The Lawrence Hall of Science, Green Elementary’s PFC and an enthusiastic group of parent volunteers and teachers teamed up to make science fun Thursday night at the “What’s Matter” Festival. This successful event builds on last year’s “Art of Math” festival (also hosted in conjunction with The Lawrence Hall of Science).
Upon entering Green Elementary’s multi-purpose room, each student became a scientist and worked through multiple stations, filling in a “Scientist Notebook” along the way. Each notebook taught the students to make observations, record observations, measure and record data and make conclusions and/or design a new experiment. Students were also treated to science demonstrations by Lawrence Hall of Science volunteers.
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields have been the focus of significant attention in Dublin education, with Dublin High recently launching an Engineering Academy and the Dublin Unified School District proposing a STEM program for Fallon Middle School.
Interactive science activities included:
We’ve just launched our first community survey with the simple goal of improving what we are trying to do for Dublin education. Please take a moment to share your anonymous feedback through this short survey. It will only take a minute or two to complete. Please note that the survey can only be taken once per computer (to avoid “survey stuffing”).
Click here to complete the short survey.
Thanks again for all the support and feedback in 2010 – we’ll try to be even better in 2011.
Your friends and neighbors at OneDublin.org
by Kristine Cousins – Dublin High Cheerleading Coach
Fallon Cheerleaders: "In Flight"
This Friday night (Jan 7) is truly going to be a “Dublin Community” event at Oracle Arena as the Fallon Middle School Cheerleaders and the Dublin High School Cheerleaders team up to perform for the Golden State Warriors half time show. Discount tickets have been reserved at three different price levels ($18, $34 and $50) for these two incredible performances. The two schools combined have already sold over 200 tickets. Game time is 7:30pm with the Warriors hosting the Cavaliers. This special promotion ends soon.
If you haven’t made plans for Friday night join your Dublin neighbors for a night of hoops and cheer!
Link and instructions for purchasing tickets:
https://oss.ticketmaster.com/html/go.htmI?l=EN&t=warriors&o=9368258&g=1130
- Click on the link above and click on Find Tickets.
- Enter the following password in the special offer code box: DHS
- Enter your Ticket Master account ID (or e-mail address) and password on the left (if you have never created a Ticket Master account, go to “Create an Account” on the right-hand side of the screen).
- Follow the instructions to purchase – you will be able to print the tickets right at your desk
Science Fair Project on Plants & Pollution
With the New Year brings the promise of elementary, middle and high school science fair projects. For students and parents this either provides an opportunity for a shared educational experience… or a panic attack. Fortunately, your local library and the Internet provide excellent starting points for science fair projects. Below are just some of the resources available for Dublin students and parents.
Start with the Scientific Method
“After meeting all of the scientists that we get to meet and work with on the show over the years, I do think that we’re scientists. We think methodically and critically through problems that we’ve got to solve, and that is the simplest definition of being a scientist.” – MythBusters star Adam Savage (at the Dublin High School Engineering and Design Academy Open House)
The value of any science fair project starts with the scientific method. When a teacher asks for a poster board presentation requiring sections such as: Question, Hypothesis, Materials, Procedure, Results and Conclusion, what they are really requesting is that the student cover key elements of the scientific method. While a poster board presentation is the inevitable outcome, the most important learning occurs not in gluing summary information to a poster board, but in understanding and experiencing the scientific method.
What is the scientific method? According to Dictionary.com, the scientific method is “a method of research in which a problem is identified, relevant data are gathered, a hypothesis is formulated from these data, and the hypothesis is empirically tested.” ScienceBuddies.org provides a useful overview of the scientific method (read more…).
The key to any science fair project is choosing a good question – a question that is interesting to you and that can be addressed test empirically – meaning through observation. And key to empirical testing is coming up with a repeatable procedure that provides credible data for answering the question being posed. Why do teachers always want a hypothesis (or educated guess) about the question? Trying to predict the outcome helps you think through the problem – and helps validate the question being asked. For younger students, forming a hypothesis about the outcome is also motivational. Was my educated guess correct?
A fun way to introduce students to the most basic elements of the scientific method is the popular TV show MythBusters. MythBusters starts each segment with a question (a popular myth), presents a hypothesis and then through elaborate experimentation either busts or confirms the myth. (OneDublin.org had the privilege to interview Kari Byron from MythBusters earlier this year – read more…)
Dublin High School New Buildings Video Tour
The first day of school is just around the corner for local students. For Dublin High School students this will be a first day back to remember. The fences are down, the classrooms are ready and the smell of fresh paint is clinging to the new Dublin High School buildings. For students, parents and members of the community curious about the new look at Dublin High, here is a whirlwind video tour of the new buildings that open on Monday. The Dublin High School renewal project is funded by voter-approved Bond Measure ‘C’.
More photos of the new Dublin High School buildings are available here and on the DUSD Facebook page.
by Ben Young (Dublin High School Student Body President and Class of 2011 Senior)
On the morning of December the 18th I woke up and rolled out of bed like any other Saturday morning. My brother was coming home from Florida for Christmas and I was excited to pick him up from the airport. Little did I know that this was no ordinary Saturday. I was standing in the kitchen doing the dishes when I saw the mail carrier come to the door. Instinctively I went to the door to go get the mail and there was a “priority mail” package with my name on it. At first I did not see any return address on the package, leaving me to wonder what the package contained. As I started to open the package I saw a faint stamp reading “United States Military Academy Admissions Office”, and instantaneously my heart began to pound. I tore open the package and opened the black case to read that I had received an appointment to The United States Military Academy at West Point. I could not conjure any words, but began jumping up and down shouting. Tears of joy were rolling down my face as my parents surrounded and hugged me. It truly was a dream come true.
