 The Milpitas Unified School District Board of Education and Executive cabinet recognize Milpitas High School, Principal Francis Rojas and teacher Nick Pham for all being named the best at what they do in the 2019 Milpitas Post Readers' Choice Awards. Milpitas High School was showered with accolades from the 2019 Best of the Best Milpitas Post Readers’ Choice Awards announced last month by The Milpitas Post in the newspaper’s 29th annual special edition.
Milpitas Post readers nominated their Milpitas’ favorites in over 100 categories. When the votes were tabulated, Milpitas High School, which is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this school term, was selected as the “Best Public School.” Principal Francis Rojas, who is in his third year at the helm at MHS, was recognized as the city’s “Best Principal,” while MHS mathematics teacher Nick Pham was honored as “Best Teacher” by Milpitas Post readers. So what makes MHS so special? Let’s ask the award-winners: FRANCIS ROJAS Principal, Milpitas High School How many years have you been working at MHS? This is my 3rd year at MHS. What makes MHS so special? As the largest high school in Santa Clara County and the Silicon Valley, MHS provides our diverse students with a wide breadth of learning opportunities and pathways to become career ready. With the support of our community, civic and district leadership, partnerships with industry and higher education leaders, we are living in the unexplored and innovative frontier of educational possibilities for our all in our school community. What does it say about the work being done at MHS that the school has won a trifecta of 2019 Best of the Best Milpitas Post Readers' Choice awards (Best Principal, Best Teacher, Best School)? This trifecta of recognition validates the positive internal and external perception we have revived at our school. We have worked hard to build relationships of trust and collaboration within our school community over the last 2 years and can now focus more of our efforts in building upon the great aspects established at MHS, innovate and improve rigor to ensure all of our students can reach their career and college goals. What is your favorite part about coming to work every day at MHS? The people. We have an awesome, hardworking, dedicated and knowledgeable certificated and classified staff, and even more, we have amazing students who are actively engaged in learning and leading. NICK PHAM Math Teacher, Milpitas High School How many years have you been working at MHS? 5 years What makes MHS so special? I'm an alumni (1994) and returned to MHS because of the diverse student population and the amazing kids from Milpitas. I have taught at Cal Hills, Russell Middle School, and now MHS for the past 12 years, and I'm always impressed by the quality of the students that enter my classroom year after year. If I made it from MHS, anyone can make it:) What does it say about the work being done at MHS that the school has won a trifecta of 2019 Best of the Best Milpitas Post Readers' Choice awards (Best Principal, Best Teacher, Best School)? The culture and community at MHS has really improved over the last few years under the leadership of Francis Rojas and the teachers who work tirelessly in the classroom. It is also a testament to the elementary and middle school teachers who have prepared our students to succeed at the high school. What is your favorite part about coming to work every day at MHS? I thrive off the energy and enthusiasm the students bring everyday to class.  National School Bus Safety Week gives us an opportunity to review safety precautions with students, parents, and employees, as well as show appreciation for all of our Milpitas Unified School District bus drivers who are transporting our precious cargo.
