Next, we’re excited to highlight programs and experiences that support post-secondary job and career exploration, which is Goal #3 of our three-year strategic plan. Throughout the school year, students engage in hands-on exploratory experiences, such as Career Days, guest speakers, science camps, and more, which allow them to discover their individual interests. 

ALTA VISTA

Alta Vista sent two Robocat Teams to the First Lego League Regional Competition in Burbank, CA. Their dedicated teams worked collaboratively to persevere through challenging activities and represent Alta Vista and ultimately RBUSD. It was great to see firsthand the teams’ collective efforts and the tremendous parental support. The culmination of all their hard work paid off with the following results:

• Robocats 2 placed 6th out of 39 teams in the Robot Game and earned the First Place in Core Values trophy.
• Robocats 3 placed 14th out of 39 teams on the Robot Game and earned the Rising Star award.

AV students are striving for excellence, and they had a great display of that during their competitions. The AV staff and families are very proud of our Alta Vista Wildcat Teams!

BERYL

Beryl has two Robotics teams who competed in FLL competitions. 

The Beryl Bots (aka RATS) team won multiple awards at the La Reina and Curtis tournaments:

• Qualified for Regionals
• 2nd Place Trophy for Robot Game Score (La Reina Tournament)
• ‘Motivate Award’ (La Reina Tournament)
• 2nd Place Trophy for Innovation Project (Curtis Tournament)
• 3rd Place Trophy for Robot Performance (Curtis Tournament) 

The Mechanical Sheep also won multiple awards at the La Reina and Curtis tournaments:

• Qualified for Regionals
• 2nd Place Trophy for Innovation Project (La Reina Tournament)
• 3rd Place Trophy for Innovation Project (Curtis Tournament)

BIRNEY

This year, the Birney Bobcat team implemented the students' diverse skill sets to successfully problem solve as future engineers. All students entered the team as novices and empowered each other in learning how to code and develop as innovative thinkers. Students collaborated in selecting their missions to code and all developed successful codes. Smiles and squeals flooded the room each time their codes succeeded. Perseverance is what drove our team to success. 

The Bobcat team reimagined the future with an engineering solution of how to use technology and the arts to help engage others and increase participation in what they love to do with an innovative type of video game blue light glasses. Students developed their solution through Socratic seminars. The Birney team gained skills in not only engineering and coding, but also teamwork, leadership, and sportsmanship. 

JEFFERSON

Jefferson is proud of being a model school site in the RBUSD technology education program. Jefferson offers many benefits to all students, from TK to 5th Grade, providing essential skills and knowledge that can contribute to students’ overall development such as:

1.     Digital Literacy

2.     Problem-Solving Skills

3.     Enhanced Learning Opportunities

4.     Collaboration and Communication

5.     Creativity and Innovation

6.     Ethical and Responsible Use of Technology

7.     Global Awareness and College/Career Preparedness

Our technology education program plays a crucial role in equipping students with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in the digital age, promoting critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and digital citizenship.

LINCOLN

Lincoln is proud of its First Lego League teams this school year! They had the highest FLL student participation ever with a total of 36 students on four teams: Lego Lions, Roaring Robotics, Mighty Roar Tech Squad, and Leo’s Engineers. All four teams performed well at the Lego League qualification tournament. One team became the overall Champions of the event, coming in 1st place and two of our teams won the Innovation Project Award in 1st and 2nd place. All teams made the school proud with their inclusiveness and hard work, demonstrating Lincoln core values by being enthusiastic supporters of not only each other but other teams as well. Great job Lincoln students and thank you coaches!

MADISON

The Madison school community is so proud of our First Lego League teams this school year! We had the highest FLL student participation ever with a total of 36 students on four teams: Lego Lions, Roaring Robotics, Mighty Roar Tech Squad, and Leo’s Engineers. All four teams performed well at the Lego League qualification tournament. One of our teams became the overall Champions of the event, coming in 1st place and two of our teams won the Innovation Project Award in 1st and 2nd place. All teams made the school proud with their inclusiveness and hard work, demonstrating our core values by being enthusiastic supporters of not only each other but other teams as well. Great job students and thank you coaches!

TULITA

Tulita is extremely proud of our First Lego League teams! We had a total of 16 students that were split into two teams: Robowaves 1 and Robowaves 2. In November, the Robowaves teams competed at La Cañada Flintridge High School. There were 22 teams competing at the event and our Robowaves 1 team placed 2nd overall! This allowed Robowaves 1 to move on to the regional competition where they won the Breakthrough Award recognizing their combination of great teamwork, learned skills, and solid presentations. Nice work, Robowaves Teams! 

