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November 2018

Clovis Unified School District — WHERE CHARACTER COUNTS!	Volume 21, No. 4

follow us on	TM               and at CUSD.COM

in southeast prompt

Red Ribbon Pledge

Weldon Elementary hosted its annual Red Ribbon Week Parade in October with grades 1 to 6 marching through Old Town Clovis pledging to“Say No to Drugs!” Clovis
High and Clark In-termedi-ate’s marching bands joined in, as did nearby schools Sierra Vista Ele-mentary and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Ele-
mentary. Clovis Unified Superintendent Eimear O’Farrell, Ed.D., was invited to be the grand marshal and following the parade, took part in continued festivities at Weldon that served to inform students about healthy lifestyle choices.
	
Photos by Ron Webb

Plans for new school

housing plan study CUSD Today

USA’s fastest athletes head
to Clovis North’s swimming pools

CUSD Today

A host of Olympians and Olympic hopefuls representing the best of USA Swimming are headed to town following the selection of Clovis Unified to host the last TYR Pro Series meet of the 2018-19 season.
This week, USA Swimming announced its selection of Clovis Swim Club’s bid to host the internationally recognized event June 12-15, 2019 at the Clovis North Educational Center. The June event will be the only TYR Pro Series meet held on the West Coast, and as the last stop in the five-meet series promises to feature the nation’s most elite com-petitors as they race for a place in the record books and a share of prize money.
The series meet is expected to bring more than $500,000 to the local economy and draw a crowd of more than 4,000 spectators from around the world. The TYR Pro Swim Series is a three-day event that consists of five stops across the country from November through June. Televised on NBC Sports Network as well as webcast live at usaswimming.org.

A new Clovis Unified school will soon be opening near Shields and Locan avenues in southeast Clovis, prompting the start of efforts by the district to develop new elementary attendance boundaries in the Clovis East area. The new el-
ementary school is
needed to keep pace
with rapidly growing	Attendance Boundary
residential develop-	Process ment in the area.
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Clovis East MPR
This month marks the start of a process designed to gather
options for possible
parent input, develop	future meeting dates, video presentation:
boundaries
and ultimately make	https://tinyurl.com/CE-a recommendation on
new school atten-dance lines to present to the CUSD Govern-ing Board in February 2019.
A Clovis East Area SART meeting was held Nov. 6 in which the overall process of adjusting boundaries was discussed with parents and commu-nity members.
The new school is
to open in August 2020, and construction plans have al-ready begun that will enable attendance boundaries, a school name, mascot and colors to be finalized before the end of the current school year.
“By making these decisions more than a full year ahead of the school’s opening, the new school community can come together and build relationships even before the doors open,” said Assistant Superintendent of Facilities Kevin Peterson.
Multiple opportunities are planned for parent and student involvement in the decision-making process, including a Dec. 5 community meeting at Clovis East High School, a special web page that includes information and videos about the boundary study process, and regular updates in CUSD Today and school home-to-school communication.
There will also be additional meetings planned in the months ahead as the process continues.
“Parents’ voice in this process is very important and will influence the decisions made about this new school,” said Clovis East Area Superintendent Corrine Folmer. “While we recognize that elementary school boundary changes can be difficult, our entire team in the Clovis East Area is eager to work with families to build another excellent educational experience for students at this new school.”

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BHS students win National Emmy CUSD T day

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Hannah W aver and Sienna Delgado, who as seniors at Buchanan High last year created the music video “I Built a Friend, just won a National Emmy Award. It is the first National Emmy Award ever won by a Buchanan student, said their instructor Dan Pearce.
The live awards show in October was hosted by “Dancing with the Stars” celebrity T m Bergeron.
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Hannah and Sienna’ video uses the music of pop artist Alec Benjamin’ “I Built a Friend” in which a child creates an imaginary friend to play with and shows the emotional changes the relationship
experiences over time. The Buchanan duo
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for their production –		Photo special to CUSD Today. Sienna Delgado and Hannah Weaver won a national Emmy Award for a music video they created in a video
– and then were advanced to	production class at Buchanan High.
the national competition.                We could not have achieved what we did had it not “It was such an honor for both      been for Mr. Pearce and the rest of our classmates.”
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of us” Hannah said of the awards.           To students who are looking to pursue videography, “Mr Pearce’ class was such a pos-      Hannah and Sienna offer this advice: “No matter itive environment where we were      how far-fetched the idea is, or how much work it may allowed to be ourselves and to      take, you will never be satisfied until you can see the chase our videography      dreams in your head on a screen. Film what makes
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dreams. Mr Pearce sup-	you proud and never give up on those wild ideas.” ported each of us and           Their winning video can be viewed at: https:// pushed us to do our best.	youtu.be/5qugGb33dtg.

