text: News & Notes - February 24, 2017
  Twin Day, Skate Night, spring projects, and much more!
  The Academies News & Notes
  Feb 28 -- Basketball @ Valley Life
  Mar 1 -- Family Skate Night
  -- Twin Day
  -- TCOE Artist's Open House
  Mar 2 -- Basketball @ Sequoia Union
  Mar 31 & Apr 7 -- Excellence or Bust
  The Academies CMO 2017-18 Academic Calendar is available for download here.
  Varsity Boys: On Tuesday, in the final home game of the season, the Explorers varsity basketball team showed why they have become one of the most feared teams in the league. From the moment Willow Glen stepped off the bus, the Explorers had their number, as they dominated the game against a team that beat them twice last year by a substantial margin. Led by 16 points from Liam Gair and 16 points from Zephaniah Serna, the Explorers offense could not be stopped in the 44-23 victory. Willow Glen switched defenses on several occasions to try to throw off the Explorers, but SVA had an answer for whatever was thrown at them, as coach Bennett seemed to outfox the opposing coach. After the game, coach Bennett was quoted as saying: "I love this team and each one of the players. We have grown to a point where we recognize that we will win or lose each game as a unit. I am very proud of the team's willingness to be coached and taught the game of basketball. It is their willingness to learn that is leading to wins on the court." The victory is the second in a row for the Explorers after a heartbreak loss in overtime to Sequoia Union by one point. "Our final goal is to beat Valley Life and Sequoia Union on the road next week to end the season with a winning record, the first in SVA history" said Coach Bennett. The Explorers currently have 3 wins and 4 losses. They are 3-2 at home and 0-2 on the road.
  Girls: In the final home game of the season, the Lady Explorers did not disappoint the home crowd as they put together a solid team win over Willow Glen, 23-17. Newcomer, Vivian, scored her first four points of the season and set a beautiful screen to free up Sierra for a bucket. Cadence Spencer continued her scoring spree by contributing six points in the contest, and Sierra matched Cadence with six points of her own. "The teamwork and sportsmanship were both amazing today. The girls play an unselfish style of basketball, and it is difficult for other teams to keep up with the passing attack" said coaches Yado and Bennett following the game. With the victory, the Lady Explorers have posted 4 wins and 3 losses. Next up, a rematch with Valley Life Charter to steal the Charter Cup.
  1/24 - Three Rivers @ SVA
  1/26 - @ George McCann
  1/31 - Ivanhoe @ SVA
  2/2 - @ CVC
  2/7 - @ Oak Grove
  2/9 - Sequoia Union @ SVA
  2/16 - Valley Life @ SVA
  2/21 - Willow Glen @ SVA
  2/28 - @ Valley Life
  3/2 - @ Sequoia Union
  As part of first and second grades winter project studying the impact and influence of powerful words, students wrote original poetry inspired by "Valentine" feelings. Students framed their inspiring poetry and made a variety of decorations to share with Visalia Senior Center. Here are a few pictures of the decorating committee that met there to hang our creations last Sunday. We hope that Visalia's seniors felt the love!
  All grade level teams are hard at work on their fantastic spring projects. Everyone is invited to attend upcoming PBL culminating events. These events are the finish line that students have been working toward and represent an opportunity to show their work to an authentic public audience.
  Grades 1&2 have been studying the impact of words under the guiding question "How can words inspire?" They have been examining famous quotes from speeches the impact of those words. All 1/2 classrooms will host a Poetry Slam on March 3 (8:15 in room 9 and 2:45 in rooms 8 and 10) where they will recite their own original poetry.
  Third and fourth grades have been learning about the lives of farmworkers around the world and right here in Tulare County. Their guiding question is "How can we bring awareness of changemakers in our community and become changemakers ourselves?" Students have worked to create a character that migrated to the San Joaquin Valley as a farm laborer. They wrote fictional narratives of their character's journeys and lives harvesting our food. Students also studied the impact of leaders like Cesar Chavez, who fought for farm laborers' rights. The 3rd/4th PBL event will bring together the struggle for workers' rights and the realistic stories of the people affected by the fight in the fields. Please plan to attend their culminating event on Tuesday, February 28, 9:30-10:30AM at Kaweah Oaks Preserve (29979 Rd 182, Exeter, CA 93221). In addition to presenting the historical fiction of their characters, our scholars will also experience the physical strain of field work during this PBL event. They will spend about two hours working with AmeriCorps to help clear the Preserve of weeds and planting trees.
