How best to show assembled family and friends what you've learned? Some of the kids performed the "Hokey Pokey," while others joined them later for a rousing rendition of the "Baby Shark" song incorporating music, movement, rhythm, and a catchy hook that ends nearly every line with "doo doo doo doo doo doo" sung super fast.

Fun was the order of this day - like every other day in Play Groups, funded in part by First 5 Sacramento. Very young kids, ages 0-5, were exposed to literacy and learning, three hours a week, at Natomas Park, Witter Ranch and American Lakes schools.

Each "graduate" was called onto the Witter Ranch Elementary School stage to receive a certificate that exclaimed, "You Did It!" Parents excitedly snapped photos for relatives, posterity, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, not necessarily in that order.

Each certificate featured the "Cat in the Hat" character of Dr. Seuss, beloved children's author whose famous rhymes include this one: "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."

Fitting, indeed.

Natomas High School's top soccer scorer of all time accepted a scholarship to play for Sacramento State next year. 

Congratulations, Christo Cervantes!

Christo scored 113 goals in his four-year Nighthawk career, an amazing total, averaging more than one goal a game from his freshman through senior years.

Natomas High held a brief lunchtime signing ceremony recently to honor Christo.

His mother, Carmen Maribel Marentes, said she's very proud of her son's soccer abilities but equally proud of his academic accomplishments at Natomas High.

A high-achieving student with excellent attendance, Christo plans to major in Business Entrepreneurship at Sacramento State, with an eye toward launching a business someday.

Preparing for college and career, perhaps nothing is more valuable to kids than to listen, ask questions, and be inspired by someone in the profession they dream of joining someday.

So Heron School held a Career Day for all students, Transitional Kindergarten through 8th grades. Speakers included a police lieutenant, pediatrician, paramedic, electrician, computer administrator, lobbyist, certified public accountant, business owner, marketing specialist, housing director, occupational therapist, and many more.

One very special presentation was to Kindergarteners, with attorney Rosemarie Ruggieri conducting a mock mini-trial of a woman accused of stealing candy. Ruggieri prompted the kids with trial questions to ask. At one point, nearly the entire class raised their hands to indicate they thought the woman was guilty. Then came a plot twist: Turned out the suspect is allergic to chocolate and never eats candy. ... Lessons learned? Indeed. ... Not only about court jobs but about justice, too!

If Inderkum High had an academic Hall of Fame, New Latthivongskorn would certainly be in it.

He'll graduate with a medical doctor degree from UC San Francisco in May, after obtaining a bachelor's degree in molecular and cellular biology at UC Berkeley, and a master's degree in public health at Harvard University.

Preparing to be a physician, New plans to focus on family medicine as his new career. He returned to Inderkum to speak at a UC outreach event recently and was treated like a rock star by some current Tigers.

New said his years at Inderkum -- he graduated in 2008 -- helped chart his course for a bright future. "I think I learned a lot about study skills," he said. "My academic foundation was set real well here."

Speaking to hundreds of current Tigers, New hammered home three key messages. Read them here.

NUSD continued its efforts to promote college and career readiness by mailing an "On Track to College" letter recently to every 9th, 10th and 11th-grade student at Inderkum High School, Leroy Greene Academy, and Natomas High School.

This six-page letter provides a wealth of information to families based on each student's completed courses, final grades, and college exam scores. If a student has fallen behind, this letter will identify options to get back on track, such as registering for summer school to recover credits.

Our "On Track to College" letter provides students and their families information about progress toward graduation, completion of a-g course requirements necessary for college admission, competitiveness for California colleges and universities, and recommendations for how to stay on track to be successful in college. We're proud to help prepare students for a bright future.

Natomas High School has added a new sports team this spring -- boys volleyball. This marks the third addition to NUSD's athletic opportunities since classes began last August: Inderkum High fielded a water polo team and Discovery High competed in basketball.

Expanding our sports program creates additional chances for students to earn athletic scholarships and make new friends, consistent with NUSD's Board-approved Goal to, "Create safe and welcoming learning environments where students attend and are connected to their schools."

Besides, it's a whole lot of fun.

Practice makes perfect? Taylor Arsich must think so. The Heron School 5th-grader has practiced gymnastics 12 to 16 hours a week for about four years. All that work paid off big-time recently when Taylor and her partner, Liana Chekrygin, captured an age-group gold medal in acrobatic gymnastics at the prestigious Vegas Acro Cup invitational competition involving countries from all over the world.

Acrobatic gymnastics requires partners to synchronize in a floor routine of acrobatic moves, dance and tumbling, set to music. Taylor and Liana "took home the gold" by beating four teams from the United States, three teams from Canada, and one from Brazil. Though not in her division, gymnasts from Germany, Japan, Russia, China, and other nations also participated in the three-day competition, which included a World Cup event each day.

Taylor, who is the daughter of Natomas High Athletic Director Jeremy Arsich, was bowled over by the international flair of the Vegas Acro Cup and quipped to him about the pool of elite athletes from all over the globe -- "I feel like I'm at the Olympics." ... (We'll remember those words, Taylor, we're documenting them here -- because someday you may be.)