SAN JUAN UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT Michael McKibbin, Ed.D., PresidentPam Costa, Vice PresidentSaul Hernandez, ClerkGreg Paulo, Member Paula Villescaz, Member Kent Kern, Superintendent of SchoolsDonna O’Neil, Ed.D., Associate Supt., Schools & Student SupportDebra Calvin, Ed.D., Assistant Supt., Educational ServicesMatthew Patterson, Director of Special Education

Laurel Ruff Transition School SAN JUAN UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICTFamily Bulletin http://www.sanjuan.edu/LaurelRuff OCTOBER 2017Hello Laurel Ruff community,CALENDAR HEADS-UP – San Juan Unified Schools will all be closed on Friday October 6th, but we will be in session on Monday October 9th. Have a great 3-day weekend, but please do come to school on Monday October 9th (we do nothave Columbus Day off.)

WALK FOR THE TIGERS our major fundraising effort for the year is coming up on Tuesday October 17 at 8:00AM. Expect a packet to come home on Monday Oct. 9. Proceeds directly support each student’s homeroom class. Physical fitness is essential for quality of life and we encourage all students to exercise regularly. We also encourage all students, staff, family members and interested community members to start training for the 2018 Race for the Stars the San Juan Education Foundation’s annual fundraising run scheduled for Sunday April 22 (stay tuned for details).

LAUREL RUFF’S 13TH ANNUAL BOO BASH Friday October 27 from 7:00 to 10:00PM is almost here! Tickets are now on sale for $5.00 each – a flyer and order form is attached. The first 100 tickets sold will include a goodie bag (picked up at the door). All attendees will have their photo taken this year and receive a souvenir photo. We also want to remind students that maintaining positive behavior is required to ensure entry to the Boo-Bash; students on ‘social probation’ on October 27 will not be eligible to attend the Boo-Bash. The 13th annual Laurel Ruff BooBash will introduce some exciting new twists! Don't miss it!

BOWLING UPDATES – Practices continue on Fridays for registered athletes only; the Special Olympics Northern California Bowling Tournament is coming up on November 4. Follow Laurel Ruff on FaceBook to get the latest photos and updates from Coach Meghan https://www.facebook.com/LaurelRuffTransitionSchool SJUSD WORKABILITY NEWS - See the attached WorkAbility Works Newsletter. You can keep up with SJUSD WorkAbility News at www.sanjuan.edu/workability. . Contact the SJUSD WorkAbility office at 979-8610 for color reprints of any of our newsletters.

Laurel Ruff’s next School Site Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday October 17 at 2:45. Site Council meetings are open to the public; agendas will be posted in our office and on our website at least 72 hours before the meeting. Keep track of upcoming Laurel Ruff events by monitoring the master calendar of events posted on our website. Your ongoing support of Laurel Ruff students and programs is essential and appreciated! If you have questions/needs please contact us at 971-7586 or email me directly at jarreguin@sanjuan.edu.

Julia Arreguin, Ed.D., Laurel Ruff principal

OFFICE MESSAGE LINE –24-hour attendance & office message line 979-8335 Use this number to leave a message without speaking to office staff. The

Laurel Ruff parent message & attendance hot line is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. When leaving an attendance message please include: student name, date(s) of absence; reason for absence; your name & relationship to student .

At Laurel Ruff, our Mission is to Educate Students in The Least Restrictive Environment

As They Attain Their Maximum Potential.

aj g @ j

Julia Arregguiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuuiiiiin,n,nnnnn,nnn,n,n,nnn,n,nnnnnn,nn,n,nnnn,nnnnnnn,nnnnnn,n,nnnnnnnn,n Ed.D., Laurel Ruffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff ffffffffffff principal

LAUREL RUFF TV - See the Laurel Ruff TV quicklink at www.sanjuan.edu/laurelruff to view school video productions. The password to view all of the videos is RUFF1 (all caps and the digit 1).

FACEBOOK - Laurel Ruff is on Facebook. Find us quickly via the quick link posted on our website www.sanjuan.edu/laurelruff or via this direct link - https://www.facebook.com/LaurelRuffTransitionSchool

The Laurel Ruff office is open to the public 7:20 AM to 3:35 PMAt Laurel Ruff our mission is to educate students in the least restrictive environment

as they attain their maximum potential.

