November, 2012

Dr. García’s Newsletter

Issue 6

In this edition:

·        Join us for the IS Fundraiser at Wang’s

·        Mr. Poncey shares a summary of the recent visit to the Old Globe

·        IS Parent Connect Meeting

·        Halloween and Dress Code

I.                  Join us for a Fundraiser at Wang’s, Sunday, November 4

The San Diego High School Foundation is holding a fundraiser to benefit SD High School of International Studies. The benefit event will take place this Sunday, November 4 from 4 – 7 pm. There are a few days left to buy tickets. Follow this link to purchase a $20 ticket. https://isfa2012-sdhs.eventbrite.com/ It will take place at Wang's North Park 3029 University Ave, San Diego, CA 92104

II.               A Note from Theatre Teacher, Mr. Poncey:  Allegiance and The Seussification of Romeo and Juliet

On Thursday October 25, 75 students from M. Poncey's Theater classes were invited to a student matinee of the musical, Allegiance, at the Old Globe. Allegiance featured George Takei (of Star Trek fame) in the roles of Sam Kimura and Oji San who tell the story of the relocation into internment camps of Japanese Americans during World War II. It is a powerful story and one which closely narrates the experiences of George Takei as a child as he himself was sent with his family to Camp Rohwer in Arkansas. Drama students enjoyed the amazing acting and singing from cast members Lea Salonga (Kei Kimura), Allie Trimm (Hanna Campbell), Telly Leung ( Sammy Kimura) and others. Many felt the scenes of the loyalty questionnaire and the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima were some of the most poignant moments they had seen on a theater stage. M. Poncey and his classes are most thankful to the Old Globe for their partnership and free tickets. We would also like to extend our thanks to the Theater moms who helped chaperone and to our principal, Dr. Garcia, for attending.

On a different note, the cast members of " The Seussification of Romeo and Juliet" would like to inform our IS audiences that our show dates have been moved back to December 13, 14 and 15 to avoid clashing with December Nights in Balboa Park. In the past, parking and traffic have been difficult at best for our patrons and we are delighted to have been able to move back our show.

-M. Poncey

III.              IS Parent Connect Meeting           

Join us for our next IS Parent Connect Meeting to be held on Tuesday, November 13  in our PAT.  Lynn O'Shaunnesy,  a nationally published author of "The College Solution" will speak to us about preparing for college (9^th grade and beyond).

IV.              Halloween Dress Code

Please remind your students that anyone wishing to dress up on Wednesday must comply with our dress code. See flyer below for more information.

 Download a PDF of Newsletter 6 with the flyer attached.

Dr. García’s Newsletter

Issue 5

In this edition:

·        Mrs. James presents us with a behind the scenes look into our teachers’ work to complete the Blue Ribbon Application

·        Mrs. Berman’s summary of the ISA Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser

·        College Presentations

·        21^st Century Grant Parent Surveys

·        Parent nominations for the School Site Council Vacancy

·        Progress Reports

·        Fall Open House Pictures

I.                  San Diego High School of International Studies Wins National Blue Ribbon Award! A Behind the Scenes Look….

Mrs. James narrates a ‘behind the scenes’ look into the process and teamwork required to complete the Blue Ribbon Application:

In addition to jumping up and down (I have been hitting the treadmill at home, therefore, more agile) to celebrate earning the coveted “Blue Ribbon” award, I would like to acknowledge and to thank my peers for providing insights and information about our accomplishments. Given your expertise, we were able to successfully complete the application. So here goes:

Tim—what can I say? I promise that I will refrain from saying “Come on Tim, we can do this.” Tim’s sense of humor made the dull and boring application process tolerable. Of course, he formatted all of the tables, reviewed the stats and did all the hard stuff.

Nirit—her job description vacillated between hunter and gatherer and my personal assistant. I learned to surround myself with organized colleagues in order to deliver a finished product worthy of recognition. “Really, I don’t know why we couldn’t do a Prezi.  Certainly, a lot more entertaining!”