WASHINGTON



Washington Elementary School has two Robotics Teams: The Battle Botz and the Lego Explorers. The teams competed in the FLL competition in Irvine. Battle Botz won the grand prize overall and the Lego Explorers won the Engineer Excellence Award. Both teams advanced to the regionals competition and the Battle Botz won 1st place in Innovation! The Lego Explorers were finalists for the Innovation Award and were also one of the five teams (out of 37!) that had the privilege of competing in the state competition in January. This is the first year in Washington's history that the robotics team was able to make it to the state competition. Our students were some of the youngest people to attend the state competition and are motivated to win next year. Go Explorers! 

PARRAS MIDDLE SCHOOL



A.V.I.D. (Advancement Via Individual Determination) students recently visited California State University, Long Beach for an interactive campus tour, including the marine biology science lab.

ADAMS MIDDLE SCHOOL



Students participated in the annual Makers Fair, hosted by PTSA. In preparation for their sales, students attended a Financial Literacy Workshop hosted by Mrs. Vallejo and Kinecta Credit Union, and then showcased their own creations to sell in a market-style event.

WOMEN IN TECHNOLOGY



Both middle schools sent students to the El Camino College (ECC) Computer Information Systems (CIS) ScaleUp "Women in Technology" event. The ECC CIS degree and certification program leads students on a path to work in business, solving operational issues with information technology systems. ECC CIS has generously offered secondary students from RBUSD the opportunity to attend this amazing event, exploring workshops in:

• Advance Researched Computing
• AWS Machine Learning University
• CIS + CS 101
• IT Industry Certifications
• Launch Minecraft in the Cloud
• LinkedIn Profile + Ticket to Employment
• Responsible AI
• Space Command
• Text to Image with Stable Diffusion

REDONDO UNION HIGH SCHOOL

RUHS counselors and a busload of students recently visited El Camino College for their annual Women in Technology Conference. Local professional women leaders in technology, military, and higher education shared their experiences and led workshops for prospective students. Students attended lectures on AI, gaming, and current trends in business and education as they relate to women in the workplace and empowerment.

Highlight from RUHS' Biomedical Science Pathway: Students in the Biomedical Innovations course, the last course of a four-course pathway, hosted their Research Poster Session as the end-of-the semester benchmark. These students designed their own human physiology research projects where they gathered data from students using Vernier sensors, analyzed data using statistics (t-tests), and prepared a formal poster to communicate results. Very impressive! See a preview of the posters HERE.

In addition, junior counselors met students in their English classrooms to discuss College and Career planning and explore the Naviance tool. Naviance is a comprehensive website that aligns student strengths and interests to post-secondary goals and helps students make decisions about colleges and careers. Counselors Ashley MacDonald and Ivy Kozaki met with over 700 juniors to discuss their college searches and continued utilization of Naviance. Their discussions include developing a roadmap for post-secondary life, good questions to consider and explore, and specifics of how to correlate their needs through Naviance searches.

PATRICIA DREIZLER HIGH SCHOOL (PDHS) 



PDHS students continue to enthusiastically explore post-secondary options such as El Camino College (ElCo), trade schools, and military service. Additionally, ElCo hosted a college application workshop at PDHS for our juniors and seniors, and answered important questions about the South Bay Promise. Finally, the entire PDHS campus recently visited ElCo for an informational field trip and more post-high school inspiration! 

Next up is the RBUSD Invention Convention, February 20-23, 2024. Invention Convention is a worldwide TK-12 organization promoting invention and entrepreneurship. An Invention Convention is similar to a science fair. Students will have an opportunity to share their invention with the RBUSD community. One winner from each grade level at each school site will be selected to advance to the California Invention Convention - Southern Region. Please encourage your student to check it out. 

Dr. Anthony Taranto, Executive Director of Career Pathways, presented information on the RUHS pathways and career education opportunities at the January 22 Board meeting which can be found HERE. This work is in alignment to Goal #3 of our Strategic Plan, Post-Secondary Preparedness: Increase knowledge and opportunities related to student post-secondary goals & current and future workforce needs.

There is something for everyone in RBUSD. Let's work together to find the right path for each student as they journey through RBUSD.

Your Superintendent, 

Nikki Wesley, Ed.D.