Leaven Kids hopes to go mobile to bring learning to students – The Vacaville Reporter

Fairfield-based non-profit, Leaven Kids, has ratified plans to fundraise, purchase, and deploy a mobile, self-contained tutoring vehicle, which will feature 10 workstations, computers, radios, STEAM technology, and WiFi.

This initiative will serve as an extension of Leaven Kids’ existing programming, allowing it to expand its reach to students living in rural communities who are not already being serviced by its brick-and-mortar learning centers according to a recent press release.

The mobile tutoring unit will be named in honor of the late Fairfield Mayor, Harry Price, who was a founding member and vocal advocate of the Leaven Kids mission. The Leaven Kids Naming and Stewardship Sub-Committee drafted a formal proposal earlier this year, which was reviewed and ratified by the Board of Directors.

Source: Leaven Kids hopes to go mobile to bring learning to students – The Vacaville Reporter

SPI Addresses Student Financial Literacy Benefits – Year 2023 (CA Dept of Education)

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond met with students at Berkeley High School today to discuss the benefits of financial literacy and personal finance courses. Superintendent Thurmond is working to make sure elective classes like these are taught at all California high schools with his financial literacy bill, Assembly Bill 984 (McCarty), co-sponsored with California State Treasurer Fiona Ma, which would make personal finance and financial literacy a high school graduation requirement.

Students spoke about what they have learned in the class and how it has helped them make financial decisions. They also shared their support for making personal finance courses available to all high school students.

“Young Californians are entering the workforce and higher education with very little understanding of financial literacy. This is deeply concerning, since students with higher financial literacy are more likely to invest in a savings account, prepare for retirement, and manage their debt,” Superintendent Thurmond said. “Access to financial literacy is also an equity issue that is directly reflected through racial wealth gaps. Only 27 percent of California high school students attend schools that offer personal finance classes. Ensuring that all young Californians have exposure to financial literacy is a vital step in closing inequality gaps and providing the skills and resources to improve their lives overall.”

Source: SPI Addresses Student Financial Literacy Benefits – Year 2023 (CA Dept of Education)

Career Fair comes to Solano College April 13 – Daily Republic

The NorCal Career Fair returns to Solano Community College on April 13.

The event, put on by the Workforce Development Board of Solano County in partnership with the college, will feature 60 regional employers with hundreds of available job opportunities.

“Employers represent all major industries in Solano County in both the public and private sector,” organizers said in a statement.

Source: Career Fair comes to Solano College April 13

DA’s Office seeks ‘kindness’ videos from Solano secondary school students – The Vacaville Reporter

By Richard Bammer

Are you a middle school or high school student in Solano County, handy with a video camera and have a tale of kindness to tell?

As it has in several past years, the Solano County District Attorney’s Office seeks submissions from the county’s secondary school students to participate in a video contest that showcases the power of positive behavior.

According to a press statement issued by the DA’s Office on Monday, the Kindness Campaign Video Contest invites students to submit a video between 30 seconds and two minutes in length that “expresses what the power of kindness can accomplish in their school community. It asks the question, ‘How can the power of kindness be used in our schools, homes, and communities to make a positive difference?’ ”

Source: DA’s Office seeks ‘kindness’ videos from Solano secondary school students – The Vacaville Reporter

Free NARCAN forum on Thursday – Daily Republic

By Susan Hiland

Local school districts, along with several health institutes, will host a free forum on NARCAN, a drug to treat opioid overdoses.

This forum is for educators, parents and community members focusing on Naloxone (NARCAN) and strategies for opioid and fentanyl awareness and prevention.

The event will be from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Benicia Unified School District, 50 East K St. in Benicia.

Source: Free NARCAN forum on Thursday

SCC Public Safety Officer saves a life at recreational basketball game – Daily Republic

Luz Daniels, a Solano Community College Department of Public Safety officer, was credited with saving a life Sunday night during a recreational basketball game.

A 53-year-old man suddenly collapsed on the court at the Fairfield campus gymnasium, according to a Facebook post from the department.

“There was panic amongst the players and spectators since this person was not breathing and had no pulse,” the post said.

