DUBLIN, CA–Annually, over 3.5 million students take the PSAT exam. The Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) is a standardized test administered by the College Board. Nationally, the emphasis has focused on sophomores and junior. However, younger students are also eligible to participate. The scores are also utilized to determine eligibility and qualification for the National Merit Scholarship Program.
Historically, the test had been administered on Saturday mornings during the fall. In more recent years, a national test date has been established with two alternate days. This year, it took place on October 10th. While the exam was being proctored for all 9th – 11th graders, the Seniors were treated to a rotating seminar schedule. This included discussion with representatives from Las Positas College and U.C. Santa Barbara. The third session focused on life after high school and the high potential of living away from home.
While it varies by district or school, the average cost for the exam is around $16.00. Under regular circumstances, it would be up to the student to pay this fee. Under a program that was initiated in 2017, the Dublin Partners in Education worked with the Dublin High School administration. The result was that DPIE agreed to fund this testing program for the second year in a row – at no cost to the students. OneDublin.org reached out to two assistant vice principals at DHS to solicit their feedback on this important day. Krista Taylor and Jennifer Nickl provided the responses.
OneDublin.org: In this day and age, do you advise students to prepare or study for the PSAT exam or is it wiser to go in “cold”? Read more…
Dublin High School Students Win Dreammakers & Risktakers Award
PLEASANTON, CA–Thanks to a #BulletinFromGoogle story created earlier today by Dublin High School teacher Eugene Chou (full Bulletin story here) we’re able to share a couple of highlights from the Dreammakers & Risktakers Award luncheon held earlier today in Pleasanton. Dublin High School students Neha Harpanhalli and Christy Koh won the award for their creating the mobile phone app “Stay on Course” which is currently in production at Dublin High to help students track their progress for graduation requirements. The app started as an engineering class project several years ago and is now a released product.
“The Dreammakers and Risktakers luncheon salutes student innovators from the Tri-Valley region whose ideas hold the promise to change the world. It showcases the talent and bravery of the next generation, and gives the opportunity for civic leaders to recognize them.” (source)
(photo credit: Eugene Chou)
Pacific Coast Repertory Theatre’s Fundraising Drive to Bring Mamma Mia! to Pleasanton
DUBLIN, CA–We’ve shared multiple stories about the Pacific Coast Repertory Theatre‘s productions over the years, and profiled co-founder, actor and Dublin Unified School District TVTIP instructional coach Joy Sherratt. The good news – PCRT’s next production is the joyous and ever-popular musical Mamma Mia!, lined up to run January 26 – February 10, 2019 at the Firehouse Arts Center in Pleasanton.
The ask for community help – PCRT needs to raise $10,000 to cover pre-production costs due to a change in their relationship with the City of Pleasanton (more on the upcoming production, and the need for funding, in our latest interview with PCRT co-founder Joy Sherratt).
OneDublin.org: How are theatre companies like PCRT funded? Read more…
Dublin High School Drama Brings Neil Simon’s “Rumors” to the Performing Arts Center
DUBLIN, CA–Neil Simon’s Rumors is coming to the Dublin High School Performing Arts Center on Thursday, October 25th, 2018. Presented by the Dublin High School Drama Department and directed by DHS drama teacher Kathryn DeLapp, Rumors will run until Sunday, October 28th for a total of six performances.
Rumors is a farcical play set in uptown Manhattan during the 1980s. When married couple Chris and Ken arrive at the house of Charlie and Myra Brock for a dinner party to celebrate the latter couple’s tenth wedding anniversary, they are astounded to find that Charlie has shot himself in the head and Myra is missing. As more guests begin to arrive at the dinner party, wild speculation and gossip about what has happened transforms the situation into one of confusion and fear.
The Dublin High production of Rumors will feature two separate casts. The Manhattan Cast will perform all evening shows, and the Westchester Cast will perform all matinee shows.
Come see Rumors and support the incredibly talented cast and crew of the DHS Drama Department. Tickets are available at www.dhsdrama.com/tickets.html.
Celebrate the International Day of the Girl with Disney’s Inspirational #DreamBigPrincess Campaign
Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy
Our mission is Celebrating Education Excellence, including a long-running series of articles profiling Women in STEM, and to celebrate the International Day of the Girl (October 11, 2018) we’re putting a spotlight on Disney’s new new global video series offering advice and inspiration on achieving success for the next generation of young leaders around the globe. The series will be shared across social media to unlock up to a $1M donation from Disney to the United Nations Foundation’s Girl Up initiative.
Disney’s New #DreamBigPrincess Global Video Series features 21 aspiring young filmmakers from 13 countries who have created digital shorts spotlighting the stories of female trailblazers including Emily Blunt, Jennifer Lee, Kathleen Kennedy, Jo Malone CBE, Robin Roberts & Victoria Arlen along with renowned athletes, doctors, scientists and more.
