2017-2018
TUSD Weekly Update| 11.6.17
We hope you are enjoying this new communications effort designed to showcase and keep you in the loop on all the wonderful things happening in TUSD. Please follow us on social media for daily vs. just weekly updates! Got a story idea? Please reach out!
Turlock Junior High School STEM
STEM is a key initiative in TUSD and the Turlock Junior High School STEM program is an important cornerstone of our efforts to prepare students for careers in this growing field. The STEM program at TJHS is an interdisciplinary program of study consisting of rigorous and challenging courses. The program began in 2013-2014 school year and has continued to grow throughout the years. Students follow a pathway and are provided standards-based, structured inquiry-based, and real world learning experiences that interconnect STEM-related subjects. Students participate in Science Olympiad and visit several colleges during the course of the school year. They are also exposed to and made aware of the academic requirements of STEM fields and occupations and begin exploring STEM-related careers. Monthly speakers from local agencies and industry come and share lunch and their experiences and expertise with students. Currently elective teachers offering STEM electives have been trained in courses offered by Project Lead the Way (PLTW).
 
Turlock Junior High School offers a 7th and 8th grade STEM Pathway. Courses include the STEM Elective, STEM Language Arts, STEM History, and STEM Science. All STEM courses are rigorous, and students must meet specific criteria, including, but not limited to: high test scores; an appreciation for math, science, & language arts; and teacher recommendation. Interested students will be required to complete an application that will be reviewed and approved by TJHS staff. A drawing is held to determine initial entrance and waitlist for qualified applicants. Students selected for the STEM Pathway are guaranteed entry into the STEM Elective. Students selected for the STEM Elective are not guaranteed entry into the STEM Pathway.
 
Electives added this school year include: STEM Computers, STEM Woodshop and STEM Hybrid. The latter is a course developed for students that may not meet the criteria for the Pathway but show interest and aptitude. Both the STEM Computer and STEM Woodshop class are open to all students.

STEM Hybrid teacher Maria Newsome shared that her students are currently in the PLTW unit of Design and Modeling. The class has an ongoing focus of designing with the needs of individuals with cerebral palsy in mind. In fact, their end of unit project is actually designing a toy to meet the needs of a child with cerebral palsy.

Keep up the great work, Tigers!
TUSD History Moment
When a school has been around as long as Turlock High School there is bound to be a lot of strange rumors, but there is one that is actually true; underneath the Louise Marchant Gymnasium is the remains of a former shooting range. It is unclear when the range originated, but in THS yearbooks from 1925-1942 there are pages devoted to a Boys' Rifle Club and from 1929-1942 a Girls' Rifle Club. It appears that in 1942 the club quietly disbanded when the U.S.entered World War II and the club advisor left to become a recruiter. Rationing and a lack of ammunition may have also played a factor. Thank you to THS Yearbook Advisor Virginia Barr for her help in researching this story and stay tuned for joint features with the Turlock Historical Museum to showcase our unique TUSD history!
Ammunition boxes for real bullets found underneath the gym.
Remains of former shooting range underneath the gym.
Meet Anna Ellerson
Medeiros Elementary School
Medeiros Elementary School Principal Anna Ellerson may be new to TUSD but she has worked in education the past 17 years years as a Kindergarten and first grade teacher, Reading Coach and Intervention Specialist and administrator in Patterson, Sylvan, and Escalon School Districts. Anna enjoys her job as Principal and finds it very fulfilling to have a direct hand in making a positive impact on students, teachers, and the school as a whole. Her biggest challenge is finding balance in her life as likes to work . . . alot! Anna is one of four girls in her family and three are administrators. She has one daughter Kylee and enjoys spending time with her nephew's watching their sporting events. Anna has many hobbies including running, snow skiing, hiking, playing tennis, and watching sports. Welcome to TUSD, Anna!
Whatever Happened to . . . Ulises Tellez?
Ulises Tellez graduated in 2016 from Pitman High School as his Class Valedictorian. Prior to Pitman, Ulises attended Keyes Elementary School and Spratling Middle School. He is currently an Environmental Engineering major at UC San Diego and plans on pursuing a career in the renewable and clean energy fields. Ulises has lofty goals of someday developing sustainable technology to help clean up the Earth as well as spread awareness about the serious effects of climate change. Ulises credits many teachers as inspiration for his success including Joy Esquibel, Brian Hofsteen, Gary Austin, and Melanie Lee. He has the following advice for students: “Work hard and educate yourself as much as possible and you will succeed.” He also exhorts DREAMERS to not let anyone “shatter your dreams of becoming someone important” as “we are all equal and deserve the right to study, work, and flourish in this beautiful country of opportunity so dream big!” Good luck Ulises I college and keep up the great work.
Six Word Stories
Naomi
Dutcher Middle School
Grade | 7
Fave Class | Science
Activities | Karate, Drama, Track
College Goal | Harvard or USC
Career Goal | Musician or Surgeon
Fave Thing About School | All of my friends, the science lab, and drama class.

Mason
Pitman High School
Grade | 9
Fave Class | English
Activities | Key Club and Football
Career Goal | Play in the NFL
College Goal | Attend a D1 school and play college football


Last Week in Social Media
Edgar Allen Poe? ✔️ Emily Dickinson? ✔️ Scary babysitter stories? ✔️ Students in Sharon Segars Speech and Debate class at Dutcher Middle School regaled their classmates with spooky tales from the crypt just in time for Halloween!
Nothing makes it feel like Fall more than beautiful falling leaves! Thank you to our Elementary Grounds Crew members Sam Flippens and Pedro Mendes who planted 18 new trees at Dennis Earl Elementary School! Maples? ✔️ Ginkos? ✔️ Cedars? ✔️ Oak? ✔️ Camphor? ✔️
Congratulations to our 108 TUSD students who were awarded a Seal of Multilingual Proficiency at the Gallo Center for the Arts. These students completed a rigorous four part process that demonstrated their fluency in two languages. Shout out to Pitman High School’s Kevin Aghassi Lelham as well as Turlock High School’s Karina Gastelum and Harbeer Panesar who spoke at the event. Thank you to all our TUSD educators who helped contribute to these students’ success! 
TJHS and Dutcher Middle School matched up in girls basketball. Shout out to Turlock High School’s Ed Schollenberg & Pitman High School’s Phil Sanchez for coaching these future hoop stars.
Six new portable buildings were craned into Wakefield Elementary School for the Kinder Relocation Project. This project is currently on schedule and slated to be substantially completed by December 22 so that kindergarten teachers can move into their new facility over Winter Break. Great things are happening in TUSD!
Salvation Army Kettle Kick-Off
Please contact Chief Communication Coordinator Marie Russell if you have a recommendation for future content including a retiree to catch up with, student to recognize, or employee to feature. 209.648.0968



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