Drivers should use caution and be aware of school buses on the roadways, especially during early morning pickup and afternoon dropoff times, since school buses make regular stops on their routes to load and unload students. To review the state’s school bus laws, please click here. For more school bus safety tips from the National Association for Pupil Transportation, please click here. #SchoolBusSafetyWeek #ThankYouSchoolBusDrivers  Weller Elementary School teacher Peter Salazar, above left, details his Growth Mindset lesson Oct. 9 during the second annual C2C conference at Pomeroy Elementary School.  Twenty-eight teacher presenters shared their best practices with dozens of their Milpitas Unified School District’s colleagues at the second annual C2C conference, held October 8 at Marshall Pomeroy Elementary School. “We want to be the first professional development school district, where teachers from other districts come to Milpitas to learn how to deliver high-quality instruction,” said Norma Rodriguez, MUSD’s Assistant Superintendent of Learning & Development. Each of the 28 presenters, up from eight in C2C’s inaugural conference, set up shop in classrooms throughout the Pomeroy campus. Teachers from each MUSD site were able to stop in and listen to a 10-minute presentation on various approaches to instruction. “These are all MUSD employees who have come to share best practices,” Rodriguez added. “It is challenging to present best practices and skills to colleagues. It takes courage to do that.” Some presented as individuals such as Christina Ojeda, a Resource Specialist at Weller Elementary School, who showcased “Math Fluency Games” in which she has students roll dice or draw from a deck of cards. Ojeda provided a game bag to any teachers who came to watch her presentation. Detailing his “Growth Mindset to Dreams” lesson, which centers around the children’s book “Catching the Moon,” was Weller teacher Peter Salazar. The story follows the life of Marcenia Lyle Stone, who fulfills her childhood dream and becomes one of the first women to play professional baseball. “We get to know most of our students through testing and data. But that really doesn’t allow us to get to know who they are as a person,” Salazar explained. “This exercise helps us to get to know our students better by finding out what their dreams are.” Other presenters teamed up like Rose Elementary instructors Ashley Grilli and Peggy Bowen, who offered insight into Botball-Robotics coding and programming; and Weller teachers Juhi Sharma and Gerald Kervin, who detailed how students navigate through the Summit Learning Platform. Colleagues who also presented at C2C were: Krista Davis (Guided Reading Groups); Debbie Salcedo (Grant Writing); Wendy Lundeen and Jenny Katzen (Technology & Coding); Ken Chiu (Change the Path-Math Prep); Jackie Do (Building Relationships with Families); Samantha Brasil, Naomi Newstrom and Sonia Hingrajia (Number Talks & Math Tasks); Corinne Fedalizo and Kathryn Hutchinson (Teaching Tolerance Resource for Teaching Social Justice Standards); Sappho Chow and Lynn Lafayette (5E Inquiry Lesson); Amanda Montoro (Literacy in Content Areas); McKenzie Macdonald (Integrating Engineering Practices); Vanessa Lorenzana and Lynn Tran (SEAL); Ashley DeOliveira and Jennifer Bick (SEAL Mini Units); Quyen Han and Meera Ramchanfdran (Science Summit Learning); and Snemer Anand (Next Generation Science Standards).  Weller Elementary School teachers Juhi Sharma and Gerald Kervin detail the Summit Learning Platform Oct. 9 during the second annual C2C conference at Pomeroy Elementary School.
Attention MUSD Families and Team Members,
UPDATE: All Milpitas Unified School District schools will remain open, are fully staffed and will continue with regular class schedules today. PG&E has informed us this morning October 9, that our Airpoint facility remains the only school site that may potentially be impacted by the PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS). If the status changes for any of our school sites, we will update everyone as soon as that information becomes available. But rest assured we have specific plans and procedures in place to manage the school day in the event of a prolonged outage should it occur. Sincerely, MUSD Leadership Team Good afternoon MUSD Families and Team Members, We are aware of the potential PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS), which may occur starting early Wednesday morning due to high wind weather conditions. Please be assured we have specific plans and procedures in place to prepare for this outage, should it occur. Student and campus safety is of utmost importance to everyone in the Milpitas Unified School District. We will provide further updates from PG&E as they become available. In the meantime, all MUSD schools will remain open and plan to follow their regular school schedule. If necessary, schools will be equipped with lanterns and small wattage generators; students will travel in buddy systems. Currently, the only confirmed MUSD site that may potentially be affected by the PSPS is 3001 E. Calaveras Blvd (Airpoint facility across from Ed Levin Park). However, this is subject to change as new information becomes available. We are staying in contact with PG&E to receive any new updates. Please make sure your child’s Emergency Form includes up-to-date contact information. You can check online by logging into the parent portal. If you have not filled out an Emergency Form or need to update your home address, please notify your child’s school secretary. This is important so that in the event there is an emergency in which you need to be reached, we will have emergency numbers and contact names that will assist us in reaching you. Please remember schools may only release students to those listed on the emergency contact form. PG&E has provided a potential Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) map on its website so residents can enter their home addresses to see if they live in an area that may be a part of the possible shutoff. As part of PSPS preparedness efforts, PG&E has provided the following message:
PSPS information is available in multiple languages on the PG&E website: For additional updates please monitor your Parent Square, www.musd.org, or www.facebook.com/MilpitasUnified. We welcome any suggestions you may have for future planned power outages, and thank you for your support in ensuring a safe school community. Sincerely, Cheryl Jordan Superintendent |
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