APRIL 2012 SWEETWATER CURRENTS 1

SWEETWATER C U R R E N T S

A SWEETWATER UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT PUBLICATION APRIL 2012

Principals Honored

Mary Rose Peralta, GJH & Jose Brosz, ORH

Little Shop of Horrors on StageMontgomery High Masquerade Players will perform

Youth & FamilyForum on Dangers of Underage Drinking

PLUS! SUPERINTENDENT’S COLUMN - TURN TO P12

SAN DIEGO PADRES TEACHER NIGHT

May 12, 2012

KUDOSRuss Sperling

Director of Visual & Performing Arts

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S W E E T W A T E R C U R R E N T S A P R I L 2 0 1 2

CONTENTS

08 NEW LIBRARY OPENINGSaturday, April 14 from 12pm to 3pm

FEATURES KUDOS

10 VOLLEYBALL SUMMER CAMPSJuly 9th through the 21st

06 MONTH OF APRILNational Poetry Month

04 SAN DIEGO PADRES TEACHER APPRECIATION NIGHTFriday, May 12, 2012

09 LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS ON STAGEApril 18th through the 21st

12 SUPERINTENDENT’S COLUMNThe Relentless Pursuit of Excellence

03 ALICE NGUYENSouthwest High School Student

06 LOREN PRECIADOHilltop High School Student

10 EDDIE & JOEY BRIKHODonated $1,250 to Sweetwater High School

07 RUSS SPERLINGDirector of Visual and Performing Arts

Produced by:Grants & Communications

10 SHEILA KROTZSan Ysidro High School Teacher

Board of TrusteesJim Cartmill • Bertha J, López • John McCann • Pearl Quiñones • Arlie N. Ricasa

Dr. Edward M. Brand Superintendent

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Prom Dress GiveawaysThe Princess Project, a local volunteer-run nonprofit agency, gives away free prom dresses and accessories to high school teens. They will be having a giveaway event from April 18-28 at Horton Plaza. A valid school ID is required.

Girls can sign up for an appointment online at www.mysignup.com/freedress

CDE Opportunities for Math Educators

The California Department of

Education is asking for the participation of

educators to serve on the Curriculum

Framework and Evaluation Criteria

Committee (CFCC) to assist with the revision of

the Mathematics Framework for

California Public Schools: Kindergarten

through 12th Grade.

The committee will meet up to six times

from September 2012 to February 2013.

For more information go to www.cde.ca.gov/ci/ma/cf - the deadline for

applications is April 18, 2012.

KUDOS!ALICE NGUYENCongratulations to student Alice Nguyen and Southwest High School for a successful blood drive for the American Red Cross in March. Nearly 160 students donated 114 pints of blood.

To date SOH has collected 295 pints of blood and is 55 pints away from receiving a $1,000 scholarship for one lucky student. Their next blood drive will be on May 15, 2012.

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San Diego Padres Teacher Appreciation NightOn Friday, May 4, 2012, the San Diego County Office of Education and the San Diego Padres will host the 11th Annual Teacher Appreciation Night at Petco Park when the Padres take on the Miami Marlins.

The Teachers of the Year from each district in San Diego County will be honored in the pregame ceremonies.

Discounted tickets are available at www.padres.com/promo. The promo code is “TEACHER” and each ticket purchased will include a commemorative Teacher Night keychain/lanyard.

Free Citizenship AssistanceThe San Diego Naturalization Collaborative, in association with Southwestern College, will be hosting a free event to assist with U.S. citizenship applications. The event will be held on Saturday, April 21 from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM.

For more information about the event and a list of required documents and information to bring go to www.youareamerica.org or call (760) 239-7959

Youth and Family Forum on Dangers of Underage

Drinking

The South Bay Community Change Project will be hosting public forum on the dangers of teen and underage drinking on Wednesday, April 18, 2012 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Hilltop Middle School. A light dinner will be provided.

Topics will include ways to have safe quinceañeras, graduations and information about social hosting laws. For more information call (619) 476-9100.

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National City Middle Wins National Urban Education

AwardNational City Middle has been named among four middle schools in the U.S. as a winner of the Excellence in Urban Education Award presented by the National Center for Urban School Transformation (NCUST).

After an extensive site visit, National City Middle was cited as having a strong step-by-step strategy to improve curriculum and instruction. They were also recognized for doubling the number of students that score "proficient" or above on CSTs over the past five years.

To be considered for an NCUST Excellence in Urban Education Award schools must meet very rigorous selection criteria that includes higher than average test scores, high daily attendance rates, low numbers of suspension and expulsions and a low-income student population.

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2-6Spring Recess

8-14School

Librarian Week

16Board Meeting

22Earth Day

25Administrative Professionals’

Day

APRIL 2012 National Poetry Month

1 April Fool’s Day

KUDOS!LOREN PRECIADO

Hilltop High School student Loren Preciado was named the SD FIRST Dean’s List Finalist at the recent First Robotics competition. She was recognized as the most outstanding robotics student in San Diego County. She will be competing against other students in St. Louis, MO this month.

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Principals HonoredMary Rose Peralta & Jose Brosz

You are invited to come and support principals Mary Rose Peralta, GJH, and Jose Brosz, ORH, as they receive their ACSA Administrator of the Year Awards at the at the 2012 “Honoring Our Own” Awards Dinner.

