January 29, 2019 Expanding Horizons at PoPPCon 2019 San Diego Unified School District as well as The Office of School Innovation and Integrated Youth Services would like to thank our community for their support of the Power of Pathways and Partnerships Convention organized by SDUSD January 16-18, 2019. ConnectEd California and the Center for Research on Educational Equity, Assessment & Teaching Excellence (CREATE) at UC San Diego worked hand in hand to plan an unconventional experience that pushed educators to challenge norms, and to envision a future where each student is provided the supports and experiences needed to discover and pursue their unique passions. Toward this end participants selected one of six deep dives that provided a focused, three day experience exploring a particular problem of practice: Laying the Foundation for High-Quality Pathways; Building Structures for Sustainable Success; Expanding Horizons: Interest-Driven Industry Involved Excursions; Rigorous and Relevant Project-Based Learning; and The Big Game: Designing for Peak Moments In this post, we would like to thank the partners that made the Expanding Horizons deep dive possible. This experience was developed to support other districts interested in designing work based learning experiences with organizations in their local context. SeaWorld San Diego, a long-time partner of San Diego Unified welcomed participants with open arms and hosted the opening of PoPPCon 2019. SeaWorld went above and beyond providing not only a venue, but also park admission for each attendee. Expanding Horizons participants were then treated to a behind the scenes look at SeaWorld Rescue, which serves as the inspiration for the Ocean Link Lab experience that was explored the next day. The Ocean Link Lab was co-developed by San Diego Unified and SeaWorld Education to look at ways human actions are impacting ocean ecosystems. Attendees were then provided a glimpse of San Diego Unified’s Elementary STEAM effort being piloted at 32 sites. Sunset View principal Jamey Jaramillo shared her experience rolling out the STEAM program at her school and opened classrooms where students were busy collaborating and exploring the interactions between organisms and their environment, a unit informed by our partners at SeaWorld, the San Diego Zoo, and Project Wildlife. We then transitioned to BioLabs San Diego where our friends at LaunchBio detailed how Community Block Grant funds are being used to illuminate the world of entrepreneurialism in biotech. Presentations from Ed Hidalgo, Qualcomm Thinkabit Lab and World of Work founder and Dr. Edward Abeyta, Associate Dean, UCSD Extension and Thrively, rounded out a day that highlighted learning and discovery across a lifespan, or as Ed and Ed like to say, K to Gray. Expanding Horizons culminated Friday aboard the USS Midway where educators experienced what the Classroom of the Future Foundation is doing for students in the realm of Cyber Security as well as how Raytheon engineers donate free time to open up the world of automation, robotics, and engineering in their STEM Innovation Lab. The Midway also provided a powerful example of how a school/district might enter into a win-win partnership with local museums to bring history to life while providing standards aligned work based learning experiences that support 21st century skill development. The Shipboard Engineering and Damage Control Excursion is just one of many educational programs offered by the USS Midway, what makes it unique is that it was developed in partnership with SDUSD teachers Melissa Maggio, Philip Prado, and Cora Trojanowski. Their contribution to PoPPCon emphasized what a tremendous resource our teachers are when developing programs with partners. This conference, and the unique experiences only available here in San Diego Unified, would not be possible without our tremendous partners. We would like to thank the entire San Diego community who come together time and time again in service of our students. It was our pleasure to show off all of your efforts and we look forward to working with you to deliver another one of a kind learning excursion next year, PoPPCon 2020 :) https://sdusdoss.blogspot.com/2019/01/expanding-horizons-at-poppcon-2019.html Role-reversal: Teachers Present to Students at PoPPCon Teachers from around the country gathered at Clairemont High School during PoPPCon 2019, stepping into the role of students! Teachers created a project idea and pitched it to the Chieftans. Then it was the students’ chance to give feedback to teachers...and some honest feedback was given! When one teacher proposed an idea to research a local ‘mom and pop’ store in order to understand passion and entrepreneurship, students suggested that in-person research would be much more motivating than researching online. Several students questioned teachers about the importance and relevance of their project ideas. A few seniors were very excited about projects