TUSD Weekly Update
Gil Ogden, Director of Student Services
As Attendance Awareness Month begins to close, it's important to remember that attendance efforts don't stop after the first month of school. Successful efforts to improve attendance are woven into school and District-wide plans. We've all seen absences start to add up as the holiday season arrives and winter illnesses set in. Here is a suggestion for maintaining momentum: Parent teacher conferences, starting as early pre-kindergarten, are ideal opportunities for discussing attendance with families. Bringing attendance into these routine meetings can make talking about attendance as normal as discussing academic performance and classroom behavior.
Barracuda Email Security
Robert Brogdon, Director of Technology Operations
Did you know that October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM)? This week’s focus is on email security. Be sure to check out this NCSAM guide to Phishing . Read on to see what the Technology Services Department is implementing to help fight spam.

In an effort to reduce the number of spam emails that reach our inboxes, we have enabled the quarantine feature in our Barracuda Email Security Gateway. Staff will receive an email from barracudaspam@turlock.k12.ca.us with your username, password and a link to the Email Security Gateway website. You will also begin receiving quarantine summary emails so you can see what is in your quarantine. You can choose to deliver email that is not spam, delete spam email now or do nothing and the email will automatically be deleted in 30 days.

In conjunction with enabling user quarantine, we will soon be rolling out a spam add-in for Outlook. Once installed, you will see two new buttons in the Outlook ribbon. This add-in will allow staff to build a custom spam database that results in higher accuracy for detecting spam over time.
Pitman Preview of Champions
Pitman Marching Pride Band Boosters
The Pitman High School Marching Pride hosted the 3rd Annual Pitman Preview of Champions Marching Band Review this past Saturday, September 28th. The review, which is part of the Northern California Band Association's Fall Event Line Up, was based at Pitman High School, with the Parade Competition on North Tegner Rd, and the percussion/drum line competition on Sandstone St., both walking distance from the campus.

22 schools attended, some coming from as far away as Yuba City, Antioch, and Fairfied, while others came from just down the road in Merced, Los Banos and Manteca. It's early in the season for a band competition, but these bands came ready to compete! Many have been putting in hard work since the summer to get ready to win. Each band was place in a division that is based on the number of student musicians in their bands, and then they compete against like-sized groups for awards in categories such as music, marching and showmanship, as well as prizes for best drum-line/percussion performance, color guard performance and drum major performance. Pitman, as the host school, did not get to compete, but takes seriously the honor of having all these schools come together on their campus, and was hard at work to perfect its own performance, wowing the crowd as the 1st band stepping off in front of the judges that morning.

Parents and community members, as well as out of town guests, lined the streets and cheered the bands as they marched past, then returned to the Pitman campus quad for what was billed as "the campus party" after the competition. For several hours, over 2000 people enjoyed the DJ music while picking up BBQ burgers and hot dogs and pizza for lunch. In addition, vendors like Sips mobile coffee, Kona Ice, and Oak Barrel Creamery provided sweet treats to purchase while attendees browsed the custom printed tee-shirts for sale, the band swag, the bows and baubles and the photo booth that was available for fun.

The afternoon culminated in an award ceremony, where the bands congregated around the quad amphitheater to hear who took top prizes. This year Oakdale High School, Deer Valley High School, Armijo High School, Pacheco High School and Merced High School all took 1st Place in their divisions, while Golden Valley swept all the Sweepstakes Categories (Highest scores for the day overall!)
TUSD Farm Update
Laura Brem, Coordinator of Applied Horticulture and Environmental Science
Happy fall from TUSD Farm! The Farm welcomed Earl Elementary School’s second graders in September to observe plants and animals in their different habitats, which is one of their NGSS learning objectives. They participated in hands-on learning labs throughout the Farm, including planting fall crops of kale, Swiss chard and lettuce and comparing the environments of the animals. Students also picked and tasted three types of fruit: Emerald Beaut Plums, Dapple Dandy Pluots, and Fairtime peaches. After tasting the fruit students voted, and the pluots won! They were surprised at how sweet they were! When students returned to their classrooms, they wrote about their experiences and continued to learn about plant and animal habitats. 

Starting in early October, On Track and Pitman High School Special Education students will participate in work experience opportunities at the Farm, which will support their learning goals. These activities include learning how to plant and harvest produce, care for animals, and landscape management.   

We hope you can join us on Saturday, October 26th from 10 PM-2 PM for our annual Harvest Festival! There are lots of fun activities planned, and it is a great opportunity to tour the Farm. We are
located at 625 E. Taylor Road, Turlock 95382.

