Green Elementary School third grader Sirous Sadaghiani is battling a rare and serious form of brain cancer, Glimatosis Cerebri. Sirous’ story has touched many people in and around Dublin, with the photos on Sirous’ Facebook page (that already has over 1,250 followers) telling his moving experience from his UCSF Medical Center hospital bed more powerfully than any words.
The Dublin community has shown a remarkable ability to rally in support of tragedy in recent months and has done so again for Sirous. In just a few days fundraisers have been organized and a support network of family members, friends, educators and well-meaning strangers have offered to help Sirous’ parents Reza and Marlene as they tag-team to be a constant presence in Sirous hospital room. Sirous’ father Reza commented, “I’m grateful and overwhelmed by the support from the community.”
There are several concrete steps you can take to support Sirous and his family:
- The most powerful way to create awareness of Sirous’ story is to follow and “Like” his Facebook page, “I am Sirous“. The Facebook page has a secure “Donate to Sirous” option – Sirous’ parents have taken a leave from work to be by their son’s side. Green Elementary School is also accepting donations of gift cards (meals, gas, etc.) on behalf of the family.
- A Meal Train has been setup on behalf of Sirous’ family – details available here.
- Green Elementary School parents are hosting a bake sale fundraiser on January 18. Share this Facebook event to create awareness of this fundraiser.
- Vito’s Express Pizza in Dublin will donate 30% of all food orders on January 22. Bring this flyer to Vito’s on January 22 and share this Facebook event to create awareness of the fundraiser.
- Baja Fresh will donate 15% of food bills on January 30 from 3:30-8:00pm
- Fallon Middle School’s PFC is selling “Stay Strong Sirous” wristbands as a fundraiser after school at Fallon on February 1
- Rockin’ Jump will donate $5 if you mention Sirous on February 21 from 2pm-9pm for 2 hrs at $15; Rockin’ Jump is also planning a raffle and businesses can pay $250 to have a banner hung all month long with the full amount donated to Sirous’ family. Share this Facebook event to create awareness of the fundraiser.
- Panda Express (Santa Rita Road location) will donate 20% of food bills on February 28 from 4pm-9pm
Koko Fit Club and Arbonne have teamed up for a fundraiser at the Koko Fit Club on March 12. See attached flier or contact Amber Burak @ amberburak.arbonne@gmail.com for more information.- The Sadaghiani family is striving to maintain a routine for Sirous’ twin sister Sima and older brother Zachary (who currently attends Fallon Middle School). While the family is currently receiving support from neighbors and members of the community, they will likely need support for many months. Please contact Green Elementary School parent volunteer Irene Padnos (irenepadnos@mac.com) if you are able to help with Sirous’ siblings during the week.
In addition to the points above, pray for Sirous and his family during this difficult time.
Related articles:
- Contra Costa Times: Social media helps support boy with cancer
- Dublin Boy With Brain Tumor Finds Strength from Community
To add to this list contact OneDublin.org at onedublin@comcast.net.
by Andrew Song (Dublin High School Class of 2012 valedictorian and University of Chicago freshman)
In the Haper Memorial Library
Why the University of Chicago? It is a question that I have heard so much this past few months that it has become akin to a greeting. And although it is something that I have been asked countless times, there is not a single definite answer than I can pinpoint. Was it because of the university’s academic prestige? Maybe it was its proximity to the city of Chicago or the unique essay questions I was asked when applying to the school that motivated me to commit to the U of C. Whatever the underlying reason was, something about the University of Chicago felt right. And now, after successfully completing my first quarter there, I can confidently say that I made the right choice.
The University of Chicago is one of the most unrecognized premier academic institutions in the world today. With very little lay prestige, it is often confused with the state school the University of Illinois at Chicago. Nevertheless, upon entering its campus located in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, one can immediately get a sense of its prestige and history. When I first visited the school, I was impressed by its beautiful Gothic architecture (and I’m not the artistic type at all). The ivy-covered buildings of the main quad contrast sharply, however, with the modern buildings of the University’s South Campus where I moved in this fall. Opened in 2009, the South Campus Residence Hall is nothing short of a modern hotel, with extremely clean rooms, lounges, music rooms, and even an attached Subway and convenience store.
