Falcon Features

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Upcoming Events

District Breaks Language Barriers for Diverse Families

School and Family Partnership is Vital to Student Success

In a proactive approach to inclusivity, Campbell Union School District is tackling language barriers for its diverse community. With over 50 different languages spoken among district families, the initiative helps all families engage with and support their student’s success at school.

“Except in our dual immersion school, all student instruction is provided in English. That presents an extra hurdle for students whose primary language is not English,” said English Language Development Program Coordinator Denise Kilpatrick. “Our district is committed to making educational content accessible for all students and actively involving their families in the learning process.”

Because the district is committed to two-way communication, it provides a range of resources to facilitate it, including on-demand interpreters and translators for employee requests, language preference settings on ParentSquare for personalized communication, and multilingual options for school newsletters. A phone interpretation service, Language Scientific, facilitates real-time conversations, ensuring effective communication between parents and teachers.

To further bridge the gap, some schools are piloting web translation applications. These tools aid newcomer students in accessing classroom lessons and provide families with an additional avenue for obtaining information to support their children's learning at home.

Caption: Multicultural events and celebrations, like this one at Forest Hill, are another way our schools embrace partnering with parents and encourage family involvement in student learning. See short video.

AIM (Art, Innovation, Music) Classes Inspire Creativity

Our AIM classes have given Falcons valuable experiences in art, innovation, and music.

Student art samples

Through our Art, Innovation, and Music (AIM) Program, our students have been developing their creativity skills. Our AIM teachers Eric Armann, Amy Fang, and Amanda Raudsep have been a wonderful addition to our school. 

Students have had the opportunity to address critical Profile of a Graduate skills during AIM classes. Recently, Kindergarten and first graders were introduced to programming through Bee-Bots, second and third graders learned about values of colors and created artwork inspired by local architecture, and fourth and fifth graders engaged their critical thinking skills in music by identifying musical patterns in popular music. Check out the attached photos for some other recent activities from AIM at Forest Hill!

 Follow their learning journeys on our AIM Blog (bit.ly/cusdaimblog).

District Takes a Stand in Class Action Suit Against Meta

Combating social media risks and advocating for student wellbeing

unhappy adolescent girl looking at her phone as two others behind her look and laugh at her

Campbell Union School District has officially joined a class action lawsuit against Meta, alleging that their products are intentionally designed to be addictive, marketed towards children, and are negatively impacting student mental health, according to District Superintendent Shelly Viramontez. 

“Our teachers and administrators see the adverse effects of social media on children's mental health and learning capabilities every day,” said Dr. Viramontez. “We don’t anticipate any financial gain. We want to raise awareness and combat the harm caused by the seemingly deliberate manipulation of children and youth.”

Multiple studies underscore the risks and behaviors of children who use social media:

  • Nearly 40% of children 8-12 years old use social media. Those are peak years for brain development and risk-taking behavior.
  • Up to 95% of youth age 13-17 report using social media—More than ⅓ say “almost constantly” 
  • Children and adolescents on social media are commonly exposed to extreme, inappropriate, and harmful content.
  • Those spending 3-plus hours/day on social media face twice the risk of poor mental health, including depression and anxiety symptoms. (8th & 10th graders average 3.5 hours/day on it.)
  • Studies limiting use of social media resulted in mental health benefits for young adults.
  • Excessive use is linked to sleep problems, attention problems and feelings of exclusion.

“Our top priorities are ensuring student safety and educating them to their highest potential,” Dr. Viramontez said. “We do that on multiple fronts: We have multiple layers of filters, protocols, and systems to protect students on district-issued devices; we educate our students to be critical thinkers and responsible digital citizens, not passive consumers of media; our middle schools are certified Common Sense Media schools, and we collaborate with families to encourage digital wellness and responsible technology use.”  

Want to Learn More?

 

We Are Thankful

Together with our community, we remove barriers to learning and educate students to their highest potential.

acorns and the words: Happy Thanksgiving on a wooden board

We wish you a very happy Thanksgiving, and look forward to seeing you all when classes resume on November 27th.

Click to see a special thanks to our many community partners. 

World Kindness Week

5th graders and kinder buddies celebrate world kindness week with a sweet surprise.

Students draw with sidewalk chalk, writing kind messages

The week of 11/13-11/17 is World Kindness Week! Yesterday, some of our fifth graders and kindergartners surprised the rest of campus with inspiring messages of peace and kindness. These messages will greet you as you enter campus from the front gate, Kindergarten gate, or side gate by Campbell Care!

The purpose of World Kindness Week is to focus on positivity around us - by learning, teaching, and sharing kindness with others. Many classes lately have been working on kindness lessons and projects. First grade did a weekly kindness challenge, and second grade worked on surprise kindness notes for their former teachers and for classmates. All our Falcons put effort into being kind and treating others respectfully.

If you'd like some resources for home, randomactsofkindness.org has many ideas! Check it out and share with our school Instagram, , if you complete any kindness activities at home!