Ballard School Principal
Allan Pelletier is excited that school is soon starting and is looking forward
to seeing returning students and meeting any new students.
“We’re ready to
go, we’ll be very happy when our students and staff come back,”
Pelletier said. “It’s pretty quiet around here without them.”
He also had a few
suggestions for new and returning students to help with easing not only the
transition from one grade to another but the school routine as well.
“I think what I would
encourage, especially if it’s somebody new to our school here, bring them
by and like I said, we’re so small, they’ll get a personal tour
from me,” he said.
“For the older
students, beginning maybe in third grade and up, we say bring a notebook and
pencil,” he added. “The teachers will talk to them about all of
that on the first day. A lot of teachers send home information ahead of time
saying ‘this is what they’re looking for’ but we’re
pretty equipped here.”
Though Ballard is K-6 and has
already registered kindergarten students, the school has open enrollment
throughout the year.
Students and parents can
look forward to additional enrichment programs in science and technology this
school year.
“Right now
we’re trying to coordinate with the Lawrence Hall of Science to bring
them in and to access some of their science expertise,” Pelletier said.
“We’re also looking to expand and enhance our technology to get it
a little more up to date.”
School starts August 29 at 8:30 a.m. For more information
about
The administrative staff at
Oak Valley Elementary and Jonata Jr. High is excited
about welcoming students back to school as well as the addition five teachers
it has added to its program.
“It’s always
exciting to see the new students and the changes that have occurred with the
older students,” said Terri Schrepel,
administrative assistant to the superintendent. “I’ve seen the
majority of our teachers already preparing for the student’s return
because they are equally excited for school to start.”
Jonata is also offering Read 180, which is an accelerated
pace language arts class for students who are behind in language arts. It is
also offering the Avid Program, which helps students with organization and task
completion.
Schrepel not only expressed her eagerness for the
student’s return, but also had some words of advice for parents and
students.
“The transition into
middle school is huge, it will take a few days to get used to the
routine,” Schrepel said. “All of a sudden
the students have five or six different teachers instead of one.”
It’s certainly helps
if parents can get their kids to school on time and have them eat a well balanced
breakfast, she added.
School starts on August 29 at 8:25 a.m. Kindergarten
lets out at 1:30 p.m. First through third grades is dismissed at 2:30 p.m.
Fourth through fifth grades is dismissed at 3:05 and sixth through eighth
grades is dismissed at 3:10.
For more information about
Oak Valley Elementary or Jonata Jr. High visit www.buellton.ca.schoolwebpages.com
The
“Are you kidding,
we’re ready as soon as they come into the door, we’ll be
ready,” he said. “School is always an exciting time.”
“The College campus
and the Santa Ynez campus are under construction so we’re busy preparing
for opening day,” Brown said.
Brown expressed having full
trust in the parents and did have a little suggestion for parents with children
who are entering kindergarten.
“All of the
transitions have already occurred between the families and the teachers,”
he said. “But we always recommend that kids do extra reading during the
summer time and for families who are brand new to the school, we offer a
kindergarten orientation day.”
Though Brown was unable to
provide the actual date for kindergarten orientation day he did encourage
parents to call the
School starts September 10 with the charter school
beginning at 8 a.m. and the Santa Ynez School beginning at 8:30.
For more information call
805-805-686-8385 or stop by the
Though
Superintendent Paul Oisboid, who is new to the district, is excited about the
new technology as well as the student’s return.
“Every year is a new
and different year,” Oisboid said. “The
kids are already asking when they can come back to school, so we’re
excited to get started.”
“We did adopt a new
science text, I think the most important thing is that these texts are modern
and are in better shape,” he said. “We have also modernized all of
our technology, added new computers and wiring, the whole thing, a complete
technology upgrade.
“The students are
going to come back to computers and a computer lab that they have never
touched.”
Oisboid accredits the Los Alamos Educational Foundation for
the upgrades.
“Most of the credit
for the technology upgrade belongs to the Los Alamos Educational Foundation. We
immensely thank them. We can’t say enough for the work that the parents
and people involved did and because of this the children are going to have the
latest technology and I am so excited for them.”
The school’s business
manager, Alison Marino is also jumping for joy for the uneventful summer to end
and excitement to return to the campus.
