In April, OneDublin.org shared the story of a chance meeting in a credit union that blossomed into a fully formed program for the students enrolled in the Transition program at Dublin High School. Transition serves students from the ages of 18-22 with developmental disabilities. The program exists to provide ongoing support to young people in the areas of budgeting/banking, vocational training and other life skills. It is not just a “safe haven” for these students. Rather, it represents a continuation in their development as young adults and a platform to expose them new experiences and opportunities as they move to the next stages of their lives.
Under the direction of teacher Bree LeMoine and Major Edward Worthington, the two of them began to craft and refine a bi-weekly visit to Camp Parks that would become a truly meaningful exercise. The officers of the I-363rd Training Support Battalion became immediate partners. Each visit produced a new and interesting experience for the Transition students. They were exposed to the life and responsibilities of being based at a Regional Forces Training Area (RFTA). Some of the activities included filing important personnel documents, maintenance on a Hummer and transporting Meal Ready to Eat (MRE’s). For Ms. LeMoine, the overall experience far exceeded her most modest expectations. So, it should not be a surprise that the 363rd would want to finish off the year with a very special ending. On Monday, the officers hosted a “End of Mission” send off for their honorary soldiers.
Our visit started with an inspection of various vehicles. They included a Parks fire truck, a Humvee and an Army recruiting RV. The students, parents and staff were treated to a slideshow that highlighted activities from the past few months. This was followed by a brief lunch in the conference room. Staying true to timelines, we reconvened to an awards ceremony. Each student was presented with a certificate of completion along with a photograph from the Special Olympics Basketball competition that was conducted earlier in the year. Conversely, the Transition students had the opportunity to present a personal memento to each officer that supported the program. The ceremony ended with one final gift. Two officers delivered a gift wrapped box to the front of the room. In their never-ending mission to support the development of these students, the officers presented a microwave oven to room J-209. All in the room completely the morning with a hearty shout of “Hooah!”
Dr. Timothy Kanold
On several occasions, OneDublin.org has shared stories that have highlighted the Professional Learning Community (PLC) movement within the Dublin Unified School District. The generalized concept of PLC is not a new one. However, there has been a significant commitment by Superintendent Dr. Stephen Hanke and the DUSD staff to implement this culture into all 10 schools sites in the district.
The basic tenets of PLC are to create a professional learning community, to focus on learning rather than teaching, to work collaboratively and to hold oneself accountable for results. In general terms, it is the hope that a major principle of PLC’s is that people will learn more together than if they were on their own. In concept, schools should not be a “top down” organization (school Principal) – rather it should represent a community of committed educators working in collaboration.
With that, Dublin High School received a special visitor on Monday. Last month a small contingent of DUSD staff traveled to Illinois and experienced a site visit at Stevenson High School. Stevenson is widely considered a benchmark site for the success of the PLC movement. As a former teacher, Dr. Timothy Kanold attained both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Mathematics from the University of Illinois. He then achieved a Doctorate in Education Leadership and Counseling Psychology from Loyola University in Chicago. In 2007, he retired from his position as Superintendent at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, IL, where for 17 years he served as Director of Mathematics and Science. Throughout this period, he co-authored multiple mathematics textbooks – including those currently utilized in DUSD.
OneDublin.org received an invitation to observe a new program at Dougherty Elementary School. Last Thursday, the site hosted a comprehensive program that may stimulate younger students to further expand their exploration of STEM-related studies and careers. Specifically, these are endeavors based in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. There were two elements to this day: During school hours, Scientists in various fields made classroom visits and gave concise presentations. The evening event offered families an opportunity to view student projects, to hear presentations on scientific concepts and to interact with local science-based organizations.
We took full advantage of both opportunities. In the morning, we followed local Orthodontist Dante Gonzales, DMD, MSD. His presentation focused on the advancements made in orthodontia in the past several decades based upon employing the use of alloys versus steel. He explained to the students how alloys have provided a more “natural” way of moving brackets (and teeth) into proper positions. The students were able to manipulate the alloy wires and the hands-on portion was followed with a question and answer segment after the demonstration.
