Spanish, French linguists shine at The Language Academy

French- and Spanish-language students at the Language Academy, a kindergarten through grade 8 magnet school near San Diego State University, have received gold, silver, bronze and honorable mention awards in Le Grand Concours, the National French Contest, and the National Spanish Exam.

Language Academy is a multicultural school that emphasizes the importance of fluency in multiple languages. The Language Academy offers students the unique opportunity to become bi-literate in either Spanish and English, or French and English.

“This is a highly competitive examination that helps to prepare students for the AP and College Placement Exams." said Marie-Magdeleine Chirole, Southest Region Director for American Association of Teachers of French, the organization that sponsors Le Grand Concours. "This is why your students who received a national ranking deserve special recognition. Their achievements are a testament to the quality of your French program.”

In the French test the Language Academy had 103 students in grades 6-8 take the test, with 25 top-20 percentile Honorable Mention Awards, 55 Bronze medals for National places 10-4, 12 Silver medals for National third and second place, and four Gold medals for National First Place. Several students received medals for the second consecutive year.

Students also excelled in the National Spanish Examinations, which are similar to the National French Contest and is sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. This year Language Academy earned seven gold, 16 silver and 18 bronze medals along with 56 honorable mentions among the 132 students in grades 6-8 who took the test. And, as with the French test, there were several repeat winners.

Vote through Friday for your school's volunteer

Voting has been extended to through this Friday, May 24, in a contest that many San Diego Unified schools, and other schools across the county, are participating in, the Donornation.org/Sprouts Farmers Market School Volunteer of the Year award.

To vote for your favorite school's favorite volunteer, go to schoolvolunteeraward.org and vote for two candidates. Among the San Diego Unified schools participating are: Alcott, Angier, Carver, Cherokee Point, Chollas-Mead, Curie, EB Scripps, Franklin, Gage, Dewey and Kimbrough elementary schools. Bell, Challenger, Dana, Mann and Standley are among the middle schools participating. The high school list includes University City, Madison and Morse.


The Grand Prize Winner’s school will receive a $5,000 donation in the winner’s name from DonorNation. In addition, the winner will also receive $100 in groceries per week for 52 weeks from Sprouts Farmers Market. The First Runner-up’s school will receive, in the winner’s name, a $2,500 donation from DonorNation. Additionally, the winner will receive $100 per week for 26 weeks from Sprouts Farmers Market. The Second Runner-up’s school will receive, in the winner’s name, a $1,500 donation from DonorNation. Additionally, the winner will receive from $100 per week in groceries for 13 weeks Sprouts Farmers Market.

After the public voting phase ends, a Selection Committee consisting of prominent San Diego residents, will review the field of submissions and identify a Grand Prize Winner, First Runner-up and Second Runner-up. We will be announcing the names of the Selection Committee later this month.

Good luck to all the volunteers and schools!

Mira Mesa High "cubing club" featured in video

The Rubik's Cube has been mastered by many students at Mira Mesa High School. Watch a student-produced video about their exploits»

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JROTC awards ceremony highlights upcoming week

More than 2,000 expected for parade review, awards event at Morse High on Saturday. Go to district calendar»

Clairemont High students are hungry to give back

Eleventh-grade students from the Academy of Business and Technology (AOBT) at Clairemont High School and their business mentors participated recently in a community service activity with Feeding America in Sorrento Valley. Together, they packed 5,143 meals (6,850 lbs. of food) in one afternoon.

 

At the warehouse, students and mentors worked side-by-side at various stations including package integrity, date checking and sorting.  At the end of the afternoon, the students had a better understanding that helping others can make a big difference in the community.

“It makes me feel good just knowing that I can help someone else,” said AOBT student Shane Ray. “Helping people and knowing that I will affect someone else, just gives you that good feeling inside, that you made a difference.”

The Academy of Business and Technology gives students a competitive advantage by preparing them for college and career, with an emphasis in business and finance. Students invest in their futures through academic and real-world experiences, team collaboration and connections to business and community partners, while receiving ongoing support in a family environment. Academy students grow to be innovative, articulate and socially engaged young adults who take initiative in their communities and personal endeavors.

 

The AOBT is a California Partnership Academy (CPA) funded by a grant from the California Department of Education. The CPA model is a three-year program for grades 10-12 and is structured as a school-within-a-school. Academies incorporate integrated academic and career technical education, business partnerships, mentoring and internships.

 

For more information, contact Lisa McDonnell at lmcdonnell@sandi.net.

Latest state budget proposal shows increase in school funds

Adjustments to Gov. Jerry Brown's 2013-14 state budget proposal, commonly known as the "May Revise," may mean more funds for San Diego Unified next year.

Gov. Brown’s May revision to his proposals for the 2013-14 State Budget were released on Tuesday, May 14. It reflects changes in the national and state economic outlook and the corresponding effects on revenues generated from the passage of Proposition 30 and the state’s obligation to schools.

“We appreciate the Governor’s continued commitment to supporting our neediest students by maintaining his plan for the Local Control Funding Formula in his May budget proposal," said Superintendent Bill Kowba. "The new investment to support the transition to the Common Core with one time funding will also be very helpful to our district.

"Since ongoing funding for 2013-14 will change only slightly, San Diego Unified will need to stay the course on our budget strategy to balance our structural deficit next year with property sales and attrition based staff reductions. In future years as additional funding materializes, the district can begin to restore education programs that have been lost over the last five years of education budget cuts.”

The Governor’s proposed Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) funding model fixes the state's outdated and broken school finance system with a formula that allow schools maximum flexibility in allocating resources to meet local needs. It will be phased in over several years as funding increases for K‑12 education from Prop. 30 and will include accountability measures for academic and fiscal outcomes.

According to a preliminary analysis by San Diego Unified staff, the May revision proposal includes:

• An increase, over the original January proposal, in the repayment to district of previous year "deferrals," funds owed to school districts but held back by the state.
• A one-time expenditure statewide of $1 billion to help schools implement Common Core Standards, California's conversion of curriculum to a new national standard. Possibly an additional $18 million for San Diego Unified.
• Funds to make up for federal cuts in special education funding.
• The fundamental components of the Local Control Funding Formula proposal remain essentially unchanged from January, with an emphasis on providing additional resources to school districts with the highest concentrations of English learners, low-income students, and foster youth, and a commitment to ensuring there is local flexibility and local accountability.

The state Legislature faces a June 15 constitutional deadline for adopting the state budget for 2013-14. For more information on the Governor's plan, visit his website.

Roosevelt Middle students tell ‘The Story of Me’ through art

Belinda Mora

Five students from Mrs. Fouseki’s photography course at Roosevelt Middle School are among the 200 students whose art is currently on display in the "Young Art 2013: The Story of Me" exhibit at the San Diego Museum of Art. The exhibit runs through May 26.

The museum received nearly 350 submissions this year for the exhibit. The art work is competitively judged and not every piece is accepted. All submissions must be tied to the theme each year. Student artwork can tell "The Story of Me" through artistic representations depicting their culture, traditions, family, friends, memories, experiences, or physical appearance through portraiture, narrative and masks.

Roosevelt students featured include seventh graders Destiny Sarmiento and Nicole Pinon, and eighth graders Holly Thomas, Lewis Poor and Belinda Mora.

For more information, visit http://www.sdmart.org/art/exhibit/young-art-2013-story-me.