An integral part of the budget development is hearing from the community! Please join the upcoming Community Meetings to learn more about the City’s budget process, where money comes from, how it is spent and provide input on what services should be priority over the next year.
To learn about additional Training Opportunities, please contact Rachel Gonzalez , Director of Training & Capacity Building at (213) 201-3924 or rgonzalez@familiesinschools.org.
by Vivek Chotai, MHS Student Board Representative
On March 1, I had the privilege of participating in Joseph Weller Elementary School’s annual “Read Across Weller” event, where community members are invited to read books to students on Dr. Seuss day. My day started off with reading “Hooray for Diffendoofer Day!” by Dr. Seuss to a group of first graders for my first group. The first graders were very excited, constantly interrupting the story with bursts of laughter, and telling stories of their own. Although we did not get to finish the book, the students enjoyed the experience (even more than me!) and were especially amused by a picture of Miss Bonkers kissing the principal, Mr. Lowe, on the forehead. My second group included another cluster of first graders, who had heard the hysterical laughter from my previous group, wanting to read the same book. These students were particularly interested in the pictures, and noticed details that even I had not seen. Again, the picture of Miss Bonkers kissing Mr. Lowe’s forehead was a popular page, where the students pointed out Mr. Lowe’s shoes had fallen off as a result of his shock and happiness. My last group was inside a classroom, where the students seemed introverted and patiently quiet. However, after bargaining with them to reveal their names in exchange for the knowledge of my name AND favorite color, the children were more comfortable and talkative. By the end of my twenty minute reading, I was surrounded by students hugging me with all their might, pleading that I come in as their substitute teacher the next day, to which I replied, “It’s Saturday tomorrow!” I had a wonderful time interacting with Weller’s first graders. I hope to participate in this event again next year. Eleven classes ranging from kindergarten to firth grade participated in the San Jose Sharks Sticks in Hands program on February 25. They set up an inflatable rink in the front parking lots of the school, provided all the necessary gear, instructed students about safety, and how to play street hockey -- for free! This P.E. takeover style event is created around a safe, non-competitive experience. At the end of the day, the Sharks left behind a complete set of street hockey gear (sticks, balls and goals) to allow staff to continue hockey instruction through the year. by PaulJunver Soriano, MHS student
Current Milpitas High School Trojans welcomed the newest members of their family, the Class of 2023 on January 30. Students volunteered to tour the upcoming freshmen around the MHS campus in order to familiarize them with their future home for the next four years. They also hosted presentations to provide insight on the life of a high school student, and games to break the ice. In the end, both volunteers and eight-grade students had fun and a chance to bond with each other, providing unity between students of Russell and Rancho middle schools and MHS. Article and photos by Vivek Chotai, MUSD Student Board Representative
Ari Philip from Sinnott won this year's district spelling bee against 14 other elementary students with the final word "pectoral" on January 15 at Rose Elementary School. Katie Yu from Weller followed for second place and Jadon Tran from Rose placed third. Philip and Yu are advancing to the Santa Clara County Office of Education's fourth annual County Spelling Bee on March 16. Other participants included Aditi Nair (Pomeroy), Abhay Raghavendra (Pomeroy), Surabhi Kar (Pomeroy), Brianna Nguyen (Rose), Amruta Joshi (Rose), Manav Rana (Sinnott), Parnika Sadhu (Sinnott), Namit Jain (Weller), Pauline Quebengco (Weller), Joshua Chang (Zanker), Daksh Sharma (Zanker), and Daniel Xu (Zanker). Overall, the students had an impressive vocabulary, with over 300 words tested. Here’s a feel of some of the words the students were able to spell correctly:
Here are some of the words that eliminated this year’s contestants:
Milpitas High School's Xtreme Robotics club wins Sportsmanship Award at VEX Robotics Competition3/1/2019
The Milpitas Xtreme Robotics (MXR) club at Milpitas High School represented the community on February 16 during the VEX Robotics Competition, becoming semifinalists and winning the Sportsmanship Award at the event.
