Office of LGBTQIA+ Education & Advocacy holds 4th annual GSA Student Leadership Academy

The Office of LGBTQIA+ Education and Advocacy was at CPMA on Friday, March 15 to hold the 3rd annual GSA Leadership Academy. With over 120 participants, the Leadership Academy was a huge success.

Students arrived at CPMA and engaged in workshops around identity, diversity, intersectionality, consent, and GSA leadership. We hosted resource tables, raffled off LGBTQIA+-centered texts, and networked with GSA students and advisors across the district.

Thank you so much to CPMA for hosting this amazing event and to all staff, advisors, and community partners for supporting this experience for our SDUSD students!

To learn more about our Office of LGBTQIA+ Education and Advocacy or to find resources, visit https://youthadvocacy.us/lgbtqia-education

Marine Science Day with SDSU

The Marine Ecology and Biology Student Association (MEBSA) hosted a free Marine Science day with a theme of Saltwater Superheroes.

The 8th annual event showcased current research at SDSU, and many educational activities related to marine ecology and conservation. Kindergarteners from Dingeman Elementary loved the touch tank and opportunity to learn about Scuba Diving.

San Diego Unified High School students were also leading some of the activities as volunteers and are excited to pursue more opportunities to work with MEBSA!

BioMed Day at Serra High School

Serra High School is one of many high schools in San Diego Unified with a BioMed pathway. Serra hosted a work based learning presentation while exploring BioMed careers on Friday March 22nd.

The presentation allowed students to learn from industry professionals as they told their personal stories that led to their careers in the BioMed field.

One of the presenters included Dr. Michael Flippin, a Serra High School graduate and current Orthopedic Spine Surgeon at Kaiser Permanente. Another presenter, Kelly Rusinak is a Point Loma Pointer and Healthcare Administrator.

The students at Serra enjoyed an interactive day with experts in the BioMed field!

STEM Exploration Day at SDSU

San Diego State University hosted Crawford, Hoover, Lincoln, Morse, Patrick Henry, and San Diego High School students for a STEM Exploration Day on their campus.

The high school students rotated through university student led activities including a day in the life of a marine biologist, an egg drop activity, an introduction to STEM Majors and Careers, Life Sciences Alive and more!

Engineering students from Patrick Henry visited the Experimental Theater to learn how the design process is used when creating theater sets and played a financial literacy game to help them understand budgeting needs in the real world. After lunch they participated in interactive physics activities, one involving stacking cups and the other tracking how fast a ball falls, then performing calculations to determine maximum height. The day concluded with a visit to the planetarium to learn about star movement, constellations, and cosmic quandaries.

San Diego Unified students are very thankful of the opportunity provided and look forward to participating in STEM Exploration Day at SDSU in 2020 as well!

SDUSD Students Lead the 2019 TEDxYouth@SanDiego Event

San Diego Unified School District students served as speakers, audience members, volunteers, performers and had their art showcased at the 2019 TEDxYouth@SanDiego event at Lincoln High School.

Student selected topics included: self-identity (it’s okay to not know what you want to do so long as you know who you are), social codes in society amongst minorities, power of diversity in STEM, scholarship & internships in careers, interning at the ocean discovery institute, encouraging diversity in science, embracing failure with the BALLS method (her acronym), how to survive in America as a low income immigrant, why the SAT isn't a good gauge for college preparedness, the power of raising your hand, school shootings, knowing the root of bullying and how bullying leads to self-doubt/self-hatred, growing up in the age in technology, focusing on depression and sustainability in the fashion industry.

