What’s Good in Education - Briefs October 16, 2008

A Publication of the William S. Hart Union High School District Vol. IX, No. 7

Christine Parr County Teacher of the Year Honoree Christine Parr, an English language development teacher at Placerita Junior High School, has been selected as one of 16 Los Angeles County Teachers of the Year, representing the profession’s “best of the best” in the largest honors competition for educators in the state. Selected by her peers at Placerita, Christine was chosen to represent the Hart District in County competition. L.A. County’s winners automatically advance with other county titlists from around the state to the Teachers of the Year competition this fall. The state is scheduled to announce its five co-winners in November, and one of those state co- winners will be chosen to represent California in the National Teacher of the Year contest next spring. Christine was featured in an interview on NBC’s Telemundo Spanish-language station featuring her work with English learners and their families.

Aronsky Named Business Teacher of Year Jeffrey Aronsky, business teacher at La Mesa Junior High School, has been named California Middle School Business Educator of the Year for 2007-08 by the California Business Education Association. Aronsky was selected for his outstanding and innovative contributions to business education both in his classroom and on the state and local levels. He brought the Stock Market Game to the Hart District over five years ago and has many local schools participating in the program. The game exposes students to the real business world while reinforcing math, reading, social studies and science skills. Aronsky will accept his award at the association’s annual conference in Napa this November. Aronsky also received the honor in 2005-06.

Virtual Enterprise ‘Employees’ Trained Students in the new Virtual Enterprise class offered by the Hart District’s Regional Occupational Center joined more than 200 of their counterparts from across the state for a Virtual Enterprise student training recently at California State University, Bakersfield. Students attended sessions on creating a business financial plan, virtual banking, success in business structure, human resources, the corporate business plan and marketing. Acoustic Cakes & Apparel, the class’s new Virtual Enterprise company, will host a grand opening 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 23 at Golden Valley High School. The class operates as a company, creating a business and marketing plan and producing a virtual product which is then sold and traded with other Virtual Enterprise companies around the world.

Classified Employees Honored Congratulations to the Hart District’s Classified Employees of the Year. Honorees include Sam Browning, ; Erica Galicia, Administrative Center; Rachel Villa, Arroyo Seco Junior High; Carol Kaericher, Bowman High; Donna Hettema, Canyon High; Sherrie Bagaus, Career Visions; Kathy Eiben, Early College High School; Beth Combs, Golden Oak Adult School; LeNette Moore, Golden Valley; Mick Canale, Hart High; Joe Mullin, La Mesa Junior High; Bill Sanders, Placerita Junior High; Patti Johnston, Rancho Pico Junior High; Patty Tucker, Rio Norte Junior High; Lorie Pecsi, Saugus High; Elaine Bingham, Sequoia Charter; Laura Shay, Sierra Vista Junior High; Kim Wilczynski, Valencia; and Mary Walsh, West Ranch. The recipients, selected by their colleagues at each site, received engraved awards and will be honored at a tribute luncheon Nov. 5 at Robinson Ranch.

Man Pageant Raises Funds for Ugandan School Members of the Invisible Children of Uganda Club (ICU) at Valencia High School used a two-phase approach recently to raise funds and awareness for the plight of children in Uganda. More than 1300 Valencia students attended a series of morning assemblies featuring a documentary on students who traveled to Africa to participate firsthand in the rebuilding of Ugandan schools. The local ICU club earned more than $900 with a Man Pageant and is raising funds by recycling at football games, making and selling duct tape wallets and Uganda- themed holiday boutique items, and collecting change. Funds will be donated to ICU’s School to School program, which is currently working to restore latrines at a school in war-torn Uganda. The club also contacts legislators and is planning a demonstration in the campus quad to call attention to the plight of children and schools in Uganda.

