The November 1, 2011 Fillmore Unified School District (FUSD) Board Meeting was attended by a number of Principals from schools throughout the District. The goal of the collaboration of faculty and administration was teamwork with an effort to attain a new standard that will leave behind a system that is failing. Today’s challenge for educators and administrators are the profound changes that are essential to assess 21st Century skills.

The major change being developed for FUSD is the Task Force Program (TFP). The TFP is a district wide nine member team that began gathering data at the beginning of the school year to analyze the relationship between cause variables, such as teaching practices, curriculum and assessments. The goal is to address the needs of students throughout the district and the factors that are most strongly associated with improved student achievement; and getting ready for the Common Core Standards (CCS) that will be implemented in all states throughout the country within the next 2 to 4 years.

Each member’s recommendations have been researched with updates on effective instruction through the use of collected data. The end result is gaining a system that supports school improvement with a goal of implementing high-impact educational strategies.

Assistant Superintendent Michael Johnson referred to the work being applied as an online report card, stating, “It’s a major change that impacts what we do in the classroom…measures the students by what they’re required to know and our students will be prepared to graduate high school.” Johnson went on to say, “Some might ask, ‘Why do all these changes?’ because the old way isn’t working.”

Scott Carroll, Principal of Sespe Elementary, is the head of the Essential Standards and Benchmark Task Force. Carroll is tasked with completing field testing of the third trimester assessment for English Language Arts and the three trimester benchmark assessments for Mathematics. Carroll presented the Board with examples of the new TFP’s exam and assessments. Using strategies developed by Dr. Douglas Reeves, Carroll explained that these changes will allow teachers and administrators to take effective action now that will both improve performance on current state assessments and help prepare students and teachers for the CCS. Carroll stated that the questions one must ask when forming such tests and assessments is, “Does it have endurance? Does it have leverage? Does it develop student readiness for the next level?” He went on to say that subjects such as Algebra are started way before the 6th grade and is built upon each preceding year.

Sespe Elementary is 45% English as a second language (ESL) students, so it presents some great challenges to the schools teachers. Carroll stated that Sespe is five years behind where it should be and there’s a lot that needs to be accomplished to catch up, adding that methods are only part of the equation. “It’s the teachers that make the difference.”

FUSD Superintendent Dr. Alan Nishino believes that what was administered 50 years ago is outdated today and that assessments must be open, not secret. Students must be given what they need to know and have it reinforced; not have to question what they need to know to take a test. He went on to state, “We need to question all ways of teaching…there is more than one way, and in the end the whole system benefits.”

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Michael Bush informed the Board that the building of Rio Vista School is now being framed on the west and east sides and that the problem with the unwanted “residents” has been resolved and they have vacated.

Fillmore High School’s (FHS) Student Body President Sammy Martinez informed the Board that the blood drive for United Blood Services held on Tuesday was a great success with 55 participating; which include both adults and students.

Martinez also added the many activities coming up; Santa Paula Week celebrating the rival football game on Friday and a rally on Wednesday October 9th in the FHS gym; Noontime Activities everyday next week; Sophomore class Carwash fundraiser for the Sadie Hawkins Dance; Class officers are doing a fundraiser by selling blankets they’ve made for $25; Carrier Day at the Memorial Building Friday November 4th; Junior Class will be planning the Junior or Senior Prom to be held at the Saticoy Country Club and Seniors are ordering the announcements for graduation.

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The North Fillmore Police Storefront has accomplished a great deal since its beginnings over 16 years ago, from saving a child’s life to turning Christmas into a time of joy for many children; it has been a great asset to the residents of Fillmore.

Established September 10, 1995 through a COPS More Program Grant applied for by Lt. Dick Purnell along with an $18,000 Family Preservation Grant received in early 1996, the Storefront began with three positions: DARE office, Special Enforcement Deputy, Community Resource Officer.

The Storefront sits on property contracted by the City of Fillmore with a leased price of one dollar per month, which includes a child’s park. Today it is primarily run under the guidance of retired Sheriffs Officer Max Pina who serves as the Community Resource Officer.

Pina’s long carrier with law enforcement started in January 1965 as a Reservist with the Santa Paula Police Department and joined Fillmore Police in August of 1971. Later in 1986, when the City of Fillmore contracted with the VCSD, Pina signed on with the Sheriffs and retired in November of 1999 after 34 years of service.
The Storefront has been a dependable resource for many low income residents, serving the needs of citizens throughout Fillmore, the unincorporated community of Piru and occasionally Santa Paula, Oxnard and Ventura residents who travel to the Storefront for Legal Aid.

With a goal to educate the public and promote the importance of formal education thus benefiting society as a whole, the Storefront has its priorities heading in the right direction. While overseeing a wide breadth of programs throughout the years, it has provided the community with over 40 services; everything from emergency food, citizenship classes, child gun safety classes, computer classes, crisis intervention and CPR classes, to name a few. Yearly 14,585 people receive assistance with an average of 20 to 130 people helped on any given day. Since 1995 over 197,264 Fillmore and Piru residents have received help and services.

One of the most rewarding CONTINUED »

As families prepare for what has become an increasingly popular holiday, CAL FIRE would like to remind everyone to take a few simple safety precautions in order to ensure a fun and safe Halloween.

For kids, Halloween is an exciting holiday, but if precautions are not taken, scary things can happen. Candle decorations combined with flowing costumes create an increased risk of fire. Candle fires are one of the leading causes of home fires and occur more frequently on Halloween according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

CAL FIRE urges the public to follow these tips for a safe Halloween:

Trick-or-treating

· Children should always go trick-or-treating with a responsible adult

· Provide children with flashlights or glow sticks to carry for lighting and visibility

· Review how to cross a street with your child. Look left, right, and left again to be sure no cars are approaching before crossing the street

· Remind children to stay together as a group when walking from house to house

Costumes

· Purchase costumes made of flame resistant or flame retardant material. Fire resistant does not mean fireproof!

