To help parents and students better understand the process of admission to college, OneDublin.org recently interviewed Gina Meneni, Senior Associate Director of Admissions at St. Mary’s College of California. Ms. Meneni is a St. Mary’s College of California graduate (’99) who has been a part of the St. Mary’s College Admissions team for over 10 years.
In the interview Ms. Meneni taps into a decade of experience helping students navigate the St. Mary’s College admissions process, covering what it takes to get into college, the elements of a comprehensive college application, and managing the cost of tuition. Ms. Meneni also shares her own experiences at St. Mary’s College of California.
OneDublin.org recently interviewed Jeff Baker, Dean of Student Services at Las Positas College and Michael Schwarz, Transfer Counselor at Las Positas College, about how transfer programs provide another path for students seeking a 4-year degree. For many students, the reason is financial. Starting at a community college (such as Las Positas) and transferring to a 4-year program as a junior can save thousands of dollars. For other students, community college can provide a bridge to the 4-year degree program of their choice. Regardless of the reason, transfer programs play an important role for many high school students. Supporting transfer programs is one of three key focus areas for the Counseling Team at Las Positas College. 60% of Las Positas’ 9,500 students identified transfer as a goal in 2009-10.
Dublin High School Student Wins 1st Place at Tri-Valley Science and Engineering Fair
Dublin High School students participating in the 2010 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory sponsored Tri-Valley Science and Engineering Fair not only had a terrific time but also walked away with multiple awards. Dublin High School junior Kirsten Mengell won 1st Place in her division for her project, “An Epidemiology Study to Research Correlations Between Sleep and Depression in Teenagers”. Ms. Mengell was also a semi-finalist in the 2009-10 Young Epidemiology Scholars (YES) Competition, earning a $1,000 scholarship in the process.
Congratulations to the following students for their efforts:
- Dublin High School junior Kirsten Mengell won 1st Place in her division
- Dublin High School sophomores Rebecca Beasly and Kacey Borgeson won 3rd place for a team effort in their division
- Dublin High School freshman Nazineen Kandahari received honorable mention for her project
Mark the date – on Saturday May 8 from 1:00 – 4:30pm St. Mary’s College of California is hosting the 2010 East Bay College Connection College Fair (directions available here).
This is a free event open to the public. In addition to hosting over 130 different colleges and universities from across the country, there will also be a variety of workshops, in both English and Spanish, on everything from Admissions and Financial Aid to the Scholar Athlete and services for students with learning disabilities. Parents, students, educators and counselors can meet with college representatives from across the country – all in one afternoon.
Wells Middle School Bands March into Disneyland
Wells Middle School's Marching Band Heads Down Main Street U.S.A.
It is an annual tradition at Wells Middle School. The school’s award-winning marching band and jazz band programs make their way to Southern California to perform at Disneyland as part of Disney’s “Performing Arts” showcase in the spring.
Schools that want the opportunity to perform at the “Happiest Place on Earth” must send in audition tapes and be accepted into the program. Wells Middle School has become a regular performer over the years.
This year, more than 140 Wells students, who have been preparing since last fall by memorizing songs and participating in marching practice sessions, boarded buses for the trip south.
Members of the Dublin High School Choir
Dublin High School’s Music Program was on display Monday night with an impressive array of jazz, choir and band performances. Parents, students and members of the Dublin community filled Dublin High School’s Little Theater for an evening of music.
The Spring Concert kicked into high gear with the Jazz Band, including the Benny Golson classic “I Remember Clifford”. Dublin High’s Jazz Band seniors each had a chance to showcase their solo talent during the 5-song set. Dublin High School’s Choir followed with 5 songs, including the intricate Greg Gilpin composition “Lightning” which required 22 singers to interleave percussive melodies with perfect timing. The evening closed with Dublin High School’s Concert Band and the frenetic “Abram’s Pursuit” by David Holsinger that had the audience on its feet for a standing ovation.
John Green Elementary School Science Fair
John Green Elementary School held its annual Science Fair with a successful showing of student projects. Over 400 K-5 John Green Elementary students demonstrated their ability to apply the scientific method to real-world problems. From how pollution affects plants to experiments with electricity to the always popular moldy bread projects, the John Green Elementary community was treated to a fun evening of exploration.
Due to budget cuts the Science Fair was held on the John Green Elementary campus, rather than the Alameda County Fairgrounds, but that didn’t hold back the imagination and creativity of the students. Congratulations to all the students who participated!
Tassajara Prep Charter High School Update
[UPDATE: 10/5/2011 – After a public hearing where an overwhelming majority of parents spoken in opposition to Tassajara Prep, the Dublin School Board voted to deny the Tassajara Prep charter petition (read more). Tri-Valley Learning Corp. now has the option to appeal the denial to the Alameda County Office of Education.]
[UPDATE: 8/1/2011 – Following a 3-month delay Tri-Valley Learning Corp. re-submitted a revised Tassajara Prep Charter High School petition (main document available here, and attachments available here) to the Dublin Unified School District. The process starts from the beginning, meaning the petition must go through a complete approval and appeal cycle, starting at the District and moving through the County and ultimately the State. While a Fall 2012 opening is still promised, it isn’t clear how the process, including negotiating access to District facilities (likely co-location at Dublin High School via Prop. 39), can be completed in that timeframe. A public hearing is expected in 30 days.]
