Tips Families Can Use To Maintain or Improve Attendance:
Make school attendance a priority. Talk about the importance of showing up to school on time, everyday.
Help your child maintain daily routines such as getting ready for school, homework, and getting a good night’s sleep.
Encourage your child to join a club or extracurricular activity at school.
Keep your child healthy by providing adequate nutrition. Reach out to your school’s Community Liaison if you need assistance with basic resources.
Develop backup plans for getting to school if something comes up. Call on a family member, a neighbor or another parent.
Try to schedule medical appointments and extended trips when school isn't in session. Bring them to school before and after appointments if a middle-of-the-day appointment is necessary.
If your child seems anxious about going to school, talk to teachers, school counselors (see list of school counselors linked HERE) and other parents for advice on how to make your child feel comfortable and excited about learning.
Athletic competition is an integral part of the high school experience. The three Vista Unified School District high schools and CIF are uniquely positioned to foster student growth in values and ethics. All VUSD high schools are members of the San Diego Section of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIFSDS). CIF’s operating principles of “Pursuing Victory with Honor,” provides the opportunity to dramatically influence the actions of the athletic community.
The Vista Unified School District is committed to providing students with access to high quality athletic programs to support their academic, social, and emotional development. The vision for athletics seeks to promote the Vista Unified School District’s Learner Portrait to instill kindness through respect and achievement of shared goals. It also seeks to provide students with meaningful experiences through education-based athletics to develop confidence. In this vision, we want to create the conditions where our student-athletes are supported by adults that are compassionate champions so they are inspired to grow academically, athletically, socially and emotionally. Education-based athletics are a powerful way to create the conditions for our students to feel a sense of care, belonging and connection to build confidence and camaraderie. We are looking forward to an exciting year of athletic competition for our students.
Supporting the social-emotional development of your children in relation to college and career readiness is crucial for their overall well-being and future success. We tend to ask children what they want to be when they grow up. Often their answers are based upon what they think we want to hear. Instead, ask them about something they have done recently that they are proud of.
Developing our young people to be effective agents of change for an effective society starts with conversations about their strengths and interests. Research is showing that youth today:
Yearn to belong.
Seek purpose and meaning.
Desire better futures for themselves and for the world.
Have good ideas and want to link with others to find solutions.
Want more contact with adults in pursuit of new scenarios.
Have the interest and capacity to improve the world.
Have short- and long-term (well into the future) interests.
Are ever anxious about themselves, those they care for, and the planet itself.
Use these prompts to have conversations with your children about their strengths and aspirations and what types of careers they might explore based on their interests.
We are working diligently across the district to provide education and support to students and staff related to challenges that arise from the internet and email. Just recently schools across the state and nation, including within our own district, have been subject to email Phishing (pronounced “fishing”) attacks. Phishing emails are fraudulent messages sent by malicious individuals outside of our district pretending to be someone else, often with the intention of stealing sensitive information or tricking the recipient into taking harmful actions.
The purpose of these phishing emails was to deceive students into revealing personal contact and financial information, to avoid detection by district security systems.
To ensure the safety of our community, we strongly encourage you to remain vigilant and take the following precautions:
Be conscious when opening emails, verify the sender's email address and double check the content for any suspicious or unexpected requests.
Avoid clicking on unfamiliar links or downloading attachments. If you receive an email with a link or attachment that seems unusual or is unexpected. It is best to avoid clicking on it until you confirm its legitimacy.
Report any suspicious emails. If you receive a phishing email, please report it using the tools available in your email program.
Educate your child about phishing. Talk to your child about the importance of not sharing personal information online and being cautious when interacting with emails, especially those that ask for sensitive information.
We are committed to maintaining a safe and secure online environment for our schools, and we appreciate your cooperation and understanding.
If you have any further questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to our IT Department Monday - Friday from 8:00am - 3:30pm at servicedesk@vistausd.org or 760-726-2170 extension 92500.
We are so glad to see our students back from Summer Break. As we progress into the school year, our school administrators and teachers are looking at reinforcing our three VUSD portraits. Whether it’s the Learner Portrait, Adult Portrait or Systems Portrait we are committed to creating learning environments that are joyful, caring, fair, future-oriented, kind, equity-centered and inclusive. Our schools have taken the future-oriented approach to address all students' trending clothing options. We want all our students to model their current dress after the future career they wish to pursue, obtain and hold. Please partner with us today and join our efforts in making sure our students develop into our future leaders - in the way they dress, appear and show-up daily. Thank you!
For further information, please read our Dress Code Board Policy HERE
As the summer season begins to sunset, those of us in San Diego know this can be the beginning of the fire season. Because wildfires can be unpredictable, Vista Unified continues to take steps to PLAN, PREPARE, and PREVENT in the event wildfires threaten our Vista and Oceanside communities.
PLAN - At the start of the school year, site administrator’s work closely with their staff to review safety responses and to prepare for all types of emergencies. This includes every school site updating their Comprehensive School Safety Plan and other safety documents.
PREPARE - During the month of August, every school site is conducting a fire drill to ensure students and staff know what to do in the event of a fire on or around campus. Steps include behavioral expectations during an emergency and students and teachers knowing the location of their assigned assembly area.
PREVENT - The Vista Unified Maintenance and Grounds Departments are responsible for mitigating fire risks around our schools by ensuring that school buildings and surrounding areas are maintained.
In the event of a large wildfire, our district team and the local fire departments will work together to determine the level of threat and appropriate next steps. If an evacuation plan must be put into place, families will be provided up-to-date information at www.vistausd.org and through SchoolMessenger, our district’s mass communication platform.
Vista Unified has become a regional leader in the design and implementation of community schools. This new approach to education provides a more expansive support system for students and families to address the needs of the whole child. At the core of the community school program is the family as a partner in education. Ensuring all children receive high quality, healthy meals is the first step in learning. Thanks to the state and federal governments, all students now have access to free meals while at school. We know, however, that many students and families may experience food insecurity in the home environment. Our Family And Community Engagement (FACE) team of community liaisons are working with outside organizations to address food insecurity for our students and families. Some of these groups include Vista Teen Outreach (VTO), Got Your Back, +Box, Tricity Pantry, and the San Diego Food Bank. We are in the process of asking each organization to sign an updated memorandum of understanding (MOU) prior to any food being delivered to school sites to add a layer of food safety across our systems. (In addition, we are revamping procedures for other types of resource and clothing drives.) If your family is experiencing food insecurity, please reach out to a VUSD Community Liaison. VUSD remains committed to building community partnerships in order to work together to provide as many varied resources as possible for our families. Here is a list of Vista community food resources. To build a community partnership or for questions related to resource drives, please contact VUSD FACE Network Lead Kiki Bispo.
Over the past few weeks our county has seen a rise in COVID-19 cases. Based on guidance from the local health officials, places of business, including schools, should report clusters of positive cases to San Diego’s Epidemiology Department to determine if there is a local outbreak. If a classroom has multiple cases and an outbreak is determined, Vista Unified will work with the health department to review next steps. Those steps may include masking while indoors, increased ventilation, and additional cleaning procedures.
We can all help by staying home when sick and testing for COVID-19. Students with symptoms should not return to school until they have tested negative for COVID-19 and have improved symptoms. All positive test results should be reported to the school. With your help, we can work together to keep COVID-19 out of our schools.
Vista Unified School District
Email: webmaster@vistausd.org
Website: vistausd.org
Location: 1234 Arcadia Avenue, Vista, CA, USA
Phone: (760) 726-2170
Twitter: @VistaBlueprint