Read the September issue now!
September’s feature story puts the spotlight on Adrianne Go-Miller, the 2016-17 San Joaquin County Teacher of the Year, and how she engages her fifth-grade classroom at Elkhorn School in Lodi. The feature also recognizes outstanding employees around the county who are Teacher of the Year finalists and Classified Employee of the Year winners. Don’t miss the short video features of them all in the online edition of Outlook.
Please see the attached flyer for information on upcoming workshops and trainings during September and October 2016.
For a list of job opportunites and to apply online go to http://www.sjcoe.org/jobs.aspx.
For questions please contact Sherry Robinson at (209) 468-4820
Now available online!
The 2015-16 San Joaquin County Spring Honor Roll has been published by the Stockton Record and is available online for viewing.
Click here to view the entire Honor Roll list.
Congratulations to these hard-working students!
Katessa, Austin, and José pushed aside tomato vines, zucchini flowers, and leaves while looking for the weeds that were not supposed to be in the raised garden beds outside their summer classroom at Banta Elementary School.
The 8- to 10-year-olds like weeding because they care about this garden. “I want to keep the soil nice and clean,” said José, a fifth-grader.
Community gardens like this one are starting to spread like weeds through San Joaquin County with help from the San Joaquin County Office of Education (SJCOE) Comprehensive Health Department, working with local government and businesses to promote nutrition in their communities.
Learn all about what made this garden – and others like it – grow in the latest issue of Outlook, available online now.
It was a time to celebrate at the San Joaquin County Office of Education (SCJOE) Redwood School on Sept. 26.
Even though the San Joaquin County SELPA’s Workability I program is celebrating 20 years of preparing and placing students with special needs in paid jobs for 20 years, that wasn’t the reason for this celebration.
The day was to celebrate the opening of The Den, a vocational skills training center. With room to have racks of clothes, shelves full of groceries, desks of equipment, and other stations, The Den simulated the stores, offices, restaurants, or warehouse Workability I students might find themselves in the future.
“This provides the opportunity for students to develop skills that are the foundation needed before going out into the community into a paid program,” said Jennifer Barry, a special education teacher who works with students in the program.
More than Workability I students will benefit from The Den. Other students at Redwood use the resources there to build skills that help them live more independently.
The opening of The Den was celebrated by students and staff at Redwood. They were joined by County Superintendent of Schools James Mousalimas, Assistant Superintendent of Special Education/SELPA Kathy Skeels, Special Education Division Director Brandie Brunni, and others.
Workability I students, were there, too. They led the visitors on tours through The Den.
Redwood School is a specialized center, serving students ages 6 to 22. Programs emphasize functional curriculum with an independent living, vocational education and community based instructional delivery system. For the youngest students, motor development and communication skills are also emphasized. A variety of post-secondary vocational education opportunities are offered.
Please see the attached flyer for information on upcoming workshop and training opportunities during October and November 2016.
Students from Venture Academy Family of Schools dressed and played the part when learning about ancient civilizations.
See how project-based learning reached this group of sixth-grade students and helped them show what they learned to first-grade students in the latest issue of Outlook, available online now.
An informational meeting will be held on Thursday, October 13, 2016 at which time Notice of Intent to Participate forms will be made available. The informational meeting will be held at the SJCOE, Wentworth Education Center in the Kingston Room and will start at 4:00 p.m. The SJCOE can accommodate up to 30 teams for each tournament and priority is given to those attending the informational meeting. Notice of Intent to Participate forms will be available online on October 14, 2016 for those unable to attend the meeting. Please watch the website for updates regarding the 2017 Math Tournaments. Tournament Dates: Grades 4-6 - April 1, 2017 Grades 7/8 - April 29, 2017 Contact Denise Irvin at (209) 468-9177 if you have questions about the Informational Meeting or the 2017 Math Tournaments.
This 2-day mathematics professional learning opportunity will allow participants to study the fractions progression, engage in a variety of tasks and activities, and learn how to develop fraction sense as well as how to implement effective instruction on fraction skills, concepts, and application in conjunction with the Standards of Mathmatics Practice.
