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September 11, 2017
Volume 2, Issue 1
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Superintendent's Message:
MUSD here to support
all
of our families in the wake of national and world events
The eclipse at the end of August created an opportunity for our students and community to share a sense of wonder about our universe.
Many of our students and teachers seized this teachable moment to capture the science behind it, as well as ancient cultural beliefs about the sun and moon. This provided our students with an opportunity to delve deeper into how culture and experience filters our perspectives about the world around us. In a similar way, the current events of this first part of September cast their own shadow over our daily interactions and thoughts about our place in the world.
Many of our students and staff have family and close friends who have been impacted by the natural disasters of the earthquake in Mexico, and the hurricanes and flooding in Texas, India, Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, and now Florida.
The President’s announcement that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
(
DACA
)
may come to an end in six months, unless there is new legislation enacted by our Congress, greatly impacts many of our MUSD graduates as well as the older siblings of our current students. DACA provides our students ages 16+ and our graduates with the ability to gain work visas so that they can live out our
MUSD vision
, that they are productive contributors to their communities. There is a great deal of uncertainty that our students, staff and their families are grappling with, and I want each to know our MUSD Family is here for all.
As I remember September 11, 2001 today, I am hopeful that the acts of kindness and love following that devastating event in our history will permeate our work with each other and for our students. It is important that we cultivate our Culture of We, recognizing that our family connections to those impacted by the uncertainty of recent events adds stress to our ability to work and learn at our best. One person who embodied a Culture of We is our 2015 MHS graduate, Alyssa Almogela who passed away last month; many in our community talked about the love she showed for all, particularly those who were suffering. In her memory as well as those who died on 9-11, let us support one another through these difficult times with caring hearts so that our students are inspired and empowered to be role-models for the world.
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New school year kicks off for MUSD students
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On August 17
, more than 10,100 students kicked off the 2017-18 school year across Milpitas Unified School District!
Thanks to the many parents who captured and shared out their children's back-to-school experiences. For more pictures, view the
Facebook album online now
.
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Groundbreaking ceremony held
for Mabel Mattos Elementary School
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Due to community support resulting in the passing of bond Measure E in June 2012, the District’s long-awaited dream for a new elementary school will soon become a reality.
We are excited to announce that on August 24, we broke ground on our 10th elementary school,
Mabel Mattos
.
Thank you to all the civic leaders, MUSD and Milpitas employees, residents, and the Mattos family themselves for joining us in the celebration.
Phase I of the two-story school is on track to open its doors in August 2018. MUSD will start by serving 238 students with an emphasis on lower grades.
The bond allowed MUSD to secure the 6.7-acre site in south Milpitas on the 1700 block of McCandless Drive, and provides funding for Phase I of the new elementary school. The school is being built as a center for “22nd century learning,” with classrooms referred to as learning communities. Focus will be on ensuring every student engages in state-of-the-art learning that includes personalized learning; community connections and project based learning; collaboration and critical thinking; Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math; and students as owners of their learning.
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MUSD offers resources for immigration support to serve the community at large
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The Trump administration formally announced on September 5 that it will end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program while also leaving Congress a six-month window to possibly save the policy. DACA is a program established by President Barack Obama in 2012 that grants a form of temporary protection from deportation known as "deferred action" to undocumented immigrants who came to the United States before the age of 16, have resided here since June 2007, and meet other requirements.
Milpitas Unified School District wants to ensure our students and their families know their rights, and that we are here to support each and every one of you. We want to remind you of our District webpage: “
Resources for Immigration Support
.” The site has been updated with even more community, legal, and educator resources -- available in multiple languages -- to better serve you and the needs of your family. The District will continue to post resources as we receive them to the this webpage.
For easy access to the page, an icon has been added to the front page of the
MUSD website
under the “Announcements” section. It can also be found by hovering over the main tabs on the top of the page from “Community” to “Family & Community Engagement” and “Resources for Immigration Support.”
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MHS junior Priyanshi Nigam joins Board of Education as Student Board Representative
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By Shannon Carr
Board Support & Communications Specialist
When the Board of Education held its first meeting of the 2017-18 year, there was a new face at the dais to represent the approximately 10,340 students Milpitas Unified School District serves. Board President Daniel Bobay introduced Milpitas High School junior Priyanshi Nigam as the new Student Board Representative during the August 22 Board Meeting.
That evening, Nigam shared her excitement in having a seat on the Board of Education where she is looking forward to making a positive impact by
representing the interests and concerns of the school district’s students.
Nigam graduated from Pomeroy Elementary School and Thomas Russell Middle School before joining Milpitas High School.
She is taking over for Alan Pham,
who graduated from MHS last year, until the one-year term ends next June. At that time, Nigam and the Board can choose to continue her term or elect another representative.
“I am very excited and honored to join the MUSD school board with a whole team of committed members, many of whom I have had the chance to work with and meet in the past,” Nigam said. She knows Board Vice President Chris Norwood through a computer science course she attended with the Bay Area Tutoring Association he founded and Board Member Robert Jung by participating in a tutoring program with the Milpitas Community Educational Endowment (MCEE) he created. In addition, Nigam recently met with Norma Rodriguez, Assistant Superintendent of Learning and Development, regarding improving students’ educational and learning experiences.
