“GGUSD is grateful for the generosity of amazing community partners that share our vision of supporting students’ academic and personal success,” said Walter Muneton, Board of Education trustee. “Providing tangible tools like pencils, notebooks, and calculators is a huge help for our students and their families, and will surely lead to continued growth and learning in our classrooms.”
Students received backpacks filled with school items that they use every day such as notebooks, crayons, pencil boxes, pencils, scissors, erasers, and markers at the elementary level; binders, highlighters, index cards, and protractors at the intermediate level; calculators, binders, college notebooks, and highlighters at the high school level, among many other items.
]]>PBIS helps schools to encourage more positive student behavior, increase student performance and improve school climate. The awards from the California PBIS Coalition recognize schools that are among the best in applying PBIS strategies to promote positive school climate and positive student behavior.
GGUSD schools that received the Gold Award are Faylane Elementary, Stanley Elementary, Heritage Computer Science Academy, and McGarvin Intermediate School. District schools that received the Silver Award are Russell Elementary, Mitchell Elementary, Doig Intermediate, Jordan intermediate, and Hare High School. Garden Grove High School received the Bronze Award.
“We are so proud of our schools for promoting positive school cultures and climate and for being recognized with these exciting awards,” said Dina Nguyen, Board of Education trustee. “Our staff is 110 percent committed to ensuring students feel cared for and have socio-emotional support and intervention when they need it and PBIS is a powerful tool in their toolbox in supporting those goals.”
Across the district, 33 schools are at various levels of PBIS implementation, with all schools on pace to adopt PBIS by the end of the 2023-2024 school year.
]]>The summer internship program is a capstone course for incoming seniors enrolled in the district’s high school Career and Technical Education (CTE) Pathways, and is supported by Orange County United Way’s Youth Career Connections Program and the Orange County Department of Education.
“The internship culmination celebration shines a light on the life-changing impact these career experiences have on our students,” said Board of Education Vice President Teri Rocco. “The GGUSD interns gained valuable professional skills and engaged in hands-on learning in careers they are interested in pursuing.
At the start of the program, students spent a week in the classroom with district CTE teachers to build communication, collaboration and research skills, work on their resumes, create LinkedIn profiles and hear from industry guest speakers. The four-week on-the-job portion of the internships took place in July with students performing meaningful, hands-on support for employers’ projects, and finished with students reflecting on what they learned and presenting to classmates. Students earned 10 credits and CTE pathway completion certificates, professional communication certifications from Southwest Airlines, and scholarships from Orange County United Way.
The internship opportunities cover a wide range of industry sectors including arts, media, and entertainment, engineering and architecture, health services and medical technology and information and computer technology. Employers of GGUSD interns include Bracken’s Kitchen, Children’s Hospital of Orange County, Opus Bank, L3 Harris Technologies, Congressman Lou Correa’s Office, Garden Grove Hospital, Mohr Partners, UCI Medical Center, and Ware Malcomb, among others.
This is the fifth year GGUSD has offered a formal summer internship program and the third year partnering with Orange County United Way’s Youth Career Connections.
]]>In the photo, the new playground equipment at Excelsior Elementary School, 10421 Woodbury Road in Garden Grove, is shown.
]]>Among the Class of 2019, 1,050 students report that they have chosen to attend a UC or CSU school. GGUSD students consistently beat the county and stage average on completion of rigorous a-g college entrance exams.
Students in the Class of 2019 finished high school with more than 7,800 Advanced Placement courses completed and 57 percent of GGUSD seniors completed one or more AP course, many with college credits already under their belts.
“Every year, we are impressed with the caliber of our graduates and we are proud of all they have accomplished during their educational careers in GGUSD,” said Board of Education President Lan Nguyen. “The future looks bright with GGUSD graduates ready to tackle exciting career goals and rising up as the next generation of community leaders.”
During the commencement ceremonies, district students and families heard from valedictorians who reflected on their high school experience and looked ahead to exciting futures.
Bolsa Grande High School valedictorian Jamie Vu is a National Merit Commended Scholar, trilingual in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese, and will attend UCLA in the fall to major in Psychobiology.
Garden Grove High School co-valedictorian Nghiem Pham earned a full ride to MIT, where he will major in linguistics with the career goal of becoming a college professor and researcher. Garden Grove High School co-valedictorian Anabella Pham excelled in the Orange County Mock Trial program, and will attend UCLA in the fall to major in political science with plans for a life of public service as an elected official or judge.
The Class of 2019 boasts an impressive 35 National Merit Scholars and 1,225 seniors earned the Golden State Seal Merit Diploma demonstrating mastery in at least six subject areas.
For the second year in a row, all seven comprehensive high schools were named to U.S. News and World Report’s elite rankings as America’s Best High Schools.
The district is committed to equipping students with the academic and personal skills for lifelong success, teaching students about motivation, grit and perseverance.
Hare High School valedictorian Angel Pivaral demonstrated perseverance coming to the United States from Guatemala his sophomore year knowing very little English, but mastering his goal of graduating on time with a 4.0. He plans to attend Cypress College with a goal of transferring to a four-year university to major in biology and become a surgeon.
Several of the district’s valedictorians aspire to pursue careers in the medical field including La Quinta High School’s Hillary Nguyen, who will attend Yale in the fall to major in neuroscience and was selected as one of 300 students nationwide to receive a four-year full-ride Gates Scholarship.
Katherine Ngo from La Quinta High School will attend UCLA to major in microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics; Los Amigos High School valedictorian Tiffany Tran will attend UCI to major in biological sciences with a goal of becoming an emergency room doctor; and Rancho Alamitos valedictorian Jennifer Nguyen will attend University of California, San Diego to major in bioengineering/biotechnology with plans to go into genetic research.
