School News

School Choice Survey Reopened

Updated Tue, Mar 22nd

The Campbell Union School District is on a mission to ensure each of our 12 schools is a “School of Choice” for our families and community. We want to know what influences your decision when choosing a school for your children.

The responses to our survey will help us refine our programs to meet the needs of our students and parents by providing an educational experience that is “beyond the expected” at each of our schools and supporting programs.

If you already participated in the survey in early March, thank you.  Those responses will be added to those received this time.

The survey is online and will close on April 1, 2016. 
(Survey link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/schoolsofchoice2)

For a printed copy, please call your child’s school or the District’s Public Information office.

Message from the Principal

Updated Tue, Mar 29th

Safety first!

We want to make sure that at the end of the day your child is home safely and accounted for.  As a reminder, any child who is not in CampbellCare after school, or Tuesday’s Kids’ Club, or other scheduled school activities must be picked up immediately after school. Wednesdays, school is out 1 hour earlier, so please plan your pick-up for the early release time.  

We do not have after school supervision and too frequently we have found students hiding on campus so as not to get caught while their parent arrives well after school hours. This is a very unsafe practice and puts children in a difficult place when asked where their parent is. 

We close our campus no later than 3 pm daily. Any children not picked up are brought to the office where we contact the parent to pick up the child. Again, for those of you needing child care after school, we have our fee-based Campbell Care program. It is safe, fun and gives your child an opportunity to interact with other children. Their contact information is through our Extensions Department at (408) 341-7283. 

Thank you for respecting our students and staff by honoring the school schedule and picking up your child on time, every day.

Great Summer Options!

Updated Tue, Mar 22nd

Summertime fun and learning options abound for students from preschool through middle school. Act now, as limited space is available. Register at www.cusdextensions.org or in the CUSD Extensions Department, 155 North 3rd Street, Campbell.

  • Summer Preschool: Don’t miss out on an exciting summer full of Dinosaurs, Pirates, Space Voyages, and Ocean exploration in Preschool Discovery Days and Kinder Readiness Academy at Capri!  Summer programs begin June 20th.  Details online athttp://www.cusdextensions.org/programs/summer-programs/summer-preschool.
  • Grades 1-5 Summer Enrichment Camps: Keep your elementary grade student active and social as they enjoy Science, Technology, Recreation, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics activities at Forest Hill School. From budding artists and athletes to history buffs and bakers to astronauts and engineers—students get to do what they love AND discover new interests. Click on the e-flyers button (on this page) for details.
  • Grades 1-8 Tech Camps: Students enjoy learning 3D design, Animation and Minecraft in our Summer Tech Camp in the STEAM Space at Monroe Middle School. No experience is required. Sessions vary by age. Click on the e-flyers button (on this page) for details.

State Testing to Begin in April

Updated Tue, Mar 22nd

This year, our students in grades 3–8 will participate in the statewide testing program called the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP). The tests in the CAASPP System provide information to teachers, parents/guardians, and students about students’ progress and readiness for college and career.

Our school’s testing dates are:

  • 3rd-4th grades May 2 - May 20
  • 5th grade  April 25 - May 20

A letter from our Superintendent about the tests is online at https://www.campbellusd.org/stateassessment.

The tests for English language arts/literacy (ELA) and mathematics are:

  • Smarter Balanced tests, or
  • California Alternate Assessments (CAAs)*

Science assessments (students in grades 5 and 8 only) are:

  • California Standards Test (CST) for Science, or
  • California Modified Assessment (CMA) for Science*

For tips on how to help your child do well on tests, go to www.campbellusd.org/files/testpreptips.pdf or ask your child’s teacher.

If you would like more information about the CAASPP System, please visit the Parent/Student tab of the CDE’s CAASPP Web page at www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/ca/index.asp?tabsection=3#ssr.

For more information or resources about alternate assessments, please visit the CDE’s CAASPP Alternate Assessments Web page at www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/ca/altassessment.asp

If you have questions about your child’s participation in CAASPP, or your right to have your child opt out of testing, please contact the principal of your child’s school.

* Students with individualized education plans (IEP) are eligible to take the CAA and the CMA as indicated in the IEP.

E-News Service Includes E-flyers

Updated Tue, Mar 22nd

Our school uses an electronic news system to send weekly information home to families. This system allows parents and guardians to receive via email the kind of weekly information that used to be in student backpacks: school news, calendars, correspondence, and flyers about activities and programs. Now that information can go directly to parents and guardians who subscribe to the e-news service.

The company providing part of the distribution service is called Peachjar. You may have received a welcome email from Peachjar that contained log in information. You do not need to login to receive or view school flyers. It is an option for those who wish to manage their own settings.

