News from Folsom Cordova schools

Thursday, December 12, 2019 | Volume X, Issue XVII

News, Announcements, & Success Stories

Folsom, Vista del Lago among Newsweek's Top STEM High Schools

Folsom and Vista del Lago high schools are among the best in the nation in providing students rich opportunities to study in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), according to Newsweek's annual Top 5,000 STEM High Schools rankings.

Folsom High ranked 1,756th, while Vista del Lago ranked 2,031st.

According to its website, here's the methodology Newsweek uses to compile its rankings:

" STEM.org Educational Research™ (SER) has developed a proprietary scoring logic utilizing the latest in regression analysis that takes into consideration a broad set of quantitative and qualitative data inputs, collected from Q2 2015 - Q3 2019. The purpose was to determine which primary/secondary institutions in America best offer students experiences in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) -as defined by the Congressional Research Service - while preparing them for post-secondary outcomes. Additional factors including affluence and median household income were taken into consideration in compiling the rankings."

More info: https://www.newsweek.com/americas-best-stem-high-schools-2020/

-Daniel Thigpen, Director of Communication & Community Engagement , [email protected]

Mitchell Middle students have fun learning to sew and making gifts for classmates

Mitchell Middle School students started an after-school sewing club this year with the help of teachers Estelle Gray and Karen York. For their first project, they wanted to give back to others, so they designed clothing protectors for their fellow classmates in the ILS program, who require assistance with eating. ILS, which stands for Independent Living Skills, provides instruction for important life skills for students with disabilities.

Gray shared that "the morning they delivered the clothing protectors, there were big smiles from both sides of the room." There are "about 20 students who attend regularly, once a week," said Gray, and are excited to do more. Next projects include "hair scrunchies, pajama bottoms, holiday stockings and gifts, as well as pillows and bowl cozies."

-Angela Griffin Ankhelyi, APR, Community Engagement Specialist , [email protected]

Vista del Lago students and staff provide large donations to local community

Since 2010, The Spirit of Vista Giving Drive (SOVGD) has been a tradition for Vista del Lago students to give back to the community and people in need. This year was their most successful one to date! SOVGD hit an all-time record, collecting 4,248 pounds of food and 90 gift baskets.

According to Heidi Schultz, a teacher and the Activities Director at Vista del Lago, "this all started as a two part community service project; a canned food drive benefiting Folsom's Twin Lake Food Bank and a senior basket drive. Working in partnership with Karen Moosterman and Amy Maleko of Powerhouse Ministries, the gift baskets are part of a surprise delivery to homebound Folsom seniors."

Students and staff work together to make SOVGD happen. Vista's Student Government and Student Senate partner up to promote and rally campus support for the projects. "Kristen Quinten, Vista's Advisory Coordinator and I work with the students to collect baskets and nonperishable food" said Schultz. This year over 32% of Vista students and 65% of the staff made donations!

As an incentive, when students donated they could vote for the teacher or staff member they wanted to wear the turkey costume. This year's Turkey Ambassador was Annamarie Edwards from the counseling department. Swing by our Facebook page to see Ms. Edwards in full turkey costume.

-Angela Griffin Ankhelyi, APR, Community Engagement Specialist , [email protected]

FMS seventh- grader receives the Character Counts Award from SCOE

The Character Counts award is presented by the Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) every month to a Club Live/Friday Night Live member who is dedicated to his/her school and community.

This month, Folsom Middle School's Nicole Ostenberg was recognized for her outstanding contribution as a Club Live leader. She was also one of the guest panelist who represented FCUSD at the Vaping Parent Education Night held last month.

Ostenberg is a very hardworking and diligent student and always strives to give her best within and outside the classroom. Keep up the great work Nicole!

-submitted by Anita Kamath, Folsom Middle teacher, Club Live Adviser

FCEA & FCUSD Joint Negotiations Update: December 2019

On Monday, Dec. 2, bargaining team members from the Folsom Cordova Education Association (FCEA), which represents teachers and other certificated staff, and the Folsom Cordova Unified School District (FCUSD) met to continue negotiations.

During the daylong session at the FCEA headquarters, both teams worked collaboratively and discussed each sides' common bargaining interests.

Topics included the impact of budget reductions, instructional minutes, textbook adoptions, and more.

Click here for the full update.

FCEA and FCUSD have agreed to resume negotiations on Jan. 17. All updates are posted at www.fcusd.org/negotiations .

-Debbie Krikourian, Bargaining Chair, FCEA, dk [email protected]

-Donald Ogden, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, [email protected]

In other news ...

7th Annual Holiday Festival of the Arts at Folsom High

The award-winning Folsom High School Jazz Band 1, Jazz Choir, Trombone Choir, and Chamber Orchestra will perform at the seventh annual Holiday Festival of the Arts on Friday, December 13 at 7:00 pm at Folsom High School's Jill Solberg Theater. The evening includes live music, live art performances by local artists and dance by Hawkins School of Performing Arts.

Tickets for the evening can be purchased online here. Pricing is $15, open seating. All proceeds from this event benefit Folsom High School's award-winning music program.