Congratulations to our Student TED Speakers! We were extremely impressed with the many applications for TED Speakers. As a result, 45 Cajon Valley students will share their TED talk at EXPO day at Petco Park for the San Diego Festival of Science and Engineering as part of our promotion of the TEDxKids@ElCajon event on June 3, 2017. In the weeks leading up to the Festival the student speakers will work with Cajon Valley staff mentors to rehearse their presentations. We could not be more proud of our Cajon Valley students for sharing their ideas with the community. We hope you join us in celebrating and cheering on these brave students on March 4th, 2017 on the Dugout stage at Petco Park. 

Session One: 11:15am – 11:45am

Speakers:

• Tina Kassabian; Making a Positive Change (Emerald Middle School)
• Vanessa Zora; Ending the Generation of Student Debt (Emerald Middle School)
• Revana Razoqi & Marlena Aziz; Starting a Club for Mental Health (Emerald Middle School)
• Ellie Wavra; Sexual Harassment in our Society. (Hillsdale Middle School)
• Reagan Warwick; My life with Epilepsy. (Hillsdale Middle School)
• Elaina Scira: Saving our Children (Los Coches Creek Middle School)
• Victoria Hague; Stopping Social Media Bullying (Los Coches Creek Middle School)
• Chelsea Sanchez; Equality (Los Coches Creek Middle School)

Session Two: 12:00pm -12:30pm

Speakers:

• Isela Creutzburg; Homeless Veterans (Avocado Elementary School)
• Brooke Tucci & Haley Roa; Childhood Cancer (Avocado Elementary School)
• Andrew Ramzi; The Game of Pool (Avocado Elementary School)

• Isabella Villegas; Litter (Avocado Elementary School)
• Sophia Mendez; Drawing Anime. (Avocado Elementary School)
• Marcus Bautista; Give a Tent (Naranca Elementary)
• Savannah Moore; Be the Match (Bostonia Language Academy)
• Abigail Gonzalez; Sharing is Caring (Bostonia Language Academy)
• Blossom Valley Elementary School

Session Three: 12:45pm – 1:15pm

Speakers:

• Katelynn Grunstad; The Dangers of Fishing Nets (Fuerte Elementary School)
• Paziano Parel-Sewell; Kindness (Fuerte Elementary School)
• Alejandro Barajas-Mojica; War (Fuerte Elementary School)
• Gianna Galbo; Save the Trees (Fuerte Elementary School)
• Aspen Aldama; Adopting Animals (Madison Elementary School)
• Andre Kiti; Persistence and Inventions (Meridian Elementary School)
• Mary Azabo; Using Facetime to Connect Globally (Meridian Elementary School)
• Leia Mims; Love of Drawing (Meridian Elementary School)
• Jerry Gale; Becoming Future Ready with Video Games (Meridian Elementary School)

Session Four: 1:30pm -2:00pm

Speakers:

• Tamarah Hadi; My Upcoming Surgery (Magnolia Elementary School)
• Jorge Vargas Tiznado; Save the Environment (Magnolia Elementary School)
• Isabella Durrett; ADHD (W.D. Hall Elementary School)
• Mckenzy Church; Save the Rhinos (W.D. Hall Elementary School)
• Luisa Manzo; Let’s Stop Cutting Down Trees (W.D. Hall Elementary School)
• Jordan Sanchez; Why Donate? (W.D. Hall Elementary School)
• Veen Saleh; Ending Littering in our World (W.D. Hall Elementary School)

• Dimitri Caron-Helman; Helping the Homeless (W.D. Hall Elementary School)
• Berlin Dixon; The Benefits of Dance (W.D. Hall Elementary School)

Session Five: 2:30pm -3:00pm

Speakers:

• Miranda Cook’s Third Grade Class- Dance Performance
• Tyler Lemieux; Minecraft (Rancho San Diego Elementary School)

• Bianca Hana; The Road to Peace (Rancho San Diego Elementary School)
• Megan Coffey; Save our Planet (Rancho San Diego Elementary School)
• Allyson Mercurio; Save the Tigers (Vista Grande Elementary School)
• Jayden Garmo; Controlling our Actions to Stop Bullying (Vista Grande Elementary School)
• Armani Maroki; Spreading the Cheer (Vista Grande Elementary School)
• Preston Garmo; Friendship Corner (Vista Grande Elementary School)
• Kaitlyn Shannon; Charity (Vista Grande Elementary School)

If you have any questions, please contact Liz Loether at tedxkidselcajon@cajonvalley.net

Liz Loether, Coordinator of Educational Technology | (619) 588-3115  | @LizLoether

St. Patrick’s Day Half Marathon – March 5^th

 

As a proud sponsor of the event, the City of El Cajon would like to invite you to participate in the 5^th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Half Marathon, 5K, and Green Mile Fun Run!

Several thousand green clad runners and walkers are expected to participate in this popular El Cajon event. The first race and activities will kick-off at 7:00 a.m. in historic downtown El Cajon, on the corner of Main Street and Magnolia Avenue under the El Cajon Arch.

The Half Marathon is a challenging 13.2 mile route down Main St into Rancho San Diego, Cuyamaca College, and back. The 5K is a straight and flat 3.1 mile course along Main Street. To ensure that all levels of fitness enthusiasts are satisfied, there will also be a “Tribes and Clans Fitness Throw-down,” a kid’s competition that combines the goals of the Presidential Fitness Challenge with other kid-sized fun obstacles, and a “Green Mile” for all ages.

The festival at the finish line will include athletic vendors, live music, food trucks, kids entertainment and bounce house, as well as a beer garden to enjoy local micro-brewed beer (for ages 21 and up).