"It was our first year competing in VEX, and we are incredibly proud to have earned this victory," said Chloe Wang, President of Milpitax Xtreme Robotics. "Even though it may not be a first place trophy, we were able to learn, do well, and give our members and others an unforgettable experience - therefore, it was definitely a victory for us." *** Editor's Note: Chloe Wang wrote the following article about the team's recent accomplishments and upcoming efforts. Milpitas Xtreme Robotics (MXR) is the official robotics club of Milpitas High, which means that we have a huge impact on the Milpitas youth, and are helping to grow Silicon Valley’s next generation of engineers. We strive to give our members opportunities to wet their feet, develop their passions in STEM, explore new experiences in a welcoming community, and create amazing memories by applying what they learned in the classroom as they bring ideas and designs to life. One of our goals this year is to continue our outreach into the elementary and middle schools of Milpitas, in order to provide this opportunity to younger students that may be interested in STEM and robotics. While this has been a goal of ours for a few years, we haven’t been able to achieve much until this year. Milpitas Xtreme Robotics is proud to say that we have successfully kicked off outreach for younger grades. In the 2018- 2019 school year, we organized many events and programs. MXR hosted a presentation at Joseph Weller Elementary, to start a conversation about robotics, and increase interest through an informative lecture, and an open floor to questions. Adding onto this, we also helped Rancho Dons Middle School create and organize their own robotics club, 3rr0r Robotics, to spark a passion for robotics and STEM at a young age. One of our bigger and ongoing programs is the Milpitas Xtreme Robotics Pomeroy Program. It’s a 9-week afterschool course at Marshal Pomeroy Elementary, in which 20+ students from different grade levels are guided through the basics of building and programming robots, and get to create their very own robot. In the future, we hope to speak with more elementary students, as well as aid Thomas Russel Middle School in creating a robotics club to call their own. One of our biggest upcoming events is our MXR Intra- Club Competition, a tournament-style competition in which small teams from within our club are challenged to build robots that can earn points through the completion of different tasks. Our entire club is working hard to make this event a success, from finding sponsors to coordinating details to building the competing robots. We hope to make the MXR Intra-Club Competition an exciting and memorable night full of new experiences for the whole community, and we want you to help make that happen. Our Intra-Club Competition will be held on Friday, May 24th (6:00 pm - 9:00 PM). We invite everyone, of all ages, to come to explore STEM and see the amazing creations that it results in, and to cheer our teams on. Join us in experiencing the thrill of robotics! by Olivia Contreras, Randall Elementary Assistant Principal
Project Cornerstone's mission is to engage adults and youth to change our schools and communities into environments where all youth develop essential skills for social and academic success. This year at Robert Randall Elementary School, we wanted to increase parent engagement by bringing Project Cornerstone's Los Dichos to our school. It is proving to be a very exciting endeavor and our parent engagement is growing by leaps and bounds! Parent volunteers enter transitional kindergarten through sixth grade classrooms and spend about an hour, once a month, reading a specially selected bilingual book, each containing a valuable developmental asset. After reading and engaging students in discussions, parent volunteers lead students in an art project that connects to the story. Parent volunteers spend countless hours prepping and adorning our school with student work. The entire Randall community is thoroughly enjoying the experience. When students see our Los Dichos parent volunteers, they are quick to ask when their next visit will be and our parent volunteers are full of pride and joy to know their presence is truly valued!  By Shannon Carr, Board Support and Communications Specialist
Students and staff from Calaveras Hills High School are quite literally taking strides to combat cancer during this year’s Relay for Life on April 27-28 at Townsend Field in Santa Clara. The group of 15 students and multiple staff members has already raised $500, as of February 13. The team is led by Cal Hills Principal Carl Stice as Team Captain and 2018 Relay alumni Destiny Peterson, Shaleah Taylor, and Flora Herrera as Teen Captains. Fundraising kicked off with a community dinner, where the students explained what and why they are participating in the cause, and has also included speaking in front of the district’s administrators, selling luminarias, asking for donations from District Office employees, staff emails, and personal asks. According to Tabitha Kappeler-Hurley, Cal Hills teacher and Relay coordinator, each team member is expected to raise at least $100 “so students will need to do some independent fundraising as well, which is a skill they are learning as part of the process.” “We are proud of our students’ drive in supporting the work of cancer research; they are our leaders today and tomorrow,” said Superintendent Cheryl Jordan. Last year, Cal Hills was one of the highest grossing teams for the 24-hour walking event that raises money and awareness