East
East Side
Side Union
Union High
High School
School District
District
830 North Capitol Avenue, San Jose, CA 95133
Kudos
events.esuhsd.org
ES
ACADEMIC, PERSONAL AND SOCIAL SUCCESS FOR EACH AND EVERY STUDENT
A Publication of the Office of Public Information
March 2003, Issue 36
Number of East Side Students Winning Awards in
Synopsys Silicon Valley Science and Technology Championship Increases
Eighty-six East Side projects were selected
as winners at the Synopsys Silicon Valley
Science and Technology Championship earlier
this month. This competition is open to all
students in Santa Clara County. The project
categories focus on biological and physical
sciences. High school students can enter a
project and a technical paper, one or the
other, but they must have a research plan.
Each year as the number of entries in
sciencepalooza! has grown so has the
number of East Side District award winners
in this countywide competition.
sciencepalooza! was originally created to help
stimulate more East Side entries in the
countywide competition and it’s definitely
working.
Congratulations to all the student winners.
Kudos to Heidi Black for her efforts to
promote student participation. Special
thanks to the following teachers who
sponsored student winners this year:
Jonathan Mach (AH), Steve Barry (IH),
Stewart Briber (IH), Molla Huq (IH), Richard
Tomasso (IH), Ellean Vickrey (IH), Rexford
Abbott (MP), Barbara Drew (OG), Carol
Evans (OG), Vincent Proby (OG), Carolyn
Abbott (PH), Debra Dimas (ST), Kerry
Campane (SC), Narquiz Cervantes (SC), Mark
Okuda (SC), Chung Khong (YB).
We’d like to give special recognition to the
teachers with the most award winners: Carol
Evans (OG) with 29 award-winning projects
and Mark Okuda (SC) with 18.
Silver Creek Japan Bowl Team Heads for National Finals in
Washington D.C.
Santa Teresa Student Selected
for All State Honor Band
For the fifth consecutive year, Silver
Creek students will travel to our nation’s
Capital to represent Silver Creek and
California in the Japan America Society’s
11th Annual Japan Bowl. School teams
from all over the nation compete against
one another in a Jeopardy-style format in
which they answer questions in Japanese
about the language, culture, history and
politics.
Kara Kawanami
Kawanami, junior at Santa Teresa High
School, was selected to play clarinet in the
46th annual California All-State Honor
Band
Band. High school musicians from all over
the state auditioned for this prestigious
musical honor. It was held last month at the
Warnor’s Theater in Fresno and the
students received outstanding reviews.
Last year, Silver Creek sent 2 teams and
they both finished 4th in the nation. This
year, the Japanese 4 team of Amanda Te
(captain), Miriam Lueck
Lueck, and Ngoclan
Nguyen defeated Lynbrook and Cupertino
High Schools in the regional finals allowing
the team to move on to the national
competition. The finals will be held in
Washington, D. C. on Saturday, April 19.
The students are preparing intensely for the
upcoming challenge.
Congratulations and best wishes to the
Silver Creek team and their advisor, SC
Japanese teacher Matthew Hall
Hall!
Congratulations to Kara and to her proud
parents, Bruce & Jo Kawanami
Kawanami.
Kudos was initiated to promote the many
achievements of the East Side family
members, schools, staff, students, parents
and alumni. If you are aware of special
recognitions given to members of our
family, please send the information to:
Lorraine Guerin ([email protected]),
Public Information Office, 830 North
Capitol Avenue, San Jose, CA 95133.
Model Consortium at Santa Teresa
Last week Santa Teresa and the City of San
Jose’s Connecting Youth and Families to
Technology (CYFT) Program held an Open
House to celebrate their model consortium.
This partnership involves the Santa Teresa
STYLE program, which is a tutoring program
that matches students needing academic
assistance with adult volunteers, the
school’s Publishing Technologies Program and
the City of San Jose’s CYFT Program. This
CYFT model is believed to be the first in
California to have a city’s parks and
recreation program collaborate with school/
community tech centers in providing access
to computers and software training, as well
as opportunities to make connections to
students, families and communities.
The collaboration was developed through the
efforts of Kay Banchero
Banchero, STYLE Coordinator,
Diana Britton-Keller and Linda Sparling
Sparling,
Publishing Technologies Program; and
Abraham Chacko
Chacko, City of San Jose Parks
and Recreation CYFT Program Coordinator.
It started with the updating of the City of
San Jose’s Homework Centers’ logo and the
designing of a City Homework Centers’
poster by Publishing Technologies Program
students. Amanda Hsueh
Hsueh, senior in Santa
Teresa Publishing Technologies Program,
designed an updated logo for the Homework
Center and teamed with classmate Mary
Millazzo to create a poster to advertise the
Homework Center Program. The City adopted
the logo and poster, which will be used to
advertise the program’s 230 Homework
Centers all over the city. This cooperative
venture was the beginning of ST/STYLE’s
collaboration with the CYFT consortium.
