VTA’s Summer Youth Pass offers unlimited rides on VTA bus and light rail all summer long for a discounted price of only $60. VTA’s Summer Youth Pass is the perfect way for youth to get to summer jobs, the movies, the mall, and all their favorite places.
For questions about VTA services and programs, please direct interested individuals to VTA Customer Service (408) 321-2300, [email protected], or www.vta.org. To buy the pass, please visit: http://www.vta.org/Getting-Around/Fares/Summer-Youth-Pass The Sinnott PTA hosted its first hands-on art workshop May 9 in the multi-purpose room. Led by parent volunteer Kavita Gupta, the kids made beautiful "Rock Cacti" and cards to gift to their mothers on Mother's Day. They entered the room to find themselves with their own mini workstations. Each child was provided with two rocks for their cacti, a terracotta pot, a card, paintbrushes, and paint. It was nice to see that each child was so engaged in this craft.
The PTA was grateful to the many parent volunteers who stepped up to help set up the stations, help with the activity, and stay back to help clean up. The art material was provided by the Sinnott PTA, and the workshop was free for all. It was a well attended and fun-filled event, where kids and their parents enjoyed their time. For immediate release Contact: Shannon Carr,
Board Support & Communications Specialist (408) 635-2600, ext. 6031 The Milpitas Management Association hosted its annual Every Student Succeeding Breakfast on May 11, honoring students who exceed expectations and the adults who support them along the way. Each school designated at least one student that embodies the spirit of the event and, that morning, they were introduced and their stories were shared out by Principals as they were called forward to receive their award. “Today, we are proud to highlight these young men and women who have overcome great obstacles to succeed. Their stories are remarkable and their futures are bright,” MMA President Damon James said. This year’s honorees were: -Burnett Elementary: Robert Nunes (read his story here) -Curtner Elementary: Annie Riordan -Pomeroy Elementary: Thomas Woneis -Randall Elementary: Josiah Billings -Rose Elementary: Allyson Sapulveda -Sinnott Elementary: Nathan Garcia -Spangler Elementary: Jesus Samiento -Weller Elementary: Michael Ryan Rogers -Zanker Elementary: Mary Nguyen -Rancho Milpitas Middle School: Janpreet Hans (read his story here) -Thomas Russell Middle School: Alejandra Guardado and Sabrina Garvin -Calaveras Hills High School: Jamina Williams -Milpitas High School: Zachary Garmany, Travis Lloyd, Julian Nguyen, and Hen Zewdu -Ayer Adult School: Rosamibe N Plascencia (read her story here) “You are all examples of something called the audacity of hope, because hope is what keeps us going,” Superintendent Cheryl Jordan said in closing the ceremony. “And I think what each person who spoke about you sees in you is that light that comes from hope. So always continue to go out through life being the person you are meant to be and sharing that hope with others so they that have the courage to do the same.” I am part of Girl Scouts Nor Cal and a Cadet from Milpitas team. I am in Rancho Middle school in 7th Grade. We were exploring STEM events and found about Vex Robotics which is hosted by Google and supported by Girl Scouts. I was fortunate to be part of a team from Las Altos middle schoolers. I am the only one from Milpitas.
Our journey started in September of 2017. It was a great learning yet fun filled experience. Our parents decided that they will drive us to Google twice a week for 3 hours each and will advise only. We have to build the robot, program it and keep writing everything in the Engineering Design Book so we know what we did, how we did and how to improve. This year’s Vex theme was “In the Zone”. There is a zone set up and the robot has to pick up what is called as Mobile Goals and drop them at either a 20 or 10 or 5 point zone. In addition, the robot can also stack the cones either on Mobile Goals or specific Goal Posts. There are two alliances competing each time with two teams each. So in any given zone there will be four robots. We started building the robot by discussing among ourselves and assigned roles and responsibilities to each team member. We also had help from Google Mentors, in case we needed some assistance. Our initial thought was to have a robot which can pick up and drop the mobile goals in to 20 and 10 point zones. In addition there are two modes to drive the robot. One is called Autonomous mode (mainly 15 secs) and the program has to drive the robot. Second one is Driver Control (1:45 mins) where some of us were driving it. It was fairly new exposure for me to program the robot. My initial assignment was to help build the robot. It took some time for understanding how to use the various tools and finalize a design but we got it and became really good at it (Todd was the name we chose for our robot). Every tool that is needed was provided by Google. Each week we could see the incremental changes both to the robot and the program. I became a team spokesperson wherein I needed to know about all aspects of the project including high level overview of programming, design and implementation of robot and game information along with roles and responsibilities of everyone in the team. This is super important because at the beginning of each tournament, judges ask various questions to the team spokesperson. The team that answers well and together will get points towards the awards. In January of 2018 we had our first competition at Sacramento. We fared well and were qualified for Quarter finals. We were one of the team captains to pick up other teams for Alliance. We were rewarded with Design Award in that event and we felt we accomplished a big thing. We modified our robot more by adding stacking function, in addition to mobile goal pick up, and got to the second event at Google in February. We did very well here as well and became alliance captains to pick other teams. We advanced to semi-finals. In this event we won the Excellence Award. We are ecstatic, because with these two awards we are selected for State Finals. According to Vex folks very few teams reached finals with in first three to four months of robotics journey. As being one of the state finalists we attended the tournament in Vallejo in March. Like the previous events, we were chosen as one of the alliance captains. We advanced to quarter finals in the state event. That was a great experience since at the State level there are lots of middle and high school teams. We watched how others built their robots and learnt a lot on how we can design next version of our robot. Finally end of April we had a final competition in Google, this time I drove the robot as well. Our team advanced to quarters, semis and finals and won the finals. What a way to end the robotics journey for the year. When I look back last few months of this journey I learnt a lot in programming, robot building, design principles, team work and more. I am looking forward to further advance my knowledge of robotics and programming including sharing the knowledge with elementary kids who want to start the journey. We had great help from Google, Girl Scouts and Vex Robotics team, and we appreciate all the help that was provided and thank them. Look forward to mentoring younger girls and continue my journey into robotics. by Tabitha Kappeler-Hurley