Full Session Description: http://workshops.sjcoe.org/Session/PrintSessions/376
Registration: http://formbuilder.sjcoe.org/form.aspx?f=567
Registration deadline: November 2, 2016
Spend a day with Dr. Sherry Parrish...Author of the award winning book, Number Talks: Helping Children Build Mental Math and Computations Strategies. Sherry will help us hone our skills at using this powerful tool to help students learn to reason with numbers, make convincing arguments, and advance their mathematical development. This professional learning opportunity is for teachers, coaches, coordinators, and administrators.
Full Session Description: http://workshops.sjcoe.org/Session/PrintSessions/377
Choose your session:
Grades K-2, 8:00 - 11:30 AM $90 Registration: http://formbuilder.sjcoe.org/form.aspx?f=564
Grades 3-5, 12:15 - 3:45 PM $90 Registration: http://formbuilder.sjcoe.org/form.aspx?f=565
FULL DAY (both sessions), 8:00 AM - 3:45 PM $175 Registration: http://formbuilder.sjcoe.org/form.aspx?f=566
All sessions include a box lunch.
Now is the time to submit your Notice of Intent to Participate if you are interested in being a part of the Grades 4-6 2017 San Joaquin County Math Tournament.
The informational meeting for the 2017 Math Tournament (10/13/16) was a huge success! We are off to a great start and want to encourage you to submit your Notice of Intent to Particiapte form as soon as possible if you are interested in being a part of this exciting event!
Intent Forms are due by December 2, 2016. We have room for 30 teams and they will be filled in the order in which Nofice of Intent to Participate forms are received.
GRADES 4-6 MATH TOURNAMENT: APRIL 1, 2017
Please contact Denise Irvin at (209) 468-9177 or dirvin@sjcoe.net if you have questions about the tournament.
Now is the time to submit your Notice of Intent to Participate if you are interested in being a part of the Grades 7/8 2017 San Joaquin County Math Tournament.
The informational meeting for the 2017 Math Tournament (10/13/16) was a huge success! We are off to a great start and want to encourage you to submit your Notice of Intent to Particiapte form as soon as possible if you are interested in being a part of this exciting event!
Intent Forms are due by December 2, 2016. We have room for 30 teams and they will be filled in the order in which Nofice of Intent to Participate forms are received.
GRADES 7/8 MATH TOURNAMENT: APRIL 29, 2017
Please contact Denise Irvin at (209) 468-9177 or dirvin@sjcoe.net if you have questions about the tournament.
The San Joaquin County Office of Education’s Greater Valley Conservation Corps (GVCC) held its first Recognition Lunch on Oct. 24 to highlight the hard work of the members of the corps as well as the clients and partners who helped the program grow as it makes San Joaquin County and the surrounding regiona a cleaner, greener place to be.
Held at the SJCOE’s Wentworth Education Center, the lunch brought together dozens of supporters of the GVCC who applauded as awardees received their plaques.
Partner and client awardees:
Corpsmember awards:
The GVCC helps youth 18 to 25 years old with academic instruction, employment opportunities, green-job training, life skills, and much more! The GVCC serves businesses, schools, special events, non-profits, municipalities, public works departments, and cities throughout San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Calaveras, Amador, and Tuolumne Counties.
For more information, please visit the website at: www.greatervalleycc.org.
To view a Facebook gallery of photos from the event, please follow this link.
November’s feature follows a group of fourth-graders as they journey through the riparian landscape of the Durham Ferry Outdoor Education Center. The John McCandless STEM Charter School students are one of the first group of students to go on the field trips offered by the SJCOE STEM Department. You don't want to miss the videos and photos in this issue!
Please see the attached flyer for information on upcoming professional development workshops during November and December 2016.
The Venture Academy Athletic Department is participating in the Weberstown Mall “Magical Night of Giving” fundraiser on Sunday, Nov. 20th (the Sunday before Thanksgiving).
This is a closed-door VIP event for shoppers to come to the Stockton mall and take advantage of numerous specials, deals, and giveaway prizes, from 6:30-9:30pm on this 1 night! It is a VIP ONLY event for those who have bought a ticket to enter (kids 12-and-under get in free with an adult ticket holder).