The dorms at UChicago are arranged in a house system, with each residence hall comprising of multiple houses each with its own house culture and identity. I was a part of South Campus’s “Wendt House” (named after Greg Wendt who happens to live in San Francisco) and our house motto was “Wendt Haus Penthouse”. The house system offers an easy way to make friends and socialize as there will always be people hanging out in your house lounge as well as house events throughout the quarter. One of the most popular house activities is midnight soccer which is a competitive soccer league between all the different houses across campus.
Congressman Eric Swalwell
Congressman Eric Swalwell’s final moments with guests from California’s 15th District took place, appropriately, on the floor of the House of Representatives, home to the creation of legislation and the State of the Union address. But more on that in a moment.
Our day began early with a visit to the White House, under clear skies and a promised break from record-setting arctic air. The perfect weather that welcomed the newly sworn-in 113th Congress this week will hopefully result in good things for 2013.
I’ve been asked a few times now, how did we get a White House tour? It started over a month ago and White House tours need to be requested via your Congressman / Congresswoman. In our case that meant working through Rep. Jerry McNerney’s office (because until yesterday he was our local representative in Congress, not Eric Swalwell). Requests are made a month in advance and you don’t find out if your tour request was accepted, or the exact date/time of the tour, until 10-14 days before your visit. All tour requests are cleared by the Secret Service, so if you have something to hide skip the White House tour.
While you only visit a small portion of the White House (the West Wing and residence are off-limits), stepping past the security gates (and security dogs sniffing suspiciously) is a moving experience. Just about every artifact, painting, table or trinket carries historic significance. And while the inhabitants of the White House are ordinary people elected to serve, you get a small sense of how different life must be in this house. We didn’t see any Obama’s (including Bo) on this visit.
Arlington Cemetery
Exiting the White House we continued on to Arlington Cemetery where rolling hills and an endless sea of wreath-adorned white markers tell the story of the fallen. An eternal flame looks over President John F. Kennedy and his family, while countless tombs and headstones mark names that have earned places in our history books. The silence of those visiting Arlington is equalled by the serenity of the surroundings, distant enough from highways and thoroughfares that only the clicking heel of a soldier guarding The Tomb of the Unknowns interrupts the peace.
Congressman Eric Swalwell Takes the Oath
January 3, 2013: New members of the 113th Congress, their families, friends and supporters woke in Washington, D.C. to the coldest day so far this winter – a crisp 17 degrees and with the biting cold, bright sunlight followed for ceremonial pictures across the Capitol.
Over 160 supporters of Congressman-Elect Eric Swalwell rose early, dressed sharply and met promptly on the East Capitol Steps for a photo that will likely find its way on to many Facebook pages. And it was a good thing people arrived on-time – other groups preceded and followed Swalwell’s contingent for the popular photo backdrop (notably, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi and a group of women Representatives). After the group photo, Swalwell’s Cannon House Office hosted its first party, its guest book recording a long list of supporters, while Swalwell left for the House.
With each member only getting two passes to attend the official swearing-in, Congressman Swalwell arranged a ceremonial event for supporters in the Longworth House Office Building, home to House Committee hearing rooms and Congressional Offices.
Congressman Eric Swalwell, “I was very proud today to take the oath of office and bring much needed new energy and ideas to the 113th Congress. I am honored by the trust placed in me by the constituents of California’s 15th Congressional District, and I will work hard every day to listen to their interests and work for them in the House of Representatives.”
Eric Swalwell’s Congressional Journey Begins in Office 501
We flew into Washington D.C. early Wednesday morning, my older daughter and I, to document history for Dublin High School and the City of Dublin. On Thursday January 3, Dublin resident and Dublin High graduate Eric Swalwell will be sworn into office with the 113th Congress.
We meet Eric in the Longworth Cafeteria, a nondescript eatery in the basement of a Congressional office building. Nondescript except for the guards and security check to enter the building, and sea of political operatives and government workers at every table, sightseeing tourists nowhere to be seen.