INSIDE:

ANNOUNCEMENTS
All CUSD Band Night set for Nov. 14 Get ready for the sights and sounds of Clovis
Unified’s high schools’ and intermediate schools’ marching bands performing in one venue. Page 3

SPORTS
Prandini donates Olympic jersey Olympian Jenna Prandini made a visit to the
Mickey Cox Cowboys’ campus, donating spikes, jersey and a flag from the Olympics. Page 6

SUPERINTENDENT’S MESSAGE
Learning is visibly alive in classrooms Visible Learning emphasizes making student learning
visible to both the teacher and the student, so both can know whether progress is being made. Page 5

Page 2	CUSD Today	November 2018

November 2018	CUSD Today	Page 3

➤ ANNOUNCEMENTS

CN performs ‘Wedding Singer’
Here comes some toe-tapping fun! Clovis North’s Bronco Drama Productions will perform “The Wedding Singer” at the Mercedes Edwards Theatre. The musical comedy is about a broken-hearted wedding singer who himself was left at the altar and finds himself falling for a bride-to-be who has him helping to plan her wedding. The show will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 8-10, and 15-17; and at 2 p.m. Nov. 17. Tickets are $10 for students and $12 for adults. Details: www.broncodrama.com.

Elementary Art Show
Clovis Unified’s Fall Elementary Art Show, held in con-junction with the Special Education Department, gets un-derway the week of Nov. 8 with displays of student artwork lining the hallways outside of the CUSD Governing Board-room. Receptions for the young artists were planned for Nov. 6 and 8. The artwork will be available for viewing during business hours through Feb. 1.

All CUSD Band Night, Nov. 14
Get ready for the amazing sights and sounds of Clovis Unified’s high schools’ and intermediate schools’ marching bands performing in one venue. The bands will come together Nov. 14 for individual performances and one very large group performance at the annual “CUSD Band Night” to be held from 6 to 9 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Clovis West performs ‘Dad’s Christmas Miracle’

The holidays are fast approaching, and Clovis West’s drama department will be putting on “Dad’s Christmas Miracle” the two weekends following Thanksgiving. This comedy tells about a boy’s dream of getting a go-cart for Christmas, but the odds are against him – even his teacher says his winter report card is “a socks
and underwear” Christmas gift kind of card. The show will be performed at 7:30p.m. Nov. 29, 30, Dec. 1, 6, 7 and 8 at the Dan Pessano Theater. Tickets are $8 for students and $10 for adults.

CUSD holiday closures
Clovis Unified schools will be closed Monday, Nov. 12, in honor of Veterans Day; the week of Nov. 19 through 23 for Thanksgiving Break; and Dec. 24 through Jan. 8 for Winter Break.

The CUSD District Office at Herndon and Sunnyside avenues will be closed Nov. 12, 22, 23, Dec. 24, 25 and Jan. 1, 2019.

Tarpey boutique set
Tarpey Elementary will hold its annual Holiday Boutique in December. Organized by librarian Georgi Leonardo, generous vendors make items available at low prices for students to purchase for their families. Teachers and staff donate wrapping paper to the event so that students can wrap their gifts for free. The boutique will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Dec. 1 and 8; and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 3-7. The community is also invited to attend. During school hours, visitors must first check in with the school office located on Minnewawa and Gettysburg avenues.

CUSD asbestos management plan available for review

In compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA), Clovis Unified School District is providing written notification of the availability of the asbestos management plan for public inspection at each school site and at the district office. The management plan includes inspection records as well as documentation of any asbestos removal that has occurred at the site.
During the past school year, the district conducted two required six month surveillance AHERA inspections at all sites. This included inspecting all known asbestos locations and reporting any changes in condition. Additionally, licensed contractors performed asbestos removal work at Kastner, Clovis West and Mickey Cox. For each of these projects, the district retained the services of a certified asbestos consulting firm to monitor the work and ensure compliance with all regulations and requirements.
For more information or to make arrangements to review these plans, contact the district’s asbestos coordinator, Adam Belmont, at 327-9491.

Download the app!
Keep connected with all the latest news about Clovis Unified schools by downloading the Clovis Unified app, available through iOS and Android app stores. Available
through mobile devices, the app conveniently accesses at-tendance reporting, lunch menus, school flyers, student grades and more.

Parent Academy workshops give tools to help students

Clovis Unified offers several Parent Academy workshops throughout the 2018-19 school year at no cost to attendees. The workshops are designed to inform and empower parents with information, understanding and resources to support their student at home and at school. Dinner and childcare are offered for each event.
All workshops are held at the Clovis Unified Professional Learning Center, 362 N. Clovis Ave., #101, in Clovis. (South-west corner of Herndon and Clovis avenues, behind In-N-Out.). There is no cost.
The workshops are 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. and include the following:
■“Communicating with Your Child,” Jan. 15

■“Technology in the Classroom,” March 19 ■“Social Media Awareness,” May 21
For more information or to RSVP, contact Krista Cortez in CUSD Supplemental Services at 327-0667 or kris ta cortez@cusd.com.

