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Campus Connections
is the newsletter of the Milpitas Unified School District. If you have stories for our next issue, please send them to
Shannon Carr
.
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Hard work and dedication made 2017-18 a successful year for Milpitas Unified School District
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I’m excited about the wonderful things we accomplished together this year! The City’s Community Advisory Committee sponsored our first Educational Showcase for the community in January. The re-inauguration of the Milpitas Elementary Olympics May 5 brought our school and city community together in support of our students at Milpitas High School. The Milpitas Table Talks: Community and School Safety event on June 2 was another glowing example of MUSD and City staff collaboration with over 50 participants sharing their thoughts and ideas about how to ensure safety in our schools and neighborhoods.
Throughout our schools, personalized learning strategies such as project based learning and personalized learning platforms (PLP) are stronger. For example, Sinnott and Rose elementary schools incorporate PBL across grade levels so that students can dive deep into learning about essential questions that impact their world. Five of our schools (Weller, Rose, and Pomeroy elementary schools, Russell Middle School, and Calaveras Hills High School) are taking advantage of personalized learning platforms that allow students to learn at their own pace for mastery in their learning, and we are establishing a PLP pathway at Milpitas High School for 2018-19.
Several of our schools such as Burnett Elementary School and Rancho Middle School have dedicated STEAM time where students apply design thinking through science, technology, the arts, and mathematics, and all of our schools participated in our annual STEAM Showcase. Our MHS Robotics and Science Olympiad teams have successfully expanded their reach to include our middle school students, and next year they plan to offer an Olympiad event for 5th graders. Students at Calaveras Hills High School are focused on engineering and robotics through Project Lead the Way. Our high school students have gained national and statewide acclaim in speech and debate, theater arts, DECA, music, and sports, none of which would have been possible without the support of their teachers, principals, and parents working together.
This summer, 30 of our students are embarking on paid internships at Oath Inc. through our academies at MHS and sponsored by the National Academy Foundation. Our first year of partnership with San Jose City College at our college extension has opened up the world of dual enrollment for our high schools students where they took courses in math, business, English, anthropology, computer science, python, and even forensics taught by Chief of Police, Armando Corpuz.
We are looking forward to developing more initiatives that will drive us towards realizing our goals for
developing educational pathways that allow students to apply their passion in learning for their future careers
. We are entering a partnership with the Growth Sector and SJCC to provide students who are behind in math with an accelerated STEM and math program fueled by applied learning in internships. We are also working with SJCC to further develop our dual enrollment program and a future middle college program. None of these efforts happen without the support of our staff, parents and community focused on building thriving learning environments for our kids. THANK YOU ALL for a fabulous 2017-18 school year. WE did it together!
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MUSD named 2017-18 California Honor Roll District; eight schools receive recognition
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After an extensive analysis of student data for every public school and school district in California, Milpitas Unified School District stood above the rest in getting its students to grade level and beyond, according to
Educational Results Partnership (ERP) and
Campaign for Business and Education Excellence (CBEE).
MUSD is oneof 24 to be named to the 2017-2018 California Honor Roll District. Each year, ERP and CBEE present this award to individual schools and to school districts that have excelled in raising student achievement and closing achievement gaps
.
Milpitas includes one of the largest percentages of Honor Roll schools of all California school districts.
In addition, Alexander
Rose, Curtner, John Sinnott, Joseph Weller, Marshall Pomeroy, and William Burnett elementary schools and Rancho Milpitas and Thomas Russell middle schools
were named Honor Roll schools.
The 2017-2018 Honor Roll recognizes public elementary, middle, and high schools that demonstrate consistently high levels of student academic achievement, improvement in achievement over time, and reduction in achievement gaps. This year, the California Honor Roll recognized 1,798 higher performing schools and 24 school districts
thanks to the hard work and effective practices of thousands of excellent superintendents, administrators, principals, teachers, and support personnel in public schools.
"This is a testament to the relentless focus on results for students that you, your staff and your peers have shown over the years," James S. Lanich, President and CEO of ESP and CBEE wrote in the announcement. "It is also a strong statement about how success is spreading in public schools across the state."