Our e-news system is used exclusively for distribution of school-approved information. Your email address will not be shared or used for any other purpose.

If you have questions about our new e-news distribution service, please contact the school office or email Marla Sanchez at msanchez [at] campbellusd.org.

Students to Showcase STEAM

Updated Wed, Mar 16th
STEAM Showcase 2015 on March 30 at 4-7 p.m.

The District’s 2nd annual S.T.E.A.M. Showcase 2016, on March 30, is a community celebration of student innovation and creativity in Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics. It will feature works by our students and others from CUSD elementary and middle school.

When: Wednesday, March 30, 2016, from 4 – 7 p.m.

Where: Monroe Middle School campus, 1055 S. Monroe, San Jose

Information:  408-364-4200 or ask_us [at] campbellusd.org

Technology Use Survey

Updated Tue, Apr 12th

Our school will be partnering with BrightBytes, an educational software company, so that we can learn more about our school’s technology use for student learning. The purpose behind this survey is to gather metrics on our technology environment, access, and skills in order to better understand the connection between technology use and student achievement. The results will tell us if our recent initiatives and investments are having an impact on our students and also give us direction for next steps. This will be done through a comprehensive framework called CASE that looks at the Classroom factors, Access to technology, teacher and student Skills and Environmental factors. To gain these insights, we must provide BrightBytes with a complete picture of technology use at school and at home. We will be asking parents, students, and teachers to participate in this research. Students in grades 3-8 will take a 10 minute questionnaire that asks them about their technology use in school and at home. The questionnaire is anonymous and no identifying information is shared.

Sample questions can be viewed at the link below.

http://survey.brightbytes.net/s3/SAMPLE-Eleme...

http://survey.brightbytes.net/s3/SAMPLE-Middl...

Our collection window will open on March 21st and close on April 1st. Students will take the survey at school. Parents can access the survey through our website or by going to www.bbyt.es and enter our parent access code.

Our school’s parent access code is BF88P.

Thank you in advance for your insights.

New State Survey on Local Control & Accountability Plans

Updated Mon, Mar 14th

The State of California launched a new online survey to improve school districts’ Local Control and Accountability Plans (LCAPs).  The LCAPs are key tools for establishing 3-year goals to improve student outcomes and align spending with the goals. 

Anyone who is interested – students, parents, educators, community members and others –can participate in the survey and help to make the plans easier to use, understand, and review.

The survey is open until 5 p.m., March 25, at cdefoundation.org/lcap-survey.

New Principal for 2016-17 School Year

Updated Tue, Mar 22nd

Message from Principal, Ivy Sarratt

Please join me in congratulating Eric Brown.  He will be Castlemont's new Principal starting the 2016-17 school year.  As many of you know, Eric has been the Assistant Principal for the past 3 years and is highly qualified to take the reins of our incredible World Famous Castlemont.  We are very excited by his new appointment and wish him all the best.   

Cornerstone Corner:

Updated Fri, Mar 11th

This month’s ABC book:
“Nobody Knew What To Do” by Becky Ray McCain.

This book tells the story of how one child found the courage to be an UP-stander and tell a teacher about a fellow student who was being picked on and bullied by children in school.

We are often scared and don’t know what to do when we witness bullying or a conflict. As students learn and use bully prevention strategies (and see them used by others) their confidence in their ability to be UP-standers increases. One important UP-stander tool is learning that it is ok to make a report to an adult about a bullying or social conflict. Students should tell an adult when they see or hear anything that deals with preventing or protecting another student. Sometimes students can be confused with the difference between tattling and reporting. Tattling is done out of a desire to get someone in trouble, spread lies or get attention. Telling and making a report lets adults know what happened in a situation and enables them to address the problem. It is sometimes hard for children to understand this difference, so please remind them that it is always ok to talk to a caring adult and ask for help. Frequently remind them that YOU are one of their caring adults.

For more information about Project Cornerstone, visit http://www.projectcornerstone.org/ or contact Castlemont Parent Coordinator Sarah Williams Kingsley at sewkingsley [at] gmail.com.

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School Choice Survey Reopened

Updated Tue, Mar 22nd

Message from the Principal

Updated Tue, Mar 29th

Great Summer Options!

Updated Tue, Mar 22nd

State Testing to Begin in April

Updated Tue, Mar 22nd

E-News Service Includes E-flyers

Updated Tue, Mar 22nd

Students to Showcase STEAM

Updated Wed, Mar 16th

Technology Use Survey

Updated Tue, Apr 12th

New State Survey on Local Control & Accountability Plans

Updated Mon, Mar 14th

New Principal for 2016-17 School Year

Updated Tue, Mar 22nd

Cornerstone Corner:

Updated Fri, Mar 11th