Yearly Archives: 2017

Cajon Valley teaches attended SDCUE Tech Fair in force! Over 120 teachers participated in the local technology centered conference hosted by the San Diego Computer Using Educators (SDCUE). Sessions ranged from basic Google tools to specialized apps like Desmos a math app. This year’s favorite app sessions include Seesaw and Flipgrid. Teachers created a collaborative document to take notes and share resources from sessions. Nine Cajon Valley teachers presented sessions on Genius Hour, Presentation Literacy, DLP Coaching, and Digital Admin Resources. The day ended with several of our Cajon Valley crew winning raffle prizes.

Liz Loether   Director LSS, Cajon Valley Union School District

Phone: (619) 593-5219 Email: loethere@cajonvalley.net Address: 750 East Main Street, El Cajon CA, 92020

Throughout the past months, Cajon Valley students and teachers have had the opportunity to beta test Google’s latest Expeditions app with augmented reality. Augmented Reality differs from Virtual Reality in that the experience takes place in the actual real-life environment with virtual objects appearing.With AR, students can get up close to virtual objects and scan around using a selfie stick and smartphone to view objects at different angles. In Cajon Valley, students and their teachers were able to explore natural disasters like erupting volcanoes and whirling tornadoes, get up close to animals on the ocean floor, and even analyze artifacts from ancient Rome! Google continued to visit sites throughout December.  Thank you Katie Connolly for organizing and assisting with connecting this opportunity to our schools!

Click here to see the 10 News Story https://www.10news.com/news/el-cajon-students-test-out-new-google-augmented-reality-device

My classroom door for the week.  We went with realism shared Kevin Day @ Montgomery Middle School.  The classroom keys came from all is prior apartments, condos, etc.. and even the kids brought some in to round out the school spirit week.  Thank you for sharing Kevin.

Digital media and technology are evolving at a dizzying pace, both unlocking extraordinary opportunities and posing real risks for young people. Students are using the immense power of the Internet and mobile technology to explore, connect, create, and learn in ways never before imagined, both in and out of the classroom. But issues that emerge from this 24/7 “connected culture,” such as cyberbullying, privacy lapses, and uncertainty about which information to trust online, are surfacing both in schools and at home.

Cajon Valley Union School District sees these as teachable moments. We believe that digital citizenship skills have become essential for students in the 21st century, especially in schools like ours that are using technology to transform learning. That’s why we are committed to teaching our students how to think critically, behave safely, and participate responsibly. Cajon Valley Union School District has just been approved as a Common Sense  District, an honor that recognizes our efforts in teaching digital citizenship to young people and engaging the entire community in this important discussion and supporting educators using technology for learning. The recognition acknowledges our district’s’ commitment creating a culture of digital learning and citizenship.

This honor  is provided by Common Sense Education, part of a national nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in a world of media and technology.

Our schools are one of the more than 100,000 schools across the country that use Common Sense Education’s groundbreaking education resources. As a result, our students are better equipped to navigate the digital world and use devices for learning.

To learn more about Common Sense Education, visit www.commonsense.org/education.

Jenn Petraglia EdTech Facilitator, Cajon Valley Union School District 619-590-8881 | petragliaj@cajonvalley.net | 750 E. Main St., El Cajon CA 92020

Lt. Governor, Greg Fox, is pictured above installing K-Kids officers at Anza Elementary School on October 24th.  The club at Anza has grown in popularity over the past two years with 49 members signed up this year (up from 30).  Below is a photo of the whole club sporting their new Tee’s provided by our club with (L to R) Greg Fox and Kiwanis advisors Marianne Merriman, Terry Jones and Dick Campbell, along with the faculty advisor, Nancy Bobo, in back.  Terry prepared Halloween themed treats for each club member to go along with their Tee’s, pins and other membership materials.

On Monday, September 25th, The Ministry of Education from the Netherlands visited Cajon Valley to learn about innovations in personalized learning and how to achieve systemic change in K-12 policy and practice.  Questions from our Dutch collaborators were very similar to the questions we are asking here at home… “How do we prepare our children for jobs that don’t yet exist?”  They were very interested in both Presentation Literacy and our World of Work solution.  Thank you Bostonia Language Academy and Naranca Elementary School for opening your schools to our visitors.  Our guests wanted to see whole-scale systemic innovation (every classroom/every day) and left with a strong impression of how they might achieve that in their own schools.  US Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, sent her regards to this important meeting.

