A SWEETWATER UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT PUBLICATION
SWEETWATER CURRENTS
MAY 2012
Students Learn to Stay Fit SDSU Partners up
Palomar High Principal named Administrator of the Year
Olympian High Student Lori Lopez Competing in National Art Contest
Sweetwater High Student Wins Entrepreneurial Contest PLUS! 2012 EMPLOYEE www.sweetwaterschools.org
YWCA Honors Adult School Principal, Linda Carlton
RECOGNITION RECEPTION - TURN TO P7 MAY 2012 SWEETWATER CURRENTS
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S W E E T W A T E R C U R R E N T S M AY 2 0 1 2
CONTENTS FEATURES
KUDOS
03 SUMMER HEALTH COURSE
04 LINDA CARLTON
04 NATIONAL BIKE TO WORK DAY
05 GRISELDA DELGADO
06 MONTH OF MAY
06 DEBORAH TORNG
08 ROBOTICS PROGRAM
07 JEROME KOCHER
11 STUDENTS LEARN TO STAY FIT
10 MARY ROSE PERALTA
13 SUPERINTENDENT’S COLUMN
10 JOSE BROSZ
Offering by Southwestern College
May 18, 2012
National Brain Cancer Awareness Month
Receives Honorable Mention
Principal at San Ysidro Adult School
Principal at Palomar High School
Hilltop Middle School Teacher
Sweetwater High School Teacher
Through Track and Field
Celebrating Our Successes
Principal at Granger Junior High School
Principal at Otay Ranch High School
Board of Trustees Jim Cartmill • Bertha J. López • John McCann • Pearl Quiñones • Arlie N. Ricasa Dr. Edward M. Brand Superintendent
www.sweetwaterschools.org
Produced by: Grants & Communications
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Summer Health Course Offering by SWC Southwestern College will be offering Health 101 – Principles of Healthful Living at both SWC National City and San Ysidro Higher Education Centers. The class will be offered June 4 to July 3rd from 11am to 1:50pm. This is a college credit course that has also been approved for high school credit by the Sweetwater District. For more information or to register, contact Southwestern College Outreach at (619) 421-6700 ext. 5631 or 5633, or visit www.sccd.edu
Bonita Vista Middle Students Are Using Their Noodle Students often struggle with writing a research paper. The process of accessing, analyzing, creating and integrating information can be a daunting task. Now, Bonita Vista Middle students are using a subscription website called Noodle Tools to simplify and organize their research. After students find information in a source and write up their notecards, they input their works cited and notecards into their own personal Noodle Tools account. They can even deliver their paper to their teacher through a Google account. Teachers can follow their progress every step of the way through the sharing component. Bonita Vista Middle students and their teachers love to Noodle! www.sweetwaterschools.org
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KUDOS! Linda Carlton Congratulations to Linda Carlton, Principal of San Ysidro Adult School for being recognized by the YWCA of San Diego as a Tribute to Women in Industry (TWIN) Mentor award honoree.
National Bike to Work Day Join thousands of San Diegans and ride your bike to work on Friday, May 18. There will be several pit stops located throughout the county where you can pick up a free t-shirt, snacks and beverages. For more information and to register, go to www.511sd.com/ iCommute
Sweetwater High Student Wins Entrepreneurial Contest Brandon Hernandez, a 17-year-old senior at Sweetwater High School, earned 2nd place among 28 honor students from across the county competing in the Youth Entrepreneurship Program – Synthesized [YEPS]. YEPS is designed for high school seniors to learn how to turn their interests and hobbies into a profitable business venture. During a four-day workshop, Professors from Alliant International University teach students a variety of relevant business practices As students go through the program, they develop a viable business idea and business plan which is presented to a panel of judges.
www.sweetwaterschools.org
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KUDOS! Lori Lopez Olympian High Student Competing in National Art Contest Junior Lori Lopez was selected as one of nine national finalists for the Lucerne Art of Dairy contest. Each year, students are asked to paint a life-sized cow sculpture with their interpretation of a theme. This year’s theme was “Red, White and Moo: Celebrating American Ingenuity.” Lori’s design is called “Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk!” and is based on the work of Roy Lichtenstein. You can vote for her design at http://www.artofdairy-artcontest.com/Finalists/Detail/ 181 You can vote as often as you like before May 15.