“Dreaming big is one of the most important things any of us can do – to keep aiming higher,” says Kathleen Kennedy, President of Lucasfilm, who was interviewed for the series by Maud Webster, age 16, from the UK. “The #DreamBigPrincess series is giving a voice to a group of talented young women, helping them tell stories that kids can learn from, whatever their ambition.”
College campus tours are a ritual of the college admissions process, both fun and stressful, making the reality of the transition to college more real and present. For years now we’ve published the stories of Dublin High School alum during (Life in College Series) and after (Life After College Series) college.
We’re now inviting Dublin High School alum to share tours of their college campuses – from a student’s perspective. These tours will go beyond the glossy brochures that are flooding mailboxes across Dublin and show what it’s like to walk across campus. We’ll be updating this story as more tours arrive, each tour shared to use using Bulletin, from Google. (Contribute your school tour by opening bulletin.app on your phone and sending a link to our story to editor@onedublin.org.)
UC Berkeley campus (photo credit: Madison Hildenbrand)
With no further ado here are our campus tours, with more coming soon! Read more…
DUBLIN, CA–The need for, and debate surrounding, a second comprehensive high school to be located on the east side of Dublin has been a controversial topic for over a decade. This website was inspired in part by the debate over the (now defunct) Tri-Valley Learning Corp’s failed attempt to start a charter high school in Dublin.
At tonight’s Dublin Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting a second comprehensive high school moves a step closer to reality with the many topic of discussion being the acquisition of the Promenade location, using Bond Measure H funds. The name “Promenade” comes from a long promised but never constructed walkable retail location tucked between blocks of town homes. For long-time east Dublin residents, the Promenade brings back memories of model home maps and mock-ups of a community retail location.
As per the Board announcement, “As further discussed and described in the Staff Report attached hereto and incorporated by reference, the District has been facing and continues to face significant population growth and increased residential and commercial development within its boundaries, which has caused severe overcrowding of the District’s facilities. As a result, the District has a need to acquire land for new school sites and related educational purposes, including a new high school.”
The two key agenda items are both required steps enroute to acquiring the land. Building a new school in California is a complex process; acquiring land for that school is complexity on top of complexity with environmental and other regulations in play to help ensure students a safe school site for decades to come. Both key agenda items are public hearings open for comment: Read more…
DUBLIN, CA–OneDublin.org returned to Fallon Middle School over the past two weeks to observe and celebrate innovation demonstrated by the Physical Education Department. While we have witnessed these sections previously, what is unmistakable is the enthusiasm demonstrated by both the students and the parent population.
In sequence, we were on site to view the final presentation of the Tinikling Showcase – participating through all grade levels. Tinikling is a traditional Philippine dance that dates back to the Spanish colonial era. It requires bamboo as a percussive instrument and it is banged in tandem against the ground between two people and conducted in rhythm. At Fallon, these rods were replicated with oversized PVC piping and wood blocks. While it looks fairly innocent at first, it requires great coordination to avoid a potential ankle injury. We spoke with two P.E. staff members to learn more.
OneDublin.org: Describe the steps and typical time frame for students to become proficient in Tinikling. Read more…
Dublin High School’s 2019 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists Announced
DUBLIN, CA–The Dublin Unified School District announced the 2019 semifinalists for the National Merit Scholarship Program, and one of those semifinalists is none other than OneDublin.org’s Dublin High School Student Reporter Neha Harpanhalli. Neha is one of 19 Dublin High School seniors who have been named semifinalists (along with 16,000 other students across the country from 1.6 million entrants).
Neha has written over 30 articles for OneDublin.org since joining the team back in 2016, and is also a co-founder of Stay On Course – a mobile app developed to help high school students track their progress towards fulfilling graduation requirements. The app has been adopted by the Dublin Unified School District. (Neha wrote about the experience of creating the app here.)
According to the National Merit Scholarship website: “The National Merit® Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships that began in 1955. High school students enter the National Merit Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®)—which serves as an initial screen of approximately 1.6 million entrants each year—and by meeting published program entry and participation requirements.”
The full list of 2019 Dublin High School National Merit Scholarship Program semifinalists is: Read more…
[UPDATE 9/20/18] Governor Jerry Brown vetoed SB-328 saying, ““This is a one-size-fits-all approach that is opposed by teachers and school boards. Several schools have already moved to later start times. Others prefer beginning the school day earlier. These are the types of decisions best handled in the local community.”
SACRAMENTO, CA–We’ve written several times about the importance of sleep for student wellness and safety, and the development of the adolescent brain and how that impacts behavior through high school and beyond. A consistent theme has been the importance of placing guard rails on school start times. California has led the nation on many issues and for school start times is one signature (Governor Brown’s) from leading on school start times.
California Bill SB-328 is the latest attempt by the California legislature to place limits on school start times, requiring the “schoolday for middle schools and high schools, including those operated as charter schools, to begin no earlier than 8:30 a.m.” To get the bill passed by both the Assembly and the Senate several changes were made – school districts will have until July 1, 2021 to implement the change (one year later than originally proposed, with additional language around collective bargaining agreements) and rural school districts are exempted completely (no waiver required).
OneDublin.org 