that involved younger students at elementary and middle schools. Teachers often say that everyone should be a lifelong learner and teachers put this into practice as they listened to feedback and suggestions from our own San Diego Unified students. Both the teachers and students said this should become a regular practice in our schools. Teachers were a little nervous before presenting but said that it was such an important way to understand how students feel in the same situation. Kudos to all involved! https://sdusdoss.blogspot.com/2019/01/role-reversal-teachers-present-to.html From Sugar to Heroin: Educating the Community about Substance Use Tenth grade students in Clairemont High School’s Health and Medical Pathway are educating their peers, students at other schools, and community members at large on substance abuse through their project “From Sugar to Heroin: Substance Use in Our Community”. In this project, students address the problem of substance abuse by partnering with SAY San Diego to research legal and illicit substances for the purpose of informing the community about abuse prevention. Throughout the semester these students have worked in teams to learn about a specific substance that is abused. They’ve done research, written papers, and are finally getting a chance to present to the community the social, economic, and cultural impact of these substances. At PoPPCon 2019, in preparation for their Town Hall meeting with their Community Partner, SAY San Diego, students shared their learning with educators from all over the United States. What did the students have to say? One group of students cautioned that Fentanyl is one of the deadliest drugs around and it has been showing up mixed with other drugs. Another group highlighted deaths of celebrities that have been caused by the depressive effects of Xanax on the nervous system. One student said that this project has allowed her to educate her friends and prevent them from making choices that could severely impact their health and well-being. In hearing students speak passionately about substance abuse, it was evident that they are especially invested in their learning because of the opportunity to have an impact beyond their classroom. https://sdusdoss.blogspot.com/2019/01/from-sugar-to-heroin-educating.html In Defense of Learning During PoPPCon 2019, participants had an opportunity to sit in on the Kearny Digital Media and Design Defenses of Learning. What they saw helped to reinforce the importance of reflection in the learning process. Throughout the fall semester, DMD seniors worked with a client, designed and created a media product, and wrote a defense reflection paper in which they make a claim for how they have practiced the Expected Schoolwide Learning Results (ESLRs - Critical Thinking, Innovative Thinking, Civic Engagement, the Production Process, all leading to College and Career Readiness) in their academic and daily experiences. In the Defense, they show connections between the ESLRs and how they have seen growth in these areas through the project learning outcomes. PoPPCon 2019 participants got to see just how valuable this Defense can be as students reflect on the impact of connecting their learning to real-world skills and habits of mind. https://sdusdoss.blogspot.com/2019/01/role-reversal-teachers-present-to.html High School Instrumental Musicians Take the Stage The best San Diego Unified high school student musicians will perform on a larger stage as part of the 2019 SDUSD Honor Band and Honor Orchestra. The annual High School Instrumental Music Honor Concert will take place at 7pm on Saturday night, February 2nd, at the state-of-the-art Copley Symphony Hall. Onstage will be 77 students in the Honor Band and 91 students in the Honor Orchestra representing 13 high schools: Crawford, Hoover, La Jolla, Mira Mesa, Mission Bay, Morse, Patrick Henry, Point Loma, San Diego, School of the Creative and Performing Arts, Scripps Ranch, Serra, and University City. Guest conductor for the Honor Orchestra will be Anthony Do-Hoon Kim, a prominent conductor with the San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory. The orchestra will be performing advanced musical works by Holst, Dvorak, and Ginastera. The band portion of the concert will be conducted by Dean Hickman, a recently retired San Diego Unified School District music teacher. Having served 33 years teaching in San Diego Unified, Hickman continues to inspire our students and teachers in the field of music. The SDUSD High School Instrumental Music Honor Concert is produced by the VAPA Department in partnership with the VAPA Foundation, a not-for-profit organization supporting quality arts education for all students in SDUSD, and the Community Council for Music in the Schools (CCMS), an non-profit organization that provides musical instruments for students, many of whom will be performing in the concert. The public is invited to attend this free performance of the district’s