Anderson Valley Unified Home

Dear AVES Families,

 

October was a wonderful month! We enjoyed all the traditional October celebrations, including Homecoming for AVHS and a costume parade at AVES.  Parents attended parent/teacher conferences at AVES and PLPs at AVJrSrHS. In addition to our regular events and festivities, AVUSD students enjoyed the Los Cenzontles concert, thanks to Mr. Robert Anderson and Eugene Rodriguez, Executive Director for Los Cenzontles Academy, who brought this concert to us.

 

Sports are going strong!  The Girls’ Varsity, JV, and 8th Grade Volleyball teams all won league championships. Boys’ soccer made the playoffs, and cross country championship races are coming soon.

 

It’s hard to believe that we are already heading into November!  With the holiday season on the horizon, we look forward to many more celebrations and fun times together. We are grateful for the support of our parents and community!

 

With respect,

 

Kristin Larson Balliet, superintendent 

 

Mark Your Calendars!

November 7 -   AVES: First Trimester Ends
November 11 -   No School: Veteran’s Day
November 14 -   AVES: Report Cards go home
AVJrSrHS: Progress Reports mailed home

November 21 at 1:15 -  Track Grand Opening
November 24-28  -   Thanksgiving Break
Dec. 15-19 -    AVJrSrJS: Finals Week
Dec. 22- Jan. 9 -   Winter Break

 

Track:  Ribbon Cutting on November 21

We are so excited!!  Please join us for a district-wide ribbon cutting at 1:15 on Thursday, November 21st just before Thanksgiving Break. AVES students will come up to AVHS on the bus and will be a part of the ceremony as well. A good time will be had by all and our students will be an important part of the ceremony. We hope to have lots of parents attend too!

 

We look forward to guests, including the press, officials from Caltrans, Mrs. Louise Simson, and possibly Congressman Huffman, whose support was instrumental in our receiving the funds for our beautiful track!  Here is an article about the track, from EdSource magazine:  https://edsource.org/?p=744164

Thank you, Justin Rhoades, for this very cool video of the new track!

 

 

AV JrSr HS FFA Went to Indianapolis

Mrs. Swehla took a group of FFA students to the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis!  They had a wonderful time, visiting the Indianapolis Zoo, volunteering at the Crown Hall Arboretum and Cemetery, and generally enjoying the experience. A highlight of the trip was when Amalanalli and Violleth won second place in the NATIONAL Agriscience Fair for Division 2 Social Science! Congratulations, Amalanalli, Violleth, and AVUSD FFA! You make us so proud.

 

Mrs. Cook’s Spanish III Class is Going to Peru

Several students from Mrs. Cook’s Spanish III class will be headed to Peru during Spring Break.  Students will have the opportunity to stay with host families and will enjoy a full daily schedule of learning and fun. What a fantastic opportunity for our students.  Thank you, Mrs. Cook!

 

Parenting Resource

Parenting can be difficult and it is nice to have some help! Brightlife is a program brought to us by CalHOPE.  It offers FREE coaching via live video chat and also offers an on-demand digital library for parents.  Please read this flier if you are interested.

 

More Information on Our Construction Projects:

 

AVES Kitchen

The AVES kitchen is nearly complete!  Architect Don Alameida is working with the construction team on the final touches, including an updated oven and range. We had hoped this work would be completed by the first week of November, but it is not quite done yet. We anticipate it being completed very soon!

 

AVHS Gym

We continue to work with the Office of Public School Construction (OPSC)for funding.  Plans have been submitted to the Division State Architect (DSA) and our architect is working through allowable costs with DSA. We anticipate refurbishing, rather than replacing, the gym. This WILL happen and we will keep you posted!

 

CTEFP Grant

This grant is a lot of work and we are hopeful to have it completed soon.  It is due by December 1 and, if awarded, could result in $6 million for new construction of a Career Tech Ed facility that would house our agriculture programs, including expanded areas for ag mechanics. Our kids deserve this and we are putting together the strongest application possible. 

 

Curriculum Being Piloted at AV Jr/Sr HS

AVHS is piloting History/Social Studies curricula. The series is Impact California Social Studies published by McGraw Hill. This series includes:

Principles of Economics by Gary E. Clayton, Ph.D., C: 2019
Principles of American Democracy by Richard C. Remy, Ph.D., Donald A. Ritchie, Ph.D., Lee Arbetman, M.Ed., J.D., Megan L. Hanson, M.S., and Lena Morreale Scott, Ed.M. C: 2019
United States History & Geography: Continuity & Change by Joyce Appleby, Ph.D., Alan Brinkley, Ph.D., Alber S. Broussard, Ph.D., James McPherson, Ph.D., and Donald A. Ritchie, Ph.D. C: 2019, 
World History, Culture, & Geography: The Modern World by Jackson J. Spielvogel, Ph.D. C: 2019

 

We also Have a Health book to pilot also published by McGraw Hill:

Glencoe Health: Human Sexuality by Mary H. Bronson, Ph.D. C: 2022

 

Parents and guardians are welcome to review the pilot materials and should contact Principal Heath McNerney if they would like to do so; these materials will be made available in the school library.

 

 

 

Principals’ Updates Weekly / Superintendent Update Monthly

As a reminder, AVES Principal Jenny Bailey and AV JrSr HS Principal Heath McNerney will be sending updates weekly to keep parents aware of site-specific items.  

If you are not receiving Parent Square messages, please contact your school office or Nat Corey-Moran at [email protected];  Nat’s team will reach out to help set that up to keep you looped in! You can receive your messages as emails or texts, in your preferred language.

 

We Care About ALL Our Families

There is new legislation in California called AB 49 and SB 98, in response to strong concerns about the  impacts of immigration enforcement on students, families, and school communities.California law now specifically prohibits school

officials and employees of a local educational agency (LEA) from providing an officer or employee of an agency conducting immigration enforcement with access to a nonpublic area of a school site for any purpose without being presented with a valid judicial warrant, judicial subpoena, or a court order or unless required by state or federal law.  We will be posting signs in both English and Spanish, explaining the new laws and offering support to our families.  If you would like more information, see the CDE Resources for Immigrant Families web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/immigration-toolkit or talk to your school principal or Mrs. Larson Balliet, AVUSD superintendent.

 

Please find  links to additional information for families below:

Mendocino County Office of Education: Immigration Resource Page
Immigration and California Families: State Immigration Website
National Immigration Law Center: “Know Your Rights” (English | Spanish | Additional Languages) 

If you would like to be more involved at school, please contact your school’s principal, Ms. Jenny Bailey at AVES or Mr. Heath McNerney at AV Jr/Sr High, or our district superintendent, Ms. Kristin Larson Balliet. We are deeply grateful for our AVUSD families. 

With respect,

Kristin Larson Balliet

Superintendent

Anderson Valley Unified School District 

[email protected]