After waiting for several years the Memorial Rose and Butterfly Gardens are in at Fillmore Middle School. Mrs. Merrill and her science students cleared the weeds, dug the holes, and planted the roses and butterfly feeding plants. Gama Aguilar and his grounds crew helped put in the irrigation and delivered the mulch. The students spread the mulch to complete the first set of gardens. Otto and Sons and the Trinidad family generously donated the colorful memorial roses. Green Thumb’s master gardeners assisted us with the selection of plants that feed both the local and migratory butterflies and their caterpillars. Students have been excited to report the presence of the first butterfly visitors to our garden.
There is still a great deal of work to do to get ready for the other gardens which include: a mini orchard of our local fruits, a winter garden with holly and a Christmas tree, a drought tolerant and native plants garden, a salsa garden, a cut flower garden, a mini pumpkin patch, Indian corn, and a Peace Meadow. The garden offers an amazing opportunity for students to learn more science. For example, the Indian corn can be used to teach a lesson about “jumping genes”. The garden is useful to encourage students to follow the Healthy Heart guidelines about eating more fruits and vegetables. To encourage the entrepreneurial spirit, students have designed a way to earn money from each garden. For example, pumpkins, holly, and salsa vegetables will be available for sale, as well as memorial roses. To encourage water conservation drought tolerant plants will be for sale on several occasions. Students will be allowed to eat the fruits from the mini orchard and learn to be proud of the world class fruit grown in and around Fillmore. All garden signs will be posted in English and Spanish to promote bilingualism and its benefits. A Peace Meadow will someday provide a peaceful place for students and staff to enjoy and use for peer mediation. Gardeners in our community please feel free to offer us suggestions to improve and add beauty to our gardens. Donations of plants, tools, soil, fertilizers, seeds, cuttings, bulbs, heart healthy recipes, businesses from the garden ideas, vases, trees, plaques, brick work, lumber for raised beds, beneficial insects, a bird bath, and/or your time would be greatly appreciated. Please call Fillmore Middle School at 524-6070 for further information.

See Power Point slide show attached below.

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On Wednesday, May 13, 2009 Mountain Vista Elementary School kicked off the Fillmore Library’s Summer Reading Program with a field trip of Mrs. Carolyn Diaz’s and Mrs. Diane Grants’ Second Grade Classes.

The two Second Grade classes comprised of approximately 45 teachers, students, and volunteer parents walked 1 ½ miles from Mountain Vista Elementary School to the Fillmore Library. In addition to the 1 ½ challenging mile walk the classes climbed 84 steps leading from the North Fillmore area to the top near the Fillmore Middle School. After the program, put on by the Fillmore Library, the classes had a sack lunch picnic in Shiells Park before returning to class and the rest of their studies.

Of note is that this will be the last field trip for Mrs. Diaz who is retiring on June 5, 2009 after 33 years of teaching in the Orange, Norwalk and Anaheim School Districts. Mrs. Diaz has taught the last twenty-four years in the Fillmore Unified School District at the school sites of; Piru Elementary, Sespe Elementary and finally Mountain Vista Elementary. Mrs. Diaz received her education from Chapman University, in Orange, California, where she earned a Batchelor of Arts and Master of Science in Communicative Disorders Speech and Language and from California Lutheran University where she received her Professional Clear Multiple Subject Teaching Credential. Mrs. Diaz also is credentialed as a Preliminary Resource Specialist and is a licensed Speech Pathologist.

Mrs. Diaz will be celebrating her retirement on May 15th at the home of Mrs. Priscilla Anderson who is also a friend and co-worker at Mountain Vista Elementary School. Mrs. Diaz states she will miss all of her students, colleagues and the special “Ah Ha Moments” she has been privileged to be a part of when that one student really gets it! Mrs. Diaz, in her retirement, will spend more time reading and directing the “honey-do’s” she has planned for her husband Dick. In addition there will now be more time to spend visiting with her family. There could there also be some “substitute teaching” in her future? Good luck Mrs. Diaz in your retirement!

