“Mindblowing” National Ad for MADD Developed by Dublin High School Video Production Students
DUBLIN, CA–Students in the Dublin High School Video Production Program have produced a public service advertisement for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) that will be distributed nationally in October. The 30-second video is part of M.A.D.D.’s national “No More Victims” campaign.
“It really drives home the message of the work we do,” said Natasha Thomas, Program Director of M.A.D.D. San Francisco Bay Area.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving participated last spring in Dublin’s “Every 15 Minutes” program, an anti-drunk driving event staged at Dublin High School every four years. Thomas said she was very impressed with the student-produced video that was part of the program. “I assumed, like the other videos we’ve seen at this event, that it was made by a professional video team,” Thomas said. “When I heard that students had filmed the entire video, I was floored and I knew we had to work with them.”
Swing Dance Competition at Fallon Middle School Moves and Motivates Students
DUBLIN, CA–A year ago, we were fortunate enough to observe a “Swing Dance” competition at Fallon Middle School that involved students from each grade. The genesis of this Physical Education section was the result of a successful relationship with colleagues from Thomas Hart Middle School in Pleasanton. At Hart, a fully employed swing dance program had been in place for over a decade. In the true spirit of collaboration, P.E. teachers from Dublin extended the reach out to learn about this program. As a result, staff from Hart MS offered their guidance and expertise to help implement a baseline instructional guide to help get this off the ground in Dublin Unified School District.
In what represents a true uplift, the Fallon Middle School P.E. staff imbedded this section into the first portion of the academic calendar. The results were clearly successful and obvious. In a year over year comparison, the level of participation essentially doubled. While the side benefit of a competition yields competition, the over arching goal was to increase engagement. To a great degree, this endeavor was accomplished. Over a three day period, students from the 6th to 8th grade were encouraged to participate and to perhaps take the crown of king/queen of the dance.
This year, we engaged with Physical Education teacher, Amy Jones to solicit her thoughts on this event. Amy is in her fifth year as a teacher at Fallon and her feedback was invaluable in understanding how this program has positively impacted the school site.
OneDublin.org: There were significantly more dancers participating versus a year ago. To what do you attribute this increase? Read more…
Dublin High School Biomedical Academy Seeking Mentors
DUBLIN, CA–Dublin High School‘s popular Health Science and Medical Technology (Biomedical) Academy is seeking adult professional mentors to help our junior Academy students navigate their way toward college and career. Being a Biomedical Academy mentor requires a year-long commitment to attend a monthly meeting with your matched student on set dates (to be announced soon). The first meeting date will be Thursday, October 6th from 12:44-1:35 in the Dublin High School library. The curriculum is already written – mentors are mainly required to provide one-on-one advice, guidance, and feedback for students as they move toward applying for college and exploring careers. The mentoring experience has proven to be rewarding for both students and mentors.
Interested mentors are asked to fill out this Biomedical Academy Mentor Application. The current curriculum is available in the Biomedical Academy Mentor Handbook.
For volunteers interested in supporting the Academy, but who are not able to commit to a monthly meeting, please refer to this flyer and submit your information to this Opportunities for Involvement with Biomedical Academy form.
Mentoring is a wonderful opportunity to help our next generation, and mentors report that they are given renewed enthusiasm and inspiration through working with Dublin students.
Additional information:
Dublin High School Teacher Priyanka Dadlani on Students Taking Responsibility for Chemistry Education
DUBLIN, CA–Ms. Priyanka Dadlani is the new Chemistry and Honors Chemistry teacher at Dublin High School. However, this is not her first year teaching at the high school level: she taught AP Chemistry and regular Chemistry at Half Moon Bay High School last year. Ms. Dadlani also has been teaching Honors Chemistry over the past few summers as a part of the DPIE STEM Enrichment Academy. According to her, she “really enjoyed the experience, overall vibe, and community here”, which prompted her to move to Dublin High School.
