September 18, 2018
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Unveiling of the SIEMENS powered Genius Lab at Montgomery Middle School
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On September 12th, Superintendent Cindy Marten joined Principal Stephanie Brown to unveil the Genius Lab powered by SIEMENS at Montgomery Middle School. The Genius Lab is not only benefiting the students at Montgomery but is part of a TK-12 STEAM initiative across the Kearny Cluster.
During the unveiling event, fourth grade students from Linda Vista Elementary explained the design process, first grade students from Carson Elementary built marble mazes, and fifth grade students from Carson showcased designs that were created to meet the unique needs of fellow classmates. Kearny High School's FIRST Robotics team brought last seasons competition robot to show Elementary and middle school students the STEAM opportunities that are possible at the high school level.
The Genius Lab at Montgomery would not be possible without the help of the College, Career and Technical Education department. As a co-sponsor SIEMENS provided FUSE curriculum and training as well as other maker space equipment including a 3D printer. The FUSE Studio https://www.fusestudio.net/how-fuse-works and SD Unified Genius Labs are a wonderful match. Space and curriculum combine to create opportunities that challenge students through a variety of STEAM modules that align to students' individual interests.
These are just a few of the amazing opportunities for students in the Kearny Cluster. The Office of STEAM Innovation is excited to continue to support all schools in the cluster as well as our larger district as we promote TK-12 STEAM experiences for all students!
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Full STEAM Ahead with TK/K
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Over 60 TK/K teachers began their summer at our 1st annual, week-long STEAM training in August. As part of our district-wide STEAM initiative, nearly 30 elementary, K-8 schools and dual-language schools participated across SDUSD.
Our teachers experienced the Next Generation Science Standards through learning activities led by our district Core Leadership Teachers with support from our Regional Director, Jill Grace. They engaged in the type of hands-on, inquiry-based, experiential learning model that they will be engaging in with their students. They learned how to tie in literacy through science instruction, how to create science notebooks, and how to excite their students with projects using technology in the classroom.
With access to new Chromebooks in all K classrooms this year, our Instructional Technology team led teachers through using Flipgrid, Google Sites and Google Drawing, Adobe Spark and Book Creator. These technology tools have been integrated into our curriculum and our goal is to give students experience over the year to acquire new skills that will allow them to share out and document their learning.
All teachers received a day of Project Lead the Way (PLTW) training that covered the lessons they will explore with their students during our 3rd unit of STEAM. Using the engineering design process, our TK/K students will have the chance to delve into real world practices to learn design, using literature-based modules where they create, for instance, a house that the big bad wolf can’t blow down. Teachers also experienced more in depth workshops on design thinking which will be a through-line in our curriculum.
With the support of VAPA, teachers had a chance to express themselves artistically by using a painting reflection exercise to close out the week that made use of a paintbrush they designed as part of their PLTW training.
Our partners also helped to make this initial training a success. Our LEGO® Education partners, Leanna Prater and Jeff Coe spent a couple of days training the teachers on modeling with LEGO® and play-based education. Teachers who signed up also received a free Aquaponics kit from EcoLife so students can explore how to care for plants and animals right in their classroom!
Our TK/K Teachers have since launched STEAM in their classrooms with great success! Our amazing teachers not only started a new year with a totally new class of students, but they are also exploring a new STEAM curriculum. They are committed to teaching 4 days a week for an hour of science-based inquiry, modeling with LEGO® Education products, and doing hands-on projects with every unit. For their first unit, students are wondering about living and nonliving things and going out on nature walks to discover and learn about how they might care for the living and nonliving things in their classroom. Using Book Creator, Adobe Spark or Google Drawing, students will share their learning with their community. More on that to come!
We couldn’t be happier to start STEAMing ahead with our youngest learners so they may grow up wondering and exploring the world around them, and using their hands, minds and hearts to solve real world problems.
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BlueSTEM United at Mission Bay High School
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Students, educators, and industry partners united at Mission Bay High School to discuss the potential of the BlueSTEM Pathway. The Mission Bay Cluster BlueSTEM Pathway and their partner, The Maritime Alliance, believe in creating BlueTech and Blue Jobs by promoting sustainable, science-based ocean and water industries. The ultimate goal is for students from Crown Point Elementary, Pacific Beach Elementary, Sessions Elementary, Pacific Beach Middle School, and Mission Bay High School to have learning experiences that connect them to educational, career, and service opportunities in BlueTech. With Mission Bay and the Pacific Ocean just down the street, a focus on water related topics makes learning applicable to the real world and relevant to students in this community.
