novatoschools-blog

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Novato Hosts Vaping Epidemic: Parent Workshop

Novato Unified School District is hosting an event to help spread light on the vaping epidemic that our kids are facing. The workshop will help parents understand the side effects of vaping and how to fight it. Learn more about the upcomming event on the Novato Unified website.

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Why Dual Immersion Could Be Right for Your Child

Dual Immersion Programs are the best of both languages. Dual language programs give students the option to explore a new culture and gain a valuable skill they can use for the rest of their life. Students involved with Dual Immersion programs participate in normal school activities and learn new curriculum with a split between English and a secondary language. Depending on the school and the state, the split between language learning may be 50/50 or a different combination, but no matter how the language time is divided students learn in both languages.

Dual language programs have a huge benefit for children not only in their primary school days but throughout the rest of their lives. Knowing a second language can serve students for a lifetime. Whether the benefit comes from elevated college applications to future career opportunities, dual language programs set students up for success. Some of the major benefits include:

Better Problem-Solving Skills

Bi-lingual kids are challenged daily to think differently. This challenge helps dual language learners to develop superior problem-solving skills to their non-bi-lingual peers. Bi-lingual’s also have the ability to switch between different tasks more efficiently which allows their problem solving to be quicker and more creative.

Brain Boosts

Besides problem-solving, dual immersion students also benefit from increased brainpower. When an individual learns a second language the brain is physically shaped differently. The challenge of becoming bi-lingual exercises the brain causing bi-lingual individuals to have better attention spans and more easily focus. This increased brain power provides individuals with improved multitasking skills. All of the brain benefits from dual immersion programs translate into daily life as well as school life for children. The increased attention spans that come with being bi-lingual help students to focus better in school. In the long run, learning a second language has also been shown to delay dementia for years when compared to non-bi-lingual speakers. So starting a dual immersion program will pay off for a long time.

Exposure to New Cultures

Benefits from dual immersion programs do not only come in terms of increased brain power and problem-solving skills but also kid's appreciation of diversity. Through language immersion programs students do not only experience a new language but learn about a new culture as well. Learning new languages encourages students to consider the world from another point of view and appreciate different ways of thinking. Often, classes may include students whose native language is not English and students whose native language is English. This diversity allows students to relate and understand kids with different culture or language in a new way.

Get Involved with Dual Immersion

Many schools or districts have dual immersion programs that can be signed up for like Novato Unified School District in California. Each school is different, but most students are signed up in their early elementary years and continue through the program for the following years. If you are interested in dual immersion for your child contact your local school district to see what programs are available.

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World Technology Program

Novato Unified School District's insight:We recognize the need for a digital transformation in our classrooms that provides our students with the skills to allow them to be a successful member of this digital, global community. Since current teaching methods are not always conducive to the effective use of technology, our teachers need focused instructional support to develop lessons that allow for the integration of technology. Our district focus on project-based learning aligns well with the implementation of student devices. Specifically, the instructional components of well-designed projects will require students to have access to the world via the internet. NUSD just completed year two of a three-year rollout to students. 

In August of 2019, we completed the rollout to students in grade 3,6, and 9 so that all students in grade 3-12 will have Chromebooks. Learn more here: https://nusd.org/educational-services/programs/1toworld-technology-program/

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Dual Immersion Program at Lynwood Elementary

The NUSD Dual Immersion Program at Lynwood will provide an enriched education, allowing each student to develop the knowledge and skills needed to become a productive and engaged member of our diverse global community. We will honor our students’ languages and cultures as they learn together and:

meet or exceed grade-level standards

develop high levels of linguistic and academic proficiency in both Spanish and English

become culturally competent, bilingual, and bi-literate

Staff, students, and families will hold high expectations for each member of our school community, work together to support each other, foster the development of our program, and celebrate our achievements.

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Gifted and Talented Education

As a district, our goal is to provide support to teachers and schools so that every student is challenged and makes significant progress during each school year. GATE is a district designed and funded program for highly capable students. Each district in the state of California develops identification procedures and designs programs to meet the needs of their GATE students K-12.

Novato has designed the GATE program with 5 principles in mind:

Giftedness is dynamic and constantly changing.

Giftedness is found among students from a variety of backgrounds.

Student education is focused on student outcomes rather than practices.

All educators are responsible for the education of students with gifts and talents.

Services should be provided throughout the day in all environments based on their abilities, needs and interests.

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Adult Education

Novato Unified Adult Education Center offers free of charge High School Diploma, High School Equivalency classes in English and Spanish, as well as English as a Second Language classes at various levels. Through these programs, we strive to address the unique and evolving needs of individuals and communities by providing adults with the knowledge and skills necessary to participate effectively as productive citizens, workers, and family members. Classes are open to individuals age 18 and older regardless of their formal level of education.  No charge babysitting is also available.

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The Dual Immersion Program at Lynwood

Lynwood Elementary School launched the Dual Immersion English/Spanish Language Program this year beginning with Transitional Kindergarten, Kindergarten, and First Grade.  Next year it will grow to include Second Grade.

The Dual Immersion Program at Lynwood is designed to nurture foundational skills for bilingualism and biliteracy in Spanish and English as well as promoting a love of multiculturalism. Students will learn the same grade level content and standards as all NUSD elementary students. Curriculum instruction across the subjects will be conducted in Spanish 90% of the time and English 10% of the time for entry grades (Transitional Kindergarten (T), Kindergarten (K), and First). This balance will shift 10% each year (e.g., 80/20 in 2nd grade up to 50/50 in 5th grade).

Lynwood Elementary began the transition of becoming a Dual Immersion (DI) School in the 2018-19 school year beginning with all TK, K, and 1st grade students. In the 2019-20 school year, 2nd grade will be added, 3rd grade in 2020-21, etc. until 2022-23 when the entire school is a full dual immersion school.

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Novato Unified School District

Mission: Engage, inspire and empower all students, in a rapidly changing world, to realize their life goals. 

Vision

NUSD will provide an innovative and personalized learning experience for every student in a caring and supportive environment to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to be successful and productive citizens.

NUSD will engage parents, teachers, and our community to actively support our students’ growth and learning.