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Local Control and Accountability stakeholder input live
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In the Spring of 2018, we invited our community to share their thoughts about what we're doing well and where we can improve in Milpitas Unified School District, related to the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP). The results of this survey are now live, with 689 people participating and 1,252 thoughts shared.
Visit the website now
.
"Engaging our families to support our students is at the core of our work in Milpitas, where WE strive for excellence in programming and teaching that continues to bring student success to the next level," Superintendent Cheryl Jordan states on the website. "Community input is vital to these efforts for our more than 10,000 students. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and ideas in this year's Thoughtexchange. The results gleaned from the interactive online forum will provide us with data-driven goals and essential next steps as we continue to develop and revise our Local Control and Accountability Plan."
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Kaila Schwartz takes center stage as Teacher of the Year
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by Shannon Carr
Milestone birthdays are a staple celebration for many. But for Kaila Schwartz, her 30th birthday was the turning point in her career.
“I know that sounds really weird but around the time I turned 30, my dad reminded me that, when I graduated from Syracuse, I had promised myself that I would give full-time acting 10 years and that if at the end of those 10 years I wasn’t happy with where I was in my life, then I would reevaluate everything,” she recalled. “And, well, my 30th birthday was that 10-year mark. I discovered that I really wasn’t happy. I was not feeling fulfilled. I felt like I had lost my creative spark.”
So Schwartz applied to the four most competitive Master of Fine Arts programs in the country, got rejected from all of them, and was offered a job teaching fourth graders how to read Hebrew at a temple in Cleveland, Ohio.
“That’s the job that changed my life,” she said. “I fell in love with teaching, then got my Master’s in education. All of my inspiration came back. All of my creativity came back. My feeling of satisfaction was never higher.”
Schwartz said this zest for teaching has sustained throughout her career, which has been mainly in Milpitas Unified School District. She has been teaching Theater and English for 17 years at Milpitas High School.
“Seventeen years may be a long time to be in one school district ... but I have a strong connection, an affinity, for this community and for my students,” she said.
Schwartz was announced as Milpitas Unified’s 2017-18 Teacher of the Year during the Employee Recognition Celebration on May 30. She will be one of 29 accomplished educators honored at the 49th annual
Teacher Recognition Celebration
,
presented by the Santa Clara County Office of Education, on October 22 at the Heritage Theatre in Campbell.
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MUSD, City host first ever Milpitas Safety Table Talks
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by Shannon Carr
Approximately 50 people came together to join in “courageous conversations” during Milpitas Safety Table Talks, held in collaboration with the City of Milpitas and Milpitas Unified School District, June 2 at the Milpitas Community Center. The event was inspired by the County of Santa Clara Community Summit on Firearms and Safety, held by Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese, on April 28.
“The strength of Milpitas is in its sense of community, and when we come together to understand one another’s perspectives, we can use that strength in working together as one to ensure safety in our schools, businesses, places of worship and assembly, and throughout our city,” Superintendent Cheryl Jordan shared as her vision for the day. “We will take this opportunity to come to the table and talk about what matters most to us, the well-being of every person in our Milpitas community.”
The morning kicked off with an icebreaker and table talk about community safety before transitioning into a panel of leaders, moderated by Superintendent Jordan, which included Cortese, Congressman Ro Khanna, California State Assemblymember Kansen Chu, Milpitas Police Department Chief Armando Corpuz, Milpitas Councilman Bob Nuñez, MUSD Board Vice President Chris Norwood, and Milpitas High School Principal Francis Rojas.
During the panel, participants were asked the following questions:
- Introduce yourself, your role in the community, why you are here to talk with Milpitas
- From your position (i.e. community leader, clergy, activist, political leader) how do you define “safety?”
- As a superintendent when I think of safety I think about the physical safety of our students and staff, our students’ emotional and mental well-being, and working as partners with our parents and community to ensure their safety. Today we have members of our Milpitas community who think of safety in terms of who they are and their roles in our city, as our Milpitas community leaders, how do you see yourselves working together for Milpitas to address their needs? How can you provide resources for safety in Milpitas?
Each panelist shared their remarks about their roles, particularly in how they relate to the Milpitas community and bettering the lives of those most affected by safety.
