Sticking It: Life as a Dublin High School Competitive Cheer Parent
“Hey ‘9-4-5-6-8’ Who Do We Appreciate? Cheer Moms and Cheer Dads: Yay!”
10 days ago we spent 3 minutes watching 24 girls give 100 percent to a routine they spent 4 times per week for 11 months to perfect.
We’ve been called a clique.
We’ve been called a mob.
We’ve been called crazy.
We call ourselves Proud Parents of National Champions.
Call us a clique? Fine. We are a clique of parents who share their talents and time for our child’s team success. For these girls we transform into taxi drivers and nurses, chefs and fundraising specialists, hair dressers and make-up artists, mediators, on-site tutors and human ATMs. We have even helped mend a broken heart or two.
Call us a mob? Whatever. We are a mob of moms, dads, grandparents, neighbors and friends, who travel hundreds of miles to rally for the teams and watch our girls perform at competitions and Dublin High School community send-off events. We’ve been known to recruit parentals who don’t even have kids on the team!
Call us crazy? Perhaps. Are we crazy to invest thousands of dollars in our child’s passion for this competitive sport? Crazy to invest 11 months for a 3-minute routine? It’s debatable.
Kerrie Chabot and Rodelyn Coppock
Even if we had been handed a Parental Packet 101 during our first year of cheer, nothing could have prepared us parents for the journey on which DHS cheer led us. Cheer parenting isn’t always butterfly kisses, cheers of rah rah and beautiful moments of bonding between us mothers and daughters. Summer cheer camp, for example, in many ways as primitive as our mommy-daughter Girl Scout camp memories, sure is tough. That experience should earn the chaperones some “Brownie Points” for those 48 hours helping dozens of girls practice their stunts and social skills and even refine a few attitudes. Oh, and all of this “child’s play” was in 100+ degree weather. By the end of the weekend I would say we were ready to teach the first chapter to that Cheer Parent 101 course- and perhaps qualify for a Girl Scout Golden Mommy Award for dealing with the major PMS (Poms, Moms, and Stress)!
Valley High School Students Experience the Challenge of a Lifetime
For many students, Valentine’s Day was an entrée into the four-day Presidents Day long weekend. At Valley High School, Valentine’s Day was radically different and one that would impact many of them for many days to come. After months of meticulous planning and fundraising, the vast majority of VHS students experienced a day that would test the bounds of their intellectual and emotional boundaries – all in view of their classmates and strangers, alike. Last Thursday was the presentation of Challenge Day. This all-day assembly represented an experiential workshop that demonstrated the possibility of love and connection through the celebration of diversity, truth and full expression.
The Challenge Day organization is based in Concord, CA and provides programs for middle and high schools throughout the continental United States and Canada. Their mantra is “Be the Change” as they work towards fostering a culture of acceptance and service to respective campuses. Students at Valley High School are enrolled for a myriad of reasons. As it is the continuation school for the Dublin Unified School District, Valley High exists as an option for students who need may an alternative to the program provided at Dublin High School.
It is difficult to articulate what occurred during these 6-1/2 hours and what it meant to those that participated. Media was allowed access at both the front and back ends of the event. OneDublin.org was fortunate to receive an invitation to attend by VHS Counselor, Liz Buckley.
The Challenge Day event was not a surprise to the students. They were notified well in advance. However, what could not possibly be explained was what they might be exposed to and how they might respond to some of the workshops. Before all of this could occur, Ms. Buckley approached community sponsors to make this happen. A generous donation was received from the Dublin Partners in Education (DPIE). Further, a successful grant was funded by ValleyCare Health System. Additionally, about a dozen and a half adult volunteers were secured in order to facilitate this event.
Read more…
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. Students landed in Washington D.C. on Saturday evening, and on Sunday afternoon visited Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Let’s just say that when you have a tour guide who claims he can teach you what West Point teaches in four years in three minutes, you know you’re going to have an interesting day. Don, our tour guide, did just that; not only did he teach us a strategy to help us win 99% of all fights (If you’re doing a frontal assault, something is wrong- attack their flank!), but he also explained why fighting shoulder to shoulder isn’t quite as suicidal as Hollywood makes it seem.
We met up with Don after viewing the National Gettysburg Museum’s stunning cyclorama reenactment of the Battle of, you guessed it, Gettysburg. The cyclorama was so stunningly accurate that it was hard to tell which cannons were real and which cannons were just painted. The most eerie thing about the panoramic painting though was the life-likeness of the soldiers. We found out after the presentation that the head painter and one of his aides had painted themselves into the cyclorama; talk about one’s image being forever eternalized. Of course, an experience like that isn’t the same without a good introduction, so before we saw the amazing painting, we watched a short movie that set the scene perfectly. The film was complete with heart-stopping cannon fire and the re-reading of the ever popular Gettysburg Address.
