Prop. S Update: New Morse High Child Development Center Milestone Met

Morse High School’s new Child Development Center is more than 50 percent complete. The $2.8 million project is funded by Proposition S and a $1.8 million Career Technical Education/Prop 1D grant that was received last year.

Features of the new facility will include an ROP classroom, child development center laboratory, observation room, infant room, instructor’s office, restrooms, kitchen, and laundry room. Read more.

Need Volunteers?

The United Way of San Diego County and the U-T Volunteer for Education Campaign have teamed up to recruit volunteers to help our schools.  Volunteers will serve as readers, tutors and mentors for students. Schools that want to request volunteers can simply fill out a Request for Volunteers Form and e-mail the completed form to volunteeropps@uwsd.org. For more information, visit www.liveunitedsd.org and click on the “Volunteer” banner or call 858-492-2000 and ask for the Volunteer Coordinator.

Help Us to Reach 2,000 Facebook English Fans and Join Us on Twitter

Here's a reminder that you can get news about San Diego Unified schools, programs and events almost every day through the district's Facebook (in English and Spanish) and Twitter pages.

Our English Facebook page had 1,950 as of this week's Friday Notes, so if you have not "liked" the page yet and use Facebook, help us reach 2,000 fans.

The site en Español carries the same content, translated for those whose primary language is Spanish. For anyone wanting instant information, join the 3,751 followers on Twitter. Facebook and Twitter followers will also receive timely updates in the event of a district-wide crisis, such as the recent blackout.

IN THE NEWS: Interview with co-Teacher of the Year, Jonathan Winn

How does a brand new teacher quit after his first two years because he was so miserable, to come back to create the most popular class on campus? Read more from What's So Special»

Whitman Fourth Graders Skype Author Sharon Creech

 Writer Sharon Creech,
on screen, talks
to students at
Whitman Elementary
via internet teleconference.

What inspires a writer?

Whitman Elementary School fourth grader Elias Palacio found out that, for Sharon Creech, it's things that have happened in her own life. Creech, author of popular novels The Wanderer, Granny Torrelli Makes Soup, Ruby Holler, Replay, and Heartbeat, recently met with Elias and other students in Denise Maggard's class via Skype, the internet-video service.

The fourth graders are currently writing narrative texts, and after reading Ms. Creech’s books, they became familiar with her writing style. In addition to the interactive 30-minute question-and-answer session about her books and writing, the students were elated to meet the person who wrote some of their favorite books.

The Nov. 18 interview reinforced what Ms. Maggard tries to teach her students: write what you know about your own life. After being immersed in narrative texts, the fourth graders have begun to craft their own fiction stories based on their own lives.

For additional information, contact Denise Maggard at dmaggard@sandi.net or 858-273-2700.

Children in Transition Joins with Community for Thanksgiving

Feeding America San Diego, House of Blues® San Diego and San Diego Unified School District hosted meals for hundreds of local children and their families on Thanksgiving Day. The meal included live entertainment by gospel choir Eddie Baltrip & Fulfillment, singer/songwriter Alex Woodard and a special performance by the Mission Bay High School band. More than 600 low-income and homeless San Diego Unified School District children and their families attended the event.

While the holidays are a perfect time to provide a holiday meal for those in need, the issue of food security is impacting families year-round. According to a March 2011 study by Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), nearly one in every five San Diegans are now struggling to put food on their family tables.

“It is so important to us that children and their families can celebrate the holiday without worrying about how they are going to get food on the table,” said Jennifer Gilmore, executive director of Feeding America San Diego. “We are so grateful to the House of Blues for letting us host this event again and are thrilled to be able to provide meals to local families in need this Thanksgiving.”

The dinner is being sponsored by The Rose Foundation of Rancho Santa Fe as well as individual donors and supported by KyXy 96.5. Feeding America will also supply food boxes for the school children and through the Mobile Pantry program the week prior to Thanksgiving to ensure that they and their families have enough food to eat during the holiday break.

“This has been a tradition among House of Blues since we opened in 2005. Members of our staff volunteers every year to participate in this heartwarming event” said Shervia Sana, Brand Marketing Manager at House of Blues San Diego. “It’s part of our culture –.the tradition began in 1992, when the original House of Blues in Cambridge, Mass opened its door on Thanksgiving Day, feeding the homeless before opening to the public. Our commitment to serving the community will always be a priority and we are extremely thankful for the opportunity to give back.”

For more information about Feeding America San Diego, local food distributions or to make a donation, please call (858) 452-FOOD (3663) or visit www.FeedingAmericaSD.org.

At least 25 percent of people experiencing homelessness each day are children. SDUSD serves nearly 5,000 students experiencing homelessness each year, grades preschool to high school. The Office of Children and Youth in Transition offers services that include resources to assist students and families in navigating the educational system so they continue to receive a quality education during this transitional time.

Students Design Hospital Emergency Departments

The assignment for Biomedical Innovations students at University City High School was to design an effective and efficient emergency room and then present their plans to members of the medical community for grading.

Teams of three to four students conducted needs assessments for an emergency department and then addressed:

1. The physical layout;
2. Innovation in equipment, devise or organization; and,
3. Staffing and connections with other departments.

Students researched issues of congested hallways, patient and family wait times, long wait times for diagnostics such as labs and x-rays, tedious movement of equipment room to room and other emergency department complaints. They also studied the care, diagnosis and treatments of two patients to develop their final presentations.

Some of the innovations the students created were:

• Patient and Family Tracking systems
• Specific Rooms for Psych Patients to decrease congestion in the Emergency department
• Integration of Smart Phones with Apps to pre-register for the Emergency department
• Gardens for Waiting Rooms
• Use of iPads for transfer of Patient Results

The students presented their plans to local emergency department directors, a vice-president of nursing, an emergency room nurse, a physician and a Ph.D. data analyst. The students will be touring a local emergency room this month to see how a real hospital puts things into action.

For more information, please contact Ellis Vandiver, CCTE Biomedical Sciences Instructor, at evandiver@sandi.net.