AUSD Connection
Alhambra Unified School District News for Parents
Volume I, Issue 5 - December 16, 2022
Message from the Superintendent
Dear AUSD Community,
Season’s greetings to you and your family! The year is flying by and it’s hard to believe winter break is less than a week away!
The holiday season and the end of the calendar year give me an opportunity to pause and reflect on the many wonderful things happening in the Alhambra Unified School District.
I want to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone – students, employees, parents and other relatives, alumni, community members, business and non-profit partners – all who are part of the AUSD team. Every single one of you contributes to the success of our District.
We are a “people business” – Every award, every win, every accomplishment is because of the people behind them. Our AUSD community has worked selflessly to make a positive difference at our schools and for our students. It’s such a privilege to witness the coming together of a true community – never losing sight of our most important purpose: the children.
Thank you for all you have done and for all you will continue to do in 2023 and beyond. No matter what challenges we will face through the remainder of the school year, I know as a strong community, we will continue to support and celebrate each other.
From the Alhambra Unified School District family to yours, I wish you a holiday filled with peace, joy, and love. We will see you when school resumes on Monday, January 9th!
Warmest regards,
Denise R. Jaramillo, Superintendent
In this issue...
- Opening Event Highlight: Tri-City Field Show
- December 13th Board Meeting Staff Report Presentation Slides & Resolution
- Board of Education Reorganization
- California Dashboard
- AUSD CTE Program: College & Career Center Workshop
- AUSD Alumni Round-Up
- Student Support Services (SSS) Resources
- SSS "Stay Healthy" Letter
- Free COVID-19 Tests
- Small Spotlights (News and Information from Around AUSD)
- AUSD Publicity Request
- AUSD Featured in Local Papers
- Parent Resources: Community Offerings
- Partner Non-Profit Organizations (AEF, ALA, AAA)
- Lunar New Year Scholarship Dinner (Last Chance for Early Bird Prices)
- Human Resources: Employment Opportunities & Game Changers
- High School Athletics Calendars
- Upcoming Events and Important Dates
- Closing Event Highlight: SGHS Matador Football Team's Championship Season
- Featured Videos: Spanish & Mandarin Dual Language Immersion Programs
- Follow AUSD on Social Media
- AUSD Connection Archive
Throughout the newsletter, please CLICK ON IMAGES AND HEADLINES to access additional information, embedded links, and larger versions of the photographs/graphics.
EVENT HIGHLIGHT: 40TH ANNUAL TRI-CITY FIELD SHOW (Featuring AHS, MKHS, and SGHS)
Congratulations to all three high schools' marching bands and colorguards! On November 17th, under the leadership of band directors Mark Trulson (AHS), Justin Lee (MKHS), and Ben Soria (SGHS), they put together a spectacular Tri-City Field Show as the culmination of their competitive field show season. This is the 40th year the schools have come together to showcase their three shows. They opened the show performing together (and were even joined by some 8th graders who will certainly be part of the bands next year) and then each school performed their entire show to the delight of the excited audience.
Staff Report Presentation Slides
Board Resolution
At their December 13th meeting, the Board of Education adopted a Resolution Denouncing Hate and Racism and Embracing Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. You can download the resolution below to read its full contents.
Board Reorganization
On Tuesday, December 13th, California State Assemblyman Mike Fong (49th District) administered the Oaths of Office to Mr. Chang and Mr. Gin. The Board also reorganized its officers as follows:
Kaysa Moreno, President
Robert L. Gin, Vice President
Fred L. Chang, Clerk
Kenneth Tang, Member
Dr. Marcia Wilson, Member
The 2022 California Dashboard
The updated California Dashboard was released yesterday. Due to the revised testing that occurred during the pandemic, there are significant changes to the 2022 Dashboard. This year, there will be no comparison with prior years' data, and it will focus on current status levels only.
Last month, our Educational Services division shared the anticipated changes to the Dashboard with the AUSD Parent Advisory Council. The presentation by Dr. Lily Jarvis and Mr. Son Lieu gives a clear summary of what the new Dashboard contains and the changes from previous years. If you were not part of the November 7th meeting, we suggest you review the slidedeck below to get a better understanding of the changes to the 2022 California Dashboard.
The link to the California Dashboard appears below the slidedeck. You will be able to review the Dashboard about the District or any individual AUSD school.
College & Career Center Workshop
Click here to RSVP: https://tinyurl.com/CCC12523
We LOVED hearing from our alumni when we first announced our AUSD Alumni Round-Up, and our social media posts have received such positive responses. We've included a few of them below. Take a look and catch up with some of our graduates from 1949 through 2012!
We decided to open up the form again! If you graduated from an AUSD high school in 2012 or earlier, please click HERE, then follow us on social media (@AlhambraUSD on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) to see your post in the near future. Please spread the word to any alumni you know. We're looking forward to seeing what more of our alumni have been up to!
Douglas Lemon
AHS Class of 1949
Selina Woo
SGHS Class of 1990
Jody Dowell
AHS Class of 1995
Ken Tang
MKHS Class of 1991
Keith Eggleston
AHS Class of 1983
Donna Freedman
AHS Class of 1974
Stuart Rydman Espinosa
AHS Class of 2012
Joanne Davidson
AHS Class of 1984
Anne Lee
SGHS Class of 2004
STAY HEALTHY DURING WINTER BREAK
Free COVID-19 Tests Available Again
Small Spotlights
Little Bits of Good News & Information from Around the District
Please help Ynez School with their Cereal Box Domino Challenge. They need donations of sealed boxes of cereal to create a long domino-type chain as part of a schoolwide math/physics project. At the completion of the project, ALL boxes of cereal will be donated to the ATA Food Pantry to help struggling families in our community. Donations will be accepted at the Ynez School office through January 20th.