The Giants won their second World Series title in three years, the 49ers came up just short of winning a sixth Super Bowl Championship, and closer to home the Dublin High School Cheer teams gave the City of Dublin something to celebrate. Over the February 8th weekend, the Junior Varsity and Varsity Cheer teams traveled to Las Vegas to compete in the JAMZ 2013 School Cheer Nationals Competition, and both teams returned Nationals champions (video of the winning performances is included below, courtesy of Dublin School Board President Greg Tomlinson).
For many of us, our cheerleading knowledge is limited to memories of high school rallies or Hollywood depictions in movies like “Bring It On”. In reality, Cheer has evolved into a multi-faceted, competitive sport with national exposure, including competitions showcased on sports networks like ESPN.
The real story of Dublin High School Cheer goes far beyond the trophies and first place wins; the real story is one of commitment, hard work and the life lessons learned by those that step up to the challenge of competitive cheerleading. OneDublin.org recently had the opportunity to sit down with Dublin High School Cheer Head Coach and visionary Kristine Cousins.
Dublin School Board Student Rep. Alexandra Brown Balances Academics, Athletics, Service and Leadership
While the first day of Spring is over a month away, the next big step towards adulthood is top of mind for Dublin High School seniors, including Dublin Unified School District Student Representative Alexandra Brown. In March, high school seniors will begin to receive notifications on the outcome of their college applications – the large envelope waiting on the kitchen table or an unread email waiting in a smartphone inbox. For all of them, deciding the course of the rest of their lives will really begin.
Over the years, we have written about many talented, motivated and hard-working Dublin students; Dublin School Board Student Representative Alexandra Brown is an exemplary addition.
Alexandra has attended all thirteen years of her primary and secondary education in the DUSD system. Her younger sister, Elizabeth, is a freshman at Dublin High School. Her father Tom has been a Research Scientist for years at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and mother Catherine is a First Grade Teacher at Frederiksen Elementary School.
In addition to being a student, Alexandra has taken advantage of numerous pursuits – within and outside of DHS. As a youth athlete, she continued her ambitions by competing for four years in both soccer and swimming at Dublin High. In alternating seasons, she plays club soccer for the Dublin Cobras and with the FAST Dolphins, respectively. A long time member of Girl Scout Troop 30986, she has taken on the designation of Ambassador Girl Scout, especially given the vast amount of her time dedicated to athletics. With a full slate of AP courses on her academic calendar, Alexandra plans on matriculating through a four-year college post-graduation (she is still waiting on college acceptance notices).
Last fall, Alexandra took on one more responsibility. She is the elected Student Representative to the Dublin High Unified School District Board of Trustees. The goal of this profile is to understand her experience at DHS and to help incoming families prepare for the environment at Dublin High.
OneDublin.org: What are your ambitions/goals following your tenure at Dublin High?
For the latest article in the Life in College Series, OneDublin.org spoke with Katelyn Haubert (Dublin High School Class of 2012 and Chapman University freshman) about the transition from high school to college. Ms. Haubert, who ultimately wants to become a teacher, is currently pursuing a double major in Strategic and Corporate Communications, and History, and is a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority.
Ms. Haubert also served as the elected Student Representative for Dublin High School on the Dublin Unified School Board for 2010-11 and 2011-12.
OneDublin.org: How did you end up choosing Chapman University and what other schools did you consider?
Katelyn Haubert: “I was accepted into all the schools I applied to so it was a difficult decision. I liked the size of Chapman University – not too big and not too small – you don’t feel like you are a number, you feel like you matter. When you walk around you see friends, I can’t go anywhere without running into people I know; yet it’s not so small that I can know everyone – I’m always meeting new people.
“The location, in between Los Angeles and San Diego, appealed to me because I have friends in both cities. The weather is awesome and there is lots to do in the area. When I toured the school I really fell in love with the campus, which is spectacular; the buildings are very well maintained and you feel good being on campus. The staff is very accessible – when I was on a tour the President of Chapman stopped and chatted with us. It is very easy to get to know people at the school. I also had a family friend that went here and they told me the inside scoop on the school.
“Chapman also offered me substantial scholarship money which made a difference. I couldn’t have gone without that financial support.
“Since I’ve been here it’s reinforced that I’ve made the right decision. I love the classes and the social life.”
What is National Signing Day? For student-athletes across the country, Wednesday February 6, 2013 was the initial signing date for many collegiate sports. Six Dublin High School student athletes, surrounded by their peers, coaches and family members, signed a binding National Letter of Intent for collegiate sports capping years of training, competition, exhilarating wins and painful losses all while being evaluated and ranked by college recruiters.
According to the NCAA website, “by signing a National Letter of Intent, a prospective student-athlete agrees to attend the designated college or university for one academic year … participating institutions agree to provide athletics financial aid to the student-athlete, provided he/she is admitted to the institution and is eligible for financial aid under NCAA rules.”