Eric greets us, dressed the part of a Congressman-Elect, suited and pressed, accompanied by two of his staff (that will total nine in all). We make our way through tunneled shortcuts to the Cannon House Office Building, heading for 501 – the home away from home for Eric and his team for the next two years. Along the way basement corridors are lined with furniture in transit as the 112th Congress gives way to the 113th.
A few wrong turns and a tight squeeze in a cozy elevator brings us to office 501. Down the hall a fellow Congresswoman and her staff mingle in the hall, stuck in limbo, their keys apparently cut for a different door.
Congressman-Elect Eric Swalwell
We watch with some trepidation now as Eric reaches for the lock, key extended, moment of anticipation hanging in the air after over a year of campaigning, and the tell-tale click swings the door open. Congressman-Elect Swalwell still has an oath to recite before any of this is official, but stepping into Office 501 for the first time, past the “Eric Swalwell – California” name plate bolted to the wall, you sense a new beginning for California’s 15th Congressional District.
Eric Swalwell on entering his office for the first time, “It was thrilling. It was the fruit of a long campaign season being realized. We started this race back in July 2011 and here we are 18 months later to open these doors, knowing who sent us here and what’s behind these keys: all the people who volunteered; their energy. I felt the momentum of the 15th Congressional District behind me as I walked in – it was pretty exciting. There is a lot of work to do and we want to get started.”
Eric Swalwell
Over 100 Eric Swalwell supporters are converging on the nation’s capitol this week to attend a first for Dublin High School and the City of Dublin. On Thursday January 3, Dublin High School Class of 1999 alumni Eric Swalwell (congressman-elect, California 15th Congressional District) along with the 113th Congress will be sworn into office. Swalwell’s guests will be treated to a ceremonial swearing-in led by Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley, dinner at Tortilla Coast (the same restaurant Eric worked at as a server while he was an intern for former Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher) and a tour of the Capitol. OneDublin.org will be attending and documenting the event. Follow us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/onedublin) to join us, virtually, in Washington D.C.
To prepare for the Washington D.C. trip, OneDublin.org spoke with Dublin High School history teacher Ron Rubio about the recent election cycle, and teaching history in an age of instant access to information.
OneDublin.org: Looking back, this year’s election was described as one of the ugliest elections in history. Is that really true or were elections just as nasty – if not nastier – when you look back 100 years or more?
Ron Rubio
Ron Rubio: “We always think the times we live in ‘set the bar’ for things. We view our political discourse as very harsh and negative, yet it is fairly tame by historical standards. When Thomas Jefferson ran for president in 1800 an opposing newspaper in Connecticut printed that if he won ‘murder, robbery, rape, adultery, and incest will be openly taught and practiced, the air will be rent with the cries of distress, the soil will be soaked with blood, the nation black with crimes.’ The newspaper offered an apology 180 years later, in 1980!
“When Jefferson ran for re-election in 1804 a big election topic was his affair with teenage slave Sally Hemings and the birth of his illegitimate children by her! Pretty controversial compared to calling Mr. Obama a ‘socialist’ or accusing Mr. Romney of animal cruelty for having his dog ride on top of a car in a dog crate. When John Quincy Adams ran for re-election in the 1830’s he was accused of, among other things, as being ‘a spendthrift’, ‘miser’, ‘skinflint’, ‘pimp for the Czar of Russia’ a ‘drunkard’ and my favorite, a’ sabbath breaker’!”
OneDublin.org: We hear expressions like “it was an historic election” just about every time there is an election; what do you think it takes for something to become “historic”?
Celebrating Education Excellence in 2012: Month-by-Month Highlights
As 2012 draws to a close, OneDublin.org looks forward to continuing its mission of celebrating education excellence in 2013. Below are highlights from 2012:
OneDublin.org Highlights – January 2012
Michelle Lee
The year kicked off with Dublin High School graduates sharing their experiences at colleges across the nation. Michelle Lee (Harvard University), Veronica Rubio (Carroll College) and Aslan Brown (UC Berkeley) all contributed to the popular Life in College Series of student testimonials. Look for more articles in the series in 2013, including Dublin High School Class of 2012 valedictorian Andrew Song writing about his first few months at the University of Chicago.