Children’s health center offers services Clovis Unified operates the SierraVista Children’s Health

Center, located on the Sierra Vista Elementary campus at Barstow and Pollasky avenues. Any child ages 0 to 18 may receive services at the center. Services are available free of charge to income-eligible families. Patients who have Medi-Cal are also eligible for these services as well as those who do not have health insurance.
Services provided include:
■ Well-baby and well-child care immunizations
■ PPD skin tests ($10 cash) – skin tests are given on Mondays through Wednesdays only
■ Preschool/first grade physicals ($30 cash) ■ Sports screenings ($30 cash)
■ Treatment of minor injuries and illnesses ■ WIC referrals
The center is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, and is closed for lunch from noon to 1 p.m. Due to intermittent high volume of patients, some walk-in patients may not be seen after 11:30 a.m. or 3:30 p.m. For more information about the center contact Sierra Vista Children’s Health Center at 327-7976.

SPECIAL EDUCATION Upcoming workshops
The following upcoming workshop will be offered by the CUSD Special Education Department’s Family Resource Center. For more information or to inquire about an inter-preter, please call 327-8455.
■ “The Magic of Language,” 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Nov. 6, Clovis Online School, 1655 David E. Cook Way, Clovis. Parents will learn about the developmental stages of language from birth to age 5, what to expect, how to encourage speech and alleviate the frustration of not talking. The workshop is presented by a panel of Clovis Unified speech pathologists. Free. RSVP with Eventbrite at https:// tinyurl.com/language-11-18.

Parenting has never been easy; add in smartphones, the internet and social media – there’s a whole new world to navigate.
Across the district, students are learning about how to be wise online. In the upcoming video blog “2 Minutes Today,”we talk through tips for parents on how to help their kids be safe and successful in their digitally infused lives. Watch for the upcoming episode in your email inbox in November.

Page 4	CUSD Today	November 2018

Gateway students build bikes for elementary schools

nFoundation grant allows teens hands-on experience, real-world learning

By Tim Randall

English teacher, Gateway High

“Where am I going to find storage space for 33 boxes of Dynacraft Krusher bicycles?” That was my first thought as I began or-ganizing our Build a Bike project at Gateway High School for this school year.
I knew my plan was to use the Founda-tion for Clovis
Schools’ grant we were generously awarded to purchase 33 bicycles for every elementary school in the district. My four senior classes would spend the first semester building the bikes together. Each class would be split into two teams, and every first Wednesday of the month, each team would build a bike – two bikes per period, eight bikes per month.
By the end of December, all the bikes – shiny red with big, fat tires – would be complete. But I would need a secure, acces-sible storage space from which to pull eight bikes each month.With help from my prin-cipal, we found a room near my classroom that worked out to be a perfect location. The most challenging question was answered, and now the fun part was ready to begin.
The purpose of the project is twofold. Students work in teams and focus on un-packing and disposing of shipping materials, reading informational text from assembly instructions, identifying and using tools to put parts together and utilizing quality con-trol standards to ensure the bike is properly assembled and working correctly.

Everyone is expected and encouraged to participate in all aspects of the process. It has been awesome to watch some kids learn to use wrenches, screwdrivers and pliers for the first time. The project also allows our students to build bridges and make con-nections with the greater district community. The second Wednesday of each month
is one of the best days of the program, when elementary school principals visit our classroom to pick up their bikes. They de-termine how they’d like to give the bike away at their school. Some might be used for spring carnivals, fundraisers, raffles or an award – anything the principal feels best benefits their school community.
I like that my students are discovering that their work directly benefits someone else and that was part of the program mission, to plant the seeds of contribution and giving back.
On those Wednesdays as the bikes sit waiting for pickup, we have had to endure the smell of rubber from brand new bicycle tires for a week, along with fighting off the urge to ride them around campus. It only reminds us, however, that principals are on their way. The principals have been very gracious and appreciative, and all of them have asked my students questions about the process and what they have been learning. Students have been very receptive, and many of them get a little more interested when they know the principal from their former elementary school is showing up.
It has been a pleasure watching students interact, and before the principals leave, we take a group picture with them and their bike. The students can feel good that the bikes they built and donated will have a big impact on the life of a younger student.
As we approach the end of October, we are at the midway point of our project, and

Photo special to CUSD Today. Gateway High English teacher Tim Randall’s students are building bicycles this semester and giving one to each elementary school for an incentive or reward for a younger student. Pictured, Jefferson Elementary Principal Jeff Tiftick, center, receives one of the red bikes. To his left is Foundation for Clovis Schools Chair Hugh Awtrey; a foundation grant funded the program.

we will build 17 more bikes in November     all looked at the photo and talked about and December. I think my students were a     how happy and grateful the child seemed. bit skeptical of the project initially, but now          Now I look forward to that first Wednes-that has changed.                                               day of every month when students walk One school that already gave their bike     into class and ask, “Mr. Randall…are we
away shared a picture of the recipient. We	building bikes today?!”

