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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
A Publication of the Office of Public Information
May 2001 Issue 16
Piedmont Hills’ Senior Chosen for U.S. Physics Team David Liao, a senior at Piedmont Hills High School, was recently chosen for the U.S. Physics Team. Each year, all of the approximately 18,000 high schools in the nation are invited to have their students try out for the U.S. Physics Team. Only 24 students in the nation are selected and David is one of the chosen few. David will represent the United States in the International Physics Olympiad in Turkey this year. Congratulations to David on this honor and to his physics teacher, George Schuttinger, who has supported David’s efforts.
levels of financial awards. Kudos to Kathleen Gonzalez, ST English teacher, for coordinating the district-wide contest and to the following teachers who coordinated their individual school’s contests: Michael Winsatt (AH); Vito Chiala (FH); Karen Winchester (IH); Roberta Cabigas (JL); Jeffrey Lynn Davis (MP); Martha Brazil (OG); Ken Crowther (PH); Carla Hansen (ST); Heidi Correa Ramirez (SC); Jan Muscio (WCO); Maureen Degnan (YB); Dennis Richardson (Apollo). All the winning essays and pictures of the luncheon are on the District web site. Visit http://events.esuhsd.org/ kudos.html.
Foothill Student Wins César Chávez Writing Contest
Mt. Pleasant AVID Seniors Pass the Senior Cord of Sweet Success
Andrew Hill Student Chosen to Help Create a New Engineer College Congratulations to Que Anh Nguyen, senior at Andrew Hill High School, for being selected as one of 30 students from across the nation to create a new engineer college. Que Anh was given a full scholarship to Olin College. It is a 5 year scholarship, worth over $200,000. The first year, she will help plan the curriculum as a consultant and study in Paris, France. (The college will open in 2002.) Que Anh turned down MIT and CalTech to take advantage of this incredible opportunity. In addition to being a CSF sealbearer and a fleur de lis member, she was unanimously selected by Math departments districtwide for the Frank Burrows Math Scholarship. Kudos to Que Anh on all of her accomplishments and best wishes for a bright and successful future.
Lisa Huynh, junior at Foothill, won the District’s Grand Prize for the Cesar Chavez Writing Contest. Students were asked to write about the following quote by Cesar Chavez, “You are never strong enough that you don’t need help.” Each school selected 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners and all the 1st place winners competed for the grand prize of $400. The awards were presented at a special luncheon on May 16th at the Mexican Heritage Plaza. All winners were honored and they all received varying
Last week at a celebration luncheon at the Moose Lodge, 27 Mt. Pleasant seniors passed the Cord of Sweet Success to the junior AVID class and delivered a strong message, “Stay in school, achieve high academic standards, and go to college!” All of the graduating AVID students are planning to go to 4-year colleges. Over 180 AVID students were in attendance. Grettel Castro-Stanley, MP Coordinator of AVID, has all AVID
students attend so the freshmen and sophomores see that college is a reality and an expectation for all. Mt. Pleasant has been selected as a National Demonstration Site because of its success with the program. Contributing to the success are: AVID Coordinator Grettel Castro-Stanley, AVID teachers – Martha Guerrero, Martha Escobedo, Bernadette Dunham, Mark Holston and Steve Pollock, Counselor Yesel Deleon, Principal Art Darin, and Associate Principals Jim Meyer and Jim McWilliam. Santa Clara County AVID Regional Director Andrea Lichter and Superintendent Joe Coto were at the luncheon to congratulate the seniors and encourage the underclassmen. Kudos to this support team and to the following AVID graduates and soon-tobe freshmen at: San Jose State University: Juan Alvardo, Alex Arenas, Veronica Borceguín, Antwan Buchanan, Sergio Buenrostro, Joel Camarena, Angelica Candelario, Tanisha Crawford, David Flores, Ryan Fontanilla, Shannon Gylnquist, Adolfo Hernandez, Renee Hill, Jessica Muñoz, Trini Ponce, Andrea Robles, Manuel Robles, Julio Silva, Rasheina Sutton, and Marygrace Valdez; UC Santa Barbara: Juan Andrade: UC Riverside: Michael Bui: DeAnza with transfer to Santa Clara University: Valerie Devera and Deserie Soliz: Loyola Marymount: Sandy Escobar: Sacramento State University: Liv Iv: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo: Joel Ragamat.