Coordinator; Diana Britton-Keller and
Sparling, Publishing Technologies
Linda Sparling
Program; and Abraham Chacko
Chacko, City of
San Jose Parks and Recreation CYFT
Program Coordinator, for creating this
exciting partnership. Special thanks to
Council member Forrest Williams for the
financial and moral support he has
provided this effort.
In recognition of this city/school
collaboration, Santa Teresa was selected to
be one of the visitation sites for the
California and Pacific Southwest Recreation
and Parks Training Conference that was held
in San Jose last week. Santa Teresa staff
along with the City of San Jose CYFT
Program personnel presented a workshop at
this conference entitled “Why Cities’ Parks
and Recreation Departments Should
Collaborate with Schools and Community
Centers in Offering Academic and Technology
Skills Classes.” Currently, the Santa Teresa
STYLE/Publishing Technology portion of the
consortium is starting their second series of
computer classes. They are offering
“Computer Literacy through the Internet”
and “Introduction to Digital Photography I”
in the evenings to students, families and the
community. Kudos to Kay Banchero
Banchero, STYLE
Congratulations to Amanda Hsueh and
Mary Millazzo on the development of
outstanding marketing materials.
Amanda Hsueh designed the logo for the
Homework Center.
Silver Creek Students Embrace Opportunity to Demonstrate Mastery of Language Skills
Every year, a large group from Silver Creek’s
“Thunderously Hip” Japanese Program travel
to Los Angeles to take the Japanese
Language Proficiency Test (JLPT)
(JLPT). The JLPT
is an internationally accredited language
examination designed to measure a person’s
Japanese language skills.
the JLPT. The Japanese Language
Foundation, in conjunction with the Japanese
Foundation
government, recently issued certificates to
those who passed this grueling examination.
Congratulations to the 24 Silver Creek
Japanese 3 and Japanese 4 students who
received passing marks this year!
Last year, 227,593 students from as many
as 89 cities in 38 countries took the JLPT.
Those who pass the JLPT receive certificates
of proficiency and, as a result, are better
able to market their Japanese linguistic
skills in order to further their careers and
educational pursuits. The test has several
levels, all of which are difficult. Level 4 is the
first and easiest level of certification, while
level 1 is the hardest. The level 1 award
qualifies a student to study at a Japanese
University.
Kudos to Matthew Hall
Hall, Japanese teacher
and Foreign Language Department Chair, for
preparing his students for this difficult exam
and for encouraging them to demonstrate
their proficiency.
For the past several years, Silver Creek has
had more students take the exam than any
other high school in the continental United
States. Last December, 36 students from
Silver Creek traveled to Los Angeles to take
Japanese 3 students:
Level 1 Award — Greg Iraha
Level 3 Award — Alexander
Balzer-Carr
Level 4 Awards — Hoan Cai
Cai, Claire
Hernando
Hernando, Justin Laboriant
Laboriant, Sin
Lau
Lau, Laura Lising
Lising, Laura Mam
Mam,
Holly Marquez
Marquez, Dionisio Miranda
Miranda,
Jean Nguyen
Nguyen, Danny Pham
Pham, John
Ta
Ta, David Thai
Thai, Mark Vasquez
Vasquez, and
Mark Vidal
Vidal.
Japanese 4 students:
Level 3 Awards — Michelle Chan
Chan,
Miriam Lueck
Lueck, Ngoc Ngo
Ngo, Wayne
Williard
Williard;
Level 4 Awards — Nathan Kennedy
Kennedy,
The Tran
Tran, Edwin Villaneuva and
Christina Warren
Warren.
To view pictures of these and other Silver
Creek “Thunderously Hip” Japanese
Program adventures, go to...
http://scweb.esuhsd.org/programs/jp
East Side Students Impress Industry Representatives
On Friday, March 14, 2003, over 180
students and 100 representatives from
major Silicon Valley companies
participated in the 16th Annual East
Side and Sequoia Electronics Academy
Career Fair. This annual Career
Preparation Fair provides students and
corporate volunteers the opportunity to
interact and network. It also helps the
students understand the value of
“dressing for success” and the intense
demands of the business workplace. This
was the fourth year in a row that Cisco
Systems hosted the event.
The Electronics Academies are industry/
school programs that seek to provide
students with employment skills and
opportunities. These partnerships
enhance the students’ high school
experience by adding relevance to the
curriculum and by emphasizing
fundamental reading, writing, and
computing skills. The academies also
provide an arena in which schools and
local businesses can bridge the transition
from school-to-work and/or higher
education through mentoring, summer
internships, and other professional
experiences. East Side Electronics
Academies are located at Independence,
W.C. Overfelt, and Silver Creek.
Keynote speakers for this year’s Career
Fair were John Morgridge
Morgridge, Chairman of
the Board of Cisco Systems; and Forrest
Williams
Williams, San Jose City Council member.