Source: SCC Public Safety Officer saves a life at recreational basketball game

A high school diploma, at long last, after military service – The Vacaville Reporter

By Richard Bammer

The two men sat quietly in the front row of chairs arranged in a second-floor meeting room at the Solano County Office of Education offices in Fairfield. One was 70 years old and dressed in a beige short-sleeved silk shirt, while the other, wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and camouflage hat, with the words “Vietnam Veteran” spelled out, was 76 and walked with a cane. Family members, SCOE employees, and a small contingent of media crowded into the room, too.

All were there midafternoon Friday, as Lisette Estrella-Henderson, superintendent of county schools, said in her opening remarks, “for a really important” occasion for the two men, Wayne Hill and Conrad Montuya Sr.: SCOE’s annual Operation Recognition, honoring military service members who were unable to complete their high school education due to their military service.

Source: A high school diploma, at long last, after military service – The Vacaville Reporter

Healthy Food curriculum takes Armijo students from garden to kitchen to video room – Daily Republic

Nico James-Singh and Jalia Her share a vision for their futures.

Each wants to make films – or a similar vocation – as their life’s work. They even teamed up to take second place in a recent video contest, which was good enough to move them onto the state competition.

They are members of the Multimedia Academy at Armijo High, with Her, a senior, serving as president. They also find themselves among 22 of their club mates and six other Armijo students in the first-year, after-school Healthy Food Program.

Source: Healthy Food curriculum takes Armijo students from garden to kitchen to video room

Solano College Theatre brings ‘Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’ to stage – Daily Republic

Solano College Theatre will open its next production, “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert,” April 7.

On the main stage, the show is a jukebox musical adapted from the eponymous Oscar-winning film of 1994. It tells the story of two drag queens and a transgender woman who board a battered bus to perform an epic drag show in the remote Australian desert.

The show includes songs such as “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” “It’s Raining Men” and “I Will Survive.”

Source: Solano College Theatre brings ‘Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’ to stage

Vallejo school district supports encampment ban near sites – Times-Herald

By Chris Ramirez

The Vallejo City Unified School District is supporting city efforts to ban encampments near schools and daycares.

The district’s Board of Education unanimously voted Wednesday to support the Vallejo City Council’s plans to prohibit unhoused encampments up to 500 feet from its sites.

Superintendent William Spalding wrote in the resolution’s background section that the school district, while “sympathetic to the plight of the unhoused and urging all necessary steps to provide housing and support services to unhoused individuals,” seeks a ban to provide its students physically and emotionally safe learning environments.

Source: Vallejo school district supports encampment ban near sites – Times-Herald

Notre Dame School students sweep the Vacaville Citywide Spelling Bee – The Vacaville Reporter

By Rebecca Wasik

V-I-C-T-O-R-I-O-U-S.

Two students from Notre Dame K-8 School in Vacaville secured wins in the elementary and junior high school divisions of the Grace B. Powell Citywide Spelling Bee on Wednesday at Will C. Wood High School’s Catwalk Theater.

The champion of the elementary school division is sixth-grader Luke Bantique. The winner of the junior high division is seventh-grader Margrethe Lim.

Source: Notre Dame School students sweep the Vacaville Citywide Spelling Bee – The Vacaville Reporter

Summer at City Hall internship returns for Vacaville area high school students – The Vacaville Reporter

Summer at City Hall is back.

High school students interested in learning about local government are encouraged to apply for a four-week internship with the City of Vacaville.

The deadline to apply is March 26 and the program is open to Vacaville youth who will be juniors or seniors in the Vacaville or Travis Unified School Districts in the fall of 2023.

Interns will attend a class about local government and participate in an internship with the City of Vacaville or the Vacaville Unified School District. Students will focus on skill development, civic engagement, and local government.

Source: Summer at City Hall internship returns for Vacaville area high school students – The Vacaville Reporter

Getting a jump on college – The Vacaville Reporter

By Richard Bammer

Vacaville High seniors on a rainy Tuesday afternoon crowded into a Solano Community College classroom in the Student Services building, their minds, eyes, and ears focused on learning what the two-year school was all about and had to offer, hoping to get a jump start on admissions.

Jumpstart was an apt word for the gathering, as it is the name of a Vacaville Unified program newly rolled out and called JumpStart Solano, which district officials describe as a “success program” designed to help and prepare Vacaville and Wood high school seniors to make a seamless transition from their respective schools to SCC.