Board OKs policies about drones, therapy animals

By Kelly Avants

Chief Communications Officer

Oct.10
The Clovis Unified Gov-erning Board adopted two new policies Oct. 10 that are now effective. The first, No. 4103 – “Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Drones),” outlines expectations related to the use of drones over school district property. The second, No. 4104 – “Animals at School,” addresses the terms under which animals may be on district campuses, in-cluding therapy and service animals. Both policies, along with No. 110 – “Board By-laws,” (which was revised during the meeting) are avail-able online at cusd.com.
In other action, the board: ■ Received a written re-
port affirming that all 3,687 ninth grade students are cor-rectly placed in mathematics courses for this school year, as required by board policy. ■ Authorized agreements with Kristine Anderson, founder of the Brilliance Project, to provide profes-sional development for ed-ucators; with Fresno State’s Kremen School of Education to provide support for CUSD classified employees in at-taining teaching credentials; and another agreement with Educational Resource Con-sultants for Grant Writing and Research to complete projects for the district dur-
ing the current fiscal year. ■ Approved submission
of a grant application for Proposition 51 Career Tech-nical Education Facilities for Buchanan High School’s Pro-

➤BOARD BRIEFS

duction and Managerial Arts Career Technical Education program, and Clovis East High’s Agriculture and Nat-ural Resources CTE program.

Sept. 26
This summer, more than 500 students and teachers spent time learning and growing in Clovis Unified’s intervention and demonstra-tion summer academy. Or-ganizers of the program shared about the successful session now in its second year at the Sept. 26 board meeting.
Not only does the inter-vention program provide in-tensive instruction for stu-dents in grades 1-6 in need of specialized help in English Language Arts and mathe-matics, it also served as a learning ground for teachers. Demonstration classes al-lowed teachers to learn new and best practice instruc-tional strategies to boost stu-dent achievement. Assess-ments given at the end of summer session showed stu-dents making significant growth in subject matter and increasing their self-confi-dence in the classroom.
A written report was given to members of the board with an update on the dis-trict’s entire summer school program, including original credit and recovery course-work that served close to 5,400 students through in class and independent study courses.

In other action, the board: ■ Adopted several reso-
lutions related to the suit-ability of property and en-vironmental studies that pave the way for the opening of a new school at the south cor-ner of Locan and Shields av-enues, which is expected to open for the 2020-21 school year.
■ Approved Clovis Adult Learning Director Courtney McMahon as the district’s alternate to serve on the State Center Adult Education Con-sortium Executive Board.
■ Revised Board Policies No. 3504 – Education for English Learners; No. 4605 – Conflict of Interest Code; No. 7502 – Local Education Agency Plan; No. 7504 – Sin-gle Plan for Student Achieve-ment; and No. 9203 – Parent Involvement Regarding Cat-egorical Programs to reflect existing practice and recent changes to law. Copies of all CUSD Board Policies are available online at www. cusd.com.
■ Approved the Biennial AB3141 Health and Benefits Actuarial Disclosure funding the projected 2017-18 retiree health and welfare benefit costs on a planned “pay-as-you go” basis with the un-derstanding that sufficient funds are available to cover the costs.
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The next regularly sched-uled meeting of the Governing Board is planned for Nov. 14 at 6:30 p.m. in the board room at 1680 David E. Cook Way in Clovis. Complete minutes, agendas and videos of meet-ings are available online at www.cusd.com.

VISION

November 2018	CUSD Today	Page 5

Learning is visibly alive in our classrooms!

By Eimear O’Farrell, Ed.D. Superintendent

WEDNESDAY and Friday mornings have in many ways be-

come the most treasured part of my week. That’s the time that I have protected on my calendar to visit classrooms and	schools
around our dis-	Eimear O’Farrell, trict, and on             Ed.D. every visit I find
multiple reasons to be impressed by what I see.
Such was the case on my recent visit to Copper Hills Elementary School. Copper Hills, like every other school in Clovis Unified, has an educational team focused laser-like on our first strategic plan aim: Maximizing Achievement for ALL Students. For the Miners at Copper Hills, one of the strategies they are using to maximize student learning is called “Visible Learning.”
Visible learning emphasizes making student learning visible to both the teacher and the student, so both can know whether progress is being made toward full under-standing. It is in use in many of our schools.
Inquiry is an important part of this strategy, and as I visited class-rooms across the campus I was deeply impressed by how students at every grade level were able to articulate what great learning ac-tually looks like.
I started my morning in the kindergarten classroom of one of our region’s League of Elementary School Teacher of the Year finalists, Kristi Sagouspe. I asked her students what good learning looks like, and I was answered with a sea of raised hands. Remembering my days on an elementary school campus and the wandering attention of kinder-gartners, I expected most of these hands to result in a variety of less than on point answers to my ques-tion. But Ms. Sagouspe’s class knew exactly how to respond.
“You know what to do when you get stuck,” said one student. A great answer! A good learner knows where to go for help and isn’t afraid to admit when they are struggling.