After the general session, students
spent the rest of the day working one-onone with industry professionals
sharpening their interviewing skills by
participating in mock interviews, learning
about various career options
in the career information
booths, and experiencing
both sides of the
employment process through
a hiring-simulation workshop.
Feedback from both the
students and industry
representatives was very
positive. A few of the
comments from the industry
representatives included:
“This was awesome! Please,
please, please include me on
any future events! I think it’s
wonderful connecting the
students with the business community.”
Barnum, Xilinx; “The kids were great! I
Judith Barnum
was very impressed with their skills. I woud
have hired a couple on the spot!” Jason
Ledgerwood
Ledgerwood, Cisco; “This is an excellent idea,
opportunity and value-added for both
students and employers, thanks!” Paul
Valentino
Valentino, Juniper Networks. And from the
students’ perspective: “I liked the hiring
simulation the most because it gave us a
chance to experience both applying and hiring
employees.” Independence student; “I liked
the mock interviews. The interviewers gave
me great advice for future interviews and
helped me get an understanding of what I will
be asked.” W.C. Overfelt student; “It was so
very helpful. I got a lot out of this wonderful
experience.” Silver Creek student. As
evidenced by the comments, students and
volunteers left energized and better informed
about the industry/school partnerships.
Kudos to the participating companies:
Agilent Technologies
Technologies, Allegro Networks
Networks,
Altera
Altera, Applied Materials
Materials, Bay Cities Realty
Realty,
Century 21
21, Cisco Systems
Systems, AdSpace
Networks
Networks, Fabric 77, Gift Advertising
Advertising, Google
Google,
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard, IBM
IBM, Information Network
Development Group
Group, Intuit
Intuit, iSpace, Inc.
Inc.,
Juniper Networks
Networks, Lockheed Martin
Martin, LSI
Logic
Logic, Manpower
Manpower, Maximum Impact
Impact, National
Semiconductor
Semiconductor, Qualitau
Qualitau, Siemens
Siemens, Sony
Electronics
Electronics, STMicroelectronics
STMicroelectronics, Stanford
Graduate School of Business
Business, Story Dental,
Synergy Relocations
Relocations, Valley Medical Center
and Xilinx
Xilinx.
Special thanks to the key organizers: Cisco
Systems Representatives Audra Bauer and
Carol Valle and East Side Union staff
Michele Smith
Smith, Industry Liaison; Brenda
Childress
Childress, Director of Career Services; and
Melinda Gonzales
Gonzales, Department Secretary.
Andrew Hill Student Crowned
Queen of San Jose GI Forum’s
Flores Mexicanas
Jennifer Vanesa Tercero
Tercero, senior at Andrew
Hill, was crowned Queen at the 43rd Annual
San Jose GI Forum Flores Mexicanas
Coronation Ball
Ball. She won a $1,000
scholarship and represents the Forum for
the next year at major events such as Cinco
de Mayo and Fiestas Patrias, and 16th de
Septiembre.
Jennifer excels inside and outside the
classroom. She maintains good grades while
managing to volunteer at the Berryessa
Community Center
Center. She also dances, draws,
and cares for her younger siblings. Jennifer
is planning to attend De Anza and transfer
to UCLA to study psychology. Her ultimate
goal is to become a psychiatrist so she can
help people through difficult times.
Congratulations to Jennifer on this honor
and we applaud her goal of helping others.
Jennifer is the 2nd student from the Andrew
Hill Puente Program to win. Last year,
Maricela Duarte won; she is currently
attending CSU Northridge.
Mt. Pleasant Student Designs
Logo for Non-profit
In William Cavada’s Multimedia class,
students were asked to research non-profit
organizations and design logos for them.
Modesty Ramirez
Ramirez, a freshman at Mt.
Pleasant, selected Friends of the Orphans in
Tempe, Arizona. Using the Internet, she
conducted her research and proceeded to
develop a logo. She sent the proposed logo
to the organization with a note explaining
that the logo was developed as part of a
class project and she would like them to
consider it.
Friends of the Orphans responded by
thanking her and requesting her approval to
use the logo on their monthly newsletter.
Congratulations to this outstanding
freshman and kudos to William Cavada for
engaging his students in an activity that
gives back to the community.
Silver Creek Student Wins 2003 Steinbeck Scholarship Award
Sporting News
Congratuations to Krystle Bonete
Bonete, a Silver
Creek junior, who won one of the top three
awards in The Grapes of Wrath Multi-media
Scholarship Contest.
The following students made the AllMercury News Girls/Boys Soccer Team for
their outstanding accomplishments this
season:
Comcast, in partnership with the National
Steinbeck Center, announced the top three
winners at an awards ceremony and press
conference last month in Salinas. Krystle,
who is currently enrolled in June Chen’s
English III class, received her prize, a $1,500
scholarship, for her project—a sculpture of
Ma Joad. This celebration coincided with the
101st anniversary of John Steinbeck’s birth.
