Great news, everyone! We have recently been notified that Evergreen Elementary has been named a California Distinguished School for 2010.
This award identifies and honors those schools that have demonstrated educational excellence for all students and progress in narrowing the achievement gap. In order to be invited to apply for Distinguished School honors, schools must meet a variety of eligibility criteria including designated federal and state accountability measures based on No Child Left Behind (NCLB), Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), and the Academic Performance Index (API) requirements. Each nominee receives a site visit by a team of educators to validate the full implementation of the submitted practices. The site visits are conducted as a collaborative effort between the CDE and county superintendents of schools.
As a result of this honor, Evergreen will be presented with a 2010 California Distinguished School plaque and flag by State Superintendent Jack O’Connell. This very prestigious award is a tribute to our highly skilled teachers and staff, our dedicated and hard working students, and our supportive parents and community. It is an honor of which we can all be proud. Congratulations Evergreen!
Please read the following important message from Jan Keating, Director of Pupil Services in Walnut Valley Unified School District.
I wanted to alert you of an incident that occurred after school yesterday as one of our students from South Pointe Middle School was walking down Larkstone Drive near the school. The student observed a male Hispanic get out of his car and reach toward him. The student immediatley ran away and the man left in his car. The Sheriff was contacted and here is the description given to the school and the Sheriff:
- Suspect- Male, Hispanic, 30-40 years old, black combed-back hair, moustache, black sweatshirt and pants.
- Vehicle- Black, two-door small compact, hatchback with damage on the passenger side front fender with rusted rims.
Please remind your students to walk with a friend and to have an awareness of their surroundings. Please report any information that would be helpful to the Walnut Sheriff’s Department at (909) 595-2264 or to your home school. Together, we will do all that we can to keep our chidren safe.
The Committee for the WVUSD 5k/1K Run/Walk is meeting on Thursday, April 15th at South Pointe Middle School. The meeting will start at 4:00pm in the school library. Members of the community are encouraged to attend as the Committee needs your help to make this a successful event. The money raised by this event will be used to help fund the music and art programs, athletics, technology, and other important programs in our WVUSD schools. If you have any questions, please contact Yara Sands.
Click here for more detailed information on the 5K RunWalk and 1K FunRun.
This month’s Community Club meeting was held on Tuesday, April 13 2, 2010. The following is a summary of the information provided at that meeting.
Principal’s Report:
- Dr. Trimmer first expressed his appreciation to the Community Club for putting on a great Talent Show. He said that it was much enjoyed by everyone.
- Next week Evergreen begins CST (California Standards Test, previously known as STAR Testing) testing for grades 2-5. It is important that the students do their best on these tests, so please be sure that they are well rested, well fed, and that they arrive on time.
- With regard to the District budget, the District was able to submit a balanced budget for the 2010-2011 school budget. Now, the District has until June 30th to submit to the State a balanced budget for the 2011-2012 school year. We’ll have to be prepared for additional cuts to be able to do that.
- The District 5K/1K Run/Walk is coming up on May 2. We are hoping for a large level of participation from Evergreen. This event will be an important fundraiser for the District.
- Regarding the California Distinguished School status, we are still waiting to hear whether this will be awarded to Evergreen. The calls will be going out to the affected schools in the next two weeks, so we should know soon.
Teacher’s Report: Our Teacher Representative, Mrs. Gorsuch, was unable to be present at this month’s meeting.
Coordinating Council:
- This month information was presented on the District Budget. Many rumors were addressed, including rumors that 3 schools in the district will be closing (false), and that the high school seniors will be released early to save money (also false).
- Also addressed were questions about why remodeling is still occuring at the schools in the midst of this budget crisis. The answer is because the funds for the remodeling/upgrades came from bond money, which was specified by the voters for this use. The funds from these bonds can only be spent for their approved use and cannot be reallocated for other purposes.
- Coming up on April 24th is the Teddy Bear Tea, in which themed Teddy Bears are auctioned off to provide “mini-grants” to the teachers. It will be held at the Royal Vista Golf Course. Anyone interested in decorating a bear for auction should contact Ann Withers.
Walk-A-Thon: The Walk-A-Thon was held on April 2, 2010, and went really well. Today was the first count of sponsorship money, and we have already collected $8200. We are hopeful that we will be able to meet our goal of $20,000 raised for the school.
Hospitality: The committee is in the process of planning activities for Teacher Appreciation week, which is coming up May 3-7.
Website: A solution for the email problem previously identified has been found, and is in the process of being implemented. As always, parents can also go to the website directly for updates.
Bank Accounts: We are now actively using the new Bank of America account for ECC business. We have a small number of checks outstanding from the Chase account. The treasurer has contacted the payees and asked them to please deposit those checks, but so far they have not been cashed. As soon as those checks are resolved, we can permanently close the Chase account.
Yearbook: The yearbook is completed and has gone to press. The photo CD’s submitted will be returned once the printing is complete.
New Board Positions: A list of the Board Positions for the 2010-2011 school year is now being distributed. Anyone interested in serving in these positions need simply sign up on the list, or contact Joanna Flores or Yara Sands.
The next Community Club meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 4th. We hope to see you all there!