The subjects of bullying and cyber bullying on some of our younger citizens have made national headlines in recent years. Unfortunately, some of these negative activities have led to cases that have varied from detachment from school, depression, self-mutilation and most tragically, suicide.
These incidents do not discriminate – they cut across all ages, genders, races and geography. The classic definition of bullying is to use browbeating language or behavior. Whether on the schoolyard or in the workplace, this can generally be identified and be responded to. In a modern society, there is no justification for this type of behavior. But our current society now includes advanced technology and access that simply did not exist 20 or 30 years ago. Access to the Internet, the relative low cost of cellular phones and multiple social media platforms have transformed cyber bullying into a very complex realm.
In an effort to bring this subject to the forefront for students and families alike, the Dublin Unified School District (DUSD) will be hosting a panel discussion at the Dublin High School Student Union on Thursday, March 14 at 6:30 PM. This event will be the third and final installment in the discussion series titled Courageous Conversations.
In advance of this program, OneDublin.org reached out to one of the four panelists, Alameda County Assistant District Attorney, Teresa Drenick. Ms. Drenick completed her B.A in American Government at Georgetown University. Subsequently, she attained her J.D at UC Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. She has been employed at the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office since 1991. In the last ten years, Teresa has spearheaded the Truancy program for the office. This responsibility has frequently crossed between both the juvenile and adult legal systems. Her participation in the presentation at Dublin High School is partially due to the fact that the Alameda County DA office supports an active Speakers Program. Scores of her attorney colleagues volunteer their time in community outreach and to support events, such as this event.
By Brooke Legins (Fallon Middle School 8th grade student)
Fallon Cheer Team Members
The time had come. All of our hard work had finally come down to this one important day: Junior Nationals 2013. It sure takes a lot to get a team of 30 girls ready for such an event. Not only does it take countless hours of warm-ups, conditioning, jumping, stunting, and full run-throughs of our routine, but you can’t forget the blood, sweat and tears that go along with each practice. Mental preparation is equally important as physical preparation for each competitive cheerleader. Our coaches always remind us how each individual plays an integral part to the success of the entire team. Without one another, we would not have the strength to achieve our goal of giving the best performance each and every time.
Disneyland, what a great place to have a cheer competition! The weather was great, the parks were fun and the cheer spirit was high. Teams from all over California, Arizona and Nevada had come with the same goal, Junior National Champions. It was fun running into teams that we had met and competed against in the past and also meeting new cheerleaders and sharing experiences. It was exciting to be in the “Happiest Place on Earth” doing what we love with the support of our family and friends. What could be better?
Sunday, competition day, started out with an early morning team bonding and words of encouragement from our wonderful coaches and inspirational past Fallon cheerleaders. Butterflies began fluttering in the stomachs of not only the newest members to the team, but also to those who had experienced a national competition before. As we said goodbye to our family and friends, we headed out the door together to begin a long and nerve-wracking day.
My First iPhone App
Coding. Computer Programming. Software Engineering. All three are forms of creative expression, digital poetry, a way of taking an idea and making it real. Unfortunately, coding is a foreign and scary concept for too many people – that’s a shame because coding lets you take control over an idea and make it real. Most valuable is that coding teaches you how to break down complex problems into smaller, simpler, solvable problems – a skill with broad applicability.
When a programmer “writes software” they truly are “writing”. Computer software is written using a variety of “languages”. As strange as it may seem, you enter a new world when programming a computer, smartphone, tablet or robot. Students with dreams of attending college already need to learn the basics of a foreign language; we need to expand on that requirement to include the language of computers.
My first experience with a computer, courtesy of my father, was weekend trips to the teletype terminals of a Boston College DEC mini-computer. My father, a professional musician by day and gadget lover by night, was dabbling in BASIC (an early computer programming language) to create a poker simulation. Computers, and by that I mean any gadget controlled by software or “code”, are helpless creatures. They are completely dependent on our direction. We are a long way from the sentient machines of Matrix.
While a lot has changed since my first experiences with computers – there has been an explosion of innovation in computer science and many more programming languages have emerged – the fundamental concept of breaking down problems and describing them in code has remained the same. I evolved from dabbling on a DEC-10 to receiving the gift of a lifetime, my first computer, an Apple II; that’s when the coding bug took hold. I rode my bike, played baseball, watched TV and coded. I coded a lot. Instead of playing games, I created games. It is a thrilling experience when you first get a computer to do something – even if that something is a simple as displaying “Hello, World” on the screen.
About a year ago I decided to dust off my coding skills (I was a software engineer for many years before moving to the business side of technology) and develop an iPhone app. The last time I’d coded was 1994, long before smartphones and when the computer language “C” ruled the day. While I had a head start on those that have never coded, I had a lot to learn and re-learn. But like riding a bike, everything I’d known, with some coaxing, came back to the surface.
