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Season's Greetings!

Happy Holidays from Natomas Unified!

NUSD Schools and Education Center will be closed for the Winter Recess Holiday from December 20-31, 2021. In the event of an emergency, please contact Constituent and Customer Services at (916) 561-5253. We hope you have a happy, healthy, and joyous holiday.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Length of a newsletter can cause stories at the bottom to be clipped from display. If that happens to this newsletter, click "View Entire Message" prompt at the bottom of the page. Thank you very much.

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Bringing Holiday Cheer with Toys to Families in Need


There’s a holiday musical classic entitled, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” While many of us look forward to giving and sharing with others, unfortunately, some of our Natomas families do not have the means to do so. To bring holiday cheer to some of our most needy students, the Natomas Unified School District hosted its annual Toy Drive. With the help of donations from Kohls, Walgreens, Big 5, Natomas Chamber of Commerce, Trustee Lisa Kaplan, and NUSD families and community members who wanted to make a difference, we were able to distribute toys to over 200 children who may not have otherwise received a gift for the holidays. “Once again, our community came together to support our students. We never know when any of us may be in need. Circumstances and life happens, so it’s a great feeling to be able to do our part to make someone’s day a little brighter,” said Sarah Smith, NUSD’s Social Worker Liaison.


Last Friday, families were able to pick up the toys for their students just in time for the holidays. One mother shared how excited her children were going to be once they opened their presents and was beyond grateful for the district holding the toy drive. Thank you to all of our partners and community members for their generous donations and for making this season bright.

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Building Our Culture of Resilience

Ways to give back this holiday season


While there are an infinite number of ways to give back, we want to spotlight a few ways in which you can get involved and help make this a cheerful season for Natomas families in need.


--- Donate ---

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Seeking Community's help for basic needs for Natomas families

The holidays are always a challenging time for many in our community. However, this year will be especially difficult for families who are still dealing with the effects of the COVID crisis. NSF and NUSD have joined forces to raise $35,000 to provide a few weeks of shelter (including the Winter Break), food, and necessities for some of our families in need.


For personal donations, visit the NSF GoFundMe fundraising webpage at https://gofund.me/ccf1ef45. For corporate donations please visit the Benevity fundraising webpage at https://causes.benevity.org/. Any amount is greatly appreciated and will directly help our students and families while we work with other local government entities to find

other resources and solutions.

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Joey's Food Locker -- food or monetary donations accepted

Food donations and financial support are vital to ensure we can help members of the Natomas community. Any of the following donations are greatly appreciated:

  • Sandwich bread
  • Rice
  • Dry/canned beans (red or black)
  • Canned or frozen meats
  • Canned vegetables
  • Pasta
  • Spices (salt, pepper, garlic powder, etc.)
  • Broth/stock
  • Cooking oil (olive, canola)


Donations can be dropped off at Joey's Food Locker, located at 3301 Fong Ranch Road (behind the school near the tennis courts).


Monetary donations are always welcome. Your donations may be tax-deductible. Please make checks payable to:


Natomas Unified School District

1901 Arena Blvd

Sacramento, CA 95834

Memo: Joey's Food Locker

--- Volunteer ---

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Joey's Food Locker needs dedicated student and community volunteers (like you!) to help with weekly food packing and preparation, distribution, and traffic control on Thursday from 3:30-4:30 pm and/or Fridays from 4-5:30 pm. If interested, click here. Have questions? Email oortiz@natomasunified.org.

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Holiday hours/essential services available during Winter Recess


COVID Testing

The COVID Community Testing clinic will remain open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, December 21. The clinic will close on December 28. For more information or to register online, click here.


Joey's Food Locker

Joey's Food Locker will close on Friday, December 24 to allow staff to celebrate the holidays. The food locker will open from 4-5:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 30 to serve and distribute food to those in need. Joey's Food Locker is located at 3301 Fong Ranch Road (behind Natomas High School near the tennis courts).


Social-Emotional Support

NUSD's referral system is available 24/7, 365 days per year, for families. If you need help, don't hesitate to reach out. For social-emotional supports and resources, click here.


Urgent Care Now Natomas clinic

The Urgent Care Now Natomas clinic will remain open to the public from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday, December 20. The clinic will close on December 24 (Christmas Eve), December 27, and December 31. For more information or to schedule an appointment, click here.


Winter break feeding

Nutrition Services will distribute seven days of meals between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on December 21 and 28 at all mobile meal locations. The winter feeding program offers youth in the community an opportunity to receive nutritious meals in the absence of their traditional school lunch program. For a list of meal service locations, please refer to the flyer below or visit the Nutrition Services website.

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Inderkum students recognized by YPCE Commission


Inderkum Tigers, Ethane Li (senior) and Emmie Li (sophomore) have been recognized by the City of Sacramento's Youth, Parks and Community Enrichment Commission for their countless hours of community service that include various park clean-ups, books, clothes and food drives. You may have even seen them around Natomas volunteering for the North Natomas Farmers Market and Santa in Natomas. Ethane and Emiee model the Tiger Way and demonstrate an exceptional commitment to service to their school and community organizations and activities. Emiee joined the YAC program in 2020 with 59+ hours, while Ethane has over 77+ hours (and counting!) with the program.


Pictured above from left to right are Andre Favila (Parks Liaison District 1), Sumiti Mehta (Youth, Parks and Community Enrichment Commissioner D1), Emmie Li and Ethane Li.