KUDOS! Griselda Delgado Congratulations to Griselda Delgado, Principal at Palomar High School on being named Administrator of the Year for Region IX – San Diego County by the California Continuation Education Association (CCEA).
www.sweetwaterschools.org
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MAY 2012 National Brain Tumor Awareness Month
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Cinco de Mayo
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School Principals Day
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Board Meeting
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National Teachers & School Nurses Day
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Mother’s Day
20-26 Classified School Employee Week
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Memorial Day
KUDOS! DEBORAH TORNG Congratulations to Deborah Torng, 8th grade English teacher at Hilltop Middle School for being recognized by the Greater San Diego Reading Association for making significant contributions in the area of reading and language arts.
www.sweetwaterschools.org
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It’s time to recognize Sweetwater’s outstanding staff members. Employees of the Year, Retirees and those celebrating milestone anniversaries of employment with the district (10 years, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45+) are invited to a reception in their honor on Wednesday, May 9 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Ruth Chapman Performing Arts Center at Eastlake High School. Please come and let us celebrate your accomplishments. If you haven’t already, kindly RSVP to (619) 691-5590 no later than May 2.
2012 Employee Recognition Reception
KUDOS! Jerome Kocher Congratulations to Jerome Kocher, social science teacher at Sweetwater High School, on being selected by the National Endowment for the Humanities to be one of fourteen teachers from the U.S. to make a presentation at the Berlin 2012 Seminar this summer focusing on the issues of migration and multi-culturalism. "I am proud to represent Sweetwater at this prestigious event. We are also a border community. And though the names will be different, many issues will be the same,” he said.
www.sweetwaterschools.org
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Sweetwater District
Robotics Program Congratulations to all participants of the Sweetwater District Robotics Program for receiving an Honorable Mention for the 2012 Magna Awards. The Magna Awards are given by the American School Board Journal for programs that exemplify innovation and excellence in school governance.
www.sweetwaterschools.org
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www.sweetwaterschools.org
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Sunday May 20
Crown Cove Aquatic Center Open House Have you ever wanted to learn how to stand-up paddleboard? Or is sailing on a catamaran more your style? Come take the equipment out for a spin at the free open house at Southwestern College's Crown Cove Aquatic Center on Sunday, May 20. There will be live music, food and a health expo at the center, which is located on the bayside of Silver Strand State Beach, 5000 Highway 75. The event is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free parking will be available at Silver Strand State Beach. For more information, call 575-6176 or click on the Crown Cove website
Safe Jobs for Youth Month Having a job as a teenager can be great. Young Workers earn money, learn responsibility, and get new skills. But is the work safe? Have they been trained? Do they know what to do if there is a problem? Visit www.youngworkers.org to find out what you can do to educate and protect working teens!
KUDOS! Mary Rose Peralta & Jose Brosz Congratulations to Mary Rose Peralta, Principal at Granger Junior High and Jose Brosz, Principal at Otay Ranch High for being named 2012 Administrators of the Year by the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA).