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Adult Education speech by Christofer Harris
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The following commencement speech was shared by one of the Adult Education graduates, Christofer Harris
:
Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I am sure I can speak on behalf of my fellow graduates by saying we are happy and excited you all can attend tonight’s ceremony. My name is Christofer Harris
<Christofer with an F not a PH just for the record>
; I would like to take a few moments and share a few words. First and foremost CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE WHO RECEIVED A DIPLOMA THIS YEAR. In attendance or not, you all deserve a round of applause and a pat on the back (PAUSE)._
Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die life is like a broken-winged bird that cannot fly
_
I speak from the heart when I say, “The Struggle Is Real” whether it be adversities and challenges, personal or universal, we all have unique lives with personalities and struggles to match. Only hard work, dedication, and with a personal desire are we standing here in front of you today.
For myself I had the hardest time staying motivated and not using excuses trying to find an easy way out. One of my main easy-outs I use to do often more times than none was pointing the finger (“It’s not my fault, it’s theirs…. But if they gave me…”). My father used to tell me “Every time you point your finger at someone you have three more pointing back at yourself”. Now being older with more maturity those words hold greater meaning. His words made me take a real deep look at myself and really think about my future.
A wise man once said,
“Death is not the greatest tragedy mankind has ever known. The greatest tragedy is what dies inside of us while we are still living”.
With that said, I am speaking to everyone in the graduating class and those in attendance, NEVER GIVE UP! DON’T STOP NOW, KEEP GOING! Even if no one else believes in you and it seems like the world is against you, BELIEVE IN YOURSELF, I have always told myself, “Chris… there is no such thing as failure, only a guaranteed path to success”. Life is mostly trial and error. The key to success is to get back up and keep trying! I know it’s easier said than done but well worth it.
Even though none are here tonight I have a Big Thank You to my Grandmother, Mom and Dad. Lord knows how many switches and belts they broke on my behind trying their best to raise an honest man. I’d like to shout out my elementary school teacher Mr. Workman for helping me and teaching me ways to deal with my learning disability, my high school football coach, Coach Woods, for his time spent on and off the field. Last but not least a Major Thank You to the staff here at Milpitas Adult for their warm welcoming smiles and words of encouragement. In my opinion this degree is theirs just as much as it is mine!
I’d like to end my speech now by saying a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,
“Live today as if it was going to be your last, but learn....learn as if you will live FOREVER!”
Thank you all for your time. And once again CONGRATS GRADS!
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Building strong foundations for Milpitas students -
Tell us what you think
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Please keep an eye out for a community survey that was recently sent to your home. We want to hear your comments and questions!
Our District is seeking feedback from the community as we evaluate the needs of our schools and potential options for repairs and upgrades. We are talking with parents, teachers, staff, and the community to develop a plan for moving forward.
Our District offers an outstanding education that provides empowering learning opportunities to all students, but our schools need repairs and upgrades. For example, we need to repair and replace leaky roofs and windows, upgrade lighting, and improve earthquake safety to ensure students have a safe and healthy learning environment. Updates to school security, such as fencing and security cameras, are also needed.
In addition, the current enrollment at Milpitas High School is 3,210 students, which is far more than it was originally built for. Additional classrooms, labs, and facilities are needed to relieve overcrowding. Our elementary and middle schools also need additional classrooms and school facilities to ensure students can continue to attend their neighborhood school.
Please take a few minutes to complete the survey about your priorities for our schools. You can complete the survey by clicking here:
www.musd.org/survey
Your feedback is essential to developing a plan for our schools.
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MUSD, City join to offer free summer lunch for kids
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When school is out during the summer, many students will not have access to the free and reduced-priced meals that they usually rely on during the school year. Summer break can pose a challenge to fill the nutrition gap. Fortunately, Milpitas Unified School District will open three feeding sites that will allow any youth under the age of 18 to receive free, wholesome lunches. Under the Seamless Summer Option funded by the California Department of Education, this effort helps alleviate child hunger and help parents stretch their food dollars. Milpitas Unified School District in partnership with the City of Milpitas is offering lunch for kids from June 18 through July 27.
“We served about 8,000 meals last summer,” said Sandy Huynh, Director of Student Nutrition Services with Milpitas Unified School District.
