Support students at Buckingham Collegiate Charter Academy by indulging in crab.
The BCCA SHIELD parent group is hosting a crab feed at 6-10 p.m. Saturday at the McBride Senior Center, 91 Town Square Place in Vacaville.
Proceeds will go toward scholarships and fund student club supplies and activities.
Doors open at 5 p.m., followed by no-host cocktail service at 5:30 p.m. and dinner at 6:30 p.m.
Source: Buckingham crab feed supports students – The Vacaville Reporter
By Susan Hiland
Schools across the area are looking to fill multiple types of position, so the Solano County Office of Education hosted a job fair Saturday for people to seek jobs in a single setting.
“This is targeting the communities in Solano County,” said Mike Minahen, associate superintendent of Human Resources. “The goal for today is to provide an opportunity to recruit locally.”
Nearly all school districts in Solano County came out on a rainy Saturday.
Source: Job fair sheds light on vacancies in Solano school districts
By Rebecca Wasik
Callison Elementary School in Vacaville celebrated the 25th annual Read Across America Week, which began on Dr. Seuss’ birthday, with themed days.
Friday was Literary Character Day and participants from across the city — including public safety officers, Air Force personnel, local leaders and community members — volunteered to read to the students, some dressed as their favorite book characters.
The aim — to teach them about the importance reading has in their careers.
Source: Callison Elementary celebrates Literary Character Day – The Vacaville Reporter
By Rebecca Wasik
It’s hard nowadays to keep a group of high school students quiet and attentive.
However, the history and music brought to life by Will C. Wood High School orchestra teacher Joanna Mackinson did just that.
Violins of Hope is a project of concerts played with violins once owned by Jewish people before and during World War II.
Through this program, Mackinson was able to play two historic violins for Wood students in the Catwalk Theater on campus Thursday.
Source: Violins of Hope brings educational concert to Will C. Wood High – The Vacaville Reporter
The Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District has placed a new weather and air monitoring station at Markham Elementary School.
Supervisor John Vasquez“Markham Elementary School’s new air monitor and weather station is an interactive and educational tool for teachers and students to connect with their environment through data collection, math and science. It is also a useful tool to help keep children safe and indoors when our air quality reaches hazardous levels.” Supervisor John Vasquez, who sits on the air district board, said in a statement released Friday by the air district.
Source: Vaca elementary school gets new weather station for science work
Nominations are being accepted for the 17th annual Community Advisory Committee Recognition Awards for those who go above and beyond in the service of students with disabilities.
The CAC Awards are presented to educators, youth and community members for outstanding service who go above and beyond in service of students with disabilities.
Award recipients are from each school district within the Solano County Special Education Local Plan Area: Benicia, Dixon, Fairfield-Suisun, Travis and Vacaville, as well as the Solano County Office of Education.
Source: Nominations open to recognize those who help students with disabilities
By Nick Sestanovich
It is spelling season in Vacaville.
All throughout the city, students at different schools are competing for spots in both the city and county spelling bees. On Thursday, it was Cooper Elementary School’s turn. A total of 21 students listened as different words were pronounced as they attempted to write them down in a notebook, staying on stage if they spelled a word correctly and leaving if they misspelled two.
This went on for more than 20 rounds until three remained. Sixth-grader Azamat Kokoev, sixth-grader Marcelo Sing and fifth-grader Audrey Echevarria clinched first, second and third place respectively. All three will go on to represent Cooper at the Vacaville Rotary Club’s Citywide Spelling Bee on March 22, and Azamat and Marcelo will compete in the Solano County Spelling Bee March 16. If either wins that competition, they could represent Solano in the California State Elementary Spelling Bee.
Source: Cooper students buzz to city spelling bee – The Vacaville Reporter
By Nick Sestanovich
Science lessons are not limited to just the classroom. As scores of third-graders throughout Solano County will learn over the next two months, they can be found by going outside, and one place where the lessons of nature can be found in abundance is in local waterways.
Through March 23, Solano Resource Conservation District (RCD) is hosting a series of field trips to local watersheds to give students an opportunity to learn about their local tributaries, what wildlife can be found there and what steps people can take to ensure they are kept clean. On Monday, third-graders at Fairmont Charter Elementary School visited Lagoon Valley Park, where they observed fauna, studied invertebrates and planted native grass.
Lee Ascencio, Solano RCD program manager, said Lagoon Valley was a great showcase for watersheds and one that not all students had been to themselves.
Source: Fairmont third-graders become Watershed Explorers – The Vacaville Reporter
By Richard Bammer
“Music is the language of the spirit” it’s been famously said, but it also will be spirited music when longtime Solano Symphony conductor Semyon Lohss and the orchestra accompany three teenage musicians during the annual Salute to Youth concert in Vacaville on Sunday.
The music, to be performed by winners of the 2022 Young Artists Competition, other student musicians and the orchestra, begins at 3 p.m. in the Vacaville Performing Arts Theatre, 1010 Ulatis Drive.
In a press statement, symphony Board President Melinda Ellis said the trio of winners are active music students at Davis Senior High School in Davis.
Source: Talented teen soloists showcased in Solano Symphony concert – The Vacaville Reporter
By Nick Sestanovich
Just a few months after starting high school, Linda Hernandez is already set to have a busy 2023.
The Will C. Wood freshman was named the Vacaville Neighborhood Boys & Girls Club’s Youth of the Year for 2023, where she will serve as the club’s ambassador for the year and be entered into the National Youth of the Year competition.
Linda’s new title was announced in a ceremony held at the Opera House Wednesday evening, where the Boys & Girls Club kickoff the first major celebration of what will be the club’s 20th year of operation in Vacaville. The evening not only looked back at the past but also toward the future, which will see a much larger main campus on Brown Street.