On Tuesday, May 12, 2009, San Cayetano recognized good citizenship and service for their last Peacebuilder assembly for the 2008-2009 school year this month. Carol Peterson, a Forest Ranger and Education Coordinator for the Channel Island National Park came to San Cayetano to speak to the students about what a good citizen is and how displaying good character could enrich the students and others in the community around them. After both assemblies were concluded, Carol Peterson went to each third grade classroom to speak to the students. She does an animal habitats and endangered species program, especially dealing with the Island Fox. A radio call out to one of the program’s fox technicians was also included in the third grade presentations. There was also a connection made to the program that ran a live bald eagle nest cam. A bald eagle chick hatched for the first time in many years on the island. Ms. Peterson spent about an hour in each of the third grade classrooms interacting with the students. The students enjoyed her visit. Along with Carol Peterson, Paula Phillips from the Dream Fund Outreach Program which has helped San Cayetano promote their positive character program. Paula came to congratulate all the students on their success in participating in various service learning projects such as raising money for animal shelters, food drives and campus clean-up recycling programs. All of the San Cayetano students were treated to an end of the year Service Learning pizza lunch celebration. Before the assembly each teacher chose a student from his or her class whom showed excellent character and peace-building skills. Roman Torango and Ian Overton, the San Cayetano ASB President and Vice-President assisted Ms.Peterson in handing out the Peacebuilder Awards. The Peacebuilders for May are: Edwin Munoz, Isaiah Vallejo, Evelio Patino, Filberto Magana, Monica Ramos, Adilene Garcia, Gustavo Granados, Cristian Garcia, Briana Lopez, Nataly Hernandez, Robert Gonzalez, Anthony Gomez, Melissa Assphor, Elizabeth Castaneda, Dominique Alamillo, Leslie Martinez, Fernanda Magana, Jennifer Esparza, Andy Vargas, Brianna Santa Rosa, Esmeralda Arroyo, and Jessie Vasquez. Roman then announced to the students that the Rainbow Foundation is sponsoring the San Cayetano Character Counts Award of a $100.00 savings bond. Ms. Peterson presented the Character Counts Award to a deserving Kindergarten student. Taiz Razo was chosen by the Kindergarten teachers as a model of outstanding behavior and kindness to the other students. To conclude the assembly, students were reminded to turn in their Perfect Attendance tickets. Each month all students who come to school, each day, on time, are given an orange raffle ticket. The students place their tickets in a box and one ticket is drawn. The student whose ticket is drawn is given a backpack full of supplies. Each month, the tickets will be put into a larger box that will be kept until the end of the year. In June, Mrs. Marholin, the principal, will draw from the tickets to give away new bicycles, an I-pod shuffle, and three large stuffed animals. Isaac Pacheco won the Perfect Attendance Award for the month of April.

VC College commencement, May 20,Graduation Ceremony at 1:30 p.m.
48 from Fillmore, 7 from Piru

BELOW ARE THE VENTURA COLLEGE 2009 FILLMORE AND PIRU GRADUATES: FILLMORE: Nicole Acosta, Manuel Alvarado, Jr., Rosalba Aragon, Jacob Arroyo, Monserrat Ayala, Chantee Campos, Peter Casillas, Sharon Chandra, Jennifer Chavez, Casey Clay, Candice Deits, Natalie Diaz, Mayra Felix, Alex Frias, Pamela Gartner, Steven Gonzales, Maria Gonzalez, Refugio Gonzalez, Maria Hernandez, Marco Hurtado, Yurema Landeros, Margarita Licon, Jesica Lomeli, Juan Lomeli, Paulino Lopez, Nancy Luna, Denise Magana, Francisco Martinez, Juliette Martinez, Ildiko Mate, Justin Murray, Shihori Nakayama, Gisela Patino, Dan Popescu, Adrian Quintero, Danielle Rodriguez, Blanca Sandoval, Stephanie Simonson, Irene Stevens, Joelene Thrasher, Rosa Torres, Juliann Tumamait, Thomas Van Breemen, Carlos Vargas, Laura Velasco, Aubree Wilson, Adrianela Zamora, Farrah Zavala. PIRU: Martin Arroyo, Felice Epps-Thompson, Violeta Lemus, Yvonne Pillado, Jaime Prado, Alma Romero, Ileana Tamayo. Congratulations!