That is often one                                                                                                                  “math.” Some of of the most difficult                                                                                                                  the fish were at the things for students                                                                                                                  top of the pond, to accept about                                                                                                                  others in the mid-learning, it’s OK to                                                                                                                  dle and still others admit you don’t                                                                                                                  swam near the bot-know everything.                                                                                                                  tom. The room “Good learners                                                                                                                  had several of these never give up,” they                                                                                                                  charts, each labeled also told me, point-                                                                                                                  with a different ing to a colorful                                                                                                                  subject      matter
chart on the wall.	area.
This chart featured	My young au-fish with students’                                                                                                                  dience explained. names swimming                                                                                                                  If ever you found in a pond labeled                                                                                                                  yourself struggling,

LESSONS

Inspirations by, for and from our CUSD students

Photo special to CUSD Today by Ron Webb. SierraVista Elementary kindergartners Penelope Rodriguez,Anna Cramer and Cataleya Terrell-Jeff share a hug while waiting for the Red Ribbon Week Parade to begin, in keeping with the theme of their handmade hats that read,“Hugs, not drugs!”

“Alone we are smart. Together we are brilliant.”

STEVEN W. ANDERSON, AUTHOR, FORMER TEACHER

rather than giving up, you could look at the chart and find a friend who was “swimming” near the top. That friend could help you learn. These students have learned that sometimes you will get stuck, and that’s OK so long as you don’t give up. Perseverance is another key component of good learning.
Similar examples unfolded in every room I visited. In second grade I was told that good learners seek challenges to improve them-selves.
I was even given an example of what that would look like at the li-brary, where a good learner would look for a book that challenged his or her reading level instead of set-tling for a book that would be easy to read. Challenge is a key to grow-ing, and good learners grow.
In fourth grade, students told me about “the learning pit” where good learners muddy around asking questions, trying, failing, and trying again until they’ve learned what they need to know.
They also shared about the “pow-er of yet,” where a good learner understands that if they don’t un-derstand something “yet” they just need to keep going until they do. Leaping over the “pit” isn’t learning; getting in it, and working hard is needed to be successful.
Finally, when I got to Mr. Douty’s sixth-grade class, I was told about the importance of knowing what your learning outcome is, or what it is that you will know at the end of a lesson.
Students could tell me what suc-cess criteria they had established for each lesson. Lillian shared that her learning goal was to divide multi-digit decimal numbers. Josiah then articulated some of the success criteria that would go along with that goal; like moving the decimal in the divisor enough places to make it a whole number, and then moving the decimal the same num-ber of places in the dividend.
These students weren’t just going through the motions; they under-stood what they were learning and why it was important.
Focus. Resiliency. Perseverance. Goal-setting. Our teachers are in-stilling qualities in our students that make great learners.
They are also qualities that make great human beings. What valuable lessons to learn!

Why sleep is so important for teens and how to help them get it

By Sarah Stender, MD

Director of the UCSF Fresno Division of Adolescent Medicine

National Institutes of Health sponsored studies show that teens need nine to 10 hours of sleep a night.Yet, many are failing to get the sleep they require for optimal health and the sleep needed to succeed academically. The good news is, there are steps parents can take to help teens develop good sleep habits,
also known as sleep hygiene. Why is sleep so important?
Sleep problems are associated with numerous health issues, including depression, obesity and a host of others. Lack of sleep also is linked to poor school performance. Establishing good sleep hygiene is just as important for teenage students as it is for younger ones.
Between rigorous academic demands and an abundance of extracurricular activities, teens are pulled in many di-rections.Adding to the demands on their time, teens spend about nine hours a day engaged in media use, including having cell phones and tablets in bed with them – many texting with friends throughout the night. Blue light from screens interferes with the secretion of melatonin (a pineal hormone important to circadian rhythm).
During sleep, the cells repair and regenerate. Also, the pulsatile secretion of Growth Hormone is most pronounced, especially during the adolescent's pubertal growth spurt. Growing both in actual stature as well as in character and purpose are occurring during this critical transition of life, a time no less dramatic than the changes that occur from birth to age one.