She anticipates the meal participation to exceed this year, because the team had a head start and wider spread on outreach.
“One of our goals is to utilize our partnership and all communication channels to ensure the information reach the families and the community,” she said.
The program will be housed at the following locations during the noted days and times:
Robert Randall Elementary
, 1300 Edsel Drive
10:30-11 a.m.
Monday through Thursday*
*Site will be open on the following Fridays: June 22, June 29, and July 6.
Alexander Rose Elementary
, 250 Roswell Drive
10:30-11:15 a.m.
Monday-Friday
Milpitas Sports Center
, 1325 E. Calaveras Blvd.
12-12:30 p.m.
Monday-Friday
All sites will be closed on Wednesday, July 4.
No application or registration is required, and meals will be served on a first come first serve basis. All meals must be picked up by the youth and eaten on site. Visit the California Department of Education Food Program website for additional sites in other counties:
https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sh/sn/summersites.asp
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Stay up to date: Follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook
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We would like to take a moment to invite you to the District’s
Facebook
and
Twitter
platforms to help us better connect with you.
Our goal with these social media platforms is to provide parents and community members with important information about the District, our schools and the exciting educational initiatives that are helping to improve learning and academic performance for all students. We also hope to highlight some of our outstanding students and their achievements, as well as teachers, specialists, classified staff, and administrators who are working to prepare our students for lifelong academic and career success.
We believe that social media will provide a valuable, free exchange of ideas that will help strengthen our services to students and their families, build a stronger school-family connection, and move our District forward to continued success.
Please take a moment to LIKE and follow us:
We look forward to seeing you there!
Sincerely,
Superintendent Cheryl Jordan
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Having fun never gets old with Milpitas Recreation and Community Services
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by Ruby General
Having fun never gets old with Milpitas Recreation and Community Services! Our Department has been providing the City of Milpitas with fun events, activities and a variety of recreation opportunities for 54 years!
This Summer we’re bringing you over 20
NEW
classes, including the Sensational Summertime Sports Camp, Cooking Camp, Guitar and Piano Lessons, Coding with Robots, Slime Squad Camp, Youth Cricket and so much more! A Milpitas Summer isn’t Summer without our favorite camps, Camp Golden Arrow and Camp Winnemucca! This Summer is filled with enough classes and camps in this Summer Activity Guide to keep children of all ages busy throughout the season. Sign-up early and don’t miss out on the extremely popular swimming lessons available for ages 6 months to 80+.
And don’t miss out on the great Summer events we have planned for the Milpitas community! The Summer Concert Series is a summer favorite with free live music at Murphy Park. There will be four Movie Night Out events throughout the summer showing Beauty & The Beast, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Despicable Me 3, and Thor: Ragnarok. Be sure to buy your tickets early and skip the lines for the biggest event in Milpitas, the 4th of July Celebration!
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Milpitas High School holds Senior Citizen Program
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On May 31, Milpitas High ASB hosted the Senior Citizen Prom at the Milpitas Senior Center. The theme this year was Hawaiian Luau, and many senior citizens, their families, and ASB students attended the event. Everyone was dancing and having a great time!
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More than 400 Milpitas High School seniors earn nearly $2.6 million in scholarships
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by Shannon Carr
Four hundred and twenty-six Milpitas High School seniors have earned a combined total of nearly $2.6 million dollars in scholarships. Approximately 250 students from the graduating class of 2018 attended Senior Awards Night on May 23 to join in the celebration of these honors.
“This being my first year, I can’t believe the accomplishments that you have all accumulated over these last four years, and the accomplishments about your next steps in life,” Principal Francis Rojas said. “This year’s senior class is truly impressive.”
Approximately 345 students received the Gold Cord for earning a 3.25 unweighted Grade Point Average (GPA) or 3.5 weighted GPA; 191 students received a Maroon Cord for completing 150 hours or more of Community Service; 158 students received a President’s Education Award for maintaining a minimum GPA of 3.5 or higher from 10th grade to 12th grade, taking five AP/Honors classes with a B or better in each and scoring “Advanced” on four of four Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium exams; 175 students received a Golden State Seal for receiving a B+ or higher in an English, Math, and science course in ninth, 10th, or 11th grade and receiving a B or higher in U.S. History and a grade of B or higher in two other courses for ninth, 10th, or 11th grade; 33 students received the State Seal of Biliteracy award; and eight students are a National Merit Scholarship Finalist for placing in the top 1% nationally based on their performance on the PSAT taken in their junior year. Finalists are eligible for multiple scholarships.