Los Coches Creek 6th grade teacher, Deborah Turner, was recognized recently for her amazing efforts to help others.  Mrs. Turner spoke with her students one day about the terrible flooding in Houston caused by Hurricane Harvey.  What began with a student asking the question, “I wonder if there’s anything we can do to help?” has blossomed into a great example of the empathetic powers of our CVUSD students.  Mrs. Turner’s class “adopted” Mrs. Koontz’s class at Kipp 3D Academy in Houston.  Many of Mrs. Koontz’s students and their families lost everything in the aftermath of the storm.  Amazingly, Mrs. Turner’s students raised over $1,100 to send to those middle school flood victims!   Thanks to the generosity of  105.7 Max FM, the San Diego County Office of Education, Mission Federal Credit Union, and the San Diego Padres, LCC was able to hold an assembly for our 6th graders and Mission Fed donated an additional $1,000 to Mrs. Turner for her efforts!  Mrs. Turner is so proud of her students, and is a great example of a wonderful Cajon Valley teacher leading her students to find the joy in helping others.

Los Coches Creek Middle School

Take A Stand week is an opportunity for schools to focus on bullying prevention by empowering students to make positive changes with their words and actions. At Crest, our counselor, Allyson Wilkins, created activities which encouraged students to reach out with kindness. I wanted to increase excitement and school spirit leading up to Take A Stand week, so I enlisted the student’s help in producing a music video. I invited everyone who wanted to participate to join me during recess. We selected the song and planned the filming locations. Our broadcast room became a dance studio for a few days. We cranked up the music and learned a few dance moves. We encouraged students to wear their school colors and wrapped up filming with a culminating school wide dance shot. The project allowed me to connect with students in a fun and exciting way while bringing us together for a common goal. We hope you enjoy our music video as much as we enjoyed creating it.

By Carmen Restrepo, Ed.D., Principal

Crest Elementary School & Design Learning Academy (Home School)

Important Update on Hepatitis A Outbreak from Graham Mitchell, Assistant City Manager, City of El Cajon

As you are aware, San Diego County is experiencing a Hepatitis A outbreak.  Cases have been reported in almost every community, including El Cajon.  As such, the City has proactively been working with County of San Diego health professionals on appropriate responses to address this issue in the community.  The City has begun implementing a series of efforts as describe on a webpage devoted to this issue (http://www.ci.el-cajon.ca.us/resident-services/public-safety/hepatitis-a-outbreak).

The good news is because children began being vaccinated in the mid-1990s, there is little risk to those under twenty years old.  In fact, of the 461 reported cases, only one victim is a child (that individual was not immunized).

The following is a link to a  County website that includes much information about Hepatitis A: http://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/hhsa/programs/phs/community_epidemiology/dc/Hepatitis_A.html.

Despite the low risk to children, I wanted to reach out to the District to see if there was any information that the City can share or if we can connect you with County experts about Hepatitis A.  Please let me know if we can be of help.

Graham Mitchell

Assistant City Manager

City of El Cajon

gmitchell@cityoflelcajon.us

office: (619) 441-1716

Dear Dr. Miyashiro;

I want to express to you my sincere appreciation for Mr. Felipe Garcia, Office Assistant at Cajon Valley Middle School. As a grandfather, I dropped by the school today to deliver a couple of items to my grandson. Mr. Garcia was attentive, professional and helpful. Not only that, when my grandson came to pick up his things, I noticed something very important to me. Mr. Garcia has developed a personal relationship with my grandson, as I am sure he does with many – a relationship that is obviously built on trust as a result of mutual respect. I walked away with the undeniable positive feeling about Mr. Garcia: that he puts the best interest of my grandson first and, as a result, is able to provide a constructive avenue for communication should any problems arise. This is the essence of child development, to help children grow and learn the values of good relationships. Mr. Garcia’s dedication, patience, kindness and engaging personality are assets to the Cajon Valley School District. While I am certain his positive relationship with students is the norm, not the exception, for faculty and staff at Cajon Valley, today, I saw first-hand the value of Mr. Garcia as a source of guidance, trust and friendship to my grandson and, by extension, to many young boys and girls at Cajon Valley Middle School.

Please pass my compliments on to Mr. Garcia and to the leadership on his campus.

Kindest regards,

Herb Cawthorne

“Papa” to Daniel Jacobs, 8^th Grader