"Every kid is just one caring adult away from being a success story." ~Josh Shipp
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Happy holidays to you and yours! We will see staff back on campus for January 8 Professional Development Day and students on January 9, 2019.
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Medeiros Elementary School
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Lori Carlson, President
Frank M. Lima, Clerk
Ken Malech, Member
Anthony Silva, Member
Jeffrey Cortinas, Member
Mary Jackson, Member
Barney Gordon, Member
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On December 11, the TUSD Board of Trustees received information regarding two Turlock High School science building exterior elevation options—a “Contemporary” and a “Classic” design. The Board voted to select the “Contemporary” design pictured here which was also the recommendation of the THS Site Design Team. According to Director of Maintenance and Operations Scott Richardson, construction on the science building is tentatively slated to begin in January 2020 with a planned 12-14 month timeline for completion. Thank you to our Turlock community for passing Measures N & O!
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Denise Duewell, Coordinator of Professional Development and Induction Program
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It is the time of year to spread joy and celebrate, so it seems completely reasonable to have a celebration of the people who help make induction possible - mentors. They are teachers and instructional coaches who dedicate time and expertise to our newest teachers. They are required to give at least an hour a week to their candidates and to attend meetings, but most go far above and beyond that.
Back in October, new teachers took an eight question Candidate-Mentor Match Survey. The comments come from answers to the following questions:
- Are you happy with your mentor? Explain.
- What do you value most in your candidate-mentor relationship?
- What, if anything, do you find most difficult in your candidate-mentor relationship?
- Is there anything else you would like to say about this relationship?
At the time of the survey, we had 41 candidates and all 41 responded. Here are some of their responses:
- “. . . goes the extra mile to help me with questions or concerns.”
- “He is very attentive, thoughtful and always ready to help.”
- “ . . .supports me in every way and provides me with positive and constructive feedback.”
- “. . .able to discuss ideas or concerns for my classroom without feeling judged”
- “[I appreciate] the time to communicate.”
- “So kind and willing to help with anything I need.”
- “I can say I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with an amazing individual.”
- “. . . very supportive with advice, techniques, and materials, and more.”
- “. . . does a good job of providing suggestions for growth.”
- “My mentor goes above and beyond to guide me and assist me in implementing strategies in my classroom.”
- “My mentor provides support and guidance for the many questions I have and is a good person for me to discuss concerns/issues that come up”
- “. . . is supportive, intuitive, and a wealth of knowledge.”
- “. . .great knowledge regarding the job and the details needed to do it effectively.”
- “. . .she is very open and never makes me feel like I do not know what I am doing.”
- “I appreciate the guidance and concern.”
- “She not only helps me with my pedagogy, but also makes sure my health comes first.”
- “I feel blessed to have a mentor who is always willing to help.”
- “I am really grateful. I am getting the kind of mentorship I never really got in the credential program.”
In addition to being “there” for candidates, our mentors are introduced to mentoring skills through the book Mentoring Matters, they attend meetings to discuss and practice what they learn, and they record themselves and self-reflect in order to help them to be the very best mentors they can be. In other words, they lead by example. Mentors truly guide candidates on the journey that is the first few years of teaching by supporting them with peer observations, research, and data/evidence collection.
Thank you, mentors! Your work is what makes TUSD Induction possible.
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Noor El-Nounou
Pitman High School
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Corine Meyer
TUSD Special Education
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Cameran Sherwood
Turlock High School
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Robert Brogdon, Acting Director of Technology Services
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Passwords are your last lines of defense when it comes to the safety of your computers and online accounts. They should never be shared with anyone. As a reminder, the acceptable use agreement that all employees sign states: “employees shall not share their assigned online services account information, passwords, or other information used for identification and authorization purposes, and shall use the system only under the account to which they have been assigned.”
Passwords should be unique and changed at regular intervals. To that end, all staff will be prompted to change district passwords in January. We will share more information and timing when everyone returns from winter break but you can start thinking about a new password now. The Cybersecurity committee will also be sharing additional information on password best practices prior to the password change.
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Tips from the Cybersecurity Committee
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Marshall Beyer, Ed Tech Coach
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If you are not familiar with extensions, they are these great applications that you can add to your Google Chrome browser. Extensions allow you to add some extra functionality to your Chrome browser. If you head over to the Chrome Web Store, you will find a plethora of extensions and could easily get overwhelmed. Check out my
blog post
where I share some of my favorite extensions and how I use them.
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Employees Making a Difference
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Congratulations to our TUSD employees who were nominated for the 2018 Stanislaus County Office of Education Employees Making a Difference Program. Domenic Bagnani, Elizabeth Giannone, and Michelle Haggland will be moving on to the county competition on January 14, 2019. ALL nominees will be recognized at the TUSD Student and Staff Recognition Event on April 10, 2019!