A study published September 2017 in “Pediatrics” in-volving 4,525 youth shows an absolute association between amount of sleep and body mass index, indicating that lack of sleep is contributing to the obesity epidemic. Insulin resistance is increased without adequate sleep, resulting in carbohydrate craving. Thus, both obesity and at least one serious co-morbid condition, type 2 diabetes, are associated with poor sleep.
Depression is increased in those who do not get sleep.A lack of sleep lowers serotonin levels, important for mood regulation. Those who are sleep-deprived are often irritable, anxious, and depressed leading to gloomy and distorted thoughts with magnification of problems.
The consolidation of long-term memory is dependent upon an adequate amount of sleep. Cramming for exams the night before may help with a few answers for the test. However, with regard to retention of these facts as well as cognitive ability and the application of critical thinking skills, there is marked decrease in function.
Many teens have delayed sleep phase syndrome, char-acterized by going to bed late and sleeping much of the next day resulting in disrupted circadian rhythms. Attempts to sleep in on the weekend aren’t enough. About 50 percent of these students suffer from depression.
For improved sleep hygiene in teens and most people, in general, follow these doctor recommendations:
■ Set a designated sleep time and stick to it as best as possible, allowing for at least nine hours of sleep to assure all phases of uninterrupted sleep.
■ Remove all electronic devices from the room. This in-cludes phones, tablets and televisions. (Please see the Amer-ican Academy of Pediatrics family mobile use plan for help with establishing guidelines: www.healthychildren.org/ MediaUsePlan).
■ Use the bedroom only for sleeping and dressing and

use the bed only for sleep. Do not read or eat in bed. Do school work at a desk or table, sitting upright with good posture to avoid neck strain.
■ Keep the bedroom completely dark. If there are street-lights, consider using blackout shades or an eye mask designed to block out all light.
■ Avoid caffeinated products in the afternoon and evening such as soda, teas, coffee and chocolate. Be sure to read labels. The best hydration is water.
■ Empty the bladder just before going to bed and avoid drinking a lot of water at bedtime.
■ Avoid products that contain alcohol like some cold medicines.While they may induce drowsiness initially, the effect will not last through the night.
■ Unwind and let go of anger and anxiety. Try to be at peace at bedtime.
Following these tips should help.
If sleep problems such as snoring or excessive daytime sleepiness persist, consult with a physician to see whether a sleep study may be necessary to rule out other problems.
Sweet dreams. References:
1. Millman RP, and Working Group on Sleepiness in Adolescents/Young Adults and AAP Committee on Ado-lescence.
Technical Report: Excessive Sleepiness in Adolescents and Young Adults: Causes, Consequences, and Treatment Strategies. Pediatrics. 2005;115:1774-1786.
2. Glaser N, Styne D. Weighing the Causal Evidence That Associates Short Sleep Duration With Obesity.Pediatrics 2017,e 20172015.
3. Rudnicka AR, Nightingale CM, Donin AS, Sattar N, Cook DG, Wincupp PH, Owen CG. Sleep Duration and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes. Pediatrics Aug 15, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2017-0338.

— ABOUT US —

CUSD Today,Clovis Unified’s good news publi-cation, is sent directly to the homes of all CUSD parents and staff, as well as district supporters. In an effort to unify the CUSD community, the news-paper highlights the achievements of Clovis Unified students and staff; profiles new and updated Gov-erning Board policies; and shares general news and information happening within the district.
Circulation: 33,000.
Funding: All costs associated with producing, printing and mailing CUSD Today are entirely funded by our advertisers. To show your appreciation of their support, we ask you to consider patronizing these businesses and services as the need arises.
Story submissions: Please submit all ideas to the Site Coordinator at your school. Please contact your school to find out who your Site Coordinator is. Editorial deadlines are two weeks before the publication date. We do our best to include as many submissions in each issue as our editorial space will allow.

CUSD Today Staff

Publishing & Editorial Clovis Unified School District 1450 Herndon Avenue Clovis, CA 93611 Telephone (559) 327-9094 Fax (559) 327-2957 cusdtoday@cusd.com Kelly Avants, APR
Chief Communication Officer
327-9092 Patti J. Lippert Managing Editor
327-9094 Sara Almaraz
Advertising 327-9095 Verna Garcia
Graphic Designer 224-9711

CUSD Governing Board

Jim Van Volkinburg,D.D.S.	Elizabeth J. Sandoval	Ginny L. Hovsepian President                              Vice-President                                 Clerk

299-8994	291-7564	434-8272

.
Sandra A. Budd          Christopher Casado Steven G. Fogg, M.D           Brian Heryford 448-6801                          908-9953                          269-7000                           299-4586

CUSD Administration

Eimear O’Farrell, Ed.D.	Don Ulrich, Ed.D. Superintendent                                       Deputy Superintendent
327-9100	327-9107

Norm Anderson                        Barry Jager                         Michael Johnston Associate Superintendent,          Associate Superintendent,            Associate Superintendent,
School Leadership	Human Resources and	Administrative Services 327-9350                             Employee Relations                              327-9110
327-9308

SPORTS

Page 6	CUSD Today	November 2018

Photo special to CUSD Today. Clovis Unified grad and former Olympian Jenna Prandini talks to students at her alma mater, Mickey Cox Elementary, about her efforts to compete at the highest level.
Prandini donates Olympic jersey to Mickey Cox

