Fillmore Unified School District

I wanted to let you know that I have made some personnel changes that will affect Fillmore Middle School. I have promoted Mr. Todd Schieferle to work in the District Office. Mr. Schieferle will be in charge of Human Resources. Mr. Schieferle has been a counselor, a dean, and the principal at FMS and will be missed by all.

To replace Mr. Schieferle, I have asked Mrs. Tricia Godfrey to move from her position as assistant principal to become principal. Mrs. Godfrey and Mr. Schieferle have worked in partnership for two years as leaders at the school. Having Mrs. Godfrey as principal will ensure that the great progress the school has made will not be derailed with this change.

To replace Mrs. Godfrey, I have asked Mr. Scott Carroll to become the school’s assistant principal. Mr. Carroll is an excellent FMS sixth grade teacher who I know will become an outstanding assistant principal. He has been the school’s AVID and advisory coordinator this year. And, he has been the administrative designee for the past two years.

The school has made great strides under the leadership of Mr. Schieferle and Mrs. Godfrey. I know the school will continue to improve under the direction of Mrs. Godfrey and Mr. Carroll. All three will begin their transition to their new positions after our spring break. I look forward to seeing each assume their new job responsibilities and witnessing great things in the future.

Sincerely,

Jeff Sweeney, Superintendent

SPANISH:
Estimados Padres de Estudiantes de la Escuela Intermedia:

Quiero darles a saber CONTINUED »

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On Monday, March 8, 2010, San Cayetano School recognized good citizenship and character at their Peacebuilder Assembly for the month of March. Mr. Todd Schieferle, principle of Fillmore Middle School, came to speak to the students about what a good citizen is and how being a good citizen can help not only the students, but others around them in their community. Joe Jiunta and Christina De La Mora, the San Cayetano ASB President and Vice-President assisted Mr.Schieferle in handing out the Peacebuilder certificates. The Peacebuilders for March are: Leo Barajas,Kayla Cervantez, Miranda Magana, Jasmine Vega, Ramces Salazar, Jessica Nava, Marissa Luna, Caceandra Hearne, Daniela Chavez, Hannah Ransom-Fairall, Fatima Zamora, Andrea Magana, Briana Lopez, Jordyn Rolfe, Clarissa Alcozar, Veronica Valdivia, Cali Wyand, Brandon Nava, Samantha Cabral, and Kiana Velenzuela . At the upper grade assembly, Joe then announced to the students that the Rainbow Foundation is sponsoring the San Cayetano Character Counts Award of a $100.00 savings bond. Sandra Chavez was chosen by the fourth grade teachers as a model of outstanding behavior, responsibility, and kindness to the other students. She was recognized with a certificate and the savings bond. To conclude the assembly, Christina reminded the students 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 two new bicycles. Robert Gonzalez from room 5 won the Perfect Attendance Award for March.

The "S" Club of Fillmore High School is having their Spring Retreat Empower Yourself with Knowledge Tues. March 16, 2010 at Fillmore High School. The retreat is open to all students, parents and any one interested in attending this all day fun-filled, educational and informative retreat. Retreat fee is $12.00 per person. For questions and/or to register for the retreat please contact Mrs. Herrera. Must register by Sat. March 13, 2010. 805-524-4326 or magnoliares@sbcglobal.net.

Kindergarten registration will be held on March 22– April 1, 2009, at San Cayetano School, 524-6040, Sespe School, 524-6161, Mountain Vista, 524-8302 and Piru School, 521-1709. Piru residents may register at Piru School. Parents are to register at the school site within their boundaries.

In order to complete registration, parents must have birth certificate, verification of adequate immunization for their children, verification of address (such as utility bill or driver’s license).

Parents must provide documentation that their child has completed a Physical Examination; (physical need to be dated after March 1st, 2010), and Dental/Oral Examination. All four elementary schools have a supply of the physical examination forms and forms for the dentist.

Immunizations: Required doses of Polio, DPT, MMR, Hepatitis B and Varicella vaccines.

For additional questions, contact the elementary school sites, or M. E. Romero, R.N., District Health Coordinator at 524-6029.

All around town, people are asking, “So what happened to the Piru Charter Plan? Is it over? Is it gone?” The answer is no. The Piru Charter Petition is just where the petitioners expected it to be…awaiting review by the California Advisory Commission on Charter Schools, before heading to the State Board of Education for the authorization process. The Petition will be heard on April 6 before the Advisory Commission, and in May before the State Board of Education.