This year’s Valedictorian, Ivan Chan, earned a 4.48 GPA. He will attend Yale University, and earned a Gold Cord, Maroon Cord, Golden State Seal, President’s Education Award, National Merit Finalist, Chi Am Circle Scholarship, $2,500 National Merit Scholarship, and $4,000 Elks National Semi-Finalist Most Valuable Student Scholarship.
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Russell Middle School holds first ever College Day
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by Shannon Carr
Students from Thomas Russell Middle School got a jumpstart on their future during the first ever
College Day
on May 16.
Principal Damon James said the day was created since AVID students were previously the only ones to get a good sense of what it’s like to prepare for college because of the program’s focus on academics.
“As a school, we had not comprehensively addressed going to college, every other year we would take students through a career day experience. Yet, this experience did not share the varied steps that professionals took to be successful, like attending college.” James said. “So we’re just trying to bridge some gaps this year.”
That day, AVID and leadership students delivered presentations to their classmates on different topics each period including college readiness, getting into college, college life, and financing. During lunch, representatives from different colleges such as San Francisco State University, San Jose State University, Silicon Valley Career Technical Education, had tables and spoke with students. In addition, there were students in groups with posters representing different colleges who shared facts about their assigned school.
“
I think the kids are all really learning something,” James said. “Often we’re the ones who take ownership, and we deliver the information… but to see the kids put on presentations to their classmates, the amount of interactivity and the amount of focus. The three rooms that I walked by, all eyes were on the presenter and the presenter was talking as if they were in college and had this experience, even though they’re an eighth grader.”
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Book Club celebrates a decade of food, fun, and fiction
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by Shannon Carr
Rancho Milpitas Middle School’s Book Club is turning the page on a new chapter, since it kicked off 10 years ago by English teacher Brenna Dimas.
To mark the milestone, Dimas said this year the club has been running a few special events including the Decade of Reading Challenge, where any student who reads one book from each of the years is going to receive a special challenge buster shirt. There’s an additional challenge where anyone who wants can try and read all of the books, 46 titles, and there was a March Madness style book battle, where
Wonder
was selected as the school’s favorite book.
On April 30, award winning author Gennifer Choldenko spoke to Rancho students during an assembly about her book
Al Capone Does My Shirts
, which was from year one of the Rancho Reads Book Club.
The Newbery Honor Book and
New York Times
Bestseller is historical fiction about living at Alcatraz in 1935 and 1936 not as a prisoner, but as a civilian child meeting some of the most famous criminals in history, including Al Capone.
“I got the idea for
Al Capone Does My Shirts
from an article in the
San Francisco Chronicle
about kids who lived on Alcatraz when it was a working penitentiary,” Choldenko said at the assembly. “…As soon as I saw that article I thought, ‘Wow, How cool to grow up on this island so close to maximum security prisoners.’”
In researching for the book, Choldenko volunteered to work on the island. She met many people, including a man who was a kid when Al Capone was there. Choldenko also learned that if you lived on Alcatraz, your laundry would not be done by your mom, your dad, or the laundromat down the street. Instead, your laundry would be done by the convicts.
“And that really intrigued me because as I interviewed people I found there was kind of an interaction between the civilians who lived on the island and the convicts,” she said. “It is true that Al Capone’s first job on Alcatraz was in the laundry room. So when I found that out I got really excited because I already had the first title in my head.”
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Adult Education staff immerse in Human Centered Design
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by Giuliana Brahim
Adult Education Staff attended a day long PD at Silicon Valley Adult School on May 11. Over 150 adult and college staff gathered to discuss Human Centered Design. The PD was organized and sponsored by the South Bay Consortium for Adult Education. The presenter Virginia Hamilton, who works for the U.S.Department of Labor, has spent many years of her career researching and looking at ways to better serve the un/underemployed. The American Institute of Research AIR, hosted Virginia’s presentation at SVAE.
