BUSD Community Connections |
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August 2021 Newsletter
Welcome Back to School
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Our monthly newsletter is a great way to learn about the latest news at Berryessa Union School District. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for daily updates and visit our website for calendar and meeting information.
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Message from the Superintendent |
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Dear Berryessa Community,
We are so happy to welcome our students, families and staff back to our schools! After very successful, safe spring and summer sessions with in-person instruction opportunities, we have been preparing for this moment of a full reopening and have great expectations for this new school year.
It’s important to know that BUSD is following all required safety precautions to protect everyone’s health, and we will continue to adapt as conditions change. We thank all those who have taken advantage of the testing and vaccination events held at BUSD and in our community. A key tool for stopping the pandemic is the COVID-19 vaccine, and we encourage families to take this crucial step that will help save lives.
Our dedicated staff is ready to return to our classrooms, and to re-engage with students in fun and inspiring ways.
On behalf of the BUSD Board of Trustees and administration, thank you for your support and collaboration. We look forward to seeing you soon!
With BUSD pride,
Dr. Roxane Fuentes
Superintendent
Here is a special video message from Dr. Fuentes:
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BUSD Safety Measures
At a Glance
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Announcement by Governor Gavin Newsom |
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This week Governor Gavin Newsom announced that California will require public schools to verify that all employees are fully vaccinated or tested regularly. Unvaccinated employees will be required to participate in at least weekly COVID-19 testing.
“There’s no substitute for in-person instruction, and California will continue to lead the nation in keeping students and staff safe while ensuring fully open classrooms,” said Dr. Tomás J. Aragón, CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer. “Today’s order will help the state’s continued efforts to increase vaccinations, similar to the orders encouraging state and health care workers and businesses to get vaccinated.”
The new state requirement for school employees will take effect on August 12, 2021. School districts, charter schools, private schools, and county offices of education will have until October 15, 2021 to come into full compliance.
We are appreciative of the State's support in this endeavor to assist in keeping our community safe and healthy.
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The Covid-19 vaccine is saving lives. Let’s continue to encourage all eligible family and friends to get vaccinated.
Watch this video to learn more. Thank you for doing your part to stay healthy!
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We also would like to remind our community that our website features information on free Covid-testing, vaccinations and more. Stay tuned also for our next BUSD testing and vaccination events.
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BUSD Employees of the Year 2021 |
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We would like to take a moment to recognize our BUSD Employees of the Year for 2021. The selection committee was so impressed by the large number of nominations submitted this past year. Berryessa is so fortunate to have many worthy and talented candidates across our school district community.
It is an honor to recognize this year’s awardees and share what their nominators had to say about them:
- Certificated: Angela Tsoi, Certificated Teacher, Vinci Park
Angela goes above and beyond her certificated duties to support students, families, and colleagues. She does so many things at Vinci Park to make it such a positive place. Angela often does things “behind the scenes” and never seeks validation or recognition. She helps and/or leads the running club, the Olympics, the PTA to name just a few things. She started a 5k race at Vinci to help support 5th grade science camp! She wasn’t even a 5th grade teacher! Angela has a CAN DO attitude and is a problem solver.
We recently lost a dear colleague, Steve Kato. He was one of Angela’s closest friends at school. She rallied the staff, even when feeling so sad, to come together in many ways. She painted signs, and sat outside Steve’s hospital room to show Vinci Park support and love. Angela also put together a great fundraiser for Steve’s family and a book of memories for his boys to have. She pulled together past students, families, staff members, and friends to be a part of this keepsake. Angela is extremely modest and would not want attention or accolades - which is exactly why we think she deserves it. She is the unsung hero at Vinci Park and so worthy of this honor.
- Classified: Brandon Domondon, BMT, Morrill MS
Brandon is always committed to ensuring a safe and productive learning environment, as well as improving mental health and wellness of the people he works with. He never hesitates to step in to help a student calm down or to try to speak to them in a one-on-one situation in order to help them re-engage in class. During distance learning, he focused on his own students, but during in-person learning, I have seen him even take a moment to kindly and personally help frustrated or otherwise disengaged middle schoolers re-connect to the present moment and the class they're in.
I know Mr. Brandon cares deeply about his job. As stated previously, he is an indispensable part of the team and the district. I think he would be an excellent teacher if he chose to pursue that avenue.
