PJUSD Newsletter

Dr. Reyes Gauna

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Susan White

Executive Assistant / Cabinet Member

swhite@patterson.k12.ca.us

Happy October PJUSD students, families, and members of our community. We hope you take an opportunity to read this month's newsletter to find out about important and exciting events and initiatives going on in our district.

In September, our district wrapped up the month with two monumental events: We formally dedicated our new science building at Patterson High School in the honor of the beloved, late, teacher, Mr. Eugene Field; and we celebrated 100 years of education at the Northmead Centennial Celebration. It was an honor to welcome so many past and present students, teachers, administrators, and superintendents to join us in celebration of these historic events.

This month our district will continue to make positive strides for our school community. Our district will be taking the first steps in updating our five year strategic plan. We will begin our Total Quality Review (TQR) process of our schools to ensure that our students are being adequately served.

Lastly, you will begin to see information about the upcoming Bond, Measure E, shared throughout our community. Measure E is a community approach to combat school overcrowding by addressing our district's growing need for school facilities as our community continues to grow. We hope you take the time to remain informed and invite you to join us for a Town Hall event at the Patterson Professional Development Center on Thursday, October 27th at 5:30 pm to learn more about Measure E and what we plan to use the funds for.

Thank you for another wonderful month of education. As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.

Sincerely,

Dr. Reyes Gauna

5 Habits of Successful Students

Student attendance remains a top priority for our district. Last month we kicked off an attendance awareness campaign to create a culture of attendance all year long. This month, we want to continue to promote our commitment to attendance by promoting healthy habits to help ensure students show up to school to get the best out of their education.

Here are a few practical tips to help support regular attendance:

1. Make sure your student keeps a regular bedtime and establishes a morning routine.
2. Lay out clothes and pack backpacks the night before.
3. Ensure your student goes to school every day unless he/she is truly sick.
4. Avoid scheduling vacations or doctor’s appointments when school is in session.
5. Develop back-up plans for getting to school if something comes up. Call on a family member, neighbor, or another parent to take your student to school.

October 2022: Red Ribbon Week

This month Patterson schools will be promoting healthy lifestyles as part of the annual Red Ribbon Week drug prevention campaign. Each October schools across the nation join together in promoting drug-free lifestyles with a variety of activities to promote wellness, supportive relationships, and help-seeking strategies. Effective drug prevention takes more than just saying no. Students (and people of all ages) need to know that it’s okay to not be okay, friends are important in giving and finding help, and there are some simple steps we can take to build our own resilience.

It’s okay to not be okay: Unfortunately, people sometimes look at needing help as a sign of weakness, but this just is not true. True strength comes when we are able to recognize those times when we need some extra support. We can show even more strength when we reach out and ask a teacher, counselor, or other trusted adult for help. Sometimes a good pep talk can help us feel better but other times we might need something more. It all starts with making a good choice to talk to someone else.

Friends are important! Did you know that youth are more likely to talk with a friend before they talk to an adult when they need help? Encourage your children to share important information about a friend who may be hurting or in danger. Let them know keeping secrets is okay as long as their friends are safe. Talking with an adult about a friend in trouble may not always be an easy step, but it is very important to find help when our friends need it. And if you talk with an adult and don’t find help, find another safe adult to talk to!

Three easy steps to boost your child’s resilience: Resilience is the ability to bounce back when life gets difficult, and there are a lot of things we can do to strengthen that ability. Here are three simple things we can do starting today:

1. Good physical activity helps our body and mind feel better and improves our mood.
2. Follow a bedtime routine and get eight hours of sleep a day.
3. Enjoy the great outdoors, even if that means spending some time in your backyard. These strategies will help the body produce and store up all the right brain chemicals to help kids (and any of us) bounce back from challenging experiences.

Encourage your child to ask for help when they need it and reassure them that it is okay to not always feel okay. Remind them they are an important source of support for their friends and they can also help a friend connect with a caring adult for help. Boosting our physical resilience can also help our mental and emotional resilience. With these strengths in place, students are less likely to turn to drugs as an unhealthy coping mechanism. So don’t just say no, say yes to helpful friends and resilience-building activities!

Cyber Awareness Month

October is Cyber Awareness Month. Cyber awareness month promotes the protection of individuals from online threats to technology and confidentiality. Although technology can be used as a powerful tool for knowledge, connecting friends and families, and entertainment, it can also be used in very negative ways. We encourage families to have constructive conversations with their children about potential harms and consequences technology, particularly social media, may have.

The following information is from youthfirstinc.org and provides families with important tips to keep their children safe online and while using social media:

One important way to help them stay safe while using social media is to monitor their usage. Just like when our children spend time with their friends in real life, we need to know what they are doing and who they are talking to through social media platforms.

While it is important to give our children some freedom, we still need to know that they are being safe and following the social media rules we set for them. Giving them clear rules and consequences for their misuse will help them continue to use social media in a positive manner.

Teach them social media safety habits. While it is ideal to share this information with them before they get on social media for the first time, that might be difficult. These rules and safety measures will be valuable at any time.

According to www.connectsafely.org/social-web-tips-for-teens/, some of the things children (of any age) can do to stay safe online are as follows:

1. Be your own person. Never pretend to be someone that you are not. Be who you really are and you will attract the people who will become your real friends.
2. Be nice. Don't say mean things just because you can hide behind a screen. Your words hurt the same as if you would say them to the person's face.
3. Think about what you post. Remember that once it is out there it is out there for everyone [forever]!
4. Do not add people you don't know on social media accounts. Having friends and followers is fun but can be dangerous when they are strangers.
5. Never send inappropriate pictures or engage in sexual conversations with peers or strangers. Never. Never. Never.

Also - NEVER GIVE OUT YOUR ADDRESS ON SOCIAL MEDIA! Don't even tell anyone you don't know what city you live in or what school you go to. Don't post photos that show your school or give any information about where you live. Try to be as vague as possible about where you live.

If we stress the importance of these rules and safety habits and reinforce them with a consistent reward/consequence system, we can help our children stay safe online. This also will give us some peace of mind when trusting our kids with the responsibility and privilege of using social media.

PJUSD is Hiring

Patterson Joint Unified School District is always looking for talented individuals to join our team. Oftentimes these individuals are first associated with our district as parents/guardians. If you are interested in employment with our district you can go to www.edjoin.org/pattersonunified to find our current vacancies. Please note that only applicants who are currently employed with PJUSD can submit interest for internal postings. However, we are currently looking for external vacancies as well for Yard Duty and Paraeducator team members.

Those not interested in permanent employment with Patterson Joint can apply to become a qualified substitute to fill in for staff absences. If you want more information on how to be added to our substitute list please contact Katie Jones by emailing her at kajones@patterson.k12.ca.us.