Volume 4, Issue 7 | June 18, 2019
If this email is clipped—or photos are not displayed—click the "View entire message" link at the bottom of the email. Campus Connections is the newsletter of the Milpitas Unified School District. If you have stories for our next issue, please send them to  Shannon Carr .
Superintendent's Message
Students ascending to academic, social heights with support of caring adults
Cheryl Jordan
Karisa Scott, Assistant Principal of Milpitas and Calaveras Hills high schools, shared this metaphor for parenting our teens through adolescence: teens need guidelines similar to the security bar on a roller coaster. In the same way that we push and pull on the bar to ensure it is locked, teens test our commitment to the boundaries we set for them. I’ve carried that image with me these last weeks of school as I listened to our graduates and rising middle and high school students.

Our promotion and graduation ceremonies provided a point of reflection for our student leaders. All remarked in some way the realization that as a collective their class has grown through the support of their peers, school teams, and families. They spoke of their challenges that forged new definitions in their character. They expressed their gratitude for the people in their lives who love and counsel them. Our students demonstrated the self-realization that they are remarkably powerful when they share their enthusiasm for their pathways with each other and our community. 

The weeks ahead are an opportunity for us to encourage our youth to experience something different or more deeply that will further shape their learning and development. The crest of summer bares transition time for us as their parents, guardians and educators as well. It is a time to pause so we can reconnect and listen to their wonderings, concerns, and aspirations about who they are becoming. They need the assurance of our support and guidance as they make the ascent to this next phase of their learning journey.

Together WE are there for our children, pushing them towards their goals, celebrating the thrill of their triumphs, and delighting in their realization that they are capable of becoming what they dream to be.

Sincerely,
Cheryl Jordan
Superintendent

News and Events
FREE summer lunches for youth kicked off Monday
Summer is here and free lunches are available to youth! No application or registration is required, walk-ins are welcome. Lunch will be served on a first come first serve basis. 

Funded by the California Department of Education, MUSD has been operating the Seamless Summer Program since 2017. This program offers free, wholesome lunches to anyone under the age of 18. The efforts have alleviated child hunger and helped parents stretch their food dollars. Participation in Milpitas has continued to grow from year to year. 

This year, MUSD has three open feeding sites, which started June 17. No application or registration is required, walk-ins are welcome. Meals will be served on a first come first serve basis. Free meals are available at the following locations during the noted days and times: 

Robert Randall Elementary
1300 Edsel Drive
June 17 - July 25
10:30-11:00 a.m.
Monday - Thursday

Joseph Weller Elementary
345 Boulder St.
June 17 - July 24
10:30-11:00 a.m.
Monday-Thursday

Milpitas Sports Center
1325 E. Calaveras Blvd.
June 17 - August 9
11:30-12:00 p.m.
Snack: 1:45-2:15 pm
Monday-Friday

All sites will be closed on Wednesday, July 4. Please bring your child(ren) to a site for Summer lunches daily!
Helicopter lands messages of growth mindset, healthy lifestyles at Sinnott Elementary School
A Sikorsky HH-60G Pavehawk from Moffett Air National Guard Base landed on the field of Sinnott Elementary School May 30. Maj. Ken Yambing, the CDTF Team Hawk commander, spoke about the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM), which led to the designing, creating, and building of the helicopter. He also talked to the students about having a growth mindset, and how making good decisions throughout your life can help you obtain some awesome jobs such as a pilot, first responder, teacher, etc.

SFC Mark Anthony Karandang, CDTF Civil Air Operations NCOIC, encouraged students to be kind to one another, and emphasized teamwork and healthy eating. He even led students and staff in an oath so they can be honorary members of their team. Officer Brian Hinkley of the Milpitas Police Department mirrored the message of making good decisions in life, such as teamwork, being kind, and eating healthy. This event reached over 900 individuals and was coordinated by MSgt Jeannie Lam, a third grade teacher at Sinnott Elementary School and a member of the 129th Rescue Wing. Milpitas Board of Education Trustees Michael Tsai and Kelly Yip-Chuan was also in attendance.

Milpitas High School students host successful TEDx event
Milpitas High School students worked incredibly hard to organize a successful TEDxMilpitasHighSchool conference May 25, which had approximately 125 people in attendance. They found and selected the speakers, contacted local businesses to obtain donations, designed programs and advertising, and much much more.

What's more, many of the speakers have ties to our Milpitas community. Our very own Board President, Chris Norwood; MHS students Luke Ren and Natalie Lata; an d Dr. Cindy Huynh, who teaches students at the college extension, all gave insightful, engaging, and thought-provoking speeches. The theme was "Bursting Bubbles", symbolic of the stereotypes and societal constructs that we, as members of society, often feel limited by.

The TEDx team included Luke Ren, Vivian Tsang, Maansi Maskai,Ayushi Malhotra, Tamrin Bains, Anvi Brahmbhatt, Hana Noory, Rajvee Patel, Esther Duong, Kush Brahmbhatt, Maya Mannan, Shreedhar Jangam, Dana Nguyen, Rushil Patel, and Ashley Noory.   