Brown Elementary School | Bonnie Freitas, Campus Supervisor/Crossing Guard
Crowell Elementary School | Domenic Bagnani, Custodian/Groundskeeper
Cunningham Elementary School | Consuela Aguilera, Crossing Guard
Dutcher Middle School | Elizabeth Giannone, Para-Professional
Earl Elementary School | Stephanie Jourdan, Secretary I
eCademy Elementary School | Bonnie Santiesteban, Administrative Secretary I
Julien Elementary School | Elizabeth Banuelos, Licensed Vocational Nurse
Medeiros Elementary School | Terri Acha, Health Technician
Osborn Two-Way Immersion Academy | Alejandra Alvarez, Para-Professional/SPED Severe
Pitman High School | Christine Bryant, Coordinator Library Resources
Roselawn Continuation High School | Michelle Haggland, Campus Supervisor/Secondary
Special Education | Yadira Valencia, Secretary III
Turlock Adult School | John Hernandez, Para-Professional
Turlock High School | Stacy Mercado, Para-Professional
Turlock Junior High School | Sandra Fernandes, Mental Health Clinician
Wakefield Elementary School | Lisa Jensen, Para-Professional
Walnut Elementary Education Center | Dave Flippens, Lead Custodian
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School Spotlight: Medeiros
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We’re visiting Medeiros Elementary School today! Here are some facts about their school:
Est. 2005
Certificated Staff: 58
Classified Staff: 48
Students: 888 Mascot: Stars
Motto: Medeiros Stars are Kind and Respectful
Theme: Experiential Learning with a focus on Computer Science, Lego Robotics, and Coding
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The 4th-6th grade Professional Learning Communities at Medeiros Elementary School met as a large group this afternoon with NGSS science on the agenda. Assistant Principal Sean Timmons had previously introduced the Mosa Mack Science curriculum to the 5th grade team who shared their experiences with using these materials. Teachers brainstormed ways to adapt this curriculum to best support student learning of the new NGSS standards. Thank you for keeping the focus on ‘ALL means ALL’ learning in TUSD! P.S. Thanks for the pie too!
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How long have you worked in TUSD?
Five and a half months.
What is your job title?
Director of Career
Technical Education and Program Equity
Where did you work prior to TUSD?
I started my career in education as a high school agriculture teacher. From there I moved to Madera and Madera South High Schools to serve as the Vice Principal in charge of the Career School of Agriculture and Environmental Science. After that I served as the Principal of Hilmar High School for eight years. Most recently I worked as the Director of Parks and Recreation for Merced Irrigation District. There I had the opportunity to manage all recreation operations and events at Lakes McClure and McSwain.
Any info you would like to share about your job? Average day?
I enjoy working in the area of Career Technical Education. I identify strongly with the philosophy and structure of Career Technical Education. No matter what subject is taught in schools, the ultimate goal is to develop young adults who have the technical and soft skills sufficient to have access to profitable and hopefully enjoyable careers in order to provide future security for themselves and their families.
Things you are most proud of?
Personally, I am most proud of my two daughters who are both currently attending Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Professionally, I am most proud of the accomplishments of former students. I always enjoy running in to former students years after graduation and hearing about how life is going for them.
Challenges?
I enjoy the challenges of my job and finding ways to increase the number of students both college and career ready.
Favorite memory/story?
I have many favorite memories and stories that mostly involve some great accomplishments of students and staff that I have been lucky enough to work with.
What are you reading?
The Coming Jobs War
by Jim Clifton.
Any favorite shows you’re watching on TV?
I don’t watch a lot of TV anymore, mostly just movies on Netflix or Amazon.
Anything surprising we may not know about you?
I actually enjoy going to the gym at 5 AM.
Anything about your personal life you’d like to share?
I love to travel! I would go somewhere every weekend and every break if I had the chance. I enjoy exploring, experiencing and seeing things I have never experienced before.
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They did it again! S/O to Turlock Junior High School’s Dustin Christian and his 7th grade social studies students who once again came out on top in annual Turlock Together Canned Food Drive competition. Nearly 10,000 cans of food were collected at TJHS for Turlock Together—4,400 from Mr. Christian’s class alone! We hear this year’s 2nd place teacher is on the hook for a live rendition of “Baby Shark” in the near future. Great job, Tigers! #TUSD
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The TUSD Equity Task Force met last week and decided on their mission statement, discussed how to communicate their mission to stakeholders, and conducted an initial data review. We love their mission statement!
“The TUSD Equity Task Force is committed to equitable practices and experiences for all students and staff to mitigate social inequalities and embrace human diversity.”
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Share Your Awesome!
Marie Russell
Chief Communication Coordinator
mrussell@turlock.k12.ca.us
209.648.0968
@tusd_mrussell
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We would love to have ALL staff help share our TUSD story to the world, but if that is not really your thing, just click on link below to download an opt-out form and return to "Marie Russell, D.O." via district mail.
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