ATTENDANCE NEWS – Congratulations to the 60 students who had perfect attendance in September; they will be acknowledged with a certificate, $20-Tiger Bucks bonus and a $2.00 discount voucher for the BooBash. Attendance data includes attendance verified by teachers each period of the school day, and student timecard data. Students self-monitor attendance using a timecard system (time clocks are located in the front office and in every homeroom class). Our technology students input attendance data on a spreadsheet so we can determine who has perfect & near perfect attendance. On the last day of school at least $100 in actual cash awards will be awarded to students with the highest number of hours documented across the school year using timecards.

TIGER’S BANK - All students earn $11 an hour in Tiger bucks for each period of attendance. Students with perfect monthly attendance will receive a bonus of at least $20 Tiger bucks, and/ or other incentives.

We incorporate monthly budgeting into our Tiger Banking program. Students will be charged $1000 for basic expenses based on the expected costs for living in a one bedroom apartment with a roommate. Students can conduct research to determine a lower monthly figure. Tiger Bucks remaining after required monthly expenses can be spent at the school store / clothes closet, and for tickets for extra-curricular events (e.g. positive behavior events, Camp Ruff, etc.).

Coming to school and remaining all day is an important transition skill! Our attendance incentive program is designed to increase school wide attendance and establish positive attendance habits to support future independence.

Hospitality is up and running like a well-oiled machine. We made wonderful vegetable platters with hummus dip for a school district

meeting. We also prepared a hot dog and salad dinner with brownie dessert for Back to School night. Everyone is setting tables, serving and cleaning up 3-4 lunches a week. Students are starting to pass the California Food Handlers Certificate on line. We are

proud to announce that two more students have landed jobs working in food service. For the culinary part of the program we practiced cooking eggs and potatoes. We also worked on making bread, pizza, and cookies. Students are learning how to keep the kitchen and dishes clean. Next month we will focus on survival cooking skills for home and how to cook as a team member in a restaurant. Students will also learn how to mop the floor like a professional. WorkAbility has started with several students working in an Eskaton Village senior living dining room.

by teacher Mark Woodward

PROJECT SEARCH

“One of the most sincere

forms of respect is actually

listening to what another

has to say.”

- Bryant H. McGill

Project SEARCH Partners

Catch us in the Act!

Project SEARCH Newsletter OOctober 2017

Project SEARCH3214 Arden Way

Sacramento, CA 95825

Education Center

Phone(916)486-5650

E-mailshari.studebaker@sanjuan.edu

-

rainwilliamson@futures-explored.org

-

ricardo.orellana@sanjuan.edu

Questions or suggestions?

Want to get involved? Contact us!

About Project SEARCH

The Project SEARCH Program is a unique, one year school-to-work program. Project Search provides total workplace immersion through a seamless combination of classroom instruction, career exploration, and hands-on training through worksite rotations. The goal for each student is competitive employment.

Project SEARCH gives real-life work experience com-bined with training in employability and independent liv-ing skills to help youths with disabilities make a success-ful transition from school to a productive adult life.

October 6th No Interns

October 23rd Intern Evaluations are due

November 3rd Last day of 1st internship

Ian F. is now a full time employee with Ian F. is now a full time employee with the Fair Oaks Parks and Recreation e Fair Oaks Parks and Recreatio

district. Congratulations Ian! onatio

! !

Tim R. works partr -rt-time at Smart & Tim R. works parrt me at Smart & imtFinal Extra! and attends college at Extra! and attends colleg

ARC. Good Job, Tim!golleg

m!m!

National DisabilityEmployment Awareness Month

ESY 2017 Highlights Extended School Year 2017 was a great time of learning and discov-ery for WorkAbility workers. Summer School was held at three sites, Laurel Ruff, La Vista, and Del Cam-po. Laura Smith was at Del Campo and helped 16 students work at 4 different locations. Jan Schia-vone was at La Vista where 10 students worked at Best Buy. Terrell Grant was at Laurel Ruff where 38 students worked at 6

locations.13 students took part in Project Search at Kaiser.

Lots of exciting oppor-tunities were offered during ESY this past summer. WorkAbility student Antonio worked as an assistant to Adaptive PE Teach-er Stephanie Jackson. Stephanie commented on Antonio’s perfor-mance, “He sees what needs to be done and initiates independently without being told. Hard worker.” Good

Job Antonio!!