Source: Will C. Wood freshman named 2023 Youth of the Year – The Vacaville Reporter
By Richard Bammer
Youth will have its day once more when longtime Solano Symphony conductor Semyon Lohss and the orchestra accompany three winners of the 2022 Young Artists Competition during the annual Salute to Youth concert in Vacaville on Feb. 5.
The music begins at 3 p.m. in the Vacaville Performing Arts Theatre, 1010 Ulatis Drive.
In a press statement, symphony Board President Melinda Ellis said the trio of winners are active music students at Davis Senior High School in Davis.
By Nick Sestanovich
Walking through Buchanan Miles’ fourth-grade classroom at Hemlock Elementary School, it is already apparent that he is a highly exalted teacher. Sitting atop a bookshelf of grade-appropriate novels in his classroom’s Reading Corner is a set of trophies in the shape of Oscars and racing cups proclaiming Miles as the “Best Teacher” as well as an award from KUIC naming him the Teacher of the Month for Dec. 2013.
Now, Miles has a new award he can add to his shelf: one proclaiming him as Vacaville Unified School District’s Teacher of the Year for the 2022-23 year.
Miles, who is in his 23rd year of teaching at Hemlock, was honored by his peers for his selflessness, dedication to his students and contributions to the school’s culture of positivity.
By Nick Sestanovich
As mass shootings have become more prevalent over the last two decades, police officers everywhere are frequently being trained on how to respond in a way that is fast, safe and responsive to victims and survivors.
That includes in Vacaville.
While the city has not experienced such an incident, officers need to be prepared to respond in the event that a shooting does occur. Thus, the first of two critical incident training exercises was held at Will C. Wood High School Wednesday morning, bringing multiple agencies and volunteers together for a realistic roleplaying scenario.
Source: Critical incident scenario tests Vacaville PD officers – The Vacaville Reporter
By Jeannie Nguyen
More than 1,000 students are waiting their turn for a chance to get into a Vacaville charter school after hearing about its recent academic success.
Success is not the word many would use over the few years when dealing with the pandemic, but for the staff and students at Kairos Public Schools, success is a word that they’re pleased to share given what they’ve endured.
A few minutes before Lauren Goff’s fourth grade class, it was clear that having fun while learning is a top priority.
Source: Northern California charter school has academic success following tough years during pandemic
The Vacaville Unified School District announced the appointment of Ramiro Barron as the District’s new Assistant Superintendent of Student Services and Supports, effective July 1, 2023.
According to a district press release, Barron is filling a position left vacant due to Ed Santopadre’s appointment as Superintendent for the next school year. Mr. Barron’s contract was approved during the December 15 Regular Board Meeting.
Barron has been with the district for 16 years and brings a wealth of experience in the field of education. During his career with the district, he has served as the Director of Student Welfare and Attendance, Eugine Padan Elementary Principal, Edwin Markham Elementary Assistant Principal, and an elementary school teacher.
Source: Vacaville Unified School District announces new Assistant Superintendent – The Vacaville Reporter
By Nick Sestanovich
Seeing vintage and new automobiles up close is pretty neat, but so is being able to donate to people in need this holiday season. This Saturday at Will C. Wood High School will provide an opportunity for both.
The school will be the venue for Cars and Toys, an event organized by local realtor Bradley Morin which will feature an assortment of automobiles up close with a space to drop off toys. But the event’s amenities are not limited to what is in its name. It will also feature food trucks, games and more.
By day, Morin is an agent at Realty One Group Fox, but he said he is “a car guy at heart,” back when he was working on vehicles with his father.
Source: Cars, toys come to Will C. Wood Saturday – The Vacaville Reporter
By Nick Sestanovich
One of the best-known faces on campus at Alamo Elementary School looks a bit different than your average student or faculty member.
She has a large black nose, an extra pair of legs, and a tail, and communicates in barks. She is Pepper, Vacaville Unified School District’s first facility dog, and the three-year-old black Labrador retriever has commemorated one year of alleviating stress or other negative feelings for students by allowing her to be pet.
Pepper resides in the classroom of her handler, fifth-grade teacher Julia Borges, and when she is not lying on her bed below Borges’ desk and drawings of her created by her students, she is walking about the classroom poking her head near students’ desks, hoping they will extend their hands out and pet her. To that end, Pepper is never disappointed.
Source: Pepper commemorates first year as Alamo Elementary facility dog – The Vacaville Reporter
By Kimberly K. Fu
Election Day has come and gone, but results for races in Solano County are not yet set.
Why? Because there’s still thousands of ballots left to count.
According to the Solano County Registrar of Voters office, outstanding Vote-by-Mail ballots total 35,821 while outstanding provisional ballots number 1,671.
On Wednesday, staff focused full bore on processing ballots. An estimated 15,000 were ready to be counted while 13,000 more were ready to be verified.
Source: Unofficial Solano election results are in; more to come – The Vacaville Reporter
By Todd R. Hansen
Jack Flynn held a majority lead over incumbent Jonathan Richardson for the Trustee Area 5 seat on the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District board.
As of Wednesday, Flynn had tallied 963 votes, representing 51.5% of the ballots cast, while Richardson had 907 votes (48.5%), the Solano County Registrar of Voters Office reported.
The unofficial result is with all 10 precincts counted, but with mail-in and provisional ballots left to count.
Source: Schools election picture coming into focus after Day 2 of count
The Vacaville School District governing board has approved the appointment of Manolo Garcia, who currently serves as the interim assistant superintendent of Human Resources, to the role of assistant superintendent, Department of Human Resources.
The appointment was announced in a press release and was effective Friday.