SVUSD Inaugural Career Fair a Definite Success! With about 500 students and their families totaling over 1,200 visitors, the first districtwide Career Fair on November 8 th was an outstanding event. Intermediate school and high school students, parents and siblings attended the Norman Murray Community Center in Mission Viejo to learn about a variety of careers and pathways to those careers. There were over 30 exhibitors from various industries: manufacturing, engineering, architecture, robotics, drone technology, agriculture, health science, culinary arts, fashion, hospitality, video production, cosmetology, public services, construction, digital media arts, business and automotive. Most of the 15 California industry sectors were represented by intermediate school, high school or community college instructors and students. In addition the National Guard participated as well as six of our local industry partners – AirWolf 3D, RED Camera, One Zero Digital Media, MatterHackers, Paton Group and the Urban Workshop. There were interactive exhibits, videos and career information, and SVUSD and ROP career pathway flyers. The excitement was felt by all and the information gleaned was immense.

Rancho Santa Margarita Intermediate Video Students Visit Warner Bros. Studios RSM Intermediate School Video/Film teacher, Paul Treibel was provided an exceptional opportunity to visit the Warner Brothers Studios in Los Angeles on November 2 nd , 2017. The 31 students from 7 th and 8 th grade thought this unique behind the scenes tour was a fantastic experience. They especially enjoyed viewing the superhero costumes. These students, who may choose careers in the video/TV industry, toured the back lots, and observed the design and construction areas. There were demonstrations of the green screen and other elements of making movies. Students were also provided film history since Warner Brothers has been around since 1925.  Now the video programs at Trabuco Hills High School and Laguna Hills High School will follow suit and visit Warner Brothers in February.

RSM and Serrano STEM Students Visit NHRA Every year the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) YES program invites students to the Pomona Raceway. The Youth & Education Services Program (YES) is a free program that focuses on career exploration and the importance of establishing goals and continued education. The Career Opportunities Fair (COF) is another free program that provides students the chance to learn about career options in the motorsports/automotive industry in addition to the U.S. Army. Students are able to visit displays of local colleges, tech programs, businesses, and vendors. These two programs show students how S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) is applied to real world situations. This year, Darin Petzold escorted 35 Serrano Intermediate STEAM Academy students and Mark Bantle took 50 RSM Intermediate STEM students on this trip. The experience was worthwhile and engaging!

ESports League Boosts STEM Skills The  Orange County High School Esports League , launching in January, is aimed at connecting students’ interest in video games with the rapidly growing industry (over $100 billion in 2017). The Esports program is a collaboration funded by the  Samueli Foundation  in partnership with OCDE, Orange County STEM Initiative, Connected Camps, UCI Connected Learning Lab, UCI Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences, UCI Esports, UCI Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Alvarez & Marsal. The basis of the competition is League of Legends which is a team-oriented strategy game set in mystical forests where competitors select avatars with unique fighting skills. Gerald Solomon, the Samueli Foundation’s executive director, holds the vision that the Orange County High School Esports League will emerge as a STEM learning and enrichment program. Each team consists of 6 members. Team members must have a minimum GPA of 2.0 and meet other requirements. Prizes will be awarded to the top teams, with the semifinals and finals taking place on April 29, 2018. Although there will be tournament play and awards for top performers, the ultimate goal is to promote teamwork, problem-solving and communication while nurturing student interest in STEM. A team of UC Irvine researchers  will evaluate the inaugural Esports League to determine program strengths and weaknesses as well as its educational and teamwork benefits for participating students. At El Toro High School, Digital Media Arts teacher, Maria Nadal and Computer Science/Math teacher, Nicole Muilenburg are each leading a team of students in this new event.

First Entry in JPL Invention Challenge Blaise Miranda, Engineering and Architecture teacher at Mission Viejo High School, led a team of engineering students who entered the JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratories) Invention Challenge at Chapman University on November 18, 2017. The JPL Invention Challenge is an annual event designed to pit student teams against each other with the objective being to design and create a contraption to accomplish a given objective. Team building, brainstorming, designing, 3D printing and prototyping skills were employed. The “Mission Complete” team of MVHS Engineering students officially ranked 11th of 28 teams in the region that includes Orange County, the Inland Empire and San Diego. The MVHS team placed 33rd of 84 teams overall from all of Southern California. This is the first of four competitions for the year. The MVHS team consisted of the following students: Carter Brown (team leader), Jackie Escobeda, Jeffrey Rinehart, Alex Johnston, Jacob Parra and Daniel Pettinger. The winning teams compete at the finals which will be held at JPL next month. The Mission Viejo High School students found this a valuable learning experience. They reflected that they would have changed a few things, but said they had a great time and are very glad to have had this experience.

Two SVUSD Programs Exhibit at OC Pathways Showcase The OC Pathways Showcase attended by over 400 educators, businesses and community organizations was held on November 29 at the Marconi Automotive Museum in Tustin. The event highlighted collaborative efforts by educators and industry leaders to establish career pathways in STEM. Dozens of student-led exhibits were on display including a 6-foot-tall robot, a giant drone, a flight simulator, and a miniature communications satellite.  Featured speakers at this event were Gwynne Shotwell, President and Chief Operating Officer of SpaceX, and Tim Buzza, Vice President of launch Virgin Orbit. Led by OCDE and Saddleback College, the OC Pathways Initiative was initially funded through a state grant in 2014. The program blends rigorous academics with career preparation in the STEM-related industry sectors of engineering/advanced manufacturing, healthcare/biotechnology, and information and communications technology/digital media. Doug Ford’s El Toro High School engineering program showcased some amazing designs that were 3D printed. Darin Petzold’s Trabuco Hills High School Manufacturing Engineering Technology program displayed the newly acquired Haas Simulator.