Keep updated on TUSD Farm activities and events by following us on Instagram @TUSDFarm.
Oh Yes! Fitness!
Robin Swartz, Health & Fitness Instructional Coach
Attention TK-6th Grade Teachers: Do you need some new ideas for fitness lessons? Would you like to receive some easy and fun ideas that you can use for Brain Breaks in your classroom? Do you want me to come help you co-teach a lesson with your class? If you answered “YES” to any of these questions, please contact Shellie Santos ( ssantos@turlock.k12.ca.us ) to enroll in four sessions that will begin in October and end in April!

I will be presenting lessons in grade-level* spans:
  • *TK-K
  • *1st-2nd
  • *3rd-4th
  • *5th-6th

You will leave each session with lesson plans and handouts and you will get to observe some lessons with students. How? I will model the lessons with the awesome Brown School students who stay after school in the ASES program.

Space is limited! Any questions? Please contact Robin Swartz rswartz@turlock.k12.ca.us .
Tech in TUSD: Google Cast
Sitara Ali, Ed Tech Coach
What is It? An amazing feature and application that I’m going to highlight this week is Chromecast​,​ also known as Google Cast for Education! This feature allows you to replicate your entire screen, a single tab or even a specific document to another device. You can even have students share their screens with the entire class when they are invited by the teacher to do so! 

So What?  This feature allows a teacher to move away from their desk and walk around the room when they are presenting or displaying anything on their projector for students. Take your Chromebook with you while circulating the room, and control everything from your Chromebook screen! Google Cast for Education is free, and no hardware is required is get this going! 

Now What? For your desktop, ​the teacher sets up Cast for Education on their computer that’s connected to the classroom projector by visiting the chrome web store. ​All of our Chromebooks already have this cast feature built in. Click the 3-dots in the upper right hand corner of your Chromebook, and click cast! It will ask you to select a source/classroom, and you will select the classroom you made through Cast for Education via your desktop computer connected to the projector. There are ​written directions​ with pictures to help you get started!
TUSD History Moment
Scott Atherton, Turlock Historical Society
Turlock High School’s main building was designed by renowned architect, William H. Weeks, and constructed in five stages. The West Wing was completed in 1920, the East Wing in 1923, the auditorium in 1925, the administration building and ground floor interior in 1926, and the second-floor interior in 1927. Early in 1927, plans moved forward to showcase the impressive Spanish Revival structure with a water feature and complimentary landscaping in front.

At the Board of Trustees’ meeting on February 7, 1927, art instructor Viola Siebe presented a plan showing a 12-foot modified square pond with a fountain in the center, the overall height to be almost six feet. The water feature was to be placed halfway between the street and the front entrance, and construction costs were to be covered by the Classes of 1922, 1923 and 1927. Trustees approved the plan and distributed it for construction bids.
Specific fountain details were yet to be determined, however, as Miss Siebe had challenged her students to a competition. For students wishing to participate, they were instructed to create fountain plans of their own, after which the class would choose what they considered to be the best fountain. 
In the interim, Andrew Larson was pouring the curbs and sidewalks, and Carl Hedman was installing the sprinkler system. Tom Cheney, the school gardener, followed close behind planting shrubs and flowers.

When bids were opened by Trustees on February 28, Eric Larson came in with the lowest bid and was awarded the job. Quoting the Turlock Tribune: “…the fountain will be a piece of art,” and “the plants will be artistically set out, forming outlines, which, when full grown, will compare with the prettiest in the State.”

The winner of the fountain competition was Thomas Moscato, a sophomore, and after his plans were approved by Trustees, architect George Hilburn drew detailed working plans. On June 3, 1927, the dedication ceremony was held in conjunction with “Community Day,” an annual event at which all departments of the school exhibited “for public inspection the products of a year’s work.” 

At 2:30 p.m., students and citizens gathered at the fountain where they were entertained by the high school band and girls’ glee club. Creighton Geer (Class of 1927) introduced Carroll Johnson (Class of 1922) and Helen Gallison (Class of 1923), who told of their part in generating money for the fountain fund.
 