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Franklin’s Arcade
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Who doesn’t love playing games? Based on the true story of Caine, a 9-year-old who opens up his own arcade full of games he has invented out of cardboard, Franklin Elementary School STEAM teachers have partnered up to recreate their own arcade. Franklin students spent a week on the design thinking process to come up with what the games are, how they will function, how to score points and receive tickets (for prizes). Even after school had already let out, students were dragging their parents back indoors to show them what they have designed and to get them to provide feedback on how to improve the gaming experience. It is only week three of school, and Franklin students have already bought into the iterative design process!
https://sdusdoss.blogspot.com/2018/09/franklins-arcade.html
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Mission Bay Bucs Bring Writing into Math!
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Mission Bay High School is working with district Math coaches to help students hone in on a critical math skills - - - how to make a solid argument! Students have learned claims, evidence and reasoning are critical, not only in their English class, but in their math class too. Math teachers used a pre-assessment to see how students were able to use these skills, and are now working with math coaches to elevate the use of argumentative writing in lessons and activities. Students are going to be defending their arguments all over the place; the Bucs are ready to prove themselves!
https://sdusdoss.blogspot.com/2018/09/mission-bay-bucs-bring-writing-into-math.html
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3rd Annual VAPA Liaison Day Held in Balboa Park
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VAPA Liaisons from elementary schools all over San Diego Unified gathered in Balboa Park on September 12th for a powerful day of learning about the arts. Each VAPA Liaison was selected by their principal to receive all VAPA Department communications and disseminate the information to their site staff, as well as benefit from this annual VAPA professional development day. During this year's VAPA Liaison Day, the VAPA Liaisons (most of whom are classroom teachers) gained new insights as to how arts education effectively transforms the lives of students.
The beginning of the day engaged the Liaisons in an informational session by VAPA Department administrators, followed by a tour of the Museum of Photographic Arts that incorporated Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS). Breakout sessions in the afternoon allowed attendees to engage in rich professional development workshops where they gained knowledge about various areas in the arts, including arts integration strategies, grant-writing, and using the arts for inclusion. While the VAPA Liaisons may have learned tools to use in their classrooms immediately, they are also responsible for sharing their learning with their colleagues.
Click here to read more. |
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Transforming the Way We Learn History!
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Middle and High school history-social science teachers began the first of a five part transformational series called “Identity and Agency in U.S. History,” in a partnership between SDUSD and Facing History and Ourselves. Through this extensive training, teachers are applying innovative strategies to help students discover the American identity and how they fit into it, while engaging in exploration of topics related to United States History. The resources and strategies provided in this training will enable students to engage in inquiry through examining a variety of primary and secondary sources and perspectives. Students will apply claims, evidence and reasoning through engaging activities that include collaborative discussions, close reading, and many opportunities to move around and engage with one another. The uniqueness of this program is the way it prepares students for college, career, and civic life by providing students with relevant content, literacy, and examples of agency throughout U.S. History.
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Convection Currents, Claims & Conquistadors!
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Science scholars at Serra High school put their argument skills to work this week in a convection currents lab in Biology classes. Students used blue and red colored dye to visualize the movement of water caused by different temperatures. They used their evidence to make claims about convection currents. Now they are learning about how these currents occur all over the world to create different climates. Biology teachers Maddie Schneider and Joe Galm love that students talk and write using the language of argumentation!
https://sdusdoss.blogspot.com/2018/09/convection-currents-claims-conquistadors.html
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Montgomery History-Social Science Teacher Supports Literacy
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In her 6th grade social studies classroom, teacher Edelmira Gomez’ students are learning about river systems and ancient peoples as a way of frontloading concepts for their interdisciplinary project with science, math, and English. They are also building literacy strategies that they can use in other classrooms such as focused annotation, reading passages multiple times for a variety of purposes, and engaging in collaborative conversations. Gomez is using sentence frames and reflection questions to guide students in grade level expectations for reading, writing, speaking, and listening. This is just one example of fostering academic mindsets and helping students see connections to other classes which supports one of Montgomery’s instructional goals for the 2018-2019 school year.
https://sdusdoss.blogspot.com/2018/09/montgomery-history-social-science.html
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MTM Students Talk About Peace
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September 21st is International Peace Day and the celebration has begun at Millennial Tech Middle (MTM). For the second year, MTM has partnered with Kids for Peace. This year, Miss Mejia and other 8th grade teachers, at MTM are taking writing to the next level by asking students to write an actual letter to Congress! Ensuring that students have lessons that include real world application is a critical part of the ELA curriculum. Consequently, every eighth-grade student will compose a letter to Congress addressing their concept of peace. The eighth-grade class of MTM hope that their letters will convince Congress to support legislation that establishes a U.S. Department of Peace building.