Live streamed videos from the event can be found on TEDxSanDiego's Facebook Page here: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxSanDiego/

Free Athletic Physical Event for SDUSD Students

San Diego Unified School District students are invited to attend a free athletic physical event being put on by UC San Diego. Here are the details: 

Date: Saturday, June 1, 2019 

Time: 8:00am-12:00pm 

Location: San Diego High School (1405 Park Blvd 92101) 

What to Bring: 

-School ID Card 

-Completed San Diego Unified health history form- must be signed by parent 

-Completed ImPACT baseline consent form linked below (for optional concussion baseline testing)- must be signed by parent 

-Corrective eyewear if needed 

Click here for the ImPACT baseline consent form (for optional concussion baseline testing) which must be signed by parent: http://sdusdathletics.com/2019/03/21/free-athletic-physicals-for-sdusd-students/ 

For questions, please contact the District Athletics Office at 619-725-7122.

Madison Aiming for Western League Baseball Title

Ranked No. 10 in the county, Madison (9-5, 3-0) has won four in a row... Click here: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/high-school-preps/story/2019-04-02/preps-high-school-baseball-madison-cathedral-catholic

Physical Education Leaders Demonstrate Best Practices

On March 19th and 20th physical education teachers, elementary, middle and high, from around the district participated in an all-day Professional Development. Teachers, from the Physical Education Leadership Academy, presented best practices to their colleagues. Highlights included: Increasing Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity, Assessment, Meeting the Needs of Every Student, and Student Centered Learning. The Department of Restorative Justice provided training on restorative circles and how they could be integrated into physical education.

Students are Learning Life-Saving Swim Skills

For a month each school year, about 300 students in grades 3 through 8 walk to Memorial Pool to take lessons that teach both water safety and basic swim skills. Logan has offered a swim program for about seven years, but recently began receiving support from the nonprofit Prevent Drowning Foundation of San Diego through its “Learn to Swim 4 Free” initiative. 

Click here: https://www.voiceofsandiego.org/partner-voices/prevent-drowning-foundation-wants-every-san-diego-student-to-have-life-saving-swim-skills/

Prepared for Emergency!

Natural disasters and major emergencies can happen at any time, and preparation is the key to rapid and effective response to a serious event. In March 2019, the Nursing and Wellness Department purchased and distributed 225 Trauma First Aid Backpack Kits across all SDUSD schools. This means that every school now is equipped with a backpack filled with specialized emergency medical supplies that can be used by the RN, health technician, or other staff member to respond to a major trauma or injury. In addition, all school nurses and health technicians have attended professional development and received “Stop the Bleed” training to learn and practice updated techniques to help in a major bleeding emergency until paramedics arrive. In alliance with each school’s individual School Site Emergency Response Plan, Nursing & Wellness staff is equipped to handle any emergency and/or disaster!

San Diego Community College Classes offered at SDUSD High Schools

Did you know that high school students have the opportunity to take SDCCD College Classes on their high school campus? The Dual Enrollment- CCAP (College and Career Access Pathway) Program gives high school students the opportunity to take college level courses for free while in high school. This school year over 9,500 courses will have been taken by our SDUSD high school students. For more information about the Dual Enrollment- CCAP program, please contact your student's high school counselor.

CTE Students Successfully Covert Engine to Run on Natural Gas

Kearny EID students successfully converted a single cylinder Honda engine to run on natural gas. This highly technical hands-on alternative fuels project demonstrates how a conventional internal combustion gasoline engines can be converted to operate on cleaner burning fuels such as Propane as an alternative means of power. The adaptation was designed and manufactured by EID 9th grade CTE students using specialized equipment such as; 3d printers, laser cutters and a CNC machining mill. Students demonstrated their successful conversion at the 2019 Green Careers Conference in the presence of hundreds of high school students and business attendees. A video clip of the running converted engine can be viewed at: https://www.instagram.com/kearny_eid/?hl=en

University City High's Biomedical Program Competes in HOSA Competition

UC's HOSA chapter spent 5 days over Spring Break competing in Sacramento at the HOSA State Competition. There were over 4,000 students competing last week. Two of UC's teams that competed in the Biomedical Innovation category finished 4th and 5th. Congratulations to all 20 students from UC High that participated.