OneDublin.org

DUBLIN, CA–Our theme for this year’s TEDxEmeraldGlenPark event is ‘What if?’. What if we approach every problem from the core of our values? At TEDxEmeraldGlenPark2019 Jeff Parrett will take us on a journey that explores the fundamental relationship of money and personal values and its impact of our lives. He will challenge the status quo and the way we perceive the material as a validation for accomplishments and personal achievements. His inspiring vision will shift the perspective to a much higher level of conscience where the future of society is grounded on intention, values and impact rather than money.

Jeff Parrett has a 30+ year career in technology as a software engineer. He saw the industry go from punch cards to the cloud. After retiring in 2013 he founded The Rising Foundation, an organization with a mission to support social entrepreneurs in addressing society’s greatest challenges. Jeff will examine the traditional role of money and values through the prism of aligned technology and his lifelong experience as an engineer. Read more…

(Thank you to Dublin High School science teacher Janet Kaehms for submitting this story and photos.)

DUBLIN, CA–Dublin High School hosted its second annual science and engineering fair for Biology With Research freshmen last Saturday. There were a record number of participants with approximately 425 freshmen representing 250 different projects judged in two separate session. Projects ranged from “How to Analyze Amazon Product Reviews Using Deep Learning” to “What is the Most Efficient Lizard Trap”.

These projects are the result of five months of effort by both students and teachers. They are a unique opportunity to practice both technical communication and working in a project-based environment. We are very proud of our students for their effort, dedication, and ingenuity. Scoring is not yet complete but approximately 12 projects will earn the right to move on to the Golden Gate Science and Engineering Fair next month where they may qualify for state and national level competition. We hope to have scoring completed by the end of the day Wednesday February 13. Read more…

Newly Appointed Trustee Niranjana Natarajan Appointment Terminated Due to Community Petition

Dublin, CA – February 1, 2019 – During the regularly scheduled Board meeting on December 11, 2018, the Dublin Unified School District Board of Trustees selected Niranjana “Nini” Natarajan as its provisional appointee. Ms. Natarajan replaced former Trustee Joe Giannini, who resigned from the board in October 2018. (We interviewed Mrs. Natarajan earlier this year.)

Following the appointment of Ms. Natarajan, community members had a thirty-day window to challenge the Board’s selection by filing a petition with the County Superintendent of Schools. A petition to nullify the appointment was submitted on January 2, 2019. At that point, the County Superintendent of Schools had thirty days to work with the Alameda County Registrar of Voters and verify the required number of valid signatures were provided.

Niranjana Natarajan (red jacket)

To challenge the appointment, signatures from 1.5% of the registered voters were required. Since the appointment was for Trustee Area 4, which has approximately 5,000 registered voters, at least 75 valid signatures were needed for the petition to be sufficient. Read more…

I am a junior at Dublin High School who has distributed over 1500 blankets to various homeless encampments in Stockton, Hayward, and Oakland. All of this was made possible by my nonprofit organization – TOUCH Lives.

I originally came up with the idea for my nonprofit organization while volunteering at my local Red Cross chapter. On the way to monthly meetings in Oakland, I would often find homeless people shivering in local parks.

I approached some local homeless shelters and learned about the urgent need for blankets for the homeless. I launched my own nonprofit organization – TOUCH Lives – to collect and distribute items such as blankets, socks, and hygiene kits.

Read more…

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND—Dublin High School Class of 2018 alum Joanne Baek is a freshman at Johns Hopkins University currently studying Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChemBE) at the Whiting School of Engineering.

During her time at Dublin High School, Joanne was a part of the Engineering and Design Academy (DEDA) and served as the Finance Lead of the highly successful 2017-2018 Dublin High School InvenTeam.

Over winter break, I caught up with Joanne, who shared how her experiences at Dublin High influenced her to pursue ChemBE at Johns Hopkins.

Joanne with her mom

Neha Harpanhalli: I understand that you applied to Johns Hopkins under their Early Decision (ED) admission process. How did you decide that Johns Hopkins was the ideal school for you? Read more…

DUBLIN, CA–The Dublin Unified School District Board of Trustees moved to fulfill a vacancy on the board created by the resignation of Trustee Joe Giannini in October. Given the choice of conducting a special election, the Board elected to appointment a community member that resides in Area 4 to fulfill the remaining two years of this term. Applications were submitted and the candidates understood that they would participate in an open question and answer session. At the December 11th meeting this process was conducted and Niranjana Natarajan was selected as the provisional appointee in a 3-1 vote.

Ms. Natarajan is married and is the mother of two daughters that both attend Cottonwood Creek School. She works as a Financial Analyst and has been a resident of Dublin since 2014. We sensed that “Nini” wanted to be even more than a community organizer. But to take the next step, it would require an even greater time commitment combined with potentially fractious politics. Subsequent to her appointment, we had the opportunity for a more in-depth discussion about this new opportunity.

OneDublin.org: The decision to take on public office is a significant one. Please explain the decision points that ultimately convinced you to apply for the vacancy. Read more…

LIVERMORE, CA–Based on the Victor Hugo novel and songs from the Disney animated feature, The Hunchback of Notre Dame showcases the film’s Academy Award-nominated score, as well as new songs by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz. Peter Parnell’s new book embraces story theatre and features verbatim passages from Hugo’s gothic novel.

This is not an exact recreation of the Disney animated movie like some other Disney musicals, it is rated PG-13, but is a wonderfully touching musical with haunting songs and big dance numbers and should not be missed. Quasimodo is excellently played by Brian Palac. Alexis Vera is also exceptionally cast as the beautiful Esmeralda. The dark and evil Frollo is well-portrayed by Geoffrey Colton and Justin Sabino brings much needed lightness to the production as Clopin. Matt Skinner is back with Tri-Valley Repertory Theatre to play Phoebus as is Matthew Kelly as Jehan. Aly Casas is Florika.

Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame includes music from the animated film with memorable songs such as, “The Bells of Notre Dame”, “Out There”, “Topsy Turvy”, “God Help the Outcasts” and “Someday”, as well as many new songs written for the stage production. Read more…