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October 6, 2017
Volume 2, Issue 2
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Superintendent's Message:
Envisioning the world of the future for MUSD students
How do you envision teaching and learning for our students and teachers? What experiences would you want them to have? How would you provide opportunities for our students to gain the skills they will need for the jobs of the future? What do our students need to know and to do so that they can cultivate their passions that will carry them through their career paths? These are questions that 72 community members made up of Milpitas business and city leaders, MUSD Board Members, principals, district managers, parents, recent MHS graduates, and current students came together to answer in our August 7 workshop,
State of the Art with Heart: Envisioning a Day in the Life of Future MUSD Students.
While technology certainly played an essential role in the dreams our participants described for our students, it was not the focal point. Connections to the community, experts in the field, work experiences, and to each other were prominent in their descriptions. Using community based learning and probing all aspects of overarching questions to solve a problem were also embedded in their envisioning. Thinking about learning beyond the traditional classroom, including teleconferencing with teachers and students in other parts of the world, was another element that was described as a possible future teaching tool. Taking advantage of nature, community organizations, local government, and businesses to provide learning opportunities also set the backdrop for what the group envisioned for our future “classroom” experiences. Mindfulness, service to others, expressing oneself through the arts, and athletics were thought of as integral to a rich and fulfilling educational experience for our future students.
The world of the future will be here much more quickly than we think. It certainly won’t take the same length of time as did the industrial revolution or even the information age. In fact it is happening as we speak. Artificial intelligence and the use of big data to anticipate our needs in medicine, shopping, and even answers to our questions, are two examples of how what we might have counted on as a sure path for work security is being disrupted. Our students now more than ever truly are our future, and they need us to strive to be our best together. WE will innovate together through more conversations that will lead to an even greater MUSD experience for every one of our students.
I invite you to
click this link
to see the sketches and explanations that our Envisioning team created in answer to the questions above. By the end of November we will have a short video to help further the understanding of what the team envisioned, and to use as a springboard for more conversations that will lead us in our pursuit of our District vision:
MUSD is an exceptional district in which students and staff are critical thinkers and trailblazers known for creativity and innovation. We prepare students to go out into the world and make a difference as responsible citizens who are passionate about life and learning.
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Student resources, support available following tragedy of the nation's largest shooting
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Dear Milpitas community,
As I listen to those who survived the Las Vegas tragedy that occurred on Sunday, October 1 share their stories on the news and in social media, their pain becomes more real for me and my thoughts turn to all of you and our students. I wonder if any of you have family or friends who were in Las Vegas at the time, as well as how it is impacting you. I am especially concerned about how the images and stories may be affecting our children and youth who see them on the news or on their social media platforms.
I have asked our staff, Shannon Carr and Sandra Quintana, to
compile some support documents
that offer expert advice on how to talk with kids about these types of tragedies if they have questions or if they exhibit signs of fear related to what they see and hear about shootings in the news. Thank you for being such a caring community, and if you need help, please let us know, WE are here for you.
Warmly,
Cheryl Jordan
Superintendent
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MHS Trojans re-enact "The Catch" of the 1981 NFL Championship at Levi's Stadium
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Congratulations to the Milpitas High School Trojans who had the opportunity to re-enact "The Catch" of the 1981 NFL Championship at Levi's Stadium on September 21.
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District-wide recycling program to kick off Nov. 15 following presentation to school leaders
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By Barbara Knitter
Quest/AVID teacher at Thomas Russell Middle School
Milpitas Unified is going to start recycling bottles and cans across the district thanks to an initiative that began at Thomas Russell Middle School.
On September 20, 10 Milpitas High School and Russell middle school students gave a
presentation
to District leaders about the importance of recycling and how to implement a district-wide program.
Among some of the facts shared, they stated that the same oil used to gas our car is made from the same oil to make plastic water bottles. Don’t send the plastic to the landfill where it takes over 400 years to decompose. Instead, recycle it so it can be shredded to make polyester clothing, plastic lumber, shoes, ink pens, and a number of many other things.
In addition, t
he United States creates the most waste of any other country, and we recycle the least.
