Crawford High Celebrates Diversity & Kindness

On Monday, October 30th students reconfirmed their commitment to celebrating diversity and upholding kindness in their school by signing the Crawford Peace Banner during lunch.

Student leaders created the banner which emphasized such tenants such as: promoting harmony and respect, speaking up for others, and being the leaders of tomorrow.  Go Crawford!

Student Equity Ambassadors Participate, and Help Lead, This Year’s First Student Equity Coalition

The 2017-18 Student Equity Ambassadors joined community members and partners, families, district and school site staff at Mira Mesa High School to discuss and address ways to improve the connection, involvement, and inclusion of all students.  Johnny Nguyen from Madison High School and Maya Salameh from San Diego High School helped host the event alongside the Program Manager from the Family and Community Engagement (FACE) Department.  The Student Equity Ambassadors also served on a student panel and lead discussions at collaborative tables.  Please join us for the next Student Equity Coalition on Wednesday, January 17, 2018 from 5-6:30pm at Scripps Ranch High School.

Garfield High's 20th Annual Thanksgiving Gourmet Luncheon

Garfield Principal Jolie Picket
and Lesley Cohn

On November 16th, Garfield High School held it’s 20th Annual Thanksgiving Gourmet Luncheon at The Prado in Balboa Park.  The lunch was prepared by the Garfield HS Culinary Arts student and the Prado chefs & banquet staff and served to over 360 attendees.  The event was generously sponsored by the Cohn Restaurant Group with the proceeds going to support programs at Garfield High.  Over the past twenty years the luncheon has raised more than $500,000.   The program was hosted by student speakers Santiago Sepulveda, Liliana Romero and Jordan Taylor. 

Check out the 10News Report of the Event

 

Gates Grant Provides Funds for Middle School Math Teachers

The San Diego Math Network, funded by a generous donation from the Gates Foundation, provided funding for sixth grade math teachers from across the district to participate in planning a ratios, rates and percents unit led by Math Transformations.  The teachers worked together and deepened their knowledge of best strategies for helping students make sense of ratios using cuisenaire rods. Cuisenaire rods are a manipulative used in math classes to help students visual and understand math concepts. The teachers in this group enjoyed expanding their skills and working together to develop a well-balanced, engaging unit around ratios, rates, and percents that they can't wait to teach!

  

How to be a Successful Student

Success. You define success. Success depends on what you expect for yourself.

Do you give your best? Do you try to improve?

Follow these suggestions to develop habits of success:

• Eat, exercise and sleep properly
• Build confidence and self-esteem
• Visualize your direction, goals and daily plans
• Use courage to take risks and to change
• Accept responsibility for all that you do
• Learn from past failures
• Ask questions and listen to others
• Learn how to Learn - fine tune your ability to organize information, improve memory, read and take notes, concentrate while studying, solve problems and take exams.

Applying for Financial Aid for college

In order to receive financial aid, you must apply!

Many students do not apply because they believe they may not qualify. Students do not have to come from a low-income family to qualify, but they do have to meet Federal eligibility requirements for need as determined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). "Eligibility" for need is determined by the difference between what it costs to attend a particular college or school, and what you and your family are expected to pay toward those costs.                                                                                                                                     

Determine:  Cost of College Attendance (tuition, fees, books and supplies, room and board, transportation,  personal expenses)

Subtract:  Expected Family Contribution (EFC) (amount you and your family are expected to pay -- determined by the FAFSA)

Equals: Your Federal Eligibility or Need (for financial aid: loans, grants, etc.)    

For example:

Cost of College Attendance  -    EFC         = Financial aid package

(UCSD) $30,000                      -    $3,000      =  $27,000       

                                                                                                             

Colleges may offer students various types of financial aid (grants, scholarships, work study and educational loans) based on a student's Federal eligibility. Colleges may use different criteria for their scholarships and grants.  Although the cost of attendance is different at each college or institution, a student’s expected family contribution stays the same.   

The amount and/or type of financial aid available to a student will vary depending on the college. Do not wait until you have been accepted  or admitted to a college to apply for financial aid.

Read instructions carefully, provide accurate information, and meet all appropriate deadlines.

Note: Attend a FREE financial aid workshop offered by Cal-SOAP at various high school locations (see Cash for College flyer for location, date, and time) .

How to apply for financial aid

When applying for financial aid, seniors and their parents need to follow these five steps:

1. Request financial aid information and deadline dates from each college of interest.

2. Visit: www.fafsa.ed.gov. Get a FSAID for student and parent.  This is the electronic signature needed for the application

3.  Complete and submit the FAFSA 2018-2019 application online by the deadline of March 2, 2018.  (Private colleges also request student to submit a CSS/PROFILE (https://cssprofile.collegeboard.org/) along with FAFSA

                                                           

4. Create and  monitor  your Cal Grant award status at www.WebGrants4Students.org

5.  Get help with the FAFSA at a Cal-SOAP Cash for College event (see flyer for location, date, and time)

Think College!

San Diego Unified Teachers Featured on The Today Show!

NBC's Today Show Kicked off Toast the Teachers, a new series honoring some of America’s most inspiring educators.   TODAY’s Sheinelle Jones joins Kathie Lee and Hoda to spotlight two dedicated San Diego Unified teachers who decided to bring CPR into the classroom – little knowing that it would forever change the lives of a 9-year-old student and his family.

Congratulations to our National LifeChangers:

·  Lynn Barnes-Wallace, SDUSD Physical Education Resource Teacher

·  Dedra Patterson, SDUSD Physical Education Teacher, Green Elementary

https://www.today.com/video/meet-the-dedicated-schoolteachers-whose-cpr-lessons-saved-a-life-1095631427660

CYT Sponsored Trip to Operation School Bell

On Tuesday, November 14th twenty-seven students ranging from TK (Transitional Kindergarten) to sixth grade rode a school bus from Perkins K8 to Operation School Bell located at 108 University Avenue across the street from Florence Elementary. The students from Perkins received clothing, school supplies, and a new book of their choice. The students felt special as they had one on one attention from the volunteers helping them find the right fit for the items of clothing. The event was sponsored by the Office of Children and Youth in Transition that works closely with the Assistance League of Greater San Diego to ensure students have new clothing to attend school. This is one of four schools that will participate in this event for the 2017-18 school year.

Transfer Pathways: Your Roadmap to UC’s Most Popular Majors

Know the major you want but not the UC campus? UC’s new Transfer Pathways will help you prepare while keeping your options open.

If you're starting out at a California community college and know which major you want to study but haven't decided which UC campuses to apply to, there is a simple way to keep your options open as you prepare for your major.

Follow one of their new Transfer Pathways, a single set of courses you can take to prepare for your major on any of their nine undergraduate campuses.


http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/transfer/preparation-paths/index.html

Serra Students' Work Featured at the Museum of Photographic Arts

In the Spring of 2017 Serra High Students from Michael Pedersen’s photography class entered a photo contest for the Museum of Photographic Arts. The contest was open to K-12 students in Tijuana and San Diego county. Four students were selected by a panel of photographers and the curator of the museum to exhibit their photographic art in the Museum from November to February. Not only did they select our students to exhibit but one of student’s work is used as the main image for the entire exhibition on the MOPA website and on the large signs around Balboa park promoting the exhibit.  The students loved attending the exclusive opening night with their families.