finest musicians, a culmination of several weeks of rehearsal. The concert promises to be an exciting musical exhibition of compelling musical repertoire. SDUSD High School Instrumental Honor Concert  Copley Symphony Hall  750 B Street  San Diego, CA 92101  February 2, 2019  7:00 pm https://www.sandiegounified.org/vapanews/high-school-instrumental-musicians-take-stage   Reminder to Please Join Us for the Next 2018-19 Student Equity Coalition As previously advertised in this newsletter, students, parents, staff and community members are invited to join our students at this year's Student Equity Coalitions. Please join us for the third Coalition on Wednesday, February 6th at Morse High School from 5:00-6:30pm. We hope to see you there! For more information, please contact Stacey Seiders at sseiders@sandi.net or 619-725-7125. https://sdusdoss.blogspot.com/2019/01/reminder-to-please-join-us-for-next.html SDUSD Employees Win Big in the National HealthyWage Weight Loss Challenge This Fall more than 180 San Diego Unified employees competed against school districts across the nation to lose weight and focus on healthy habits. Staff competed, in teams of 5, to lose the highest percentage of weight over 12 weeks, with the chance to win cash prizes. In total, our SDUSD employees lost a total of 1,186lbs, with an average of 6.3lbs weight loss per person! Winners were announced December 21, 2018. A special congratulations to our district’s winning team, The Mini Mesas (Arthur Spurlock, Daniel Kriley, Jeff Sabins, Ronnie Lardizabal and Paul Morgan) who earned the top spot with a combined weight loss of 12.02% … and won $1,500! The challenge isn’t over yet: all HealthyWage participants can keep working to win back their registration fee with an individual weight loss of 10% within 9 months of the challenge start date. This challenge was coordinated by the District’s Employee Wellness Sub-Committee, in partnership with California Schools VEBA and HealthyWage, as part of the district’s efforts to support the health and well-being of our staff. To learn more about our District Wellness Initiative, please visit  https://www.sandiegounified.org/health-and-wellness or contact Kate McDevitt, District Wellness Supervisor at wellness@sandi.net. https://sdusdoss.blogspot.com/2019/01/sdusd-employees-win-big-in-national.html Patrick Henry High School Wrestling Wins Southwest Raiders Invitational For more information, click here: https://phpatriots.net/2019/01/22/wrestling-wins-southwest-raiders-invitational/ La Jolla High School Coach Named Tennis Pro of the Year Darice Carnaje, the La Jolla High School varsity boys and girls tennis coach, was named 2018 Female Tennis Pro of the year by the San Diego Tennis Association. For more information, click here: https://ljvikings.com/2019/01/22/carnaje-named-tennis-pro-of-the-year/ The Board of Education Acknowledges and Recognizes Outstanding Fall 2018 Athletic Teams At the Tuesday, January 22, 2019 Board of Education meeting, the Board acknowledged and recognized the district's outstanding fall 2018 athletic teams, the coaches, athletic directors, administrators, parents and community supporters. The following teams/schools were recognized: 1) Lincoln High School Football: CIF San Diego Champion-D3, CIF Southern CA Regional Champion, CIF State Finalist 2) Mira Mesa High School Cheerleading: CIF San Diego Champion- Division 1 Small Schools 3) Morse High School Football: CIF San Diego Champion-D2, CIF Southern CA Regional Finalist 4) Patrick Henry High School Girls Tennis: CIF San Diego Champion-D2 5) San Diego High School Football: CIF San Diego Champion-D4, CIF Southern CA Regional Champion, CIF State Champion 6) Scripps Ranch High School Field Hockey: CIF San Diego Champion-Open Division https://sdusdoss.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-board-of-education-acknowledges-and.html It’s Academic League Season! Every Thursday evening from January 24 to March 21, Novice, Junior Varsity, and Varsity Academic League teams will test their knowledge in history, geography, science, literature, math and random facts. Sixteen SDUSD schools are competing this season against each other and with private schools: Mira Mesa, Serra, La Jolla, Scripps Ranch, Clairemont, Pt. Loma, Madison, Mission Bay, Mt. Everest, Patrick Henry, San Diego, SCPA, Morse, University City, Kearny, and Hoover high schools. Best of luck to all teams in the competition! https://sdusdoss.blogspot.com/2019/01/its-academic-league-season.html Trauma Informed School Site PD at Wegeforth Elementary On Wednesday, January 24th the Children and Youth in Transition Team (CYT) presented a trauma informed practices session to the Wegeforth Elementary school staff. The professional development training “The Trauma Informed School Site” is one of a series of four presentations that the CYT department offers. The presentation focuses on teaching trauma informed strategies to school staff to support student