The Ventura College 79th Annual Commencement Ceremony will be held at the Athletic Event Center on the Ventura College Campus on Wednesday, May 20. Ventura College’s graduation will be held on the same day as Oxnard College, and Moorpark College’s will be held on May 21. More than 1,300 students have earned degrees and certificates, and so are eligible to be recognized. The day’s events will include the traditional graduation breakfast, the processional ceremony and a reception for the graduates and their families. A sign-language interpreter will be utilized during the graduation ceremony, and an interpreter will be available upon request for the other events. The Commencement will be closed captioned and webcast live at CONTINUED »

Fillmore Unified School District

FILLMORE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
TUESDAY MAY 19, 2009
5:15 P.M. - CLOSED SESSION
6:00 P.M. - REGULAR MEETING

627 SESPE AVENUE, FILLMORE, CALIFORNIA

AGENDA The public may review or request a copy of support materials provided to the Board Members where the word materials appears. 5:15 p.m.
I. CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
II. ROLL CALL
III. PUBLIC COMMENT ON NONAGENDA ITEMS, PETITIONS
This is the time and place to address the Board. State law prohibits the Board from acting on issues not included on the agenda; however, requests may be made for discussion of specific topics at subsequent meetings.

IV. CLOSED SESSION The Board of Education will meet from 5:15 to 6:00 p.m. to consider matters appropriate for Closed Session in accordance with Government Code Sections 3549.1, 54956.7 through 54957.7 and Education Code Section 35146. If the Board does not complete Closed Session discussions at this time, the Board may adjourn to Closed Session at the end of the regular meeting. DISCLOSURE OF ITEM(S) TO BE DISCUSSED IN CLOSED SESSION Labor/Negotiations (Government Code 54957.6)
o Update; Direction to District Negotiators (Jeff Sweeney, Evalene Townend, Mike Bush) for negotiations with the Fillmore Unified Teachers Association (FUTA), the California School Employees Association (CSEA), Confidential Employees, and District Administration. Personnel Matters Public Employee Performance Evaluation: Superintendent (The Board and Superintendent meet periodically to provide feedback to one another concerning the achievement of goals.)
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in this meeting, please contact the Superintendent's Office at (805) 524-6038. Notification 48 hours prior to the meeting will enable the district to make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility to this meeting. [In accordance with Government Code 54961 and Board Bylaw 9320(a).]

6:00 p.m. V. RECONVENE TO REGULAR SESSION Any Action From Closed Session
VI. CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG CONTINUED »

Pictured (l-r) are Susan Jolley, Jeannie Klittich, Jan Nehrig and Jane Munoz.
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Pictured (l-r) are Janie Munoz, Dorothy Hunt and Elaine Basford.
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FWSC presents teacher recognition selection
By Jan Nehrig
Each year our first Vice President is responsible for organizing our teacher recognition selection. This year Jeanne Klittich was in charge and we selected Susan Jolley and Jane Munoz both from Piru Elementry who are pictured along with Jeanne Klittich and myself, Jan Nehrig (l-r, Susan Jolley, Jeannie Klittich, Jan Nehrig and Jane Munoz), March 31. We were able to congratulate Susan Jolley and Jane Munoz for their dedication to teaching. They received flowers, a $50 check to use for their classrooms, $50 in books donated to the library with a place in the book stating the books were donated in honor of them by the FWSC. Susan Jolley is the literacy coach and works with reading skills at all levels. Jane Munoz is the resource teacher. She works with all the classes in support of speech and language development.

Pictured in second photo are Janie Munoz, Dorothy Hunt and Elaine Basford. Janie Munoz is a first grade teacher at Sespe. Dorothy Hunt and Elaine Basford are FWSC members. We congratulated Janie Munoz in the morning on May 5th. It was extra special for Janie because her mother was there to see her honored by us because she volunteers a lot of time with the students doing craft projects that otherwise would not be possible. One of the reasons Janie Munoz was chosen this year was because of how she used past money we had given to support all classrooms in her grade rather than only her own.