- Administrator: Tom Carroll, Morrill MS
In coming to Morrill, Tom's focus was transparency and shared decision making. With the community, he helped build Morrill's first PTSA (in many years). He shared budget decisions and plans with the staff and actively sought feedback. With his encouragement, many teachers began to test new instructional strategies with the guidance that "as long as you're working to improve, you'll have my support."
Each year, under Tom’s leadership, our math and ELA scores have improved and our suspensions and truancies have gone down, allowing us to become a CA Distinguished school for the first time in Morrill's history. Most importantly, staff, student, and community perceptions of Morrill have continued to improve, making us a destination school in Berryessa. Honesty and Integrity, equity, student-centered, and all of the 3 year goals: Tom has never hidden his values from the staff, nor the fact that he is an advocate for our students and families.
Let’s give a big round of applause and congratulations to Ms. Tsoi, Mr. Domondon, and Mr. Carroll! They have shown great dedication, pride, leadership, and service in their roles. Thank you for being mentors and supportive colleagues to us all! We are so pleased to honor you today and throughout this school year!
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Free Meals for Every Student |
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We are happy to share with you that California public schools will offer free meals to all the students, regardless of income. This is a huge and historic step to support children and families by making sure that students are not at risk of being hungry and can pursue their full potential with free access to nutritious meals.
It is also important to note that school districts (including BUSD) will be asking families to continue to complete household income forms. There is a good reason for that. The number of families that qualify for federal free and reduced-price lunch programs is a crucial component of the Local Control Funding Formula. This formula provides additional state funds to districts, by taking into consideration the number of low-income students, English learners, foster children and homeless youth that are part of their schools. We kindly ask that all families complete the income forms to ensure the maximum funding available for our District. We appreciate it!
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Our Successful Summer Programs |
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This summer, our BUSD programs were a wonderful opportunity for students to reunite with their peers and teachers, inspiring joy and advancing their social-emotional wellness and development.
“About 270 students accepted the invitation to participate in the district’s summer programs of 2021, with in-person instruction five days a week, for 3 hours and 45 minutes per day,” explained Lidia Vázquez, Education Services Coordinator. This was the first time that students returned to classrooms for so many hours since the pandemic started, and they loved it!
The English Learners and Special Education programs provided students with the opportunity to engage with their peers and prepare for the new school year. Students, teachers and staff alike were excited to be together again, as they had missed these interactions for so long.
Being together in the same class is beneficial for many reasons. The socialization improves the students’ ability to read body language, and teachers and aides can accurately evaluate students and their academic needs. The Math Elevate program proved to be successful with online instruction as well.
BUSD Food Services distributed meals for every day of school, supporting the nutrition needs of the children, while they continued to advance in reading, science, social-emotional learning and more.
The students have expressed they are excited and looking forward to coming back to school in August. So are we!
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Staying Healthy: Resources for All |
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While time seems to fly, and there are so many things to do, being proactive about staying healthy is so important. At BUSD, our Health & Wellness Initiative is the key to nurturing a culture of health, safety and well-being of students, staff, and families.
Through this initiative, the district offers mental and physical wellness information and resources. We provide mental health strategies to help our students learn skills to remove stress and cope with challenges. Many of the resources are destined to support our adult community as well.
Care Solace is an online resource with a live 24/7 concierge line meant to assist individuals in finding local mental health related programs and counseling services, available to students, parents and staff members.
Please visit our Health & Wellness page including Care Solace, by clicking below:
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Key Links for the 2021-2022 School Year |
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Where can you find all the latest information about BUSD Covid-19 safety practices? Just click below:
Do you have questions about the start of the new school year? Here is a great resource:
You can now mark your calendar with all school holidays, breaks and more:
Do you know someone who still needs to enroll? Visit our website to get them started:
Our website has a wealth of information for our community. Use the search engine to find what you're looking for.
Lastly, we invite you to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest information in real time. Social media is a key tool for emergency communications.
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For Translation Assistance |
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For translation assistance, please call one of our District hotlines below:
Chinese, 408-923-1901
Spanish, 408-923-1902
Vietnamese, 408-923-1903
請利用校區熱線電話
408-923-1901
會有人與您聯繫,為您翻譯資料上的重要內容
Si desea más información en español, por favor llame a la línea de asistencia en español al 1-408-923-1902 y alguien le llamará para darle un resumen de este documento.
Xin gọi số hotline của khu học tại 1-408-923-1903 và sẽ có người giúp quí vị để hiểu những điều cốt yếu của văn kiện.
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Berryessa Union School District
(408) 923-1800
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