resiliency. Approximately twenty school sites in San Diego Unified School District have participated in the professional development series in the 18-19 school year thus far. Interested schools should contact the CYT department to sign up for trainings. Educators and staff can also sign up for trauma informed care trainings as individuals through the ERO staff professional development portal. The remaining trauma informed practices presentations include: “Trauma and the Brain,” “Self-Care for the Educator” and “Mindup Curriculum Implementation.” The professional development trainings are available throughout the 18-19 school year. https://sdusdoss.blogspot.com/2019/01/trauma-informed-school-site-pd-at.html San Diego High School kicks off the new year with the training of over 100 staff in Culturally Responsive Teaching Practices! Principal Francisca del Carmen-Aguilar invited the entire staff at San Diego High School to participate in an introduction to “Culturally Responsive Teaching Practices” training. Participants held discussions around culture and bias and are excited to bring this work into every classroom! Contact Ebonee Weathers at eweathers@sandi.net to schedule a training for your school site, or register directly at https://goo.gl/forms/DQWPvxntbqNzbQs52 https://sdusdoss.blogspot.com/2019/01/san-diego-high-school-kicks-off-new.html Human Trafficking and Internet Safety Community Event Join us on February 21st at Bell Middle School from 5:00-7:00 PM for this opportunity to learn from professional organizations specializing in human trafficking and internet safety. Learn strategies to: recognize trafficking risk factors, increase public awareness about human trafficking, understand your role as an advocate to support our youth, and develop internet safety skills to keep youth safe from risks like cyberbullying & online predators. For more information or questions, please contact Ebonee Weathers at eweathers@sandi.net or Steffanie Zambrano at szambrano@sandi.net https://sdusdoss.blogspot.com/2019/01/human-trafficking-and-internet-safety.html STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES The Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation The Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation is the Nation’s oldest and largest provider of need-based scholarships to military families. Scholarships are for children of Marines and Navy Corpsmen pursuing a post-secondary education at any accredited school—whether that be a trade school, career training, community college, or four-year university. Scholarships not competitive and are awarded to every eligible applicant. Since 1962, the Scholarship Foundation has provided over 40,000 scholarships, valued at $120,000,000. The scholarship application for the 2019-2020 academic year opened on January 1, 2019 and will close on March 1, 2019. The application can be accessed at www.mcsf.org/apply.  TEDx Student Volunteers Wanted! Are you a high school student that is interested in volunteering at this year's TEDxYouth@SanDiego event on Friday, March 22nd? If so, please complete the form located at bit.ly/tedxyouthsandiego  The form needs to be completed by Friday, February 22nd. If you have any questions, please contact Stacey Seiders at sseiders@sandi.net or 619-725-7125. Student STEM Summer Opportunity at UC Campuses The California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science [COSMOS] is a four-week residential summer program open to current 8th-12th grade motivated high school students with demonstrated interest and achievement in math and science. Located on four University of California campuses (Davis, Irvine, San Diego and Santa Cruz), each campus offers different cluster topics and residential experiences. High achieving students from California, as well as out-of-state and international students are invited to apply to this unique summer opportunity. This intensive experience is designed for and intended to encourage the brightest, most promising young minds to continue their interest in the STEM fields. COSMOS provides students with an unparalleled opportunity to work side-by-side with outstanding university faculty and researchers, covering topics extending beyond the typical high school curriculum. COSMOS at UCSD places a strong emphasis on technology and engineering, in addition to mathematics and science, and is administered through the Jacobs School of Engineering. Students who complete the COSMOS program can indicate their participation on the UC application. The student application window is now OPEN (January 4 – February 1). Apply online - https://cosmos-ucop.ucdavis.edu/app/main. To learn more about COSMOS at UCSD (as well as the other three participating campuses) visit - http://jacobsschool.ucsd.edu/cosmos/index.shtml. Kaibigang Pilipin@'s 28th Annual High School Conference Kaibigang Pilipin@'s 28th Annual High School Conference is a fully funded all-day event for historically underrepresented and