Solano’s top spellers crowned at Saturday event | dailyrepublic.com

Holy Spirit sixth-grader Kiaan Kahn on Saturday won the 48th annual Solano County Spelling Bee.

“Her winning word was ‘miscellaneous,'” the Solano County Office of Education reported.

Second place went to fifth-grader Zara Virk from Nelda Mundy Elementary School in the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District.

Kahn and Virk each received a trophy and will be represent Solano County at the California Spelling Bee Championship held in San Joaquin County on April 27.

Source: Solano’s top spellers crowned at Saturday event | News | dailyrepublic.com

FSVAA to host children’s art show – The Vacaville Reporter

The Fairfield-Suisun Visual Arts Association will host its fourth annual children’s art show beginning Wednesday in conjunction with the Solano Town Center and the Fairfield Solano County Library.

A collection of artwork made by children in the Fairfield-Suisun City Unified School District will be displayed in the second-floor gallery of the Solano Town Center until March 2. After the first portion of the show, select pieces will be moved to the Fairfield-Solano County Library, at 1150 Kentucky Street, where they will remain on display until April 1 in the children’s section.

The Solano Town Gallery is open to the public Wednesday-Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The gallery hosts other exhibitions of local art throughout the year.

Source: FSVAA to host children’s art show – The Vacaville Reporter

Local youths feted for helping their peers | dailyrepublic.com

Several local teens were honored recently when the Fairfield-Suisun Rotary Club and NorthBay handed out the Good Character Youth Awards.

It was the ninth annual event. The students were nominated by their teachers, counselors and/or mentors as teens for showing good character, ethical behaviors or good deeds (e.g. helping younger students succeed in their studies, standing up to bullies, helping others in the community through volunteering).

Source: Local youths feted for helping their peers | News | dailyrepublic.com

Fairfield-Suisun school board to discuss grading changes | dailyrepublic.com

By Susan Hiland

The Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District board will be hearing several presentations at Thursday night’s meeting.

One of the issues up for discussion and possible approval is the changing of the grade configurations at Dan O. Root II Health and Wellness Academy, and Tolenas Academy of Music and Media, from a TK-8 to a TK-5. This goes along with adjustments to the attendance boundaries for Crystal and Grange middle schools.

Middle-school enrollment has significantly decreased since 2020, leaving Crystal Middle School at 57% and Grange Middle School at 58% of the overall capacity of the campuses. Both schools are projected to decline further in enrollment over the next five years. Additionally, the need for elementary classrooms is on the rise due to the required transitional kindergarten (TK) programs and growing special-education programs, according to the staff report.

Source: Fairfield-Suisun school board to discuss grading changes | Education | dailyrepublic.com

New in-house training program gives VUSD nutrition team a chance to grow their skills – FSD

Ten school nutrition assistant level staff members at Vacaville Unified School District, in Vacaville, Calif. are getting the chance to grow their skills through a year-long training course.

Named Lunch Thyme University, the training is being led by Chef and Assistant Director Richie Wilim, who was inspired to create the course after realizing that while school nutrition professionals are performing similar tasks and are held to the same standards as their peers in the restaurant industry, they often don’t receive the same training or opportunities to grow their skill set.

Source: New in-house training program gives Vacaville USD nutrition team a chance to grow their skills

Four F-S schools applauded for health programs | dailyrepublic.com

Four Fairfield-Suisun district schools have been recognized for “supporting the health and well-being of the children and youth they serve.”

Anna Kyle Elementary School and David Weir K-8 Preparatory Academy received special recognition for physical activity; and Armijo High School and Dan O. Root Elementary School received special recognition for their gardens.

The recognition comes from the University of California Nutrition Policy Institute’s 2023 Leaders in Eating and Activity (LEAP) Awards. It recently announced 131 schools, 124 early care and education programs and 78 out-of-school time programs across California received the honor.

Source: Four F-S schools applauded for health programs | News | dailyrepublic.com

Monticello Empire League to add three schools, lose two – The Vacaville Reporter

By Nick McConnell

Sports schedules will look a little different next year for Vacaville, Will C. Wood and Vanden high schools as the Monticello Empire league undergoes realignment for the first time in six years.

Armijo and Fairfield will leave the MEL, said Associate Superintendent Sasha Begell at a recent Vacaville Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting, and Woodland’s Pioneer, West Sacramento’s River City and Sacramento High will be joining the league. The league will have these members for the next four years, she said, at which point realignment will be considered again.

