A SWEETWATER UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT PUBLICATION
APRIL 2014 | ISSUE 1
SWEETWATER
CURRENTS
EASTLAKE HIGH SCHOOL
T I TA N B O T
2 0 1 4 C O LO R A D O 1 S T R E G I O N A L W I N N E R S CURRENTS ON THE GO! SIGN-UP NOW & STAY DATE WITH SWEETWATER www.sweetwaterschools.org APRILUP 2014TO | ISSUE 1 SWEETWATER CURRENTS 1
S W E E T WAT E R C U R R E N T S A P R I L 2 0 1 4 | I S S U E 1
CONTENTS 04 STEM VOICE VIDEO CONTEST FOR STUDENTS
08 EASTLAKE TITANBOTS HEAD TO CHAMPIONSHIPS
05 MONTH OF APRIL 10 SUHSD CONSTRUCTION CORNER 07 VAPA DISTRICT ART EXHIBIT 13 DISTRICT LIBRARIANS REPRESENT SHOWCASES OUTSTANDING STUDENT SUHSD AT THE CSLA CONFERENCE WORK
08 07 10 www.sweetwaterschools.org
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Board of Trustees Jim Cartmill • Bertha J. López • John McCann Dr. Edward M. Brand Superintendent Produced by: Grants & Communications
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Be a Communication Liaison Do you want to contribute to spreading the good news going on at your school site or department? The Grants and Communications Department is looking for self-motivated individuals who will serve as the voice of their site. In this role, the liaison is responsible for acting as a bridge between their site and the Communications office. The purpose of this role is to enhance the flow of information provided to the Communications office for publication content (Currents) and website/media spotlight opportunities. If you are interested in serving in this role, please contact the Grants and Communications Department at (619) 691-5578 or gcomm@sweetwaterschools.org.
Submitting to
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tting easier!
In order to ca pture all the w onderful thing Communicati s going on in th ons Team has e Sweetwater developed a n Click on the li district, the G ew Currents S nk below to su rants and u bmission Form bmit all Curre for your conv nts story idea enience! s, events, kud os etc. in a sim convenient fo rmat! ple and Visit http://w ww
.sweetwatersch ools.org/curre nts/
STEM Voice Video Competition Biocom Institute is hosting a STEM Video Contest for Middle School and High School Students. The STEM Voice Video Competition is nation-wide opportunity for kids in grades 5-12 to artistically explore the importance of STEM. The goal of the contest is to inspire students to be creative and use video to show how much you love science, engineering, technology, and math. Grand prize winner receives $5,000 and will receive the award at the BIO International Convention during June 23-26 2014! Runners up will receive an Apple gift card. The contest is FREE to enter and more information can be found here. Print out our Flyer too!
www.sweetwaterschools.org
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CALENDAR APRIL 2014 16
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LCAP Community Forum Wednesday, April 16th - 6pm to 8pm Professional Development Center 680 L St., Suite C Chula Vista, CA 91911
SUHSD Robotics Teams on KUSI Saturday, April 19 @ 7:30am Tune in to Channel 51 / Cable 9 Robotics Teams Showcase!
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School Bus Driver Day
LCAP Community Forum Tuesday, April 29th - 6pm to 8pm Professional Development Center 680 L St., Suite C Chula Vista, CA 91911
Board of Trustees Meeting Monday, April 21 - 6pm to 10pm District Office Board Room 1130 Fifth Avenue Chula Vista, CA 91911 2014 VAPA CALENDAR Click here to view list of upcoming events.
AT’S H W E E S D N A D STAY INVOLVE THE SWEETWATER HAPPENING IN COMMUNITY
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California Senate Resolution School Bus Driver Day APRIL 22, 2014 WHEREAS, The safety of our children rests in the hands of trained school bus drivers for up to two to three hours each school day, and, WHEREAS, Great amounts of personal time and energies for bus driver’s initial training and maintaining current licensing, skills and knowledge of school bus laws through continuing education classes are expended by drivers, and, WHEREAS, School bus drivers often face natural and unnatural hazards in the performance of their duties, and, WHEREAS, School bus drivers frequently assist students in learning and growing in appropriate interactive peer and adult behaviors through counseling and/or disciplinary techniques, and, WHEREAS, School bus drivers consistently demonstrate patience and kindness toward students, parents and school staff in the performance of their duties, and, WHEREAS, School bus drivers often face natural and unnatural hazards in the performance of their duties, and, WHEREAS, School bus drivers consistently demonstrate an awareness of and direct attention to school bus and school bus routes, mechanical and safety conditions respectively, and, WHEREAS, Many school bus drivers perform their services for thousands and thousands of accident free miles, year after year, THEREFORE, BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, that the People of the State of California officially recognize and laud all of California’s School Bus Drivers on the fourth Tuesday of April, annually, for their continued and excellent services to the youth of the State.