The goal of the contest was to promote
student interest in Steinbeck’s novel by
allowing students to access different
learning styles with options that include a
variety of media.
presentation by students from the San
Francisco area, Santa Clara, Monterey and
Santa Cruz counties.
Basil Mills
Mills, President of the National
Steinbeck Center’s Board of Trustees,
offered his congratulations to the winners at
the awards ceremony.
Lori Herington
Herington, Education Project
Coordinator for Comcast, had this to say,
“This is a wonderful way to promote student
interest in the works of John Steinbeck and
in The Grapes of Wrath in particular.”
For the second year in a row, after studying
The Grapes of Wrath, eleventh graders were
given the opportunity to depict any aspect
of John Steinbeck’s epic novel using any
media they wished. This year’s projects
included models, sculptures, drawings,
paintings, essays and a PowerPoint
Independence Students Pay Tribute to Columbia Space Shuttle
On Tuesday, March 11, a group of seven
Independence students, along with Space
Science and Technology Coordinator Nancy
Lorenzen and Principal Cari Vaeth
Vaeth, visited
NASA’s Life Science Division at Ames
Research Center. The students delivered a
banner on behalf of all Independence
students to the scientists who had worked
on the lost Columbia mission.
They wanted to express their condolences
to those who worked directly with the crew
of STS 107. Marilyn Vasques
Vasques, STS-107
Fundamental Space Biology Program
Project Scientist, gave a short
introduction to the flight experiments and
showed their award winning STS-107 video.
Several other scientists and engineers,
including Rudy Aquilina
Aquilina, the Project
Manager, answered the students’ questions
about space flight research. Their comments
included, “makes you realize that space is
alive and well in the young...” and “I’m glad
that we had a chance to share what we did
for STS 107... and we told them of the next
things we are working on so they can see
that the program will continue...”
Independence students learned plenty of
science in a short amount of time. Special
thanks to Victoria Callor from NASA’s
Outreach Program and Principal Cari Vaeth
for coordinating the event. Both NASA and
the Space Science Technology Magnet
program staff hope to make this an annual
trip. Kudos to Independence senior Danilo
Paeste
Paeste, a talented artist, who created the
memorial poster that was given to NASA.
• Judy Coffman
Coffman, senior, Santa Teresa.
Key comments, “She came in as a
freshman with a boatload of talent.
She leaves having amassed two CCS
championships and one runner-up,
scores of personal awards, and a
scholarship.” - Co-coach Anna
Thomas
• Dana Johnson
Johnson, junior, Santa Teresa.
Key comments, “She is driven toward
excellence. She’s a coach’s dream
because of her work ethic, her fiercely
competitive spirit and her leadership
abilities.” - - Co-coach Anna Thomas
• Ricky Ramirez
Ramirez, junior, Overfelt, Junior
of the Year. Key comments, “He’s
very skilled, very talented and very
quick. He reads the game well and
he’s very coachable.” - Coach John
Martinez
Martinez.
• Marco Medina
Medina, senior, Andrew Hill.
Key comments, “I watched a lot of
games this year and I didn’t see a
better player.” -Coach Toby Hill
Hill.
Overfelt Celebrates Student
Success
Last month, Overfelt held its second
annual Academic Assembly. The entire
student body watched as the staff
honored more than 200 students for
their academic accomplishments. In
keeping with the theme of this event,
Academics Goes to the Big Apple, the
gym was transformed into New York City
with replicas of the city skyline, the
Brooklyn Bridge, and a 50-foot King Kong.
Scrolls inscribed with the honored
students’ names were hung from the gym
ceiling. Their names were also flashed
across a big screen as Superintendent
Joe Coto assisted Principal Tim
McDonough and Associate Principal Lynne
Murray in awarding each student a tee
shirt and a medal for their academic
achievements.
Oak Grove Students Help
Beautify Campus
This week 50 students from Oak Grove’s
Forest, a
Environmental Club and Our City Forest
non-profit organization, planted 25 trees
on the campus. This project was a joint
effort by the students and Our City
Forest to beautify the school and to give
students first-hand knowledge of trees
and tree care.
Kudos to Oak Grove students, Science
Instructor Gary Hubbs
Hubbs, and Head
Custodian Joaquin Rosa and his
maintenance staff for their assistance,
and Director Dino Certa for organizing the
event. Special thanks to Our City Forest
for their generous donation of 25
beautiful species of trees that will
enhance the beauty of Oak Grove High
School!