Congratulations to the AHS Dream Resource Center for being awarded a 2022 Californis School Board Association Golden Bell Award! The Dream Center is an inclusive, student-centered safe space that champions our recent immigrant and undocumented communities through leadership, advocacy, and support. In addition to the recognition, AHS was presented with $1000, which will be used to further the mission of the Dream Center.
Thank you to the members of the community and district who played Santa's Elves by shopping for families selected for the Alhambra Rotary Adopt-a-Family event. Parents were able to pick up the gifts on December 13th, while their children visited with Santa. Our generous community donors helped fund over $10,000 worth of gifts, toys, and clothing to help make the holidays a little brighter for our families in need.
Thank you to all the Park School families who joined the school for their Family Breakfast on November 15th to "Give Thanks Together" with a schoolwide family meal. This event gave parents/guardians the opportunity to slow down and have breakfast with their child(ren) on a school day, while enjoying a book and/or chat together.
REMINDER: Before Thanksgiving Break, we sent home a box with two Covid rapid antigen test kits. One test was to be saved and taken before returning from winter break. If your child tests positive, please keep him/her home and notify the school office of their absence. Negative tests do NOT need to be reported.
Retired AUSD teacher and administrator Marsha Gilbert was invited to one of the coveted Holiday Giveaway episodes of The Kelly Clarkson Show to recognize her years of service to education as well as her continued service to AUSD and several non-profit organization. Marsha was even invited to "throw the show to commercial" at the end of a segment. View the clip HERE. We think she's a natural!
January 2022 menus will be posted HERE on Thursday, December 22nd.
Read about AUSD in these Local Papers:
Partner Non-Profit Organizations
Alhambra Educational Foundation
Thank you to everyone who provided monetary donations for the annual Spark of Love drive to provide giftcards to middle and high school students at the Alhambra Fire Department's Spark of Love Pancake Breakfast event tomorrow (younger children will select from the thousands of toys donated by our generous community. There are many other ways to support the District through AEF. Please visit their WEBSITE for more information.
Alhambra Latino Association
Applications are being accepted NOW through March 17th for ALA $1,000 scholarships. One recipient will be selected from EACH high school. To apply, scan the QR code in the graphic or visit the ALA WEBSITE.
Asian American Association
AAA is excited to announce EARLY BIRD door prizes for this year's Lunar New Year banquet. RSVP by December 20th and you might win tickets to either Mean Girls on January 11th or the Pasadena Symphony on January 23rd. More information is available HERE. For more information about AAA, please visit their WEBSITE.
Human Resources
Please check EdJoin.com often for available full-and part-time positions. We have competitive salaries and excellent benefits!
High School Athletics Calendars
Upcoming Events & Important Dates
- December 18: AUSD Booth at Farmers Market 9:00am
- December 20: Last Day for AAA Lunar New Year Banquet Early Bird RSVP
- December 22: Secondary Pupil-Free Day (Gr. 9-12) - End of 1st Semester
- December 23-January 6: Winter Break (No School)
- January 8: AUSD Booth at Farmers Market 9:00am
- January 9: School Resumes
- January 10: Board of Education Meeting 6:00pm (Agendas & Minutes)
- January 11: ATA Food Pantry (Flyer)
- January 13: "AUSD Connection" Newsletter Emailed to Parents
- January 16: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (Holiday / No School)
- January 18: Student Support Services Webinar: Mental Awareness Health 6:00pm (Webinar Series Website)
- January 19: Community Conversations for AUSD Parents 6:30pm (Flyer, RSVP)
- January 19: Deadline for January Game Changer Nominations (Nomination PAGE)
- January 22: AUSD Booth at Farmers Market 9:00am
- January 23: Pupil-Free Day (No School)
- January 25: ATA Food Pantry (Flyer)
- January 25: College & Career Workshop: AUSD's Career Technical Education Program (via Zoom) 7:00pm (Flyer, RSVP)
- January 31: Board of Education Meeting (Agendas & Minutes)
Event HIGHLIGHT: SGHS Matador Football Team's Championship Season
The SGHS football team's amazing year culminated on December 10th at the State Championship game against Atascadero. As seen in the photo below (courtesy of AP Jesse Toribio), the Matadors fought hard in pouring rain, heavy winds, and on a muddy field with the unwavering support of their family, friends and site/district staff members. Although the Matadors lost their final game, they have so much to be proud of with their second-place State finish. It's been a privilege for AUSD to have gone on the journey of this inspirational season with them. The players and coaches have shown grit, determination, grace, and sportsmanship as they became CIF-SS Division 13 Champions, SoCal Regional Champions, and California State Runner-Ups. Revisit their history-making playoff run through articles in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune and Pasadena Star-News below. (Click on the link below each image to access the full articles.) Congratulations to the SGHS Matador Football Team for an incredible season!
About AUSD
Email: AlhambraUSD@ausd.us
Website: www.ausd.us
Location: 1515 West Mission Road, Alhambra, CA, USA
Phone: (626) 943-3000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alhambrausd
Twitter: @alhambrausd
Look for the next issue of "AUSD Connection" on Friday, January 13th
All issues of "AUSD Connections" are archived on our website. Click this button to access them.