The district’s Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) Department has a plethora of upright pianos available to school sites. Any school wishing to have an upright pianos may call the VAPA office at (858) 539-5349 or send an email to kchildressevans@sandi.net. VAPA will have as many pianos delivered as needed.
Dr. Carl A. Cohn, newly appointed superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District, will be the keynote speaker at a Graduate Research Symposium on Saturday, October 8, at San Diego State University.
The free symposium, sponsored by the Doctoral Student Council in Education (DSCE), is themed "Education for Change." It will take place in the Casa Real Room at SDSU's Aztec Center. Dr. Cohn will speak at 9 a.m. and there will be a Q&A session following his remarks.
The full symposium runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is designed to benefit graduate students in education through the presentation and discussion of issues, research projects and other scholarly activities.
Those interested in attending Dr. Cohn's presentation should RSVP to Virginia Loh at virginialoh@cs.com. For more information about the symposium, please contact Dr. Cheryl L. Mason at (619) 594-1378 or visit the DSCE's Web site at http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~sdsudsce/dsceevents.htm.
Orientation for Prospective National Board Certified Teachers
Are you interested in becoming a National Board Certified Teacher? A required orientation is scheduled for Saturday, October 22, 2005, at the Instructional Media Center (IMC), 2441 Cardinal Lane, Building “G”. The session will take place from 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. To register, please contact Velvet Wright at (858) 496-1882 or E-mail: vwright@sandi.net.
International House of Blues Foundation "Blues Schoolhouse" Program
The International House of Blues Foundation (IHOBF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing the arts to schools and communities through programs that promote cultural understanding and encourage creative expression. The IHOBF Blues SchoolHouse (BSH) is a standards-aligned program that teaches students about the music, art, history, and cultural impact of the blues and traditions of related folk art. During BSH programs, the House of Blues venue is utilized as a multimedia classroom where students and teachers (grades 7-12) experience a guided art tour or presentation of the House of Blues’ Folk Art Collection and a live musical presentation that traces the evolution of the blues musical form. BSH programs are offered free of charge to San Diego Unified District schools. Blues SchoolHouse components are: guided tour of House of Blues Folk Art Collection; live, interactive musical presentation; distribution of BSH Classroom Guide to participating teachers; and a teacher workshop: Learning about American Culture through Blues Music & Folk Art. For more information on the program, and for registration materials, click here.
Every year, the Governor selects one high school junior from a pool of about 150 applicants to sit as a voting member on the State Board of Education for the following year. The student functions as an equal member of the Board and has the opportunity to influence significant education policy.
Applications for the 2006-07 student member of the Board of Education are being accepted. Any application postmarked October 7, 2005, will be considered. Applications with a postmark after that date will be considered only in the event additional applications are needed to select an appropriate candidate.
San Diego Association of Governments’ (SANDAG) RideLink program matches families that live close by and attend the same school so they can create a school carpool. Parents decide how they would like to share the responsibility of getting their kids back and forth to school. Currently, RideLink is offering a special promotion to San Diego County schools: the six schools with the most MatchLists Applications received by RideLink will qualify to receive a prize package worth over $400. The prize package may include a field trip courtesy of SeaWorld, Legoland, Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, The San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum, the Birch Aquarium at Scripps or the San Diego Natural History Museum; a stipend to offset transportation costs courtesy of SONY; a $100 gift certificate to purchase supplies courtesy of Corporate Express, and more. Individual applicants may qualify to win gift certificates for treats courtesy of Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza or a copy of Survivor, the Game.
For more information on RideLink’s commuter services, including the SchoolPool Back-to-School promotion, visit www.RideLink.org, call 1-800-COMMUTE (option 3) or email SchoolPool@sandag.org.
October 1-8 will be celebrated as Hearing Challenged Awareness Week, with a different activity or event nearly every day. October 1, “Deaf Awareness Day,” will feature a speech by Dr. Marion Downs, known as “The Mother of Audiology.” October 3 is “Ear Plug Day,” and October 4 is “Hearing Recognition Pin Day,” when people are encouraged to “wear it on the right to let them know and wear it on the left to show you care.” Wednesday, October 5 is “Hospital and Audiologist Day,” Thursday is “Dine Hear Day,” and Friday is “Ear’s to You! Friday.” The week concludes on October 8 with a speech on the “Value of Disability in the Ancient World.” For
more information on each of these days, contact the International Association
for the Hearing Challenged at (619) 398-2453 or info@IntlAHC.org, or visit their webpage, www.IntlAHC.org.
Local television stations KUSI (channel 9/51) and FOX (Channel 6) visited Wangenheim Middle School this week as Principal Robert Grano “took it all off.” Last spring, he told Wangenheim students that he would shave his head if they experienced gains in the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program. Wangenheim students responded in a big way—the school’s Academic Performance Index score increased by 48 points (from 749 to 797), the most of any middle school in the district. A stylist from Great Clips shaved Grano’s head in front of the entire school, and two vice principals sported “hair raising” styles.
Rod Luck did two live segments at Gage Elementary School this morning. The first segment highlighted the Gage Running Club, a program that allows children to earn prizes based on running and/or walking before school and at recess. Gage Principal Kristi Dean, P.E. teacher Cindi Elrod, Running Club co-founder Carole Wilson, students runners and parent volunteers were all interviewed. The second segment focused on the school’s Birthday Book Club. Union-Tribune reporter Leigh Fenley donates books to the school and students may pick out a book in honor of their birthday. The books selected by the students are then donated to their classroom’s library (in the name of the student).