FWSC meets the second Wednesday of the month at 7:00 PM at the Senior Center. We are a fun group of women who enjoy making our community a better place. New members are always welcome.

Natalie Garnica
Student, Fillmore High School

The year is starting to come to a close – this last Saturday was the Junior Senior Prom. The Prom was held at the Ventura Theatre and the theme was “A Dream Come True”. The Prom Queen was Brina Suttle and Prom King was Jose “Froggy” Estrada.
Aimee Orozco competed at CIF Swimming prelims on Tuesday. At League finals last week she won her 100 yd freestyle, and came in a close second in her 50 yd freestyle. The whole Varsity swim team benefitted from “Fastskin” suits donated by the UCSB swim team. They were lightly used, but the varsity team was ecstatic to be able to swim in suits that are typically reserved for college and professional level use. Fillmore came in fifth at league finals.
The Boys volleyball team has their first round of CIF on Friday at four in the gym against the Glendale Adventist Academy. The team won their game against St. Bonnie and are co-champions of the Condor League. Because they are such a new team, this is quite an accomplishment.
Baseball had three games this week – they are playing against Oak Park and Bishop Diego. Softball had two games against La Reina and St. Bonnie this week, and on the 23rd they are hosting an Alumni “Pay to Play” game. Each alumni pays $25 and all proceeds go to the Softball team.

The Fillmore Middle School Bands under the direction of Greg Godfrey and the Fillmore Elementary Bands from Sespe, San Cayetano, Piru and Mountain Vista Schools under the direction of Juliette Resor, will be presenting a combined Spring Program on Monday, May 18th, at the Fillmore Middle School Gymnasium.

The program will begin at 6:30pm and admission is free.

The Elementary band program has 170 band students who will be performing and Fillmore Middle School band program
has about 175 students. Students have been working hard all year to prepare for this concert. The concert will feature both traditional and popular selections. The Fillmore Middle School art students will also art on display in the foyer.

VENTURA: The Ventura College 79th Annual Commencement Ceremony will be held at the Athletic Event Center on the Ventura College Campus on Wednesday, May 20. Ventura College’s graduation will be held on the same day as Oxnard College, and Moorpark College’s will be held on May 21. More than 1,300 students have earned degrees and certificates, and so are eligible to be recognized. The day’s events will include the traditional graduation breakfast, the processional ceremony and a reception for the graduates and their families. A sign-language interpreter will be utilized during the graduation ceremony, and an interpreter will be available upon request for the other events. The Commencement will be closed captioned and webcast live at http://www.venturacollege.edu – click on the webcast button.
The annual graduation breakfast will start serving at 9:00 a.m. in the main dining room in the Campus Center. The breakfast is cosponsored by the Ventura College Foundation and the Associated Students of Ventura College.
Commencement begins at 1:30 p.m. Dr. Robin Calote, Ventura College President, will address the group. The Chair of the Ventura County Community College District Board of Trustees Mr. Robert O. Huber, Vice Chair Stephen P. Blum, Esq., trustees Cheryl Heitmann, Arturo D. Hernández, and Dr. Larry O. Miller, the Chancellor of the Ventura Community College District, Dr. James M. Meznek, the Academic Senate President Peter Sezzi, the Classified Senate President Barbara Cogert, and Ms. Nancy Pham, the outgoing president of the Associated Students of Ventura College, will make brief remarks as well. Four faculty and staff members will announce the graduates.
The Ventura College President’s Office is hosting the post-ceremony reception for the graduates, their family, faculty and staff on the lawn behind Guthrie Hall, next to Central Campus Way, immediately after the ceremony.
For additional information, contact Alisa Sparkia Moore, Ventura College Public Information Officer, (805) 654-6462 or asmoore@vcccd.edu.

The Space Shuttle Café will be landing at Sespe School’s Open House on Thursday, May 14th! You may pre-order dinners – hot dogs, hamburgers, cheeseburgers or chicken sandwiches (you can pay for them in the office at Sespe School, and there will also be a limited number of dinners available that night). Don’t forget to come see the great things your child has been doing at school! The Shuttle Café will be serving dinner from 5pm-7pm and classrooms will be open from 6-7pm. We hope to see you there!