Santa Teresa STYLE Program Honors Volunteers
Last week, the Santa Teresa STYLE
(Sharing by Teaching Youth Life’s
Experiences) program honored their
volunteers at a breakfast hosted at and by
IBM. The STYLE program, which has been in
existence for 23 years, uses IBM employees,
IBM retirees, community volunteers, parents,
ST staff and students to tutor students
experiencing difficulties. STYLE also has a
special component for students who are
experiencing major challenges; these
students are pulled from PE and tutored
one-on-one. Present to recognize this year’s
award winners were Council member Forrest
Williams
Williams, Eileen Tram, representing Senator
Bruce McPherson and Principal Fredella
Stewart
Stewart. Receiving special awards were:
Featured Volunteer 2002-2003 - Patrick
Pizzo
Pizzo; Dick Lee Award - Jerry Kenyon
Kenyon; Special
Services Awards - Jackie Morton
Morton, Ron
Morton and Kathy Gutierrez
Gutierrez; Exemplary
STYLE Mentor Award - Fredella Stewart
Stewart;
Junior League of San Jose Awards -
Certificate Winners- George Heigho and Ed
Witanowski, Governor’s Award to Student
Witanowski
Mentee - Ezequiel Guillen
Guillen; Governor’s
Academic Volunteer & Mentor Service Award
- Tina Dunton
Dunton; Senator Bruce McPherson
Award - Joe Coto
Coto, Lorraine Guerin and Cecile
Madsen
Madsen.
Kudos to Kay Banchero
Banchero, STYLE Program
Director, and Irene Bourbour
Bourbour, Program
Administrative Assistant, for their efforts
to honor all the tutors. Special thanks to
IBM for the support they provide the STYLE
program and to all the outstanding
volunteers for their efforts to help Santa
Teresa students experience success.
“Court’s in Session” at Silver Creek
East Side Schools Honored by
Second Harvest Food Bank
During the holidays, many schools
participated in the Second Harvest Food
Bank’s Drive to help people in need. Their
aggressive efforts and the contributions
of many in the valley helped to feed an
average of 143,300 individuals each
month. In an effort to recognize major
donors, Second Harvest recently released
their Platinum and Gold Award Winners.
Mt. Pleasant was on the Platinum Award
winners’ list. They donated 29,153 total
pounds of food. Foothill
Foothill, Independence
Independence,
Oak Grove
Grove, Piedmont Hills
Hills, and Silver
Creek were on the Gold Award list for
donating between 10,000-19,999 pounds
of food.
Congratulations to Mt. Pleasant
Activities Director Mark Curran
Curran, and
student leaders Valerie Juarez and
Rebecca Gutierrez for championing the
“Platinum Award” effort. Kudos to the
students and staff at all these schools
for making a difference.
Last week Silver Creek held its Grand Kickoff
of the Legal Studies Academy. This new
academy offers students the opportunity to
explore the foundation, creation,
interpretation and application of law. Core
subjects are integrated and students can
take courses such as: American Trials,
Criminal, Civil, Business, Family and Property
Law or Careers and the Legal Profession. The
Academy also offers an exciting Forensic
Science curriculum. Students study crime
scenes and physical evidence, DNA and
biological evidence, organic and inorganic
analysis and forensic toxicology. Key
partners include: Santa Clara University
School of Law
Law, Santa Clara County Bar
Association
Association, Santa Clara County Office of
the District Attorney
Attorney, Santa Clara County
Probation Department
Department, Pro Bono Project and
Avanti! Foundation
Foundation.
It was evident that the program has the
support of the legal community. Present to
help celebrate the grand opening were County
Counsel Ann Miller Ravel
Ravel; Assistant District
Attorney Marc Buller
Buller; ProBono Project
Attorney Richard Deblois
Deblois; Attorneys Mark
Shem and Liz Hirrsch
Hirrsch; Attorney and City
Council member David Cortese
Cortese; SCU Law
Professor Carol Koenig
Koenig; Santa Clara County
Crime Lab Representative Cordilla Willis
Willis;
Electronic Evidence Discovery Representative
Seth Davis
Davis; EVC Dean of Applied Science
Linda Carbajal; and City Council member
Terry Gregory
Gregory, Principal Ana Lomas and
Superintendent Joe Coto
Coto. After a brief
ceremony in the theater, which included a
short skit by the students and a staged
arrest of Associate Principal Chris
Schroeder
Schroeder, several hundred students visited
with the dignitaries at a small career fair.
Kudos to the Silver Creek legal team of lead
teacher Dave Rosenblatt and teachers Jim
Bell
Bell, Sharon Metoyer-Jones
Metoyer-Jones, Mark Okuda
Okuda,
Hyang Sook Yi
Yi, Luann Torkelson
Torkelson; IMT
Coordinator Traci Williams
Williams; Associate
Principal Ed Fox and Director of Career
Services Brenda Childress for all the work
they have done to get the program initiated
and for the excitement they have created in
the students about careers in law.
East Side Athletes Selected as “South Bay Athletes of the Week”
Each week the San Jose Mercury selects a
male and female athlete of the week in the
South Bay. They highlight the students’
athletic accomplishments and usually have a
quote from one of their coaches. Often East
Side students are highlighted. We will be
more diligent in the future of highlighting our
featured stars but here are some of the
more recent ones we noticed.
