Serra HS Student Wins Essay Contest

Serra High School junior Celia Smith won the grand prize or a $1,000 scholarship in the 12th Annual Cesar E. Chavez High School Essay Contest. The writing topic of the contest was "The Art of Inspiration in Serving Our Communities". Celia will be recognized at the San Diego Cesar E. Chavez Commemoration Community breakfast on Monday, March 29. For more information, please contact teacher Juan Mora at jmora@sandi.net.

Having Fun with Worms

Seniors from Crawford's Multimedia and Visual Arts School (MVAS) are teaching fourth graders at Fay Elementary about worm composting. The MVAS students recently taught three lessons to their junior scientists. During the final lesson, students constructed a worm compost bin for Fay Elementary classrooms. For more information, please contact MVAS Principal Diego Gutierrez at dgutierrez@sandi.net.

"Fly Like an Eagle"

On Wednesday, March 17, motivational speaker and NFL Chaplin Ken Johnson encouraged 11th and 12th grade students at the Crawford High Educational Complex to “fly high like an eagle and not cluck like a chicken.” Johnson’s anti-drugs and anti-violence messages focus on empowering young people to make solid choices for their future. For more information, please contact Principal Dr. Arturo Cabello at acabello@sandi.net.

Challenger Wins Governor’s Award

Students are not just stronger at Challenger Middle School, they’re winners. So strong that they have won the Governor’s Challenge Competition and the $1,000 prize money along with one of the popular Wii interactive video games systems courtesy of champion athlete Tony Hawk and Nintendo game company.

The school won the statewide fitness contest held among K-12 schools promoting increased physical activity and better health for California’s youth. Challenger students took on the challenge collectively, as more than 1,050 students flexed their muscles in the activities for a total of 53,626 active days, collectively. Our students weren’t the only ones sweating. Sixty-one staff and community members also competed in the challenge, racking up a total 791 active days. They received their prizes during a ceremony March 19, with the check being accepted (in photo, left to right) by School Improvement Officer Shirley Wilson, Principal Sheelagh Moran, physical education teacher Mark Monroe, Christa the Challenger Cheetah and Mira Mesa Town Council President Ted Brengel. For more information, please visit http://www.calgovcouncil.org/. or contact Principal Moran at smoran@sandi.net.

IN THE NEWS: School District May Look Locally To Offset State Cuts

Public school districts up and down California are turning to a parcel tax as way to offset deep budget cuts. Read and hear more from KPBS-FM»

IN THE NEWS: Patriot golfer works on the mental part of the game

The scores have been exceptional in recent years for an athlete first exposed to golf at age 3, when his parents gave him a plastic club and a ball to play with in the backyard. Find out all about Byron Meth, a junior at Patrick Henry.

• Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune»
• 2008 interview from KUSI-TV»

Food Safe Zone

Joyner MicroSociety Magnet is the star of an educational video for the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Our district was selected for its exemplary safety efforts. For two days a crew from Time Frame Productions filmed Joyner school nurse Gail McLaurin, R.N., discussing how our district nurses have coordinated efforts to reduce the risk of accidental exposure for students with allergies to certain foods, such as peanuts. Also interviewed were School Board Trustee Shelia Jackson and Joyner Principal Gilbert Gutierrez. Teachers Isabel Arce and Colleen Keefe were filmed teaching their students about food allergies and how to protect against adverse reactions. For information, contact Gail McLaurin, RN, at gmclaurin@sandi.net.

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