about cancer prevention, research, and services through the American Cancer Society. They are hoping to make a large impact again this year. “The American Cancer Society Relay for Life movement brings together 3.7 million people at events across the world to help save lives, celebrate lives, and lead the fight for a world without cancer,” according to a Relay for Life proclamation. “...Thanks to funds raised through the Relay for Life movement, the American Cancer Society is able to attack cancer from every angle, delivering research breakthroughs, empowering people with resources and information, and convening community-based and national leaders who work tirelessly to create awareness and impact.” It continues to state that thanks to funds raised through the event, there has been a 25 percent decline in the U.S. cancer death rates since 1991. Despite this, there is still more work to be done. According to the American Cancer Society, in 2017 alone, 1.6 million people were newly diagnosed with cancer in the United States. Kappeler-Hurley said it is her 11th year participating in Relay for Life, and the cause is one that is incredibly important to her. She has lost multiple friends and family members, and have lots of family members who have dealt with cancer. “Empowering students to take action against a disease that has hurt their families is very rewarding. It’s a real challenge to go out and fundraise and organize a team at their age. I am so proud of these students and the work they are doing!” Kappeler-Hurley added. Stice found out he had squamous cell carcinoma in his throat and mouth in 2003, at the age of 33. Because it was an aggressive cancer, Stice had to undergo both chemo and radiation simultaneously. He was in treatment for five months. He has been cancer free since treatments ended in 2004. Many of our MUSD students and staff members have close ties to family members with cancer. For more information or to make a donation, contact Kappeler-Hurley at (408) 396-7952 or visit the site. By Shannon Carr, Board Support and Communications Specialist The Milpitas community will come together to honor three of the newest additions to the Milpitas/Samuel Ayer High School Hall of Fame on Friday, March 15. Seats are still available for the 12th annual event that will kick off at 6:15 p.m. preceded by a reception with a no-host bar starting at 5:30 p.m. Jeff Lamb, chairperson of the Milpitas High School Hall of Fame Committee, said the event was founded when teacher Dennis Gori suggested it since a building couldn’t be named after deceased counselor Ned McIver. He said the committee, which consisted of 13 people this year, is usually looking for a former teacher, classified employee, and a former student. This year he said was the most nominations he has seen since being on the board, particularly in the student category. Inductees are chosen after the person who nominates them sends in a writeup justifying their reasoning and the committee sits down and goes through the candidates. “We recognize people for a lot of different reasons,” he said. This year’s inductees are: -Lillian Bogovich: 2015 Milpitas High School teacher retiree, who taught 25 years at Milpitas High School. She also served as the theater director for many school productions, designing sets and coaching students as actors and actresses. She mentored other teachers in many ways, including planning and leading a writing workshop and always sharing her classroom, ideas, lesson plans, and wisdom. -Mike Downs: 1973 Ayer High School alumnus, 2010 Washington State High School Coaches Hall of Fame Inductee. Downs begins his 32nd season as the head coach of the Vikings, with his teams advancing to the state tournament the last 11 out of 12 years, winning two years in a row with a 24-2 record each time (2005 and 2006). He has been named coach of the year several times in leagues around Washington, and in 2006 he was named by the National Federation of High School Sports as the Coach of the Year in Washington. That same year he was also named Sportsman of the Year by the Pacific Northwest Officials Association. -Vic Parrette: 1978 Ayer High School alumnus, VP of Operations Radiation Power Systems/Milpitas High School football coach. Parrette was a football player at Ayer on the 77 championship team and coached the Milpitas Knights in the early 1990s before joining the Milpitas High football staff, where he coached 17 years. “We think it’s a good thing to recognize people from the high school and to recognize other people in the community,” Lamb said. “We think it’s a great thing for the school district but also for the Milpitas community. “ Lamb said he is hoping at least 100 people attend the event in which profits from the evening go to the annual Milpitas High School Hall of Fame Scholarship. This scholarship is awarded to a graduating male and female senior, distinguished by academic achievement and service to the community. “We like to give up to three $500 scholarships,” he said. Donations will be available during the evening for additional scholarship contributions. For those who cannot attend the dinner but wish to make a donation, mail your donation to Lamb at the address listed below. The cost of the dinner is $45 per person. Seating is limited so complete the form below today and send it with your check to Lamb at Milpitas High School, 1285 Escuela Parkways, Milpitas, CA 95035. The deadline is March 4. For more information, email Lamb at jlamb@musd.org or call (408) 592-4918. |
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