Olympian Jenna Prandini, a former Mickey Cox Ele-mentary student and Clovis High graduate, made a visit to the Cowboys’ campus, donating spikes, jersey and a flag from the Olympics.
Prandini won the USA Outdoor Track and Field Cham-pionships in the 200-meter dash in 2015 and 2018. She was also the NCAA Women’s Division 1 Outdoor Track and Field Championship in the long jump in 2014 and the 100-meter dash in 2015. In 2015, she won the NCAA Women’s Division 1 Indoor Track and Field Championship in the long jump. Prandini was part of the 2016 Summer Olympics team in the 200-meter race.
Mickey Cox students were in awe of the dedication and focus Prandini displayed when she spoke to upper grade students about the importance of setting goals, said Principal Cheryl Floth.“What a memorable moment for the students and staff at Mickey Cox!”

GR karate champ wins gold at Junior Pan Am

Granite Ridge Intermediate’s Shawn Wong won a gold medal at the 2018 Junior Pan American Champi-onships held earlier this year in Rio De Janeiro. He com-peted in a division of Kumite, which is a kind of karate sparring, and he took home the top prize for his age group. Shawn, whose father owns a local martial arts studio, plans on continuing to compete and has his sights set on qualifying one day for the Olympics.

Photo special to CUSD Today. Thanks to the efforts of retired CUSD cross country coach Marty Simpson, children at a school in Zambia are enjoying Buchanan and Clovis high soccer uniforms.

Across the world – BHS, CHS soccer

The competition between Buchanan and Clovis high	village, and this summer the couple had an opportunity schools is fierce in the African village of Nsongwe,	to go for themselves.
Zambia as intense soccer matches between the two           Because the children in the village often play soccer, teams have been taking place.                                                Simpson said he had the idea to approach the two Retired Buchanan High cross country coach and      Clovis Unified schools for uniform donations. He also CUSD Athletic Hall of Famer Marty Simpson took do-      brought large duffle bags filled with shoes donated from
nated Buchanan and Clovis gear with him this summer	Buchanan’s cross country and track students.
and gave it to children attending a school in Nsongwe.	“They loved them,” he said of the young recipients Simpson and his wife, Nancy, have been working for 15      who now carry on the Clovis Unified sports traditions years with a relative who does volunteer work in the      some 10,000 miles away.

District celebrates athletic legends

Ten athletes, coaches and teams from Clovis Unified were inducted into the Clovis Unified Ath-letic Hall of Fame Oct. 27. The ESPY-style awards event capped off festivities for the inductees that included a tailgate party, coin toss honors at All-
Clovis Week football games and a re-ception. Inductees were: Marian Bat-
tles, McKay Christensen, Kristen Hastrup, Satoshi “Fibber” Hiraya-ma, David Lewis, Steve Mosher,
Janet Yarbrough, 1993 Clovis West Football team and 1994 Buchanan Girls
Cross Country team. For video biographies, see www.cusd.com/athletic-hall-of-fame/.

Legion essay winners
nd 7)

2018-2019 REGISTRATION

AROUND

September 2018

THE DISTRICT

CUSD Today	Page 7

High school news in brief:
■ Buchanan art students submitted designs to the PG&E Lineman Rodeo t-shirt design contest. Student Nadia Lung took first place, was awarded $500, will have her design printed on PG&E t-shirts and was recognized at PG&E’s rodeo in Lodi.
■ All Clovis High seniors applied to community college during the school’s “I Have a Plan” program by the school’s counseling office. Senior guidance lessons were presented and seniors were assisted with their educational plans after high school.
■ Clovis East hosted the Fall Agriculture Fair, which al-lowed more than 800 kindergarteners and first-graders to visit the Ag Center. Student volunteers facilitated over 30 educational and interactive stations that taught participants about agriculture, animals, food and nutrition, mechanics, plants, natural resources and science.
■ Clovis North’s debate team competed in the first novice tournament of the year at Orosi High, placing first in Overall Sweepstakes. Students from Granite Ridge placed third in Overall Sweepstakes.
■ Clovis West Senior Naasir Farooqi was nominated as a semifinalist in the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Pro-gram. Seniors Todd Yu and Katherine Mendyk were honored for earning perfect scores on their ACT examinations.