In the evening, we returned to a packed multi-purpose room. Initially, there was an open house of grade level projects. Later, there was a presentation of Trimester Challenges that the students had been working on. The evening continued with a laser show and then a keynote address by Levi Fuller, Treatment Plant Operations Manager for the Dublin San Ramon Unified Services District.
Hundreds of Dublin jazz lovers enjoyed an evening of music in Dublin High School’s new Center for Performing Arts and Education, and raised over $2,300 for cancer research in the process. The annual event, now in its 5th year, brings together local student jazz bands in a celebration of jazz classic and improvised solos. This year’s event featured jazz bands Fallon Middle School, Wells Middle School, Foothill High School and Dublin High School. HD video of all performances are included below.
Dublin High School’s Center for Performing Arts and Education will officially open with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday June 2. The state of the art facility features a 500-seat theatre, renovated backstage and rehearsal areas and a multi-media recording studio.
HD video from the event below (and photos available here):
DHS Transition Teacher Bree LeMoine
A special and uplifting event was held at the Dublin High School Student Union on Wednesday evening. Dublin High School was the site of the annual “You Make the Difference” Awards Program. This celebration is hosted by the Tri-Valley Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) and the Community Advisory Committee (CAC). SELPA coordinates special education services for the following education agencies: Dublin, Livermore, Mountain House, Pleasanton and Sunol.
What makes this program very unique is that anyone is eligible to be recognized. Families who have received special education support can nominate an individual that has made a positive impact upon their child/family in the past year. It was a joyous evening and 66 individuals or groups were recognized.
Among the recipients were Eric Hamilton – Adapted Physical Education teacher and Bree LeMoine – Transition teacher. Prior to the awards presentation, the Granada High School “Shooting Stars” performed a dance movement to Madonna’s “Vogue”.
OneDublin.org would like to congratulate all of tonight’s awardees and offer a “thank you” to Director of Special Education, Angelica Thomas, for an invitation to this wonderful event. Everyone can make a difference.
In recent news, President Obama made a statement that the United States will be sending help to Nigeria in order to save over 200 kidnapped Nigerian school girls. On April 14 in the Nigerian village of Chibok, over 200 Nigerian girls were kidnapped from their school dormitories by Nigerian militant Islamic group, Boko Haram. The leader of the group is now determined to sell these innocent girls and force them into marriage, as he does not believe in girls attaining a proper education. It is a horrendous feeling knowing that there are girls worldwide who are unable to attain their inalienable rights towards their occupational desires. Stories alike to this one in Nigeria inspire me to do my best as Dublin High’s Room to Read Club Founder and President, and empower change through education.
Room to Read is a nonprofit organization that promotes worldwide literacy and gender equality regarding education in underdeveloped countries. In its first year as a club at Dublin High School, Room to Read has raised hundreds of dollars in donations and has helped the community through its literacy mentoring program, “Read to Me!”. The literacy mentoring program “Read to Me!” connects high school volunteers t0 children struggling with literacy skills. The goal of “Read to Me!” is to help underprivileged children succeed in school.
The next big project for the Room to Read Club is the community screening of ‘Girl Rising’ on May 21 at Dublin City Hall’s Regional Meeting Room. As President of the Room to Read Club, I wanted to lead an event that the whole community could be a part of and become empowered by. Through research, I came across Girl Rising, a partner organization of Room to Read that promotes girl’s education through a documentary. ‘Girl Rising’ is an Award-winning directed documentary that reveals nine girls’ courageous perseverance through social issues such as gender inequality and human trafficking. The community screening of ‘Girl Rising’ seemed like the perfect way to raise awareness about the social injustices worldwide and inspire others.