Hour of Code is Pervasive Throughout SVUSD The Hour of Code started as a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify "code", to show that anybody can learn the basics, and to broaden participation in the field of computer science. It has since become a worldwide effort to celebrate computer science, starting with 1-hour coding activities but expanding to various community efforts. This grassroots campaign is supported by over 400 partners and 200,000 educators in over 180 countries. Approximately 500 million students have been served with the one hour tutorial available in 45 languages. This effort is based on the premise that every student should have the opportunity to learn computer science. It helps nurture problem-solving skills, logic and creativity. By starting early, students will have a foundation for success in any 21st-century career path. There is also a focus on encouraging females to become involved since they represent only 20% of high school and college computer science class students. Students from elementary school through high school participated in the fifth annual Hour of Code through Code.org during Computer Science week December 4 – 10. Here are some of the CTE teachers who participated: Los Alisos – Dan Moreno; La Paz – Joella Russert; Serrano – Darin Petzold, Brian McElfish; ETHS – Maria Nadal, Joyanne Goodfellow, Nicole Muilenburg; LHHS – Lizzy Quinanola; THHS – Tracy Fanelli, Navaz Kerawalla. When combined, these teachers had over 1,000 students participate in Hour of Code.

12 Hour Hackathon Held at Laguna Hills High School About 150 students participated in a 12-hour hackathon at Laguna Hills High School in Laguna Hills on Saturday, Dec 2, 2017. Freshman Joshua Martinez, a member of the Computer Science Club at Laguna Hills High School, organized the event that featured topics including 3D design & printing, Building a PC, Coding in Scratch & Python, App Development, Collaborative Tools Used in the Tech Industry and Web Design, all taught by high school students passionate about computers and coding. The LHHS event was organized in conjunction with Local Hack Day, launched four years ago by Major League Hacking, a New York company that hosts competitive hacking events throughout the year. On Dec. 2, more than 275 communities around the world were slated to host 12-hour hackathons, bringing developers and designers together to learn and create. Students of all ages and from schools throughout Orange County attended the LHHS event.

SVUSD Female Students Applying to Attend ChickTech Camps

ChickTech is a national organization dedicated to helping women thrive in the technology workforce and increasing the number of girls pursuing technology-based careers. This organization started several years ago and has grown to nearly 20 chapters nationwide. An Orange County chapter recently formed and has created a flagship program for high school girls to learn more about technology and the local tech community. The upcoming conference is a fun, positive learning experience designed to build participants’ confidence, give them strong female role models, create connections with other young women from Orange County and create a positive association with the technology field. The 2-day event on March 3 rd – 4 th will take place at Listo America in Tustin.  SVUSD students were nominated by their high school engineering and computer science teachers.

Careers in Education Student Wins Scholarship

A great partnership has been created between Cal State University, Fullerton, Teach to Lead: Cultivating Teacher Leaders, SVUSD and Coastline ROP. Students in Debbie Osborne’s Careers in Education class had the opportunity to participate in a Cultivating Teacher Leaders grant. Denise Bradford, SVEA President, is a committee member of Teach to Lead: Cultivating Teacher Leaders and connected students to this worthwhile organization. The purpose of Cultivating Teacher Leaders is to mitigate the teacher shortage and diversify the teacher profession in California. Part of the grant awards students a $500 scholarship for their participation in 30 hours of tutoring and teaching activities. Ryen Higgins a junior from El Toro High School received a $500 scholarship for her fieldwork hours and was recognized at a scholarship banquet held on December 12 th . Additionally, through the grant, Aimee Nelson, the Director of Center for Careers in Teaching from Cal State University, Fullerton presented to the class on December 5 th . She spoke about the various careers in teaching and the application process for Cal State Fullerton’s teaching program. Each student received a CSUF t-shirt. It is anticipated that more students will be participating in the tutoring and teaching fieldwork and will be eligible to receive scholarships during the spring.

CTE Classes Preparing for Industry Certifications

A key benefit of taking a CTE class is preparing for both post-secondary education AND a career. Industry representatives inform us that they highly value industry certifications for both high school and community college students. Here are the certifications that SVUSD students are able to achieve: SolidWorks Certification: a solid modeling computer-aided design computer program. Given to students in engineering drafting classes Snap-On Tools Certification: The Snap-On Certification program is an overarching platform of certification courses incorporated into curriculum to provide industry supported education on tool use and theory. Given to students at the LHHS automotive program ServSafe Certification: ServSafe is a food and beverage safety training and certificate program administered by the National Restaurant Association. Sanitation certification is required by most restaurants as a basic credential for staff. Given to students who take foods and culinary arts classes at LHHS Adobe Certification: includes the following programs: Photoshop, Premier, Illustrator, DreamWeaver, InDesign, Animate for classes that teach graphics, animation, multimedia design, video production and photography. Given to students in Arts, Media, Entertainment classes at the four comprehensive high schools.