Benchmark

The Lincoln Cluster Literacy Coach (Sonja Badu-Thompson) continues to collaborate with the 6th grade Academic Language Development (ALD) teachers at Knox to support English Language Learners using the Benchmark Advance curriculum. Mrs. Badu- Thompson spent the day participating in a Benchmark training at Horton Elementary. Speaking and writing were the ALD domains of focus throughout the training. Benchmark trainers supported each grade level of teachers as they planned a lesson to be taught and observed by the workshop participants. Finally, the day ended with a debrief where teachers discussed what they observed during the team taught lesson and evaluated students’ responses with the Benchmark trainers to decide next steps. Participants left with a greater understanding of how to utilize the vast Benchmark curriculum to increase students’ literacy skills.

Kearny BST GIS Students Tour San Diego Supercomputer Facility

On Wednesday December 11th, students in the Information Support and Services Pathway at Kearny High School Biomedical Sciences and Technology (BST) toured the San Diego Super Computer facility at UCSD. Students got an in depth look at the inner workings of “Gordon” the current supercomputer. 

Gordon is currently one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world. Scientists from many disciplines including the medical field and astronomy utilize Gordon to analyze data to make life changing advancements. Art historians even use the supercomputer to analyze century old paintings to figure who truly painted the work of art. 

BST students were able to go into the supercomputer room and see how much heat the computer produces (120 degrees in some areas!) and the innovative ways that the facility designers cool the area to keep the machine running efficiently. 

Data science is a fast growing field that is projected to grow as demand for skilled professionals increases. Students were inspired by the tour and the possibilities of starting a path to a rewarding career in data science.

Ericson Students Experience Opera

On Saturday morning, December 7, 92 students in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades from Ericson Elementary traveled across their neighborhood to the Regal Edwards Mira Mesa movie theater. Once there, the students encountered opera – many of them for the first time – through “The Met: Live in HD." 

In the “Live in HD” series, the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts a live performance to movie theaters around the world. Operas are subtitled, and feature interviews and special events during the intermission. Viewers also receive close-up angles of the performance unlike those experienced by live theatergoers. For live productions, a Saturday matinee in New York translates to a 10am performance time in San Diego. 

“The Magic Flute” is a German opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, premiered in 1791. This fairy tale opera, full of fantasy and adventure, is considered one of the most accessible for children. The opera features memorable characters and numbers, including the Queen of the Night’s coloratura soprano aria and the lovebird duet between Papageno and Papagena. The production of “The Magic Flute” viewed by Ericson students was a Met Opera encore: a re-broadcast of the abridged English-language production from 2006. 

Ericson Elementary prep-time music teacher Andrew Bearden was pleased to bring his extensive knowledge of opera to his students. All 734 students at the school learned about opera in a month-long unit of study leading up to the “The Met: Live in HD” experience. 

Tickets to this event were provided free of charge through a partnership between the Metropolitan Opera and the SDUSD VAPA Department. Participating schools also receive teacher training, educator guides, and digital resources.

Originally published in VAPA's Newsletter.

Mission Bay Featured in San Diego Jazz Fest and Swing Extravaganza

The San Diego Jazz Fest & Swing Extravaganza, held November 27-December 1, features more than two-dozen bands and solo artists each year. The award-winning Mission Bay High School Preservationists and Swing Choir have the distinction of being the youngest performers in this annual local event.

This year is the 40th anniversary of the San Diego festival, which is presented by the America’s Finest City Dixieland Jazz Society. The jazz band at Mission Bay has been performing at this festival for over three decades. More than 20 years ago, JP Balmat made his debut in the same festival, playing with Mission Bay High School. He is now the music teacher at his alma mater, and directs the MBHS ensembles. 

During the festival, both MBHS ensembles performed for packed crowds. A festival favorite, professional clarinetist Dave Bennett, joined the Preservationists for their last show. This performance was standing room only and was followed by a gracious standing ovation from concertgoers. 

The Preservationists are known throughout the country as one of the finest youth traditional jazz bands. In April of 2020 they will be taking their music to New Orleans to perform and study with local musicians and bands including the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. To raise funds for this trip, the Preservationists will be putting on a fundraising concert on January 15th at the Pacific Beach Woman’s Club. More information and tickets please visit www.missionbaymusic.com.

