TUSD Weekly Update
"Every kid is just one caring adult away from being a success story." ~Josh Shipp
TUSD Graduations Commence
On May 22 On Track Transitions and Turlock Adult School kicked off our TUSD promotion and graduation season. Congratulations to both the On Track students and 69 Turlock Adult School graduates!
Turlock Adult School
On Track Transitions
Remind Coming in 2019-2020
Eric Reichenbacher
Remind is coming to Turlock Unified ! As we shared in a previous TUSD Weekly Update , several teachers and staff in TUSD already use the basic version of  Remind  to communicate with students and families.   Remind
is a modern two-way text-based communication platform  that helps every student succeed. By using Remind to reach students and parents on any device, schools and districts can drive family engagement, support meaningful communication, and protect their communities.

Some additional staff benefits of the Remind Plan :
  • Class rostering: No more creating groups and trying to get people to join. Save time and reach everyone with pre-rostered classes that will be updated updated on a nightly basis. Groups outside of the SIS can also be created on the fly.
  • Reach people where they are: 99% of texts are read vs. 22% of emails nationwide so Remind is text-first. Send class-wide, small group, or individual messages from the app or website that reaches people via text (or app/ email) without ever sharing your personal phone number! Set office hours for responses and access your personal communication logs at any time.
  • Longer messages: Up to 600 characters so you can get the full message across. All messages can be scheduled for the future and translated in 90+ languages. Share pictures, videos, links, and documents to engage parents and extend learning beyond the classroom.
  • Powerful integrations: connect with Google Classroom, Quizlet and other tools to share educational content that reaches parents and students where they are.
  • Join our training session at the TUSD TechVenture day on August 8 to get more best practices on supercharging your parent and student engagement next school year!
20/20 Fruit & Veggie Contest Winners
Stanislaus County Fair
Bikes David D'Entremont (Brown), Noora Obadi (Crowell), Axel Soto and Emmanuel Zuniga (Cunningham), Patricia Savoy (Earl), Brandon Lopez (Julien), Amelia Hearty (Medeiros), Lezly Gullien Alca (Osborn), Mathew Guerrero (Wakefield), Kate Williams (Walnut)
Fair Tickets Jackson Thorn (Brown), Ethan Russo (Crowell), Hector Castellanos Cruz (Cunningham), Ethan Sabahi (Earl), Keane Stephens (Julien), Presley Short (Medeiros), Felisha Solofa Fatu (Osborn), Alexander Padilla (Wakefield), Harper McMullen (Walnut)
Movie Tickets Bryan Flores Ramierz (Brown), Alexander Hunt (Crowell), Angel Sierra (Cunningham), Charlize Howard (Earl), Sukhmani Sahota (Julien), Samuel Shimrado (Medeiros), Bryan Alcazar (Osborn), Bianay Molina (Wakefield), Landon Valpey (Walnut)
Sports Ball Danyelle Valdez (Brown), Angel Contreas Ramir (Crowell), Stefanie Rojas (Cunningham), Aman Atwal (Earl), Dominick Jones (Julien), Chase Ornelas (Medeiros), Dyllan Ibarra (Osborn), Kain Maule (Wakefield), Parker Bruce (Walnut)
Ear Buds Nevan Rocha (Brown), Camila Ortiz Damian (Crowell), Leo Gutierrez (Cunningham), Landyn Baber (Earl), Bettencourt Madilynn (Julien), Trent Watje (Medeiros), Julianah Campo Munoz (Osborn), Kain Maule (Wakefield), Roman Truillo (Walnut)