Virginia engaged the audience with a quote from WAZE’s cofounder, Uri Levine “Fall in Love with the problem, not the solution and the rest will follow.” The key is to “stay with the student” and ask five questions before giving advice and offering solutions. So what is the reasoning behind the “why, what, when, who, and how”? It creates the space for building relationships, inquiry leads to gathering more information and therefore better understanding on what is going on with the person, and where are they coming from. In listening to people, we focus on what is really important, the human experience, their issues and the ways in which we can make their lives better.
Hamilton stressed the importance of practicing empathy, by observing behaviors, engaging with the person and immersing in the situation. Practicing empathy and talking to the student, will allow better framing of the problem. Through hands-on experience of Journey Mapping, we interviewed one another, taking the student and teacher roles. Each step of the way we continued to ask questions, we documented each others answers as part of telling the story. The stories are powerful, what motivates our adult learners to go back to school, what are the challenges, what do they need to compromise and the things they need to leave behind in order to reach their goal.
Each school and college also had a chance to gather in separate areas and talk about their own programs. The things that we are doing well and the ones we could do better. We spent a lot of time talking about our students and how we can enhance their learning and customer service experiences. One staff member said, “The next time I see a new student, I am going to introduce myself, before asking him/her what can I help him/her with.” This offering can change the way we deliver customer service in our schools.
In general, adult educators are empathetic to the needs of our students, we are aware of their challenges and the barriers they need to remove to succeed. In applying the 4 steps of design thinking, we can influence the way in which we deliver services. First we need to understand the problem, remember, stay with the person, listen and let them tell you their story. Second develop possible solutions, draft a plan. Third, prototype, test and define and lastly implement. We are all meant to be inventors and creators of systems to better the experiences of others. At the end, adult education is all about second chances and creating opportunities for inclusion, access to resources, and success.
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Open House showcases project based learning
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Students from John Sinnott Elementary School showed off their work during an Open House at the school on May 24. Three classes at John Sinnott Elementary School collaborated with each other to answer the question, "How will we, as community planners, assess and address the needs of our community?"
Students from third-grade teacher Jeannie Lam, fifth-grade teacher Kiscelle Calvello, and sixth-grade teacher Kelsey Goode brainstormed many ideas and finalized their groups based on their passions. These cross-grade level groups focused on needs across a slew of communities, such as their school community, homeless community, the Internet, beach/shore, local endangered animals, etc.
Each group identified needs and then developed a solution to solve that need. There were groups trying to start a composting system at the school, build a little free library, create up-cycling common products, instate proper animal care, start beach/shore cleanups, protect local endangered animals, create a healing habitat at Sinnott, and improve school safety (installing ID scanners at entrances to prevent school shootings), collect homeless necessities, and a few more.
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Sinnott PTA hosts first art workshop for Mother's Day
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The Sinnott PTA hosted its first hands-on art workshop May 9 in the multi-purpose room. Led by parent volunteer Kavita Gupta, the kids made beautiful "Rock Cacti" and cards to gift to their mothers on Mother's Day. They entered the room to find themselves with their own mini workstations. Each child was provided with two rocks for their cacti, a terracotta pot, a card, paintbrushes, and paint. It was nice to see that each child was so engaged in this craft.
The PTA was grateful to the many parent volunteers who stepped up to help set up the stations, help with the activity, and stay back to help clean up. The art material was provided by the Sinnott PTA, and the workshop was free for all. It was a well attended and fun-filled event, where kids and their parents enjoyed their time.
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Special Education teacher hosts "Mommy's Spa"
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For Mother's Day, Sinnott Special Education teacher
Charanpreet Walia honored her loving and beautiful mothers by inviting them to "The Mommy's Spa," where they were pampered by little professionals. Services including facials, manicures, and head-back massage were provided to them. Later moms spent some time with their little ones making great art pieces.