Our goal is to have bins on each campus and a trained recycled coordinator at each site by November 15 so we can celebrate Recycling Awareness Day.
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Milpitas Historical Society visits third graders at Sinnott Elementary School
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By
Jeannie Lam
Third grade teacher at Sinnott Elementary School
Third graders at Sinnott Elementary were in for a special treat on September 21. They were the first classes to view a presentation by the
Milpitas Historical Society
.
Each class got to spend approximately 45 minutes with Kraig Bunnell (Director, Archives and Landforms) and Joe Ehardt (Treasurer, and Curator of the organization's exhibit at The Great Mall, Entrance 4). Their presentation provided a plethora of information through maps, pictures, and artifacts. Some of the noticeable artifacts included a nugget of gold, a collection of coins from the Spanish mission era to modern day currency, an obsidian arrowhead, and fossils. Some of these were even from Bunnell’s own private collection.
This presentation couldn’t have happened without the inspirational displays at the Great Mall (near the food court) and the Milpitas Library. I saw the displays and contacted the society to see if they would come speak at the school. Luckily, the society had been working on the presentation earlier that year but had never attempted it with a younger audience.
At the end of the day, students were amazed at the facts that they learned and are more curious about their local history. Bunnell and Ehardt also had a fantastic time with the students, and enjoyed sharing their knowledge and answering all their questions. This outreach to our local community is hopefully just the beginning of a trend for intergenerational learning.
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SCCOE celebrates World Teachers' Day
by releasing Teacher Recognition video
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The Santa Clara County Office of Education is celebrating World Teachers' Day tomorrow (October 5) by releasing the 48th annual Teacher Recognition Celebration video.
“World Teachers’ Day is a day set aside to mark the achievements and reflect on the challenges for the teaching profession,” said County Superintendent of Schools Jon R. Gundry. “We have selected this day to release our video, to honor the contributions our 35 teacher-honorees make to the profession in our community every single day.”
This year’s event features masters of ceremonies Jon R. Gundry and Manny Barbara, the Vice President of Advocacy and Thought Leadership for the Silicon Valley Education Foundation. The video also includes musical performances by the Lincoln High School Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Amie Jan.
Both the event
video
and
photographs
are
now available for viewing. The Teacher Recognition Celebration was held on September 14 to recognize outstanding educators across Santa Clara County for their skill in the classroom, and commitment to lifelong learning.
The following Milpitas teachers were recognized at the event:
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Milpitas High one of two schools in Santa Clara to receive CCS Sportsmanship Citation
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Milpitas High School once again received the Central Coact Section (CCS) Sportsmanship Citation for the 2016-2017 school year at the annual CCS Administrators Workshop.
MHS is one of only two schools in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League to receive this citation. It is presented to schools that had no ejections for unsportsmanlike behavior by players, coaches, or fans during the entire school year. MHS has 41 teams, almost 1,000 athletes, 80-plus coaches, and fans who made this possible by practicing good sportsmanship throughout all three sports seasons.
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MHS students named semifinalists in 2018 National Merit Scholarship Program
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Eight Milpitas High School students were among Bay Area high school seniors named semifinalists on September 13 by the 2018 National Merit Scholarship Program.
The semifinalists were chosen based on their scores in last fall’s Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, taken by about 1.6 million high school juniors. They represent less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors.
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'Science is Elementary' kicks off at Rose Elementary following donation ceremony
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KLA-Tencor donated approximately 10 volunteers and $10,000 to Rose Elementary School to sponsor the start of “Science is Elementary” in three kindergarten classrooms this year. A donation ceremony was held to celebrate the organization's generosity and to kick off the program on September 13 at the school.
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Founded in 2008,
Science is Elementary
is a non-profit organization that brings small group, hands-on science experiments to low-income elementary school classrooms. Its mission is to
effect systemic change in elementary school science education by teaching students, training teachers, and engaging the scientific community. Now in its ninth year, the organization reaches 3,500 underprivileged students in 11 Bay Area schools with lessons facilitated by over 400 volunteers.