• Jennifer Herrera
Herrera, freshman at Evergreen
Valley for soccer. Comment from Coach
Michelle Sunseri
Sunseri, “She makes everything
happen for us offensively.”
• Jerry Arreola
Arreola, senior, Santa Teresa for
wrestling. Comment from Assistant
Coach Jeff Silverira
Silverira, “It was great to
see all of Jerry’s hard work and
dedication finally pay off with a section
championship.”
• Sabrina Sanchez
Sanchez, junior, Silver Creek for
softball. Comment from Coach Trish
Sunseri
Sunseri, “Sabrina was just unstoppable
for us offensively in every game.”
Although the following athletes weren’t
selected as the “athlete of the week,” they
were placed on the weekly Honor Roll:
ATHL ETE
S CHOOL
Ricky Ramirez
WCO
Joe Rico*
SCO
AnthonyDariano*
OG
Edward Lapitan
EV
Jerry Arreola
ST
Richard Gonzales
WCO
Paul Do
WCO
Katie Osbourne
PH
Mansol Arroyo
AH
Selina Arechiga
ST
Victoria Mancera
SC
Katie Cochran
ST
Isacca Houston
YB
Ryan Devitt
ST
Yizzel Rodriguez
JL
Liezl Dacuycuy
AH
* Appeared more than once.
S PORT
Soccer
Wrestling
Wrestling
Basketball
Wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling
Soccer
Soccer
Soccer
Softball
Softball
Basketball
Basketball
Soccer
Basketball
Congratulations to these honored students
and their coaches.
College Football Coaches Push Academics at Yerba Buena
Former NFL quarterback and current coach
of the Grambling State University football
team Doug Williams and San Jose State
University Football Coach Fitz Hill visited
Yerba Buena last week to encourage
students to focus on academics and
literacy.
Kudos to Coach Williams
Williams, Coach Hill and the
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Literacy Classic
organization for sending the right message
to our students.
The Yerba Buena students were invited to be
guests at the San Jose State University
Spartans’ first game in August against the
Grambling State University Tigers as long as
they maintain good grades.
The game is part of a major 2003 literacy
week celebration to be held in August. A key
part of the celebration will be the grand
opening of the new $177.5 million Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. Library, located on Fourth
Street and San Fernando Street in San
Jose.
Susan Monaham
Monaham, Career/Transfer Advisor
at Mission College, had an opportunity to
participate in an annual community
college outreach program at Piedmont
Hills and left quite impressed by
students and staff. She commended the
school on the following:
“Each student, from freshman to
senior, expressed interest in
continuing on to college or training
after high school. This is quite
impressive, and is a direct result of
the faculty and staff taking an
active role in the students’
interests and abilities. As you know,
this type of approach and
involvement, in the complicated
decision-making process with young
high school students, only survives
through the verbal and fiscal
support of the principal and
administrative team.
The attitude of the teachers was
prevalent and pervasive as they
brought each class into the theater,
where the event was held. It was
more than obvious that each
student had been provided with the
tools to approach the colleges with
questions and to expect information
that directly affected their decisionmaking process.
While I attend several high school
outreach events annually, Piedmont
Hills faculty and staff have created
such a powerful atmosphere alive
with vibrant exuberance and fervency
that they deserve accolades from all
of us.”
Their talk was part of a campaign initiated
by the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Literacy
Classic
Classic, a non-profit organization whose goal
is to raise literacy awareness and support
academic achievement. The organization
capitalizes on the appeal of collegiate
athletics to promote its message.
Coach Williams and Coach Hill addressed the
students with strong messages — “Set high
academic goals, study, ask for help when you
need it and plan on going to college.”
Mission College Career Advisor
Commends Piedmont Hills
Kudos to the staff and administrative
team at Piedmont Hills on their efforts
to encourage all students to set higher
educational goals.
Genesis Student - Staff Writer
at Evergreen Valley College
John Diep
Diep, a Genesis student, is a staff
writer for the Evergreen Valley College
newspaper, the Flyer. He has had three
articles published this year in the paper.
“Before attending Genesis, John would
probably have been considered quiet and
uninvolved by many; however, this year’s
environment has opened up a whole new world
for him. It’s exciting to see him grow and
take on new challenges. We’re so proud of
him,” said Genesis Coordinator Cathy
Broussard
Broussard.
Foothill and Piedmont Hills Students Share Honors at the Cesar
Chavez Awards Ceremony
Joseph Fassler
Fassler, a junior at Foothill, and
Keilyn Yoshimoto
Yoshimoto, a senior at Piedmont
Hills, were the grand prize winners of the
District Cesar Chavez Writing and Poster
Contest.
Students from throughout the district
expressed through essay or artwork their
emotions about the following quote by
Cesar Chavez, “It is my deepest belief
that only by giving our lives do we find
life.”
Each school selected 1st, 2nd and 3rd
place winners for essays and posters and
the 1st place winners competed for the
grand prize. All the winners were
recognized at an awards luncheon at the
Mexican Heritage Plaza last week.
