SLOCOE eNews T homas Wolfe speaks of October as a month of love, home, and remem- brances. “All things on earth point home in old October; sailors to sea, travelers to walls and fences, hunters to field and hollow and the long voice of the hounds, the lover to the love he has forsaken.” October makes me think of change, as the weather—even here on the Central Coast—has a brisk feel. On October 3, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued a Proclamation of Thanksgiving to the nation, which set the precedent for America’s national day of Thanksgiving. Below is the text of Lincoln’s proclamation. Thank you for your service to our county and to SLOCOE. It is an honor to serve as your superintendent. Enjoy the season! - Jim Brescia Proclamation of Thanksgiving - October 3, 1863 The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and sof- ten even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to pro- voke their aggression , peace has been preserved with all nations, or- der has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of mili- tary conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste has been made in the camp, the siege and the battlefield and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. [ continued on page 2 Facebook Challenge We met our first goal—225 “likes” on SLOCOE’s Facebook page! We will cele- brate this achievement at our Holiday Party December 18, 5 pm Rancho El Chorro Mark your calendars, and encourage your friends to like us. We want to reach our next goal of 500 “likes”! SLO COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION OCTOBER 2015 Congratulations to Lucretia Rouse, SLOCOE’s Classi- fied Employee of the Year! Lucretia is a Para-Educator at Chalk Mountain Community School, and has worked for SLOCOE in the Alternative Education setting for more than eight years. Lucretia was recognized Septem- ber 21, at an annual dinner sponsored by CSBA. Pictured at Left: Kevin Bommarito of Senator Bill Mon- ning’s Office; Lucretia Rouse; SLO County Supervisor Deb- bie Arnold; and Assembly Member Katcho Achadjian.
Transcript
SLOCOE eNews
T homas Wolfe speaks of October as a month of love, home, and remem-
brances. “All things on earth point home in old October; sailors to sea, travelers to walls and fences, hunters to field and hollow and the long voice of the hounds, the lover to the love he has forsaken.” October makes me think of change, as the
weather—even here on the Central Coast—has a brisk feel.
On October 3, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued a Proclamation of Thanksgiving
to the nation, which set the precedent for America’s national day of Thanksgiving. Below is the text of Lincoln’s proclamation.
Thank you for your service to our county and to SLOCOE. It is an honor to serve as your superintendent. Enjoy the season!
- Jim Brescia
Proclamation of Thanksgiving - October 3, 1863 The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and sof-ten even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.
In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to pro-voke their aggression , peace has been preserved with all nations, or-der has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of mili-tary conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.
Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste has been made in the camp, the siege and the battlefield and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.
No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. [ continued on page 2
Facebook Challenge We met our first goal—225 “likes” on SLOCOE’s Facebook page! We will cele-brate this achievement at our
Holiday Party December 18, 5 pm Rancho El Chorro
Mark your calendars, and encourage your friends to like us. We want to reach our next goal of 500 “likes”!
SLO COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION OCTOBER 2015
Congratulations to Lucretia Rouse, SLOCOE’s Classi-fied Employee of the Year! Lucretia is a Para-Educator at Chalk Mountain Community School, and has worked for SLOCOE in the Alternative Education setting for more than eight years. Lucretia was recognized Septem-ber 21, at an annual dinner sponsored by CSBA. Pictured at Left: Kevin Bommarito of Senator Bill Mon-ning’s Office; Lucretia Rouse; SLO County Supervisor Deb-bie Arnold; and Assembly Member Katcho Achadjian.
Alicia Phillips, Instructional Assistant with Signing Skills, SPS
Sheldon K. Smith, Ed.D., Assistant Superintendent, Business Services
Promotional Congratulations! Jennifer Hart, Job Placement Coordinator, Grizzly (promotion
from Instructional Assistant)
Carmen Jaquez-Enriquez, Bilingual Instructional Assistant,
Grizzly (promotion from Instructional Assistant)
Thank you for Your Service! Melissa Kliss, Registered Nurse, SPS
Traci Moreno, HR Specialist, Human Resources Joanne Shelby Berber, Associate Teacher, Preschool, ESS Rene Stuart, Health Instructional Assistant, Oceano Ed. Center, SPS
ESS = Educational Support Services
SPS = Student Programs and Services
Meet Jennifer Chassman, Program Director for the Clear Administrative Services Credential (CASC) program. Jennifer comes to us from Mission College Prep, where she served as the Assistant Principal for Academ-ics for five years. Before that she was in Pacifica for thirteen years, teaching high school English, mentoring teachers, and running the professional development program.
