GUHSD Hosts Goals & Objectives Workshop
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| Students participating in the Goals & Objectives workshop |
The Grossmont Union High
School District Board of Trustees held a Goals & Objectives workshop on
Saturday, January 28, at Foothills Adult Education Center to receive input from
all stakeholder groups on the district’s goals and objectives. The goals and
objectives which were last revised in 2013, are a critical foundation for the
district and are used to prioritize action steps designed to focus our efforts
on the educational success for every student.
In addition to the
Governing Board, stakeholder groups who attended the workshop included parents,
students, business community members, teachers, classified staff, and
administrators. All feedback from these groups has been recorded and will be
used to review and revise existing goals.
Thank you to everyone who
attended the workshop and provided their insight and guidance regarding the
district’s priorities. It is our intent
to ensure that the fundamental beliefs that guide our district are timely,
meaningful, and responsive to the needs of our students and community.
Santana
Engineering Students Attend Project Lead the Way Conference
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| Santana students demonstrate Google Cardboard Virtual Reality |
On January 24 and 25, Santana
high school's engineering teacher Jason Kay and three of his engineering
students Victoria Hilke, Nathan Garrett, and Cole Stromberg, attended the 6th
annual California Project Lead The Way (PLTW) Conference in Riverside. Having won the California state championship
engineering design challenge three times in the last seven years, Santana and
its team were invited to host a breakout session at the conference. The
breakout session was standing room only. Mr. Kay began the presentation with
best practices in preparing students for the competition. Victoria, Nathan, and
Cole finished the presentation providing information about the competition from
a student's perspective. The session received positive feedback and the
audience was extremely impressed with the professionalism and student
engagement of the presentation.
The students then attended
a Google Cardboard Virtual Reality session where they were able to create their
own virtual reality device out of cardboard and magnets. The students also
attended a session put on by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The most exciting part of the conference was
hearing from guest speaker Andy Weir.
Andy Weir is the author of the book "The Martian" that became
a blockbuster movie hit starring Matt Damon. Victoria, Nathan, and Cole were
inspired by Andy Weir's story and are looking forward to their future
opportunities.
Grossmont
High School's NJROTC Marksmanship Team Competes in Area 11 Championship
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| Competing Grossmont High NJROTC Marksmanship Team members |
Grossmont High School’s
NJROTC Marksmanship Team recently competed in the Area 11 Championship Match at
Westview High School in Poway. The team consisted of Cadets Andrew Nguyen,
Cynthia Cortez, Kailani Hill and Calista Zaenger.
Over 60 Marksmanship Teams
compete for a spot in the Area 11 Championship each year. This year, 13 schools
achieved the qualifying score or 1900 and earned a spot in the match. This is
the third consecutive year that Grossmont’s Cadets have qualified for the
Championship Match. The team did well, finishing eighth, with three out of the
four cadets firing personal bests.
Grossmont’s top marksman Cadet
Andrew Nguyen, earned the third place medal in the kneeling position, placing
him in the top one percent. Over 300 cadets compete annually during the Area 11
Season. This season has seen several excellent performances by Grossmont
marksmen, including Cadet Cynthia Cortez’s outstanding season-long performance.
Cadet Cortez is the first second-year shooter to break 500 points in a 3X20
match. She scored over 500 three times this season and has a very bright future
in NJROTC competitive shooting.
Three big matches still
remain this season: the Junior Olympic Qualifier, the NRA sectionals, and the
CMP Western Regional Championships.
Grossmont
High Collaborates with Cajon Valley School District for Logo Contest
An interesting
collaboration has been underway between Grossmont High School and the Cajon
Valley Union School District in preparation for their upcoming TEDxKids@ElCajon
event on June 3, 2017. The Cajon Valley TEDxKids@ElCajon Branding/Marketing
Committee reached out to partner with Carolyn Jungman's digital art class at
Grossmont High School to design a logo for their event this year and resulted
in a friendly competition amongst student designers.
In November, the
TEDxKids@ElCajon Branding/Marketing Committee visited Carolyn Jungman's class
to describe the logo requirements and to respond to questions from student
designers. Following this meetings the design process got underway.
In December, committee
members returned to hear student presentations, and later selected four logo
finalists. These final logos were presented at the full TEDx Committee meeting.
In mid-December, students and all Cajon Valley district employees were invited
to vote and the winning logo was announced on December 16.
Cajon Valley was grateful
for our students' efforts to make these logos happen. Over 1,000 votes were
cast. The top two submissions were very close, with the winning logo at the top
of this story.
More information on the
TEDx Event is available here.
2017
District Cheer Showcase
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| GUHSD District Cheer Showcase participants |
GUHSD’s District Cheer
Showcase was held on Saturday, January 21, at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Varsity
and JV Cheer squads from El Capitan, Granite Hills, Monte Vista, Santana,
Valhalla, West Hills, and Steele Canyon along with the Mt. Miguel Dance team
exhibited their amazing skills before a crowd exceeding 1,000 spectators. Their
2 1/2 minute routines involved cheer, dance, stunts, jumps, and tumbling. These
outstanding athletes will perform their polished routines at a variety of
competitions throughout the Spring.
The District Cheer Showcase
offers a unique opportunity for the teams to come together to compete and
showcase their skills in the same venue. It encourages school spirit, promotes
school morale and crowd sportsmanship, supports interscholastic athletics and
demonstrates high standards of leadership.
Granite
Hills Basketball Scores Points On and Off the Court
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| Granite Hills student David Guevara with the basketball coaching staff |
This year, David told
several staff members, including Principal Mike Fowler, that he was going to
try out for the basketball team. Though he didn’t make the team, his enthusiasm
touched several players who asked Coach Anderson if they could make a place for
him. Coach Anderson agreed and David has been working as the team manager all
season. He loves every minute of it. When they win, David celebrates wildly.
When they lose, he feels it deeply.
Last Friday night, when
Granite Hills was playing Santana, Coach Anderson looked for an opportunity to
put David into a game. Confident in their lead, he pulled the team's starters
and gave the bench players some play time. Santana had done the same.
As the clock wound down,
the Granite Hills student section began chanting "We want David... We want
David." With two minutes left, Coach Anderson put David in the game.
David's teammates fed him the ball several times and Santana's defense backed
off a bit. David launched a few unsuccessful 3-point shots.
In the final seconds, David
took a pass and made a beautiful 3-point shot. The gym exploded, as you'll see
in the video posted here. The students rushed the floor. What you don't see in the
video is the students carrying David out of the gym on their shoulders
afterward. This was a very proud moment for all in attendance who witnessed the
great caring and concern for the life of another.
GUHSD
Honor Band and Orchestra to Perform Tomorrow
The GUHSD Honor Band and
Orchestra will perform on Saturday, February 4, at 7:00 p.m. in the Cuyamaca
College Theater. The Honor Band and Orchestra are comprised of talented high
school musicians who have auditioned from throughout the District.
The ticket booth opens at
6:15 p.m.; the admission charge for adults is $8. We hope to see you there!
Grossmont
Alums to Play in Super Bowl!
As we head into Super Bowl
weekend, keep an eye out for the New England Patriots’ Joe Cardona, Long Snapper
#49, and Atlanta Falcons’ Levine Toilolo, Tight End #80. Cardona is a Granite
Hills alumnus and Toilolo is a Helix Charter graduate. We’re proud to have
these men join the lengthy list of pro athletes coming from our District
schools.
Dr. Tim Glover
Superintendent
