TUSD trustees approve budget, await further state cuts

After months of slashing expenses, negotiating new contracts, and cutting services and programs, the Turlock Unified School District finally has a budget for the 2009-10 school year ... at least for a few weeks.

Retiring teachers honored, voice their appreciation for district

Marsha Memmott has spent the last 30 years teaching English to Turlock eighth graders. She has spent 30 years correcting grammar, grading essays, and explaining when to use "who" and when to use "whom." After all of those years of dedication to Turlock students and their education, Memmott is retiring from her job at Turlock Junior High School.

Superintendent apologizes for early calls

Turlock Unified School District Superintendent Sonny DaMarto issued an apology on Friday for accidentally sending out a robocall to publicize today's Festival on the Green event to the homes of students at 5:45 a.m. The robocall was supposed to go out at 5:45 p.m. "I apologize for the call so early in the morning. It was my fault. Evidently I set the time to be delivered on 'a.m.' instead of 'p.m.' for the ...

Sacred Heart Preschoolers to present 'An Afternoon with Picasso'

Nearly 200 aspiring young models will hit the catwalk today for the 8th annual Sacred Heart Preschool Fashion Show and Tea. The sold out event will house nearly 300 people in the school's gymnasium and feature a light lunch and tea, live and silent auctions and raffle of over 20 items. "This fashion show is one of my favorites," said Debbie Cannella, founder of Sacred Heart Preschool. "Having a fundraiser where children are ...

Turlock High students put their campaigning skills to the test

Parents voice outrage at proposed Denair school board election change

In an effort to save more money for a financially struggling Denair Unified School District, the district's board of trustees considered postponing board elections for one year. This idea was met with disdain by district parents who questioned current board members' competency and their motives for wanting to postpone elections. In a special board meeting held Thursday night, Superintendent Edward Parraz recommended rescheduling the election of governing board members by aligning district elections ...

TUSD prepares for governor's adult school changes

When Governor Jerry Brown released his proposed budget plan for the 2013-14 fiscal year, it included many changes in education funding. One of those changes, that moves adult school funding from K-12 school districts to community colleges, has many schools throughout the state fearing a loss of services to local students. The Turlock Unified School District, which has the largest adult school program in Stanislaus County, fears that if the governor's proposed budget ...

New assistant principal working to make TJHS '800-point school'

The new assistant principal at Turlock Junior High School is a familiar face to many. That's because the district picked longtime Turlock resident Sumeet Singh, a former 8th grade history teacher at TJHS. Singh started his new role this week as the assistant principal of curriculum and instruction, working alongside Principal Dave Kline and Assistant Principal of Student Services Tim Norton. "I've barely been working for this position for about a week ...

Read Across America

Students of Cunningham Elementary School were nothing short of ambitious after attending their annual Read Across America assembly, a nod to the nation's largest reading celebration in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday. The audiences ranged from kindergarteners to sixth grade students, and all were encouraged to dress up as their favorite story book characters in light of the occasion. During the assembly, students were taught about the importance of reading and were encouraged ...

Area students compete in Regional Science Olympiad

Future scientists will put their skills to the test today, as the CSU Stanislaus campus hosts the 27th annual Stanislaus County Regional Science Olympiad. More than 550 students representing 16 middle school and 14 high schools from across Stanislaus County will be participating in a series of events that will begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 2 p.m. inside the gym. "This is a wonderful event for our junior and high ...

NJROTC student wins big at air rifle competition

Determination and discipline are just two of the traits developed by those who participate in air rifle marksmanship. For Richard Gastelum, a junior ROTC student at Turlock High School, competing in air riffle competitions has also earned him the title of one of the best shooters in the nation. Gastelum was selected as one of the top 15 shooters in the nation, beating out 3,065 competitors, in the 2013 Navy JROTC Service Championship ...

Festival to highlight talents of local students

Over 600 Turlock Unified School District students will be showcasing their musical talents at the Festival on the Green, set for March 9 at Pitman High School. Festival on the Green, hosted by the Turlock Education Foundation and TUSD, is free and open to the public. "Our goal is to provide an opportunity for the community to come together and celebrate music and arts in our community and enjoy our TUSD students," ...

Julien student teaches peers importance of respect

February Character Counts Profile: Respect Student Feature: Decimas Guzman, Julien Elementary School Nominated by: Linda Murphy-Lopes, principal Treating people with dignity and respect can build a foundation for a better tomorrow. Decimas Guzman, a fourth grade student, is well on his way to building that foundation at Julien Elementary School. For his short 9 years of age, Decimas has already embodied the belief of treating others as you would like ...

'Dinosaurs of California' topic of next MAPS public lecture

The Modesto Area Partners in Science will offer a presentation by Richard Hilton on "Dinosaurs of California" at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Forum 110 at Modesto Junior College, 435 College Ave. in Modesto. Professor Richard Hilton will discuss dinosaurs and other fossil Mesozoic reptiles found in California and the people involved in their science. Bones, originally deposited in sediments between 210 and 65 million years ago, have been discovered in the rocks of ...

TUSD restores library positions

The Turlock Unified School District is bringing back at least one victim of the recent budget cuts - library resources. On Tuesday, the TUSD trustees voted to restore hours to current library technicians and create three new positions. The "There's a combination of library technicians who are currently divided into the school sites and many of them work very few hours," said TUSD's Director of Human Resources Jason Maggard. "We wanted to ...

Class gives Hilmar students skills for success

Many high school students think that career planning happens once they have entered college. On the contrary, career planning is a process that begins during high school, a task that Hilmar High holds as a standard. Hilmar High helps junior and senior students get a jump start on finding their career path through the ROP Business and Marketing Course. Through this special course, students are taught how to produce a portfolio with a ...

Mountain View students collect pennies to save lives

Students from Mountain View Middle School learned a penny can go a long way through their participation in a fundraiser for patients who suffer from leukemia and lymphoma. For three weeks the school collected pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters and raised more than $400 for the Pennies for Patients organization, which helps with funding for scientific research through the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Student Council Advisor Kathy Cook said students were excited ...