  Over in 5th & 6th grade, the guiding question is "How can we as engineers design/construct rat mazes, collect/analyze data, and make revisions for constant improvement?"students are working to find the zone of proximal development (ZPD) of rats through their A-maze-ing Rat Race project. (See the Parent Resource section below for more info on ZPD). Students have designed rat mazes and are now collecting a lot of data! These engineers are timing the rats, and then implementing change ideas to modify their mazes. We are proud of the teamwork, creativity, and engineering that is happening in all 3 classrooms. Don't miss their culminating event on Tuesday, March 7th from 11am-12pm in the 5/6 classrooms.
  TCOE Best of Show Artist's Open House
  The annual Student Art Exhibitions showcase the county's talented young artists. Student artwork is displayed at the Tulare County Office of Education, and the public is invited to view the show. Entries are judged by local artists and those pieces receiving a Best of Show award are honored at a special reception in March during Arts Education Month.
  Eleven SVA students submitted art for the exhibition and six were awarded Best of Show! Thank you Caroline Cantelmi, Asa Ford, Caroline Johnson, Juan Tovar, and Quinton Vedenoff for sharing your work!
  Stop by the Artist's Open House on March 1 to congratulate Rylee Correa, Addison Dennewitz, Harper Dutton, Lucy Maitland-Lewis, Ainsley Prochnow, and Rita Rasner.
  Best of Show artwork will be on display through the month of March at the TCOE office.
  Best of Show Artist's Open House March 1, 6:00-8:00PM
  Best of Show Art Exhibition March 1 - 31
  6:00 - 8:00 p.m., TCOE Administration Building & Conference Center, 6200 S. Mooney, Visalia
  Student Council has officially announced that Twin Day will take place on March 1. Grab a buddy (or two or three!) and start planning those fun outfits. Students may be out of dress code for collars and colors/logos, but all other dress code rules apply (i.e. heel height, spaghetti straps, etc.).
  SVA Family Skate Night
  PTO will once again host it's annual evening of family fun at Roller Towne!
  520 S. Linwood
  Admission for skaters is $4.50 (includes skate rental)
  Admission for spectators is $1.00
  Save the date of March 8 to come join in the fun!
  Pledge Forms went home this week, be sure to ask you child to start collecting those pledges!
  Look for information about our 5th Annual Jog-A-Thon coming home with your students week. Students collect pledges between now and March 8 to earn fabulous prizes and raffle tickets.
  Classes are helping PTO by collecting raffle prize donations (small gift cards, toys, art sets, etc.). The more donations, the more awesome prizes we have to give away in our jog-a-thon raffle!
  Helpers are needed to make the Jog-a-Thon a success. Let Mrs. Johnson ( cjohnson@sycamorevalleyacademy.org ) know if you can help. It's an easy way to get involved.
  Familiar Faces at Blue Oak Academy
  We're happy to report that three of the four teacher positions at Blue Oak Academy will be filled by current SVA staff. We know that BOA will start off on the right foot with these fantastic, experienced folks on board! Each of them will be sincerely missed by their SVA family.
  We are currently in the process of securing contracts for the one remaining teacher BOA position, the BOA Site Principal, and three new teachers for SVA. Look for a NEW staff announcement next week! We've also posted openings on EdJoin for the BOA Office Assistant and Instructional Aides.
  Chrissy Orr - Kindergarten
  Ms. Orr will make the move from her 3rd/4th classroom at SVA to Kindergarten at BOA. She is honored to have joined the SVA family this year and is looking forward to her new role at BOA. We're grateful for Ms. Orr's commitment to our mission and know that she will be a valuable part of Blue Oak Academy. When asked about the move she said, "I'm excited to be given the opportunity to be part of the opening of BOA as a Kindergarten teacher. I spent the first decade of my career in primary, so I'm eager to return to my roots." She added that she has missed being "paid in hugs and boogers"!
