In accordance with district policy and collective
bargaining agreements, SDUSD employees can accumulate a maximum of 328 vacation hours. Vacation hours are posted
on employee pay warrants. Beginning with the July 2006 pay warrants, the district changed the process for handling
vacation hour accruals. Employees at or above 328 hours can now carry excess vacation accrual forward for use
prior to the end of August 31, 2007, and each August thereafter. Any vacation time that exceeds 328 hours
at the end of August will be paid to the employee on the September pay warrant. Concurrently, the employee’s
vacation balance will be reset to 328 hours. It is the employee’s responsibility to monitor vacation balances
to make sure they do not exceed 328 hours as stated in collective bargaining agreements. For information,
contact your payroll technician or Sue Weir, payroll director, at sweir@sandi.net
or (619) 725-7717.
Live Homework Help
SDUSD, the City of San Diego Public Library and
local businesses have partnered to make Live Homework Help available to San Diego students and schools at no cost.
Live Homework Help, provided by Tutor.com, is a one-to-one online tutoring service connecting kids from any Microsoft Windows based,
Internet-enabled computer to qualified tutors. Tutoring is available (in English and Spanish) in math, science,
social studies, and English. Tutors do not provide answers to questions or problems but guide the student to
find the right answers. Students can only access Live Homework Help with a City of San Diego library or
library access card. District schools have been sent a sample letter
(English |
Spanish)
explaining this new program along with an access card application form
(English
| Spanish).
The documents should be distributed to students, in school newsletters or other forms of parent communication.
For information, contact Jennifer McIntyre at
jmcintyre@sandi.net or (619) 725-7103.
Nominate Your Site Classified Employee of the Year
School sites and district offices are encouraged to
nominate a deserving candidate for the 2007 Classified
Employee of the Year
awards. A nominee must be a classified employee with at least three years of service in a monthly position. The deadline to
submit a nomination petition is Friday, March 2, by 5 p.m.
Completed petitions should be sent or hand-delivered to Gloria Rangel at the Education Center, Room 1241. For information,
contact Gloria at grangel@sandi.net or (619) 725-8172.
District Trainings
•
Socratic Seminar Training for GATE Teachers
The district’s Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) Department and the Discover Program are offering two sessions on
Socratic Seminar
for teachers of GATE students in grades 3–12 on Saturday, February 17, from 8 a.m. to noon, and on Thursday, March 29,
from 4 to 6 p.m., at Madison High School. For information, visit the GATE Department website
or call (858) 573-5998.
•
CSET Prep Courses Scheduled
The district's Teacher Preparation and Student Support Division will offer California Subject Examinations for
Teachers (CSET) Prep Courses to prepare teachers for the March 17, 2007 exam. Classes begin Thursday, February 22.
Courses are available in Single Subject English
, Single Subject Science
, Single Subject Mathematics
, and Multiple Subjects
. Courses are free for district employees; $60 for others. The registration form
is due Thursday, February 15, by 5 p.m. For information or to register, contact Gail Butler at
gbutler@sandi.net or (858) 539-5330.
Professional Development
•
GarageBand Training
Learn how to use over 50 digital instruments and recorded loops to create your own soundtrack with the latest version of
GarageBand.
The San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) is offering this hands-on workshop for beginning to advanced computer-users
on February 21, 22, or March 1, from 4 to 6 p.m. For information or to register, go to
http://www.sdcoe.net/hrt2/?loc=edtechcal&m=4 or contact Becki
Goehl (858) 292-3832.
•
Explore SDSU Critical Literacy Masters Degree Program
The San Diego State University (SDSU) Department of Policy Studies in Language & Cross Cultural Education is offering an MA
degree program that will provide the expertise and tools to create educational opportunities for all K-12 students,
particularly English Language Learners. To learn more, attend an informational meeting on Tuesday, February 20, from 3:30 to
5 p.m., or Thursday, March 29, from 4 to 5:30 p.m., at Memorial Academy or visit the
website.