Homer Anderson, senior class president, presented the fountain to Trustee Arthur Crowell, Clerk of the Board. Crowell responded on behalf of the Board by “expressing their appreciation for the thoughtfulness of the classes taking part in the gift and the hope that their lives might be pure, constant, beautiful and true, as symbolized by the spraying fountain.” Curtis Pollard spoke on behalf of the faculty, whose gift of water lilies and gold fish had been placed in the pond prior to the dedication.
TUSD Board of Trustees Resolution No. 5/2019-2020
WHEREAS, the District Office Fountain was originally a gift from the Turlock High Class of 1922, Class of 1923, and Class of 1927. At the Board of Trustees’ meeting on February 7, 1927, art instructor Viola Siebe presented a plan showing a 12-foot modified square pond with a fountain in the center with an overall height to be nearly six feet. The water feature was to be placed half way between the street and the front entrance, and construction costs were to be covered by the Classes of 1922, 1923, and 1927. On June 3, 1927, the dedication ceremony was held in conjunction with “Community Day”; and
 
WHEREAS, the fountain was in need of restoration after decades of use and exposure; and

WHEREAS, the Turlock Historical Society Board of Directors, in 2009, organized a Fountain Restoration Committee to draw community-wide support; and 

WHEREAS, approximately 200 donors contributed to the fountain restoration; and

WHEREAS, fountain sculptor Ira Kessey completed the fountain restoration in 2019; and

WHEREAS, the completed project has made possible the continuation of support to the THS alma mater and the first impression at the entrance of the Community Auditorium, influencing the entire community.

Now, therefore, be it resolved, that the Board of Trustees of the TURLOCK UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT proclaim that through the Turlock Historical Society’s Board of Directors’ actions, along with the community’s spirit and pride as Turlock Bulldogs, it is deserving to dedicate the District Office Fountain.

Adopted September 3, 2019
Athletic Director Sports Update
Mike Brown, Turlock High School AD
Football:  Bye week for football.
Girl’s Golf: Results Match 5: Pitman 255-Turlock 274. Results Match 6: Gregori 244-Turlock
Volleyball:  We played Enochs on Monday and Varsity won 3 – 0, JV won 2-0, and freshman won 2 – 0. Clean sweep for the bulldogs. We played Modesto high and had another clean sweep. Varsity 3 -0, JV 2-1 and freshman 2-0.  Great job!
Water Polo:  Water polo battled it out with Gregory. JV girls won 12 -1. JV boys won 15 - 7. Varsity girls won 16 – 6. The Varsity boys had a very close match all the way until the last 5 minutes of the game and caught fire and scored like 5 goals in the final few minutes and beat Gregori 13 – 7. Great way to start the league.  
Tennis:  Tennis had a real close match with Modesto high but pulled out the win. 5 - 4. They also beat Downey 9 -0 on Thursday.  Great job ladies.
                                                                                                        
Coming Up Next Week for the Bulldogs:
Mon: Volleyball is @ home against Downey, Water polo is @ Enochs
Tues: Tennis is at Pitman @ 3:00, Golf is at home against Pitman.
Wed: Volleyball is at Pitman, Water Polo home against Modesto @ 3:00.
Thurs: Freshman football is home against Downey 6:00 pm. Tennis has mid-season tournament, Golf is against Modesto
Fri: Varsity/JV football is at Downey 5/7. Cross Country is at Yosemite lakes, JV Water polo boys have home tournament for Friday /Saturday
Dave Walls, Pitman High School AD
Football: Varsity Football hosted Marin Catholic of Kentfield on Friday night. The Wildcats are the 4th State ranked team the Pride have played this pre-season including Clovis-North, Lincoln-Stockton and Bullard who are a combined 19-2 on the season. The Wildcats flexed their muscle all night as they grinded out a 42-0 victory over the Pride.

Girls Golf: Girls Golf played in the CCAL Mid-Season Tournament and finished 4th. The Pride were paced by 3 ladies under 100, with Simone Samra and Isabelle Rodriguez shooting 95 and Monet Sayadian shooting 96. On Thursday the Lady Pride traveled to Modesto to take on the Panthers and came away with the 277-301 victory. The Pride are now 3-3 in CCAL play.

Girls Tennis: The Lady Pride are 2-2 in CCAL play after a Tuesday 6-3 victory over Downey and a Thursday 3-6 loss to Enochs in Modesto. The Pride are 5-4 on the season.
 
Volleyball: The Lady Pride went 1-1 on the week. On Tuesday the Pride Hosted Gregori HS in CCAL play and fell to the Jags 3-2. The Pride received outstanding play from Emily Hanham on the night. The Lady Pride traveled to Downey HS on Thursday to take on the Knights - the Pride took the night 3-0. Megan Hall gave an outstanding all around effort on the night. The Pride are 11-10 on the year and 2-1 in CCAL play.