OneDublin.org Highlights – February 2012
MythBusters at Dublin High
MythBusters stars Adam Savage and Kari Byron along with Dublin High School’s Engineering Academy took the spotlight in February with the sold out “Dublin High School Engineering Academy Open House Starring MythBusters“. Over 1,000 people attended the sold out event which featured 20 science-themed “Demonstration Stations” as well as a moderated panel session with the MythBusters stars. The event attracted significant media attention for Dublin High’s engineering program along with a $10,000 donation from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
OneDublin.org Highlights – March 2012
Every 15 Minutes at DHS
OneDublin.org Feature Writer Michael Utsumi covered the sobering Every 15 Minutes event at Dublin High School. The elaborate demonstration held at high schools across the country seeks to educate teens about the dangers of drunk driving. Dublin High School’s Concert Band celebrated music with a performance in New York’s famed Carnegie Hall and DHS senior Camille Chabot contributed an article on Irish Step Dancing, a tradition at Dublin’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Festival.
OneDublin.org Highlights – April 2012
Thomas Dolby
We continued our series of education-focused interviews with musician Thomas Dolby (of “She Blinded Me With Science” fame) and author JD Rothman (known for “The Neurotic Parent’s Guide to College Admissions”). Locally, parent Irene Padnos was named volunteer of the year and Kathie Hammer was recognized for her years leading the John Knox Cooperative Preschool.
OneDublin.org Highlights – May 2012
Crystal Apple
Spring welcomed the Crystal Apple Awards, a unique ceremony where students nominate and recognize teachers and Dublin High hosted Jazzin’ for a Cure brought together local high school jazz bands to raise $3000 for cancer research. After months of suspense, Dublin High seniors celebrated college acceptance letters and Senior Awards Night.
OneDublin.org Highlights – June 2012
DHS Class of 2012
June marked the end of another school year – and the commencement of the Dublin High School Class of 2012. Dublin High Class of 2012 graduate Rebecca Beasley spoke to OneDublin about her appointment to the elite Air Force Academy Appointment and Sarah Finn shared her experiences earning a full scholarship to St. Mary’s College of California. OneDublin also published interviews with CBS 5 news reporter Juliette Goodrich and Stanford professor and author Dr. Carol Dweck.
OneDublin.org Highlights – July 2012
Hairspray
With school out OneDublin covered the Pacific Coast Repertory Theatre production of Hairspray, featuring Dublin talent, and profiled Dublin High School Class of ’99 graduate Eric Swalwell (now Congressman-elect) on his bid for the 15th Congressional District. The California Department of Education also announced that Dublin High had achieved a similar schools ranking of 10 out of 10 based on standardized testing results.
OneDublin.org Highlights – August 2012
Nicole Browning
As the start of the 2012-13 school year approached, Dublin High PFSO President and writer Michelle McDonald contributed a moving article directed at parents with students entering their senior year, based in part on her experiences with her daughter Annie, now a freshman at Santa Clara University. Senior Ryan McRee wrote about his experiences at Stanford’s EPGY program, and OneDublin.org interviewed new principals at Kolb Elementary School and Dougherty Elementary School.
OneDublin.org Highlights – September 2012
DHS Student Union
Contributions to OneDublin.org from across the community in September included Fallon graduate and Dublin High freshman Nick Padnos writing about surviving and thriving in middle school, Feature Writer Michael Utsumi covering the opening of the new Dublin High Student Union and the Dublin Elementary School band program, and advice from Dublin parents on how to help students as they leave home for college.
OneDublin.org Highlights – October 2012
Homecoming Float
October saw visitors to OneDublin.org reach a new high, with keen interest in the release of API results from across the District, including 40+ point gains at Frederiksen Elementary, Dublin Elementary and Wells Middle School. Dublin High celebrated Homecoming and posted improved SAT / ACT / AP results. October brought the wrath of Hurricane Sandy to the east coast and Dublin High graduates attending east coast colleges shared their experiences.