There was a significant amount of buzz on the Dublin High School campus on Friday. The excitement was shared by all students that participate in the band program. Period by period, Music Director Paul Everts escorted his musicians from their historic location into their new band classroom located in the newly completed Center for Performing Arts and Education (CPAE) complex. The move is symbolic in so many ways. After functioning in what was a converted wood shop for years, the new band room represents a much grander space that includes state of the art equipment. The walls include acoustic treatments, ceiling jacks for microphones that can be utilized for recording performances, a wall-wide locker system, an automated video screen that drops from the ceiling and separate practice rooms. Adjoining the band room are classrooms for Choir and Video Production.
The centerpiece of this entire project is the new theater. It seats 506 people and it includes many sophisticated elements including two catwalks, a rigging fly system, an orchestra pit (that can be raised and lowered) and advanced HVAC capabilities.
While it is tempting to rush into the future, we felt that it would be helpful to not forget the past. The Little Theater is slated to be demolished shortly after this academic year has concluded. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of students and families have spent many memorable moments there. With an acknowledgement from Dublin High School Principal Carol Shimizu, she recommended that we reach out to Fallon Middle School Music Director Lee Carpenter to gain his perspective on the transition from the old to the new performing arts experience. Lee worked for many years at Dublin High during its growth period. His influence impacted generations of students that had an interest in the performing arts. He ultimately moved over to Fallon when that site opened. He is regarded by many as the “keeper of the theater.” OneDublin.org was pleased to collect some of his memories.
OneDublin.org: During your tenure at Dublin High School, what were your specific responsibilities?
Nicholas Sinai
With the academic calendar winding down, we often wonder how some of Dublin High School’s graduates are faring. Many are continuing their academic pursuits at universities both near and far away. Last week, OneDublin.org received a press release issued from Cal Poly University San Luis Obispo. The subject matter centered on Dublin High School Class of 2013 graduate, Mr. Nicholas Sinai. The information shared was certainly worthy of a press release as Nick was one of 66 students, and one of only two freshman, from across to the country to be selected as a University Innovation Fellow by the National Center for Engineering Pathways to Innovation (Epicenter).
The program is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and is directed by Stanford University and the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance. The purpose of the program is to provide a platform and support to student leaders that will work to create institutional change that would foster creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation. The hope is that these students will enhance these activities at their respective campuses. At the same time, it would be a training ground for their careers post-college. In order to be eligible, there is an application/screening and a six week online training process. Subsequently, accepted candidates were able to spend time with their network of new Fellows at both Google and Stanford University.
Acceptance into this program is a remarkable achievement in itself. However, as we came to understand Mr. Sinai a bit better, he’s actually been preparing for the opportunity his entire life. We begin with comments from some of his former Dublin High School teachers.
Crystal Apple Awards Celebrate Outstanding Amador Valley, Foothill and Dublin High School Teachers
Crystal Apple Award WInners 2014
For over a decade Dublin and Pleasanton high school students of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have led an event that brings educators, parents, students and members of the community together to celebrate education excellence. What makes the Crystal Apple Awards unique is that students not only nominate and select the recognized teachers, but also run the evening celebration. During seminary, a religious study class held early each morning before school, students are given the opportunity to nominate a teacher that has not only made learning more meaningful, but also one who fosters character values they deem important to life. The nominations are then considered by a committee comprised of students who review all nominations and then choose the recipients for the year.
The event featured student-led presentations filled with photo essays and memories of each recognized teacher, along with emotional thank you’s from the Dublin High School, Amador Valley High School and Foothill High School teachers. The Crystal Apple Awards recognize teachers who take the extra time and care to look after each of their students and help them in their school career, while also giving guidance in living a good life.
The Crystal Apple Award recipients for 2014 are:
- Amador Valley High School (Pleasanton) – Jen Hoenshell and Amber Carrion
- Dublin High School (Dublin) – John Parsons and Gregory Rodriguez
- Foothill High School (Pleasanton) – Joshua Hill and James Clark
Dublin High School was recently awarded a Silver Medal in the U.S. News and World Report annual ranking of over 19,000 high schools nationwide. Only 7% of high schools nationally achieved the Silver Medal status, which is based on a methodology jointly developed by U.S. News and World Report and the American Institutes for Research (read more…). Additional information about Dublin High School: Read more…
OneDublin.org 