In the biggest UTLA ballot turnout in recent history, LAUSD teachers and health and human services professionals voted to authorize UTLA officers to call a one-day work stoppage in May. 73.84% of the members voted yes and 26.16% voted no. A total of 26,815 ballots were cast.
Votes were counted at UTLA headquarters on April 30. May 15 has been selected as the work stoppage date, to have the least conflict with month-long testing.
On April 14, the LAUSD School Board approved the layoffs of close to 4,000 teachers and health and human services professionals. UTLA is fighting the layoffs and class size increases, which will destroy school programs, cause staffing chaos at schools, undermine reform efforts, and lower graduation rates.
"This wasn't an easy decision for our teachers to make, but we were pushed into it by a superintendent who has decided to raise class size and bring chaos to schools even though the District has the money to maintain class sizes and avoid these layoffs," UTLA President A.J. Duffy says. "We have to stand up for our students because the District won't. But it's not too late—we're calling on the superintendent and the School Board to change course and make the right decision for our schools."
Last week, UTLA released information (posted on utla.net) that shows the money is there to stop the layoffs and class-size increases. UTLA is also pressing for the Title I funds to be used centrally so that all classroom jobs can be saved and class sizes kept at their 2008-2009 levels.
WHO: UTLA President A.J. Duffy and teachers with layoff notices
WHERE: Outside LAUSD Board Room
333 S. Beaudry Ave., Los Angeles 90017
WHEN: Today. May 1st 1 p.m.

On behalf of California’s school leaders, the Education Management Group (EMG) opposes further budget cuts to California’s grossly underfunded public schools.

Public schools are already reeling from over $3 billion ($500 per student) in core ongoing K-12 education expenditure reductions, more than $2 billion in apportionment deferrals, and the lack of COLA. The simple fact is that any further cuts are fundamentally inconsistent with California’s responsibility to provide its children with the opportunity to meet established academic standards.

The EMG calls upon the Governor and Legislature to make a clear commitment to protecting K-12 education funding from further reductions in the 2009-10 budget for the following reasons:

• California schools are grossly underfunded. California’s public schools ranked 47th among states in per pupil funding and the bottom quartile in spending as a percentage of per capita personal income - and that was before losing over $3 billion in core instructional funding. CONTINUED »

Greetings and Good News
We have been informed that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated its guidance for schools regarding the prevention of the spread of the H1N1 virus, aka Swine Flu. Due to the fact that most cases have not been severe and comparable to seasonal influenza, schools will no longer be required to close.

What this means locally: we have been informed that our County Public Health Officer (Dr. Robert Levin) has contacted the Hueneme and Conejo Valley school districts and lifted the student dismissal directive for their affected sites. We also anticipate receiving formal confirmation from Dr. Levin that no other schools will require the dismissal of students should a student or staff member become infected.

HOWEVER, we strongly recommend that you and appropriate staff visit the CDC website at www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/k12_dismissal.htm and follow the recommendations listed on their webpage, including the need to quarantine any students showing up at school with flulike symptoms. Also, please continue all other safety practices recommended by our Public Health Dept. such relative to personal hygiene, etc.

We will keep you posted with other bulletins/updates as we receive them.

Regards,

-Stan

Jeff Sweeney
Superintendent Fillmore Unified School District

The District has been monitoring the spread of the swine flu and its potential impact on the students and staff in FUSD. As you are likely aware, there have been two confirmed cases in Oxnard in the Hueneme School District. Following that confirmation, those schools were closed and will remain closed for seven days. This afternoon, Martha Romero and I will be attending an emergency meeting at the County Office regarding the school closures in the Hueneme School District. I will be sure to update all with any information relevant to our District.

I recognize this is a fluid situation and will mandate that all are kept informed to ensure that the priority of the health and welfare of students and staff is optimized. Further, our intent is to work toward minimal interruptions to your day.

