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A Moment with Doc Ervin
Superintendent Doc Ervin introduces members of his executive cabinet.
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Future in Focus
Quick tips, brief updates, and reminders about what’s coming up to help families, employees, and our community make the most of our schools.
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Weekly Bulletin Board
The Pure Land Foundation is holding a drive-thru food distribution on Saturday, November 20 at Pacific High School from 9 a.m. to noon.
The Tzu Chi Foundation will be distributing free groceries at Jones Elementary School on Sunday, November 21 from
9 to 11 a.m.
Head to Del Vallejo Middle School Leadership & STEAM Academy on November 22 at 9 a.m., where the Tzu Chi Foundation is hosting a drive-thru food giveaway.
A California Dream Act workshop will be held on November 17 at 5 p.m. to help undocumented students learn about
college applications and scholarships.
Register for the popular Family Leadership Institute, which runs from November 30 to December 3. Use this link
to register https://bit.ly/2Xj6G3S.
A Marching Band Showcase featuring District students is Wednesday, November 17 at 7 p.m. at San Bernardino Valley
College.
The City of San Bernardino is holding community input workshops for the electoral redistricting process throughout November. Redistricting determines which neighborhoods and communities are grouped together into a ward
for purposes of electing a council member. You have an opportunity to share with the Mayor and City Council how you think ward boundaries should be drawn to best represent your community. For more information, visit
www.sbcityredistricting.org or contact the City Clerk’s office at (909)384-5002.
Free Flu Shot, COVID-19 Vaccine, and Boosters
The San Bernardino County Department of Public Health is holding free flu and COVID-19 vaccine clinics, which
also provide booster doses and are open to everyone in the community. Flu shots can be administered to anyone three years and up. COVID-19 vaccines are now available for those age 5 and up.
Dates and locations:
- Muscoy Elementary - Nov. 13 and Dec. 4, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Sturges Theatre - Nov. 19 and Dec. 10, 3 to 7 p.m.
- Hunt Elementary - Nov. 20 and Dec. 11 , 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
See the flyers for more information, including how to make an appointment: English and Spanish.
Learn About College Resources
Are you or someone you know a non-traditional college student who can benefit from additional college resources? Please attend
the 2021 Cash for College Town Hall hosted by Assemblywoman Eloise Gomez Reyes office and San Bernardino Valley College
on Wednesday, November 17 fro 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. Learn about financial resources for college as well as information to help non-traditional students meet their academic and career goals.
Please email your questions to [email protected] with "Cash for College Question" in the subject line no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, November 12.
Holiday Meal Distribution Update
Per state and federal guidelines, meal distribution is not allowed outside of normal school days. That means that meal distribution
will not take place during the upcoming Thanksgiving break and winter break. Families are encouraged to participate in other meal distribution opportunities available in the community.
Thanksgiving Break
In observance of the Thanksgiving holiday, SBCUSD schools will be closed November 22–26. Administrative offices will close November
25–26. |
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Highlights of the Week
Highlights of key news from the week that will help you stay in the know.
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Digital Citizenship Starts at Home
Families play a vital role in helping children become good digital citizens who can safely and responsibly navigate the changing
digital landscape.
Parents and guardians should speak with children regularly about screen time, internet safety, and using electronic devices and online resources responsibly. Families should also take a moment to speak with children about
the seriousness of making fake threats electronically.
All reported threats to our schools are taken seriously and investigated by District Police. Verbal threats or threats posted on social media even in a joking manner can carry serious legal consequences and may result
in discipline for the student, even if the threat is determined to be unfounded.
As you know, school safety is a shared responsibility. You can help us by speaking with your children about what they can do to help keep our schools safe. Please take time to discuss these important points:
- Threats are not jokes and students should not post or share online threats. Threatening to commit acts of violence against a school is considered a serious crime.
- Learning is the job of our students. Threats of violence have the potential to seriously disrupt learning and school activities.
- When students or parents hear rumors or have any information regarding possible threats to school safety, we encourage them to immediately tell a teacher or staff member or call the See Something, Say Something Hotline
at (909) 388-6043.
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SBCUSD Focuses on Students' Mental and Emotional Health
Since students across the San Bernardino City Unified School District (SBCUSD) returned to in-person learning
in August, it’s become evident that the extended COVID-related lockdowns and social distancing during the 2020–2021 school year had an impact on all aspects of youth development, including mental health.
