What's New in GUHSD

District, Staff, Students & Community/Elected Officials Celebrate the IDEA Center's Modernization

IDEA Center Celebrates Newly-Completed Student Support Services/Classroom Building

On Tuesday, May 2, we hosted a ceremonial ribbon-cutting for IDEA Center High School’s new Student Support Services and Classroom Building. IDEA Center High School is a school within the Grossmont Union High School District, characterized by small class sizes and an integrated curriculum infused with technology that helps prepare students for excellence in post-high school college and career experiences. 

The $3.7 million modernization project provided for complete classroom renovations, upgraded restrooms to include water-efficient fixtures, a new counseling and career center, nurse’s office, staff lounge, and ADA and safety enhancements throughout. The project was funded through an insurance reimbursement and Proposition U funds.

Click here for more information on the project.

2016-2017 Golden Apple Awards & Retirement Ceremony

GUHSD Board & Superintendent Glover Celebrate Golden Apple Recipients. Credit: Boyd Anderson

The 32nd Annual Golden Apple Awards & Retirement Ceremony was held on Monday, May 1, in the Bob Guess Theater for the Performing Arts at West Hills High School in Santee. The Golden Apple Awards event recognizes outstanding teachers selected by the student body in each of the District’s high schools and other educational programs.

The Governing Board and the students of the Grossmont District, through their respective ASBs, host the evening in honor of those teachers who were selected as the 2016 – 2017 honorees at their schools. Click here to view the program, including the list of retirees.

The 2016-2017 Golden Apple Award recipients include:

Chaparral: Leslie Bartlett

El Cajon Valley: Brent Ford

El Capitan: Dustin Millsap

Granite Hills: Robby Tuttle

Grossmont: Mercedes Joyce

Helix Charter: Sean Morris

Monte Vista: Brian Carpenter

Mount Miguel: Thomas Gomes

Santana: Luke Phillips

Steele Canyon: Charles Tyler

Valhalla: Garrett Ince

West Hills: Jennifer Romanowski

Adult Education: Anthony Asaro

Career/Technical Education: Mick McMurray

Special Education: Linda Chandler

Cathi Brady Named Classified Employee of the Year

Dr. Glover Congratulates Cathi Brady on her Selection as Classified Employee of the Year. Credit: Boyd Anderson

We also recognized four classified employees who were selected on the basis of their outstanding service throughout the year:

First Quarter: Cristi MacArthur, Senior Secretary

Second Quarter: Crystal Noblin, Bus Driver Dispatcher

Third Quarter: Cathi Brady, Personnel Specialist I

Fourth Quarter: Marlyn Slusher, Senior Secretary

Cathi Brady was selected as the District's 2017 Classified Employee of the Year.

Congratulations to all of our Golden Apple and Classified Employee Winners and our Retirees! 

San Diego County School Board Association’s 15th Annual “Honoring our Own” Awards

Great Representation from GUHSD as Lucia Washburn, Bridgett DeSonia and Carol Otjens are Honored

On Friday, April 28, GUHSD was prominently featured at the San Diego County School Board Association’s 15th Annual “Honoring our Own” Awards Dinner at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel.

The Granite Hills High School Chamber Chorale performed under the direction of Janessa Nadeau at the ceremony, and the beautiful floral centerpieces for the tables were created by El Capitan High School’s Floral Design class.

One of ACSA Region 18’s priorities is to ensure that school leaders are recognized for their excellence. Through the annual San Diego County School Boards Association (SDCSBA) and ACSA Region 18 “Honoring Our Own” Awards Dinner, they honor school board members, administrators, staff, parents, college professors, and community members for their achievements and dedication to public education. Many of these honorees have gone on to be recognized at the State and National levels.

GUHSD had three award recipients:

Bridgett DeSonia, Staff Member of the Year

Carol Otjens, Adult Education Administrator of the Year

Lucia Washburn, Pupil Personnel Administrator of the Year

Please join me in congratulating each of them on attaining this high honor. We deeply appreciate their commitments to our schools and the field of education.

Santana Named Regional Champions for Engineering Design Challenge

Santana Regional Champs Brian McRae, Alejo Favero and Garrett DesRosiers with Teacher Jason Kay

On Saturday April 8, 2017, fifteen local Project Lead the Way (PLTW) high school engineering teams from the San Diego area competed in the annual PLTW engineering design challenge.  Santana High School's engineering team dominated the field and took home the first place trophy for the regional competition.

With the first place finish, Santana students Brian McRae, Alejo Favero, and Garrett DesRosiers will go on to compete for the state championship held locally at Scripps Ranch High School on Saturday May 6, 2017.