Students received financial awards and
certificates from the district,
Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren
Lofgren, and
Assemblyman Manny Diaz
Diaz.
Listed below are the 1st place winners from
all the schools. All winners and their entries
can be found on the district web site under
events (http://events.esuhsd.org).
Congratulations to these outstanding
writers and artists.
Kudos for outstanding work to: Contest
Coordinator Kathy Gonzalez
Gonzalez, support staff:
Marie Alves
Alves, Esther Olmos
Olmos, and Dolores
Alcaraz and the following staff members for
coordinating the contest at their sites: AH:
Michael Winsatt and Kathy Farmer
Farmer; EV: Lynn
McHenry
McHenry; FH: Ellen Sanchez
Sanchez; IH: Barbara
Lambro
Lambro; JL: David Porter and Nancy Weiner
Weiner;
MP: Jeffrey Lynn Davis and Rebecca Palmer
Palmer;
OG: Martha Brazil
Brazil; PH: Nancy Kennett and
Juan Sierra
Sierra; ST: Jan Tilbury
Tilbury; SC: Laurie
Weckesser and Paul Fernandes
Fernandes; WCO: Malaika
Young and Jan Muscio
Muscio; YB: Hannah Lynn
Demerson and John Mora
Mora; SBNS: Laurie
Thush and Art SAC: Sharon Ferguson
Ferguson.
Dr. George Castro
Castro, Professor at San
Jose State University, did an
outstanding job addressing the students
and providing insight into experiences
that motivated Cesar Chavez.
Assemblyman Manny Diaz greeted the
students and commended them on their
work. A large number of parents,
teachers, administrators, board
members, community and government
officials were present to honor the award
winners.
Silver Creek Japanese 4 Students Lecture at
Martin Murphy Middle School
Last week, 20 Silver Creek seniors
journeyed to Martin Murphy Middle
School to participate in that school’s
Multicultural Week. At the request of the
middle school’s ASB Advisor, Dawn
Truver
Truver, these Japanese 4 students
became “teachers-for-a-day” as they
gave presentations to 12 different
classes of seventh, eighth, and ninth
graders. Topics covered by the young
sensei included: Japanese cuisine, music,
numbers and writing systems; the
comparison of Japanese junior high
schools to American junior high schools;
origami; and learning Japanese in high
school.
Congratulations to these outstanding
students for promoting diversity and
educating these junior high students about
the Japanese culture and to their teacher,
Matthew Hall
Hall, for arranging this opportunity.
Accel Middle College Alumni Excel!
Accel Middle College completes its sixth year
this June. This program offers a unique
option for students who are academically
capable and motivated. Students can
complete the requirements for their high
school diplomas while beginning their college
careers. A number of students earn 15 to
30 college credits while they are completing
their high school diploma requirements and
many continue to pursue higher educational
goals after graduating from college.
Here’s just a few examples: Reene Maabadi
(Accel ’98, UCLA’ 02) will complete her first
year in a doctoral program at the Scripps
Institute of Oceanography, which is affiliated
with UCSD; Maritz Meraz (UCLA ’02), Diem
Pham (UCLA ’03), Sweta Patel (UC Berkeley
’02), Kelly Fagan (UCSC ’03), and Yvett
Garcia (Santa Clara University ’02) have
completed their undergraduate degrees, have
taken the LSAT and are waiting to hear from
law schools. Yara Rivera will graduate from
SJSU this year and pursue a master’s
degree in Sociology in Nevada, Arizona, or
Texas. Other alumni are continuing to pursue
undergraduate degrees at Stanford,
Tuskegee, Marquette, Santa Clara, UC Davis,
UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, UC
Riverside, UC Irvine, UC Santa Cruz, Sonoma
State, San Diego State, San Francisco
State, San Jose State, CSU Monterey Bay,
San Diego Art Institute, Cuesta College,
DeAnza and Evergreen Valley College. This
year’s graduates have been accepted into
UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, Santa
Clara University, CSU Monterey Bay, San
Jose State University and Tuskegee.
Kudos to Accel teachers Patricia Randazzo
and Linda Flournoy who instill a love of
learning in their students and help them to
develop the confidence to achieve their
educational goals.
WCO’s Uses SATCHATS to
Encourage Improvement
James Lick Student Finalist for
Bank of America Scholarship
Santa Teresa Teacher
Nominated Educator of the Year
SAT Chats are becoming the norm in East
Side schools. Throughout the district, teams
of administrators and staff members are
meeting with students to review their scores
on last year’s STAR tests with the goal of
getting students to do their best on this
year’s test. Each school’s approach is a
little different, but the goal is the same. In
an effort to share “best practices,” here’s
how W. C. Overfelt approached this task.
