Washington Elementary third grader Abdiel De La Paz (pictured) holds the dictionary he received from members of the Madera Elks Club on Jan. 29. Each MUSD third grade student received a free dictionary, courtesy of Elks.

MADERA, Calif.

Members of the Elks Club visited each of MUSD’s K-6 and K-8 schools last week to distribute the dictionaries. Members of the club fund the project with donations.

The Elks Club extended their donation of dictionaries to schools districts around Madera County, including Golden Valley Unified and Chowchilla Unified.

Third graders are chosen to receive the dictionaries because a key element of their curriculum at that age is learning how to properly use a dictionary. The Elks Club’s donation plays a key role in dictionary skill development among MUSD’s youth.

The topic of the meeting is “Social Skills and the Social Mind.” The evening will feature current research in the field of autism and will focus on developing social skills for individuals with autism.

Breakout sessions will be held for parents of primary and secondary aged students.

The magazine, called The Special EDge, highlights the changes Madera Unified has made in the area of special education in the past five years, and the academic achievement that has resulted. Today, MUSD is considered a model district statewide in educating students with disabilities.

One of Madera Unified's most significant recent achievements came in 2008, when the district reached all of its federally-established proficiency target goals in English and mathematics among the students with disabilities subgroup.

To read the story in The Special EDge, please click here.

Students from Lisa Bennett’s second grade class at Sierra Vista pose with the many canned foods they collected for a school-wide project just before winter break. Bennett’s class collected nearly 200 canned foods for the Madera Food Bank.

MADERA, Calif.

From Dec. 7-18, the final two weeks before winter break, Sierra Vista’s students and staff collected 1,234 canned and packaged foods. Leticia Ruelas, a fifth grade teacher, coordinated the collection drive.

Lisa Bennett’s second grade class led the way with 197 cans collected. Ruelas’ class was second with 122.

“The generosity shown by our students and staff, especially in these hard economic times, is a testimony to their true giving spirit. I couldn't be prouder of them," said Sierra Vista principal Sherri DeFina. "We are thrilled to be able to contribute to our community in such a positive manner.”