See you at the fair!
Hometown Hero
Timothy Roberts, Turlock High School
Name: Timothy J. Roberts but I go by “T.J.”
Schools Attended in TUSD: Dutcher Elementary, Turlock Jr High and Turlock High School
Year Graduated: 2006
Military Branch : United States Air Force
Rank: I am a Technical Sergeant or just Tech Sergeant (E-6). However, I was just selected for promotion to Master Sergeant (E-7).
Job/MOS : I am in Security Forces, we are the Military Police for the Air Force.
Where are you stationed? I am currently stationed at Travis AFB in Fairfield, CA
Why did you join? Like my brother who was serving when I was in high school, I felt as though I had an obligation/duty to serve my country. The effects of 9/11 was still fresh in my mind. I wanted to do all that I could for my country.
What is your favorite part about being in the military? I would have to say that it’s been the people I have had the honor of serving with. I have been fortunate enough to have met a lot of great people, people who I call my family. Additionally, with my job I am entrusted with leading and that is an honor I am forever grateful for.
What has been your biggest challenge? I would have to say being away from my family. Though my wife understands why I have to go, it’s my children who are the ones who are always wondering why. As difficult as it is leaving them to serve, the reunion with them when I return is what makes it worth it.
What are your goals for the future? Well I have only 7 years until I am eligible for retirement. Until then I will continue to strive to make Chief Master Sergeant (E-9). Once I retire I plan on coaching sports, either football or baseball. I want to pass on my knowledge and leadership skills to our future generations.
Any hobbies? I enjoy anything sports related and now that I am closer to my favorite sports teams I can go to more of their games.
Anyone you would like to recognize for helping you on your journey? Of course there have been many people who have helped me and I couldn’t have done it alone. My wife Stephanie, thank you for always supporting me and being my rock in hard times. Without her continuous support and guidance I wouldn’t have made it to where I am today. To my family, thank you for always being there for me. The lessons I learned from my parents growing up have made me into the person I am today. Finally to all my brothers and sister in arms, thank you for standing tall with me when our nation has called.
Anything else you'd like to share? Thank you for considering me, I am grateful for this opportunity. To those who I was not able to mention in this article thank you for your continuous support. Finally, if anyone is interested in joining or has questions please do not hesitate to ask. Once again thank you for this opportunity.
Tech in TUSD: Reminder
Marshall Beyer, Ed Tech Coach
Teachers using SchoolLoop websites should migrate any content they want to save prior to June 30, 2019.
The Us in TUSD
Major Kelly Cross USMC Retired, Turlock High School
How long have you worked in TUSD? I am lucky to have been at Turlock High for 7 years.
What is your job title? I am the Senior Military Instructor for Turlock Navy Junior ROTC "NJ".
Where did you work prior to TUSD?  I was the Senior Marine Corps JROTC Instructor for Campbell Union School District. Before that a pilot with United Airlines and the United States Marine Corps.
Any info you would like to share about your job? Average day? I have the privilege to teach motivated young men and women History, Leadership, Followership, Physical Fitness and Mental Fitness. Turlock’s NJROTC program is one of the top programs in the Nation. 
Things you are most proud of? I have been very lucky in life. Some of the highlights would be becoming a Marine Officer, landing on an aircraft carrier for the first time, being a Fighter Pilot and believe it or not coaching the first West Coast Rifle Team to win a National Championship.  
Challenges? Life is full of challenges. I think being raised by a single parent, on the school lunch program and being the first in my family to go to college.
Favorite memory/story?   Flying night low levels with night vision goggles through the mountains. 
What are you reading? Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons
Any favorite shows you’re watching on TV? Game of Thrones , The Voice , Fixer Upper
Anything surprising we may not know about you?  I rode in Little Britches Rodeos as a kid. Got my pilot license at 17. I've been in 49 of the 50 states, missing Wyoming. 
Anything about your personal life you’d like to share? Is there a life after work? Golf any chance I get. I have two wonderful boys.  
Students of TUSD
Brown Elementary School
Best of 209
Athletic Director Weekly Sports Wrap-Up
Mike Brown, Turlock High School
Congratulations to Silas Freeden who took 18th place in Pole Vault in the State CIF State Track & Field meet with 14'9"!
Dave Walls, Pitman High School
Congratulations to the Pitman 4x100 team who took 14th in the CIF State Track & Field meet with a time of 42.13. This is the 4th year in a row Pitman Track has made it to State!
Seen on Social Media
Pitman High School
We love this story about how the hard work and effort of a Professional Learning Community at Pitman High School yielded great results for students! “My name is Monica Hall and I am one of four teachers in our 10th grade PLC this year at Pitman. Our amazing PLC group includes me, Katie Jeans, Monica Cooke, and Briana Ioane. This year we focused on reading as our SMART goal. First we had students take the reading assessment through STAR 360 then we sought out help from one of the district’s literacy coaches: Linda Boone. Earlier this month we reassessed our students to see their growth. 
After working with Linda Boone during the first semester to learn techniques to help in our reading groups, we started the small reading groups during weekly Pride Time labs. Our Smart Goal was that all sophomore students would improve their grade equivalent reading level by 0.5. Below are our results.
  • ALL 10th grade students improved an average of 0.9
  • Honors 10th graders improved an average of 1.
  • Non-honors 10th graders improved an average of .63 
We have been working on our Smart Goal for next year, we want to see below grade level readers go up 1 grade level by the end of the year, at grade level students to go up 0.7-0.9, and above grade level to go up .5 or improve their Lexile score by 50.” Great job English 10 PLC—you rock!
Walnut Elementary Education Center
Congrats to our Odyssey of the Mind Division 2 team that tied for 26 out of 70 teams on the international stage. We are all so proud of them! Thank you to the many hands that came together to make this experience possible for our students! ~Walnut Facebook
Dual Immersion Program
Congratulations to Efrain representing Dutcher Middle School and Hali representing Osborn--they each finished second in their division of the Central Valley Dual Language Consortium Spanish Spelling Bee! A proud moment for the TUSD immersion program! ~Osborn Facebook
Turlock HIgh School
ICYMI last week was all about science in TUSD! Thank you to Turlock High School Science teacher Sonja Raynes who shared that Larry Hudson, a 1981 THS graduate and a current NASA scientist and engineer, had a great visit with her students. Larry spoke to students about all the current flight research his group is doing and also the pathway in school to attain a career at NASA. He also informed students about internship possibilities for college age students. We can’t wait for the state-of-the-art science building to start being built at THS next year! 
The 411
Share Your Awesome!

Marie Russell
Chief Communication Coordinator
mrussell@turlock.k12.ca.us
209.648.0968
@tusd_mrussell
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.