Congratulations to Bhupinder Saini
Saini, a
James Lick senior, who is a finalist for the
Bank of America Scholarship. To make it
to the finalist position is a great
accomplishment. Minimum requirements
for applying for the scholarship include a
GPA of 3.5 or greater and an impressive
list of activities completed during a
student’s high school career.
Nancy Schwalen
Schwalen, English/ELL teacher and
literacy coach at Santa Teresa, has been
nominated for the California League of High
Schools (CLHS) Region V Educator of the
Year. Every year the CLHS Region V, which
encompasses Monterey, San Benito, Santa
Clara and Santa Cruz counties, asks for
nominations of individuals who have shown
their commitment and talents inside and
outside of the classroom. The selected
nominees are recognized at an annual
event in May.
Starting in February, Overfelt’s “SATCHAT
Team” of Principal Tim McDonough
McDonough, APED
Lynne Murray and BASRC Reform
Coordinator Vito Chiala began the task of
meeting with over 50 classes to review STAR
testing results and individual student
scores. Lynne Murray developed a PowerPoint
presentation and Vito Chiala played a critical
role in preparing individual student testing
result histories and assessment “goal
sheets” for 1600 students.
The team used full–period meetings to
explain in terms students could understand:
the Academic Performance Index (API),
Overfelt’s API rating (overall school and sub–
groups) for the past few years, and Overfelt
SAT9 scores by grade and subject area.
After reviewing the data, students were
engaged in the process of personally
charting their progress and setting goals for
this year. “Our students are very proud and
they want Overfelt to be the best; we believe
that if they understand the role they play in
raising the school’s scores they’ll try harder
on the test,” said Tim McDonough
McDonough.
The academic and extracurricular records
of the applicants are evaluated by the
Citizens’ Scholarship Foundation of
America, Inc. Approximately one out of
every 10 applicants, or 320 students in
all, is selected to compete in regional final
events before panels of honorary judges.
These events take place in 10 cities
throughout California. While considerable
weight is given to academic achievement
during judging, the qualities of leadership,
character, presentation skills, regard for
others and a sense of civic responsibility
also are major criteria in the selection of
honorees.
The recommendations from these events
are sent to the Bank of America and they
make the final decisions. The amounts of
the scholarships are as follows: 1st place $2,000, 2nd place - $1,500, and 3rd place
- $1,000, and the remaining competitors
receive $500 each.
East Side wishes Bhupinder our best in
the final round.
Kudos to the Overfelt staff on their efforts
to involve students in this continuous
improvement process.
WCO’s Oracle Academy Welcomes United Kingdom Dignitary
Students and staff from Overfelt’s Oracle
Academy played host to Sir Cyril Taylor
Taylor,
advisor to the Secretary of Education of the
United Kingdom, on February 12, 2003. Sir
Cyril was visiting academy programs in the
U.S to see if they could be replicated in the
U.K. to improve education. The students were
quick to demonstrate the skills they have
developed and showcase examples of their
work, including their PowerPoint “Data
Modeling Competition” entries and SQL and
Java scripts.
Key Oracle staff members, Director of
Marketing Randi Sosnow
Sosnow, Vice-President of
Education Initiatives
Facey, and
Laurie Facey
Director of the Oracle
Internet Academy Thomas
Kadelbach were present
to discuss industry’s role
in the Academy with Sir
Cyril and respond to any questions.
Kudos to lead teacher Richard Jine and
the Oracle Internet Academy students for
hosting Sir Cyril and showing him the
effectiveness of the Academy. The Overfelt
Oracle Academy may help to drive
educational changes around the world!
“Nancy is an outstanding teacher and she
has done an incredible job as our literacy
coach. She is a good mentor and coach
and well respected by her peers. This
recognition is well deserved,” said Principal
Fredella Stewart.
Congratulations to Nancy on this
achievement. She will be honored on May
21, 2003, in Salinas at the new Steinbeck
Center Museum.
Oak Grove Celebrates Success
In an effort to celebrate student success,
Oak Grove scheduled a Student
Achievement Night Awards Presentation
and Fine Arts Performance event. Several
hundred students were recognized for their
academic achievement. Each department
recognized top achievers and 60 students
were recognized for maintaining a 4.0 GPA!
In between awards the awesome Oak Grove
band, the magnificent dance troupe from
the spring musical and the outstanding
choir entertained parents and students.
The small gym was filled with an impressive
display of student artwork that the
participants viewed as they munched on
refreshments after the ceremony.
Congratulations to all of the student
award winners. Kudos to Achievement
Night Coordinators Julia Lawrence and
Greg Brazil for organizing this incredible
event. Special recognition to MC Robert
Black
Black, Band Director Chris Moura
Moura, Choir
Director Minh Thai and spring musical
directors Jennifer Davidson and Sage
Wells
Wells, display organizers Jennifer Leipham
Leipham,
Patty Giorgianni
Giorgianni, Maureen Susino
Susino, Michael
Villanueva and Jarrod Thompson for
setting up the impressive displays of
student work and the outstanding
entertainment.