All of the stores in the mall open for these special 3 hours and each of them are giving GREAT discounts and specials (50% off, Buy 1 get 1 FREE, 25% off total purchases, $20 off $50 purchase, etc.). In addition there will be over 50 door prizes for all those that purchase tickets, such as a $500 mall gift certificate, Samsung Galaxy Tablet, store gift cards, gift bags, food, candy, TVs, cell phones, AND MORE…Even if you can’t make it to the night of the event, you will still be eligible for the door prizes in the raffle. The Venture Academy Athletic Dept. has an endless amount of VIP tickets to sell for ONLY $5 per ticket! All of the proceeds from the sale of tickets will be given back to the school.
To purchase tickets please contact Jim Sells, Athletic Director via email (jsells@sjcoe.net), by phone (209-227-2287), or simply stop by his office in the Main Gym (2814A). Single tickets can be purchased for $5 or you can also pick-up a handful of them to sell to family & friends and help support the Athletic Dept. The FINAL day to purchase any tickets will be Friday, November 18th.
THANKS for your support!!!
San Joaquin County Office of Education's Language & Literacy Department in collaboration with the Stanislaus County Office of Education presents
English Learners and LCAP - Meeting Student Needs.
Shelly Spiegel-Coleman will report on data aggregated from 29 LCAPs regarding programs and services for English learners. Participants will be guided through a process to help them assess their current plan and identify areas for enhancement and improvement.
Audience: LCAP district teams are encouraged to attend
Date: Tuesday, January 17, 2017
Time: 8:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Location: San Joaquin County Office of Education
Meals: Includes continental breakfast and lunch
Cost: $25
Zelda Saeli looked over the group of young women gathered at the San Joaquin County Office of Education (SJCOE) and asked them a question:
“Who’s excited to be a construction worker?” She was greeted with a rousing cheer in response.
“Clearly one of the best ways to earn a living is in the construction trades,” said Saeli, who has had a long career in construction, herself, and currently works for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. “This is your opportunity to get your training and build your life.”
Then she got down to the nuts and bolts of one of the things a young woman might want to know before entering a field more associated with male workers: sometimes safety equipment available at a job site won’t be tailored for women.
“One size fits all isn’t always the case,” she said. “And absolutely a bad fit is a safety issue.”
Saeli was just one of a group of seasoned workers – all women – sharing their experiences to help inspire and inform young women at the second annual Women in Construction Conference organized by YouthBuild San Joaquin for its students as well as young women from the Sacramento Regional Conservation Corps.
This year the conference brought sixteen female students together for a day that included training and presentations from guest speakers – women in the field willing to share their expertise to help these young protégées thrive in the workplace.
“It is important for our female pre-apprentices to understand the challenges they may face in the construction industry,” said Sheilah Goulart, director of the SJCOE’s YouthBuild program. “Today’s conference provided a venue for tradeswomen to share strategies to address these issues.”
YouthBuild San Joaquin is an SJCOE program that gives students a second chance at success by teaching them a trade and helping to connect them to apprenticeships or good-paying jobs through partnerships with the labor and business communities. It is affiliated with the YouthBuild USA nonprofit organization and a direct-entry program for the carpenters and laborers unions.
Presentations came from tradeswomen working as carpenters, electricians, laborers, and painters. Field representatives from the California Division of Apprenticeship Standards, Tradeswomen Inc., San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, and PGIM were also there as presenters.
They covered a wide range of topics, from sanitary issues to how to handle themselves in a sometimes male-dominated culture.
The speakers not only identified the issues, but told the young women exactly what to do in order to thrive in their chosen field.
“We need to be assertive as well as take care of our own needs,” said Susan Rodriguez, field representative for Carpenters Union Local 152. “Be self-sufficient, ladies. We’re self-sufficient now. We take care of our families. We take care of our neighborhoods. Let’s take care of ourselves,” she said. “And make some money.”
Teniqua Gusters, 21, was one of the YouthBuild San Joaquin students there to learn.
“I want to be in construction,” she said. And that means coming up against a point of view from some that women don’t belong in the career.
Hearing from these experienced women helps to push past that, Gusters said. “We need to hear this type of stuff to push us further,” she said. “It gives us better options for our future.”
If you are donating coffee, please send in sealed/unopened boxes for Keurig (all flavors welcomed). The cards and coffee need to be received by Heather no later than Dec. 8.