Equity of competition is the most important factor in realignment decisions, Begell said, with scope and diversity of programs and size of school also holding weight. Travel distance is considered as well, she said.

Source: Monticello Empire League to add three schools, lose two – The Vacaville Reporter

Students get a chance to learn about the impact of wastewater on local marshes | dailyrepublic.com

The Solano Resource Conservation District will introduce students to a new Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District Education Program.

Seventh-grade classes from Fairfield and Suisun City will learn where the water goes after the flush. Students will be introduced to local water resources, gain an understanding in the processes for cleaning wastewater, and students will be encouraged to to take actions to be good stewards of the wastewater system and the environment.

The program starts in the classroom with some pre-lessons, where students use discussion and hands-on activities to gain a deeper understanding of the role they play in the cycle of human water use and what they can do to follow responsible waste management practices.

Source: Students get a chance to learn about the impact of wastewater on local marshes | Education | dailyrepublic.com

Creative Arts Council bestows first Inspire Awards | dailyrepublic.com

By Amy Maginnis-Honey

Arts educators were celebrated Sunday afternoon as Creative Arts Solano hosted its inaugural Inspire Awards.

Fairfield resident Camille Pinter, who has taught piano for more than three decades, was one of the recipients.

Prior to Solano County, she taught in the Bay Area. She learned piano when she was 6, teaching herself the basics, before her mother found her a private teacher.

Source: Creative Arts Council bestows first Inspire Awards | News | dailyrepublic.com

JROTC help with community cleanup | dailyrepublic.com

The Fairfield High School Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, or JROTC, cadets helped with cleaning up the community on Jan. 18.

Twenty-five student cadets, along with three additional high school student volunteers, participated in a community cleanup effort along East Atlantic Avenue and the area in front of Fairfield High School.

Every two months, the JROTC cadets dedicate their time to community service projects as part of their ongoing commitment to giving back to their community and school. This initiative, a component of the Fairfield Adopt-A-Street Program, showcases the cadets’ dedication to environmental stewardship and civic responsibility according to the staff press release.

Source: Good News: JROTC help with community cleanup | Education | dailyrepublic.com

Vanden keeps streak of Academic Decathlon state appearances alive | dailyrepublic.com

The Vanden High Academic Decathlon team is going to the state competition for the 23rd straight year – finishing second overall at this year’s regional competition.

Campolindo High School in Morago won the Bay Region Academic Decathlon, which finished Saturday, and will represent Contra Costa County at the state finals to be held March 22-24 in Santa Clara.

The Vanden team is comprised of Cailyn Nguyen, Alyssa Patterson, Xavier Ramirez, Sarah Salmi, Charlotte Rains, Kindal Reddic, Rohan Kamath, Alan Dorji, Mahi Chanan, Joshua Richardson, Hannah Leibert, Michael Pierandozzi, Brayden Lam, Isabella Lam and Francesco Xie Santora. The coach is David Kenyon.

Source: Vanden keeps streak of Academic Decathlon state appearances alive | News | dailyrepublic.com

Vanden team earns 2nd place at Bay Region Academic Decathlon – The Vacaville Reporter

By Richard Bammer

The whiz kids from Vanden High School on Saturday tackled a series of questions ranging from art and mathematics to economics and science to literature and social science to walk away with their heads held high and medals around their necks for placing second at the Bay Region Academic Decathlon held at Solano Community College in Fairfield.

Campolindo High, from the Acalanes Union High School District, took first and has been invited to go on to represent Contra Costa County at the state Academic Decathlon competition March 22 to 24 in Santa Clara.

No surprise, perhaps, this year’s outcome is a reverse of last year’s competition, when Vanden came out on top and Campolindo trailed in second.

Source: Vanden team earns 2nd place at Bay Region Academic Decathlon – The Vacaville Reporter

Students compete in final VEX Robotics competition | dailyrepublic.com

By Susan Hiland

The final VEX Robotics competition saw students from 11 teams hailing from four different Solano schools compete for top spots.

The Solano County Office of Education (SCOE) and Solano Community College (SCC) partnered to host the events this year.

“After the pandemic we found that a lot of the robotics teams were not active anymore,” said Lilibeth Pinpin, director of innovative programs and student success for the Solano County Office of Education. “This really helps students get reconnected with school. The kids were really excited to be back and that translates to other areas in school.”

Source: Students compete in final VEX Robotics competition | Benicia-Vallejo | dailyrepublic.com

FSUSD Board to host forum to discuss superintendent search – The Vacaville Reporter

By Lynzie Lowe

The Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District Governing Board will host a community forum Thursday to discuss its search for a superintendent.