community volunteers, parents, ST staff and students to tutor students experiencing difficulties. The program offers tutoring assistance from 2:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. four days a week and on Wednesday nights from 6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. 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 at this year’s recognition were Olivia Heathcote, a former East Side staff member who started the STYLE program 21 years ago, and current staff members who have taken turns directing this outstanding program, Carol Hoglund, Karyn Neujahr and current Director, Kay Banchero. On hand to present this year’s volunteer awards and to commend the recipients were City Councilman Forest Williams, a strong supporter of education, Principal Fredella Stewart, and Associate Principal Chip Gaston. Receiving special awards were: Featured Volunteers 2000-2001 – Pam and Jerry Kenyon; Dick Lee Award – Stephen Branch; Outstanding Peer Tutor Award – Nguyet Tran; Special Services Awards – Rod Diehl, Lauri Heath, Karyn Neujahr, Fredella Stewart, Edward Witanowski, Neil Wilson; Exemplary STYLE Mentor Award – Carol Hoglund; Ten Year Award – Cecile Madsen; Junior League of San Jose Awards – Certificate Winner-Rod Diehl, Silver Bowl Winner and Crystal Bowl Winner-John Popper. Kudos to all the volunteers and the ST staff for their efforts to help all Santa Teresa students experience success.
East Side Dominates in Los Gatos Photography Contest
Carol Hoglund, Karyn Neujahr, Kay Banchero and Olivia Heathcote
Santa Teresa’s STYLE Program Celebrates 21st Annual Volunteer Recognition Last week, the Santa Teresa STYLE (Sharing by Teaching Youth Life’s Experiences) program honored over 60 volunteers at a breakfast hosted at and by IBM. The STYLE program, which has been in existence for 21 years, uses IBM employees, IBM retirees,
School for the past 9 years, and Dennis McKenna, girls’ swimming coach at Santa Teresa for more than 20 years, were selected to receive CCS Honor Coach awards. This recognition is presented to coaches who have made outstanding contributions to their sport at their school, within the league, in the community and to the Central Coast Section. They are considered role models and inspirations to athletes, coaches, teachers, administrators, parents and the public. Silver Creek Principal Fred de Funiak applauded CCS’s selection, “Mike is highly respected by the students and staff at Silver Creek for his hard work and dedication.” Mike also serves as Silver Creek’s athletic director. Santa Teresa Principal Freddie Stewart commended Dennis McKenna, “Not only did Dennis bring honor to Santa Teresa in the form of successful team competition, he has helped ST to be a better institution. He is a strong proponent for youth, athletics and Santa Teresa.” Mike and Dennis received these awards at the CCS meeting in April. Congratulations to Mike Abrigo and Dennis McKenna.
Silver Creek and Santa Teresa Coaches Selected as CCS Honor Coaches Mike Abrigo, swimming, diving and water polo coach at Silver Creek High
The East Side photography students and their teachers won all four major awards and 70% of the remaining awards in the 33rd Los Gatos Photography contest. This year over 25 schools competed and 679 students entered. Top award winners were: Jack Parsons Memorial Best of Show Christopher Thompson, Oak Grove, (Teacher—Mike Villanueva) Bud Hegeman Memorial Award 1st Place Nicole Corpuz, Independence (Teacher—Rudy Franke)
Senior Portfolio 2nd Place Jacylyn Moral, Independence (Teacher—Rudy Franke) Lillian Parsons Memorial Award Yoana Picazo, Andrew Hill (Teacher— Bill Farfan) Portraits 1st Place Daisy Cuxim, James Lick (Teacher— Marjorie Kelley) Special Techniques 1st Place Elaine Bontuyan, W.C. Overfelt (Teacher—Steve Taddei) Studio Photography 1st Place Hugo Del Campo, W.C. Overfelt (Teacher—Steve Taddei) Congratulations to the East Side teachers who continue to set high standards for their students and to the students who strive to meet those standards.