Meet the six Dublin High School student athletes, Alex Cappa, Andrew Chalker, Kendra Cheda, Spencer Hollie, Hailey Zummo and Megan Zummo, who participated in National Signing Day at the Dublin High School Sports Complex and shared their thoughts with OneDublin.org:
Collaboration at Frederiksen Elementary
Collaboration Days. There are 16 of these mysterious days sprinkled across the academic year where the pick-up or drop-off time changes. What are Collaboration Days and why is this biweekly schedule change important to Dublin education? OneDublin.org was fortunate to be invited into an actual collaboration session at Frederiksen Elementary School last week. Specifically, we sat in on a work session conducted by the Frederiksen 5th grade team led by teacher Kathy Proctor and her colleagues Heidi Caudle and Tim Nicholas.
The genesis of Collaboration Days was a mutual agreement between the Dublin Unified School District (DUSD) and the Dublin Teachers Association (DTA). The concept was to provide allocated and compensated time for Certificated Staff to meet with their colleagues across grade or subject lines to discuss specific student achievement and classroom strategies that would benefit their students.
Early Out for Collaboration Days
The concept of collaboration evolved to a higher state when DUSD began to embrace the overall concept of Professional Learning Communities (PLC) over a year ago. The mantra of PLC was to ensure that all stakeholders form common ground on how and what should be learned by the students. Furthermore, all parties would need to work simultaneously to assess achievement and to ensure that the learning would occur for those that were not mastering these concepts. While it sounds rather lofty, it is rather simple: educators agree on what to teach and f the student is not succeeding, what will we do to correct this? If they are succeeding, what can we capture and share from this experience?
It is obviously more complex than this explanation. Certificated and District staff have attended training sessions both off site and locally. Additionally, the secondary element to PLC is the common formative assessment element. To date, the staff at Frederiksen Elementary has completed this secondary stage. The result is that they are slightly ahead of the curve in terms of employing some of these advanced strategies. While it is difficult to quantify, Frederiksen enjoyed a +40 point increase in API during the most recent standardized testing cycle. One must believe that this additional training was a component to this success.
Dublin High School chalked up another victory last weekend, this time winning first place at the Alameda County Academic Decathlon Regional Competition. The 2-weekend event was held at CSU East Bay and Los Medanos College. Dublin High School will go on to represent Alameda County at the state competition in Sacramento this March.
Dublin High School senior and Academic Decathlon team member Elizabeth Child, “Academic Decathlon is a ten-event academic competition for high school students. There are nine students per team: three ‘A’ students, three ‘B’ students, and three ‘C’ students. Each team member gives a prepared and an impromptu speech, an interview, and writes an essay. In addition to the three objective tests, the team is tested in art, music, social science, mathematics, economics, language and literature. Competition concludes with a final Super Quiz Relay where members are given a series of 12 questions which may be on any combination of subjects.
“It was fantastic to compete for my third year as a part of the Dublin High Academic Decathlon team! We knew that this was going to be our year to pull out all the stops and do the best we could and it definitely paid off. The team won a total of nine individual medals this past year and was named the 2013 Alameda County champions which qualifies us for the state championship in mid-March. As a team we try to represent the academic abilities of Dublin High School as best we can and I believe that everybody is able to see that this year.”
by Clint Jackman (Dublin High School Class of 2012 and College of the Holy Cross freshman)
I recently learned that it would take me nearly 40 straight days of walking to get from College of the Holy Cross back to my home in Dublin, California. Fortunately, a seven hour plane ride will allow me to cross the 3,000 miles a lot faster, but either way, the distance is daunting. Or, it was for me right after I committed to play football at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA (pronounced, “Woosta,” by the locals – I’m not kidding). The thought of being that far away from home was quite intimidating, especially after learning that, out of my Dublin High graduating class, I would be going the furthest away for school. But I was never the kind to get particularly homesick, so I pushed it out of my mind and got on that plane in July.
Let me tell you, it was one of the best decisions of my life.
Not the getting away from home, mind you, but the experience that I had in just one semester at Holy Cross was unlike anything I had ever been a part of, or I imagine most of my classmates would ever get to see.
First of all, I had to leave home a lot sooner than most of my friends, which, on the bright side, meant that I was able to say goodbye to them all at once, instead of watching them trickle away to their respective colleges. All of the heartbreak was out of the way very quickly for me, like ripping off a really, really painful bandage. Fortunately, I made 27 fast friends among the other freshmen on the Crusaders football team. Over the course of the next four weeks of football camp, I went from knowing nothing about those guys to knowing more than I ever wanted to know. Ninety young men trapped together for a whole month? You hear some things. By the time orientation rolled around, I was anxious to meet some other new classmates. To be honest, however, I ended up spending most of my time with my teammates, even outside of practice.
OneDublin.org 