www.sweetwaterschools.org MAY 2012 SWEETWATER CURRENTS 1

SWEETWATER C U R R E N T S

A SWEETWATER UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT PUBLICATION MAY 2012

Olympian HighStudent Lori Lopez Competing in National Art Contest

Palomar High Principalnamed Administrator of the Year

YWCA HonorsAdult School Principal,

Linda Carlton

PLUS! 2012 EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION RECEPTION - TURN TO P7

Students Learn to Stay Fit

SDSU Partners up

Sweetwater High StudentWins Entrepreneurial Contest

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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

06 MONTH OF MAYNational Brain Cancer Awareness Month

Produced by:Grants & Communications

Board of TrusteesJim Cartmill • Bertha J. López • John McCann • Pearl Quiñones • Arlie N. Ricasa

Dr. Edward M. Brand Superintendent

03 SUMMER HEALTH COURSEOffering by Southwestern College

13 SUPERINTENDENT’S COLUMNCelebrating Our Successes

04 NATIONAL BIKE TO WORK DAYMay 18, 2012

08 ROBOTICS PROGRAMReceives Honorable Mention

11 STUDENTS LEARN TO STAY FITThrough Track and Field

06 DEBORAH TORNGHilltop Middle School Teacher

04 LINDA CARLTONPrincipal at San Ysidro Adult School

10 JOSE BROSZPrincipal at Otay Ranch High School

05 GRISELDA DELGADOPrincipal at Palomar High School

07 JEROME KOCHERSweetwater High School Teacher

10 MARY ROSE PERALTAPrincipal at Granger Junior High School

TWITTERFACEBOOK

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Summer Health Course Offering by SWCSouthwestern 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 NoodleStudents 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!

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KUDOS!Linda CarltonCongratulations 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 ContestBrandon 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.

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KUDOS!Lori Lopez

Olympian High Student Competing in National Art ContestJunior 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).

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1School

Principals Day

7Board

Meeting

9National

Teachers & School

Nurses Day

13Mother’s

Day

20-26Classified

SchoolEmployee

Week

28Memorial

Day

MAY 2012 National Brain Tumor Awareness Month

5 Cinco de Mayo

KUDOS!DEBORAH TORNGCongratulations 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.

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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.

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Sweetwater District

Robotics ProgramCongratulations 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.

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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 MonthHaving 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 BroszCongratulations 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).

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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, SUHAlana Bianes, BVH • Althea Escalante, MVH • Alvin Balmeo, SUH

Dannie-Rose Cruz, SUH • Gabriela Lavadia, OLH • Briana Rose Patricio, ORHAlberto 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/students-learn-to-stay-fit-thr.html

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Fundraiser for Homes for

Kids in South AfricaFor 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 LopezAngel 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

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Superintendent | Dr. Edward M. Brand

S U P E R I N T E N D E N T ’ S C O L U M N

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.

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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

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.