OneDublin.org Highlights – November 2012
Eric Swalwell
After a contentious election cycle, Election Day finally arrived bringing change both nationally and locally, and leaving several open seats that will be filled in early 2013. Dublin High School graduate Eric Swalwell successfully defeated a 40-year incumbent for the new 15th Congressional District and David Haubert won a seat on the City of Dublin Council after 10 years on the Dublin School Board. OneDublin.org’s interview series expanded with an article on TED speaker Sarah-Jayne Blakemore‘s research on the perplexing teenage brain. Michael Utsumi covered Frederiksen Elementary School’s annual Veterans Day event and the first two Dublin High Class of 2012 Life in College Series articles were published – from Chandler Bullock (attending Syracuse University) and Annie McDonald (attending Santa Clara University).
OneDublin.org Highlights – December 2012
Joy Sherratt
Earlier this month Fallon Middle School’s Joy Sherratt shared her experiences as a teacher, accomplished actress, and co-founder of the Pacific Coast Repertory Theatre. Dublin High announced expanded access to ACT college prep testing while Lauren Koa expanded the Life in College Series with an article on UC San Diego. Michael Utsumi contributed multiple articles on how our elementary school students are supporting troops overseas, how the School Board is addressing growth in east-side elementary schools and how school fundraising is changing.
We have more planned in 2013, covering education issues and celebrating education excellence. Follow us on Facebook and subscribe to OneDublin.org (top of this page). Stay tuned for more in 2013 and until then enjoy a Happy New Year!
The word “fundraising” has long been associated with many of our sites within the Dublin Unified School District (DUSD). Whether it has been through the promotion of holiday wrapping paper at our elementary schools, restaurant dining events for the middle schools or managing concessions at an NCS football game at Dublin High – fundraising is part of the landscape both here in Dublin and at schools throughout the state of California. We have become accustomed to supporting our schools in any way possible and it has also become representative of the overall “giving” nature of all families throughout our district. Recently, new rules and regulations were brought to light which ensure that we pay much closer attention to how funds are dedicated, how they are raised and to ensure that no student is excluded from any extracurricular activity.
The consideration of these relatively new rules had a direct impact on how the Wells Middle School Band and Guard would approach their annual journey to Disneyland in March 2013. The invitation for Wells to participate has now exceeded 25 years and has become a great school tradition. In previous years, the equation was quite simple. Band and Guard members were expected to gradually make deposits into individual travel accounts at designated deadlines starting in early fall. By late January, most, if not all of these payments were to be completed. In preceding years, there have been additional fundraising events to supplement the effort and thus reducing the individual amount needed to attend. The decision to no longer allow individual travel accounts confused some families about the enforcement of these new regulations and donations for the trip were lagged behind presented goals. Wells needed to come forward with alternative group fundraising efforts to ensure that this long standing tradition would not cease. The subject of individual fundraising for extracurricular activities has been a sticky one over many decades, impacting each and every one of our school sites. OneDublin.org decided to delve more deeply into this area.
In order to gain perspective on this issue, one must go back to 1879. At that time, the California State Constitution adopted a “free school guarantee” that provided for a system of common schools by which a free school shall be kept up and supported in each district at least six months of every year. In the early 1940’s, the California Attorney General issued an opinion that school districts may not require security deposits for locks, lockers, books, class apparatus, musical instruments, uniforms and that students may not be required to pay a membership fee in any student body organization as a condition of participation in extracurricular activities. In essence, all in and out of school activities should not be limited to only those that could afford to pay additional fees. This debate continued on into the mid-1980’s after the passage of Proposition 13. Prop 13 essentially froze the property tax valuation on all homes purchased prior to 1978 – thus reducing subsequent property taxes collected by the state. In response, the California Supreme Court concluded that the “free school guarantee” should be extended to all programs that are “educational in character,” and that activities such as sports, drama, vocal and instrumental music programs reflect that definition.
