2015-16 Sportsmanship Awards Ceremony
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| 2015-16 Sportsmanship Award Recipients. Photo courtesy of Boyd Anderson |
The 2015-16 Sportsmanship Awards Ceremony was held on Tuesday, May 17, at the La Mesa Community Center. At the annual event, 22 GUHSD student athletes took to the stage to accept their awards in the presence of family members, coaches and school officials. Two students from each high school in the District were honored, not just for excellence in sports, but in recognition of their sportsmanship and character.
After accepting their awards, the students and their family members received complimentary photos courtesy of Boyd Anderson Photography. Parents, siblings and other family members stood with the students after pictures with coaches and administrators were taken.
The Grossmont Athletic Conference is the only one in San Diego County to present sportsmanship awards of this kind. I believe the event is an important extension of what we aim for as an educational institution and is consistent with upholding the CIF 16 Principles of Pursuing Victory with Honor.
Congratulations to the following 2015-16 Sportsmanship Award Recipients:
El Cajon Valley High School - Titishia Shari Clemons, Muhamad Tahir
El Capitan High School - Heather Vettel, Devin Dulay
Granite Hills - Bailey Dehaven, Kellen Gaeir
Grossmont - Courtney Clifford, Tommy Rutherford
Helix Charter - Dominique Banks, Trence Wilson-Gillem
Monte Vista - Ursula Victorino-Gomez, Tyler Lopez
Mount Miguel - DeAnna Hernandez, Brandol Camacho Frasco
Santana – Sarah Durham, Trent Baugh
Steele Canyon - Katelin Wilson, Anthony Howard
Valhalla - Stephanie Fox, Ryan Burke
West Hills – Alaina Melanson, Spencer Moy
Valhalla Shines at National History Day Competition
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| Valhalla Students at National History Day Competition |
On Saturday, May 7, Valhalla High School placed runner-up in the Senior Group Performance category of the state finals during the annual National History Day (NHD) competition held in Sacramento.
Representing San Diego County, Brooke Davalos, Dylan Buxbaum, Sehar Amini, and Diego Cordova presented a historical performance based on the Lewis & Clark expedition to the newly purchased western United States in 1804 - 1806. They competed against 18 high school teams who advanced from county-level competitions throughout the state.
We congratulate these four 9th grade students for their significant achievement in what is their first year as an organized club at Valhalla High School. Students who are interested in joining the NHD Club this coming fall should contact Justin Hernandez, their teacher/advisor, at jhernandez@guhsd.net or visit nhd.org.
Mount Miguel Show Choir Outperforms Competition
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| Mount Miguel Show Choir |
The Mount Miguel Honor Show Choir, under the direction of Mrs. Heather Tweed Hargett, competed at the Music in the Parks Choir festival at Knott's Berry Farm on Saturday, May 7. They perform throughout the year in the San Diego area and finish with the May competition. They performed four songs for the adjudicators including: A Sky Full of Stars; All of Me, soloist: Richard Andrade; Shake You Groove Thing; and Dance with Me Tonight, soloist: Andrew Alvarez.
The students earned first place with Superior rankings. Over the 500+ students who participated, they also won for Best Vocalist - Richard Andrade, Best Accompaniment - Robert Hada, and Best Overall Choir. A very successful outcome!
Third Annual Celebration of Community Partners Event
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| Celebrating Community Partners Program |
The Grossmont Union High School District celebrated community partners involved with its WorkAbility & Transition Partnership Project at the Elks Lodge in El Cajon on Thursday, May 19. The event highlighted employers who have partnered with the school district and agencies to support special needs students with employment and higher education. WorkAbility and the Transition Partnership Project are statewide collaborative programs of the California Department of Education, the State Department of Rehabilitation, and local education agencies.
These programs were created through interagency agreements in order to promote career exploration and teach vocational skills to students in Special Education.
GUHSD's 2016-17 Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP)
GUHSD's 2016-17 Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) and Executive Summary drafts are available for stakeholder input on the District's website. Please see link below to view the LCAP, the LCAP Executive Summary and stakeholder survey, and provide feedback by June 3.
The Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) is an important component of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). Under the LCFF funding system, revenue limits and most of the state's 50 categorical programs have been eliminated.
Now, the LCFF creates funding targets based on student characteristics (i.e. unduplicated count of pupils who (1) are English learners, (2) meet income or categorical eligibility requirements for free or reduced-price meals under the National School Lunch Program, or (3) are foster and/or homeless youth; “unduplicated count” means that each pupil is counted only once even if the pupil meets more than one of these criteria) and provides greater flexibility to use these funds to improve student outcomes.
Under the LCFF all local educational agencies (LEAs), or school districts, are required to prepare an LCAP, which describes how they intend to meet annual goals for all pupils with specific activities to address state and local priorities.
More information on LCFF and LCAP is available here.
Upcoming Orchestra Showcase on 5/27
On Friday, May 27, 2016, West Hills High School will host the GUHSD Orchestra Showcase at 6:30 p.m. Please join us for a wonderful evening of music performed by several high school orchestras in the district. Our music directors have a wonderful program planned. This event is presented by the Parent Music Advocacy Group (PMAG). Admission is $5 for adults and high school students. Middle school student admission is, as are seniors and military.
District Art Show Opens Tonight!
Please plan to join us for the opening reception of the 30th Annual GUHSD Student Art Show at Westfield Shopping Center-Parkway Plaza tonight. The opening reception begins at 5:30 p.m. with an awards ceremony. Student artwork will be on exhibit through Sunday afternoon.
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In closing, I share with you a number of recent board recognitions, which showcase the academic achievement and athletic prowess shown by our talented students:
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| 2015-16 Academic League Varsity Champions - Santana |
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| 2015-16 Academic League Junior Varsity Champions - Santana |
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| Winter All-Academic Girls Soccer Team Captain, Savanna Nager - Steele Canyon |
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| Winter All-Academic Boys Basketball Team Captain, Tommy Rutherford - Grossmont |
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| Winter All-Academic Wrestling Team Captain, Trence Gillem - Helix Charter |