· Apply reflective tape to Halloween costumes

· Masks can obstruct vision – consider using make-up instead

· Avoid loose, baggy sleeves or billowing skirts

· Keep hemlines short enough to prevent tripping

Decorations

· Keep decorations well away from all open flames and heat sources, including light bulbs and heaters

· Keep exits clear of decorations so nothing blocks escape routes

· Remove objects from the yard that could present a tripping hazard (garden tools, hoses, etc.)

Remember to closely inspect all candy before allowing children to eat it, discarding any unwrapped treats from a stranger. If in doubt, throw it out!

CAL FIRE wishes everyone a safe and fun Halloween! For more Halloween safety ideas or other fire safety tips, please visit our web site at www.fire.ca.gov.

THOUSAND OAKS, CA - “Into the Fragile: New Photographic Works by Brian Stethem” will be on exhibit from Saturday, Nov. 19, through Thursday, Jan. 26, at California Lutheran University.

A reception will be held at 7 p.m. on opening day in the Kwan Fong Gallery of Art and Culture.

The exhibit is an examination of the fleeting, ephemeral nature of our short lives, as well as a testament to the resilience we possess. The photographs portray people’s sacred side, and imagine their lives interchanged with the lives of other creatures including insects and turtles.

The Fillmore artist photographs everyday things in a way that reveals quiet narratives and overlooked meanings. A 1984 CLU graduate who earned a master’s degree in fine arts from California Institute of the Arts in 1994, Stethem has traveled throughout the world documenting diverse places through the lens of his camera. His photographs have been featured in many galleries including the Ventura County Museum of History and Art, Watts Towers Arts Center and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. He teaches photography at CLU and works as a commercial photographer.

Admission is free. The Kwan Fong Gallery, located in Soiland Humanities Center on the south side of Memorial Parkway, is open to the public from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Parking is available in the lot on Mountclef Boulevard.

For more information, contact Michael Pearce at 805-444-7716 or visit http://www.callutheran.edu.

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It has been 22 years since we can say this Fillmore; we have one of our own playing Division One Football! Nathan Largen, son of Mike and Julie Largen of Fillmore is playing football for the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma.

Not since Greg Baldwin, playing for the Florida Gators, had Fillmore had anybody play at this level.

Nathan is in his last year of Football that started here in Fillmore playing for the Youth Raiders program, then to the Fillmore Flashes High School team. When I asked Nathan what his biggest moment at Fillmore was he said, "The Santa Paula game. It was the first game on TV we had. In Santa Paula we won the game, I ran the ball for over 200 yards, and three touchdowns."

Nathan then went on to play at Moorpark J.C. for two years. He played H-Back, Fullback for the Raiders. In 2007 he was also part of the Western Conference Championship team, which won the American Bowl. The 2008 year at Moorpark Nathan was awarded The Coaches Award at Moorpark College. More importantly,he also received more important an Associates Degree.

When asked what was his greatest moment at Moorpark, he said, "When we beat El Camino College in the play-offs 43-42 in overtime. And when I got my first college touchdown against Fullerton J.C. And of course my degree."
After Moorpark a few schools showed interest in Nathan. Humboldt State, South West Oklahoma wanted him to play. "Since I was a young boy in Fillmore all I wanted to do was play Division One big time football,'' said Nathan. "University of Tulsa offered me a preferred walk-on spot so I went there."

Nathan red shirted his first year at Tulsa, but that did not stop him being awarded the Pride Friday Player of the Year for the team.

In Nathan's second year at Tulsa in 2010 the team had a huge win in South Bend to beat Notre Dame, 28-27. The team also went 10-3, and won the Hawaii Bowl that year.

Nathan did not see much playing time that year, but that didn’t upset him. "I just kept working hard in practice and the weight room, working hard for my chance."

That hard work paid off out for Nathan. This last spring he earned a full scholarship and graduated with a Bachelors degree in Exercise Sports Science. "That is what it is all about. Hard work and dreams do come true."
This year Nathan is a Starter on all of Tulsa's special teams. He is also seeing some time at H-Back and T.E. Anybody who knows the game of football will tell you how important a good special team football player is for you. "I got my first start for Tulsa on the Kick-Off team. And I went down the field and made the first tackle of the year."

Let me tell you folks, that was not just some regular game that day. It was against the number one team in the nation at the time, the Sooners of Oklahoma." The most exciting thing since I have been at Tulsa is getting my first start at Norman Oklahoma," said Nathan. "To play the Sooners, the number one team in the nation, and to make the first tackle of the game in front of 85,000 people was great!"

What was even greater was to have his family and friends at the game. ''It especially meant a lot for me to have my family at the game, as well as some close friends from Fillmore; Levi Holladay, Matt Gomez, and Steve Micarelli."

Nathan has earned Special Team Player of the Week against Boise State, and North Texas. Tulsa has played three top ten teams this year, number one team Oklahoma, number four Boise State, and number eight team Oklahoma State University. What a big thrill for a young man from Fillmore.

The team has a 4-3 record so far this year with a big win over Rice last week. "I feel at home here right now," said Nathan. "I was homesick at first, now after three years here it feels like home."

I asked him what he missed most about Fillmore. "The small town feeling of knowing everybody. I miss my family and close friends."

I asked Nathan what is next for you. "I will be back home in December. I want to get my Masters Degree, go into Strength and Conditioning or Firefighter."

When asked if he had anything else he wanted to add Nathan said, "I am living my dream! This is a chance in a lifetime. If you work hard, just follow your dreams."