Ms. Gloria—for providing us with the necessary data needed for the demographics and for not yelling at me when I misplaced the data during a chaotic “senior moment.”

Mzzz. Ann—for allowing me to collect personnel data on a daily basis for various charts. After a week in her office, I had to escape. If not, I would be addressing my classes in the familiar Louisiana drawl, drinking sweet tea and eating squirrel!!

Rocio Guillermoprieto—your insights into the acquisition of language were interwoven into all of the components.  These insights added credence to our belief that a rigorous curriculum is accessible to all students.

Jaime Enochs—for providing us with information from our WASC document and for being so supportive—your countless offers of help were appreciated.  Also the muffins were yummy!!

Tonia Berman —Access and Equity to Rigorous Curriculum for all of our students! We believe it, we live it and we shared it with the world in NYC! Individualized attention and support systems were integrated into our foundation and soon, they became the norm.

David Evers and Jackie Ng-As you can imagine, the info from David was laced with the famous “Evers Quips” but we managed to glean the needed data. On the other hand, Jackie provided us with detailed descriptions and annotations accompanied her remarks—We miss them!!

Stan Murphy—our vision and philosophy section was crafted under your guidance.  Not only did the section set the tone for the application, we used it as a guide to skillfully address all of the elements that were highlighted.

And last, but not least Crystal Alvarez (alumni)—for Googling, for revising, and for laughing at my antics during the stressful moments of revision.  Without her technical knowledge and patience, Tim’s job would have been even more stressful. She stayed after school with us (unpaid) and worked on the application until it was perfect.  I could not have done it without her!!

Thank you again--now we are a prestigious "Blue Ribbon" school!!

II.               A Note from ISA  advisor, Mrs. Berman

Greetings from ISAmbassadors!!

Students, staff and parents enjoyed a lively morning on Saturday, October 13 at our second annual ISA Pancake Breakfast.  Spirits were high as our guests were served breakfast, students entertained us with their music, and snaphots taken via an old-school polaroid camera were being glued onto home-made picture frames.

Over $1,500.00 has been raised thus far, donations are still being submitted, and 100% of the net proceeds will be used to support our students for I.S. and IB programs and events. 

All ISA events are student-initiated and organized.  It is with pride that I share this news with you, as I watch our students work diligently, and with sincerity, to support their peers in need.

A HUGE thank you to all of the parents who volunteered their time to help out with the event.  We could not have done it without you!

The following universities are presenting to our Seniors in their AVID Seminar classes:

October 24^th—(1) Davidson College and (2) American University of Paris

October 25^th—Reed College

October 26^th—Columbia University

October 29^th—University of Southhampton (UK)

October 31^st—CSU Chico

November 2^nd—San Diego State University (SDSU)

November 6^th/7^th—Scholarships (Allen Peck)

IV.              21^st Century Grant Survey

We’re applying for an After School grant. Please help us fill out the parent survey by following the link below:

www.ercsurvey.com/san-diego

V.                Parent Nominations for a Site Council Vacancy

We currently have one parent vacancy on our School’s Site Council. If you are interested in serving the two year term, please send your name to Gloria Fernandez at gfernandez1@sandi.net by November 7^th. Please let us know why you are interested in this position. We will send out a ballot once we have received all the nominations.

VI.              Progress Reports

Progress Reports will be distributed to our students on Friday, October 26 during their third period class. Please make sure to ask your student for the report.

VII.           Fall Back to School Night

Thank you for joining us on Tuesday for this year’s Fall Back to School Night. I trust you enjoyed meeting our fantastic teachers! Enjoy some pictures of the event!

Dr. García’s Newsletter

Issue 4

Welcome New Staff

We thank our visiting teachers for supporting us through the first 6 weeks of school. Our new, permanent staff will assume their role beginning on Tuesday, October 16. Below is a brief bio of each teacher. Join me in welcoming them!

Entering Physics Teacher: Eric Burtson (Mr. Burtson has already begun his assignment with us).