www.sweetwaterschools.org
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KUDOS! 14 outstanding Filipino American graduating seniors from Sweetwater District High Schools
received a total of $4,800 in Karangalan Scholarships to help cover some of their college costs. Karangalan is a Tagalog word that means “pride, dignity and honor.” The winners were: Danielle Dimicali, ORH • Alyssa Pack, BVH • Francis Aquino, HTH • Leemay Avila, SUH Alana Bianes, BVH • Althea Escalante, MVH • Alvin Balmeo, SUH Dannie-Rose Cruz, SUH • Gabriela Lavadia, OLH • Briana Rose Patricio, ORH Alberto Reyes, OLH • Jasmine Saluta, ELH • Tori Van Nostrand, OLH Mark Yabut, SUH
Students Learn to Stay Fit Through Track and Field
In a unique partnership with San Diego State University (SDSU), students from Hilltop High have the opportunity to practice some of these sports and learn about fitness in the process. SDSU students in the Education and Nutritional Services course have partnered with the Sweetwater Union High School District to develop a means of teaching students eight different track and field events. The purpose is to engage students and keep them physically active during their physical education class. For more about the program, read the entire story at: http://www.suhsd.k12.ca.us/news/2012/04/studentslearn-to-stay-fit-thr.html
www.sweetwaterschools.org
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Fundraiser for Homes for
Kids in South Africa For the past several years, Hilltop High student Dakotah Flowers has been decorating empty bottles with fabric, shawls and headdresses to reflect traditional African dolls. Each doll also wears a small purse with a special message written by a child living at an orphanage outside Cape Town, South Africa. Dakotah sells the dolls for $20 and send the proceeds to the orphanage. The annual fundraiser for the orphans of HOKISA (Home for Kids in South Africa) will be held on Sunday, May 20, 2012 at Sushi on a Roll, 1620 National Ave., San Diego, 92113. There will be silent and live auctions at the event and all proceeds will benefit HOKISA. To register, donate and read more about this effort, go to www.messageoutsideabottle.weebly.com
Where are they now? - Angel Lopez Angel Lopez is a Montgomery High School graduate who went on to play tennis at the University of Arizona and at then professionally. He currently resides in La Jolla and is the Director of Tennis at the San Diego Tennis and Racquet club. Read more about him here: http://www.arizonawildcats.com/sports/letterwinner/archive/040612aaa.html
www.sweetwaterschools.org
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Superintendent | Dr. Edward M. Brand
SUPERINTENDENT’S COLUMN CELEBRATING OUR SUCCESSES With only a few weeks left in the school year, it’s a good time to look back and celebrate some of the accomplishments we have shared. Like most years, we faced numerous challenges and even greater successes. Despite the uncertainty that schools across California face, Sweetwater has made success the norm. During the current school year, a number of great things happened. We started the year with the first all-district Welcome Back event at Olympian High. We brought back the Education Summit where over 500 members of the community joined us at Eastlake High to discuss the issues that we faced as a district. At that event we set the tone for what we wanted to accomplish this year. As a district we tackled some big goals. Thousands of our students are now enjoying an improved environment for learning. We opened new school facilities—classrooms, libraries, science labs and more at several of our schools, including Montgomery High and Sweetwater High. And, more Prop O projects will be inaugurated soon. By keeping our focus and priority on our students, we have also seen continued growth in academic achievement districtwide. For the first time ever, Sweetwater has 11 schools above 800 in the API. And we’ve added to the district’s collection of important honors. Sweetwater received the Innovations Award for successfully preparing students for college through the Compact for Success program. National City Middle School was recognized by the National Center for Urban School Transformation as one of America’s best schools. Olympian High continued its winning ways in the Academic Decathlon. www.sweetwaterschools.org
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And individual standouts also made the district proud. The Association of California Administrators named MaryRose Peralta and Jose Brosz Administrators of the Year. Otay Ranch High parent Baba Olaogun was honored as Volunteer of the Year. Griselda Delgado from Palomar High was named Administrator of the Year by the California Continuing Education Association. Yolanda Sherard from Ranch del Rey Middle was a finalist for California Teacher of the Year. And three district students have been named Gates Millennium Scholars. Of course, California’s ongoing budget crisis continues to present budgetary challenges for the Sweetwater District. But
www.sweetwaterschools.org
despite the uncertainties, the fact remains that at Sweetwater schools, we continue to serve the students in our classrooms and ensure their academic success. As we head into the home stretch, I am looking forward to joining you in celebrating our collective and individual successes at our school promotion and graduation ceremonies. In my campus visits, I’m reminded on a daily basis of the excellent work that is going on throughout the district and I sincerely thank you for all that you do. Let’s continue to make success the norm in Sweetwater.
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