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Inspiring Children to Explore the Power of Reading
Ventura High School (VHS), in the Ventura Unified School district, held its 41st Annual Reader’s Faire, a cherished event organized by the VHS 10th grade Honors English classes on Thursday, June 1, from 9 am to 12 noon at Ventura High School.
For over four decades, the Reader’s Faire has captivated young minds and fostered a love for reading among children. This unique event showcased the creativity and talent of Ventura High School students who write, illustrate, and publish original children’s books, which they present to our elementary student guests.
This year’s Reader’s Fair theme was “Through Time and Beyond,” inviting children to embark on imaginative journeys and explore the wonders of different eras. The stories presented during the event featured characters who learn valuable life lessons and undergo personal growth as they progress on their adventures.
This year, Ventura High School welcomed approximately 1,000 students from nine elementary schools, including both public and private institutions. Students from kindergarten to second grade were able to immerse themselves in the joy of reading, promoting literacy, and encouraging the use of their imaginations. The elementary school students attending Reader’s Faire were treated to an enchanting experience as they encountered these captivating stories presented in specially designed and decorated habitats, bringing the narratives to life before their eyes.
“Reader’s Faire creates leadership and community involvement opportunities while promoting creativity and growth within the writing skills of our Ventura High School participants,” said Ms. Mary Dietz, VHS English Teacher. “For our young guests, the event sparks creativity, empowerment, and an enduring excitement for reading and writing.”
The Reader’s Faire is a testament to the dedication of Ventura High School students, teachers, and staff who strive to inspire and uplift the community through the power of literacy. We sincerely appreciate all those involved in organizing the event and fostering a love for reading among our youth.
- Ventura High
ABC7s Philip Palmer visited Ventura last month to talk to VUSD students in the GRIT program at De Anza Academy of Technology & the Arts (DATA).
GRIT -Girls Re-Imagining Tomorrow- introduces middle school students to tech-focused career options. It opens doors for girls at DATA in an industry that has historically written out women and propels them to brighter and bigger futures in cybersecurity.
Watch the Eyewitness News segment aired on April 13th for the whole story.
- DATA
- GRIT
We're closing out National Nutrition Month with some significant updates!
The Ventura Unified School District Food & Nutrition Services Department has been hard at work implementing exciting changes we'll start to see in some schools in the 2023-2024 school year. Most VUSD middle and high schools will implement a sandwich bar, allowing students to have customized sandwiches made on-site daily. They'll also have new tilt skillets that the Food & Nutrition Services Department has invested in. Tilt skillets enable kitchen staff to cook large batches of food quickly and safely at an even temperature. Once all required staff training to use this new equipment is complete, these tilt skillets will significantly increase every participating school's capacity to serve hot meals from scratch.
We visited the Foothill High School Cafeteria earlier today with local media for a sneak peek of the new equipment and to meet VUSD Food & Nutrition Services staff and cafeteria staff, including employee worker Ethan Oritz who enjoys learning food service and serving meals to his schoolmates. "It's a fun place to be," said Ethan...
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It's a good setting to kind of get used to the professionalism of learning what you have to do…using that and my past experience allowed me to get a job over the summer. I'm going to be a state lifeguard, and I feel like this really helped me. Ethan Oritz, Student Employee, VUSD Foothill High School Cafeteria |
The part we're most excited about: VUSD Food and Nutrition Services is establishing a student advisory committee to assist in meal and menu planning. Student inclusion will help ensure that VUSD schools serve meals and snacks students want and will eat. Connecting with our students and learning with and through them is vital to the health and longevity of our schools, and we can't wait to see how much brighter our cafeterias will get with their input. VUSD Food and Nutrition has been building a better food system for years, implementing fresh salad bars and pivoting to safely pre-packaged foods and Universal Meals to address public health and food security for our community during the pandemic. They're eager to roll out these new and exciting changes with more student-approved fresh foods as we shift towards healing.
Full 2023-2024 school year menus will be published on the VUSD and school websites at the start of the Fall semester.
VUSD Foothill High School cafeteria staff hard at work
- Anacapa
- Balboa
- Buena High
- DATA
- El Camino High
- Pacific High
- Ventura High