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- District to join state in Great Shakeout Oct. 18
San Diego Unified schools and worksites will join millions of other Californians by participating in the 2012 Great California Shakeout. All district schools and sites have emergency response plans in place and are prepared should an earthquake or other disaster strike during school hours. Schools routinely practice emergency drills, including earthquake and fire. For the past several years, San Diego Unified has participated in the statewide disaster exercise that involved 8.6 million participants in 2011. Read more.     
- Prop. S Update: Friday Night Lights on the Centurion gridiron
Board of Education President John Lee Evans and Area Five Superintendent Mitzi Merino joined University City High School staff and students at the recent dedication ceremony marking the completion of upgrades to the UCHS stadium. The Prop. S-funded project involved replacing the existing dirt track and grass field with a synthetic turf field and all-weather track, and installing a new electronic scoreboard. Immediately preceding the dedication, the first group of UC High Hall of Fame inductees was introduced. Read more.
- Learning to integrate arts into the classroom
A group of elementary school educators spent a week this summer in Balboa Park learning how to integrate the arts into their language arts curriculum while aligning to the Common Core State Standards. As the teachers moved through multiple museums, they engaged in various arts-based strategies that can be used in their own classrooms to enhance their students’ learning and literacy development. Read more.
- Suicide prevention program takes aim at top cause of death
It's the second leading cause of death among kids aged 10-14 and third leading cause for those 15-19 in San Diego County. San Diego Unified's Suicide Prevention Education Awareness program, now in its third year, has helped more than 32,000 students, staff, parents and community members address many of the issues associated with mental health and depression. Read more.
- SDG&E's Reduce Your Use program
SDG&E customers who opt-in to the San Diego Energy Challenge will have the chance to earn individual prizes -- including gift cards and tablet computers -- and help their local San Diego Unified middle school compete for a chance to win a cash grant based on how much energy they save. Schools can earn $500 for school supplies, and the winning schools will split $30,000. Get more information and sign-up at www.sdenergychallenge.com/.
| School News | | |
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- Fletcher Elementary raises $3,000 for American Cancer Society
Fletcher Elementary students, parents, staff members, as well as cancer survivors recently joined together to participate in Relay for Recess, a wellness-based school activity that raised nearly $3,000 for the fight against cancer. Students generated their own creative ideas to promote cancer awareness, allowing them to demonstrate compassion and a sense of community service. Read more.
- Students learn about disaster preparedness at SAFE San Diego
Kumeyaay Elementary School hosted the SAFE San Diego Youth Challenge Oct. 9 in partnership with the American Red Cross, SDG&E and KUSI. Students at Kumeyaay Elementary learned about disaster preparedness, fire safety, and how to respond in an emergency. In addition, students in grades 4 and 5 learned how to perform hands-only CPR. Thanks to the generosity of SDG&E, each Kumeyaay student went home with a disaster backpack and information on how families can become better prepared. Read more.
- Sea bass delivery brings San Diego's coastal ecosystem to classroom
Something fishy is going on in Mr. James's science classes at La Jolla High, but it's all in the name of education. Small cultured white sea bass were delivered by Hubbs-Sea World Research Institute to the classroom's saltwater aquarium, and for the next several months, students will maintain the system and care for the fish as they prepare them for their eventual release into the ocean. It's all part of the "Sea Bass in the Classroom" Program. Read more.
| For Parents | | |
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- Learn how to protect your children from bullying
Ending bullying and protecting students from experiencing it is a joint effort among parents and district staff. Learn more about what you can do as parents to protect your children by attending a free seminar hosted by the local Psychological Association on Oct. 13. Read more.
| For Students | | |
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- Student rally in support of public education
Save Our Schools: Students Taking Action for the Future is holding a rally at 11 a.m., on Saturday, Oct. 13, next to Roosevelt Middle School. The student-led organization is pushing for increased funding for public education. Despite not being able to vote, these students believe their voice can help raise awareness and push through various propositions impacting public education. Read more.
| In the News | | |
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| Educational News | | |
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- Are tablets better than textbooks?
Tablet computers are making their mark in the classroom. However, this article examines whether tablets are better than textbooks and why the technology might carry some hidden costs. The Federal Communications Commission is estimating that tablets could save schools about $3 billion, and while questions have been raised over the ability of schools' infrastructure to handle the technology, many are betting tablets will help improve learning. Mashable
(10/5)
- How to use "full-contact teaching" to reach students' minds
 Education consultant Ben Johnson compares teaching to football, writing in this blog post that "we have to make contact with student's minds." To do this, Johnson cites examples of full-contact teaching in observations of an energetic history teacher who showed students the significance of past events and physics teachers who took an active lesson on time and motion into the hallway. "Full-contact teaching also involves targeting individual students that need help, finding out what their challenges are, getting to know them, and offering invitations and opportunities to succeed," Johnson writes. Edutopia.org/Ben Johnson's blog
(10/9)
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