This year with former assistant principal Stephanie Dodds moving to be Madison’s principal, Catherine White joined the Chase team as its new Assistant Principal. Principal Brian Handley, Catherine, and team welcomed Chief Innovation & Engagement Officer Ed Hidalgo for the morning class visits. Governing Board President, Jo Allegria, joined us for our afternoon visits and lunch. Lots of new team members and energy at Chase.
David Miyashiro, Superintendent
Early in October Principal Tita Cordero-Bautista gave a red carpet tour for me and Governing Board Member Jim Miller. Trustee Miller expressed his deep appreciation and pride in Vista Grande both as a parent and a school board member. Jim and his family are all products and advocates of Cajon Valley Schools. During the middle of our visit, Jim facilitated a quiz/competition between the boys and girls in one of the classes. It was also our first look at the new office location and facilities work done over the summer by James and the M & O team. Excellent work all around!
David Miyashiro, Superintendent
Here are two students from Empower Academy putting World of Work in to action. I was approached by these students while on my mail delivery route a few weeks ago, they asked if they could help deliver the mail. My initial reaction was to simply say sorry but no you cant; but I was challenged as to why not. They had a point, why not indeed. The students waited patiently while their idea went through the proper channels. Success! It was approved! We have two days of mail delivery service under our belts and these students have been doing a great job. The staff from Empower Academy have been giving these students great support.
My classroom door for the week. We went with realism shared Kevin Day @ Montgomery Middle School. The classroom keys came from all is prior apartments, condos, etc.. and even the kids brought some in to round out the school spirit week. Thank you for sharing Kevin.
Digital media and technology are evolving at a dizzying pace, both unlocking extraordinary opportunities and posing real risks for young people. Students are using the immense power of the Internet and mobile technology to explore, connect, create, and learn in ways never before imagined, both in and out of the classroom. But issues that emerge from this 24/7 “connected culture,” such as cyberbullying, privacy lapses, and uncertainty about which information to trust online, are surfacing both in schools and at home.
Cajon Valley Union School District sees these as teachable moments. We believe that digital citizenship skills have become essential for students in the 21st century, especially in schools like ours that are using technology to transform learning. That’s why we are committed to teaching our students how to think critically, behave safely, and participate responsibly. Cajon Valley Union School District has just been approved as a Common Sense District, an honor that recognizes our efforts in teaching digital citizenship to young people and engaging the entire community in this important discussion and supporting educators using technology for learning. The recognition acknowledges our district’s’ commitment creating a culture of digital learning and citizenship.
This honor is provided by Common Sense Education, part of a national nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in a world of media and technology.
Our schools are one of the more than 100,000 schools across the country that use Common Sense Education’s groundbreaking education resources. As a result, our students are better equipped to navigate the digital world and use devices for learning.
To learn more about Common Sense Education, visit www.commonsense.org/education.
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Jenn Petraglia
EdTech Facilitator, Cajon Valley Union School District |
Lt. Governor, Greg Fox, is pictured above installing K-Kids officers at Anza Elementary School on October 24th. The club at Anza has grown in popularity over the past two years with 49 members signed up this year (up from 30). Below is a photo of the whole club sporting their new Tee’s provided by our club with (L to R) Greg Fox and Kiwanis advisors Marianne Merriman, Terry Jones and Dick Campbell, along with the faculty advisor, Nancy Bobo, in back. Terry prepared Halloween themed treats for each club member to go along with their Tee’s, pins and other membership materials.
On Monday, September 25th, The Ministry of Education from the Netherlands visited Cajon Valley to learn about innovations in personalized learning and how to achieve systemic change in K-12 policy and practice. Questions from our Dutch collaborators were very similar to the questions we are asking here at home… “How do we prepare our children for jobs that don’t yet exist?” They were very interested in both Presentation Literacy and our World of Work solution. Thank you Bostonia Language Academy and Naranca Elementary School for opening your schools to our visitors. Our guests wanted to see whole-scale systemic innovation (every classroom/every day) and left with a strong impression of how they might achieve that in their own schools. US Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, sent her regards to this important meeting.
Los Coches Creek 6th grade teacher, Deborah Turner, was recognized recently for her amazing efforts to help others. Mrs. Turner spoke with her students one day about the terrible flooding in Houston caused by Hurricane Harvey. What began with a student asking the question, “I wonder if there’s anything we can do to help?” has blossomed into a great example of the empathetic powers of our CVUSD students. Mrs. Turner’s class “adopted” Mrs. Koontz’s class at Kipp 3D Academy in Houston. Many of Mrs. Koontz’s students and their families lost everything in the aftermath of the storm. Amazingly, Mrs. Turner’s students raised over $1,100 to send to those middle school flood victims! Thanks to the generosity of 105.7 Max FM, the San Diego County Office of Education, Mission Federal Credit Union, and the San Diego Padres, LCC was able to hold an assembly for our 6th graders and Mission Fed donated an additional $1,000 to Mrs. Turner for her efforts! Mrs. Turner is so proud of her students, and is a great example of a wonderful Cajon Valley teacher leading her students to find the joy in helping others.
Los Coches Creek Middle School
It was GLO day at Avocado Elementary School on Wednesday, September 27th. Principal Keith Himaka and I toured all of the classrooms before having the chance to see the GLO teachers in action as 2nd and 3rd grade teachers worked with Jenn Petraglia on our TED Presentation Literacy solution. We also saw some early adopters utilizing both the Sanford Harmony curriculum and World of Work resources. Very exciting to see the beginning of our transition. With a brand new ELA adoption coming around the corner and full implementation of the World of Work resources in 2018-19, our teachers will finally be equipped with the modern curriculum they deserve. Thank you for a great visit Avocado!
David
Take A Stand week is an opportunity for schools to focus on bullying prevention by empowering students to make positive changes with their words and actions. At Crest, our counselor, Allyson Wilkins, created activities which encouraged students to reach out with kindness. I wanted to increase excitement and school spirit leading up to Take A Stand week, so I enlisted the student’s help in producing a music video. I invited everyone who wanted to participate to join me during recess. We selected the song and planned the filming locations. Our broadcast room became a dance studio for a few days. We cranked up the music and learned a few dance moves. We encouraged students to wear their school colors and wrapped up filming with a culminating school wide dance shot. The project allowed me to connect with students in a fun and exciting way while bringing us together for a common goal. We hope you enjoy our music video as much as we enjoyed creating it.
By Carmen Restrepo, Ed.D., Principal
Crest Elementary School & Design Learning Academy (Home School)