Pacifica High School valedictorian Andrew Huynh will attend UCLA to major in aerospace engineering with the goal of becoming a spacecraft engineer and Santiago High School valedictorian Quyen Nguyen will major in computer science at University of California, San Diego with plans to develop a start-up software company.
]]>Congrats, Class of ’19.
This week, students in the Garden Grove Unified School District’s high schools — as well as other GG schools — graduate, and move on to college, to trade school, to entrepreneurship, you name it.
As Benjamin Franklin said, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”
Look for tons of grad photos in next week’s papers and at www.localocn.com.
Meanwhile, support your local grads.
Following is the graduation schedule for the district (note: all of these will be held at Michael A. Monsoon Stadium, 11271 Stanford Ave. in Garden Grove):
Graduation ceremonies being held at other venues are:
·Pacifica High School, Friday, June 14 at 4 p.m., Orange Coast College, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa;
Good luck, grads. Onward and upward!
]]>The event is organized by the GGUSD Adapted Physical Education Department and the Special Olympics of Southern California.
When the district’s 700 student athletes arrived at the stadium, they were greeted with cheers from high school student leaders. Hundreds of leaders from the district’s eight high schools volunteer to run Special Games events, including relays, softball toss, soccer kick and basketball.
“Special Games brings out the best in our students and showcases the supportive and caring culture our district provides for students of all abilities,” said Lan Nguyen, board of education president.
The games kicked off with a torch run, shown in the photograph.
]]>“We want our high school seniors to feel tremendous pride and to know that getting accepted into college is something worth celebrating,” said Walter Muneton, board of education trustee. “As a district, it is our mission to prepare students for lifelong success and these College Signing Day events are a visual reminder of why we do what we do.”
In addition to the high school celebrations, hundreds of GGUSD high school students attended UCLA for former First Lady Michelle Obama’s Reach Higher College Signing Campaign event, where they heard Mrs. Obama speak about college being the most important investment in one’s life. According to the Reach Higher Initiative, the average worker with a bachelor’s degree will earn approximately $1 million more than a worker who only has a high school diploma over the course of a lifetime.
Garden Grove Unified School District continues to soar as a leader in college readiness with 58 percent of the district’s Class of 2018 meeting rigorous college entrance requirements qualifying students to attend UC or CSU schools.
For the second year in a row, all seven of GGUSD’s comprehensive high schools were named to U.S. News and World Report’s elite rankings of America’s Best High Schools.
To view the district’s College Signing Day photos, visit ggusd.us/CollegeSigning. GGUSD students, parents, and community members are encouraged to post their photos on social media and engage with the district’s social media campaign using #GGUSDCollegeSigning.
]]>The district is proud to announce that two students were selected as Angels Scholars and awarded $10,000 in college scholarships. This is a prestigious recognition that was only awarded to seven students across all of Orange County.
The district’s Angels Scholars are Tyler Everett of Bell Intermediate and Mazen Nematalla of Fitz Intermediate. The $10,000 scholarship awarded to the Angels Scholars is contingent upon a commitment to remain in the AVID program for the four years in high school and receive acceptance to a four-year university.
“GGUSD appreciates its partnership with the Angels Baseball Foundation and all that they do for our students,” said Dina Nguyen, GGUSD Board of Education trustee. “Congratulations to our two AVID scholars, for being great classmates, dedicated students, and leaders in their communities.”
The Angels Foundation generously gifted each of the standouts with an HP laptop along with an Angels hat, certificate, and medal. The 10 Eighth Grade Standouts from GGUSD intermediate schools are: Andrea Soriano, Alamitos; Tyler Everett, Bell; Zurisadai Aranda, Doig; Mazen Nematalla, Fitz; Joshua Hoang, Irvine; Han Diep, Jordan; Y Truong, Lake; Nelson H. Nguyen, McGarvin; Leslie Renderos, Ralston; and Guadalupe Villicana, Walton.
]]>The award recognizes Mafi for exceptional leadership and support of art programs, which have flourished under her leadership.
teacher Lori Adams from Post Elementary School was recognized among the county’s 2019 Outstanding Arts Educators, and was the only elementary teacher to receive a special award for excellence in Visual Arts instruction.
Adams is one of the 24 district elementary teachers on the district’s Visual Arts Learning Team, a group of teachers learning about delivering high quality art instruction in the elementary classroom. A 23-year veteran teacher, Adams teaches fourth grade and interweaves visual art instruction into her classroom and teaches an after-school art class to provide more students with an opportunity to express their creativity.
“Dr. Mafi has been a champion for arts education and has shown incredible support for providing equity in access to ensure all students have an opportunity to participate in arts programs,” said Walter Muneton, board of education trustee. “When other districts were cutting art, Dr. Mafi worked with the board to ensure art programs continued to thrive in our district. Our art, dance, music, and theater teachers, along with our classroom teachers like Lori Adams inspire students’ creativity and empower students with countless benefits toward their academic and personal growth.”
Under Dr. Mafi’s leadership, music instruction has doubled at primary levels and has been added to transitional kindergarten and kindergarten classes. Four years ago, Dr. Mafi reinstated and expanded a music program at the Special Education Center at Mark Twain, which serves the district’s most medically fragile students, and two years ago, a music program was implemented for secondary students in Moderate/Severe Special Education settings for the first time.
Recently the district adopted its first Arts Plan, increased professional development for all Visual and Performing Arts teachers, and coming this fall the district will open its first Arts Academy launched at Bryant Elementary School and its first elementary and intermediate Mariachi after-school program.
The Garden Grove Unified School District serves most of Garden Grove and portions of Stanton, Westminster, Santa Ana, Anaheim, Cypress and Fountain Valley.
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