“I’m always
excited,” she said. “I miss the kids. I sit here alone all
summer.”
The school has
“loving open enrollment” and starts on August 23 at 8 a.m. Kindergarten is dismissed at 1 p.m. First
through third grades is dismissed at 2 p.m. and fourth through eighth grade is
dismissed at 3 p.m.
For more information about
Lisa Andresen, school
secretary for
“We adopted new
science curriculum from grades K-8,” she said. “Following the state
calendar, we updated our curriculum with new textbooks, workbooks and science
kits. It’s more engaging and hands-on.”
Like all of the
administrative staff, Andresen is also enthusiastic about the coming semester.
“I am looking forward
to another year,” she said. “Summer’s fun and it gets quiet,
but you start to miss the kids after a while.”
She also shared some
suggestions about how kids can be better prepared for the upcoming school year.
“The biggest
suggestion that I have for parents is to start getting their kids used to the
school routine a couple of weeks before school starts, so it’s not such a
shock,” Andresen said.
Los Olivos Scholl starts
on August 27, 8 a.m. for kindergarten and 8:20 for first through eighth grades.
For more information about
Since
“I am looking forward
to school starting,” he said. “It gets a little too quiet in the
summer after a while and I always enjoy interacting with the teachers and the
students.”
Olive Grove students can
look forward to a brand new Spanish class and teacher, since the school has
added a Spanish 1 course.
“We’ve
continued to expand our curriculum and we will be offering a Spanish 1 class
from a credentialed Spanish teacher,” Leyva
said.
Leyva also had some recommendations for new students and
parents to the district and school.
“I recommend for new
enrolling parents and students to come to the school at their earliest
convenience,” he said. “So that all of the required paperwork and
documents for registration purposes are submitted to the school in a timely
manner so that the kids can get started as close to the beginning of the year
as possible.”
Olive Grove starts on August 17 at various times.
For more information about
Santa Ynez Valley Union High School
District
Santa Ynez Valley Union High School
9-12
With the transition from
Jr. high school to high school being one of the most
challenging changes in an adolescent’s life, Santa Ynez Valley Union High
has implemented some programs that help students overcome some of the freshman
jitters.
Though Principal Norm
Clevenger has not completely recovered from the busy spring semester yet, he is
nonetheless looking forward to the return of old students as well as the new
students.
“Every year I’m
excited about school starting,” Clevenger said. “I am still in
between getting started for this year and finishing up from last year. So
I’m doing a little bit of both.”
The school has added some
new classes to its curriculum that will help students become even more college
prepared.
“We added
International Baccalaureate classes, they are similar to international advanced
placement courses and are accepted all over the world,” Clevenger said.
“It’s our newest program and we have classes in seven different
subject areas, such as English, math, science, social science, fine arts,
drama, Spanish and Latin.”
The school has also added
two new teachers in the sciences, one new Spanish teacher, an English teacher,
a social science teacher and an auto shop teacher.
Clevenger had some words of
advice for incoming freshman and parents who are new to the school.
“Most importantly we
have a freshman orientation day August 24 at 9 a.m. tentatively, and I
recommend that all freshman students come,” he said.
“I also recommend
parent to get signed up for our Parent Portal, which will allow them to check
their kid’s attendance, grade and discipline on a daily basis,”
Clevenger said.
The orientation will include
prospective freshman meeting with older students to discuss the resources that
are available at the school, an informational session about drugs and alcohol
as well as a campus tour that will end with pizza.
School starts on August 29 at 8 a.m. and Freshman
Orientation Day is August 24 at 9 a.m. For more information about Santa Ynez
Valley Union High School call 805-688-6487 or visit www.syvuhsd.sbceo.org
Last but definitely not
least is
“I am absolutely
ready for school to start,” said Susie Durbiano.
“I miss the kids over the summer and it will be great to see how much
they’ve grown.”
The school also offers
parents and first-time kindergarteners with and opportunity to meet other
classmates and their teacher before school starts.
“This is so children
have a chance to meet their teacher and get familiar with their new
classmates,” Durbiano said.
She also recommends that if
parents have not already registered their kids to visit the campus and get
registered.
The school has added two
sixth grade all-subject teachers and a new seventh and eighth grade science
teacher, so students can look forward to seeing some new faces around campus.
For more information on