Originally published in the VAPA Newsletter.

ALD (Academic Language Development) Culture and Communication Class

San Diego Unified School District teachers are taking on new learning to increase student engagement and learning with the integration of technology. As the Academic Language Development Culture and Communication Class is rolled out to high schools and middle schools in Canvas LMS, teachers all over the district are embarking on innovation. Teachers are pushing out assignments via Canvas, a platform that allows students to respond to videos they watch and teachers to give students immediate feedback on their formative assessments. It also provides students with many opportunities to have partner talks, table discussions, and many other activities that require students to speak and listen to others. This class is designed to be fun and interesting with lots of opportunities for students to reach their language acquisition goals.

Learning from Weeds!

According to the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA), "observation is the cornerstone of the inquiry process. It begins an investigation and continues throughout it. When making observations, young children are learning to gather evidence, organize their ideas, and propose explanations about the world around them. By challenging young children to use their five senses to make detailed observations, teachers are encouraging students to collect and organize information about natural phenomena that they naturally find compelling." 

The first graders at Carson Elementary STEAM Magnet have been studying plant life as part of their exploration of science. They have been asked to use their observational skills to examine the parts of a plant. They are observing the roots of weeds, sketching the root structures they observe, measuring the weed, and recording whether it took a one, two, or three level of strength to pull the weed.


As they observe they engage in the inquiry process. Ideas and questions around their research begin to bubble up and spark critical thinking. The goal of our STEAM experiences is to promote learning that is hands-on and honors each student's line of thinking!

The Arts Makes Learning Come Alive!

At San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts, students know that learning is more fun when arts are involved! In Mr. Blas’ history class, students demonstrated their understanding through song. One trio put their lyrics to the tune of “Helpless” from the musical Hamilton, complete with a rap about the Roman Empire. In Ms. Curiel’s modern dance class, students learned the history of famous choreographers and immediately demonstrated their techniques through movement. She highlighted how dedicated her students were to keeping the proper form while learning new moves. In Ms. Persons’ English class, 11th graders grappled with the idea of using the BEST evidence rather than just any evidence. Students are constantly revising their skills in content area classes as well as in their arts classes. Impressive work SDSCPA!

SCPA CTE Students Behind the Scenes

SCPA students in Bridget Person’s CCTE UCCI: Literature, the Arts, and Civic Action attended a performance of Ripples from Walden: An Evening with Henry David Thoreau. This experience was part of their study of the ways an individual’s story can reveal the larger social, political, and cultural issues, and the way texts and performances can influence change within an individual and society. 

Before attending the performance, students read and analyzed the script to gain a better understanding and background information. After the performance students were delighted to have the opportunity to talk with director, Veronica Murphy, and actor, Steve Smith. In this conversation they discussed development of the script, and performance decisions that enhanced
audience understanding of the impact of Thoreau’s life and his speeches. This sparked deep and engaging conversation around Thoreau's “On Civil Disobedience” piece. We are thankful to Write Out Loud San Diego for sponsoring the performance.

Making a Meaningful Impact in our Community Through STEAM

We have a lot to be thankful for as we reflect on the year so far! Our STEAM community has grown to 44 elementary schools this year and support for our programs has been resounding from our teachers and our leadership. Last month at the San Diego Unified State of the District address at Lincoln High School, the student work showcase illuminated the power of students making a meaningful impact on their communities.

Fletcher Elementary students in Kindergarten and First Grade were represented by their teacher, Ms.Yamashita and Principal Camacho-McGrath. They shared artifacts of their students’ STEAM projects on Human Impact, Animal Ambassadors and The Power of Plants. Students wrote letters to the Governor sharing the effects of climate change and human impact, created posters and PSA storyboards sharing the problems in the environment and how to solve them, and created healthy eating awareness at their school after learning about The Power of Plants.

Students at Hoover High School also shared messages about their school’s human impact and how they wanted to increase the use of reusable water bottles and install a hydration station at their school to fill reusable water bottle. Using data from students about their human impact and single-use plastics, students used their findings to help gain funding to support the hydration station project. Our first grade students in STEAM are embarking on a similar project where they will be learning about their relationship with nature in their ONE with Nature project. Students will be sharing their ideas for how to solve the plastic pollution problems at their schools by making a PSA and creating an awareness campaign around what we can do to help.

