April 16, 2014
Special Presentations
Best Place to Work
The Board presented the Award for Bravery and Courage to BOE
custodian Estela Madrigal, contractor Paul Nehme, Cajon High
student Joseph Patterson, Pacific High campus security officer Joe
Sanders, San Gorgonio vice principal Manuel Gonzalez, San Andreas High Principal Ed Hensley, and San G campus security officers
Nick McCrystal and Ray Rojas. The Board also recognized the 2014
Black History Bee coaches, the Delta Rho Chapter of the National Sorority of Phi Delta Kappa, Inc., and the Westside Action Group, which
is celebrating its 42nd anniversary this year.
San Bernardino County Sun
readers have voted the San
Bernardino City Unified School
District as their favorite place to
work!
Outstanding Awards
The Board recognized 17 students for their outstanding achievement. From Arroyo Valley High, Gordon Amerson, principal, was Noelle Lilley. From Rodriguez PREP Academy, Teenya Bishop, principal,
was Daniela Ramirez-Rivera. From Palm Avenue Elementary, Kathy
Wade, principal, were Blaise Kaylah Austin, Michael Kemp, and Esteban Reyes. From Serrano Middle, Arwyn Wild, principal, were Angel
Avila, Teresa Sanchez, and Jose Valdez. From Middle College High,
James Espinoza, principal, were Carlos Cervantes, Marissa Eich, and
Kwasi Hill. From San Bernardino High, Sandra Rodriguez, principal,
were Thyara Z. Juarez, Estevan Lozoya, and Jordan D. Sartorio. From
San Gorgonio High, Dion Clark, principal, were David Tamayo, Phillip
Lopez, and Roberta Salgado.
The Outstanding Parents recognized were Penny Maust, Nichole
Chambers, Maria Ochoa, Martha Diaz, and Miguel Flores.
The Outstanding Classified Employees recognized were Kathy
Soto, Monica Betancourt, Dina Winn, Dana Buvik, and Ray Rojas.
The Outstanding Certificated Employees recognized were Kristin
Allen, Heidi Lough, Sharon Naranjo, Robert Kirby, and Robert
“Bob” Watson.
Special Resolutions
The Board approved resolutions in support of Asian/Pacific-American Heritage Month, which is celebrated in May; Cinco de Mayo; and
Labor History Month, also celebrated in May.
Board Workshop
The Board held a workshop on the Local Control and Accountability
Plan (LCAP) and budget summary.
Odyssey of the Mind
Congratulations to the Odyssey of the Mind teams from
Kimbark Elementary and San
Gorgonio High. Each school
placed third in the state competition.
Read With a
Professional
Arrowhead United Way organized Read With a Professional Day at Bradley Elementary School on April 11. College
students and local professionals
read stories to students and talked about their education and careers. AUW also donated $1,000
in books to the school.
Family Reading Festival
The 2014 City of Readers
Annual Family and Community
Reading Festival is being held in
conjunction with the Latino Book
and Family Festival on May 3 at
Cal State San Bernardino. The
welcome and introductions begin at 10:45 a.m. at the Santos
Manuel Student Union Events
Center, Stage 2. Third graders
will be honored for their reading
skills from 11:15 a.m. to
12:45 p.m. Parking and attendance are free. For more information, email Sheri Becar at
[email protected].
A Publication of the Communications Department
Printed by and for the Employees of the San Bernardino School District
Gallup Kids Approved
Showcase Your Talent
Congratulations to E. Neal
Roberts Elementary, Beatriz
Barajas-Gonzalez, principal,
on being named a Gallup Kids
Approved school for ranking in the
top-quartile of engagement scores of
all schools participating in the 2013
Gallup Poll administration!
If your school is interested in
showcasing student talent at Districtwide events, such as the upcoming
Employee Gathering for Excellence
on July 30 or the Community Gathering for Excellence on November 14,
please take a moment to complete a
short, online talent form available at
www.sbcusd.com/talentform.
Citizen of Achievement
Congratulations to Board of
Education member Bobbie Perong
on being recognized as a Citizen
of Achievement by the League of
Women Voters. Bobbie and the other
winners will be recognized during an
awards reception on Sunday, May 4
at a 2 p.m. at The Elks Lodge,
2055 Elks Drive in San Bernardino.
San Bernardino Promise
On Friday, April 11, the District,
Cal State San Bernardino, and
the Lewis Center for Educational
Research entered into a historic
agreement guaranteeing college
admission for San Bernardino and
Highland students who fulfill basic
requirements beginning with the
class of 2015.