Ms. Dadlani was born in India, but grew up and went to school in Sacramento. She attended UC Berkeley, where she majored in Chemistry and received her Bachelor’s of Science, and obtained her teaching credential there as well. She also taught for a year at Berkeley High School as a student teacher before moving to Half Moon Bay.
She credits her AP Chemistry teacher from high school for getting her interested in majoring in Chemistry. “Back in high school, my AP Chem teacher really made the subject exciting and interesting,” she says, “which was different from my other classes, which were so textbook-oriented and not really as engaging.”
Dublin School Board Candidates Forum to be Held Wed. Oct 5 – 7pm
DUBLIN, CA–OneDublin.org, a volunteer organization committed to celebrating education excellence, will be holding a Dublin Unified School District Candidates Forum on Wednesday October 5 at 7pm (doors open 6:30pm). Question suggestions can be submitted here.
The Forum, which will provide Dublin School Board candidates an opportunity to debate issues important to Dublin public education, will be held in the Dublin Unified School District Board Room (7471 Larkdale Ave., Dublin). The public and media are welcome.
All seven candidates vying for the three full-term (four years) and one short-term (two years) school board seats have agreed to participate in the Forum:
- Gabrielle Blackman – Parent (full-term candidate)
- Dan Cherrier – Civil Engineer (short-term candidate)
- Dan Cunningham – Incumbent (full-term candidate)
- Joe Giannini – Parent/Police Officer (full-term candidate)
- Sameer Hakim – Appointed Incumbent (short-term candidate)
- Amy Miller – Incumbent (full-term candidate)
- Xiaozhao Zhuang – Registered Nurse/Parent (full-term candidate)
The Forum will be moderated by OneDublin.org Founder James Morehead. Question suggestions can be submitted here.
Note: This event is not sponsored or endorsed by the Dublin Unified School District.
Fallon Middle School Combines Philippine Tinikling Dance with P.E.
The spirit of innovation in the Physical Education program at Fallon Middle School continues to burn brightly in 2016. Following our profile on the successful Swing Dance program from last year, we were fortunate to witness a highly unique P.E. program at FMS. Through the support of the staff and administration, a 6th Grade Tinikling Showcase was presented in the MPR on Friday.
Tinikling is a traditional Philippine dance that dates back to the Spanish colonial era. Traditionally, it requires bamboo as a percussive instrument and it is banged against the ground between two people and conducted in rhythm. To complete this ballet, a dancer is expected to dance through and over this cacophony – without damage to his/her ankles. At its best, it is almost symphonic. Handled clumsily, it may have poor results.
Through a kind invitation from Amy Jones at Fallon, we were able to witness the fruits of several weeks of hard work by some FMS 6th graders. Further, we were able to explore this subject more deeply with Physical Education instructor, Marissa Volk, who was deeply involved in getting this program off the ground. While the Tinikling “segment” is not entirely new to Fallon, this was the first year that parents were invited to watch the events in the MPR.
Ms. Volk is in her fourth year of employment at Fallon Middle School instructing in Yoga, Pilates and Dance. Here, she shared some of her observations.
Life at Colby College – Dublin High School’s Robert Durst Skates from Hockey to Computer Science
DUBLIN, CA–Next up in our popular Life in College Series is a profile of Dublin High School Class of 2014 alum and Colby College (Waterville, Maine) sophomore Robert Durst. Along the way Robert also spent a year at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire as he pursued a passion for hockey and an interest in computer science.
OneDublin.org: When you graduated from Dublin High School you attended a prep school instead of college, what drove that decision?
Robert Durst: “There were many reasons. First and foremost like many kids who play hockey here, it isn’t very direct to get from high school or club hockey to college hockey. There are many routes people take to pursue hockey: ‘juniors’ is playing hockey full-time and there are multiple levels; prep school, which I hadn’t heard of until a coach reached out to me, is essentially another year of high school combining school and hockey. The extra year made sense for me because I wasn’t sure which path I wanted to follow.”
