Tag: Simi Valley

Santa Susana High School to Lead the Way in California

 

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Congratulations go out to Santa Susana High School, which was named a Demonstration Site by the California Department of Education (CDE) this month.

As one of eight Demonstration Site schools in California focused on the Arts, Media and Entertainment (AME) industry for Career Technical Education, Santa Susana High School is eligible for up to $15,000 from the state to provide two demonstration days a year to visiting administrators interested in the AME programs. Santa Susana’s staff could also be called on to present information about its programs at regional and state conferences and support other schools interested in pursuing similar programs. These programs include the Design, Visual and Media Arts Pathway; Performing Arts Pathway; and Productions and Managerial Arts Pathways.

All of this establishes Santa Susana High School, a magnet school with an emphasis in the arts, academics and technology, as a state leader in Career Technical Education programs, which the CDE has given greater attention and more resources to in recent years.

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“After visiting your site it was evident that you have model programs in the Design, Visual and Media Arts Pathway, Performing Arts Pathway, as well as the Production and Managerial Arts Pathway,” wrote Jack Mitchell, a consultant with the CDE, in his notification letter to Principal Wendy Mayea.

Santa Susana High School’s innovative programs were developed from research-based models specific to high schools. The three smaller schools within Santa Susana–Academics, Technical Arts and Performing Arts–provide students with focused and unique learning opportunities culminating in program certifications.

If you don’t want to miss any news published here about Simi Valley schools, please sign up for email notifications in the upper right hand area on this page. We usually post District news one to three times a week. Any questions? Contact Jake Finch at jake.finch@simivalleyusd.org. Also follow us on Facebook by “liking” our page!

Simi Elementary School: A 10-Year Timeline and History

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Simi Elementary School, 1947

On Monday, June 16, 2014, the Simi Valley Unified School District will hold a Public Hearing on the potential closure of Simi Elementary School. This is not a board meeting and no decision will be made at the hearing. The hearing’s purpose is strictly to hear public comment on the issue.

Simi Elementary School has been the topic of many SVUSD School Board meetings and much public discourse for several months, beginning with the District Advisory Committee’s (DAC) request in January that the School Board decide what would be done to repair the front/main building before the DAC makes a recommendation on the school’s future.

Shortly after this, the entire school body was relocated to Mountain View Elementary, amid serious concerns about the safety of the entire Simi Elementary School campus. The physical campus has remained vacant since then, pending further School Board action, but the school continues to operate separately at the Mountain View campus.

The link below will direct you to a comprehensive timeline documenting the history of Simi Elementary School’s physical campus over the past 10 years, beginning shortly after the 2004 passage of Measure C4, the $145 million facilities and technology bond to modernize all of the District’s campuses. This information has been gathered to factually answer the many questions and concerns about how the campus was maintained over the years; what Measure C4 Bond funds and additional monies were spent on maintaining and improving the campus; and how the District and School Board responded to the rapid physical decline of the campus.

Simi Elementary Timeline

Our Kids do Amazing Things!

On April 26, a team of 10 students from Hillside Middle School battled high schoolers at the annual Clay Day competition at California State University-Northridge and emerged victorious!

With two first-place finishes, two second place and three third-place finishes, Hillside’s pottery team stood proud in the face of many area high schoolers.

Josh Franco and Jerry Butler team up for the Twin Throw.
Josh Franco and Jerry Butler team up for the Twin Throw.

Clay Day is a pottery competition that challenges students in teams and individually to throw the tallest, or widest pots. Other contests include smallest wheel thrown pot, a pot thrown by a blindfolded potter and the potter who throws eight pots fastest. Still other young potters face off to build the tallest hand-built structure, create a fantastic sculpture, fabricate the most imaginative vehicle and in the final task, pull the longest handle.

From left to right: Front row: Justin Hibbit, Coach Galvin, Zalma Quezada. Back row: William M., Mrs. Malone, Scott Dodge, Josh Franco, Hayley Williams, Taylor Blomquist and Amanda Adams.
From left to right: Front row: Justin Hibbit, Coach Galvin, Zalma Quezada. Back row: William Malone, Mrs. Judi Malone, Scott Dodge, Josh Franco, Hayley Williams, Taylor Blomquist and Amanda Adams.

The students included eighth graders Amanda Adams, Jerry Butler, Scott Dodge, Josh Franco, Justin Hibbits, Joey Kraige, Wiliam Malone and Zalma Quezada. Seventh grader Haley Williams and sixth grader Taylor Bloomquist finished off the team.

The wins were:

  • First place: Tallest Hand-Built Structure. (Team of Scott Dodge, Josh Franco and Justin Hibbits)
  • First place: Most Imaginative Vehicle. (Team of Amanda Abrams, Josh Franco and Justin Hibbits)
  • Second place: Fence Post Sculpture. (Joey Kraige)
  • Second place: Twin Throw. (Team William Malone and Zalma Quezada)
  • Third place: Fastest Throw. (Jerry Butler)
  • Third place: Tallest Thrown Pot. (Zalma Quezada)
  • Third place: Longest Pulled Handle. (Scott Dodge and Joey Kraige)
Zalma Quezada throws her entry for the Tallest Wheel Thrown Pot contest.
Zalma Quezada throws her entry for the Tallest Wheel Thrown Pot contest.

Teams from Hillside have competed in the past, and surprisingly come away with some first place awards.

“The younger potters do not know that there are some things too difficult to do. They fearlessly plunge ahead and achieve great things, not knowing they have done the impossible,” said Coach Stephen Galvin, Hillside’s art teacher.

We are proud of ALL of our Clay Day competitors! Throw on, guys.