Life at UC San Diego – From Dublin High AP to Nanoengineering
by Jamie Somerville (Dublin High School Class of 2010 and UCSD Freshman)
Waking up at 8:00 am with the sun shining through my dorm room window, I look out to blue sky, palm trees and the Pacific Ocean in the distance. This paradise-like view from my dorm room window at UC San Diego might seem a little bit clichéd but this really is how my typical day begins. Even with my bad habit of “accidentally” swinging my hand round onto the snooze button, I am soon up and dressed to go for a run along the campus beach. Following this I go to class for a few hours, have soccer practice, study, eat and then try to get to bed at a reasonable time (college reasonable time is very different from normal reasonable time).
My first few weeks of college were very fun but at the same time pretty scary. For the first time in my life I was on my own with no kind of community support web to catch me should I have fallen. I knew it was absolutely crucial to get involved right away or else it would be too late and everyone would have made friends already. I started my new life in San Diego by trying out for the UCSD club soccer team. I was very happy to have made the team, as there were more than 80 people there, as well as 3 rounds of cuts. The older guys on the soccer team immediately made an effort to make the new freshman feel welcome. It gave me an instant social life that I really appreciated. We even went up to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for regionals during October, which was a blast.
The first day of my UCLA journey
by Deanna Hong (Dublin High School Class of 2010 and UCLA Freshman)
Figuring out which college I wanted to attend was the hardest decision I have ever made. I was never one of those kids who knew exactly where they wanted to go for college and what they wanted to study. When the time came to choose colleges during my senior year of high school, there were three colleges that I was deciding between, and they each catered to a different aspect of my life. I was looking into attending the Academy of Art University to pursue a career as a video editor, I was being recruited to University of Redlands to play lacrosse, and I had been accepted into UCLA as a result of my academic success in high school. When it came time to choose a college, I was conflicted. I felt as though I had to choose between my art, my sport, and my studies.
Today, having one quarter of college under my belt, I can say that I made the right decision when I chose to attend UCLA. I had thought that when I chose a college I would have to choose one of my interests and sacrifice my other two, but that has not been the case at all. At UCLA I’m not only getting a world-class education, but I am also playing club lacrosse and living in Los Angeles, home of the film industry.
Meet Kolb Elementary School Principal Lynn Medici
Kolb Elementary School’s new principal, Lynn Medici, joins Kolb Elementary School for its inaugural year after leading Dougherty Elementary School to an API of 939 (the highest API score in the Dublin Unified School District). In her almost thirty years as a teacher and an administrator, Lynn has built a diverse portfolio of experiences.
Lynn started her path to Kolb by completing a double major in music and education at Concordia College – New York, followed by a master’s degree in special education at The College of New Rochelle. She later earned her administration credential after moving to California. While Lynn chose teaching as her profession, she performed regularly as a classically trained singer in the New York area early in her career as an educator.
OneDublin.org recently met with Lynn to talk about the opening of Kolb Elementary for 2011-12.
Below are recent photographs of the Kolb Elementary School construction site:
Life as a Piper at Hamline University
by Erik Wong (Dublin High School Class of 2010 grad and Hamline University Freshman)
Ever since I was in middle school, I’ve been hearing people talk about what colleges they want to go to. What colleges were the best at certain things, what colleges had the best and the most exciting sport programs to watch, what colleges had the best people, faculty, activities, parties, etc. I had never given a thought about college until senior year in high school rolled around. I found myself filling out countless applications for big state universities around the country from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo all the way to University of Georgia. On top of that I also put my name out for athletics for football and snowboarding, hoping to perhaps play in college. Filling out college applications may be stressful and very difficult, but in the end it’s worth it. Also, the more college applications you fill out the better the chance you’ll find a school that is right for you.
I filled out college applications and put my name out to college athletics recruiters starting in mid-November. February rolled around and I had yet to receive a reply from any school regarding sports or, for that matter, college in general. Late one night as I came back from wrestling practice my cell phone rang. It was the recruiting coach from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota wanting to recruit me into the football program. Of course I took up on that offer which started a really long journey to get to where I am now. I did eventually receive confirmations of college acceptances from other schools in March – sometimes it takes a while for college applications to be processed because of so many people applying. If you don’t receive one immediately do not freak out and stay calm. They will eventually get to you.
Offensive Line Left to Right: Ben Dvorak, me, Anthony Haro, Seth Woodiwiss, and Charlie Miller)
Life as a Hamline University Piper fall athlete started earlier then for other freshman. We reported to football camp in mid-August, two weeks before classes started. Before day one, I knew nobody here. I was nervous and shy around the other players. That’s when you should take advantage of this awkward feeling because there are many other freshmen around you feeling the same way. Day one of camp consisted of ice breakers, where we spent our first day as a Piper getting to know each other, where we came from and our backgrounds. By the end of the day you got to know at least 10-20 people pretty well. Football camp was difficult: working out and attending meetings from 8am-10pm, with pockets of breaks for lunch, dinner and relaxation throughout the day. Through the work of camps and meetings you got to quickly befriend many more players on the team. By the end of the second week, we not only felt ready for the season but all 80 members of the team knew each other.
OneDublin.org 