Mr. Kay's engineering program at Santana High School continues to flourish and is becoming known throughout the state of California. His teams have made it to the state finals seven of the past nine years and are looking to claim its fifth state championship this year.

Santana Student Jakob Lepur an Ethics in Business Essay Winner

Jakob Lepur is Presented with an Award Certificate from Ethics in Business Committee Members, along with CTE Work-based Learning Specialist Frank Luera and Santana Principal Tim Schwuchow 

GUHSD’s Career Technical Education program was front and center as GUHSD hosted the San Diego East County Chamber’s monthly breakfast meeting on Friday, May 5. In addition to highlighting the award-winning CTE programs in our schools, we also recognized Jakob Lepur as a winner of the Chamber’s Ethics in Business Conference essay contest, which was open to all students who participated in the conference.

El Capitan FFA Participates in CA FFA Leadership Conference

The El Capitan FFA Dairy Judging Team

This past month, the El Capitan FFA Chapter made its debut at the 89th Annual California State FFA Leadership Conference held in Fresno. This week-long event challenges members to think critically, work efficiently, and cooperate with other members from around the state. The first day consisted of their Novice and Advanced Parliamentary Procedure Teams competing at the State level against other competitive chapters. These students demonstrated proper understanding of parliamentary law.

The following day, members competed at the Fresno Field Day where students competed on teams judging livestock, dairy cattle, meats, floral, and farm records.

Emma Thorpe placed first as overall novice in food systems. Her project included the comparison of different pasteurization methods affecting the outcomes of mozzarella cheese.

Catherine Mellott placed second in animal systems. Her project presented on the differences in dressing percentages between organic and standard broilers. Tyler Dufloth and Trenton Thompson received first place in teams food systems with their project on vitamin C concentration in different fruits. Drew Niccum earned third place in plant systems with his project was on the germination rate and water quantity effect on radish seeds. Drew, Catherine, and Emma placed first in FFA Champion Teams (for Novice Interviews).

After the day of competition, the 89th Annual California State FFA Leadership Conference began. In addition to speeches on the necessity of agricultural education, students Blake Jackson and Anne Signore were welcomed on stage to receive college scholarships.

As the conference drew to a close, the election of the 2017-2018 California State FFA Officer Team was just beginning. El Capitan's President, Blake Jackson, survived the cuts of over 800 members down to the final 12 candidates for State Office. The process included months of interviews. Blake was slated for the position of Reporter against one other State member. Although the votes were not in El Capitan's favor, Blake Jackson's journey to state office served as a model of pure dedication, professionalism, and genuine character. He represented El Capitan's chapter in an extraordinary way, inspiring all of its members to pursue a greater purpose.

Congratulations to all!

Civilian Marksmanship Program Western Regional Championship Rifle Match

Grossmont NJROTC Cadets Calista Zaenger and Cynthia Cortez

Two of Grossmont's NJROTC Cadets qualified for and competed in the Civilian Marksmanship Program’s Western Regional Championship April 6 - 8 in Layton, Utah. Sophomore cadets Cynthia Cortez and Calista Zaenger are members of Grossmont's Marksmanship Team. They qualified for the match by virtue of their high scores in the National Postal Match held earlier this year.

Both fired their highest scores of the season when it counted the most. Cadet Zaenger fired her best overall score (493) and her best prone score (187). Her steady improvement this year and her experience in tough matches will serve her well next season. Cadet Cortez broke (500) on both days and posted a season high, personal best, and team High (521) on the final day. Her score was only five points shy of the school record, placing her in 32nd place out of 90 shooters at the Layton Match.

Grossmont's Marksmanship Team is experiencing considerable success as well as significant growth. Building on this season's achievements, the team is adding a Precision Marksmanship Team to its line-up next season. The 2017-2018 Foothillers will field three Marksmanship Teams next season, two Sporter Teams, and one Precision Team.

Upcoming Events . . .

Save the Date: East Region Apprenticeship Fair on 5/12

On Friday, May 12, the East Region Apprenticeship Fair will be held on Friday, May 12, in the Grossmont College Quad. Come and learn more about apprenticeship opportunities in San Diego and Imperial Counties.

The Fair is open to GUHSD students from 8:00 to 11:30 a.m. and to the public from noon to 3:00 p.m. Parking is available in Lot 7 for the event.

More information is available here.

District Art Show Opens Tonight!

Please plan to join us for the opening reception of the 31st 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.

Dr. Tim Glover

Superintendent