The board announced Wednesday that it has selected Leadership Associates as the executive search firm to conduct the recruitment and comprehensive search process for the selection of the district’s next superintendent.

Board officials said the forum will be an opportunity for the community to hear about the search process and pose any questions they may have about the search.

Source: Fairfield-Suisun USD Board to host forum to discuss superintendent search – The Vacaville Reporter

Sacramento-area school districts among most diverse in U.S., according to Niche | EdSource

By Diana Lambert

Two California school districts were listed among the 10 most diverse in the United States, by Niche, a school ranking and review website. Both school districts are in Sacramento County.

Natomas Unified School District ranked No. 2 in the rankings and Elk Grove Unified ranked No. 6. The next most diverse school district in California is Fairfield-Suisun Unified, which ranked 29th nationally.

Niche based its 2024 rankings on racial and economic diversity, as well as survey responses on school culture and diversity, according to the Sacramento Bee.

Source: Sacramento-area school districts among most diverse in U.S., according to Niche | EdSource

A blast from the past in Fairfield – The Vacaville Reporter

By Nick McConnell

For anyone feeling nostalgic for the days of mixtapes instead of playlists, pagers instead of smartphones, and Blockbuster instead of Nextflix, the Farfield-Suisun Unified School District uncovered a little piece of the 1990s at the Fairfield-Suisun Adult School campus last week.

Contractors digging near the site’s flagpole for a solar installation project found a time capsule sealed and buried by members of the 1999 sixth-grade class before the millennium at what was then Bransford Elementary School.

Items found included handwritten notes, drawings, baseball and Pokemon cards, action figures and news clippings. Teacher Steve Patton, who still works for the district as an eighth-grade teacher, had some of his personal belongings uncovered by the excavation.

Source: A blast from the past in Fairfield – The Vacaville Reporter

All-girls team leads Vex robotics league heading into finals | dailyrepublic.com

A five-member, all-girls team from three schools and three school districts leads the VEX robotics league heading into the final competition.

“And they are killing the boys,” Lilibeth Pinpin, director of Innovation Programs and Student Success at the Solano County Office of Education, said in an interview about Team Solano, formally known as Solano County Girls Who Code Club.

The group is comprised of four high school students and one middle school student, organized by parents, and representing Vacaville Christian High in the Vacaville Christian Schools, Rodriguez High in the Fairfield-Suisun school district, and Golden West Middle School in the Travis school district.

Source: All-girls team leads Vex robotics league heading into finals | News | dailyrepublic.com

Public Safety Academy received AP Honor Roll Award | dailyrepublic.com

The Public Safety Academy has been selected to receive the prestigious 2023 AP Honor Roll Recognition according to a press release from the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District.

The AP Honor Roll Recognition is an annual distinction that acknowledges schools nationwide whose Advanced Placement programs have consistently delivered remarkable results for their students while expanding access to advanced education.

These schools are selected based on specific criteria that reflect a strong commitment to fostering a college-going culture, creating opportunities for students to earn college credit, and enhancing college readiness. In the 2023 cohort of recognized schools, the Public Safety Academy proudly stands among the 4,570 institutions nationwide receiving this award.

Source: Good News: Public Safety Academy received AP Honor Roll Award | Education | dailyrepublic.com

FSUSD Superintendent Kris Corey to retire – The Vacaville Reporter

By Richard Bammer

The email to district leaders on Tuesday afternoon began pleasantly and diplomatically enough, with a wish for all having “a wonderful Thanksgiving break,” followed by “I am always grateful for our team and FSUSD.”

Then longtime Fairfield-Suisun Unified Superintendent Kris Corey segued to the heart of the matter:

“It is with very mixed emotions that I am announcing my retirement from Fairfield-Suisun. My final retirement date has yet to be determined.

Source: FSUSD Superintendent Kris Corey to retire – The Vacaville Reporter

Crystal Middle School Campfire celebrates third anniversary | dailyrepublic.com

By Amy Maginnis Honey

Staff, family, friends of Crystal Middle School, as well s the mayor of Suisun City, were in the crowd to enjoy the third annual Crystal Cougar Campfire.

The evening began with participants building a Crystal community tree, adding their names to a leaf on the tree. Then it was off to take pictures at the fall photo booth.

A scarecrow created by the Crystal Art Club and art teacher Noni Guevara was shown.

Source: Crystal Middle School Campfire celebrates third anniversary | Music | dailyrepublic.com