National School Bus Safety Week October 16, 2023

School bus transportation plays a critical role in the education of our nation's students, and is the direct link between a neighborhood and the classroom. More than 25 million children ride the yellow bus every school day, and National School Bus Safety Week serves as a reminder for students, parents, teachers, and the community to keep school bus safety in the forefront. Here are tips to keep our children safe at the bus stop.

Getting Ready for School

• Have your children put everything they carry in a backpack or school bag so that they won’t drop things along the way.

• Encourage them to wear bright, contrasting colors so they will be more easily seen by drivers.

• Make sure children leave home on time so they can arrive at the bus stop before it is due, ideally at least five minutes early. Running after or in front of a bus is dangerous.

Walking to the Bus Stop

• Walk young children to the bus stop or encourage children to walk in groups. There is safety in numbers; groups are easier for drivers to see.

• Practice good pedestrian behavior: walk on the sidewalk, and if there is no sidewalk stay out of the street. If you must walk in the street, walk single file, face traffic and stay as close to the edge of the road as you can.

• Stop and look left, right and then left again if you must cross the street. Do the same thing at drive -ways and alleys. Exaggerate your head turns and narrate your actions so your child knows you are looking left, right and left.

At the Bus Stop

• Have children wait in a location where the driver can see them while driving down the street. Try to avoid waiting in a house or car.

• Do not let children play in the street. Playing with balls or other toys that could roll into the street is also dangerous.

Getting On and Off the Bus

• Warn children that if they drop something getting on and off the bus, they should never pick it up. Instead, they should tell the driver and follow the driver’s instructions.

• Remind children to look to the right before they step off the bus.

• If you meet your child at the bus stop after school, wait on the side where the child will be dropped off, not across the street. Children can be so excited to see you after school that they dash across the street and forget the safety rules.

Free Enrichment Opportunity in Cooking, All Elementary School Campuses, 2nd & 3rd Grade Students [English/Spanish]

Free Enrichment Opportunity in Cooking offered at all elementary school campuses for all 2nd and 3rd grade students through FUSD “Learning and Discovery Power Hour.” See flyers for details and register online at https://forms.office.com/r/GkAjEBUQhs

Piru Elementary:

Rio Vista Elementary:

San Cayetano Elementary:

Mountain Vista Elementary:

Library Card Sign-Up Night

Library Card Sign-Up Night was a success. Preschool through high school students and their families registered for a library cards and attendees enjoyed an evening of fun with coloring sheets, a Halloween Cornhole toss, and were able to take tours of the new library facilities. Fillmore Unified School District and the Fillmore Library are happy to be working together to promote literacy in Fillmore.

World Teachers' Day 2023

Please join us in celebrating and recognizing all Fillmore Unified School District teachers, who do so much for their students, on this day, World Teachers' Day. Thank You Teachers! World Teachers' Day is an international day held annually on 5 October to celebrate the work of teachers around the world. Learn more about World Teacher Day at https://www.unesco.org/en/days/teachers

Fentanyl Town Hall

VCOE (Ventura County Office of Education) hosted a town hall meeting on Thursday, September 27th to discuss the current opioid crisis. The meeting titled Facing Down Fentanyl was presented by the County Opioid Suppression Task Force and featured a panel of speakers that included Sheriff Jim Fryhoff, District Attorney Erik Nasarenko and Public Health Officer Dr. Robert Levin. The meeting was attended by 33 parents from the Fillmore Unified School District, with transportation provided by VCOE. We thank Norma Perez-Sanford for making arrangements for our parents to attend this event.

Middle School Wellness Peer Training

On September 20th, Fillmore Middle School students participated in the first Middle School Wellness Peer training at the Ventura County Office of Education Office.  Our students received training on what it means to be a Wellness Peer. The students had an opportunity to meet Wellness Peers from different schools, participate in various activities, such as: rock painting, and meditation, and learn the difference between a growth mindset vs. a fixed mindset. Wellness peers provide support to students through the Wellness Center at Fillmore Middle School.

Fall Break Enrichment Program, Kindergarten through 6th Grade [English/Spanish]

Fillmore Unified School District (FUSD) is collaborating with The Boys and Girls Club to provide academic enrichment and physical activities to FUSD students during Fall Intersession. This program is free to FUSD students Kindergarten through 6th grade. Breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon snack will be provided to attendees. Current FUSD families that are interested can print and return a completed form to the Boys and Girls Clubhouse in Fillmore and Piru. Paper copies of the application will also be available at your school’s main office. Completed applications may also be emailed to frontdeskf@bgclubscv.org (Fillmore Clubhouse) or frontdeskp@bgclubscv.org (Piru Clubhouse).