Newsletter
January 11, 2019
DISTRICT NEWS
2019 LCAP SURVEY
All stakeholders are invited to take our annual Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) survey as part of the Annual Review process.  Your feedback will be utilized as we plan and develop our 2019-2020 LCAP. The survey will be active through Monday, January 21, 2019.
Secondary School Choice Window
Open January 7 - February 14, 2019

The Secondary (incoming 7th-12th grade) School Choice application window will open January 7, 2019. This process is for SVUSD residents who want to transfer their student in the 2019-2020 school year to another school within SVUSD. You can apply online beginning January 7, 2019. Deadline to apply is February 14, 2019 at 4:30pm.

Please visit our svusd.org for details and FAQ's.

*Elementary School Choice window will be open March 4, 2019
SVUSD School Showcases
We would like to share some exciting news with you! In lieu of the traditional Open House this year, our schools will be holding Showcase events. These designated evenings will highlight the programs at each individual school and give current parents and students an opportunity to see what has been happening in classrooms and around campus. It will also give those families who are new to our district, or advancing to the next level, a chance to see the amazing programs and activities our school sites have to offer. Families may choose to visit one or more campuses and are encouraged to come and see what is unique about all SVUSD schools! Secondary Showcases are already underway and Elementary sites will begin their events in February, concluding in May.

Please visit svusd.org for district wide showcase schedules. 
For specific school details, please contact the school directly or visit their website.
STEAM Expo
SVUSD is excited to host our 3 rd Annual STEAM Expo! The Expo will be held at Laguna Hills High School on February 2 nd, 2019 from 3:30 – 5:30 pm. Come watch the judging for the Rube Goldberg competition for our 3 rd and 4 th grade students and the “Shark Tank” judging for the Material Innovation Challenge for our 5 th and 6 th grade students. Many of our elementary, intermediate and high school students will host booths with recent projects and fun activities for all in attendance. There will also be exciting hands-on activities and exhibits hosted by our local business partners, as well as some amazing fair-style food prepared by our LHHS Culinary students, local businesses and SVUSD Food Services. This is a free event, so please plan on joining us!
SCHOOL NEWS
La Paz Kicks off Showcase Season


On January 9th, Principal, Jean Walker and La Paz Intermediate School staff and students, were the first campus to Showcase their school. The event was very well attended by the community and families. There were performances by the band, amazing classrooms showcasing student's work and there was even a flash mob! If you would like to learn more about La Paz Intermediate, please visit their website for upcoming tour times.
El Toro Student Collaboration in Action
ET senior Caroline Calvano is passionate about bringing mental health awareness to light. For her Girl Scout Gold Award project, Caroline envisioned a service project that emphasized wellness and mindfulness through art. She presented her idea to Mrs. Gusiff and together they enlisted the help of art teacher, Mrs. Sieb, and commissioned some of ETHS's most talented art students to design and create thematic murals for each academic building. Caroline's vision did not stop there. Her dedication to the cause led to her active participation in last May's Mental Health Fair and, along with 20 other like-minded students, created classroom comfort bins full of stress-relieving items for all of El Toro's learning spaces.
 
Melise Naragon, a sophomore planning to pursue a career in evolutionary biology and astrophysics, was excited to collaborate with Caroline on this project. With the help of her talented peers, Shannon Hancock, Cas Harmon, Lily Laubach, Lea Petersen, Aiden Haywood, and Gillian Suter, Melise used her artistic skills to create a mural that celebrates the history of scientific discovery.  Together, they spent countless hours designing and painting a mural that highlights the importance of a science education. 
 
A special thank you to these skilled students for adding to the positive culture and climate at El Toro High School. We also appreciate teachers, Sherri Sieb and Brett Kimbrough, as well as the custodial staff for their support and contributions to this project. 
 
Project based learning experiences like this exemplify El Toro’s efforts to enhance student 21 st  century skills in leadership, collaboration, creativity, and wellness.
Del Lago Reflects with the Arts
Students at Del Lago Elementary had the opportunity to see their art celebrated in a new way this fall, when their entries from the PTA Reflections art contest were on display at the Mission Viejo Potocki Center for the Arts. This year’s contest theme, Heroes Around Me, included submissions that recognized many types of local heroes in the categories of visual arts, photography, literature, and dance. Student entries were on display in the Potocki art gallery for the month of November, and received special recognition at the PTA’s Family Art Night, also held at the Potocki Center, at the end of the month. Families attending the event joined in hands-on arts activities, shopped at a Green Gifts Holiday Boutique featuring items created with recycled materials by the school’s Green Team, and saw the unveiling of a Kindness Chain created by students as part of a campaign to promote kindness and end bullying. The event was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our students and community heroes through our partnership with the city of Mission Viejo.
MVHS Kind Campaign
Mission Viejo High School held its first Kind Assembly for students. The Kind Campaign is an internationally recognized nonprofit organization that brings awareness and healing to the negative and lasting effects of girl against girl bullying through their global movement, documentary film, in-school assemblies and educational curriculum. English teacher Breanna Fleischman submitted the application and MVHS was chosen from hundreds of schools to receive a tour. The founders of the Kind Campaign, Lauren Paul and Molly Thompson, presented their program to our female students. This was the first time that the Kind Campaign presented at any school within SVUSD. MVHS students will continue to spread kindness throughout the school community.
Esperanza Teacher Awarded Grant
Mel Coe from Esperanza Education Center will be accepting the Links to Learning grant on Friday, January 11 th. . Mr. Coe wrote a grant in which students will be creating outdoor musical instruments by reusing recycled materials and new materials. We are excited to see what our students engineer and design!
SVUSD Employment Opportunities
SVUSD has an array of employment opportunities available throughout the year. The positions represent openings across the district and various divisions. All SVUSD openings can be accessed through the following EdJoin link, which is updated regularly:
DATES TO REMEMBER
Jan. 7 - Feb. 14
Jan. 21
Jan. 28
Feb. 2
Mar. 4 - 29
Secondary School Choice Window
NO SCHOOL - Observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day
NO SCHOOL - District Staff Development
3rd Annual STEAM EXPO, Laguna Hills High School
Elementary School Choice Window
SVUSD BOARD OF EDUCATION
Superintendent
Dr. Crystal Turner

Board of Trustees
President
Suzie R. Swartz
Vice President
Dr. Edward Wong
Clerk
Amanda Morrell
Members
Barbara Schulman
Greg Kunath
Student Board Member
Jacob Walker
               Board of Education Meeting Dates
The Saddleback Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees encourages community members to attend and participate in its business meetings whenever possible.
Closed session board business is typically conducted at 5:00 p.m. followed by open session business typically beginning at 6:00 p.m. Meetings are held in the SVUSD Education Center Board Room located at 25631 Peter A. Hartman Way, Mission Viejo.