Will it be authorized? The petitioners do not know. What they do know is that all nine petitioners and former Principal Richard Durborow, working with dedicated parents and community members, have given their best this year to create a school that will make life better for the children of Piru and the surrounding areas. The Piru Charter Plan offers the community smaller class sizes for their children, local control of elementary learning, and an opportunity to have one of the most beautiful and highest achieving schools in Ventura County. Many in Piru hope the state chooses to authorize it!

There is a flier going around Piru that states CONTINUED »

1. There is no mandatory volunteer work.
2. There is no tuition to be paid.
3. Charters schools are eligible to receive all Federal and State funds that the District receives (such as Migrant Program, School Lunch Program, and the After School Program).
4. A temporary Board of Directors will be appointed.
5. The majority of the Board will consist of parents, community members and business owners.
6. Parents will not be responsible for cleaning restrooms, classrooms or maintaining the campus.
7. Transportation will be provided.
8. Teachers will not lose their jobs.

**Take action to improve your school. **

If you have any questions or concerns please call us at (805) 428-9473.
We will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have.

***********************************************************************
Padres de Piru Charter School

1. No es CONTINUED »

The California State Board of Education will soon decide on whether to approve the Piru Charter School petition, converting Piru Elementary into an independent school of choice. This exciting change will bring much-needed educational reform to our community. Now is the time to express your support for the right of parents to choose where they send their children to school. We are asking you to take just a few minutes of your time and write a letter or email urging the State Board of Education to approve Piru Charter School.

Please send all messages of support to our mailing address or email address by Wednesday, March 17th.

By mail:
PCS
P.O. Box 555
Piru, CA 93040

Email:
pirucharterschool@earthlink.net

For questions, email us or contact the Piru Charter School Petitioning Group at:
Phone: 805 428-9473
Email: pirucharterschool@earthlink.net

We would like to invite you to a meeting. A group of Parents went to the Charter School Conference in Sacramento on Tuesday March 2, 2010. We would like to share with every parent all the great information we learned about what it is to be a Charter School. Please join us to learn more about how this could be a great opportunity for Piru School. If you have any concerns, questions, or issues you would like to address, this would be a great opportunity to have those answered.

Open your mind and heart to a new kind of education.

When: Monday March 15, 2010
Where: Piru Community Center
Time: 6:45 p.m. (Presentation starting @ 7:00p.m.)

Padres Apoyando Piru Charter School

Queremos invitarlos a una junta. Un CONTINUED »

Fillmore Unified School District

FILLMORE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 2010
5:15 P.M. – CLOSED SESSION
6:00 P.M. – SPECIAL BOARD 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 CLOSED SESSION AND 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 CONTINUED »

Camarillo, CA. – CSU Channel Islands (CI) has announced its charter membership in a new national program to encourage sustainability in all aspects of higher education. The program, called Sustainability, Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS), is administered by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).

CI decided to participate in the initial launch of the program which started Jan. 10, 2010. Deborah Wylie, CI’s Associate Vice President for Operations, Planning & Construction, stated that environmental sustainability has always been a campus strategic initiative, but she was impressed with the STARS program’s broad approach to sustainability. “It offered the opportunity to report in the areas of education and research, operations and planning, and administration and engagement. We will be able to see where we are doing well and where we need to improve, based on a strong national model,” stated Wylie.

The program is designed specifically for universities and has currently registered 120 institutions of higher education. Unlike other rating or ranking systems, this program is open to all U.S. and Canadian institutions of higher education and the criteria that determine a STARS rating are transparent and accessible to anyone. It is the only program of its kind that involves publicly reporting comprehensive information related to an institution’s sustainability performance. Once CI establishes the initial data, this information will be available on the Web. Since the program is based on credits earned, it allows for both internal comparisons as well as comparisons with similar institutions.

“The rollout of this program will be CONTINUED »

Resolve to conserve water in 2010. The education series at the University of California Hansen Agricultural Center (UCHAC) will highlight affordable water wise gardening and landscaping techniques. Help the environment and your budget; attend one or more of the following public events.

Four free mini-workshops are offered from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.: March 27—Low Cost, No Cost Gardening; April 24—Water Wise Container Gardening; June 26—Low Water Landscape Design—Focus on Plant Selection; September 25—Low Water Landscape Design—Focus on Hardscape. Presenters are UC Master Gardeners. Space is limited and registration is required. Call 805-525-9293 ext. 214 to reserve your spot.