Celebrate Our Diversity

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Creating Meaningful Friendships and a Feeling of Connectedness with NUSD's Girls LeadHERship Club


Creating safe spaces for girls where they can grow, thrive, and make meaningful connections is an important focus of the Natomas Unified School District. It’s one of the reasons the district has made an investment to provide mentoring programs that are intentionally focused on the needs of girls. Since the beginning of this school year, the district has partnered with Girls Leadership, a nationally recognized organization, to pilot the Girls LeadHERship Club at Bannon Creek School and Natomas Middle School. To hear what parents and students are saying about the positive impact this new program has on these young ladies, click here.

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Wellness Matters

Two new podcast episodes that support students and their journey towards academic success

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Episode 6 - NUSD and IYT Influencing the Lives of Young Men of Color

This episode features Improve Your Tomorrow's CEO Michael Lynch as he discusses how IYT is partnering with NUSD to increase more young men of color attending and graduating from college. "Natomas has always been a leader in supporting our work and our mission for young men of color. We thank Superintendent Chris Evans and the Board for providing the opportunity for IYT to make a difference," said Lynch. This is an excellent insightful podcast that you don't want to miss. Enjoy this episode here.

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Episode 5 - The Building Blocks of Literacy

This episode features Teachers on Special Assignment (TOSA) Natasha Rowlett, Kimberly Stepp, Ranbir Bains as they touch on tips on how to teach students in the early years (K-3) to read, hear and recognize sounds within words to help students become strong readers. This is full of tips that families can use at home. This episode is available here. You may subscribe and listen to previous episodes on our website.

District Updates

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New Officers selected for NUSD Board of Trustees


Congratulations to our new officers of the Board of Trustees. On December 14, the Board took action and selected Trustee Micah Grant as President, Trustee Jag Bains as Vice President, and Trustee Susan Heredia as Clerk. Congratulations to our new officers!

Reaching out to families to help with filling substitute vacancies


With a nationwide shortage of workers to fill vacancies across a multitude of industries, school districts are having a tough time hiring for substitute positions. “These are temporary positions that help to support our schools in a variety of ways. They are vital to our operation. Right now, we have a need for substitute teachers, instructional aides, playground assistants, and clerical support,” said Rick Messer, Associate Superintendent of Human Resources. For a list of available positions, information on the recent pay increase for substitute teachers, and how to apply, click here.

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Literacy

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Literacy resources to support your student


State Superintendent Tony Thurmond has partnered with Renaissance to provide all California students with unlimited access to thousands of digital books and news articles in English and Spanish through January 31, 2022. myON is a digital reading application that enables students to read anytime and anywhere, 24/7, including weekends, holidays, school breaks, and summer vacation. This initiative’s intent is to provide students the gift of literacy during winter break by providing opportunities for students and families to engage in reading at home, at school, and in the community. Here is login information to get your student started.


In addition, Parent University worked with district TOSAs to help develop parent workshops with resources on how to support students with literacy and math skills. We are pleased to share these resources with you. To begin exploring, click on the button below.

READ MORE
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NUSD to adopt new science curriculum


NUSD is in the process of adopting a new science curriculum. Teachers across the district will be piloting different science curriculum in their classrooms. Beginning January 3, teachers will have four weeks for students to experience the science materials. Over the past few months, NUSD staff reviewed state-approved science instructional materials to reduce them to the ones that best align with state standards and match the needs of our students. The curriculum being piloted within each grade level are as follows:

 

Kinder, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade: Twig, McGraw Hill

6th, 7th, and 8th grade: McGraw Hill, TCI

Physics: Discovery Education, STEMScopes

Biology: Discovery Education, Carolina Biological Company

Chemistry: Discovery Education, Carolina Biological Company

 

While teachers and students will provide feedback on the materials during the pilot process, we want families to be involved in the process as well. Families can be involved by attending a virtual presentation on the materials where they have an opportunity to ask questions and provide input. They can also review samples of the curriculum at different school sites on key dates that will be communicated in January. When families attend the meetings and/or come to review text materials, staff will provide them with a form to gather feedback.

 

Please contact Ben Odell at bodell@natomasunified.org with any questions.

Parent University

Save the date for the upcoming 'Diverse Conversations' forums


As NUSD's Core Belief states, "Our Diversity is a Strength." Join us for the third 'Diverse Conversations' forums hosted by the Communications and Family Engagement department scheduled next month. These sessions are focused on the needs of specific groups, realizing that there are different needs for different cultures. We hope you join us. Each forum has a different topic of discussion for families to provide input. Continue reading for more details and how to register for these upcoming events.

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Hispanic/Latinx/Native American


Date: Tuesday, January 25, 2021

Time: 12 p.m. or 6 p.m.

Location: Virtual


Register here

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Black/African American


Date: Wednesday, January 26, 2021

Time: 12 p.m. or 6 p.m.

Location: Virtual


Register here

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Asian


Date: Thursday, January 27, 2021

Time: 12 p.m. or 6 p.m.

Location: Virtual


Register here

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Please 'Like' us on Facebook

and follow us on Twitter & Instagram


Let's work together. We encourage parents to stay up-to-date on district developments. We provide multiple opportunities to learn about NUSD successes, plans and events throughout the school year. 


Three key sources are Facebook -- we're listed as "Natomas Unified School District" -- Twitter and Instagram under @NatomasUSD. District and school websites also are a good source of information ranging from lunch menus to parent opportunities. Thanks for taking a look. We're honored to be your partner. 

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CONTACT US  

Brought to you by NUSD Communications. If you have questions, comments or story tips, please call (916) 561-5267 or email dpowell@natomasunified.org.

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