Help Wanted
The San Gorgonio Spartans are
seeking an experienced cheerleading coach for the 2014-15 school
year. If interested in applying for
the position, please send a letter,
résumé, and three references to
Athletic Director Matt Maeda at matt.
[email protected].
Career Awareness Week
Lankershim Elementary is hosting its 20th annual Career Awareness Week, May 5 to 8. The event
is organized by Gail Shaw. More
than 100 community members will
be speaking to students about their
careers. Longtime Career Week presenter Jeff Davis will be the keynote
speaker for the schoolwide assembly
on May 5.
Yummy and Healthy
The Wellness Committee and
Chef Jason Evylnn are hosting a
cooking demo on April 17 at 4:45 p.m.
at the Nutrition Center. Email Lalli
Valencia at citlalli.valencia@sbcusd.
com to RSVP. Seating is limited, so
RSVP today.
Autism Walk
Kendall, Carmack, and Harmon
Schools have formed team Peace
in the Puzzle. On April 26, staff and
parents will be participating in the
Autism Walk for Autism Speaks in
Pasadena. If you would like to join
the team, please visit http://www.
walknowforautismspeaks.org/losangeles/peaceinthepuzzle and click
on the Join Our Team link, which
will take you through the registration
process.
World Book Night
April 23 is William Shakespeare’s
birthday. It is also World Book Night,
where 25,000 volunteers across
the country will distribute 500,000
specially printed, free adult and
teen-appropriate paperbacks to nonreaders. Contact San Bernardino
High librarian Karen Kessinger at
881-8217 if you are interested in volunteering.
Trailblazer’s Carnival
Henry Elementary is holding a
Trailblazer’s Carnival Fair fundraiser
on Saturday, May 10. The school
is looking for vendors with carnivalthemed merchandise. Contact
Emilie Ortiz or Gabriela Nieto at
888-2353 for more information.
Teach It Forward
Horace Mann Insurance is holding Teach It Forward, a rallying
movement for the nation’s educators
during the week of National Teacher
Day, which is May 6. There will be
Teach It Forward, giveaways, and
Horace Mann will randomly fund
$25,000 in school projects through
DonorsChoose.org. For more information, please contact Joe Guerra
at 383-0370 or email him at joseph.
[email protected].
Retirement Parties
Health Services Department coordinator Angela Jones is retiring.
Her farewell party will be on May 7
from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Adult School
Green Room. Rhonda Johnson’s
retirement is on Thursday, May 15
from 3 to 6 p.m. at El Torito, located
at 118 E. Hospitality Lane in San
Bernardino.
Slogan Contest
The City of San Bernardino invites all District students to participate in its slogan contest. The city
is seeking to develop a slogan or
motto that must include the word
love in it. It should be an impressive,
meaningful, and easy-to-remember
slogan. Entries should be submitted
to Communications Officer Maria
Garcia at [email protected]
by May 9. Please include the slogan,
the name of the student who created it, and the school name with all
submissions. The contest is open to
students in all grade levels.
Essay Contest
Seventh- and eighth-grade students are encouraged to enter the
College: Making It Happen essay
contest to win Barnes & Noble gift
cards. Essays must be one to two
pages on the topic Why Going to
College is Important to Me. Essays
may be typed or legibly hand written,
must include the contest entry form,
and must be received before Tuesday, April 29 at 5 p.m. Visit http://
admissions.csusb.edu/cmih for the
entry form and more information.
Making College Happen
College: Making It Happen is a
program to help families understand
the importance of early academic
and financial planning in helping students succeed in college. The event,
sponsored by CSUSB, will be held in
English and Spanish from 9 a.m. to
1 p.m. on Saturday, May 17.
Basics for Excellence
We exhibit inspired behaviors that
reflect pride, motivation, and empowerment through involvement. This
is 1 of 7 Basics for Excellence cocreated in 2012 with employee input.
You may recall all District employees
were asked to share three things
they expect to see, hear, and feel
in a District of excellence and three
things they would never see, hear,
or feel in a District of excellence. For
more information, visit www.sbcusd.
com/basicsforexcellence.