  Tina Weeaks - Kindergarten
  Mrs. Weeaks will return to teaching kindergarten next year, joining the Blue Oak Academy founding staff. She is excited for her next adventure, but a little sad to leave her big kids behind. From Mrs. Weeaks: "My time here at SVA has been such a blessing because this kindergarten teacher never knew how much fun she could have in 5th and 6th grade! Thank you to my students for showing me how sweet, smart, creative, and funny kids this age are. You have enriched my life. I'm looking forward to my return to kindergarten, my first love, next year. I am excited and honored to spread the joy of learning to even more students as BOA opens. What an adventure!"
  Gloria Cazarez - 1st & 2nd Grade
  Mrs. Cazarez, who has been with SVA since the very beginning, will continue her career as a 1st & 2nd grade teacher, moving to Blue Oak Academy. She is looking forward to continuing to carry out the mission and vision of our organization at BOA and to providing an enriching education to even more valley families. Of course, leaving is bittersweet for Mrs. Cazarez. "As I think about my departure, I can't help but feel torn because this is such an incredible bunch of kiddos. I have truly loved the opportunity to get to know each, and every one of them." she told her student's families.
  Miss Chan and her theater troupe will put on a spring production of Disney's Peter Pan Jr. The part of Peter will be played by 5th grader, Georgia Dowdy. Congratulations Georgia!
  Click here to see the full cast list.
  Monday 2/27 - Chicken Tenders
  Tuesday, 2/28 - Chicken Soft Taco
  Wednesday, 3/1 - Cheese Enchilada
  Thursday, 3/2 - Macaroni & Cheese
  Friday 3/3 - Bean & Cheese Burrito
  Click here to download the March lunch menu.
  For more information about lunch at SVA, visit our website .
  Site Principal for Blue Oak Academy
  The Academies Charter Management Organization is hiring a Principal for our new school. If you are someone you know is interested in joining our team, check out the job posting on EdJoin.
  Welcome to our Parent Support section. To help achieve the intended outcome for families articulated in our Strategic Plan, we will be offering a series of informational resources to help support you in the often challenging, yet infinitely rewarding task of parenting.
  Psychologist Lev Vygotsky coined the term "zone of proximal development" (ZPD) in the 1930s to describe the sweet spot where instruction is most beneficial for each student - just beyond his or her current level of independent capability. You can think of the ZPD as the difference between what a child can do independently and what he or she is capable of doing with targeted assistance.
  Vygotsky stated that a child follows an adult's example and gradually develops the ability to do certain tasks without help or assistance. Vygotsky's often-quoted definition of zone of proximal development describes it as "the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more capable peers."
  Vygotsky among other educational professionals believes the role of education to be to provide children with experiences which are in their ZPD, thereby encouraging and advancing their individual learning. Instruction focused within each student's ZPD is not too difficult or too easy, but just challenging enough to help him or her develop new skills by building on those that have already been established. Students are most receptive to instruction within their ZPD because it represents the next logical step in their ongoing skill development.
  A ligning classroom teaching strategies to students' ZPDs can help educators guide students in their learning more effectively. F or teaching and learning to be effective, instruction should focus on skills and knowledge that are attainable for students (not too easy, not too difficult, but just right).
  The concept of scaffolding is closely related to the ZPD. Scaffolding is a process through which a teacher gives aid to the student in her or his ZPD as necessary, and tapers off this aid as it becomes unnecessary, much as a scaffold is removed from a building during construction.
  Check out this short video on ZPD
  Adapted from www.nwea.org and www.innovativelarning.com.
  Download more information and registration forms here.
  High School Summer Science Program
  The College of Chemistry and the Berkeley Global Science Institute present SciTech, a program for rising high school students (grades 9-12) who are interested in enhancing their understanding of the problems facing the world, learning about the relevance of science and technology in addressing such problems, and being inspired to pursue careers in science and technology that will ensure their contribution to positively impact the world.
  Please visit their website for more information or click here for their brochure.
  SciTech is now accepting applications! For more information about the application process, please click here . They will be accepting applications until April 30, 2017.