While individuals and families are encouraged to register together, there is a special request for teams that represent local schools, organizations, and businesses. There will be competition amongst teams, such as a Real Estate Office Challenge and a Corporate Challenge. Additionally, attendees are encouraged to dress up in St. Patty’s Day outfits and take part in the “best dressed” competition.

Thanks to participation, the RunEC Foundation raised almost $20,000 for local charities and schools last year. To register, volunteer, and/or get more information about this special event, please visit www.stpatricksdayhalf.com. (Volunteer Appreciation Letters will be provided)

For “pre-event” or “day of event” interviews, please contact Meredith Stowers at (619) 520-1018 or meredith@mungerstowers.com.

Today was one of those incredible days that remind you why you became an educator.  You see, today was Digital Learning Day.  For many districts, this is a one-day (take your best shot at doing something outside your comfort zone) foray into the world of digital learning.  

As I visited classrooms across Blossom Valley with Dr. Miyashiro and School Board member Karen Clark-Mejia, I was blown away by what we were seeing. We watched students from Kindergarten to 5th grade using PowToons and Google Slides to share how they would solve real world problems. One enterprising 2nd grader decided that wasn’t enough of a challenge, and instead wrote code (using Scratch) to create his animated presentation. Students all over campus were working on projects in science, math, and language arts using Google Classroom, trying their hand at programming on Code.org, learning to read with Headsprout, and gaining a deeper understanding of math concepts with the help of Jiji, the STMath penguin…and that’s when it hit me.  This isn’t a one-day, one-time, show…This is what we do every day!  

Yes…today was an amazing, ordinary, every-day kind of day.  The kind that makes me proud to be part of the dedicated instructional team at Blossom Valley, and prouder still to be a part of the larger Cajon Valley family.

—

Kirk Hoeben, Principal

Blossom Valley Elementary School

(619) 588-3678

Digital Learning Day February 23! We are READY! The Cajon Valley School District is proud to announce Digital Learning Day on February 23, 2017. This is the third year Cajon Valley has participated in DLD. We hope that your students and you will join us this year as we dive into the book, “What to Do With a Problem” by Kobi Yamada. Website full of videos, digital tool ideas, lesson ideas and more resources.  Feb 23, share the book “What to Do With a Problem” with your class read by David Miyashiro. Google Drive / Youtube / Viewpure Liz Loether, Coordinator of Educational Technology | (619) 588-3115  | @LizLoether

Flying Hills was highlighted last week during an interview on PBS radio discussing arts integration and the importance of arts education! Valerie Barnes was our amazing spokesperson who represented us and our vision beautifully.  She was amazingly articulate and well-spoken and her enthusiasm for the arts truly shined through!

Principal, Jeremy Lyche, received a few emails from folks who were listening to the radio in their cars and were inspired by the interview as it was featured on PBS which includes NPR.

Click HERE and scroll down to the middle of the page to listen to the interview. 

Great job Valerie!

Jeremy Lyche, Principal

Flying Hills (Fine Arts Magnet Education) School

Last week Tamara, Eyal, and I went with the National School Board Association to Washington D.C. to lobby for Federal Aid to assist our district in meeting the needs of our beautifully diverse community.  We have many legislators and staff to follow up with, but we left our meetings with hope and encouragement.  School districts receive funding based on their prior year enrollment and average daily attendance.  This means that the several hundred new students we welcomed this year do not come with any additional revenue.  We will keep you updated on our progress.  Below are some pictures of our time in Washington.  It was certainly an interesting time to be in our Nation’s Capital.

 

Meeting with Congresswoman Susan Davis

Waiting for our meeting in Nancy Pelosi’s Office

Meeting with Staff from the House Minority Leadership

Tamara getting us organized for our meetings in the Senate Building.

Outside Congressman Hunter’s Office

Meeting with the Senate Education Committee

Outside the House Committee on Education and the Workforce

Protest against Secretary of Education Elect Betsy DeVos in front of our hotel.

W.D. Hall students and staff were excited to share their teaching and learning with Dr. David Miyashiro and Board Trustee, Karen Clark-Mejia, this week.  Classrooms were abuzz with engaging and fun lessons and activities.  Fourth grade students were conducting NGSS science experiments to determine sound waves while first graders were doing experiments to explore camouflaging as part of a Mystery Science unit. Fifth graders were coding using Scratch to create videos to promote our Character Trait of the Month (Tolerance).  They were also building and coding robots using Lego robotics.  Our 3rd-5th grade students are developing TED Talks and several students were eager to share their creative ideas with our visitors.  Students participating in reading intervention programs were reading to their kindergarten buddies, part of their weekly motivation and routine.  Flexible seating is spreading throughout campus as we see the benefits of providing students choice in their learning environment.  All of this is made possible through the tremendous efforts and collaboration of our Grade Level Teams.  Their work is evident in classrooms and making a difference in changing the lives of students.

Colleen Newman, Principal

W.D. Hall Elementary School

SAN DIEGO – A Navy sailor who has been away from his family for 358 days was able to stop counting the days Wednesday as he surprised his two daughters at their San Diego schools.

Omar Aleman returned to San Diego Wednesday and immediately went to be with his family.

He started at Rancho San Diego Elementary school where Abella Aleman was reading a Valentine’s Day letter meant for her dad.

“You are the greatest dad because you are so special. I miss you and I love you. Thank you for being my dad. Will you be my Valentine?”

When she was done, her dad who was standing behind her answered “yes.”

”I gave him a humongous hug,” the first grader said with tears running down her cheeks.

An hour later, Aleman went across town to see his daughter Alyssa. She was settling into a counseling assembly when her dad walked into the room.

Alyssa recognized the man wearing Navy camouflage and blurted “Daddy!?”

“It seems like a dream. It’s been so long… life is a lot harder without him home,” said Alyssa.

 

Shared by:

Cherie Wall, Principal

Rancho San Diego