The celebration takes place on April 20 from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina, 1380 Harbor Island Drive, San Diego, 92101.

The cost is $65.00 per person. In case of questions, contact Kimberly Roberts (858) 292.3846. You can register online the San Diego County Office of Education Events Calendar.

KUDOS!RUSS SPERLINGCongratulations to Russ Sperling of the Visual and Performing Arts Department. He was recently appointed by State Superintendent Tom Torlakson to the Core Reforms Engaging Arts To Educate (CREATE) Arts Education Task Force. The task force will draft a set of recommendations about arts education that will be included in a future publication entitled, A Blueprint for Creative Schools.

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New Library OpeningYou are invited to the grand opening of the Otay Ranch branch library on

Saturday, April 14 from 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM at the Otay Ranch Town

Center Food Pavilion.

The event is free and open to the public and will feature music, games,

prizes, refreshments and tours of the new library. For more information go

to www.chulavistalibrary.com

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On Stage

Little Shop of HorrorsThe Montgomery High Masquerade Players will be performing the timeless musical comedy,

Little Shop of Horrors, April 18th through the 21st at 7 p.m. in the Montgomery High Masquerade Theatre. Tickets are $5 for students and $8 for

adults.

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July 9th - 21st

Volleyball Summer CampsThe 212 Volleyball Academy will be putting on volleyball clinics July 9th – 21st for youth ages 10-18 sponsored by the Gonzales Sports Academy. The academy will offer physical training, college consulting and provide volleyball knowledge to each player. For more information and for Summer Camp Registration go to www.212vba.com.

KUDOS!SHEILA KROTZ

Congratulations to Sheila Krotz, teacher at San Ysidro High School, for winning the NIH award. Her lab design will be published in the magazine.

KUDOS! EDDIE & JOEY BRIKHOThank you to Eddie and Joey Brikho who own the Mobil Gas Station across the street from SUH. They donated $1,250 to the school in order to buy breakfast for the 10th graders before their CAHSEE.

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KUDOS!OHS DecathlonCongratulations to

Olympian High School’s Decathlon team for setting several records at the California State

competition The Eagles scored 48,122.5 points, the highest total ever recorded by a San Diego

County team and finished fourth overall out of 65 participating teams, the highest placement for a

San Diego County team in state competition history. 

The 15 medals earned by Olympian were also the

most by a San Diego County team in Division I.

Kristine Tolentino - 2 Medals (Silver - Music; Bronze - Art)

Kyle Doria - 4 Medals (Gold - Art; Silver -

Economics, Literature; Bronze - Interview)

Ben Mendler - 4 Medals (Gold - Literature, Science; Bronze - Math, Music)

Andrew Valenciano - 5 Medals (Gold - Essay, Music; Silver - Art; Bronze -

Economics, Science)

Andrew Valenciano's total of 8,845 points was the highest score in the Scholastic Division of any team member; he was the

top decathlete in the Scholastic Division in the entire state of California and the first San Diego County Decathlete to earn the Coaches' Scholarship Award.

The decathletes did an amazing job since just last year we were Division 3 and our first time to be in Division 1!  What an incredible finish to another marvelous season for

Olympian's Academic Decathlon team! Thank you for your support!

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Superintendent | Dr. Edward M. Brand

S U P E R I N T E N D E N T ’ S C O L U M N

THE RELENTLESS PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE

In the Sweetwater District, creating a culture of student success is Job One.

We want our students to flourish and prosper in our competitive global society. Looking around it is plain to see that competition is not just local or regional but global.

That’s why, at every level, we must be focused on a relentless pursuit of excellence.

As we return from Spring Break, testing season is upon us. It’s the perfect opportunity for us to help our students regain their focus on school by reviewing the standards with them and preparing them to do their best.

Already, at every school and in every classroom, our teachers, staff and administrators are doing a great job of serving our students each day.

But just the way that learning never stops, we want to strive for continuous improvement at every level so that we are always focused on results.

As a district, we will be turning our attention from activities to outcomes. In the same way that economists use performance indicators to measure economic growth, the district is adopting a series of performance indicators to measure how we’re doing in our pursuit of excellence.

Across the district, in every department, we must turn our attention from activities to outcomes.

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Among the indicators we will review to determine whether we are making progress are: End-of-Course Exam data; the percentage of students completing A-G Requirements; Grades; Academic Performance Index; Adequate Yearly Progress; Student Attendance Rate; CAHSEE pass and proficiency rates; Eighth-grade promotion rates; CELDT data; Non-completion Rates: Graduation Rates and CST scores. In addition, baseline standards for measuring effective leadership of principals will be defined.

Instruction at Sweetwater Schools is designed to help students scale the ladder to success by helping them achieve proficiency and more as they transition from middle to high school and on to a career or college.

Much in the way our teachers are using data to drive instruction and intervention plans for students, these performance indicators will serve to guide improvement of our work practices to ensure that we are doing our best for our students.

As a district, we will emphasize the relentless pursuit of excellence on every

campus, in every classroom and in every new initiative.

As we approach the finish line of another school year, let’s continue our relentless pursuit of excellence by focusing on our main mission as educators: to create a culture of student success that will prepare every child for a successful future.