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Milpitas teams clear to finals during
Harker Debate Invitation and Qualifier
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At the 2017 Harker Debate Invitation and Qualifier for the Tournament of Champions, all three Milpitas teams had a 4-2 record and cleared to Double Octo finals (the round of 32) out of 83 teams.
Achieving this were the Junior team of Josephine Tai and Oishika Barat, and the Public Forum team of Sophomore Brandon Schletzbaum and Junior Sana Jaffery.
The Public Forum team of junior Nisha Porchezhiyan and sophomore Neval Mulaomerovic cleared to Quarterfinals (round of 8) and earned a bid to the Tournament of Champions held in Kentucky every April.
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Herb Quon Memorial Garden at Spangler Elementary School gets a face lift
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The Herb Quon Memorial Garden at Anthony Spangler Elementary School got a face lift on September 30.
Dozens of Spangler students, staff, and families joined together with volunteers from the Milpitas Kiwanis Club, Oak Hill Cemetery Landscape Team, and the Milpitas High School Key Club to weed, plant, and beautify the garden. Thanks to the hard work of the Spangler PTA Board and President Silvia Dias, volunteers planted veggies, flowers, fruit trees and succulents across the garden. The revamped garden is being used for science enrichment classes, outdoor instruction, and is now open for student enjoyment during some recess periods.
View more pictures from the event
online.
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Join Rotary Club of Milpitas for its
Outback Steakhouse lunch fundraiser
between 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Friday, October 6 through Monday, October 9
at The Great Mall, located at 1246 Great Mall Drive in Milpitas. Tickets are $15 each, and must be purchased ahead of time. For more information or tickets, contact Jennifer Cullenbine at (408) 316-2663 or
jennifer@familygivingtree.org
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Rose Elementary School is currently collecting donations for an upcoming
sixth grade science camp fundraiser that will be held at Goodwill on Saturday, October 14. You may drop off donations (including clothes, books, sports gear, games, kitchen items, and working electronics) 7:40-8 a.m. and 2-2:20 p.m. now through October 13 and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, October 14 in the multi-use room from the parking lot of the school, located at 250 Roswell Drive. The doors will be open to drop items off during the scheduled times. For more information,
view the flier.
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The Vietnamese Voluntary Foundation - Vivo - and Milpitas Community Educational Endowment will present the
Milpitas Mid-Autumn Festival
from 3-8 p.m.
Saturday, October 7
at Robert Randall Elementary School, located at 1300 Edsel Drive. The free event will kick off with a Children's Talent contest with other entertainment throughout the day including International Folk songs, cultural dance, and a lantern parade. Activities will include a photo booth, lantern making contest, storytelling, children's games, face painting, and community resources. For more information,
view the flier.
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Milpitas will host its first ever
Oktoberfest from
11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Saturday, October 7 at Milpitas Civic Center, located at 455 E. Calaveras Blvd. Festivities will include music, food trucks, German food, drinks from numerous microbrews, contests, and a kids area. The event is sponsored in part by Dave & Busters and Rotary Club of Milpitas. For more information, call (408) 586-3210.
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Metropolitan Education District will host a
100-year anniversary celebration
of providing Career Technical Education training to its community from 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
Friday,
October 20
at its site, located at 760 Hillsdale Avenue in San Jose. The event will introduce attendees and dignitaries to the community and have student voices, classrooms tours, and networking. For more information or to reserve your ticket,
visit the Eventbrite page
.
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The
Association of California School Administrators
(ACSA) will host its
2017 Leadership Summit
Thursday, November 2-Saturday, November 4
at
the San Jose Convention Center.
This annual gathering of educators at all levels of administration is a celebration of the profession, and will include networking and professional development on current critical leadership and educational issues.
For more information or to reserve your ticket,
visit the website
.
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Randall Elementary School teachers have started a Mini Mermaids running group for its intermediate girls, and are currently preparing for a
5K Race in San Jose on
Saturday, November 5.
Teacher Adelina Vargas, who is spearheading the effort, said the goal is to teach the students lessons about how to gain their confidence, boost their self-esteem, and, most importantly, love themselves. To join in the event,
register online
.
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