April 28 and 29 found over 20 Cal Hills Mustangs out on the track at the Santa Clara Relay for Life. These students raised $4,392 to fight cancer, provide services to survivors, and increase awareness on cancer prevention topics. The Mustangs were joined by nearly all Cal Hills Classified and Certificated staff members throughout the 24-hour event. Throughout the 24 hours, team members walked the track, assisted in the snack bar, helped with all types of logistical tasks and had fun as they fought cancer in this great community event. Their enthusiastic presence was noted by several long-time participants as a great addition to this year’s event. As an event, Relay in Santa Clara raised $103,151 and continues to raise funds for this important cause. The team wishes to thank all of its generous sponsors in helping them exceed their financial goal of $4,000. “We were really impressed with how our students participated in both the fundraising as well as the 24-hour event," Principal Carl Stice said. "It was amazing to see them feel the joy of volunteering and contributing to a great cause. As a cancer survivor, it meant the world to me to have our students there supporting the event.” The fantastic efforts of the this team of students will be celebrated by the Milpitas Unified Board of Education on Tuesday, May 22 at its regularly scheduled meeting. For immediate release Contact: Shannon Carr,
Board Support & Communications Specialist (408) 635-2600, ext. 6031 Students at Rose elementary are quite literally giving more food for thought about eating fruits and vegetables thanks to the installation of a salad bar, which had a soft opening at the school on April 9. “Throughout the week, students will always see a rainbow color of fruits and vegetables offered in the salad bar,” said Sandy Huynh, Director of Student Nutrition Services. Each day, students have the opportunity to choose from six items at the salad bar, including vegetables, fresh whole fruit, and an assortment of self-service components, such as garbanzo beans, frozen strawberries, celery sticks, and corn. These options will change periodically to offer new, seasonal produce as they become available. Food waste in school meal programs has been a nation-wide topic, with students taking the required fruits and/or vegetables and throwing it directly into the trash can. “Evaluating the way and the types of fruits and vegetables are being presented during lunch time can help attract students to actually consume it,” Huynh said. “What we learned is that they (students) tend to not eat something if they’re not familiar with it. So we want to start slow and put something out that they know and like already. So the strawberries were a hit.” Both academic research and actual experience in schools across the country has shown that children significantly increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables when given a variety of choices on a school salad bar, according to the Salad Bars to School website. Huynh noted just that, on the second and third day of the launch, students were already open to selecting more things, such as the celery or garbanzo beans. “We also noticed that there are students becoming more open to try other types of fruits and vegetables that we have out on the line,” she said. “So it is incremental success.” While it is too early to conclude the success of the salad bar, Huynh said there appears to be more students buying school lunches since its opening. “You can tell from their face that they are actually excited coming through the line and looking forward to the different fruits and vegetables that they get to choose,” she said. “It’s promising because children generally are not eating enough fruits and vegetables in their diet.” Rose Principal Nanci Pass said she was excited to have the salad bar installed at the school, and has been working with Student Nutrition Services to get it up and running for the past year. “Over the past few years our students have engaged in Project Based Learning units that have focused on both developing healthy eating habits and reducing our waste,” she said. “The introduction of the salad bar does both. Students are choosing to eat more healthy foods and taking portions that work for them. We are also reducing the amount of trash generated during our lunch time by eliminating the individual plastic packages of vegetables that we previously served. It’s a win for both our students’ health and the environment.” Providing healthy eating opportunities for children in schools is imperative. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity prevalence among children and adolescents has almost tripled since 1980 with approximately 17 percent (12.5 million) of children and adolescents ages 2 to 19 as obese. The salad bar was funded through the Equipment Assistant Grant from the California Department of Education. The $23,500 grant funded the equipment at Rose and Randall elementary, the latter of which a salad bar will open at next school year. Accessories including the serving utensils, pans, liners, and food are funded through the Student Nutrition Services’ budget. “The intention of the grant was to assist Districts to purchase equipment to serve healthier meals that meet the updated meal patterns, with emphasis on serving more fruits and vegetables in school meals. This includes improving food safety and expanding access,” Huynh said. Sixteen 10th and 11th grade students from Calaveras Hills High School went on a field trip to San Jose City College's main campus on April 25. Xiomara Martinez was the host, and she began the morning with a fabulous presentation of information about all the programs and services offered at SJCC for students.