Here is what I learned going from a rusty “C” programmer to a competent iPhone App developer:
According to the UK-based news organization Sky News, a 2013 survey revealed that a majority of parents are confused by the methods schools use to teach mathematics. The poll results included responses from over 2,000 parents. Nearly one third of the respondents admitted that they lacked the confidence in their own numeracy skills to help their children with their primary school math homework. Furthermore, parents were asked to complete a test related to mathematics usually taught to their eight to twelve year-olds. Only 5% answered all ten questions correctly.
There can be many explanations for these results. Whether a parent is 30 years old or 50, it has been probably decades since they’ve been tasked with elementary school fractions, geometry and other mathematics concepts (here is a sample California Grade 5 Mathematics Standards Test). The convenience of utilizing a calculator or programs like Excel, have negated the need to do these tasks manually. However, younger students need to understand the rudiments of math in order to gain mastery to succeed in geometry, trigonometry or calculus.
“Studies have shown that if parents help their children with homework, they are more likely to succeed at school,” according to presenter Carol Vorderman. “It’s imperative that children are given the opportunity to learn math in a way that is fun, accessible and engaging, both at home and in the classroom.”
So, what does this mean in the Dublin Unified School District? At least at Dublin Elementary School, the administration and staff have taken a very proactive stance in terms of their student population. It’s a position that will give their students every possible way to achieve as they promote up to middle school. OneDublin.org was fortunate to meet with the “driver” of this initiative at Dublin Elementary School, Fifth Grade Teacher Ms. Krystal Shaw. A Family Math Night event was hosted at Dublin Elementary last Thursday evening.
Young Citizen of the Year Nominees
One of the great traditions in our community continued last Wednesday at the Shannon Community Center. On this evening, the City of Dublin hosted their annual program to honor a Young Citizen, an Organization and an Adult Citizen for their service in 2012. It is a special evening where a lavish dessert buffet and champagne are served. City dignitaries, families, neighbors and residents from every walk of life were in attendance. Mayor Tim Sbranti welcomed the crowd promptly at 7:00 PM and the event was under way.
In order to be considered for any of the categories, written nominations were submitted and compiled for the judging committee. As in the past, the judges have no association with the city of Dublin and they frequently are residents from surrounding towns. The nomination criteria for both the Citizen and Young Citizen of the Year awards are based on the Dublin Pride – Integrity in Action Program’s ten characteristics. They are: Responsibility, Respectfulness, Caring, Giving, Positive Attitude, Trustworthiness, Cooperation, Doing One’s Best, Honesty and Self-Discipline. Under any set of circumstances, this is a very high bar for anyone to attain.
In inverse order, the Citizen of the Year is Janet Lockhart. Ms. Lockhart provides leadership to the Dublin Partners in Education (DPIE). The Organization of the Year is the Tri-Valley Youth Court. TVYC is a voluntary diversion program for teenage offenders of misdemeanors. Completion of the program erases an incident from a juvenile’s record.
Finally, there were three nominees for Young Citizen of the Year – Dublin High seniors Ms. Alexandra Brown and Ms. Camille Chabot, and Murray Elementary School 5th grader Ms. Vy Nguyen. In the end, the award was bestowed upon Ms. Chabot by City of Dublin Council Member David Haubert. Camille is a high performing student at Dublin High, has danced with the McGrath Irish Dance Troupe for 12 years, serves as a tutor to 2nd graders at Green Elementary School and is one of the varsity captains of Dublin High School’s competitive cheer program.
To learn more about the youngest of the nominee’s, OneDublin.org sat down with Ms. Nguyen’s nominator, Denise Fisher, a 5th grade teacher at Murray Elementary School. Through Denise we met a vibrant, caring and ambitious nominee. The following are excerpts from the nomination letter: Read more…
Gargoyles and Stained Glass: Washington National Cathedral through the Eyes of a Wells Middle School Student
Alexandra Stassinopoulos
Eighth-grade students from Wells Middle School visited the Washington D.C. area for a five-day whirlwind trip of our Nation’s capital. Wells Middle School student Alexandra Stassinopoulos chronicled for OneDublin.org some of her experiences over these five days. This is her final article capturing a visit to Washington National Cathedral. Alexandra’s first article covered the Wells visit to Gettysburg, and her second article covered a tour of Arlington Cemetery.
You don’t usually hear the words “gargoyle” and “Darth Vader” in the same sentence – unless, of course, you’re standing outside the National Cathedral in Washington D.C.
When people visit the National Cathedral, the one thing most people remember is none other than the gargoyles. Traditionally, gargoyles are supposed to ward off evil spirits, but as far as I can tell, they scared off the spirits centuries ago and nowadays, their job description mostly involves gargling. Yes, that’s right, gargling. As in what you do after you brush your teeth. When it rains, the water flows through pipes on the roof, preventing the water from pooling, and come out of a gargoyle’s mouth making a gargling sound, hence the name.