In addition, UC Master Gardeners will host three all day water wise themed workshops on May 22, August 14, and November 6. A fee of $50 per workshop includes meals and materials. For more information and registration go to: http://groups.ucanr.org/vcmg/ or call 805- 525-9293 ext. 204.

Self-guided Faulkner House, garden tours, and plant sale will be available at all the Saturday events and don’t require registration. For more information visit our website at www.uchansentrust.org. UCHAC is located at 14292 W. Telegraph Rd in Santa Paula. Admission to the farm and parking are free.

The Band Uniform Account is growing. To speed this up, the Band Booster group announced the launch of two thousand $10 dollar bills in 2010! Contributions will be accepted any time. As various benchmarks are reached toward the $20,000 goal (2000 x $10), contributors names will be drawn for prizes. Watch for locations where donations can be made at several businesses around town. Our goal is to have our band in new uniforms for next year's Christmas Parade. If every family in Fillmore and Piru contributes $10 in 2010 we can do it!

Mariah Perez

Last week the Drama Club had a successful opening weekend. The first night the play sold out and people were turned away. There are two remaining weekends left so make sure you get a chance to see “Death and Nicotine.” Friday March 5th at 7:00pm and Saturday March 6th at 7:00pm are the two showing times this coming weekend. Cost is $5.00 for students and $7.00 for adults; you can also buy snacks and drinks for $1.00. Remember doors open at 6:30. I saw the play and personally I thought it was fabulous. Pennies for Patients was also a success. Many classes raised a good amount of money for this cause. ASB has not yet finished counting the boxes so stay tuned for next week to see who the winning class is. Renaissance Award night is Wednesday March 3rd at 7:00pm in the Sespe Auditorium at the District Office; we look forward to seeing you there. Fillmore High School Pep Squad has a competition this coming Saturday at Universal City Walk. They are competing to defend their two year title as State Champs. LET’S GO FLASHES…!

Six staff members from Fillmore Middle School (FMS) presented at the California League of Middle Schools Conference. This annual conference was held in Sacramento on February 27 -29. FMS was one of 100 presenters over the three day weekend. Representing the school in the presentation were Todd Schieferle, Tricia Godfrey, Jennifer Beal, Scott Carroll, Anna Morielli, and Jenny Lindemann.

The annual conference brings middle school staff from around the state. High quality professional development remains the key to helping teachers and instructional leaders improve student learning. The conference is a way to connect teachers and administrators through a variety of presentations that are addressing challenges impacting California’s middle schools. It allows attendees to listen to practitioners who have created useful ideas, strategies and tools to improve student achievement at their school.

FMS was selected to present an innovative intervention strategy the staff designed to improve instruction. Their advisory period is used to address students’ needs by providing additional instruction in key academic areas. It also provides enrichment activities for those students who are meeting grade level standards. This new strategy is one of several new approaches this collaborative staff has created over the past two years as they continue to meet the needs of their students.

Those attending the conference presentation were impressed with the design of the model, with several asking questions and asking for more information. Several also indicated they would love to come to Fillmore to see the advisory model in action. All of Fillmore/Piru should be proud that one of their sites was asked to present at this prestigious conference. More importantly, kudos go out to the entire staff for their willingness to search for innovations that will increase student achievement.

Fillmore Unified School District

FILLMORE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 2010
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 CLOSED SESSION AND 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 CONTINUED »

I do not believe that anyone can logically argue that we are not in a budget crisis in the Fillmore Unified School District. As I read the newspaper on a daily basis, I feel very fortunate that our school district has not experienced the magnitude of layoffs and reduction of services that many of our neighboring districts have had.
As the principal of Mountain Vista Elementary School, and more importantly, as a parent of two children who attend this school, my husband and I easily accepted the proposal for a new insurance package (our benefits will not change) and a 5 day reduction in pay for each of us. This sacrifice is small when I compare it to the possible effects that this budget crisis could have on my children’s education and the quality of education in this community if class size is raised and teachers are let go.
I am proud and feel honored to work with my classified and certificated staff members at Mountain Vista. It is unthinkable to imagine that this district may lose high quality staff members when there is a common sense solution (reducing work days) that other districts are using in this crisis.
As an administrator of a great elementary school and parent of two elementary children I encourage all stakeholders involved to do the right thing when there is a common sense solution to this problem.
Respectfully,
Chrissy Schieferle, Principal
Mountain Vista Elementary School