Andrew Hill Teacher Wins Internet Institute Award Lara Reddy, a Social Studies teacher at Andrew Hill, recently won a Santa Clara County Office of Education Internet Institute Award from National Semiconductor Corporation. This prestigious award recognizes the development of exemplary internet projects. Lara was honored in late May at an awards dinner at National Semiconductor. Congratulations to Lara for being recognized as one of our county’s outstanding, leading-edge educators.
Pegasus: Shedding Light on Tomorrow Earlier this month, Pegasus’ seniors were at Evergreen Valley College getting ready for the future. They learned about post-high school jobtraining programs: Job Corps, CTC, and San Jose Conservation Corp; they were formally interviewed by professional volunteers; and they interacted with career professionals from probation, rehabilitation services and the military. This event was just one step in an ongoing process to teach selfempowerment to all Pegasus seniors. Other steps included: • Attendance at a symposium on goalsetting, life style and opportunities after high school • Completion of the FAFSA financial aid form • Concurrent enrollment of seniors in on-site college classes • Job skills practice: application, resume, interest inventory • Completion of Evergreen Valley College placement test • Special counseling on completing applications by Evergreen Valley College counselors The staff wants to ensure that all students graduate with a plan and a vision for the future. Kudos to the Pegasus staff members: Debbie Amable, Ike Del Rosario, Celia Gaytan, Don Gordon, Cynthia Palmer, Gwyn Poole, Joe Randazzo, and Steve Tatum and Coordinator Sandra Thush for their efforts to prepare these students for success.
Foothill Robotics Program Named as Finalist for 2001 Brite Award Foothill High School’s Robotics Program was honored earlier this month as a finalist for the 2001 Brite Award. This annual award is presented by SGI and the Tech Museum of Innovation to a school that has creatively integrated technology into the curriculum. Brite Award finalists receive a gift from SGI and the Tech. Congratulations to Jeneva Westendorf, Foothill robotics teacher, for making the finals.
East Side Robotics Teams Excel in Silicon Valley Competition Legos Robotics teams from Andrew Hill, Foothill, Independence, Mt. Pleasant, Oak Grove, Santa Teresa, W.C. Overfelt, and Yerba Buena represented the district well in the Silicon Valley Robotics Regionals. Sponsored by the KISS Institute for Practical Robotics, the Botball Robotics program provides hands-on learning in science, technology, engineering and math. Students design, build and program their own mobile robot using legos, sensors, motors, customized robot computers and software. They have six weeks to create their robots. The
competition is played on a 4’ by 8’ board where robots score points by placing black and white balls in scoring position. The robots are programmed by the students; there are no remote controls. Students learn computer programming in the C language, which is a skill in high demand in the work place. Independence’s Team 1 earned Judge’s Choice and Top Seeding Round Score. They had the highest score in the nation during one of the seeding rounds. W.C. Overfelt’s Team 2 placed first in the double elimination category and 3rd in the Top Seeding Round Score. They were second in the overall winner category and received a $1500 travel prize to support attendance at the Nationals in Seattle. Thirty-seven teams from the Silicon Valley area participated in the competition. Kudos to all the East Side teams and to the teachers who put in many, many extra hours to support their students.
East Side Awarded $600,000 Teaching As A Priority (TAPP) Grant The California Department of Education has awarded a $600,000 TAPP Grant to East Side. This grant provides support for new, fully credentialled teachers who work in schools needing to improve their API scores. These resources should give the district a competitive edge to recruit new teachers. The benefits are currently being negotiated. Special Kudos to Ramon Martinez, Frances Renteria, Mary Beth Chambless, Jay Totter, Don McKell and Don Dawson for helping to develop a winning proposal.
East San Jose Kiwanis Awards Turnaround Scholarships Earlier this month, the East San Jose Kiwanis awarded $1000 Turnaround Scholarships to 14 well deserving students. These students were selected because they overcame personal hardships or poor academic starts and took the necessary steps to improve their grades. At the awards luncheon, students told their turnaround story and in every case the students paid tribute to at least one East Side staff member that supported them as they struggled through a difficult period in their lives.