The National Cathedral’s gargoyles aren’t just any gargoyles. Neither are they grotesques. Grotesques are often mistaken for gargoyles, probably because most are similarly hideous, even though they never gargle. These grotesques, like gargoyles protect the building from water, only without spouting water. Instead of being scary or having eternal constipation, the National Cathedral’s gargoyles and grotesques are, well, let’s say… unique. The Cathedral didn’t want normal gargoyles – we are in the United States after all – so they let their stonemasons have some fun. But I do have to warn you, unless you fully understand the extent of stonemasons’ bottled up imaginations, you should probably avoid giving that instruction in any other circumstance.
Marcos Castro
In the classroom, a student’s ringing cell phone is often an unwanted distraction. However, on this one February morning at Dublin High School it continued to ring. Senior Marcos Castro recognized who was calling. He sheepishly asked his first period English Teacher, Chris MacDougall if he could take the call in the hallway. The request was granted. The next words that he would hear would validate the hard work that he had invested at Dublin High School and would also affirm his aspirations.
“Mr. Castro, this is the admissions office at the Culinary Institute of America in New York. We are pleased to inform you that your application for acceptance has been confirmed. We will be mailing hard copy documents for you to review in the next two weeks….” The remainder of the conversation may have been a blur. He burst back into the classroom and announced the news to his classmates. He then immediately called his mother. With tears in her eyes, she congratulated Marcos on his achievement. On his way to second period class, Mr. Castro took a detour to H07 so that he could inform Culinary Arts Instructor, Jackie Lawson. The irony is that very few people know how this storybook ending came to be. It is the tale of a very simple act of kindness and a teacher that could see promise in a young student.
Alexandra Stassinopoulos
Eighth-grade students from Wells Middle School are currently visiting the Washington D.C. area for a five-day whirlwind trip of our Nation’s capital. Wells Middle School student Alexandra Stassinopoulos is chronicling for OneDublin.org some of her experiences over these five days. On President’s Day the students visited Arlington National Cemetery. They toured the cemetery and laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Alexandra’s first article covered the Wells visit to Gettysburg.
“When soldiers march,” begins Abe, our bus driver/guide, enroute to Arlington National Cemetery. “They march in straight lines. And that is why, in death, they rest peacefully in straight lines.” True to Abe’s word, as soon as you walk into Arlington you see row upon row of white tombstones. So many that they soon become waves, swelling over the hills.
As we walked up the main path, Abe told us stories about some of the grave sites. The very first story was about Cpl. Larry E. Smeldley, who, at eighteen, is the youngest soldier buried at Arlington. Smedley joined the army to fight in Vietnam for the simple reason that his buddy joined the army. But, don’t take that simple reason for enlisting as a sign of lack of dedication. Days after beginning his tour of duty, he sacrificed his life for his unit, becoming a fallen military hero who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor AND the Purple Heart. For me though, the most impressive part of this hero’s story is that those guys in his unit he sacrificed himself for, he knew them for only two weeks.
Fallon Middle School Hosts Special Olympics Northern California Event
Fallon Middle School students experienced something special Friday morning at a Special Olympics Northern California event that celebrated sport, and unified disabled and non-disabled students. In the events on Friday, students competed in both skills competitions and game play, showcasing their basketball skills. By having the program take place during the school day, Fallon students filled the stands, took on leadership and volunteer roles, and cheered on the participants.
The Dublin Unified School District and Special Olympics Northern California have partnered to provide special day class teachers and their students the opportunity to participate in three different sports during the school year.
The Fallon Middle School Band, Fallon Leadership, and Physical Education Department and classes supported the event. Members from the Robotics team at Monte Vista High School in Danville provided an elaborate robot to assist students with limited abilities / mobilities shoot baskets and participate in the event. Earlier this year, Dublin High School Robotics Club students developed a robot for a Special Olympics event held at Dublin High School.
Fallon Middle School Hosts Percussion Ensemble and Winter Color Guard Competition Saturday Feb. 23
Dublin is in for a treat this Saturday (Feb. 23) as Fallon Middle School will be hosting over 45 of the finest Winter Color Guards and Percussion Ensembles from throughout the Bay Area, including units from Dublin High School, Fallon Middle School and Wells Middle School. This is a great honor as Fallon is the only middle school in the California Color Circuit to host such an event. The event also includes four World Guards.
If you live near Fallon Middle School, just follow the sound of percussive practice to the event. Percussion Ensemble and Winter Color Guard competitions are very entertaining to watch – if you haven’t experienced an event like this before, now is a terrific time to start. The Percussion Ensemble and Winter Color Guard performances combine music, choreography, dance, theatre and the discipline of competition. The middle and high school students that compete at these events take their performances very seriously – investing hours after school and on weekends to prepare for competition.
- $10.00 all day pass covers both Percussion and Color Guard performances (children under 5 are free)
- Percussion Doors Open: 11:30 A M
- Percussion Starts at: 12:00 PM
- Color Guard Doors Open: 4:30 PM
- Color Guard Starts at: 5:00 PM
OneDublin.org 