Jennifer fills a new position in Educational Support Services. Nearly double the size of last year’s Administrative Credential program, CASC now has 54 first- and second-year participants. Jennifer believes it is good that SLOCOE is running the program, because we have created a real community, and are better able to support each other. Her goal is to make the program as valuable and relevant as possible to the participants’ day-to-day work.
Married and living in Arroyo Grande, Jennifer enjoys kayaking, writing, and performing spoken word poetry. She is working on her first novel. Stop by her desk and get to know her. Welcome to SLOCOE, Jennifer!
Meet Alana Rodriguez, Chalk Mountain Community School Teacher and Atascadero local. Alana graduated from Paso Robles High, then served four years in the Army. (Thank you for your service Alana!) After earning both a BA and MA, Alana entered the profession of counseling, then teaching. While student teaching
she realized she wanted to work with Court and Community and At-Risk students. She wants to be able to show students how worthy they are to be loved.
Alana is married with two children, four-year-old Ronin (pictured above) and 15 year old daughter Edith, a sophomore at Atascadero High School. Alana teaches Science, Math and PE at Chalk Mountain. In her spare time, she provides supportive services as a volunteer with the San Luis Obispo County AIDS Support Net-work (ASN), for people living with HIV/AIDS. Alana and her family are very active and love the outdoors. Alana also loves to create recipes, creating her own combination of flavors. (Wouldn’t we love to sample one of her creations at a Monthly Mingle? hint-hint) Welcome to SLOCOE!
Proclamation of Thanksgiving (Continued)
It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fel-low citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea, and those who are sojourn-ing in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions and blessings, they do also with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be con-sistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.
Abraham Lincoln, October 3, 1863
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2015—11:00 am
Avila Beach (left side of ramp) Port Beach (aka Dog Beach)
Bring: beach gear, kayaks, canoes, stand-up paddle boards, your own picnic lunch &
W hen San Gabriel West was forced to evacuate all students from campus on September 11 as a result of
threats to students and staff, SLOCOE’s medically fragile students were sent to Meadowlark Education Center, where Julie McAdon’s class welcomed them with warmth and open arms. SELPA lent surplus equipment for the SGW students to use, delivered by maintenance staff, and the kids adjusted
well to a new environment, and new friendships were created, says Julie McAdon. Pictured (above right) are Archer and Elizabeth getting acquainted.
At first, students were a bit timid, aware of a different environ-ment and people. Something new
was the colorful ceiling, designed by Drayana Adams and Julie McAdon. With the help of skilled maintenance workers Tom Wood and Jim Price, MEC staff had been able to guide the installation of hand-painted ceiling tiles, a job that’s not always easy! The mix of colors and lights provides students with many sensory experiences. The SGW students loved it. They returned to San Gabriel West on September 28 with happy memories.
SLOCOE eNews OCTOBER 2015 3
Meet Ashley Lightfoot, Director of Operational Services, and SLOCOE’s Safety Coordinator. Ashley comes to us from Paso Robles JUSD. A Naval Academy graduate and Marine helicopter pilot for eight years, Ashley grew up on a farm in northwest-ern Louisiana where he enjoyed hunting and fish-ing. Ashley brings a varie-ty of training and exper-ience to SLOCOE. His CBO certifications cover Maintenance Operations & Transportation, Informa-tion Technology, and Public Information Officer.
Ashley and his wife Melanie, a counselor at Flamson Middle School, have a daughter, Chelsea, who lives in San Jose; and a son, Carson, now a senior at Cal Poly. Ashley and Melanie enjoy hiking together, and ATV trips that include camping, in Utah. ATV trips are a great way to explore the countryside and see wildlife, he says.
What does Ashley like best about coming to SLOCOE? “The people,” he says. “Everyone is very accepting and friendly, with welcoming smiles.”
Monthly Mingles (September 22) hosted by Operational Services at Morro Road Education Center (below right); Mesa View Community School (bottom right); and Maintenance and Operations/ETC (bottom left). Children have participated too! Ever since the September Mingle, according to Meadowlark teacher Julie McAdon, her daughter Zoe (7) says, “Mingle?” every time she gets into the car (below left).
SLOCOE eNews OCTOBER 2015 4
TEAM SLOCOE at the September 19 HUNGER WALK in Morro Bay (below)—Walking to raise dollars and aware-ness for hunger in SLO County. It was a fun afternoon.