Source: Getting a jump on college – The Vacaville Reporter

Kaiser Permanente selects Fairfield High junior for internship program – Daily Republic

Fairfield High School junior Johan Jimenez has been selected to participate in the Kaiser Permanente Launch Internship program this summer.

The eight-week internship program will provide Jimenez with the opportunity to work at a Kaiser facility where he will receive training and experience working in both medical and nonmedical fields within the organization, according to a Fairfield-Suisun School District press release.

Jimenez will have the chance to work alongside doctors, nurses and other Kaiser professionals, “providing him with valuable insights into various careers in the medical field,” according to the press release. The program aims to prepare students for successful careers after graduation by providing them with practical experience and training.

Source: Kaiser Permanente selects Fairfield High junior for internship program

Fairfield-Suisun school board OKs latest financial update – Daily Republic

By Susan Hiland

The Fairfield-Suisun School District’s governing board has approved the second interim financial report – a routine update on the state of the district’s finances.

The district looks to be able to meet its financial obligations in the coming budget year even with declining student enrollment, according to a staff report.

Amanda Rish, director of Fiscal Services, gave the presentation Thursday night.

Source: Fairfield-Suisun school board OKs latest financial update

Fairfield-Suisun schools trustees change up order for meeting agendas – Daily Republic

By Susan Hiland

Changes to the order in which Fairfield-Suisun School District trustees conduct meetings drew the ire last week of an employee union leader and a trustee but was later defended by the board president as a way to encourage engagement.

Trustees voted Thursday night to make staff-recommended changes to the order of business at upcoming board meetings.

One of the changes that brought the wrath of several public speakers – including Fairfield Suisun Unified Teachers’ Association President Nancy Dunn – was moving reports for the employee unions and student board member to later in the meeting.

Source: Fairfield-Suisun schools trustees change up order for meeting agendas

Vacaville Rotary Club awarding scholarships for high school seniors – The Vacaville Reporter

The Vacaville Rotary Club is in search of deserving students seeking scholarships to use toward college education-related costs.

The Vacaville Rotary is looking for the next generation of leaders who want to honor those high-achieving students who go beyond their regular class work and have demonstrated a passion for service above self. 20 scholarships will be awarded in the amounts of $500 to $4,000 each totaling 28k.

High School Seniors in the Vacaville Unified and Travis Unified School Districts can pick up an application in their school counseling office or online at www.vacavillerotary.org.

Source: Vacaville Rotary Club awarding scholarships for high school seniors – The Vacaville Reporter

Buckingham Collegiate Charter Academy students partner with Recology for breast cancer fundraiser – The Vacaville Reporter

By Rebecca Wasik

National Honor Society students at Buckingham Collegiate Charter Academy in Vacaville are making a difference when it comes to breast cancer awareness.

Recology Vacaville Solano currently leases out pink trash totes for $200 a year, with all funds supporting the Solano Midnight Sun Breast Cancer Foundation. These pink totes replace the traditional gray trash totes that are standard for residents. The totes are vibrant pink to show support to those in the community who may be suffering from or are survivors of breast cancer.

Source: Buckingham Collegiate Charter Academy students partner with Recology for breast cancer fundraiser – The Vacaville Reporter

Officials invite public to Office of Education science, engineering fair – Daily Republic

The 2023 Solano County Science and Engineering Fair will be open to community members Thursday in McCormack Hall on the Solano County Fairgrounds in Vallejo.

The event celebrates students’ achievements in science and engineering projects, work that can prove to be pathways into careers.

Solano County students in third through 12th grades were encouraged to enter this competition. Top middle and high school winners will be eligible to enter the California State Science and Engineering Fair in April.

Source: Officials invite public to Office of Education science, engineering fair

Soroptimist awards come complete with a few tears, lots of smiles – Daily Republic

By Susan Hiland

Members of Soroptimist International of Solano County shared smiles, laughter and a few tears Tuesday at the 2023 Women Making a Difference Awards luncheon.

“There were so many qualified candidates it was extremely difficult to choose,” said Cathy Hall, Awards Committee chairwoman.

Hall has been a Soroptimist for years and spoke of getting to know these young woman who applied for the awards.

Source: Soroptimist awards come complete with a few tears, lots of smiles