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VAPA DISTRICT ART EXHIBIT SHOWCASES OUTSTANDING STUDENT WORK This year the VAPA Department hosted the annual Art Show Gala and Awards reception showcasing exceptional artwork created by Sweetwater students. A growing trend in higher education is a focus on the arts. Colleges recognize that for their students to be successful in their career choices, an ability to think creatively is necessary. The more opportunities students have to be creative and are exposed to different forms of creativity the better they perform on tasks placed before them. Thank you VAPA for making this possible for our students and our district. Click Here to view the highlights!
www.sweetwaterschools.org
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EASTLAKE HIGH SCHOOL TITANBOTS HEAD TO CHAMPIONSHIPS CONGRATULATIONS to Eastlake High School's Award Winning 2014 FIRST Robotics Team The TitanBOTS! They’re going to the Championship! Under the inspirational leadership of Coach Joel Foust and the mentorship of Dan Newell, David Okano, Michael Ching, Don Deandrade, and Kathy Wagschal. The TitanBots won the Denver, Colorado Regional FIRST Robotics Competition held April 3-5, 2014. Review the Denver, Colorado event results (TitanBOT-Regional Winner #3) here. Watch the 4 minute animation of the game here. Make a donation here to help them get to St. Louis, Missouri by April 24-26!
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Also, a huge THANK YOU to their primary sponsors & supporters:
National Defense Education Program (NDEP) Qualcomm Booz, Allen, Hamilton Microchip Technologies NAVAIR Eastlake Educational Foundation (EEF) Eastlake High School / SUHSD Go Team TitanBOT – You are a shining star for the SUHSD! “Working Together to Build our 21st Century Workforce!”
Robotics Teams will be on
KUSI NEWS on April 19 - 7:30 a.m. TAKE A MOMENT AND TUNE IN!
• • • • • •
2193-Hilltop EPIC Robotics 2543-Eastlake TitanBOT 3041-CV SPARTANators 3704-SuHi Robosapiens 3967-Castle Park Trojan Robotics 4616-Montgomery High Pharaohs
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CONSTRUCTION CORNER Construction of the Montgomery High School Modernization Project 2 is well underway. The new 2-story classroom building includes 10 classrooms/labs, new primary entrance to the school and new administrative offices. The new Gym includes bleacher seating for 1,700 for games and 2,300 for events with floor seating. Also included are two classrooms, locker rooms, wrestling room, weight room, adaptive P.E. room and public restrooms. Completion of the $23 million project is expected this summer. Visit the Planning and Construction Department and Prop O for more info: http://planningandconstruction.sweetwaterschools.org http://buildingpropo.sweetwaterschools.org
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Excelling as a Manager or Supervisor Training Do you want to gain the essential skills and knowledge you need to become a great manager or supervisor - delegating, communicating, hiring, conflict resolution, working with difficult people and more! Human Resources is excited to offer the third and final training for SUHSD supervisors (Classified Managers). Training will be held on April 16th from 9:00 – 4:00 with lunch on your own. Human Resources will arrange the registration for you and send you all the information via an invite through Outlook. Contact Mary Wager for more information.
CALIFORNIA EDUCATORS MAGAZINE HIGHLIGHTS SUHSD SCHOOL SAFETY PLAN Kudos to Sweetwater Security Manager John
Czajkowski who was featured in the March edition of the California Educators Magazine in an article regarding district safe school policies. Czajkowski touched on the importance school employees have to be prepared in the unlikely event of a shooter on campus. Despite the fear that school shootings inspire in the public, Czajkowski urges educators to keep things in perspective. “According to the FBI, there is a one in a million chance of someone being killed at school.” To read the entire article, click on this link.
www.sweetwaterschools.org
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KUDOS!