Eric Burtson returns to IS after several years working in the private sector.  He began his professional life as a biotech engineer.  Five years later he became a science and math teacher for San Diego Unified.  Soon after, he landed at SDHS, where he taught IB Physics from 1996 through 2002.  Since then he has been a Science Administrator, Vice Principal, and Financial Advisor.  Though he has enjoyed these varied experiences, he feels he has come home to IS at San Diego High. Mr. Burtson has a son Alex, a senior at UCLA, a daughter Cherish, a sophomore at UCSC, and a son Jonathan, aspiring to attend CSU Channel Islands next fall.  His wife Paige is a director of nursing at UCSD Medical Center.

Exiting Visiting Physics Teacher: Mr. Goddard

Entering Biology/Chemistry Teacher: Mrs. Jimenez

I am very excited to be joining the San Diego High School of International Studies team.  My education began at Bonita Vista High School where I took International Baccalaureate classes.  Then I moved onto San Diego State University where I earned my Bachelor of Science in Biology and my Single Subject Teaching Credential in Biology.  In May 2013, I will begin taking classes toward my Master of Arts in Teaching in Biological Sciences.  I have been teaching at Morse High School since my career began in 2007.  Over the past 5 years I have taught Biology 1,2, Integrated Science 3,4 and Advanced Placement Environmental Science.  I am an advocate for providing special experiences outside of the classroom and since 2008 have organized 15 field trips to places including the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, UCSD, Miramar Landfill and water treatment plants.  I have also worked with ScienceBridge bringing UCSD provided laboratory experiences to my high school students.  In 2007, I ran an after school knitting club and from 2008 through 2011 I was the Environmental Club advisor.  I love to travel and have been to 11 countries and 16 states.   Most frequently my husband, two young boys and I travel internationally to Mexico.

Exiting Visiting Biology/Chemistry Teacher, Mrs. Peavy

Entering History Teacher: Mr. Folkman

My name is Jason Folkman.  I have been teaching in the public schools for sixteen years.  I believe in public education.  It is essential for a healthy and thriving democracy.  I have taught at middle school and at high school, all grades from 8 to 12.  I have taught both English and social studies in California and New York.  Most recently, I taught US History and A.P. US History at Crawford High School.  At Crawford High School I started a Vegetarian Club and I would love to start another one at SD High International Studies. In addition to living in California and New York, I have lived in Iowa, Taiwan, and Egypt. I love studying languages, and am still conversant in Arabic, and I remember some Chinese.  I am always trying to improve my Spanish.   I am excited to return to San Diego High School; it is my alma mater.

Exiting History Teachers: Ms. Gilette-Lunsford, Patrick Goddard

Entering Physical Education Teacher:  Ms. King

My name is Annie King and I am a native of San Diego. I have been teaching Physical Education for almost 20 years and have coached Track and Field, Cross Country, Field Hockey and Golf. I am now a single mom and have a five year old daughter who is in kindergarten. We have an old dog and two baby kittens. I graduated from La Jolla High School in 1981 and the University of CA Irvine in 1986, where I majored in Political Science, ran track and was the team captain. I earned my teaching credential from Cal State Long Beach and my MA in Education (emphasis, Physical Education) from Azusa Pacific University. When I am not teaching or active in recreation, I love to read, garden and cook. I am excited to return to San Diego High School, home of the Cavers, my mother's alma mater and the oldest school in San Diego!

Exiting Physical Education Teacher: Mrs. Deliivanova

Entering Art Teacher:  Ms. Lind

Hi I'm Jennifer Lind and I am very excited to teach Art at the school of International Studies at San Diego High School.  I double-majored with a BA in Art and Psychology, and received my Masters in Education.  I have been teaching Art and Ceramics for the last nine years at James Madison High School.  For three years I served as a Department Chair for Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA), and was a representative on the Governance team.  I am very well versed in Ceramics, many mediums in Art and specialize in painting.  I have organized school-wide and community-based projects with my students.  Along with my High School students, I helped to beautify the school environment by painting different elements on campus.  For a community-based project, my students and I painted a mural project for "Make a Wish Foundation". We painted two murals for a 6 year-old girl with SMA after school hours.  I have also been the school club advisor for Madison's Art/Ceramics club.  I look forward to making a difference in the creative learning of students in the International Studies Community .    