Good job, students of Millennial Tech Middle School.
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PSAT + Khan Academy = WOW!
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Everyone knows Khan Academy is great for learning just about anything. Did you know that our students, through Khan Academy’s partnership with College Board, get a personalized tutoring program based on their scores on the PSAT/NMSQT? Did you know that our students have 8 FREE online full length SAT practices tests? Did you know that 16,000 students last year who used this tool increased their scores by over 200 points?
For more information, visit: https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/practice/khan-academy
https://sdusdoss.blogspot.com/2018/09/psat-khan-academy-wow.html
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Center-Based School Counseling!
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Improving students' social emotional skills is a high priority for counselors. There are various methods to accomplish this. We want to highlight one strategy an amazing counselor at Rolando Park Elementary will be implementing this year. Toni Martinez has adopted the use of centers in her counseling space. Rolando Park students are already familiar with how centers work because teachers commonly use them in the classroom. Students have the chance to learn cooperatively, engage in hands-on activities, and increase their E.Q., emotional quotient. We are excited to see students' experience center-based counseling at Rolando Park Elementary.
https://sdusdoss.blogspot.com/2018/09/psat-khan-academy-wow.html
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Kearny High School dedicates new gym scoreboard to former district employee Art Hanby
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On the surface, it was your standard dedication ceremony for a remodeled gym -- a celebratory atmosphere with music, cheerleaders, and students.
But to those who knew Art Hanby, it was so much more. It was an opportunity to recognize his kindness and generosity, and honor his legacy.
Hanby, the district’s former Strategic Sourcing and Contracts Officer, passed away in December 2016. He had developed a special relationship with Kearny High School after supervising a Kearny student in a district internship program in 2007. He was still mentoring this student until his passing.
Click here to read the full story. |
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| STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES |
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2019 School Band & Orchestra SBO Essay Contest
Students: you can win your share of $20,000 including matching music products for your school music program!
Ten $1,000 scholarships awarded in two categories
Five $1,000 scholarships grades four to eight
Five $1,000 scholarships grades nine to twelve
Answer this essay question (in 250 words or less):
What role has your music program played in bringing you closer to your school mates, friends and the community at large?
Click here to submit your essay.
Deadline: December 31, 2018 |
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Coca-Cola Scholars Program Scholarship
The Coca-Cola Scholars Program scholarship is an achievement-based scholarship awarded to graduating high school seniors. Students are recognized for their capacity to lead and serve, as well as their commitment to making a significant impact on their schools and communities. With the 30th class in 2018, the Foundation has provided over 6,000 Coca-Cola Scholars with more than $66 million in educational support. 150 Coca-Cola Scholars are selected each year to receive this $20,000 scholarship. The application is open! Students who will be graduating in the 2018-2019 academic school year may apply here through Wednesday, October 31, 2018, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern.
Click Here For More Information
Deadline: October 31, 2018 |
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2018 Torch Awards for Ethics Essay Scholarship
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) offers cash scholarships to five high school junior and senior students who write outstanding essays on “The Importance of Ethics and Integrity in our Community.”
This scholarship opportunity is open to all high school juniors and seniors residing in San Diego, Orange, & Imperial Counties. The five recipients of the essay scholarships will be invited to the BBB Torch Awards luncheon. Recipients must be available to attend the luncheon.
Submit your 400 word essay on: "The Importance of Ethics and Integrity in our Community."
THE PRIZE: Five CASH scholarships: (1) $1,500 (2) $1,250 (3) $1,000 (4) $750 and (5) $500
Click Here For More Information
Deadline: October 26, 2018 |
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Horatio Alger Scholarship Program
The Horatio Alger Scholarship Program is one of the major scholarship programs nationally that specifically assists high school students who have faced and overcome great obstacles in their young lives. The National Scholarship is valued at $25,000. State scholarships are awarded to eligible students in all fifty states and the District of Columbia and are valued up to $10,000.
Click Here For More Information
Deadline: October 25, 2018 |
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Latino College Expo
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Wendy's High School Heisman Scholarship
CLASS OF 2019, DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO EARN A WENDY’S HIGH SCHOOL HEISMAN SCHOLARSHIP?
Eligibility begins with maintaining a GPA of 3.0 (B average) or better. Applicants also need to be proven leaders and role models within their school and community. And applicants must perform in at least one of the 47 school sponsored sports recognized by the International Olympic Committee in the Summer and Winter Olympic Games or the National Federation of State High School Associations.
Click Here For More Information
Deadline: October 12, 2018 |
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For more information about the Office of School Innovation & Integrated Youth Services please visit our website. |