The STEAM team at the Office of School Innovation hopes to provide San Diego Unified students with meaningful experiences that are relevant to their lives through STEAM projects. Being able to share this meaningful work with the community and have the recognition of our Superintendent, Cindy Marten, and State Superintendent, Tony Thurmond, at the State of the District was a real highlight.


We are committed to empowering our students to enact change in their local and global communities and invite our community of parents and community partners to help connect our students’ classroom experiences to their world outside of school. If you have a project idea or want to learn more about how to engage our youngest students through STEAM, please contact Michael Goodbody, STEAM Innovation Manager at mgoodbody@sandi.net.

Students from Bell Middle School participate in Bright Camp with Webroot

As you know, San Diego is a hub for modern technology careers of the future. Webroot is a cyber security company known for its cloud based cyber security protection, which helps stop and secure threats in real time.

Webroot is also a valued partner of San Diego Unified and they recently hosted Bell Middle School students for BrightCamp. BrightCamp is designed to provide students with an opportunity to learn about engineering, computer programming, and coding through a hands-on experience.

With the guidance of software engineers, the students learned to code and program an Arduino UNO board and complete a special group project. The students also met with the engineers to learn about their diverse backgrounds and the different careers that are available within the field.

BrightCamp opens the world of coding and exposes students to what might be possible in the future if they follow their passions!

Congrats to our New Google Certified Educators

Congratulations to all our new SDUSD Google Certified Educators! The Instructional Technology Department along with the PBL Resource Teacher offered a workshop to prepare the teachers to take the test, and our passing rate was phenomenal. Google offers the Google Certified Educator Level 1, Google Certified Educators Level 2, Certified Trainer, Certified Innovator and G-Suite Certified. Many teachers, principals, classified staff from different departments came and took the test and passed.

Changemaker Challenge

Montgomery Middle STEAM Magnet students are focused on “Designing a Better World Through Community-Centered, Project Based Learning.” The 8th grade students will collaborate in small groups on a year-long project with our University of San Diego (USD) partner around the “Changemaker HUB Challenge” of homelessness, displacement, and migration which are social issues affecting our world and community. The students will use the Design Thinking Process beginning with the project launch on 12/9/19, on the campus of USD, to produce culminating work that will be showcased in June at the Exhibition of Student Learning.

DMD 9th Grade Project Launch-The Water Conservation Garden

On Thursday, December 5th, the 9th grade class at Kearny Digital Media and Design kicked off their year long project dedicated to promoting sustainability. The day began with a presentation by Emily Usaha from Strategic Energy Innovations (SEI). Teams of 9th grade students will produce multimedia products for SEI to promote innovative sustainability practices. After the presentation, the entire 9th grade class took a trip to the Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca College. There, students engaged in a scavenger hunt where they found examples of sustainable plants. Students also saw sustainability in action like innovative irrigation techniques and various species of low maintenance plant-life that are efficient and beautiful. The students also had a chance to design their own sustainable gardens using the techniques that they learned throughout the day. At the end of the day students felt more prepared to engage with their client and produce a great product to promote sustainability!

Building Community Through Orientation: Hoover HS AoIT Academy

Community is the key! Bringing the community into a shared space to learn about upcoming events and projects is an annual tradition for AoIT Academy at Hoover High School. The orientation kicked off with a video of former academy students sharing their positive experiences in Hoover AoIT. Following the video a few former students shared how Hoover AoIT was the bridge to what they are currently doing in college or career. Community partners were up next. Two opportunities presented were joining The League of Amazing Programers and applying to work in the cafe at the local YMCA. The interdisciplinary projects were introduced and community partners / clients discussed what they were hoping would result from the students efforts. In the end, the message was clear! Hoover’s AoIT Academy is a community where students are informed, supported, and part of a family!

Dailard Singers Double-Featured in Balboa Park

November 30 was a big day for the second-grade singers at Dailard Elementary School. Every year, they perform at the annual Christmas on the Prado in Balboa Park, but this year they also had a second performance across the Park. 

Christmas in the Prado is an annual event held on the weekend before the City of San Diego’s very busy December Nights, also in Balboa Park. A charity event to benefit San Diego's Toys for Tots, Christmas on the Prado is organized by the San Diego Children's Coalition, San Diego Community Christmas Center, San Diego Arts Foundation, Spreckels Organ Society, and various International Houses. 