Ja’Nelle, along with TPP students Angel-ique, and Gerhardt all gained experience as Clerk’s in the WorkA-bility office.

All workers were able to earn up to 16 paid hours during ESY and can look forward to 30 paid hours during the coming school year.

Special points of interest:

ESY 2017

Davin’s Success

Marquis’ Success

What Is TPP

HS Highlights

Isidro Interviews

Who Is WorkAbility

More Than A Meal

New Staff Members

Inside this issue:

Davin and Marquis 2

Successes 2

What Is TPP? 2

HS Highlights 3

Who Is WorkAbility? 3

WorkAbility New Staff Members

4

More Than A Meal 4

Administrator’s Corner

SAN JUAN UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

WorkAbility Works! September /October 2017

Volume 6, Issue 1

quarterly WorkAbility Advisorycommittee meetings

“What does WorkAbility do for the students?” We hear this questions often. For Marquis, a student who moved from Texas last school year as a graduating Senior, WorkAbility found him a job doing landscaping /maintenance at a local apartment complex. Marquis became a TPP client as well and through both WA and TPP Marquis was accept-ed by the CA Conservation Corp (CCC) and is now working as support for Cal Fire firefighters. Awesome Job Marquis!!

Davin, a student at Laurel Ruff Transition School gained kitchen helper and nutrition service worker experience. Davin worked several school years at Eskaton, Aegis Senior Liv-ing, and was a part of the Laurel Ruff Event Staff. Last school year Davin was accepted into the TPP Program. In August of this year David applied for and was hired by SJUSD’s Mariemont Elementary

School as a Nutrition Food Ser-vice worker in their cafeteria. Way To Go Davin!!!

learning disability.

Students benefit from this part-nership because they are able to receive vocational services from both agencies who are working together to help each student/client successfully transition to the post-secondary option of their choosing. Please call Donna Mer-rick fat (916) 979-8610 for further information.

The Transition Partnership Pro-gram (TPP) is a partnership be-tween San Juan Unified School District’s WorkAbility program and the California State Depart-ment of Rehabilitation. It is an interagency vocational program, designed to ensure a smooth tran-sition from school to work or post-secondary education for juniors and seniors in high school who have a physical, mental or

Services Can Include: Career Exploration Training and Education Transportation Assistance Vocational Assessment Career Guidance Counseling Job Development Assistance Resume and Portfolio Devel-opment Equipment Needed for School and/or Work Tuition and Books

What is TPP?

Marquis’ Success Story

Georgetown Divide in El Dora-do County, there Marquis and his brother are busy assis ng

re ghters by reducing re hazards in the Lake Tahoe Ba-sin. They have also had the opportunity to assist at ac ve

re sites. Last reported the boys were at Happy Camp, CA near the Klamath Na onal

Forest working the re line and suppor ng the re crew in mul ple ways. We at Worka-bility are so proud of the work you are both doing to keep California safe and preserve our greenspace.

2017 Encina Preparatory High School graduate Marquis Ward and his brother Mollier were both accepted into the Califor-nia Conserva on Corp. This past summer a er Marquis’ gradua on, both boys traveled to Greenwood, California. The Greenwood Center is located in the rural foothills of the

Davin’s Success Story

Page 2

WorkAbility Works!

Transition Partnership

Program

Marquis Accepted by CCC

Davin Hired by SJUSD

On The Job Fun

El Camino - Packets are being handed out and workers are being matched to work sites. Several senior students are being recom-mended for the TPP Program and will meet with Donna Merrick and Kim Geddes soon.

San Juan - Students worker candi-dates are being identified and packets are nearing completion. Focusing on Senior’s until Octo-ber TPP Candidates are being identified. After October we will also be considering Junior TPP candidates.

Laurel Ruff - Packets are being distributed to 4 classrooms; 10 Individual workers have been identified and 4 Groups are going our to work; SLP Tammi is being included in interviews to give her an idea of student speech needs; students in the Laurel Ruff Event Staff group have worked two events so far; Teachers and IA’s are helping complete the packets; Tyler Pierce’s Broadcasting & Performing Arts and Stacey Eber-hardt’s Animal Care classes are negotiating with possible employ-er’s that match their specialized programs.

Bella Vista - Site-based Jen Hall has been working on Career Assess-ments as well as identifying work-ers and handing out packets.

