IN THE NEWS: Dingeman Student is Chess Whiz

Daniel Sun, 9, bested his opponent last month in the San Diego Winter Scholastic Chess Championship at the San Diego Chess Club in Balboa Park. Daniel lost one game. Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Hoover Students’ Work Creates Friendly Sidewalks

If there’s a cracked or broken sidewalk, or some sort of obstacle to a walk-friendly City Heights, the students from Hoover High School’s Geographic Information Systems (GIS) class already know about it.

The students participated in a community service project to create a more walkable neighborhood. Part of the Health Equity by Design grant from Walk San Diego, the project encourages walking in City Heights by making the community a safer, more enjoyable place.

The students used GPS units to collect data for use on a GIS map. Impressed by the students’ work, organizers have asked them to participate in a presentation on sidewalk improvements to the City Heights Redevelopment Project Area Committee. For more information, please contact Instructor Bryan Voeltner at (619) 283-6281 ext. 4101 or bvoeltner@sandi.net.

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Kearny DMD Partners with Time Warner Cable

Tenth grade students at Kearny's School of Digital Media and Design concluded their fall project, "Crime Time", with an awards ceremony hosted by Time Warner Cable. The students created an interdisciplinary project focused on the principles and applications of forensics.
Collaborating in teams, the students constructed engaging and educational websites to be used in 7th grade Life Science classrooms. In addition to Time Warner Cable, Montgomery Middle School, Taft Middle School, Grossmont College's Administration of Justice program, a local medical examiner, The Innocence Project, and several law enforcement officials participated in the project.
Time Warner Cable announced that the top three student groups will be showcased nationally in Time Warner Cable's Connect a Million Minds initiative, a philanthropic endeavor that models interdisciplinary use of math, science, and technology in after school programs across the country. For more information, please contact Erin Preston, DMD digital art instructor, at epreston@sandi.net.

Schools Benefit from Whole Foods Market “5% Day”

Checks were recently presented to Florence Elementary School and Albert Einstein Academy from their community partner Whole Foods Market Hillcrest.
The presentation was part of the “Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids” Expo event, which encourages healthy school meals through support of reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act and an increase in school meal reimbursement rates.
The funds were provided through the Whole Foods Market 5% Day promotion, earmarked for supporting nutrition education at schools. For more information, please contact Gary Petill, food services director, at gpetill@sandi.net.

For more district news, subscribe to the Superintendent's Friday Notes.

Board Approves Agreement with SDEA

On March 2, the Board of Education approved the agreement with the San Diego Education Association on contract provisions. The agreement is now up for ratification by SDEA members. Read more»

It's Read Across America Day

The popular Read Across America event returns Tuesday, March 2, celebrating the birthday of the late San Diegan Ted Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. At schools all across the district -- and the nation -- community members, celebrities and others will visit schools to read with students. The event is sponsored by the National Education Association.

Some visiting readers will even dress the part, coming as their favorite Seuss character. Among the events scheduled for San Diego Unified are the Community Reading Diffendoofer Celebration at Burbank Elementary and six Paws’itive Service Dog teams paying a visit to Lindbergh Schweitzer Elementary School.

If your school is holding a special event, please contact Jack Brandais at (619) 725-5570 or jbrandais@sandi.net.

IN THE NEWS: Correia Middle School, YMCA, Partner to Bring Rec Facilities to the Point

Pt. Loma YMCA's Haas Family Gymnasium is unique due to its partnership with adjacent Correia Middle School. The school will use the new facility for physical education classes while offering parking spaces to the YMCA in return.

Read more from the Peninsula Beacon»