The celebration includes a costume contest, a toy drive, photos with Santa, kids’ crafts, booths, and nearly seven hours of choral, vocal, and instrumental music on the main stage, plus additional performances near the International Cottages. The Dailard students kept their traditional spot as the opening performing group for Christmas in the Prado, taking the stage of the Spreckels Organ Pavilion at 1pm and performing a 30-minute set, dressed in festive elf costumes. 

But this year, the Dailard students didn’t stop there. After their performance at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion, the Dailard students and their director/music teacher, Brad Sullivan, walked across the Park to the Casa del Prado Theatre. There, they sang in the holiday concert of the Sun Harbor Chorus. The students had to move quickly, as the holiday concert, entitled “The Starlight Zone,” kicked off at 2pm. 

The Sun Harbor Chorus, established in 1946, is the San Diego Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society. Showcasing the Great American Songbook in four-part a cappella harmony, the men of Sun Harbor are known for their family-friendly holiday elf performances. In addition to the Dailard singers, special guests in this concert included Santa and
Mrs. Claus, the elf chorus, and dancers from the San Diego Civic Youth Ballet. 

Any school music groups that would like to perform in Christmas on the Prado in the future should contact Brad Sullivan at bsullivan2@sandi.net.

Originally published in VAPA News.

Mira Mesa Orchestra Musicians Perform in Balboa Park

Approximately 100 string musicians from the Mira Mesa High School orchestra program played in the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park on Tuesday, November 19. The special 30-minute performance under the direction of Matthew Mulvaney, MMHS’s Director of Orchestras, was the featured opener for a concert by Art of Élan, a unique San Diego chamber music ensemble. 

Originally, the Mira Mesa High School musicians were supposed to perform outside, on the steps to the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park. They prepared to play in the dusk and dark by practicing with small lights on their music stands. 

However, with uncooperative inclement weather leading up to the performance, the musicians had to improvise as they were moved inside the museum to perform above the main rotunda. The following concert by Art of Élan was held in the John M. and Sally B. Thornton Rotunda itself. 

The concert, titled “In Spite of All This,” was part of Art of Élan’s newly-launched “BaCH Initiative.” Standing for “Beyond a Concert Hall,” the BaCH initiative is a 3-year project to move Baroque music out into the world of the 21st century, to “bring the timeless music of J.S. Bach to unexpected places.”

Originally published on VAPA's News Page.

La Jolla Lab Coat Ceremony

La Jolla High School’s CCTE Biomedical Pathway held their annual Lab Coat Ceremony on Tuesday, November 19th. Biomedical instructors Rachel Tenenbaum and Aaron Quesnell assisted in handing out white lab coats to 32 students who are enrolled in the 4th year Project Lead the Way Biomedical Innovations course.

Students will now begin preparation to start their 12 week internships which start on January 24th. All 32 students have placements in internships in their field of interests including La Jolla Institute of Immunology, Sanford Burnham Institute, VA and UCSD hospitals, and the Salk Stem Cell Core.

This is the largest group that La Jolla has placed in this 4 year biomedical program. Congratulations to our students as they embark on this valuable step in preparing for success in college and career.

Ribbon Cutting in Linda Vista

On Friday, November 15th, Linda Vista Elementary STEAM Magnet School celebrated the opening of its joint use field at a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by students, staff, SDUSD district and community members. 

The event began with a welcome by the new school principal, Nina Dixon-Mauricia, who introduced various speakers at the event. Among those who addressed the audience were SDUSD Board Member Dr. Mike McQuary, Chief Facilities, Planning & Construction Officer, Lee Dulgeroff and former LV principal Michael Beraud. Several upper grade students helped cut the ribbon and then officially inaugurated the field with a lap around the track. 

The Linda Vista Elementary joint use field joins a host of parks and open spaces, like the Linda Vista Skate Park, dedicated to the enjoyment of the community and its families.