Encina: WorkAbility has been given space in a shared office this school year; the Pre-Employment Skills class is getting started and working their way through pack-ets and matching workers with employers.

Rio Americano: - is in good hands with our new YET I Mike Santilla-no. Mike is meeting with teachers and students while classes are still being set and teachers assigned. 3 students seem ready in one class and 7 in another. One TPP candi-date has been identified.

La Vista - 5 packets are waiting for transportation. Julia offered ex-panding on site cafeteria to ac-commodate more workers; Best Buy in the area is open to student workers.

Mira Loma - 2 new TPP applicants are in the works.

Casa Roble - Workers have been placed in Groups and employers have been assigned; work begins

the first week of October. Student Assessments are being done as well.

Mesa Verde - Workers have been placed in Groups and employers have been assigned; work begins the first week of October. Student Assessments are being done as well.

UnSchool - A YET was hired by SJUSD for this site. WorkAbility YETs will continue to serve La Entrada students who have been assigned to the UnSchool.

Project Search - Most Project Search students are Clients of TPP. TOO Job Developer Donna Merrick held Job Club focusing on ‘Dress for Success’, including how to dress, how to sew on a button, how to iron a shirt, was very pop-ular with the students; will be using this same ‘Dress for Success’ this month with the other sites; last month’s Job Club was Goal Setting & Time Management. TPP Service Coordinator Maria Living-ston has been heavily involved in helping Donna identify potential employers for Project Search students.

High School Highlights

Page 3

Volume 6, Issue 1

A family quote made during the 2017 Graduation Ceremony . “Laurel Ruff; this is the place where impossible loses it’s meaning.”

Isidro Interviews at Cottage Bay Apartments Congratula ons to Isidro who has been matched with one of our newest employers Co age Bay Apartments. This week Isidro met with the manager of Co age Bay to go over the expecta ons and his tasks. Thank you Co age Bay for being a part of giving our stu-

dents valuable training and skills that will change lives. Co age Bay will also host two groups of workers from Laurel Ru beginning in October. WE are excited to explore this new business partnership.

Filling out the form can lead to Internet discounts for your house-hold even if you do not qualify for free or reduced meals. These discounts and benefits can include discounts on fee’s associated with college, discounts on SAT, ACT, and AP fees, discounts on RT bus passes, as well as discounted school meals. And can lead to increased school funding.

More information can be found at sanjuan.edu/MoreThanAMeal

The free/reduced priced meal program affects a variety of areas unrelated to school meals, including school funding and discounted services. Even if your child doesn’t plan to eat school lunches, it is important to fill out the free/reduced priced meal program application to en-sure our schools and families receive the available resources. All San Juan Unified families are being asked to complete the application or return a form to opt-out of the free/reduced priced meal program:

Ways to apply:

Apply online using the form found at https://mealapps.sanjuan.edu/rocketscan/

Obtain a paper form at the district office at 3738 Walnut Avenue in Carmichael or Central Enrollment at 3700 Garfield Avenue in Carmichael, or at any school cafeteria or school office.

More Than A Meal

Who Is WorkAbility?

WorkAbility Works!

San Juan Unified School District

Phone: (916) 979-8610 Fax: (916) 979-8612 Email: Julia.Arreguin@sanjuan.edu or

Sherry.andersen@sanjuan.edu

WorkAbility Laurel Ruff Transition School 5325 Garfield Avenue

Sacramento, CA 95841

Find Us At sanjuan.edu/WorkAbility

Casa Roble, and Mesa Verde; Jan Schiavone serves students at El Camino, La Vista, and San Juan; Laura Smith serves all 8th grade students and students at Encina; Del Campo, Mira Loma and Rio Americano will be served by our newest YET Michael Santillano. WorkAbility Job Developers Sandy McNulty and Terrell Grant go out to the community contact-ing employers to find matches for our student workers. YETs and Job Developers work with the students matching them with local employers for training and paid work. School based YETs also work with teachers doing career and self-advocacy assessments, setting field trips to introduce

