Former NFL Quarterback JT O’Sullivan to Coach Patrick Henry

Patrick Henry High School Athletic Director Justin Clark announced former NFL quarterback JT O’Sullivan has been hired as head football coach... Click here...http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/high-school-preps/sd-sp-preps-football-patrick-henry-jt-osullivan-20190109-story.html

Spotlight on Immunizations: New Laws are Coming!

Did you know that when you get your child vaccinated, you’re protecting your child AND our community? If children are not vaccinated, they can spread preventable diseases such as measles, chicken pox, and pertussis to other children who are too young to be vaccinated or to people with weakened immune systems such as transplant patients and people with cancer. Community immunity protects everyone! 

The Nursing & Wellness Department ensures that our San Diego Unified students meet immunization requirements for school attendance, to promote a health community and to comply with California State Law. The efforts are led by school nurse Adrienne Lenhoff, RN, who is the Immunization and Communicable Disease Program Nurse. She is our district liaison with the San Diego County Health and Human Services and the San Diego Immunization Registry, the community data base that stores our immunization records. Adrienne works closely with all of our school nurses to provide them with expert consultation and critical data so that the site nurses can be sure all of their students meet the immunization requirements and remain up to date.
New immunization laws are coming July 1, 2019! There are new regulations regarding temporary and permanent medical exemptions, students who are transferring from one school to another (even within the same district), and new requirements for students entering kindergarten and 7th grade. If you have questions about how your child may be affected by these new laws or to see the new requirements, go to one of the links below. If you have further questions, send an email to Immunizations@sandi.net. 

Link to the English version: https://www.sandiegounified.org/sites/default/files_link/district/files/dept/nursing_and_wellness_program/2019%20CA%20Immunization%20Requirements%20for%20TK-12th%20Grade.pdf 

Link to the Spanish version: https://www.sandiegounified.org/sites/default/files_link/district/files/dept/nursing_and_wellness_program/2019%20CA%20Immunization%20Requirements%20for%20TK-12th%20Grade%20Spanish.pdf

The Council of ASB Presidents Kick Off the New Year with Their January Meeting

The San Diego Unified School District Council of ASB Presidents kicked off the new year at their January meeting. The Council of ASB Presidents is made up of high school ASB Presidents from both traditional and atypical high schools. ASB Presidents from across the district come together to discuss important topics at their school sites and districtwide. The Business Professionals of America (BPA) were invited by the students to join them for this meeting. They shared information about their nationwide organization and the ways it could benefit any interested schools and students.

Crawford High School ASB President Serves as Honorary SDUSD Student Board Representative

Huda Ahmed, the ASB President of Crawford High School, recently served as a San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) Student Board Representative. She joined the Board Members on the dais and provided a report about what has been happening at her school both socially and academically.

IMPACT schools go to University!!

Schools that have implemented the IMPACT Program were invited to a UCSD Women’s Basketball game on December 19th. The day was filled with activity as the IMPACT volunteer UCSD athletes from a variety of sports came out to engage our students in physical activity. Superintendent Marten was able to attend, as the athletes took our students through agility activities, stretching, cardio, and dancing in the morning. The 5th grade students from Hage, Hickman, Walker, and Fletcher attended with their teachers, along with Toler and their 9th grade IMPACT buddies from Clairemont High School. UCSD provided each student with a pennant and lunch, which the student’s ate while watching the Tritons beat Cal State San Bernardino. Many students and adults stated they had never been to a university campus or a college basketball game. GO TRITONS

Potential and Kinetic Energy at Hancock and Perry Elementary Schools

4th grade students and Perry and Hancock Elementary schools are using VEX robotics to learning all about potential and kinetic energy. Students are using Design Thinking to collaborate on building a robot with VEX robotics constructions kits that will support one passenger (an eg:). The egg must be secured by a student designed vehicle restraints system. Students build prototypes and then test them on an inverted plan or simple machine. Students learn how energy is converted rolling down the ramp and converted again once it hits a solid object. They also get to test their newly designed restraint system to see if their “passenger” survived. Results are charted in journals and students discuss what modifications they would make in the future.

Mount Everest Academy participates in the Ocean Link Lab Excursion at SeaWorld

Students from Mount Everest Academy recently participated in the Ocean Link Lab Excursion at SeaWorld.

The Ocean Link Lab provides students a behind the scenes look at SeaWorld Cares rescue infrastructure and a glimpse of how human actions are impacting environments.

The experience aligns with Next Generation Science Standards and is an excellent three-dimensional supplement for classes that are looking at ecosystems, cause and effect, and structure and function.

In addition to the science, students become aware of careers at SeaWorld, the collaborative effort needed to run the park and are provided with an opportunity to think about how their strengths, interests and values align to the future world of work.

The culminating activity is an ocean minded art project that reflects the students experience from the day!

