Call to Action!

New for the 2020 Arts Showcase is a "Coat of Arms" Challenge. San Benito Arts Council and San Benito County Office of Education challenge all schools/districts to create a Coat of Arms to represent the character, beliefs, and priorities of their school. These Coats of Arms will be preserved and hung in the Veterans' Hall during the 2020 Countywide Arts Showcase for the hundreds of attendees to see. 

If interested please use the link below for design guidance. The only restrictions are that the coat is not larger than 12" x 18", must be able to hang vertically and include the school's name. 

Submissions are due on Friday, February 7th by 4:15 pm at the San Benito County Office of Education 460 Fifth St, Hollister, CA 95023.

https://creativeeducator.tech4learning.com/2016/lessons/character-coat-of-arms

Join the San Benito County Office of Education and the California Department of Education for The Great Kindness Challenge Jan 27-31, 2020!  The Great Kindness Challenge (GKC) initiative, presented by Kids for Peace, is a global campaign promoting kindness in schools to proactively decrease bullying by challenging kids to practice kindness.  Examples of kind acts include sitting with a new group of people at lunch, smiling at 25 people, picking up trash outside your school or creating your own good deed. 

The GKC engages students, staff, families and communities to create a culture of acceptance, unity and respect.  Last year, 13 million students in over 24,000 schools and 110 countries participated in the challenge.  To sign up and receive access to free online tools, go to https://thegreatkindnesschallenge.com/.  A Toolkit to help you participate in this challenge can be found here.

Schools can also participate in the Great Kindness Challenge Global Service Project.  To learn more about the service project, go to the GKC Kind Coins website at https://thegreatkindnesschallenge.com/kindcoinsformexico.

We hope you will join us The Great Kindness Challenge as we work together to make the world a better place!

San Benito County Office of Education is hosting its annual STEAM Fair on March 19, 2020. The STEAM Fair is an opportunity for members of our community to display their commitment and outreach of STEAM programs and to show that SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, ARTS, and  MATHEMATICS can impact learning in fun and exciting ways.  Our countywide STEAM Fair is a collaborative venue for students, educators and professionals within our community to demonstrate programs, projects, practices and resources that enrich STEAM education.

Information for students interested in participating in the STEAM Fair can be found here.

The STEAM Fair intends to unite San Benito County Sponsors, Foundations, Schools, Parents, Students and Community Partners for a grand hands-on STEAM experience. All county schools are being challenged to host a demonstration booth and bring their students to experience the booths of community participants. The event will welcome more than  11,000 students representing 25 school sites from every school district in the county. It is the hope of the San Benito County Office of Education to have a multitude of community partners share their talents and skill in at least one area of STEAM.

Challenge: Come share the day with San Benito students and community on March 19, 2020, from 3:30 - 7:00 pm.

If you are interested in hosting a booth please complete the Booth Request Form at https://l.ead.me/SBCOESTEAM2020 by March 2, 2020.

For additional information, contact Colleen Myers at cmyers@sbcoe.org or 831-637-5393 x129.

How well can you spell?  All currently enrolled 4th-8th grade students in a public, private or home school located in San Benito County are invited to participate in the San Benito County Spelling Bee.  Competitions will be held at Ladd Lane School, 161 Ladd Lane, Hollister, CA  95023.

The preliminary round of competition for 4th-6th grade students will take place at 5:30pm on Wednesday, January 22, 2020.  Register for the 4th-6th grade competition here.

The preliminary round of competition for 7th & 8th grade students will take place at 5:30pm on Thursday, January 23, 2020.  Register for the 7th & 8th grade competition here.

The preliminary rounds will consist of a fifty-word written spelling test which will include many of the words on the Spelling Lists linked below along with other randomly-selected words from the dictionary.

4th-8th Grade Spelling List

7th & 8th Grade Spelling List

After the preliminary round of competition, the top twenty-five spellers will advance to the county championship to be held on February 5, 2019 for 4th-6th grade students and on February 6, 2019 for 7th & 8th Grade students.  

First and second place county champions will  represent San Benito County at the State Spelling Bee.

The San Benito County Office of Education is proud to share our December Newsletter with you. Each month, we will provide information on programs, events and news in the county office and the districts we serve in San Benito County. In addition, we invite you to stay connected through our various social media platforms.

As the holiday season approaches, we wish you and your family a blessed and happy holiday. As always, we look forward to continuing to work with you to Engage, Encourage, Empower...Educate!

Scores for the 2018-19 administration of the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) were released to the public this week.  San Benito County student test scores continued to exceed the California state average in English Language Arts (ELA) and increased in Mathematics.  Countywide, in all tested grades, 51.29% of students met or exceed the English Language Arts/Literacy standards and 37.25% met or exceeded the Mathematics standards. 

For the past four years, students in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 11 have taken the CAASPP test each spring in English Language Arts/Literacy, Mathematics.  Additionally, the California Science Test, known as the CAST, was administered for the first time last spring.  Science results will be available in January.    

District and School-wide results as well as additional information about the tests can be found on the CAASPP website at https://caaspp-elpac.cde.ca.gov/caaspp/.  Parents should contact their student’s school for information about how to access their student’s individual scores.

Greetings Educators! It's Harvest time again!        

Sign up’s are now open for San Benito County's Ag in the Classroom 2019-20 Harvest of the Month program.

Harvest of the Month is a free program offered to San Benito County schools, Preschool through High School. 

It is a fun, informative, interactive program that educates students about Agriculture and Nutrition. 

Harvest kits featuring locally grown foods and educational materials are delivered to your school each month. 

Students will taste a variety of different foods, learn about how they are grown, how to prepare them, meet the farmers and ranchers that grow them, and discover the benefits of making healthy food choices. 

This program can easily be integrated into daily classroom curriculum.

Participation is limited. Sign up now!

Registration closes September 23rd.

To register click this link:  Harvest of the Month Sign Ups

As we approach the new school year, the San Benito County Office of Education welcomes new members to our Administrative Team.  Over the past few weeks we have hired several new team members while others have moved to new positions within SBCOE.  Join us in welcoming our newest members of the SBCOE team.

Jennifer Logue                  Deputy Superintendent

Keith Thorbahn                 Assistant Superintendent, Educational Services

Roy Sims                            Chief Technology Officer

Leanna Morgan                Director of Human Resources

Mathew Safford              Director of Technology

Lisa Jelinek                        Alternative Education Principal

Emmanuel Nelson           Administrative Psychologist

Jennifer Henig                  Program Specialist, SELPA

Tha San Benito County Office of Education Administrative Team looks forward to working with you to Engage, Encourage, Empower...Educate All students in San Benito County!

This Friday, Aug 9, the San Benito County Office of Education is hosting our Annual Foster & Homeless Youth Back-to-School Fair from 3:30-6:00pm at San Andreas Continuation School, 191 Alvarado St, Hollister, CA.  The event is open to all Foster and Homeless Youth in San Benito County.  Food, raffle prizes, school supplies and hygiene kits available to all foster and homeless youth who attend.  Contact us at 831-637-5393 x111 for more information.