SVUSD as a teacher, assistant principal and principal.  Her SVUSD experiences combined with district-level leadership in educational services, technology, and administrative services uniquely qualify her for role of Superintendent.

"It is my honor to return home to SVUSD, and I'm excited to create and renew my relationships with students and their families, staff, and the community. I am humbled by the Board's selection and look forward to working with the SVUSD team again."

Dr. Turner served as Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services in Tustin Unified School District and Director, Educational Services in the Fullerton School District in North Orange County.

The District will host a meet-and-greet opportunity for students, parents, staff and community members to meet Dr. Turner on May 17, 2017 from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the District Board Room.
May 17th
3:30 - 5:30 pm

Meet & Greet
with
Dr. Turner

District Board Room
Congratulations to our 2017 Winners

Office Support Staff
Patricia Williams - Office Manager / La Paz Intermediate

Operations Support Staff
Sam Calderon - Plant Foreman / Laguna Hills High

Student and Instructional Support Staff
Laura Crankshaw - Library Media Clerk / Melinda Heights Elementary

The 3 Classified winners along with our 3 OCDE Teacher of the Year nominees will be honored at the next Board Meeting on May 11, 2017

Mary Creager - RSM
Alice Donawerth - Rancho Canada
Robyn Lee - Serrano



 La Paz Recognized as 
 Gold Ribbon School

On Monday, April 17, 2017, OCDE staff member Brigitte Mondt surprised the La Paz staff with balloons and a Gold Ribbon display sign to publicly recognize La Paz staff as a California Gold Ribbon School.

The Gold Ribbon Award recognizes California schools who have made exceptional gains in implementing the academic content and performance standards adopted by the State Board of Education for all students.

On Thursday, April 20, 2017, Dr. Turner and Board Member Suzie Swartz made a surprise visit to La Paz to celebrate the Gold Ribbon recognition with staff.  

Laguna Hills High School student, Sabrina Astle, wanted to find a way to make a difference through the Kindness Club on campus.  The school had a "What if .....Week", which is designed to bring the campus together. The message for the week was "What if we showed more love?" 

"I felt that this would be a good time to hang the signs. I put the signs in the bathroom the night before so students would see them throughout the next day" said Sabrina.

The reaction has been very positive, and there are no immediate plans to take them down. 

Sabrina had no idea the impact this was going to make.  "I thought it may brighten their day or lift their confidence before their next class, but I didn't think it would make this large of an impact." "The signs have helped people remember that everyone is beautiful, everyone is important, everyone is good enough and everyone should be treated equally. I did this because I am passionate about the fact that everyone is important and everyone needs to be cared for."

Sabrina's acts of kindess has garnered national attention. Recent articles are posted below


EL Toro Senior Awarded
$40,000 Scholarship
  Congratulations to Christine Nguyen, a senior at ETHS, who is among 30 high school students named to the 2017 Edison Scholars Program and the recipient of a $40,000 scholarship. Edison International, the parent company of Southern California Edison  annually awards 30 high school seniors planning to pursue studies in science, technology, engineering or math, known as "STEM" at a 4-year college or university.

Disneyland Band Entertains 2nd Grade Students
Thousands of 2nd grade students from SVUSD and the Capistrano Unified School District were able to listen to the Disneyland Band at Capistrano Valley High School. 

This event is part of the Philharmonic Society of Orange County's Youth Music Education Program.  For the past 33 years, this has been the first part of introducing 2nd graders to the arts.  They are introduced to the instrumental sections:  percussion, brass and woodwinds before playing jazz, patriotic and symphonic music. 

The band ended the program by playing Disney favorites and inviting Mickey Mouse out to conduct the band.

Click to view full article and more photos
Robinson Elementary Teacher Uses
Grant Money for Interactive Easel for Students
Robinson Elementary school teacher, Cynthia Schaffer applied for a Cox Innovation in Education Grant and was selected.  Her class received the 3 in 1 easel just a few weeks ago and the students already love the device and all of the educational opportunities it has given the students for interactive learning.

Later this spring, Cynthia will be attending a special event to be publicly recoginized and to showcase all the wonderful work the class has been doing with the easel.  Cynthia is tracking and measuring success stories and she will provide pictures and video footage as part of the Innovation in Education program.

This link shows a short video on how the easel works.

Colonial Days 


Colonial Days is a living history experience through which fifth grade students at de Portola get to step back into the time period prior to the American Revolution. Students come dressed in period costumes and  rotate though different stations to craft corn husk dolls, bracelets using leather tooling, tin punch lanterns, and a colonial toy called the Whirligig.

Students enjoy a Colonial feast, dance the Virginia Reel, and recite “Paul Revere’s Ride” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Skits are performed to incorporate performing arts to further enhance their learning.

Over fifty parents and grandparents volunteered help make this day not only a spectacular school event but a true community experience!
De Portola Elementary
 
Laguna Hills and Mission Viejo High Schools have up coming
Spring Musicals
  Laguna Hills - April 20-22 & 26-29

"Nice Work If You Can Get It"

Set in the roaring 20’s, is a story of a Jazz Age playboy who gets tangled up with bootleggers, showgirls and gold diggers, all to the swinging tunes of George and Ira Gershwin. The students have worked really hard again this year, and it shows. So much great dancing and fun music...you don't want to miss this one!! The shows run the last two weekends of April. Tickets are available online or at the ASB office.

 

Mission Viejo - April 27 -29 & May 4 -6

"Thoroughly Modern Millie"

Millie Dillmount, a fearless young lady fresh from Salina, Kansas, determined to experience Life, sets out to see the world in the rip-roaring Twenties. With high spirits and wearing one of those new high hemlines, she arrives in New York to test the "modern" ideas she had been reading about back in Kansas: "I've taken the girl out of Kansas. Now I have to take Kansas out of the girl! "


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And the FINAL total is....$20,000
YES, $20,000 was the amount that SVUSD students and staff collected for the District coin drive that was held in February.  The coin drive project was led by Student Board Member, Jackson Machesky, and resulted in the largest donation to the Make A Wish foundation by a person under the age of 18 in the last 6 years, according to Make A Wish Coordinator, Dustin Porras.  During the March 11 Board Meeting, the final collection amount was announced as $19,900 and during the board meeting another $100 was collected to make the grand total of $20,000. During the board meeting, Jackson was recognized by Make A Wish Coordinator, Dustin Porras, for the record breaking donation.

LHHS National Signing Day for Retirees
Laguna Hills had some fun with 4 of their teachers who are retiring at the end of this school year.  Just like the student athletes who sign their national letter of intent to play a sport for a college, the teachers signed their letter of intent to retire. 

Congratulations to: 

Clay Sisman,
Paul Weinberger
Pete Tereschuk
Tim Miltenberger
 
Updated Uniform Complaint Procedures
  Below is the memorandum of the recent changes regarding board policies and uniform complaint  procedures that allege sex-based discrimination against students by employees.

The links below are the board policy and administrative regulations for UCP.

Upcoming Events
May 7                    Esperanza Pancake Breakfast
May 11                   Board Meeting
May 17                   Meet & Greet with new Superintendent / 3:30 pm District Board Room
May 17          50th Birthday Celebration / Olivewood Elementary 
May 18                  Open House / Elementary Schools 
May 20                  50th Anniversary for Mission Viejo High - Fred Murray Center

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