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Milpitas High School librarian creating a welcoming learning environment for students
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by LeighAnn McCready
The Milpitas High School library was remodeled with bond monies in the 2014-2015 school year and this year’s Class of 2018 has only the “new library” in their history as it opened in February of 2015. One of my goals in the remodeled space was to create an environment and atmosphere where students want to be. If you drop in before school or at lunch, you’ll definitely see that goal fulfilled. Whether hanging out on the comfortable seating areas, grouped around a table or in the study rooms, students have found their “own spots” in the library.
When I introduce 9th graders to our Library Learning Center, I tell them books are just a small part of the job I do and the services I offer, even though visually it’s the most obvious. In the information saturated world we live in today, I guide students to find academic resources to support their learning, critically analyze the information coming to them and introduce them to resources that are available electronically but not via a Google search. I have them bookmark the
library webpage
so they can also access the resources anywhere they have internet access. Hopefully, by the time they leave MHS they are ready to face the information world that lies ahead whether at college or in their careers or in life.
The last two years, I’ve been slowly easing into low-tech maker space ideas. Bubbles, coloring pages and origami were a few of the things I did last year. This year I added “Stick Together” posters, jigsaw puzzles, spirograph templates, blackout poetry and to finish off the school year a summer themed communal coloring poster. The posters and jigsaw puzzles were a huge hit and I will definitely put more out next year.
I feel incredibly lucky to work as a Teacher Librarian in MUSD. I rode a roller coaster of school librarian cuts from 2002-2007 untiI arriving at Milpitas High. According to the
California Department of Education Statistics About School Libraries
, “approximately 9 percent of California schools have a credentialed teacher librarian on campus part time or longer; the majority of professional staffing is found at the high school level. A teacher librarian has both a California teaching credential and a California teacher librarian services credential.” Before earning my library credential and Master’s Degree in Library Science, I taught high school math at all levels so I come at this job from a different angle then many teacher librarians. While it’s a small part of my overall job, I love putting the right book in the right student’s hands even if it’s not “great literature.”
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One-Up Coding
Learn to code at One-Up Coding, a non-profit tutoring program that teaches the Java programming language to middle school and high school students.
One-Up Coding is a non-profit program run by high school students that is designed to introduce computer science principles to any curious middle school or high school student. The program is free and online which means the majority of lessons and assignments can be accessed right from your very homes at any time.
Visit
https://tinyurl.com/oneupcoding
or contact oneupmhs@gmail.com to register or learn more
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MUSD 49ers outing
Enjoy the San Francisco 40ers first pre-season game when they take on the Dallas Cowboys while sitting with your fellow co-workers, friends, and family 7 p.m. Thursday, August 9 at Levi's Stadium. The group will get to sit together and enjoy a great time out at the stadium. Buy tickets now at
groupmatics.events/event/Milpitasunified
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Adult Ed offers Summer Enrichment, ESL, ECE classes
Milpitas Unified School District, in partnership with Milpitas Adult Education, announces “Summer Enrichment 2018,” open to all Bay Area students entering grades 1-8. Registration, which began Thursday, Mar. 1 is now open at
adulted.musd.org.
The program will offer multiple sessions, with the first starting June 18, to be held at Rose Elementary School, 250 Roswell Drive, Milpitas.
See the flier
on MUSD’s Google Drive for more info.
Free ESL Classes
Also, for those who do not speak English fluently... Do you need a better job? Want more education? Want to help your kids with school work? Want to become an American citizen?
We offer six levels of English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, serving adults who wish to make a successful transition into American society and develop the skills needed to reach their professional and personal goals. For more information, call (408) 635-2692, Ext. 4555.
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Early Childhood Education career pathway
Are you interested in opening your own daycare? Is it your dream to work as a teacher, assistant teacher, or special needs teacher? Milpitas Adult Education has joined with San Jose City College to offer an Early Childhood Education (ECE) career pathway. MAE students have the option to also co-enroll in ECE classes held on the MAE school site or enroll in core ECE classes at the SJCC Extension site on Escuela Parkway. This semester, two ECE elective classes are available at MAE and two core classes are available at the extension. For more information, view the
flier
or contact Patti Gairaud at pgairaud@musd.org or (408) 635-2692.
The photo above depicts ECE 104 "Art and Creativity for Children," with instructor Ranjana Bhatnagar.
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MUSD | Phone: (408) 635-2600
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