underserved high school students in San Diego to join UCSD college students to learn more about higher education. The conference on February 2 enables high school students to navigate resources that SPACES/SIAPS/KP provides. The day consists of informative/fun workshops, alternative tours, inspirational keynote speakers, a talent show, a dance, free food, and more! High school students pre-register @: tinyurl.com/KPHSC2019PREREG The theme for this year's conference is "The Hero Within" which finds its inspiration from the film Big Hero 6. Hiro’s story might parallel that of a high school student trying to pursue college. The path and transition to higher education is often filled with adversity, but we hope to empower students to recognize their support systems to help them pave their way to higher education. Questions? Email ucsdkp.outreach@gmail.com Cox Charities Scholarship Opportunity Cox Charities is accepting applications for the Cox Scholars program. Scholarships are available to graduating seniors who live in Cox's San Diego County service area, are enrolling to a full-time two or four year university within the U.S., and have a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. The average scholarship ranges from $2,500 to $5,000. Cox will be awarding $80,000 total. Applications are due on Friday, February 1st. Cox Charities Scholarship Criteria: High school seniors in Southern California who live in a Cox service area Enrolling full-time at an accredited two or four-year university within the U.S. Minimum unweighted GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale Active involvement in extracurricular activities, community service, or work experience Demonstrated financial need United States citizens or permanent resident  For more information on eligibility and requirements, you can visit the Cox Charities website. Also, feel free to reach out to Paula Zamudio, Public Affairs Manager at Cox, directly at Paula.Zamudio@cox.com. For more student opportunities, please visit the Office of School Innovation & Integrated Youth Services website UPCOMING EVENTS Wednesday 1/30/19 Logan USS Midway Excursion Click Here for More Information Wednesday 1/30/19 CPMA Intermediate Theatre Showcase 2019 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM (CPMA Performing Arts Center, 5050 Conrad Ave, San Diego, CA 92117) CPMA's Theatre Department presents the Intermediate Theatre Showcase! One night only! This selection of scenes and short plays are sure to delight and entertain. Don't miss it! Click Here for Tickets Thursday 1/31/19- Saturday 2/02/19 SCPA Presents: "Billy Elliot" 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM (Florence Johnson Grand Theatre) Click Here for More Information Monday 2/04/19-Friday 2/08/19 National School Counseling Week Wednesday 2/06/19 Student Equity Coalition 5:00 - 6:30 PM (Morse High School, 6905 Skyline Dr, San Diego, CA 92114) Friday 2/08/19 Registration Deadline for March SAT Test https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/register/dates-deadlines Monday 2/11/19 GATE DAC General Meeting 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM (Harold J Ballard Parent Center, 2375 Congress St) Wednesday 2/13/19 Knox USS Midway Excursion Click Here for More Information Wednesday 2/20/19 DAC General Meeting 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM (Harold J Ballard Parent Center, 2375 Congress St) Thursday 2/21/19 Bethune USS Midway Excursion Click Here for More Information Thursday 2/21/19 DELAC General Meeting 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM (Harold J Ballard Parent Center, 2375 Congress St) Wednesday 2/27/19 Bethune USS Midway Excursion Click Here for More Information Friday 3/01/19 Notification of UC Fall 2019 Admission Decisions Begins http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/how-to-apply/dates-deadlines/index.html Saturday 3/02/19 Deadline for applicants for all terms to submit FAFSA and Cal Grant GPA Verification Form http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/how-to-apply/dates-deadlines/index.html Tuesday 3/05/19 Bethune USS Midway Excursion Click Here for More Information Tuesday 2/07/19 CPMA Vocal Solo Festival 2019 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM (CPMA Performing Arts Center, 5050 Conrad Ave, San Diego, CA 92117) CPMA's Vocal Solo Festival, now in its 10th year, showcases the top vocal talent at CPMA. Seating for this special event is General Admission, all seats are $5.00. Click Here for Tickets Sunday 3/31/19 Notification of fall 2019 admission decisions for freshman applicants is complete http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/how-to-apply/dates-deadlines/index.html For a complete list of upcoming School Innovation & Integrated Youth Services events visit our on-line calendar or your school's website. For more information about the Office of School Innovation & Integrated Youth Services please visit our website.