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Student
Salutes
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Silver
Gate Elementary student Morgan Downey, a second-grader in
Mrs. Carroll's class, has connections in Sacramento! Morgan
created an Earth Day poster and submitted it for a contest sponsored
by Senator Barbara Boxer. Of the thousands of entries
submitted, Morgan's was chosen as one of the best and is included
on the senator's web page.
In a letter to educators, Boxer describes the winning posters
as those "best representing the spirit of Earth Day"
and praised the students as being "very good stewards of
our environment." |
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Four district high school students are being recognized by the
Hispanic Heritage Awards Foundation, a nonprofit group
that honors students who serve as role models to their peers
by excelling in school and volunteering in their communities.
Gold medallion winners include Gompers Secondary School students
Angelica Riestra, in the category of health and science,
and Beatriz Paula Calamaco, in the category of sports.
Both students will receive $2,000 scholarships. Silver medallion
award-winners include La Jolla High School student Andrew
Fischer in the area of health and science, and Mission
Bay High School student Yesica Salgado in the area of leadership
and community service. They will receive $1,000 scholarships.
The foundation gives out 144 awards to teens throughout the
nation. One national winner will be chosen from the pool of
regional winners and will receive a $5,000 scholarship and a
laptop computer. Read winner
bios on the Hispanic
Heritage Awards Foundation website. |
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Serra High School 10th grader Melissa Looper placed 3rd in the
statewide "When Not to Keep a Secret" essay
contest. Students in 9th and 10th grades were asked to write
about what should be done if they knew a secret that could be
potentially dangerous. Melissa wrote about the sensitive subject
of "cutting" oneself with sharp objects because of
constant stress and pressure. In her essay, she encourages other
teens to talk about their problems instead of resorting to cutting,
but more importantly, she encourages friends of those who are
suffering to speak out. Revealing a secret to an adult about
someone who is cutting "is better to have them safe and
bitter than in pain." Click here
to read her entire essay. Melissa received her award at a ceremony
in Sacramento, sponsored by the California Medical Association
Alliance (CMAA).  Melissa,
shown third from the left in the photo (right), was accompanied
by Marcia Heinrichs-Sorini from the district's Life Skills team;
her father, Mike Looper; and her English teacher from Serra,
Elizabeth Nixon. Six other district students were also honored
at the county level for the contest. |
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Serra
High School's Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC)
attended an invitational field meet in the city of Boulder,
Colorado. Serra cadets were presented with the Commanders
Cup, which is similar to the Commanding General's Cup at
Camp Pendleton, in that it is given to the champions of the
overall competition. The drill teams also returned home with
six other 1st place trophies, and four 2nd place trophies: 1st
place Armed Drill Overall; 1st place Armed Drill Exhibition;
2nd place Armed Basic Mixed; 2nd place Armed Basic Males; 1st
place Unarmed Exhibition; 1st place Unarmed Basic Women's; 1st
Unarmed Basic Mixed; 2nd place Unarmed Basic Males; 1st place
Color Guard; 2nd place Armed Two-Member Exhibition. The cadets
are now preparing and fundraising for the National Field Meet
in Pensacola, Florida |
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School
of Creative and Performing Arts student Nazareth Weldeghiorgis
has been honored with a $2,500 Gold-1 scholarship award in the
Discover Card Tribute Award Scholarship program for California.
Nazareth was recognized in the category of Science, Business
and Technology Studies, and, as a Gold-1 winner, will go on
to the national level to compete for one of three $25,000 scholarships.
The
Discover Card Tribute Award Scholarships, given in cooperation
with the American Association of School Administrators (AASA),
recognize outstanding achievements of exemplary high school
juniors in the U.S. |
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 Mission
Bay High School 10th graders Alyse Beni and Hoang Vu
have each been awarded a $600 dance scholarship to the Starlight
Dance Studio in an essay contest built around the theme, "Dance
is good for the body and good for the mind." More than
50 Mission Bay students toured the studio last month, as part
of a Physical Education class opportunity to learn dance techniques
and hear about career options. Alyse and Hoang will study with
studio owner Michael Kiehm and his partner Brandi
Northrup, and will help develop a performance for the school's
50th anniversary coming up this fall. The anniversary event
will also incorporate special efforts from the student television
production and journalism classes. |
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Standley
Middle School 7th grader Ofer Harel was invited to represent
the district at the recent Junior National Young Leaders
Association conference held in Washington D.C. The conference
is sponsored by the National Youth Leadership Council, which
promotes leadership potential and academic excellence. While
at the conference, Ofer had a chance to attend a variety of
workshops designed around leadership traits such as character,
communication, courage, goal setting and more. |
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A
team of students from Challenger Middle School has been
honored as semifinalists in the Christopher Columbus Awards,
a nationwide program that challenges middle-school students
to explore opportunities for positive change in their communities.
Sixth-graders Tanya Kim, Britany Kvalvik, Sidney Schnepf
and Megan Sharp, and their science teacher, Terry Allinger,
were concerned about crime in their neighborhood, especially
after learning that burglars often ring doorbells to see if
anyone is home before trying to enter. They felt the elderly
or others who might take awhile to respond to a doorbell might
need assistance, so they wanted to help. Their invention, the
Doorbell Messenger, not only takes messages from a visitor,
but also plays messages or sounds so it can appear as though
someone's home but just not interested in answering the door.
Read the write-up
on the Christopher
Columbus Awards website. |
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