Mini-grants to schools – again!

You may remember that two years ago, we donated $10,000 – $1,000 per school – to the district. The idea was that each school would have an extra $1,000 to spend on something they needed. Sunnyvale Middle bought art books. Lakewood Elementary spent their grant on a handful of things, including dinner for a community night where potential kindergarteners could visit the school. In November, we kicked off that process again. Each school will get $1,000 to put towards something useful, and that wouldn’t happen without this money.

Keep an eye out for what it was spent on in the upcoming months!

Some TB test numbers

Every fall, we offer free TB testing at two elementary schools in the district. Why? Because volunteers are the lifeblood of good schools in Sunnyvale, and you need a valid TB test in order to volunteer. This is a barrier for many people, who have problems making it to a doctor’s office. We are proud to be able to offer this,

This fall was no different. We provided TB testing services at two schools, San Miguel and Bishop Elementary Schools. We provided 65 tests across both schools, with the majority of people being tested having students at those schools. The tests are offered to people with children at any school in the district however, and parents from nine of the ten schools did sign up, so we should have an impact on volunteering throughout the district.

We’re exploring broadening the program to more schools in future years because it’s so successful. Look out for the announcement late next summer for the 2018 tests!

Next Roundtable is Monday May 8th

RoundTable

Are you interested in learning how other school communities communicate? Are you responsible for a newsletter on your child’s campus? How does your school get information out to its parents: email? Paper fliers? Facebook? Join us at the next roundtable meeting to discuss how different schools communicate with their communities. Kate Degelau-Pierce, the SEF communications VP and SMS newsletter editor, will facilitate the discussion. We would appreciate it if everyone could invite the individuals responsible for the parent/teacher newsletters and online presence at your school and be prepared to share information on best practices.

When?
Monday May 8th at 6:30 pm
Where?
SSD District Office  at 819 W Iowa Ave
The meeting room just to the right of the main entrance – it’s easy to find!

Shop at Amazon to support SEF!

Amazon is celebrating its #1 ranking in customer satisfaction by the ACSI, and we benefit! Today, March 16, Amazon will donate 5% (10 times the usual donation rate) of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to Sunnyvale Education Foundation. Get started at smile.amazon.com/ch/47-3825871[amazon.com].

So if you’ve been putting off buying a new pair of jeans, or want the latest bestseller, or just need to get a bunch of stuff for the house, head over to Amazon today and we’ll both be better off.

Thanks for your support!

How’d the TB testing go?

You may remember us advertising free TB tests in October at Vargas and Lakewood. As you know, having a valid TB test is a requirement of being a parent volunteer at SSD schools, so this is often a barrier to getting people to help out at their students’ schools. So, you may be thinking, how’d those go?

Well… we facilitated 68 TB tests, 49 skin tests and 19 blood tests. (Blood tests are necessary for people who have been inoculated.) Parents and other potential volunteers from all 10 SSD schools were tested, most people from Vargas and Lakewood Elementary Schools, which is where the tests were given. This is great! We were anticipating about 30 people per day of testing (there were 2), so we’re happy to have made this impact.

There were many lessons learned (that we’ll use to smooth out future testing days), but the biggest one was how few people knew that there was a risk assessment worksheet they can have their doctor fill out to avoid taking a TB test at all! (I think this is the form; do check with your school to confirm.) Many of the school offices have these forms. This is definitely the easier option!

Hopefully we’ll be able to offer this again next year. If we do, we’ll do it at different schools. Your donation would help ensure that we can offer these tests again! Thanks for your support.


La fundación para la educación de Sunnyvale apoya a los padres con la prueba de tuberculosis para hacer voluntariado.
La fundación para la educación de Sunnyvale (SEF), organización sin fines de lucro 501(c)(3), en conjunto con el distrito escolar de Sunnyvale, ofrecieron exámenes de laboratorio  para la tuberculosis para apoyar a los padres completando el requerimiento para voluntariado en nuestro distrito escolar.   Los exámenes  se condujeron en octubre en dos fechas diferentes en la escuela primaria Lakewood y en la escuela primaria Vargas. Padres de todas las escuelas pertenecientes al distrito escolar de Sunnyvale participaron en este programa gratuito, un total de 68 pruebas cutáneas y de sangre fueron otorgadas.  La fundación para la educación en Sunnyvale está emocionada que formó parte en incrementar mas de 60 voluntarios para nuestras escuelas! con la ayuda de la comunidad y donaciones corporativas, la fundación para la educación de Sunnyvale  tiene esperanza de otorgar más pruebas de tuberculosis para incrementar la participación de los padres de familia y el voluntariado en nuestras escuelas.