Exiting Art Visiting Teacher:  Mr. Cerda

Entering Spanish Teacher:  Mr. Quezada

My name is German Quezada. I have a clear P.P.S. credential and a clear BCLAD credential in Spanish with supplementary authorizations in English and Social Studies. 

I have been with the district for six years.  I worked two years as a counselor at Montgomery Middle School.  For the past four years, I have been teaching AP Spanish language, Spanish 3-4, and Spanish 1-2 at Crawford, Patrick Henry and Pt. Loma High Schools. I am excited to be part of your team and I am looking forward to teaching at San Diego High School of International Studies.

Exiting Spanish Visiting Teacher: Ms. Nava.

Entering English Teacher: Anne Armstrong

My name is Anne Armstrong.  I'm looking forward to working at the San Diego High School, School of International Studies. Prior to joining IS, I have taught English and Social Studies at STEPS secondary, for students enrolled in grades 8 – 12. I have also taught at Farb Middle School where I gained experience teaching AVID.

Outside of teaching, I work part time at The Yellow Book Road, a children’s bookstore. I have a passion for children’s literature and enjoy attending author events and sharing my knowledge of books. Currently, I’m in the process of trying to publish my first picture book.

Exiting Visiting English Teacher: Ms. Gilette Lunsford,

A Note from Our Teacher Theatre/French Teacher, Mr. Poncey

Advanced Drama students from M. Poncey's class contributed their talent and time to Rise Up, a town hall meeting held in Balboa Park on October 13th, 2012 to raise awareness of prescription drug abuse in America. The town hall meeting portion of the Wake Up Now program featured a national live feed on the internet. Kayleb Kirby, Miina Coulon, Connor Boyd ( all from IS)  and Korry Mc Bride ( Sci.Tech) performed excerpts from " The Holding Cell", a play about teenagers and prescription drug addiction in front of an audience of medical experts and concerned parents. A ‘shout out’ to these performers as they mesmerized their audience especially in the climactic seizure scene bringing home the need for tighter supervision of prescription drugs in America.

The same actors are also involved in Theatrical Knights, the I.S. theater production club currently staging  " The Seussification of Romeo and Juliet", a comedic retelling of the famous Shakespearean feud which will open December 6, 2012 and run until December 8, 2012 in the Perkins Auditorium Theater. Save these dates early in your calendars as this promises to be a night of fine acting performances and fun meant for all ages.

PISA Assessment

Our school was selected to participate in the PISA Assessment. Approximately 50 sophomores will be taking the International Assessment on Tuesday, October 16.

Information from the NCES website:

The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a system of international assessments that focuses on 15-year-olds' capabilities in reading literacy, mathematics literacy, and science literacy. PISA also includes measures of general or cross-curricular competencies such as problem solving. PISA emphasizes functional skills that students have acquired as they near the end of compulsory schooling. PISA is coordinated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), an intergovernmental organization of industrialized countries. Begun in 2000, PISA is administered every 3 years. Each administration includes assessments of all three subjects, but assesses one of the subjects in depth. The most recent administration was in 2009 and focused on reading literacy. The PISA 2009 frameworks are available at http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/11/40/44455820.pdf.

PISA 2012 focuses on mathematics literacy and assesses reading and science literacy as well. PISA 2012 also includes computer-based assessments in mathematics literacy, reading literacy, and general problem solving assessments, and an assessment of students' financial literacy. Detailed results of PISA 2012 will be available in December 2013. The PISA 2012 draft frameworks are available at the OECD PISA webpage.

PSAT and Parents of 12^th Graders with Assigned Time Home

All 10^th and 11^th graders at the San Diego High Complex will be taking the PSAT (Preliminary SAT) this Wednesday, October 17^th, from 7:30am – 10:45am. As a result, the Complex will be following a modified bell schedule and any 12^th grade students who currently have assigned time home during period 1B should not report to school on Wednesday until 10:50am, when they will report directly to period 3B.