The big news this week is that Encinal’s women’s basketball team made it to the Northern California State Championships this year. Once there, they dunked Argonaut in the first round on March 4 (67-32), boxed out Orland High School in the second round on March 5 (67-36), and then beat Washington High in the third round on March 8 (59-37). Alas, the Jets fell to Woodland Christian Cardinals on March 11 at the regional finals. But this is the first time the team has made it this far, and we are very proud of their hard work, commitment, and achievements this season.
We’d also like to congratulate Otis Teacher-Librarian Paizley Spencer, who has been selected to be one of the six school librarians on the California Young Reader Medal (CYRM) Committee. Under the 50-year-old CYRM program, young people nominate titles they think should receive a Young Reader Medal, and teachers and librarians recommend books that are frequently read or requested. The California Young Reader Medal Committee then reads the books, discusses their merits, and develops a list of nominees. We look forward to hearing about the books that Spencer reads and recommends for young readers during her three-year term.
A “teacher-librarian,” by the way, holds both a California teacher credential and a teacher librarian services credential. AUSD is fortunate to have 10 teacher-librarians at our schools.
We know some community members are worried about the rising number of measles cases in Texas and New Mexico, and now Maryland, so we want to reassure you that all AUSD students are required to complete the state-mandated vaccination schedule for public schools, including the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) immunization. As such, our vaccination rates are very high. Across AUSD, fully 97.55% of our students have completed their entire vaccination schedule, and 99.99% of our students have the required measles immunization. Some students may be missing vaccinations for several reasons, including medical conditions or having recently arrived in this country.
Finally, a reminder that both high schools’ musicals open this month. Encinal’s productions of Mamma Mia will be on March 14, 15, 20, 21, and 22 (get tickets online at Encinal’s GoFan web page). Alameda High students will present the Rodgers & Hammerstein version of Cinderella on March 28, 29, and 30 and April 3, 4, and 5 (get tickets online at Alameda High’s Go Fan web page). We encourage our community to come out and support the talented actors, musicians, dancers, tech staff, and stage hands involved in these shows.
Susan Davis is the Senior Manager of Community Affairs for the Alameda Unified School District. Reach her at [email protected].
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