January 2006 News Archive
Monday, January 30, 2006
100+ Strings: Students to Perform in Local String Festival
More than 100 violins, violas, and cellos will be heard when elementary, junior high, and high schools students perform in the String Festival, a free event that is open to the public. Musicians from local colleges and the community will join them. The String Festival will begin at 7:00 p.m. in the San Marcos High School auditorium on Thursday, February 9, 2006. San Marcos High School is located at 4750 Hollister Avenue, Santa Barbara, CA.
Jeffrey Peterson, Santa Barbara School Districts music teacher, stated, “The festival is a first of its kind. Never have so many groups, reflecting all ages and abilities, been invited to participate in this area on the same program. There will be student musicians from the Santa Barbara elementary schools, Goleta Union School District, Santa Barbara secondary schools, Santa Barbara City College, UCSB, Westmont, private schools, home-schooled and students from area private string teachers.” He continued, “The goal of the festival is to showcase the musical talent in our string community, bring excitement to our newest string players, and increase public awareness of string education throughout the area.”
The program will include 19 musical selections, including the beginning strings’ performance of “Mozart Melody,” “Old MacDonald,” and “Morning Dance,” and the experienced elementary strings’ “Classic Sinfonia,” “Tangerine Rag,” and “La Rejouissance.” Music teachers Nancy Mathison, Karen Dutton, Doug Throop and Jeffrey Peterson will conduct the beginning strings, for first-year players, and experienced elementary groups, comprised of second- and third-year elementary students.
The intermediate strings will be comprised of junior and senior high school students and adults. “Contrasts in E Minor,” “Slovakian Dances,” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” are among the selections to be performed by the intermediate strings and conducted by Jim Mooy, Santa Barbara City College orchestra director.
The advanced strings will be made up of youth symphony senior high school students, college students, and experienced adults. “Crisantemi,” by Giacomo Puccini, and “Simple Symphony,” by Benjamin Britten, will be performed by the advanced strings and conducted by Sean Newhouse, Los Angeles Young Musicians Foundation conductor and fall-term UC Santa Barbara orchestra director.
Talent Galore at Santa Barbara Junior High School
The annual Santa Barbara Junior High Talent Show will take place on February 9, 2006, at 7:00 p.m. in the Marjorie Luke Theatre. The event will showcase some exceptional student dancers, singers, and actors.
Co- hosted by eighth-grade student Andrew Adamson and seventh-grade student Marina Casso-Cloonan, the talent show will also feature performances by the theater classes and the school’s choir, who will be performing “Seasons of Love” from the musical Rent.
Santa Barbara Junior High School will be donating a portion of the proceeds from the talent show to Direct Relief International to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Suggested donations = $5. Tickets available at the door. Call 963-7753, extension 129, for more information.
Santa Barbara Junior High School is located at 721 E. Cota Street, Santa Barbara, CA.
Board of Education to Convene on January 31 at Santa Barbara High SchoolBoard Meeting will be Broadcast on February 5
The Santa Barbara School Districts’ Board of Education will meet on January 31, 2006, at 4:00 p.m. in the Santa Barbara High School auditorium, 700 East Anapamu Street. The regularly scheduled meeting will begin with a presentation on the school’s three academies: Green Academy, Multimedia and Arts Design Academy, and Visual Arts and Design Academy.
The January 31 board meeting will be taped and then broadcast on Channel 18 on Saturday, February 4, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Academic Performance Index (API) Scores for the Santa Barbara School Districts
According to Dr. Davis Hayden, Santa Barbara School Districts’ director of research and evaluation, of 22 schools in the districts that receive an API Growth Report, 15 met the state goal for improvement with an average growth of 20 points. Several schools just missed their growth targets while only two schools showed a large loss, Dos Pueblos High School, with a loss of 16 points, and Cesar Chavez Charter School, with a loss of 54 points. Dos Pueblos, however, scored only two points below the 800 mark, which is the point at which the state declares that a school is doing so well that they do not have to meet any growth requirement at all. Indeed, five schools in the Santa Barbara School Districts scored above the 800 mark and 10 other schools were in the 700 or above range. In terms of similar schools, which are ranked on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest score, six of our schools were ranked 10. Fifteen schools were ranked seven or higher and only two schools were ranked lower than five, the average score. The API reports are available online at: http://api.cde.ca.gov/
| 2004 API Base | 2005 API Growth | Actual Growth | Growth Target | Met Growth | Met Subgroup Growth |
State Rank | Similar Schools Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elementary Schools | 738 | 746 | 8 | NA | ||||
| Adams | 726 | 742 | 16 | 4 | Yes | Yes | 5 | 10 |
| Cleveland | 729 | 725 | -4 | 4 | No | No | 5 | 10 |
| Franklin | 666 | 675 | 9 | 7 | Yes | Yes | 3 | 9 |
| Harding | 702 | 697 | -5 | 5 | No | No | 4 | 9 |
| McKinley | 665 | 669 | 4 | 7 | No | No | 3 | 10 |
| Monroe | 763 | 766 | 3 | 2 | Yes | No | 7 | 9 |
| Open Alternative | 788 | 807 | 19 | 1 | Yes | Yes | 8 | 2 |
| Peabody Charter | 783 | 811 | 28 | 1 | Yes | Yes | 7 | 8 |