Maria Castilleja Kudos to Maria Castilleja Assistant Superintendent
of Curriculum & Instruction for being named the 2014 MASD Administrator of the Year! Castilleja has worked in the Sweetwater District since 1994. She has served as an Assistant Principal at Hilltop High and Eastlake High schools, Principal of Granger Junior High and Castle Park High. Congratulations to Maria for a very well deserved honor!
KUDOS!
Region 18 Administrators of the Year Three outstanding SUHSD administrators have been named Region 18 Administrators of the Year by the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA)!
Milena Aubrey, Personnel/Human Resources Director, Griselda Delgado Continuation/ Palomar High Principal and Linda Carlton, Adult Education Director. These administrators have exemplified true leadership and dedication to public education and the Sweetwater district. They will be honored at the 12th Annual “Honoring Our Own� Awards Dinner on May 2 at the Sheraton Hotel and Marina. Huge kudos to these outstanding administrators!
Milena Aubrey Human Resources Director
www.sweetwaterschools.org
Griselda Delgado Palomar High Principal
Linda Carlton Adult Education Director
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District Librarians Represent SUHSD at the CSLA Conference Teacher Librarians represented the Sweetwater District at the recent California School Library Association’s (CSLA) annual conference, held at the Bahia resort. Barbara Wymer from Bonita Vista Middle, Mercedes Hernandez from Mar Vista Academy, and Erin Southam from Hilltop Middle gave a presentation entitled, “School Libraries in the Digital Age.” Topics included: digital tools for conducting research; virtual clubs using Google+ Hangouts and Canvas LMS; and developing library webpages. Barbara, Mercedes, and Erin were also able to highlight SUHSD’s fully staffed libraries to conference attendees. Having a full-time credentialed librarian and a library technician at each school site allows for teacher librarians to collaborate with classroom teachers and work with students to develop 21st century skills. Congratulations to our outstanding Teacher Librarians!
www.sweetwaterschools.org
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KUDOS!
Darci Kimball & Melanie Brown Sweetwater Teachers Darci Kimball, Castle Park High and Melanie Brown, DWAST Science were selected by State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson to participate in the focus group discussion regarding the revision of the Science Framework for California Public Schools: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve ( Science Framework ). This focus group meeting collects valuable information from educators and provides information to the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) and the State Board of Education (SBE) as they begin their work on revising the Science Framework. The projected final revision will be in the Fall of 2015.
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Superintendent | Dr. Edward M. Brand
SUPERINTENDENT’S COLUMN WE’RE IN THIS TOGETHER For over 40 years, the way that schools in California have been funded has remained fairly static. Programs and initiatives have come and gone, but the school funding formula has remained the same. With the implementation of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), schools and school districts across our great state have a unique opportunity to not only approach school finance differently, but to actually take some time to create a plan. This plan, known as the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) is being done by districts from Ukiah to the Imperial Valley and everywhere in between. In the Sweetwater District we have begun to roll out some of that plan through a variety of parent and community meetings. During the month of April we will also be giving the entire community an opportunity to weigh-in on what our priorities should be. The Sweetwater District has taken significant actions in the past few years to strengthen its financial standing, increase student success and provide increased options for our students and parents. Under the LCFF and through the LCAP, California’s new funding law addresses eight (8) priority areas. These areas are: student achievement, student engagement, other student outcomes, course access, school climate, basic services, parental involvement, and implementation of the Common Core State Standards. Although the Sweetwater District has started a number of efforts to address these areas, we know more work needs to be done and we hope the community will come out and work with us on this important initiative. Each school site will be holding meetings of their leadership as well as their parent and community leadership and at the district level we will be hosting two community forums on April 16 and April 22 at the Professional Development Center (680 L Street, Suite C, Chula Vista, CA 91911) from 6-8 PM. For more detailed information about LCFF and the LCAP process, visit the Sweetwater District’s website at http://www.sweetwaterschools.org/lcff-lcap/ and read more. We are in this together and through dialogue, we can continue to make the Sweetwater District a model for others. Thank you all for your ongoing efforts on behalf of the students to make their lives better.
www.sweetwaterschools.org
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