Principal's Message
From Judi McGuire
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Judi McGuire, Principal
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Welcome to the Orangevale Open K-8 Website. Our school is one of six K-8 schools in the San Juan Unified School District. My name is Judi McGuire and I invite you to come visit our school. We are an alternative school within our district which means we have no neighborhood boundaries. Our students come to us from all over our district. “Open” education is a child centered, creative and lifelong process of learning. We believe in an environment which provides flexibility of time for learning activities, teaching methods which place the learner in an active role, and the integration of curriculum and creative expression. Above all, we respect the student and encourage the development of self respect and responsibility.
We do have high expectations for all our students, both academically and behaviorally. Although we are an alternative school, we do expect our students to master the state adopted learning standards. Our students do extremely well on the STAR assessments and show consistent growth every year. Academics are taught separately and are integrated across the curriculum. We also strive to include multiple modalities when teaching and incorporate fine arts. The interrelatedness of skills and concepts is stressed. A balanced curriculum, as it relates to the individual interests of the child is also stressed. Students in this program are encouraged and given the opportunities to go above and beyond in many areas of study.
Field trips are an integral part of our program and all grade levels go on at least one overnight field trip per year. In addition, classes go on at least one field trip per month. Parent participation is also an important part of our Open program. Parents are expected to work in the classroom or participate in school related activities two hours per week. They are also required to attend monthly parent meetings and actively support their child’s educational program.
We encourage an ongoing, open line of communication between staff and parents by providing a school newsletter, class newsletters, email access, monthly parent meetings and an open door policy with all staff. We feel parents are the key to their students’ success and are valuable partners with our teachers.
We are also very proud of our middle school program which includes 150 7th and 8th grade students. We offer Pre-Algebra, Algebra, World History, United States History, Language Arts, Physical and Life Sciences, Fine Arts, P.E. and a wide variety of electives. Our 7/8 program includes Honors level courses and often ranks as high or higher than the other middle school programs in our district.
We also offer a wide variety of after school programs to our students in 1st - 8th grades. Each year these offerings change. Our 1st - 5th grade students participate in a fall musical production and our 6th - 8th grade students perform a spring musical.
As you can see, Orangevale Open is a wonderful place for students. We conduct tours for prospective parents from September to May. Feel free to call the school to receive more information or to sign up for a tour. You may call the school at 867-2067 or email me at jmcguire@sanjuan.edu to get more information. To read about all the current events happening at our school and read a current Principal's message, click on the related link below and follow the directions to our weekly "Connection". Thank you for visiting our website.
- School Newsletters
Click here to find current copies of the school newsletter, The Connection. You may need to click on "Orangevale" and then click on "Newsletters."