| Roosevelt | 804 | 843 | 39 | Above 800 | Yes | Yes | 8 | 7 |
| Santa Barbara Charter | 706 | 755 | 49 | 5 | Yes | Yes | 5 | 1 |
| SB Community Academy | 749 | 769 | 20 | 3 | Yes | Yes | 6 | 7 |
| Washington | 826 | 857 | 31 | Above 800 | Yes | Yes | 9 | 10 |
| Small Schools | ||||||||
| Cesar Chavez Charter | 651 | 597 | -54 | 7 | No | No | ||
| 2004 API Base | 2005 API Growth | Actual Growth | Growth Target | Met Growth | Met Subgroup Growth |
State Rank | Similar Schools Rank | |
| Secondary Schools | 756 | 760 | 4 | NA | ||||
| Goleta Valley Junior High | 761 | 796 | 35 | 2 | Yes | Yes | 8 | 5 |
| La Colina Junior High | 814 | 821 | 7 | Above 800 | Yes | Yes | 9 | 6 |
| La Cumbre Junior High | 658 | 669 | 11 | 7 | Yes | Yes | 4 | 8 |
| Santa Barbara Junior High | 738 | 755 | 17 | 3 | Yes | Yes | 7 | 9 |
| Dos Pueblos High School | 814 | 798 | -16 | Above 800 | No | No | 10 | 10 |
| San Marcos High School | 741 | 748 | 7 | 3 | Yes | No | 8 | 9 |
| Santa Barbara High School | 739 | 743 | 4 | 3 | Yes | Yes | 8 | 10 |
Early Enrollment in the Santa Barbara School Districts for School Year 2006-07
Early enrollment for school year 2006-07, in grades K-12, is underway in the Santa Barbara School Districts. Open enrollment permits parents to secure a spot at a school within their attendance area or to apply for intradistrict transfers to a school outside of the attendance area. The Santa Barbara School Districts have an open enrollment policy that allows transfer to any schools within district boundaries (i.e., intradistrict transfer), provided space is available. Parents may also take advantage of the No Child Left Behind school choice option if the school in their particular attendance area is identified, per current federal policy, as a Program Improvement school.
The early open enrollment period ends March 1, 2006, and a random public lottery for spaces at grade levels and schools will take place in mid-March at the Santa Barbara School Districts’ administrative office, 720 Santa Barbara Street, Santa Barbara, CA.
At the elementary school level, kindergarten registration will take place January 30 through February 3, 2006. Information and schools tours for new students and those requesting transfers from their attendance areas can be arranged by contacting any of our neighborhood schools or schools of choice.
At the secondary level, during the open enrollment period, parents of sixth-graders will have an opportunity to become familiar with the wide range of programs offered at the junior high level and learn more about the specific courses offered and the process of course selection. Junior high school parent nights will be held at 6:30 p.m. at each of the districts’ four junior high schools: La Cumbre, February 1; La Colina, February 7; Goleta Valley, February 9; and Santa Barbara Junior High, February 15. Parents are welcome to visit as many of the open houses as they would like.
2005 Physical Fitness Test’s Top Performers in the Districts
For the sixth year, California law requires school districts to conduct a physical fitness test to all fifth, seventh, and ninth graders. The test provides information that can be used by students to assess and plan personal fitness programs; teachers to design the curriculum for P.E. programs; and parents and guardians to understand their children’s fitness levels.
The test assesses:
- aerobic capacity (cardiovascular endurance) (e.g., one-mile run, walk test),
- body composition (percentage of body fat) (e.g., skinfold measurements, body mass index),
- abdominal strength and endurance (e.g., curl-up),
- trunk strength and flexibility (e.g., trunk lift),
- upper body strength and endurance (e.g., push-ups and pull-ups),
- and overall flexibility (e.g., back-saver sit and reach).
It’s tough to meet the fitness standards in every area.
Recognized at a recent Board of Education meeting were the top performers in the Santa Barbara School Districts on the 2005 Physical Fitness Test:
- Luis Reynoso, Cleveland Elementary School
- Blaire Leighty, Monroe Elementary School
- Tara Pederson, Monroe Elementary School
- Jaclyn Kerns, Santa Barbara Junior High
- Michael Martinez, Jr., La Colina Junior High School
- Adrianna Bachan, Santa Barbara High School
- Julian Merrick, Santa Barbara High School
Goleta Teen of the Year: Alexander Wang
The Rotary Club of Goleta Noontime sponsors the Goleta Teen of the Year Scholarship Program to recognize the accomplishments of young adults. To qualify for consideration, the candidates must meet several criteria, including contributions to the community, school, youth group, church, clubs or other community organizations.
Two finalists in the competition were from San Marcos High School; five were from Dos Pueblos High School, and one from Bishop Diego High School. The Rotarians selected Alexander Wang as the 2005 Goleta Teen of the Year.
Alexander is a junior at Dos Pueblos High School. He is a member of the tennis team and a former president of the Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement Club as well as the Chess Club. Alexander is the president of the Red Cross Club. He serves as the liaison between the Red Cross and Dos Pueblos High School and he a youth corp member of the Red Cross (Santa Barbara Chapter) Board of Directors.
Alexander is trilingual. He speaks Mandarin, Spanish, and English. His goal is to practice medicine.
Draft Calendar for School Year 2006-07
The Santa Barbara School Districts’ Board of Education is in the process of reviewing the calendar for school year 2006-07. The draft presented to the board on January 10, 2006, can be found on the districts' web site:
Draft 2006-07 calendar (pdf)
It is possible that a decision on this matter will be made at the January 24, 2006, board meeting.