Peer Counselors Learn How to Lead Saugus High School Peer Leaders is a program in which secondary students are trained to help other students. The basic goals of the program are to help students become more sensitive to the needs of their peers and to help create a supportive and caring school atmosphere. Students learn skills that include being a good listener, helping others feel comfortable socially, helping others make decisions without giving advice, and communicating sensitive issues in a caring manner. After students have finished the training program, typical assignments involve orienting new students, assisting disabled students, and providing friendship and sociability to isolated or neglected students. Counselors Gail Gasbarro and Dan Blanchfield are advisors for the program.

La Mesa Family Fun Night Draws Record Crowd More than 600 students and family members attended the recent Fall Family Fun Night at La Mesa Junior High School. The annual event is both a fund-raiser and a family outing, and this year drew the biggest attendance ever. Students and their families and even alumni came together for a night of cotton candy, hot dogs, bounce houses and games of all sorts. Teams sponsored booths that featured math and science games, eco-awareness games, and opportunities to have fun with teachers and staff. La Mesa PTSA also sponsored a booth and added to their membership.

History Becomes Real for Golden Valley Students A group of students selected from history classes at Golden Valley High School recently took advantage of a special opportunity to visit the Reagan Library in Simi Valley to experience a once-in-a-lifetime exhibit. The original handwritten Emancipation Proclamation was on display for five days, along with some of Abraham Lincoln's personal effects and a photographic timeline of slavery through the ages. Students got to explore the exhibit and the rest of the library, including the Air Force One showcase. In order to attend, students wrote an essay about what this field trip would mean to them personally, and five to seven students from each history classroom were selected for the trip. Bus transportation and admission were provided by the Reagan Library through a scholarship program.

Hart, Saugus Orators Represent District at ACSA Katherine Stradling from Saugus High School and Jasmine McElwee from Hart High School have been chosen to represent the SCV Administrators Association in the annual oration contest sponsored by the Association of California School Administrators, Region XV. The two participated in finals this week where competition was tough for the top $1,000 prize. Although the two local speakers weren’t selected for the final three, they represented the well and will receive a cash prize for their efforts. The contest required students to deliver a speech based on the banquet theme, “Celebrate the Hero Within.”

Art Students Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month Art and Ceramic students at Arroyo Seco Junior High School have prepared an exhibit celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. Using critical thinking, writing and life science, art students created Oaxacan wood carvings and the ceramic students created Metapec suns. The work will be on exhibit at the school through the end of the month. Art teacher Adrianna Berge is coordinating the program.

Day Raises Career-Technical Education Awareness More than 100 Hart District teachers attended the first Career Technical Education Awareness Day sponsored by the Hart District, and the SCV School & Business Alliance. The program is the successor to Educators in Industry, which in the past has taken teachers to local businesses to learn what industry is looking for in its high school graduates. The new format brings business people to the educators and included keynote speaker Sharon Huntsman, executive director of the California EDGE Campaign: Education, Diversity and Growth in the Economy. COC hosted the full day program, which encouraged local schools to take a serious look at career technical education as a way to serve future needs of both students and the economy.

Rio Norte Artists Create Masterpieces in Chalk Eleven art students from Rio Norte Junior High School joined professional and amateur artists to create masterpieces in chalk during the Santa Clarita Street Art Festival. Rio Norte’s students did two six-by-eight foot paintings depicting work by Ron Burns, a successful commercial painter/illustrator. The students chose the pictures from a variety of images that were pre-selected by art teacher Daryle Bibicoff, and spent some four hours creating the work on pavement. Festival visitors were able to enjoy the paintings during a recent weekend. Rio Norte artists included Billy Gilbert, Megan Marindelcampo, Lauren Rosena, Danielle Baltau, Fiona Wright, Angela Flores, Cami Shipley, Hannah Ketenjian, Britney Byrd, Morgan Hollar and Melissa Kraidman

