#TeamPUSD

During one of my school visits this week, I had the opportunity to visit Jay Posteraro's band class at Mesa Verde Middle School. He and his students performed a piece for me. It brought me to tears. Not because the song was sad, but because I was struck by the immense privilege as educators, of bringing music into students' lives. As a K-12 school district, we often serve as the very first introduction to so many skills, passions, hobbies, and learning for thousands of children and adults. As we close out the 2017 calendar year, it is so exciting to see the proof of all this learning that has been taking place, in the form of final exams, performances, and competitions, to name a few. Many thanks to all of #TeamPUSD: students, staff, community members, and families for your role in what makes our District so successful.

One of our District goals is to continue to create pathways for our students that will propel them towards college and career readiness. PUSD leadership met recently with Dr. Joi Blake to move forward with our partnership with Palomar College, as they open their South Campus within our District in the Fall of 2018. We are very excited about the possibilities for our students in both academic and Career Technical Education areas.

Speaking of pathways, you know that my vision is to increase access to foreign languages for our students, starting at a young age. I am excited to announce tonight that Adobe Bluffs Elementary School will be starting a dual immersion program in Mandarin Chinese for the 2018-19 school year. This will be in addition to their existing foreign language and culture curriculum they are currently providing twice a week to their students. Watch the video below to learn more.

Ultimately, we hope to implement a K through 12 Mandarin pathway in PUSD, in addition to the Spanish pathway that already exists in PUSD. Great job to Principal Eddie Park and his staff, our community and overseas partners, and Associate Superintendent Dr. Mel Robertson and her support in realizing this vision!

Dr. Robertson and her staff are gearing up for our Local Control Accountability Plan, or LCAP, Community Forums. In January we will be holding orientation meetings for our school site leadership to support our upcoming forums, which will be taking place at all of our schools in January and February 2018. We hope as many of our stakeholders as possible will participate in these important meetings.

I want to wish everyone the happiest of holidays, as we head into the season. There are many holiday concerts and activities as our students share their talents at our school sites. May this time be filled with peace, rest, and reflection as well as much fun, family, and friends. That concludes my report and we’ll see you next year!

Your Superintendent,

Marian Kim-Phelps, Ed.D.

The Personnel Support Services department is a huge part of every school district. They like to say they are in the people business, because it takes a lot of people to support all the learning and services that go on in our schools. Listen to this month's podcast with James Jimenez, Associate Superintendent of Personnel Support Services, to learn about how our district is staffed and how we make sure we hire and retain the best people for the job.

The Rancho Bernardo Community Foundation presented $71,821 in grants to several local organizations and projects, including PUSD schools.

Receiving $6,500 grants were:

• Bernardo Heights Middle School for its Health and Fitness Circuit.

The $5,000 grant recipients were:

• The Bernardo Heights Education Foundation, which will put its grant toward science department Chrome Books.

• The Bernardo Heights Middle School Choir Boosters, who will use the money for microphone and audio modernization of the Rancho Bernardo High School Performing Arts Center.

The Rancho Bernardo High School Friends of the Library received a $2,500 grant for its Success via Media and 21st Century Technology Learning Center.

The $2,000 grant recipients were:

• Rancho Bernardo High School Music Boosters so musical instruments can be purchased.

• Rancho Bernardo High School Parent Teacher Student Association for the annual RB High Grad Nite celebration.

A grant for $1,721 was given to Westwood Elementary School for its Roadrunner TV.

The $1,500 grants were awarded to:

• Friends of the Rancho Bernardo Library for its library concerts.

A $600 grant was given to Seniors Helping Our Kids so it can provide supplies to the program’s volunteer reading tutors who help students in the Poway Unified School District.

Congrats to Black Mountain Middle School's "We the People" Teams for their 1st and 2nd place finish. The "We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution" program promotes civic competence and responsibility among the nation's upper elementary and secondary students.

Tweet from @DNHS_Nighthawks: "Proud to announce that the AVID Center recognized Del Norte High School as an AVID Highly Certified Site! We're thankful for this dedicated team of teacher-leaders who work so diligently to support student achievement. #AVID #NighthawkStrong #Soaring"

"We are so proud of Andre Yin and admire his dedication to the American Lung Association. Definitely deserving of the Gold President's Volunteer Service Award." -Tina Ziegler, Principal

On December 15, 2017 Willow Grove Elementary School celebrated 10 years of "Grizzly Greatness" with parents, volunteers, students, and staff, from past and present. The school-wide celebration included the opening of a time capsule, speakers sharing their fondest memories, songs and chants, and a dance party on stage. See more photos here.

Westview’s Dodgeball Olympics is an annual post-finals December tradition in its 8th year. It is one of the most anticipated events on campus every year. Anyone can create a team — staff, students, clubs, athletes, etc. The teams dress up in themes and take the competition very seriously! Westview had 28 teams participate this year-roughly 300 participants. The whole school comes out to watch at lunchtime and packs the stands in the gym. The tournament started December 4th and concluded with the final matches on December 14th. Click here to see photos from the event.

The performing arts are alive and well at PUSD, and the days leading up to the holidays are a flurry of performances, concerts, plays, and shows. Thank you to all of our students for sharing their talent and learning with us! And thank you to the instructors and volunteers who make these programs a success.

The Hour of Code is a global movement by Computer Science Education Week and Code.org reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries through a one-hour introduction to computer science and computer programming. Many PUSD classrooms participated, with teachers and volunteers leading the way.

The San Diego County Board of Education is seeking input from our community on the map chosen by the PUSD Board of Education for proposed election boundaries.

The public hearing will be on
Jan. 31, 2018, 6 p.m.
Poway Unified School District Office Community Room
15250 Avenue of Science
San Diego, CA 92128

For more information on the hearing:
http://www.sdcoe.net/Board/Pages/poway-trustee-areas.aspx

Are you catching our weekly news updates on social media? These are one-minute video recaps of the week’s news with PUSD Director of Communications, Christine Paik. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook so you don't miss out!

• News Minute 12-21-17
• News Minute 12-7-17
• News Minute 11-16-17
• News Minute 11-9-17
• News Minute 11-2-17
• News Minute 10-26-17
• News Minute 10-18-17

• Winter Break: December 25, 2017 to January 5, 2018
• Non-Student day: Monday, January 15, 2018 (Martin Luther King, Jr.)
• Board Meeting: Thursday, January 18, 2018 at 6pm
• Public Hearing: Wednesday, January 31, 2018 at 6pm (County Hearing on Election Map)
• Non-Student day: Friday, February 2, 2018 (Professional Growth)
• District Recess: February 19, 2018 to February 23, 2018

The Poway Unified School District is located in northern San Diego County, California. PUSD operates 25 elementary schools (K-5), one elementary & middle school combination (TK-8th), six middle schools (6-8), one continuation high school, five comprehensive high schools (9-12), and one adult school. 24 schools are located in the city of San Diego; 11 schools in the city of Poway; and 3 in the County of San Diego. The District serves approximately 36,000 students and is the third largest school district in the county.

Email: cpaik@powayusd.com
Website: www.powayusd.com
Location: 15250 Avenue of Science, San Diego, CA, United States
Phone: (858) 521-2700
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PowayUSD
Twitter: @PowayUSD

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