The office for the SJUSD WorkA-bility Program is located on the campus of Laurel Ruff Transition School and can be reached at (916) 979-8610. WorkAbility is where SJUSD students with an IEP can gain job skills with a goal of permanent employment. Julia Ar-reguin is our Coordinator as well as the Principal for Laurel Ruff. We are made up of 7 Youth Em-ployment Techs or YET’s who are either school based or Job Devel-opers, Secretary Sherry Andersen and Clerk Gerhardt Ratliff. School based YET Maria Livingston serves students at Laurel Ruff as well as students in Laurel Ruff’s Project Search Program; Jennifer Hall serves students at Bella Vista,

students to local community col-leges and businesses, and coaching students with employment ques-tions. WorkAbility partners with the Department of Rehabilitation offering the Transition Partnership Program (TPP) as well. WorkAbil-ity YET Donna Merrick serves our TPP students by holding Job Clubs that include mock interviews, resume building and job search skills. Donna also contacts local businesses to create partnerships for each TPP student with a goal of permanent employment.

Work Ability Welcomes New Staff Members

and was accepted as the new Clerk for WorkAbility. Welcome Gerhardt!!

Another change to the WorkAbil-ity Team happened at the end of last year was the retirement of long time Youth Employment Tech Jeanette Condon. We wish Jeanette a long, happy and healthy retirement!

WorkAbility welcomes Michael Santillano as our new youth Em-ployment Tech I. Michael comes to us from Mira Loma where he was an Instructional Aide working closely with our WorkAbility program. Michael has been with SJUSD for many years and his experience with Special Education students will be an exciting asset to WorkAbility.

The end of the 2016-17 school year brought some changes to our WorkAbility Staff. Yasmin Abner came up through the ranks of WorkAbility as a SJUSD student, then a TPP Client, and upon high school graduation Yasmin was hired by SJUSD as Clerk for WorkAbility Program. This past June Yasmin interviewed for and was accepted in to the position of Office Clerk for Laurel Ruff Tran-sition School. Congratulations Yasmin!

WorkAbility welcomes Gerhardt Ratliff who followed in Yasmin’s career footsteps. During Ger-hardt’s years in high school he was a WorkAbility worker and be-came a TPP Client as well, work-ing with Donna Merrick. In August Gerhardt applied for, interviewed

Upcoming Training for WorkAbility Sta

DOR TPP Contract Training: via conference call October 16

SJUSD Budget Training; WorkAbility Secretary, September 19 & 22

SJUSD Timekeeper Training; WorkAbility Secretary: via con-ference call October 2

October 6 Professional Development opportunity or all SJUSD classi ed Sta

Laurel Ruff’s 13th Annual Boo Bash 1 price $5.00, 22 experiences

At this year’s Halloween Extravaganza, we offer a

bizarre Spooktacular Ball and

Carnival type games with a horror movie twist! Enter if you dare!

Where: 5325 Garfield Ave. Sacramento 9584

When: Friday October 27th Time: 7:00 to 10:00 PM

Get your tickets now (order form on the reverse)!

The first 100 tickets will include a goodie bag

Laurel Ruff Transition School San Juan Unified School District

5325 Garfield Avenue, Sacramento CA 95841 Telephone (916) 971-7586; FAX (916) 331-1634

www.sanjuan.edu/LaurelRuff

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ At Laurel Ruff our Mission is to educate students in the least restrictive environment they attain their maximum potential!

TThe Boo Bash 2017 October 27, 7:00 to 10:00 PM Advance Ticket order form Order your advance tickets now for $5.00 per person.Get your tickets now! Attendees can all take a keepsake photo, enjoy refreshments, participate in the new carnival events and dance! dance! dance! BUY YOUR TICKETS ASAP. Don’t miss the fun! The first 100 tickets purchased will include a goodie bag! Students on ‘Social Probation’ due to behavior challenges will not be eligible to attend – no refunds – so maintain positive behavior!Name(s) of attendees (please print):

1. ($5 total due)

2. ($10 total due)

3. ($15 total due)

4. ($20 total due)

5. ($25 total due) I want to purchase: Total # of tickets________ Total $ enclosed = ______________

Please make checks out to Laurel Ruff School and send to:

Laurel Ruff Transition School

5325 Garfield Avenue

Sacramento, CA 95841

I ll pick up my ticket(s) at Laurel Ruff. Please have my ticket(s) waiting at the door. Please mail ticket(s) to (please print clearly):

NAME:________________________________________

ADDRESS:___________________________________________

_______________________________________________

Telephone:

Students on ‘Social Probation’ due to behavior challenges will not be eligible to attend – no refunds – so maintain positive behavior!