Cedarwood Elementary student an Academic All-Star

Madison Samuelian, a Cedarwood Elementary sixth-grade student last school year, is the 2018 winner of The Fresno Bee’s annual Academic All-Star Award for sixth-grade. Each year, The Bee receives numerous nominations for students from around the Valley who are not just doing well academically, but also are involved in getting the most out of school while and giving back to the community.
Madison was nominated for her academic achievement in the classroom, co-curricular activities and community service. She is a devoted student who always sets goals and has never let her hearing disability get in her way. In June, Madison became a six-time Cedarwood Block C recipient, an honor given to students who are highly involved in the school’s co-curricular activities.
Madison was elected Spirit Commissioner her fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade years. She participated in every season of sports available at Cedarwood and spent her evenings in a karate dojo where she has earned the rank of first-degree junior black belt. She mentors lower-belt karate students. Madison volunteered her lunches in a second-grade classroom to read and work with small groups. On weekends, she has also volunteered to work in the stockroom at Holiday Boutique, a non-profit gift shop that benefits Valley Children’s Hospital. She was a Fresno County History Day
co-champion and competed in the state competition.
The All-Star awards were determined by a panel of judges from Valley school districts and organizations. The winners received a family four-pack of tickets to the Fresno Chaffee Zoo.
Additional Clovis Unified students who received an Honorable Mention are:
Riley Shanen, of Copper Hills, fourth grade. Riley is an honor roll student who does taekwondo and helps rescue Labrador retrievers.
Faith VanHoven, Clovis North High, ninth grade. Faith has a 4.0 GPA, spends her lunch one day a week with

Photo special to CUSD Today by P.J. Lippert Garfield Elementary GIS Jonathan Slater scurries inside a hamster ball as students guide him through an obstacle course as he races Plant Supervisor Michael Delgado.

Hamster Ball race tops jog-a-thon fun

Several elementary schools have held jog-a-thons to	At Mickey Cox Elementary, students worked extra raise funds for awards, athletic equipment and other hard to meet their jog-a-thon goals so that they could items for their schools. To add to the excitement and take part in activities that included, pies to the face, build school spirit, many schools plan special themes or taping “Blueberry Jake” to a pole and sliming GIS Amanda activities to enhance the run. Some have students from Torres.
different grade levels wearing assigned colors and others         Garfield Elementary held its annual Color Run and invite students to wear costumes.                                         because students met the fundraising goals, then held a At Copper Hills Elementary, the Miner Hero Run in- “Hamster Ball Race” between plant supervisor Michael cludes a CHP helicopter landing on the field, along with Delgado and GIS Jonathan Slater. The two men – dressed special guests on campus from Fresno Police Mounted as hamsters – got into oversized, inflatable hamster balls Patrol Unit, SWAT, Fresno Fire Department, American and were pushed through a large obstacle course by stu-
Ambulance and branches of the military.	dents who were top-earners for their grade level.

special needs students and volunteers at an elementary     winning piece, a painting of the Fifth Street Antiques store-school summer enrichment program.                                      front in Old Town, was used for the 2018 Hall of Fame pro-Anthony Faulks, Buchanan, 11th grade.Anthony runs a     gram. In addition, Angel was also presented with a $250
summer chess camp for students and is named by the U.S. check. Chess Federation as being in the top 100 rank for his age
group. He has a hobby of beekeeping and conducts seminars
through the Central Valley Beekeepers Association.                      Clovis Unified students received recognition from the Kelsey Ewing, Buchanan, 12th grade. Kelsey is an AP     American Legion Auxiliary Department of California for scholar, National History Day winner, volunteer for St. their essay submissions. Recipients and their category level
Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital and Fresno Poverello     are:
House, and founder and teacher of a technology program	Shiv Mehrota-Varma, Fugman Elementary, first place for girls to help close the gender gap in STEM fields.               (grades 4 and 5)
BHS artwork winner	6 aBriana Voon,Kastner Intermediate, second place (grades

Buchanan High senior Angel Lesnikowskiwon the Clovis	Brooklyn Woolf, Clovis High, third place (grades 10-12) Hall of Fame art contest for the third year in a row. Her	Dominik Llanes, Clovis Adult Transition, first place.

Page 8	CUSD Today	November 2018

BEST OF THE FAIR

Clovis Unified students enjoyed the Big Fresno Fair on field trips, in art contests and through the FFA program that is part of the Clovis East Ag program.
Seven of the 11 Fresno Fair’s Best of Show high school art award categories were won by Clovis Unified students. Congrat-ulations to:
Drawing – Pencil: Nathan Oliva, Clovis High Drawing – Color: Brooke Bahn, Clovis East High
Drawing – Black/White-Pen/Ink: Hana Wen, Clovis West High
Painting – Opaque: Kayla Nichols, Buchanan High Ceramic – Sculpture: Alyson Goms, Clovis High Altered Photography: Patricia Navarro, Clovis High
Three-Dimensional Design: Heavenly Her, Buchanan High Middle School Ceramics: Melina Rodriguez, Reyburn Inter-
mediate
Middle School Fine Art: Nicole Bang, Clark Intermediate
In addition, four students won special awards given byAllards: Angel Hieng, Clovis East High;Alexis Estrada, Clovis West High; Paige Wilson, Buchanan High; andOlivia Su, Kastner Intermediate. Finally, Angel Lesnikowshi of Buchanan High won the Society of Western Artists- San Francisco Memorial (Haik) Award.