To date, the District has done the following:
· Notified all parents via ConnectEd of preventative measures that can be done at home;
· A letter will be sent home today providing parents more information;
· Email was sent to all staff, discussing precautionary measures to be followed;
· All administrators were notified with information and preventative measures to be followed; and CONTINUED »

Fillmore Unified School District

FILLMORE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
TUESDAY MAY 5, 2009

5:15 P.M. – CLOSED SESSION

6:00 P.M. - REGULAR MEETING 627 SESPE AVENUE, FILLMORE, CALIFORNIA AGENDA
The public may review or request a copy of support materials provided to the Board Members where the word materials appears. 5:15 p.m.
I. CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
II. ROLL CALL
III. PUBLIC COMMENT ON NONAGENDA ITEMS, PETITIONS
This is the time and place to address the Board. State law prohibits the Board from acting on issues not included on the agenda; however, requests may be made for discussion of specific topics at subsequent meetings.
IV. CLOSED SESSION The Board of Education will meet from 5:15 to 6:00 p.m. to consider matters appropriate for Closed Session in accordance with Government Code Sections 3549.1, 54956.7 through 54957.7 and Education Code Section 35146. If the Board does not complete Closed Session discussions at this time, the Board may adjourn to Closed Session at the end of the regular meeting. DISCLOSURE OF ITEM(S) TO BE DISCUSSED IN CLOSED SESSION Labor/Negotiations (Government Code 54957.6) Update; Direction to District Negotiators (Jeff Sweeney, Evalene Townend, Mike Bush) for negotiations with the Fillmore Unified Teachers Association (FUTA), the California School Employees Association (CSEA), Confidential Employees, and District Administration. Personnel Matters Public Employees Discipline/Dismissal Release (Government Code 54957) Public Employee Performance Evaluation: Superintendent (The Board and Superintendent meet periodically to provide feedback to one another concerning the achievement of goals.) CONTINUED »

The ASB of Fillmore Middle School extends a huge THANK YOU to the following parents and businesses for their generous donations to our student body. Our Spring Dance was a success: Martha Hope, Norma Magana, Dianne and Kerry McCall, City of Fillmore, Toys & More, Yanni’s, Vons, Margarita’s Cocina, Subway, and Central Station.
The ASB of Fillmore Middle School sends a huge THANK YOU to El Pescador, owner Jesus Ortiz, the City of Fillmore, the Yearbook Class, and Ms. Beal, the Yearbook Advisor, for their generous support to ASB throughout this school year in recognizing students and staff of the month at FMS.

ASB is also very grateful to our wonderful and caring parents who volunteer to chaperone our dances: Thank you to JoAnn Aparicio, David Deutsch, Randy Garcia, Tricia Godfrey, Maura Gomez, Cristobal Gomez, Shelly Hadley, Claudia Hinojosa, Martha Hope, Lori Horn, Mary Johnson, Frank Linder, Dianne McCall, Kerry McCall, Juan Carlos Mendez, Laura Ortega, Paul Ortega, Ronda Reyes-Deutsch, Henry Robledo, Theresa Robledo, Todd Schieferle, and Mary Topete.

And to all others who continue to support us in our commitment to educating and empowering our students.
With sincere gratitude from the ASB class of 08/09, and Ms. Morielli, ASB Advisor.

Anahi and Pepper the Reading Dog enjoy each other’s company.
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Gloria and Mariah with the baby chicks at The Painted Pony.
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Pepper, the Reading Dog, and her owner, Sharon Clarke (who volunteers at Santa Paula Library), visited Miss Berrington’s first grade class at Mountain Vista School. The children had an opportunity to pick their favorite book and read to Pepper. Sharon also showed different tricks that Pepper could do.

Recently, Mrs. Potter’s class, Mrs. Henrey’s class and Miss Berrington’s class went on a field trip to The Painted Pony in Santa Paula. At the farm, the children milked a goat, made ice cream with goats milk, fed the farm animals and pet the chicks. They also had the opportunity to ride on the tractor. It was a fun and hands-on trip. Painted Pony also has summer camps. The day was enjoyed by the children, teachers, and parents.