News from Folsom Cordova schools

Thursday, April 11, 2019 | Volume IX, Issue XXXIV

News, Announcements, & Success Stories

Share your voice: FCUSD's spending plan for student success

The state of California directs a greater share of public education funding to high-need schools, and requires districts to plan for and show how these funds are spent in a document called a Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP). The LCAP is a state-mandated document that must be updated each year to ensure that the District not only is targeting its services and expenditures toward our highest-need students, but also to measure whether those actions are meeting the desired outcomes.

We can't identify our highest areas of need without working with all of our stakeholders - our employees, families, students, and community members - to identify what those are. Here's how to do that:

STEP 1: Watch our 2018-19 LCAP presentation . This video provides background on the purpose of the LCAP, and summaries of goals, actions, services, and desired student outcomes.

Want to dig deeper into our spending plan? You can view this in-depth infographic, or flip through an easier two-page version here.

STEP 2: Take our survey . The deadline to take our online survey is 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, April 23.

More info: All of these resources are available at www.fcusd.org/lcap.

VIDEO: New mindfulness pilot program helping elementary students with focus and stress

An eight-week mindfulness pilot program has been implemented in four of the district's elementary schools this spring. The curriculum includes meditation and breathing exercises, yoga, and gratitude practices.

The program in voluntary in its first year, with four elementary schools currently participating: Blanche Sprentz, Gold Ridge, Natoma Station and Theodore Judah. These schools and many of their teachers volunteered to teach the mindfulness curriculum in their classes.

The mindfulness curriculum was adapted to fit the needs of elementary students by school social worker Emilia Tyminski, who works at Blanche Sprentz and Theodore Judah. Tyminski took a middle school mindfulness curriculum that was previously used at Folsom Middle, developed by FCUSD Mental Health Specialist Dawn Greene, and revised it to work better for elementary school-aged children. Each week the students learn a new mindfulness lesson on Mindful Monday and then practice that lesson throughout the week, both at school and at home.

When practiced regularly, Tyminski said, mindfulness can help improve the focus of students, calm their minds and bodies, as well as decrease stress. She said it is a great tool for teachers to use to not only to support students in developing mindfulness skills, but it is a great classroom management tool for teachers to create a calm and relaxing space for students when they come back in from recess or lunch.

"The preliminary feedback I've received so far is that a lot of the kids are really enjoying it, that the kids are really craving that time of focusing on their breath and movement and having that quiet time," Tyminski said.

Watch the Mindfulness video here! .

IN THE NEWS: Vista del Lago junior who scored perfect score on ACT test featured on CBS13 News

Anoushka Ambavanekar, a junior at Vista del Lago High School, earned the highest possible composite score on her ACT test a 36.

Only around 1% of students who take the ACT earn a top score. In the U.S. the high school students that graduated in 2018, only 2,760 out of more than 2 million graduates who took the ACT earned a perfect 36, according to ACT.

The ACT consists of tests in English, math, reading and science, each scored on a scale of 1-26. The student's composite score is an average of the four test scores. The writing test is reported separate and isn't included in the composite score.

CBS13 and Good Day Sacramento were so impressed by Anoushka's rare perfect composite score that they featured her on their newscasts. Watch the video.

VIDEO: Oak Chan Principal uses costumes to inspire student confidence

Long-time educator and current Principal of Oak Chan Elementary, Kat Bahry, loves dressing up in costumes to make learning fun and promote a positive campus environment where students feel they can be themselves.

Bahry's students are always wondering what she'll be up to when she shows up to school sporting her latest costume and a lot of the staff at Oak Chan gets dressed up too. Fifth-grade student Michael Nicosia said his principal inspires him to be who he is and to not hide anything about himself.

Watch the video of how Bahry is making an impact on her students and school community!

Bahry has been with Folsom Cordova Unified School District for 21 years. She has worn many hats for the district from lead teacher, to adviser for several after school programs. She was thrice named school site Teacher of the Year and was Folsom Cordova's 2013 Teacher of the Year and was named Folsom Chamber of Commerce's 2017 Educator of the Year. When she is not at Oak Chan, you can catch her teaching choreography and acting in the Sacramento region, she is also a former professional entertainer.

The district and our students are fortunate to have such a passionate and caring principal on our leadership team and in our community.

Important volunteer update: Is your TB status current?

We've rolled out improvements to our volunteer process this year, and we are issuing an urgent reminder for all volunteers to ensure their current TB results are on file.

IMPORTANT: If a fingerprinted volunteer is found to have an expired TB, we will have to remove their status as a volunteer, including their fingerprint records. To reinstate as a volunteer, you will need to be fingerprinted again. This is a requirement of the Department of Justice.

Please don't leave us! We do not want to lose any of our wonderful volunteers, so we are asking you to make sure your TB status is current. Check with your school if you're not sure.

Deadline to update TB results is May 13.

You can bring the paperwork to the District Office or your school's front office.

Need a TB test done? You are welcome to come to our last free TB clinic of the year:

May 6 (test), May 8 (read)

3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

District Office: 1965 Birkmont Drive, Rancho Cordova

Your primary care physician and many urgent care centers can also provide TB tests.

Thank you for your understanding and involvement with our schools, as we work to keep our students safe and healthy. If you have any questions, please contact your school site.