Kudos to all the staff who helped these youngsters turn their lives around. Special thanks to the East San Jose Kiwanis for providing the scholarships. Congratulations to the following award winners: Thomas Pluff – AH; Marisol Murguia – FH; Teresa Quiroz – IH; Manuel Corona – JL; Myrell Aguinaldo – MP; Ashley Clements – OG; Gabriel Salas – Genesis; Steffon Simms – PH; Erisa Flores – ST; Nadia Hibu – SC; Alejandra Acuna – W.C.O; Alejandra Hermosillo – YB; Rachael Brown – AE; Sergio Sanchez – San Jose Job Corps. Commendations to the following East Side staff who are also Kiwanians and helped to organize the awards luncheon: Mary Ann Andrade, Jesse Barajas, Elias Chamorro, and Rafael Renteria. It should be noted that Joe Rodriguez, writer for the San Jose Mercury News, featured and commended the Turnaround Scholarship Program in one of his columns.
East Side Teachers Accept IISME Fellowships John Brashier, music teacher at Mt. Pleasant; Maria Carmen Belleza, math teacher at Oak Grove; and Mark Okuda, science teacher at Silver Creek have accepted IISME fellowships for the summer. These teachers will be provided with summer jobs at high tech companies. The Summer Fellowship Program, sponsored by the Industry Initiatives for Science and Math Education (IISME), seeks to transform teacher and learning through industry-education partnerships. Teachers use this outstanding personal development opportunity in the work place to enhance their classroom instruction. These East Side teachers will be working at Intel, Solectron and Applied Biosystems. Debra Dimas, Independence physics teacher, will also be participating in the Summer Fellowship Program as an IISME peer coach. East Side commends these teachers on their efforts to enhance their professional development. For information on IISME, visit http// IISME.ucsc.edu/.
Genesis Staff & Students Present at BLUE Conference Genesis coordinator, Bruni Martinez, counselor Susan Garretson, and students, Algredo Arceo, Gerzain Hernandez and Sylvia Murillo, were key presenters at the BLUE (Best Latino
Urban Education) Practices Conference at Santa Clara University last month. They provided an outstanding work session on the partnership between Genesis and Evergreen Valley College. The BLUE Conference was organized to allow educators to share ideas and programs that are encouraging and enabling more Latino youngsters to achieve success. Kudos to the Genesis presenters for promoting one of East Side’s success stories.
and Associate Principal, Dr. Mack was always a strong advocate for all students, but especially for learners from underrepresented groups. She was instrumental in organizing a number of conferences aimed at encouraging and motivating students to stay in school and pursue college. Dr. Mack received her award earlier this month at a ceremony at San Jose State University. Congratulations to Sandra and best wishes for a happy retirement.
East Side Teacher & Administrator Honored at San Jose State University Victor Hageman, industrial education teacher at Mt. Pleasant, and Val Williams, Villa Principal at Independence, were honored last week at a dinner at San Jose State University. Victor recently completed his master’s degree in Administration and Supervision and Val completed her master’s degree in Administration and Supervision and the second phase of her administrative credential. Present to applaud their achievements were Board President Craig Mann and Director of Adult Education, Dr. John Sellarole. John serves on San Jose State University’s Advisory Committee for Administrative Credentialing. Congratulations to Victor and Val!
Two East Side Administrators Honored by ACSA Tim McDonough, W.C. Overfelt principal was honored as one of ACSA Region VIII Administrators of the year. Tim was nominated by his colleagues for his leadership and professionalism and selected among all the Region VIII nominees. He was were honored at the ACSA Annual Recognition and Installation Celebration in late May.
ES Dr. Sandra Mack Selected for SJSU Multicultural Award Dr. Sandra Mack, recently retired administrator from East Side, received the San Jose State University Multicultural Award. The award is given to administrators and teachers in Santa Clara County who make major contributions toward promoting equity, multiculturalism, diversity, and social justice. During her career as a Student Advisor
Superintendent Joe Coto
Board of Trustees Craig Mann, President J. Manuel Herrera, Vice President Jeff Ota, Clerk Patricia Martinez-Roach, Member Juanita Ramirez, Member