Arroyo Seco Runners Club Growing Students in the Runners Club at Arroyo Seco Junior High are combining fun and fitness as they run two days a week after school. The club is drawing some 20 students a day, double the number that participated last year. The club runs in the neighborhood near Arroyo Seco, including Santa Clarita and Central parks, nearby businesses, and paseos above the school. Several star runners in the cross country and track programs at Saugus High School have come from the Arroyo Seco Runners Club, another benefit to the group. Club members run with advisor Jenny Ridnor and sometimes are joined by Saugus High alumni who are runners. The group also has been joined by The Master’s college team, which runs with the junior high group as part of their community outreach. Juniors Get Business Advice More than 900 Hart District high school juniors moved a step closer to their first career opportunities thanks to the annual Connecting to Success conference sponsored by the Valley Industrial Association and Junior Achievement. Juniors from across the district attended the full day conference which featured local business leaders discussing such key topics as business ethics, working in teams, and presenting their value to a prospective employer. The first session served students from Canyon and Valencia high schools. Additional sessions in January and February will offer the same program to juniors from additional Hart District schools, bringing the total number of students served by the program to 2,700 this year alone.

Summit to Prepare for Disaster The Hart District will host a Disaster Preparedness Summit on Tuesday, Oct. 28, starting at 7 p.m. in the Valencia High School gymnasium. The summit will bring together the community’s emergency responders and “vital links” to share with schools and parents the services they can provide after a major earthquake. The event will be filmed and aired on Channel 20 to create community awareness and stimulate emergency preparedness. The summit is the first of several projects funded by the Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools Grant, which was recently awarded to the Hart District. District schools also will participate in the Great Southern California Shake Out, a regional earthquake drill scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 13.

Youth Summit Focuses on Respect Three hundred fifty students from all six Hart District junior high schools and from Castaic Middle School gathered at the SC Activities Center for the City of Santa Clarita Youth Summit, a collaborative effort between the City and the Hart School District. Fifty students were selected from each school to participate in "bridge-building" activities designed to promote positive interpersonal and group relations between students, schools and neighborhoods. Mayor Bob Kellar addressed the students as they arrived at the Activities Center, all wearing t-shirts that reflected the Summit's theme: "Respecting Ourselves; Respecting Each Other." The day concluded with the students meeting in their school groups to brainstorm ways to bring the energy and commitment of the day back to their own campuses. The goal is for them to explore ways to ensure that students on local campuses are not socially excluded, but rather feel that they are all connected in some way to their schools and to each other across all school campuses and neighborhoods.

High Schoolers Welcomed to the Library In September and early October the Hart District’s high school teacher librarians have been offering library orientation to ninth grade students at all six schools. During the library orientation, students explored the library, learning about resources, services and use of technology that will help them for future school projects. A study guide packet created by the six teacher librarians helped to guide students to the many services, including use of library catalog and database resources. Teacher librarians and parent volunteers scored the 11 page orientation packet from as many as 800 ninth grade students per school. The high school library is the information hub where students can access print and electronic resources every school day.

West Ranch Key Club Stresses Service Members of the Key Club at West Ranch High School volunteer more than 3,000 hours a year in far-reaching efforts to give back to the community. The club’s longest ongoing project is the Stevenson Ranch Tutoring Project, in which some students have volunteered for the past four years helping students in Stevenson Ranch Elementary School’s Volunteers for Literacy program. Principal Bob Vincent worked with the West Side Principals Association to fulfill a vision of West Ranch students collaborating with and supporting the feeder schools. Key Club members attend a student tutor training for two days, and then work with an assigned student for the remainder of the year. Club members commit to a year of tutoring, twice a week.

Ping Pong Popular La Mesa Pastime La Mesa Junior High School’s new Ping Pong Club draws some 20 students to the multipurpose room every Friday during lunch time to enjoy as many ping pong matches as they can. The club uses a "Winner Stands" format, so students have a good time trying to out-do one another and stand as long as possible. The school currently has one table and will be purchasing another as soon as possible.

Saugus High Students Rally for the River Kristi Schertz’s AP Environmental students participated in the 14th annual Santa Clarita River Rally cleanup, an event where people of all ages remove trash from the Santa Clara River. The Santa Clara is the last natural river in Southern California and is home to several rare species; a total of 14 bird species and six plant species are listed as endangered or of special concern. Junior Sean Kotzman said he was surprised at the variety of items that were buried in the river bank including a pup tent, a collection of 40 shoes, a large throw rug, and even a 15 foot pvc pipe. He considered this to be a rewarding experience and hopes that more people in the community will participate in next year’s event.

