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Read Across America, Footloose, scholarships, Teacher Shout-Out

Education roundup

The National Education Association is kicking off its Read Across America event this week, as is Dunbar School. The community is invited to join the party on Friday, March 8, from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. as volunteer readers. The Cat in the Hat will visit the school, and the event culminates a 31-day reading incentive program in which Dunbar students read daily, converting minutes to miles. The school tracked the Cat’s progress on a map across America. To volunteer, contact Linda Dezhad at 935-6070. You can choose a reading time, a grade level and a slot from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Other schools across Sonoma are hosting similar events.

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Current eighth-grade families should plan to attend the Sonoma Valley High School information night on Wednesday, March 6, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the pavilion. There will be a short presentation and tour of the campus, including elective classrooms and labs. No prior registration is needed.

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If you are on Twitter, you will enjoy following news from the Sonoma Valley Unified School District @SVUSD1. The lively posts contain news from events in our schools. There is a rumor that Superintendent Louann Carlomagno is the one tweeting (I have seen her multi-tasking skills, I believe it). Also new on Twitter is Altimira principal Will Deeths @Wdeeths. You can follow the high school @SVHSdragons and I post more of the kinds of items you read here at @SVhighered.

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I think teachershoutout.com is a lovely idea. The site is billed as “a community of gratitude that lets you thank a special teacher, advisor or coach.” The site can be searched by name or school or city. I don’t see any Sonoma entries on there yet, but let’s change that pronto. Post a quick thank you or compliment to your favorite teachers. They are sure to appreciate it.

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Almost a dozen Sonoma students who attend Justin-Siena High School in Napa are involved in the school’s current production of “Footloose.” “Footloose,” the musical is showing in the Lincoln Theater in Yountville, Friday, March 8, and Saturday, March 9, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, March 10, at 2 p.m. Tickets are $14 for students/seniors and $25 for adults.  Tickets are available at the box office, on the school website or on campus. In the cast and crew are Sonomans Summer Atwood, Chelsea Barker, Christina  Byrne, Emma Curry, Gemma Guerrazzi, Maeve  Kerins, Frances  Minigan, Mary Bridget Pecha, Katherine Perdue and Kerstin Steiger. Sonoma Valley High’s “Beauty and the Beast” is also playing to rave reviews and more shows are scheduled for March 8, 9 and 10. Tickets are available at Readers’ Books and Pharmaca.

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The students of the Kenwood School are presenting “The Wizard of Oz” on Tuesday, March 12, at 3:30 p.m. and Wednesday, March 13, at 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. in the Kenwood School multipurpose room. Tickets are $5 each or 5 for $20 and will be sold through the last performance in the school office.

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Does your student (age 15 to 18) have an idea for how you could make your community a safer, healthier or happier place to live?  Have they ever thought about starting their own community improvement project?  Do they want to travel to another country and meet other students who are eager to make difference in their communities? If so, encourage them to apply for the Youth Ambassadors Program. This free program takes San Francisco Bay Area high school students to Uruguay for three weeks in the summer with all expenses covered. (amigoslink.org/yap) Applications are due Sunday, March 24.

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Sonoma Valley High School seniors Kristin Gare and Jordann Dagner are preparing care packages to send overseas to soldiers for their senior project. They have placed a collection bin in the high school office for nonperishable food, toiletries and anything else you think soldiers may enjoy. 

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The college board is planning to redesign the SAT to more closely mirror the work that students do in college. That said, this plan has just been announced and my guess is that it will only impact students currently in middle school (and younger). Nobody knows exactly what this change will mean (perhaps least of all the college board). The SAT has been administered since 1926. The last time the test was overhauled was in 2005, when the writing portion was added and analogies were eliminated. One prediction is that the new SAT will look more like the ACT, which surpassed the SAT in number of tests taken this year for the first time.

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A new survey of more than 1,600 parents with children under 18 (from student-aid company Sallie Mae) found that fewer families saved for college last year, and they also saved less. Parents who did save, saved around $12,000 last year, a big drop from the more than $20,000 reported in 2010. That might explain why only 55 percent of those who are saving for college said this year that they feel confident about being able to cover the costs.

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Anything that helps students better understand their strengths, interests and options seems like a good thing. To that end, there is a quick, free new app to help students of any age to discover careers that fit their personalities. On Compass Lite (compasslite.woofound.com), you click through a series of 84 images that ask, “Me or not me?” The data is used to form a personality assessment and career recommendations. There are links to learn more about the salary and job prospects. Users sign on through Facebook (make sure to decline their kind offer to share the results with everyone you have ever met). It may not be scientific but any conversation with your child about their future is likely a fruitful one.

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Book fairs! Flowery Elementary School is hosting a Scholastic Book Fair from March 5 to 8. Call the school office at 935-6060 for exact times. A family event is scheduled for Friday, March 8, from 6 to 8 p.m with pizza, nachos, popcorn, special reading activities and resources. The theme of the fair this year is “Story Laboratory: Reading Gives You Super Power!” Prestwood School Library is hosting its Scholastic Book Fair with the same theme from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday, March 11 through Thursday, March 14, in the school library. Both fairs are open to the public. Online shopping (scholastic.com/schoolbookfairs) is available March 6 through March 26. All profits remain in the school libraries for purchase of books and materials for students and teachers.

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Teen Services is offering a workshop for students who are interested in finding a job, but don’t know where to start. Employment 101 will be held on Friday, March 8, at 11:35 a.m. and students must sign up in advance in the College and Career Center. Students who need help writing an employment resume are invited to a resume-writing workshop on Tuesday, March 12, also at 11:35 a.m. 

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PG&E Bright Minds Scholarships will award 10 scholarships of up to $30,000 this year, renewable for four years. Applicants must be at least 16 years of age and be a high school senior planning to enroll in full-time undergraduate study at an accredited two-year or four-year college. Only online applications are accepted. Other awards are $2,500 each, and renewable. (pge.com/brightminds)

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Woodland Star is hosting its Back in Black fundraiser on Friday, March 15, from 6:30 to 10 p.m., at Ramekins. The community is invited to eat, bid, drink and dance to benefit the school. Tickets are $40 each in the school office. Beginning March 1, hundreds of items and experiences are up for auction at biddingforgood.com/auction/AuctionHome.action?vhost=woodlandstar. Online bidding closes Thursday, March 14 at 10 p.m.

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On Saturday, March 9, ArtEscape is offering a free scratchboard class from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for ages 2 and up. They are also offering a free intermediate comic book illustration class, open to young adults ages 12 to 18, sponsored by the Rose Marie Pieper Foundation, on Sunday, March 10, from 1 to 4:30 p.m. at ArtEscape, 17474-A Sonoma Highway. To sign up, email artescapesonoma@gmail.com or call 938-5551.

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Larry Ferlazzo (larryferlazzo.edublogs.org) produces an amazing blog with hundreds of resources for teachers of English language learners. His suggestions are far too many even to summarize but I guarantee you won’t be disappointed if you check it out: tinyurl.com/5fy8jo.

Can’t get enough of the random facts and resources I write about here? I just came across an edudemic.com list of 50 great education podcasts.edudemic.com/2013/01/education-podcasts/. Let me know which ones you think merit a mention.