Family STEAM Night Brings All Ages Together

Carson STEAM Magnet hosted its second annual INNOVATE & CELEBRATE Fall Family STEAM Night on November 19th. The event is a partnership between USD and Carson STEAM Magnet, where university students and elementary students can engage in discovery and learning side-by-side—and elementary students get to imagine their future selves as STEAM learners. Mobius Magic, Colorful Chemistry, Squishy Circuits, and Cartesian Divers, are just few of the more than fifteen, fun, hands-on STEAM activities that families explored. A pupusa dinner, prepared by a local Linda Vista business owner was enjoyed by all. One student wrote on their feedback card that the most memorable thing about tonight was: “the family bonding and to see everyone together.” A big thank you to all of our Carson families and to the USD students who made the evening a blast for everyone!

Hoover High School Student Accepted LEDA Scholars Program at Princeton University

Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America (LEDA) empowers a community of exceptional young leaders from under-resourced backgrounds by supporting their higher education and professional success in order to create a more inclusive and equitable country. It includes a free seven-week Summer Institute at Princeton University. This highly competitive scholars program requires students to complete the three-round application including academic information and test scores, a personal statement and supplemental essay, a writing sample, biographical information, information on extracurricular activities, and family financial information. The final step is an interview for the finalists. 

Congratulations to Michelle Perales Panduro from Hoover who has been awarded the honor of being inducted into the 15th cohort of this program. Michelle attributes part of her success to her Hoover High School counselor, Andrea Munoz. "Ms. Munoz set individual appointments to help me fill out financial and academic information in the application and offered me her office if I ever needed a space to work. She encouraged me to keep pushing through the application although I thought I didn't have a chance to get into LEDA. She was also very willing and excited to write a letter of recommendation for me even though she has a plethora of students," Michelle said.

Congratulations Michelle and best of luck!

An Incredible Family Science Night

On Wednesday, November 13th, Marie Curie Elementary School held the first of two family science nights, themed “Incredible Science.” Third through fifth graders and their families gathered to experience a variety of hands-on STEM activities inspired by The Incredibles movie franchise, including making artificial snow and engineering “superpower” technologies. 

This year, Curie Family Science Nights were funded by a microgrant from the Jacobs Institute for Innovation in Education, which partnered Curie Elementary with collaborators from University of San Diego (USD). 

USD Outreach Professor Laura Rivard coordinated six student groups from USD to create and run STEM activities, in addition to those from Curie parent volunteers. The All Girls STEM Society (AGSS - https://www.allgirlsstemsociety.org/), who provide free monthly STEM workshops for girls grades 3-8 throughout San Diego, also provided student volunteers. 

A second “Incredible Science” Night is planned for April for TK through second grade families.

San Diego Unified participates in BlueTech Week with TMA BlueTech

Did you know that San Diego hosts an international Ocean and Water conference each year? This year, The Maritime Alliance (TMA) BlueTech hosted over 600 attendees for their 11th annual BlueTech Week in November. The theme for 2019 included the United Nations’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) which are being taught in our CCTE and STEAM curriculum, and integrated into student projects. The week included a series of events which San Diego Unified participated in a variety of ways.


Our students participated in BlueTech Week through attending potions of the conference, serving as ambassadors, capturing the events through pictures and videos, and showcasing their projects to the conferences international audience.

On Wednesday, ambassadors from Madison, University City, Mira Mesa, Point Loma, and San Diego High School attended a gala and dinner and shared their knowledge with professionals. They were joined by Lincoln and Henry photography students who took candid photos, and Serra videography students who interviewed BlueTech participants from various ocean and water related industries.

On Thursday, Mission Bay students attended panels, exhibits, and enjoyed a tasty algae inspired lunch with sustainable seafood.

Project Showcases

Elementary School

• Birny Elementary Kindergarten students in Ms. Kovelant's class showcased their STEAM learning through a video

Middle School

• Lewis students engraved wooden cutouts for an SDG photo wall
• Marston students made large SDG box labels
• Montgomery students painted watercolor pieces that represented a "message in a bottle" imagining a world with the SDGs met

High School

• Kearny EID students made SDG table centerpieces and engraved coasters
• Lincoln students created an SDG photo frame
• Mission Bay students created wooden surfboard menus
• Serra students produced stickers of photographs taken by keynote Aaron Chang for the surfboard menus

Participation in this week gave students an idea of the amazing blue economy career opportunities that will be available in the future. Thank you to all of our educators and students for supporting this unique opportunity.