Summer Fun Café Program Provides Free Lunches for Kids 18 and Under

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For San Diego’s kids there is such a thing as a free lunch this summer, as the Summer Fun Café opens in locations all over the city with a big barbecue kickoff coming up on Wednesday, June 20.

Kids are invited to bring their parents to the kickoff event, scheduled from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Skyline Hills Community Park, 8285 Skyline Dr. (92114). Lunch is free for anyone 18 and under – and at this event and BBQ events throughout the summer, for adults, too. The event will feature a special guest appearance by the San Diego Padres’ Friar and Pad Squad and a big bike drawing for seven bicycles and helmets.

For the ninth year, San Diego Unified School District is partnering with the City of San Diego Park and Recreation Department to bring the USDA’s “Seamless Summer Feeding Option” to local children. At 69 locations around the city – including 26 parks, 30 schools and 13 other community sites including MCAS Miramar – lunch will be available to kids Monday-Friday. For the complete schedule and locations, go to www.sandi.net/food select Summer Fun Café. County-wide information is at www.211sandiego.org/SummerLunch.

There is no paperwork or qualifications required to enjoy lunch. Good nutrition is very important to a child’s growth and each parent can be assured that their child is getting a good lunch through this program. The barbecue kickoff will also include food bank distributions, Chef Alex Carballo’s cooking demonstrations, CalFresh prescreening, Power up Your Summer fruit and veggies games, lots of prizes, a Let’s Move dance flash mob, health screenings, immunizations, a resource fair, an inflatable jumper, music by Radio Latina and crafts.

For more information on the Summer Fun Café program contact Norma Johnson at njohnson4@sandi.net or 858 627-7308.

Crawford Auto Students Get Rev’ved Up 4 Kids

Students work on the engine.

For the second year in a row, Crawford High School automotive students competed in the Annual Edelbrock Rev’ved Up 4 Kids charity car event by participating in the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge Regional competition.

"The kids had to learn the inner workings of a small-block Chevy engine and practice as a five-person team to get fast enough to compete in the competition," said Carl Kingsbury, Crawford IDEA Automotive Technology instructor. The team had four students working on the engine, while the fifth kept the tools moving.

Events such as this stress teamwork and help the students understand the pressure that professionals sometimes feel when a customer "needs a repair yesterday."

"The event teaches the kids about paying attention to detail in building engines, team work, interacting with automotive professionals, and the spirit of competition," said Kingsbury.

The top teams from each region will earn their spot to compete at the National Finals in Las Vegas at the "Showdown at SEMA" in early November. Crawford's team again fell short, but the students learned from the experience.

"The experience was great," said Jose Barrios, the IDEA team's captain. "We did a lot better than last year and we are going to be better next year."

The top teams are honored with scholarships from Ohio Technical College, University of Northwestern Ohio and the School of Automotive Machinists. Crawford students took seventh place this year.

For more information, contact Kingsbury at 619-583-2500, ext. 4608.

SD Unified Council of PTAs Donates 170,800 Volunteer Hours

Barbara Flannery, Jose Gonzales, Superintendent Bill Kowba and Board Member Kevin Beiser

Arika Daniels, Bey-Ling Sha and Derby Pattengill

Bey-Ling Sha, Mary MacKenzie, Ann Marie Haney, Barbara Flannery

Barbara Flannery and Melissa Whipple

The San Diego Unified Council of PTAs presented Supt. Bill Kowba with a mock check for $4,000,139, which represented the estimated dollar value of the 170,800 volunteer hours donated by PTA members this school year to the district. Board member Kevin Beiser joined the superintendent for the special presentation, which took place at the San Diego Unified Council of PTAs Founder’s Day Meeting on May 23.

“In reality, a dollar amount cannot be put on the volunteer hours given by PTA members each year,” said Kowba. “These committed volunteers are priceless to the district.”

The Council of PTAs also presented four service awards, recognized special unit PTAs who met the membership challenge and one National PTA award winner.

Mary MacKenzie and Mary Ann Haney accepted the Honorary Service Award presented to Community Council for Music in the Schools, a non-profit agency that revitalizes donated instruments to ensure that all San Diego Unified students have access to good musical instruments. The council also hosts the annual Honors Orchestra. The Honorary Service Award recognizes outstanding service to children and youth.

Melissa Whipple, family engagement resource teacher at the Ballard Parent Center, was presented an Honorary Service Award for her continuing support of student success through parent education. Melissa uses the National PTA Family Engagement Standards to frame her program.

PTA Council board members, Derby Pattengill and Bey-Ling Sha,each received Very Special Person award for outstanding service in the Our Children, Our Future [www.ourchildrenourfuture2012.com] ballot initiative – an initiative to solve the continuing school budget crisis.

Twelve district school PTAs were recognized with membership awards. Whitman Elementary PTA was recognized for its Family Evenings Science Week, which was funded by the National PTA “Take Your Family to School Week” grant. Benchley-Weinberger Elementary PTA was recognized by Ninth District PTA for Best Printed Newsletter and La Jolla High School PTA was recognized for Outstanding Continuing Program – Life 101.

