Santa Maria-Bonita School District

On Saturday, August 24, the Adam School community came together under the direction of arborist George Jimenez to plant an additional nine trees. Participating were: 15 members of the K-Kids Club of Adam School, volunteers from Trees for Children, members of the SM High School Spanish Honors Society, and more than 50 parents, students, and former students of Adam School. With the additional trees, the school now has a total of 54 trees planted around the perimeter of the campus.  

Earlier this week, two SMBSD Board Members and several district administrators toured the new elementary school being built between College Drive and Shepard Drive. Trustees Veda Flores and Linda Cordero joined Superintendent Luke Ontiveros and other district staff members inside the frame of the two-story main classroom building and even on the roof to see the work being done there.  

Marilyn Tilley, a Special Education kindergarten teacher at Battles School, has been honored as a Distinguished Mentor in Santa Barbara County for 2020. Mrs. Tilley has been a teacher for 35 years and has served as a mentor teacher to many new teachers. The Santa Barbara County Education Office selected her as a Distinguished Mentor based on the nomination of her peers and a review of the assistance she has provided to numerous new teachers. The county chose three new teachers and three expert mentor teachers to honor in 2020.  A Distinguished New Educator from SMBSD is also honored.  

Michael Wallace, a history and geography 7th grade teacher at El Camino Junior High, has been selected by the Santa Barbara County Education Office as one of three Distinguished New Educators for 2020. Mr. Wallace was nominated by his peers and chosen by a county committee. There were six Distinguished Educators chosen for 2020. Two of them are from SMBSD. The six award-winning educators are participants in the Teacher Induction Program at the SBCEO. The induction program pairs new teachers with experienced mentors to accelerate teacher effectiveness and provide the necessary coaching and support for their first two years of teaching.  

The Santa Maria Noontime Rotary organization recently delivered dictionaries to every 3rd grade student in the district. The pocket dictionaries are the perfect size for students to keep in their backpack or desk. There's even a label where each student can write their name in their book. The dictionaries belong to the students, and they can use them as an important tool throughout their education. Thank you Noontime Rotary members!

Thanks to generous community members and a lot of local volunteers, more than 90 boxes of new school supplies were donated for students in SMBSD, Orcutt, Guadalupe and the Boys & Girls Club on August 9, 10 and 11. Stuff the Bus took place at Walmart in Santa Maria. Shoppers were asked to buy a few items and donate them. The supplies were then organized by SMBSD parent volunteers and sent out to schools.