[UPDATE: 4/21/2011 – Dublin Patch broke the news that Tri-Valley Learning Corp. withdrew the Tassajara Prep charter petition. Over 1,600 signatures opposing Tassajara Prep had been gathered in preparation for the State Board of Education appeal that was originally scheduled for April and then delayed. For now it appears the Dublin charter school debate has ended. Read more…]
OneDublin.org has published a series of articles on the Tassajara Prep charter high school debate to help Dublin parents make an informed decision on the issue. Tassajara Prep is a proposed charter high school with a planned opening in Fall 2012 to be administered by Livermore-based Tri-Valley Learning Corp. independent of the Dublin Unified School District and the Dublin School Board. Tassajara Prep would partially be funded based on average daily attendance (ADA) that would otherwise go to Dublin High School. Charter schools typically rely on significant levels of charitable donations and committed hours of parent volunteer support due to systemic funding gaps impacting charter schools. Parents subscribing to OneDublin.org will be kept informed of key steps in the charter petition process. Below are summaries of key articles, and links to the full text.
A summary of key concerns regarding the Tassajara Prep charter petition are available here.
Tassajara Prep Location
Stock image used to promote Tassajara Prep (actual location likely to be a west-side District-owned facility if the charter petition is ultimately approved on appeal)
A key selling point of Tassajara Prep has been an east-side location. It is more likely, however, that if approved Tassajara Prep will request access to a Dublin Unified School District facility using Prop. 39. The only two options under Prop. 39 are likely to be co-locating at Dublin High School or re-purposing Nielsen Elementary (closed during consolidation). Livermore-based Tri-Valley Learning Corp., the group behind Tassajara Prep, recently requested access to Portola Elementary for a Livermore charter high school using Prop. 39. More details on the possible location of Tassajara Prep are detailed in an article available here.
UPDATES:
- Livermore Valley Charter Preparatory High School opened in Aug 2010 in a temporary location at Portola Elementary. A permanent location was later announced that is in the process of being approved. Livermore Airport officials have raised concerns about the proposed permanent location (near Costco) due to the proximity of the airport to the proposed Livermore Charter Preparatory High School permanent location. Read more…
- Separately, Livermore Charter Preparatory High School’s innaugural principal, Dr. Jeffrey Watkins, resigned without explanation a couple of months into the first school year and was replaced in January 2011 by Lauren Kelly. Read more…
- Finally, in December 2010 Tri-Valley Learning Corp. filed an appeal with the California State Board of Education regarding the Tassajara Prep charter petition. Tri-Valley Learning Corp. had originally planned to have the Tassajara Prep. charter approved in Dec 2010 – that date is now pushed back at least 7 months due to the delay in filing the appeal (read more…). There have been no updates on suitable locations in Dublin if the charter is approved.
More recently Tassajara Prep has been backing away from its core promise – an east-side location: “Zukoski said that location is less important, and it’s up to the district to offer an appropriate facility by law.” (source: article in The Independent). Later in the article it is noted: “It’s not clear to [Dublin Unified School District Superintendent] Hanke where the charter school would set up shop. All the district must do is offer comparable facilities. There are none, said Hanke. The only vacant school is the former Neilsen elementary school on the city’s west side. It does not meet space requirements for high school facilities, he said.”
Tassajara Prep Charter Petition Analysis
OneDublin.org published several articles regarding Livermore-based Tri-Valley Learning Corp.’s Tassajara Prep charter petition. The charter petition was denied by the Dublin School Board in a unanimous vote and was appealed to the Alameda County Office of Education. The Alameda County Office of Education also denied the charter petition in a unanimous vote. Tri-Valley Learning Corp. has appealed the charter petition to the California State Board of Education. No date has been set for the appeal hearing. Read more…
DPIE President Alcina Wegrzynowski
The Dublin Partners in Education (DPIE) held its first annual “Dollars for Scholars” Bowl-A-Rama at Earl Anthony’s Dublin Bowl on Sunday March 21. The community came out in strong support for the event. Bowlers of all levels and ages joined in on the fun, which included a Grand Prize Raffle valued at $365 provided compliments of Earl Anthony’s Dublin Bowl and Ted Hoffman. 28 sponsors and 150 members of the community participated in a fun and successful event that will continue annually for years to come.
Dublin Partners in Education (DPIE), led by President Alcina Wegrzynowski, was recently named the City of Dublin’s 2009 Organization fo the Year, for its efforts in support of Dublin public education. Dublin Partners in Education (DPIE) brings together Dublin businesses, parents and the extended community to support local public schools. With public education impacted by the statewide budget crisis, the efforts of organizations like DPIE are more important than ever.
Meet Dublin High School Cheerleading Coach Kristine Cousins
Fallon School: Nationals Grand Champion 2010
Name a team sport that is athletic, gymnastic, acrobatic, artistic and highly competitive. If you guessed “Cheerleading” you are correct. Fallon School’s Competition Cheer Team was recently named the United Spirit Association’s Jr. Nationals Grand Champion for 2010. The Grand Champion is the school-based cheer team with the highest score of the competition. The USA Jr. Nationals competition was held at Disneyland in February of this year.
50 Fallon Middle-schoolers participate in the Fallon Cheerleading program which includes both a Spirit Squad and a Competition Team. The Fallon Cheerleading program has grown from 19 to 50 students in just a few years under the leadership of coach (and parent) Kristine Cousins, supported by the tireless efforts of parents Christina Brown and Colleen Carrion plus the entire Fallon Cheerleading extended family. Ms. Cousins was recently selected as coach of Dublin High School cheerleading program that will be expanded to include a Competition Team.
OneDublin.org interviewed Ms. Cousins about the successful Fallon program, and the positive role cheerleading plays in developing confidence and character:
OneDublin.org 