In 2010, this dialogue changed course. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit that claimed that multiple school districts and sites were circumventing unlawful fee practices and thus had failed to provide free access to all students. The lawsuit was settled in three months. As a result, specific guidelines for fundraising have been honed and all California public schools have been required to fall into compliance.
Dennis Coates on Coaching our Teenagers for a Happy, Healthier Life
Author, founder of ProStar Coach and personal development expert Dr. Dennis Coates spoke with OneDublin.org recently about navigating teenagers through the challenging years of adolescence. As noted in the recent OneDublin.org interview with Dr. Sarah-Jayne Blakemore’s research into the teenage mind, “Puberty represents a period of profound transition in terms of drives, emotions, motivations, psychology and social life … there is increasing evidence that adolescent changes in sensation-seeking may include some puberty-specific changes, and may provide new insights into adolescent risk taking.”
Dr. Coates earned B.S. in Engineering from the U.S. Military Academy (1967) and an M.A. (1972) and Ph.D. (1977) in English from Duke University. Dr. Coates is a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel and is currently CEO of Performance Support Systems. Dr. Coates created the MindFrames personality assessment, 20/20 Insight performance feedback survey system, and ProStar Coach online personal development coaching platform. Dr. Coates is also author of two books on coaching teenage development, Conversations with the Wise Uncle and Conversations with the Wise Aunt (2012).
OneDublin.org: What inspired you to apply your experience coaching adults to helping teenagers, and the parents of teenagers?
Denny Coates: “For over 25 years now I’ve been writing and creating assessment and learning programs for adults in the workplace to help them communicate with each other better and get stronger for the challenges of work. I’m talking about helping them change behavior patterns that were ingrained for years, even decades. So they were struggling to replace old, comfortable dysfunctional patterns with new, effective ones. This takes an enormous amount of motivation and effort over time, and all too often the effort fails. It made me realize how beneficial it would have been if they had ingrained the right patterns in for first place, when they were young. That’s when I decided I needed to help young people. And when you try to do that, you need to help their parents, too, because they’re such a huge influence.”
OneDublin.org: It feels like the teenagers of today are under more intense pressure than when we were teenagers – is that true? Have the competitive challenges of obtaining a higher education and a global workforce increased the pressure on our teens?
Coates: “I’m not sure the pressure is greater, but it’s certainly different. The world is definitely a more dangerous place. Technologies are more powerful and alluring. And opportunities in the workplace keep shifting. On the positive side, I think parents and more adults are more conscious about the goals, processes and skills needed to parent adolescents.”
OneDublin.org: How is the explosion of social networking, and the ability of teenagers to communicate and stay connected via texting, Twitter and Facebook, impacting teenagers?
Life at UC San Diego – from the Dublin Shield to the UCSD Guardian
by Lauren Koa (Dublin High School Class of 2012 and University of California, San Diego freshman)
Tatum Wheeler and me (right)
When I was accepted into the University of California, San Diego, I was overwhelmed with excitement, joy and so much relief. UCSD had been one of my top schools of choice and at that moment I was feeling so blessed and so relieved that I had actually gotten in. When the other letters, acceptances and rejections came in, I thought that the choice would become obvious and that I would know exactly where I’d be going.
But for anyone who knows my personality and way of making choices, I had no clue. I struggled because I liked UCSD, but didn’t exactly “fall in love with the campus” during previous visits like some of my peers and graduates had at their choices of schools. Being extremely involved and social in high school, I was afraid of the school’s daunting reputation of being the “University of California, Socially Dead.” However, what I did know was that the Communication program at UCSD has what I was looking for in curriculum and internship opportunities. So when I submitted my SIR (Statement of Intent to Register) to UCSD, I crossed my fingers with worry, but high hopes that I would be making the right choice.
Now, with my first quarter down as a Triton, I can honestly say that I’m so thankful and glad that I chose to go to UCSD. I’m officially settled in and I love going here.
Our campus can seem pretty intimidating, large and spread out for anyone visiting, but as a student, you quickly get used to where things are. I spent the first week of school using the map on our UCSD smartphone application to avoid getting lost, but now I feel like I know the entire campus like the back of my hand.
OneDublin.org 