Water Polo: The Pride traveled to Modesto on Wednesday to open up CCAL play and came away with the 4 sweep. Varsity Boys won 7-6 and Varsity Girls won 9-3. Varsity Girls took 4th over the weekend at the El Cap Invitational.

Cross Country: Cross Country traveled to Clovis for the Golden Eagle Invitational. The Pride came away with five medalists – Marcos Mendoza- JV Boys, Christian Balderas – Varsity Boys, Isabella Dominguez and Bella Kern – JV Girls. Junior Varsity Boys finished 2nd with Ben Plaa coming in 4th overall.

Upcoming Events for the Pride:
Mon:
Volleyball @ Enochs-Modesto (4:00, 5:00, 6:00)
B-G WP vs. Gregori @ Pitman (3:00, 4:00, 5:00, 6:00)
Tues:
Girl Golf @ Gregori (Muni GC 3:00PM)
Girls Tennis vs. Turlock HS (3:15 PM)
Wed:
Volleyball vs. Turlock HS @ Pitman (4:00, 5:00, 6:00)
B-G Water Polo @ Downey Pool (3:00, 4:00, 5:00, 6:00,)
Thurs:
Girl Golf vs Downey (Turlock CC - 3:00PM)
Girls Tennis @ CCAL Mid-Season Tournament (9:00 AM)
Frosh Football @ Enochs – Johansen Field (6:00 PM)
Fri:
Volleyball @ El Capitan- Merced (3:00, 4:00, 5:00)
JV Volleyball @ Golden Valley - Merced Tournament - TBD
VGWP @ El CapitanTournament - TBD
FSBWP @ Turlock F/S Tournament (Pitman Pool) - TBD 
JV Football vs. Enochs (Joe Debely Stadium - 5:00PM)
Varsity Football vs. Enochs (Joe Debely Stadium - 7:00PM)
Sat:
JV Volleyball @ Golden Valley – Merced Tournament – TBD
Cross Country @ Frogtown Invitational – Angels Camp - TBD
The "US" in TUSD
Meet Michael DeBos, Medeiros Elementary School Para-Professional
How long have you worked in TUSD?  This is my second year working for TUSD.

Where did you work prior to TUSD?  I previously worked for a non-public agency working with children diagnosed with autism. 

Any info you would like to share about your job? Average day?  An average day in special education is never the same. We work with our kiddos to build social skills, behavioral management skills as well as academics for their appropriate grade. Each new day is challenging but filled with joy and growth- both for the staff and our students. 

Things you are most proud of?  I am most proud of our para team here in D-7. We really collaborate as a unit to help our students succeed. 

Favorite memory/story? My favorite memory was my wedding day this past June.

What are you reading? I am currently reading a biography on Padre Pio. 

Any favorite shows you’re watching on TV? Right now, my husband and I are re-watching Friends .

Favorite movie? My favorite movie will always be The Princess Bride .

Anything surprising we may not know about you? Something interesting people might not know about me is that I attend s boxing class after work. 

Anything about your personal life you’d like to share? Outside of work I really enjoy playing board games with friends and family on Sunday evenings, helping at my churches youth program, and learning to cook. 
TUSD Schools Rock
Medeiros Elementary School
We’re visiting Medeiros Elementary School today! Here are some facts about their school:

Est. 2005
Principal: Anna Ellerson
Assistant Principal: Jeff Persons
Certificated Staff: 50
Classified Staff: 50
Students: 851
Mascot: Stars
Motto: Medeiros Stars are Kind and Respectful

Have a great year, Stars! 
September Character Trait
Seen on Social Media
Pitman High School
Artist of the week
Jasmine Ramos
Biography

My name is Jasmine Ramos. I’m 15 years old. My dad got me into art when I was young when he showed me how to draw a fox and I’ve been doing art ever since. I love painting and drawing. I paint and draw over almost all the things I own. Though painting would probably be my favorite medium. I hope to continue doing art long into my future.

What is it that most intrigues you about creating art? Seeing the different ideas I or someone else has coming to life. I love the feeling of seeing my ideas become a reality.
Dutcher Art Club
Coffee cups designs turned out amazing!
Walnut Elementary Education Center
Our kindness tree is blooming! Thank you to everyone who supported our September kindness challenge. There will be some happy cats and dogs in our community.
The 411
Health Benefits 411
Visit the TUSD website for updated health benefits information for 2020.
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 email Marie Russell for an opt-out form.