Library Documents Aid Literature Project American Literature students at West Ranch High School visited the school library to prepare for reading The Crucible play this month. Students examined facsimiles of documents from the 1600s and 1700s to better understand the similarities and differences in primary and secondary sources as well as to evaluate political, social, ethical and religious influences of that time. Students analyzed primary source documents to gain background information about New England in the late 1600s, helping them to better understand the mindset of the people in the New England region and why they were so willing to accuse innocent neighbors of witchcraft.

Student Council Selects Leaders The Hart District Student Communications Council has selected Abby Lim as Student Board Member for the 2008-09 school year. She is a sophomore at Early College High School and has been active in her school student government. Lim will attend all district Governing Board meetings to present the viewpoint of students in Board deliberations. The Council, which consists of representatives from all district school Associated Student Body organizations, also named its own officers for the year: Connor Kampff from Saugus High School, president; Justin Barnes, West Ranch High School, vice president; and Karely Tamayo, Golden Valley High School, secretary. The council meets monthly to provide two-way communication between students and district administration.

Seniors Replicate Democracy in Action Seniors at Golden Valley and West Ranch high schools will get a taste of democracy in action as they participate in the statewide MyVote Student Mock Election. Leading up to that event on Oct. 30, government classes are completing state research that will lead to an analysis of the Electoral College results on Nov. 4. Classes will use the results from the mock election to decide how local school results would have looked for the Electoral College and then compare them with the actual election. For the MyVote election, students vote for the president and take a stand on 12 state propositions. West Ranch also is adding third party candidates to the ballot. The results of local school votes are sent to the Secretary of State's office where they will be tabulated, and local students will be able to see the statewide results the next day. In addition to these activities, students have been watching and analyzing debate coverage and will be studying the pros and cons of the state propositions. Golden Valley’s foods teacher is providing a dessert reward for students 18 and older who show proof that they voted on Nov. 4.

Saugus Students Put Smyth in the Hot Seat Thirty-Eighth District Assembly member Cameron Smyth was in the proverbial “hot seat” when he met with students in Saugus High School’s Advanced Placement American Government class in October. Since Smyth prefers a “Q and A” format over a circuit speech, students came prepared with specific questions regarding the California Legislature and its role in the functioning of American government. Political party structures, voting and Smyth’s future goals were also issues that the students raised. After the presentation, Smyth met with the Chinese foreign exchange students currently studying at Saugus.

Mayor’s Committee to Honor Employers The SCV Mayor’s Committee for the Employment of Individuals with Disabilities will host its annual Employer Appreciation luncheon Oct. 23 at the Santa Clarita Activities Center. The program offers thanks to local employers who provide jobs for disabled people in the local area, many of them participants in the Hart District’s Career Visions program. The keynote address will focus on “What you see is not always what you get: Can empathy and business coexist?”

Golden Valley Student Wins Art Award Brittany Campbell, a senior at Golden Valley High School, won the Santa Clarita "Canvas Art" competition at the Newhall Street Festival. Her piece depicts a father and his daughter swinging and laughing on a swing. Her piece is meant to be upside down, as the image is being taken at an aerial point of view. The theme of the contest was "Santa Clarita...a Great Place to Live!" The artwork depicts the importance of family and those special private moments children and parents sometimes share. Her piece won $250 for the student and another $1000 for the AP art class at Golden Valley.

Parents Welcome at West Ranch West Ranch High School will host its fourth annual Parent Shadow Day on Thursday, Oct. 23. Parents will gather in the large gym at 7:45 a.m. for check-in and welcome by Principal Bob Vincent. They then will follow their students on a minimum day class schedule, participating in everything their children do in an average day of school—assignments, tests, science experience, art projects, etc. Parents have even been known to bring their own instruments and play along with their students in band class, as well as athletic gear to participate in physical education exercises.