“The More We Work Together the Happier We’ll Be”

♫The more we work together, together, together, The more we work together, the happier we'll be. ‘Cause I learn from others, and others learn from me, The more we work together, the happier we'll be.♫





Laura Williams, General Music and Choral Resource Teacher, led TK/K teachers in singing the lyrics to “The More We Work Together.” She adapted the song from the British Children’s Folk Song, “The More We Get Together.” The lyrics couldn’t ring more true. The Office of School Innovation’s STEAM team is happy to partner with San Diego Unified’s Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) resource teachers. The VAPA team consisting of Dance Resource Teacher Candice Narlock, Theater Resource Teacher Marjorie Treger, Visual Resource Teacher Marty Stegeman, and Laura Williams have partnered with STEAM curriculum writers to enhance the A in STEAM. The VAPA team has written song, dance, performance and visual art into the STEAM units. Students are expressing their creativity every day, gaining an edge in our future competitive workforce. Jobs are increasingly at risk of being replaced by robots and automation, but what can’t be replaced is our human creativity. VAPA’s partnership with STEAM is vital for the education of our students. We are happier working together ensuring our students have creative outlets to express their imaginations and individuality.

The T in STEAM

 Instructional Technology Program Manager Julie Garcia and her team meet weekly with STEAM curriculum writers to incorporate technology into the STEAM units. Together, they plan how to use the best tools that will compliment and improve instruction for Kindergarten teachers and students. In 2018, teachers have learned how to use Flipgrid, Padlet, and SeeSaw to capture student reflections. They have also used programs such as Adobe Spark, Book Creator and Google Apps to produce and share student work. 

Each kindergarten classroom is equipped with a set of chromebooks. Kindergarteners are using their Chromebooks for project creation, reflection on their learning, and documenting their work with the Chromebook’s camera. They are becoming computer literate, a valuable skill for being a contributing member of a technology-driven society.

Julie Garcia and her team of Instructional Technology Resource Teachers Derek Suzuki, Lauren Leathers, and Cheryl Steinemann visit classrooms to support teachers in using technology. They model, co-teach, and provide teachers with resources to engage their students. This team brings more than just technology to STEAM. They bring talented, tenacious, terrific, teamwork to San Diego Unified’s STEAM efforts.

Climate Science Everywhere

Middle school teachers are learning from the student perspective what it’s like to witness climate change. While visiting Coastal Marine Institute Laboratory they were reinvigorated to teach through a more hands on minds on approach. The SDSU laboratory allows for students to visit and volunteer while learning from undergraduate and graduate students about various methods of research. While there teachers participated in designing investigations to analyze what the significance of sea urchin population increasing. Then designing models to test what the projected outcome could lead to. With more real data to analyze students can understand the role and impact of science in their own lives.

Bridging the Gap

The ELA teachers from Millennial Tech Middle, Knox Middle, and Nye Elementary are bridging the gap. Mr. Neil, principal of MTM, and teachers from MTM and Knox visited Mrs. Shire, a third-grade teacher at Nye Elementary, to observe guided reading. This small group of educators decided it would be useful to learn strategies used in elementary schools to help middle school students who struggle with reading. Mrs. Shire shared valuable information with teachers during a debriefing session post observation. The middle school teachers were able to implement these new strategies and provide students with scaffolds they had previously used. Team work makes a dream work. Good job!

IMPACTing Elementary Physical Fitness

School partnerships in action! 9th grade students at Clairemont High School’s Academy of Health and Medical are serving as mentors, role models, and buddies to the 3,4, and 5th graders at Toler Elementary. The CHS students will spend nine Tuesdays supporting the Toler students in completing the FitnessGram pre-assessment test and participating in age appropriate, fun, fitness activities that will help the students increase their flexibility and cardio in order to improve their overall health. They are using the IMPACT program, developed by Lynn Barnes-Wallace and UCSD.

The 9th graders saw a need as Toler Elementary is one of five Elementary Schools in the Clairemont Community Cluster of Schools that currently does not have a PE teacher. The high school students wanted to help and were able to solve this real world problem, while documenting their journey with quantitative and qualitative data. The Clairemont Cluster is look forward to seeing the growth in all students involved as the project progresses.

Artful Collaboration

In collaboration with ArtReach San Diego, students in Edelmira Gomez’ class at Montgomery Middle STEAM Magnet are creating chalk art of animals who inhabit the San Diego River. The 6th grade student have been studying about the the importance of clean water in their history, English, and science classrooms and will be exhibiting their findings about the importance of the San Diego River as a local source for clean water later this month. Not only are they learning art techniques such as shading and the use of color, but they are learning about the many ways the local animals are impacted by pollution and the human interaction with the San Diego River. This is all part of an installation that will be a permanent part of the Montgomery garden, reflecting the students understanding of their local community.