View photos from the event    online here  
412 students honored during Senior Awards Night
A total of  412 students were invited to Milpitas High School's Senior Awards Night to be recognized for one or more awards May 22.
  • A total of 326 students received a Gold Cord for achieving an academic GPA from 10-12 grade of 3.25 unweighted or 3.5 weighted.
  • A total of 181 students received a Maroon Cord for volunteering 150 hours or more over the course of their 4 years in high school.
  • The school's top 12 students had GPAs ranging from 4.41-4.55
  • Valedictorian
  • Ashley Chen, 4.55 GPA, attending UCLA
  • Gold cord, Maroon cord, Golden State Seal, President's Education Award, National Merit Finalist, State Seal of Biliteracy, recipient of multiple scholarships: Milpitas Teacher's Association Scholarship, Danny Lau Memorial Scholarship, Hall of Fame Scholarship, CommonWealth Educational Scholarship

"This year's award ceremony had a completely different format than last year, this time being more "
personal to the students," said Marissa Canez, Milpitas High School's College and Career Technician. "My favorite part of planning this year's event was recording the seniors' shout outs to staff and family, and a compiled video of all the shout outs was played at the beginning of the ceremony. This was a perfect personal touch and brought a smile to so many faces!"

This year at the 2019 MHS Senior Awards Night, 2 videos were played; one of student shout outs and the other on what Valedictorian means.



Summit classes offer valuable mentoring component
by Stephanie Woodhams, eighth grade U.S. History teacher

There's a lot of information that gets shared about Summit classes and yet often one of the most important aspects of the program is never talked about, and that's the mentoring component. It is my absolute favorite part of the program.

Studies show that as students age, they often feel more disconnected from their school for a variety of reasons. Mentoring allows students to feel seen, valued, and understood. What does mentoring look like in my classroom? In addition to understanding the type of learner they are, topics of discussion include their progress in the Summit program along with creating a plan to complete projects or focus areas, discussion and focus on one of the 36 Habits of Success that follow all life-long learners, including Curiosity, Growth Mindset, Sense of Belonging, Purpose, Stress Management, Self-Direction, Resilience, etc. We also complete goal setting, encouraging daily goals that deal with academics as well as long term goals for beyond middle school and reevaluate the goals at each meeting to discuss if the goals are meaningful, if they have been achieved, or if new goals need to be created. I have learned so much about my students and so value the time we share.

My biggest challenge - besides making sure that every two weeks I can having these meaningful face-to-face discussions with my students - include knowing how to mentor students who are high achieving and actively involved in campus life. These students have a good balance already and understand what it takes to be successful and yet there's always something we can improve upon, so the challenge lies in having them realize at the age of 13 or 14 where they still need to grow.

At that point our conversation turns to self-care: are you eating breakfast, drinking water, what's your phone usage, taking time for yourself or focusing on studies 24/7? Discussions can include what they have always wanted to try but never have, their relationships with parents, siblings, and how to communicate better with others, including navigating group work. Students have made goals to be tutors in homeroom, to help classmates who struggle with a particular class or focus area and beyond, to improve their mile time, to eat more fruits and vegetables, and to get to know their parents better.

Finally, I've learned so much about the daily struggles faced outside of school and am constantly in awe of how much our students deal with and continue to be resilient and driven. I always end the session asking the group the same question for the week. This week's question was, "If you could live in any movie or TV house, which would you pick?" My pick at their age would be the Home Alone House. My students answered Hogwarts, Lilo and Stitch House, the Full House home, etc. But one student chose to tell me about their hopes for the future and what coming home would feel like and look like to them, because the idea of that stability was almost on the same level as living in a fictional home and that made my heart ache for this student.

Mentoring is exhausting, both physically and emotionally, but it is 100 percent worth it. I hope that all of my mentees understand their value, take to heart how proud I am of them and in our belief in their success, and that they continue to strive for achievement no matter what.
Sinnott's Room 29 celebrates Words of Kindness
During the school year, Sinnott teacher Adam Throm helped his third grade class develop growth mindset strategies and words of kindness. As a culminating activity, each student had the opportunity to paint their word of kindness using custom made stencils in front of Room 29 the morning of June 5. Such words included "Stay Together", "Love & Peace", "Stay Happy", "Get Back Up" and "Try Your Best."
Upcoming Events
One-Up Coding teaches practical coding skills
One-Up Coding aims to teach practical coding skills to middle school and high school students of all levels of coding experience. The program will run every Wednesday from 3-5 p.m. during the summer (which started June 12), and they will be teaching Javascript this session. The program will also be accessible online in case transportation or scheduling becomes an issue. To find out more or register, visit  tinyurl.com/oneupcoding
Community Service offered during the summer
For questions regarding community service and work permits over the summer, please contact Marissa Canez at  mcanez@musd.org.
MUSD | Phone: (408) 635-2600