As the Student Board Representative, Nigam will sit in on the school board’s meetings, reading up on the issues beforehand and participating in the discussions to provide a students perspective and thoughts on the issues raised. She will also be expected to work with representative(s) from Calaveras Hills High School and build relationships with Principals, Parent Teacher Associations, and other school organizations in order to report on all student activities to Board Members. In addition, she will report back to the MHS student body during the Student Council and Congress Meeting about what was discussed during recent Board Meetings.
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Kiwanis sends Milpitas students back
to school with new clothes
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By Shannon Carr
Board Support & Communications Specialist
More than 120 low-income students from throughout Milpitas Unified School District will kick off the school year on August 17 with a new wardrobe and back-to-school essentials thanks to the Kiwanis Club of Milpitas.
From 6:30 to 9 a.m. Sunday, August 6, approximately 150 volunteer chaperones paired up with a student who they helped shop at Kohl’s, before the store opened, during the annual Cares for Kids program. Each student had a sheet with information about his or her needs and what sizes they wear which guided the shopping by the volunteers. They included members of the Milpitas Police Department; Milpitas, Spring Valley, and Cal fire departments; Board Members (past and present); City Council members (past and present); MUSD teachers; Rotary members; 90 Milpitas and Independence high schools key clubbers; and several more community volunteers.
The event kicked off with a light breakfast to all those in attendance that morning. South Bay Kids provided musical entertainment for those parents and others waiting outside the store while the students shopped. Due to generous markdowns at the registers, shoppers were able to purchase $140 worth of clothing with the $100 Kohl’s gift cards Kiwanis supplied to each student, identified as in need by local principals.
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Nancy Mendizabal, who coordinated the event alongside husband Michael Mendizabal (both Kiwanis members), said the club instructs volunteers to lead shopping efforts that focus on school uniforms.
“We try to get a kid three shirts and a couple of pants,” she said. “Almost every kid leaves with a pair of shoes.”
From there, volunteer chaperones work to make the most of the money for the shoppers by filling in the gaps with items including socks and underwear, and at least one “fun thing” such as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sweatshirt.
Nancy said the highlight of the event is watching how excited the children get about the items they receive. She recalls multiple years where she has witnessed children clutching to new clothes or shoes they could not otherwise afford saying, “I have never had new shoes of my own.”
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Milpitas community comes together to envision the life of a future MUSD student
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On August 7, more than 60 Board Members, employees, parents, students, community members, and business leaders came together to envision the life of a future student in Milpitas Unified School District.
A video of the event, facilitated by Jim Lengel, will be produced by the Santa Clara County Office of Education in coming weeks. The materials produced from the event will help facilitate the start of many conversations Superintendent Cheryl Jordan plans to have about meeting the challenges of teaching and learning with our students’ future in mind this coming year.
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Teacher of the Year, Cal Hills student and staff recognized at Milpitas City Council meeting
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Milpitas City Council recognized staff and students from Milpitas Unified School District during its September 5 meeting. The following people were honored:
-Sridaya Mandyam-Komar, a teacher at Calaveras Hills High School, Principal Carl Stice, Assistant Principal Karisa Scott, and student Tavia Todd received a commendation from the city. The recognition followed a four-week entrepreneurship program called FlexFactor earlier this spring offered by NextFlex, America’s Flexible Hybrid Electronics Manufacturing Institute. The project -- offered to students in
Sridaya Mandyam-Komar’s “Intro to Engineering” classes -- was done in collaboration with the City of Milpitas, Evergreen Valley College, and Flex(previously Flextronics). For more information about the FlexFactor program,
read the article
.
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-Laura Polden, a fourth grade teacher at Pearl Zanker Elementary School. She was announced as Milpitas Unified’s 2016-17 Teacher of the Year during the Employee Recognition Celebration on May 24. For more information about Laura,
read the article
about her accomplishment.
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Milpitas Unified School District is participating in the Santa Clara County Office of Education's
third annual Classified Job Fair
on
Saturday, September 30
from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the 1290 Ridder Park office. Individuals interested in classified positions should attend. MUSD will be among the 20 Santa Clara County school districts expected to attend the fair and have indicated openings in the following areas: paraeducators, food service workers, custodians, drivers (all levels), clerical/administrative assistants, and maintenance workers.
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Supervisor Dave Cortese and the Santa Clara County Parks and Recreations Department will present the 8th annual Day on the Bay Multicultural Festival at
the Alviso Marina County Park on
Sunday, October 8, 2017, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The multicultural festival celebrates our county’s diversity while promoting health among residents.
The multicultural festival will feature fun activities for all ages, including free food, pumpkins, kayak rides, arts and crafts, live entertainment, and giveaways. It also features a health resource fair that will provide a variety of health screenings free of charge to participants.
Interested sponsors, vendors, performers, and volunteers can sign up now
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