OneDublin.org: Did the prep school option also make you more visible to coaches?
Durst: “I did well at Dublin High School so I was already looking to move out of California and attend an East Coast college. I was also good at hockey but there weren’t Division 1 coaches knocking on my door. In the Northeast there’s NESCAC (the New England Small College Athletic Conference) which includes good schools that play Division 3 hockey.”
OneDublin.org: Hockey was an important part of your high school experience, and you played for the San Jose Junior Sharks. How did you end up shifting your focus from hockey to computer science? Read more…
Dublin High School English Teacher Gabrielle Vidrio on Inspiring Teen Writers (and Runners!)
DUBLIN, CA–2016 marks the second year at Dublin High School for Mrs. Gabrielle Vidrio, who taught Sophomore CP English and Expository Writing last year. Mrs. Vidrio now joins the 9th Advanced English team, while still continuing to teach Sophomore CP English. This year, she is also an assistant coach for the Dublin High School Cross Country Team; along with the other coaches, she dedicates much of her time outside school hours encouraging and motivating our student athletes.
Mrs. Vidrio grew up in Roseville, California, and attended UC Berkeley, where she majored in English and Sociology. Prior to joining Dublin High, she taught sixth grade English in Oakland.
I recently sat down with Mrs. Vidrio to learn more about her passion and enthusiasm for English, as well as her love for Cross Country.
Neha Harpanhalli: Why did you decide to join Dublin High School last year?
Gabrielle Vidrio: “I love the Bay Area, and I’ve been here now for about seven years. I heard about the community through my husband — he coaches soccer for Dublin United — and so I’ve interacted with a lot of the parents and the families here. I just love their commitment to excellence, as well as their friendliness and positivity. And I was really impressed when I walked onto campus for interviews and informal visits.”
Dublin School Board Approves New Dublin High School Engineering and Science Building
DUBLIN, CA–At Thursday’s Dublin High School Back to School night the parent packet included notice of an important decision made earlier this summer by the Dublin Unified School District Board of Trustees that you may have missed while on vacation (we at OneDublin definitely did!).
To accommodate rapid growth in Dublin High School’s Engineering and Design Academy and the need for more science lab capacity, the Dublin School Board unanimously approved the design of a new 3-story Engineering and Science Building on the Dublin High School campus, replacing Building EE. The new building would include a maintenance shop, additional student and staff restrooms and most importantly 18 new classrooms, including five dedicated engineering classrooms. The project is made possible by Measure E and the recently passed Measure H bond measures.
Construction is planned to start in the summer / fall of 2018. More details are available here.
DUBLIN, CA–The Dublin Unified School District has a new Superintendent to lead Dublin schools through a period of unprecedented growth and change. Dr. Leslie Boozer, who earned a Doctor in Education from Harvard University and was most recently Superintendent for the Fontana Unified School District, sat down with OneDublin.org to share her vision for Dublin public education.
OneDublin.org: You completed grad school with a degree in law and started your career as an attorney. What drew you to education?
Dr. Leslie Boozer: “I loved law school and the study of law. When I was practicing law, I was a litigator for a big firm and I realized I wanted to do something more in public service. When I thought about what made me the happiest and had the greatest impact on my life it was always school. I had to move around quite a bit growing up; my father worked for State Farm and was transferred a lot, so I ended up moving in the 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th grades. Every time I went to a new school I realized how welcomed, supported and cared for I was by the teachers and staff, and I loved school. I moved out to Los Angeles at a time when they were recruiting for teachers and kept seeing billboards about openings. During law school I was as a teaching assistant and loved teaching, and realized that was where my heart was. I spoke with some of the high school teachers I’d kept in touch with, shared my interest in teaching and they believed it was a perfect fit for me. Ever since I’ve known education was the right path for me.”
OneDublin.org: How did your experience as a classroom teacher, working with children, impact you personally?
OneDublin.org 