After the informational session, the students had the chance to participate in the Major Fair that was on campus at the Student Center. This was where current students could chat with professors and advisors from the various programs available to SJCC students. Cal Hills students completed "passports" by stopping at different info booths, and were treated to a pizza lunch. After the fair, they had two Student Ambassadors (Fidel and Lionell) -- also student athletes preparing to transfer to San Jose State University this fall -- give an extensive campus tour, showing students around the school and answering lots of questions about the student experience. The Cal Hills students were actively engaged in the day's activities and we are so grateful to our hosts! --Submitted by Diana Carty Volunteers came out in full force on Saturday, April 21 for an amazing day at Anthony Spangler Elementary School.
"With over 200 volunteers at Spangler, our Comcast Cares Day was a huge success," Principal Catherine Waslif said. That day, volunteers were able to complete many schoolwide improvement projects, including gardening, library shelving, window washing, planting, painting, and organizing. Waslif wished a special thank you to Comcast cares coordinators Amin Fazal, Nadya Smith, and Janaye Cooper; Mike and Nancy Mendizabal of Kiwanis; the Board of Education; Silvia, Tania, and Stephanie of the Spangler PTA; the Maintenance, Operations, Transportation Department; MUSD volunteers; Spangler staff Katie McClure, Benjamin Vallejo, Tam Hoang, Teresa Starr, Nicole King, Lydia Adidjaja, Amber Blanco, Gina Sainten and Liz Gutierrez; and the Milpitas High School and local community volunteers. For immediate release Contact: Shannon Carr, Board Support & Communications Specialist (408) 635-2600, ext. 6031 On the primary playground at Rose Elementary School, there is a new place for students to go when they are looking for friends thanks to fourth graders Eva Saucedo and Alexis Tritton. If a kid is lonely, they can sit on a bench that reads “Buddy Bench,” which will provide a signal to other kids to ask them to play. “We hope that the buddy bench brings out kindness and acceptance in our students,” Assistant Principal Lori Nuno said. “The buddy bench encourages our primary students to take risks and get to know someone they may not have met or maybe only know because they have seen them playing on the playground.” Tritton said she got the idea for the project from a school one of her friends attends. Saucedo said when she joined Rose in second grade, having a buddy bench would have helped her develop friendships sooner and she is excited to see students making new friends because of it. “I think it makes the school a better place,” Tritton said. Saucedo and Tritton approached Principal Nanci Pass and Nuno with the idea of purchasing a buddy bench last school year. They discussed how to get the funding and encouraged them to bring it to the school’s Parent Teacher Organization. The girls researched the specific bench and color they wanted, along with the cost then they used their lunchtime to draw up a plan to present to the PTO. Saucedo and Tritton approached the organization at its September 21 meeting. “The most intriguing thing I found with it was the fact that they came up with such a great idea on their own, and presented it to us,” PTO President Valerie Negrito said. “They were prepared with an actual company that we can purchase from. They did the homework on something they felt strongly about beforehand.” The PTO voted to fund their idea, and paid for the bench, which cost approximately $1,000. The bench was installed on March 28. Both Tritton and Saucedo shared their excitement in making a mark on the school with something that will be in place long after they are gone. “The buddy bench is just one way our school community supports our students in turning an idea into something real through perseverance, hard work, and patience,” Nuno said. “Without Eva and Alexis' willingness to put the work into bringing the buddy bench to Rose, the buddy bench would have stayed just what it started out as … just an idea. Our students need to know that the greatest things have come from ideas, whether great or small. However, it's the work that is put into that idea that makes it so great.” Negrito admitted that having a buddy bench would have helped bring out her shyness when she was in school. “I was such a soft spoken, and shy one back then,” she said. “Being surrounded by same face friends made me comfortable with specific people. This perhaps would've broke that down for me to come out of my shell and get to know others.” |
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING:
The governing board of Milpitas Unified School District will hold a Public Hearing on Tuesday, June 28, 2022. Media ResourcesArchives
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