The San Diego Unified Council of PTAs is comprised of 81 school-level PTAs in the San Diego Unified School District. To start a PTA at your school, contact Barbara Flannery at sducpta@yahoo.com.

Morse Hungry Tigers Showcase Culinary skills in New Facility

Students, staff and district leaders dedicated the new culinary artsfacility at Morse High School on May 30. The College, Career &Technical Education (CCTE) facility is home to the school’s HungryTigers culinary arts program, which uses the state-of-the-art equipment,furnishings and building to provide students with a professionalworking environment while still in school. The Hungry Tigers wowedeveryone in attendance with their culinary talents and deliciousfares. They prepared and served a variety of dishes from hors d'oeuvresto entrees to desserts.
  

The new one-story,steel-framed building is 6,622-square-foot, with an additional1,695-square-foot outdoor cafe. Located on the southeast portion of thecampus, it features indoor dining, a nutritional analysis classroom, twoclassrooms/preparation areas, teachers’ offices, cold and dry storage,uniform closets, laundry, cleanup and trash areas, restrooms, and aloading dock. The $3.2 million CCTE project was funded by San DiegoUnified School District’s Proposition S and a state matching-fund grant,Proposition 1D, both of which can only be used for capital improvementprojects.

CCTE’s culinary arts programat Morse High School provides career and technical education in thefood service and hospitality career pathway within the hospitality,tourism, and recreation industry sector.  In this career pathway, Morseprovides the nutrition and  culinary arts and management courses.

For more details on College, Career and Technical Education, visit www.sandi.net/CCTE, or call 858-503-1754. For additional information on Proposition S, visit www.sandi.net/PropS or call 619-725-7252.

De Portola Orchestra Gives Sharp Performance

De Portola Middle School's Advanced Chamber Orchestra received a "Unanimous Superior" from judges at the recent Southern California School Band and Orchestra Music Festival.

"This was an outstanding performance by our musicians," said Brad Pulverenti, De Portola's music director. "These festivals give our students a chance to perform before some of the best music teachers and orchestra leaders in the region.


"These judges were very impressed with our musicians."

"We are incredibly proud of the many hours of hard work that the student musicians and their director, Mr. Pulverenti, put in to achieving this milestone," said Elizabeth Gillingham, De Portola principal.

The festivals challenge students by giving a new piece of music to perform within a few hours at the festival.

"It really shows that we have true musicians when our students can pick up a piece of music, read it and perform it," said Pulverenti.

This was the first time in the school’s history that an instrumental ensemble achieved the highest score at such a rigorous music festival. The Chamber Orchestra was judged on their performance of three pieces in front of a group of adjudicators: "Earle of Oxford’s Marche" by William Byrd/arr. Hoffman; "The Ash Grove" arranged by Michael Hopkins; and C. B. Kreichbaum, Jr.'s "Petite Tango." They also performed an "on-the-spot" sight-reading performance of an additional music work and earned a “Superior” rating during that session, as well.

The other instrumental ensembles did quite well at their respective festivals, too. Their scores are:

• Symphonic (Advanced) Band, Perf. = Excellent (2-2-2); Sight-reading = Superior (1)String (Beg./Int.)
• Orchestra: Perf. = Excellent (2-2-2); Sight-reading = Superior (1)Concert (Beg./Int.) Band: Perf. = Good (2-3-3); Sight-reading = Superior (1)

All of the ensembles received a "Superior" in sight-reading.

For more information on the program, contact Pulverenti at 858-496-8080.

School Police Take The Torch Run for Special Olympics

 School police carry the torch.

Officers from the San Diego Unified School District Police Officers participated in the Law Enforcement Torch Run benefiting the Special Olympics of California.

“Our School Police Officers were honored to participate in the event and help raise awareness for Special Olympics,” said Michael Marquez, School Police Operations Lieutenant.

School Police participants in the May 29 event included: Luis Espinoza, University High School campus police officer, John Ross, Mission Bay High School campus police officer and Michael Marquez, Operations Lieutenant.

The officers joined more than 120 law enforcement agencies participating in the Torch Run, which began in Chula Vista on May 29 and will end in Los Angeles this Saturday, June 9.

The southern leg route of the Law Enforcement Torch Run includes police officers, staff and law enforcement from the cities of San Diego, Oceanside, Escondido, Carlsbad and Orange County.

The goal of the Special Olympics Torch Run is to raise awareness and raise funds for community-based support programs that help benefit people with intellectual abilities. San Diego County Special Olympics reaches athletes from Oceanside to San Ysidro. The money raised helps pay for free, year-round sports programs and competitions.

IN THE NEWS: La Jolla, Morse, Madison Top Academics on Morning News

Top students from La Jolla, Madison and Morse high schools were on KUSI-TV's Good Morning San Diego talking about the district's "Salute to Excellence" program, their academic achievements and the 2012 Salute To Excellence, which honored the trio and more than 100 other students, the top one percent of students in the San Diego Unified School District. Watch video from KUSI-TV»

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