The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) reported that mental-health related emergency room visits among children increased in 2020 anywhere from 24 to 31 percent, depending on the specific age range. Published reports
suggest that the pandemic has had a negative effect on children’s mental health.
SBCUSD is responding to these concerns with the Roadmap to Reopening and its four guiding principles. Among them is Mental &
Physical Wellness, which has already manifested in a focus on social-emotional learning, offering youth mental health first aid training, and a robust school counseling program.
Social-emotional learning (SEL) helps guide students in developing self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, positive relationship, and responsible decision-making skills, which in turn help students cope with change
and adversity, build and maintain positive relationships, and learn how to set and achieve goals. These core social skills can help students thrive personally, academically, and professionally throughout their lives.
“We’re teaching students how to be resilient, advocate for themselves and others, and be responsible community members,” said Colleen Williams. director of Student Wellness & Support Services. “When
students know how to manage their emotions and be aware of others, we reduce instances of bullying and conflict, but we also help students who are in difficult situations learn to recognize how those situations impact them and
when they need to reach out for help.”
Research shows that when schools incorporate SEL, students feel more connected to their peers and adults, do better academically, engage in fewer negative behaviors in the classroom, and have better ways to cope with anxiety
and conflict.
While social-emotional learning is an important tool in helping students become more resilient so they are better able to handle life’s challenges, there will always be circumstances that can stress even the strongest person’s
mental and emotional health.
The Making Hope Happen Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to supporting the District’s educational mission, is stepping in to make sure SBCUSD staff can recognize when that happens and lend a helping hand.
“Every 11 minutes someone dies by suicide, and 18 months of social distancing has been especially hard on our youth,” said Program Coordinator—Mental Health Gerzón Ceseña. “We want to make
sure SBCUSD staff have the skills to recognize the signs of mental health and substance abuse issues and get our students the help they need as early as possible.”
The Foundation is offering free Youth Mental Health First Aid training to teachers, principals, and other school staff who work directly with students. Mental health first aid is similar to traditional first aid. People are taught
how to evaluate if someone is in need of assistance and how to provide basic aid to keep them alive while waiting for a professional to arrive to do the real life-saving work.
“In collaboration with the Foundation, the Student Wellness & Support Services Department developed the training model for Youth Mental Health First Aid during the COVID-19 lockdowns,” said Foundation Director
of Programs & Development Erin Brinker. “They were critical to making this available for teachers and staff, and when Student Wellness had to move on to other projects, the Foundation was proud to step in and offer
both the financial support and staff time to keep the program running.”
In addition to making the training available for free to SBCUSD staff, the Foundation is helping schools to coordinate training sessions so that both individuals and entire groups of teachers can be trained, depending on the
needs of the school community.
“We feel this is so important that we’re willing to cover the cost of a substitute teacher so our regular classroom teachers have the time to attend the training,” Brinker said. “We know it’s important
that our teachers be present in the classroom for the best instruction, but we also know that it’s worth missing a few hours to get this vital training because it may mean all the difference for students suffering from
mental health issues, now more than ever.”
Even before SBCUSD switched from distance learning back to in-person instruction, SBCUSD schools considered the importance of mental and emotional health to student learning and overall success in life. Sierra High School earning
a RAMP designation was just one piece of evidence for that.
RAMP stands for Recognized ASCA Model Program. ASCA (American School Counselor Association) bestows the title on schools that align their counseling program and services with the ASCA National Model; deliver a data-informed,
comprehensive school counseling program; and make a commitment to their school counseling program.
Only 22 schools in California and 130 across the nation received the designation at the 2021 ASCA Annual Conference, held both in person and virtually in July. Since RAMP’s inception, only about 1,100 schools have been
honored. The RAMP designation is valid for five years, meaning Sierra High will retain the honor through 2026.
“These are services and supports that SBCUSD can offer students and families that other smaller school districts or charter schools may not be able to provide,” Superintendent Doc Ervin said. “Partly it’s
due to the resources we have, but more so it’s because our staff, from the top down, truly care about the whole child.” |
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| Produced and Distributed by the SBCUSD Communications/Community Relations Department |
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