•
Community Service/Service-Learning Training for Educators
The SDUSD Community Relations Department and Volunteer San Diego are offering two separate community service/service-learning
trainings on Thursday, February 22, from 9 to 11:30 a.m., and from 4 to 6:30 p.m., at the United Way Building. Principals,
teachers, staff and parents are welcome to attend. This “hands-on” training will explore the elements of creating effective
projects that integrate community service with academic learning. The $25 registration fee will be waived for all San
Diego Unified employees. To register, contact Jessica End at jend@volunteersandiego.org or (858) 636-4124. For
information, contact Nancy Hemmings at nhemmings@sandi.net or (619) 725-5597.
Donated Backpacks Still Available
This year, Office Depot’s National Backpack Program donated 400 backpacks to our district and there are still some
available for distribution to underprivileged and at-risk students. In addition, the San Diego County Office of
Education provided 60 backpacks to be donated to our homeless students. If your site has eligible students in need
of these items, contact Crystal Cavanagh at ccavanagh@sandi.net or (858)
490-8673. Backpacks are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Student Opportunities
•
LEGOLAND Beginner Book Club
Don’t miss the Title 1 School Beginner Book Club
at LEGOLAND on Friday, March 16. Special guest David Shannon, children’s book illustrator, will read How I Became a Pirate.
Every K-2 class will receive an autographed hardcover copy of the book and can receive up to three free chaperone admissions.
For information or to book a field trip, call (760) 918-5447 or visit the
LEGOLAND website.
•
Art Exhibit for K-12 Special Education Students
The San Diego County Art Education Association and San Diego Art Institute (SDAI) have issued a prospectus for
Visions
– Youth Outreach Through Exhibition being held March 22 to April 22 at the SDAI Museum of the Living Artist . Special
education students in grades K-12 can submit original works of art. For information, contact Andrea Chamberlin at
eduprogram@sandiego-art.org or (619) 236-0011.
•
Family Histories Essay Competition for Grades 3 -12
The New Americans Immigration Museum and Learning Center is now accepting essays for its
6th Annual Essay Competition. Students in grades 3-12 are welcome to enter
and may be eligible for scholarship awards. The application deadline is Friday, March 16. Applications, User’s Guides,
teacher aids and posters
are available online at www.naimlc.org or by email at essay2007@naimlc.org.
Award recipients will be honored with a scholarship award at the museum’s annual Award Ceremony to be held Thursday, May 17.
SDCOE Discontinues Dial-in Internet Service in July
The San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) will be discontinuing its dial-in internet service as of July 1, 2007. SDCOE will
continue the service to all currently paid users through June 30, 2007, at no additional charge or renewal fee. The dial-in
service will be disconnected at 11:59 p.m. on June 30, 2007. Please Note: Current sdcoe.k12.ca.us email accounts are not
affected by this change. Users can continue using their email account by going to
http://webmail.sdcoe.net/webmail/. For information, contact the County's
Help Desk at (858) 292-3626.
Upcoming
Events
•
Parent Forum in Area 2
Superintendent Cohn, Area 2 Superintendent Chelsea Smith and Assistant Superintendent for High Schools Nellie Meyer will host
a Parent Forum
on Tuesday, February 20, from 6:15 to 8:30 p.m., at Wangenheim Middle School. Although the meeting is being held in Area 2,
parents from throughout the district are welcome to attend.
•
Cookies with Carl
The next Cookies with Carl will be held Monday, February 26, from 4 to 6 p.m., at Walker Elementary School. Employees are
invited to come by and speak with Superintendent Cohn and hear what other employees have to say.
•
Donate Blood
Memorial Academy’s Builders Club, a service club sponsored by the Balboa Park Kiwanis, is having its Annual Blood Drive on
Tuesday, February 27, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the school site. For information or to make a 15-minute appointment, call
the school’s Health Office at (619) 525-7400, ext. 2118.
•
National Girls and Women in Sports Day 2007
This annual event will be held on Saturday, March 3, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at San Diego City College. Applications for girls
in grades 4-8 are available in
English and
Spanish.
Applications must be submitted by a teacher. For information, contact Kathy McGinnis at
kmcginnis@sdccd.edu or (619) 388-3128.
Are
there any other topics on which you'd like an update? Send a "Newsline
Idea" email to communications@sandi.net.
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