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Vista Unified School District

PASS AmeriCorps Newsletter

M A Y / J U N E 2 0 1 7 V O L U M E 7 , I S S U E 8

Have a fantastic summer and we

will see you in the new school

year!

We are in the final countdown

for the 2016-17 school year! It’s

amazing how fast the year has

gone. Our PASS AmeriCorps

Service Members joined us back

in August, some local, some serv-

ing a second or third year with

us, some jumping in their cars

and moving across the country

to serve our youth and commu-

nities here in San Diego County.

We are so grateful for the dedi-

cation they have shown this year.

Thank you to all our school site

Points of Contact, collaborating

school sites, and other partner

organizations; it is your support

and commitment to your com-

munities and the PASS Ameri-

Corps Program that allows us to

work together to make a differ-

ence in the lives of our students.

At this point in the school

year, we are very excited for

our PASS AmeriCorps Service

Members as they take the

next step in their journeys,

whether that be serving an-

other year with PASS, moving

on to graduate school, landing

a job in their target career

field, or continuing on the

search for the path they want

to follow.

We wish all our Service Mem-

bers and students the best,

and are looking forward to

hearing great things about them

in the future.

Word Cloud made of this

month’s newsletter submissions

Finishing a Fantastic Year with PASS AmeriCorps

Each year, the PASS AmeriCorps

Program puts on an event titled

“Life After AmeriCorps”, provid-

ing resources and networking

opportunities for our Service

Members as they transition out

of their year of service with

PASS. In addition to presenta-

tions on topics such as the Segal

Education Award, Fringe Bene-

fits, and Travel and Work

Abroad Tips, we also heard from

a panel of AmeriCorps alumni (in

photo below, left to right: cur-

rent member, Anna

Statz, and AmeriCorps

Alumni, Rosalina Herre-

ra, Sergio Valdes-Morin,

and Robin Gray). A

highlight of the day was

Service Members having

the chance to partici-

pate in rotating café conversations to get insight

from working professionals in a field of interest.

We want to thank all the individuals who came

out to speak with us (in photos at right, clockwise from top left: Gabriela

Delgado, M.P.A., M.Ed., P.P.S., SDCOE; Jason M. Rasch, Juvenile Gang

Intervention and Intensive Supervision Unit; Anthony Ceja, M.S.W.,

SDCOE; Beatriz Villarreal, Ph.D., Mano a Mano Foundation; Joanna

Savarese, Ph.D., Neuropsychologist and Clinical Psychologist; Joey

Nunez Estrada, Jr., Ph.D., San Diego State University; ). Your stories

and experience will help our Members as

they move into their “Life After Ameri-

Corps”.

Getting Ready for “Life After AmeriCorps”

Café Conversation

Guest Speakers

AmeriCorps Alumni

Panel

P A G E 2

Some of the PASS

faces that will be

missed as the school

year wraps up

What an

exhila-

rating

and

academi-

cally

enriching

year it’s

been at

Casita

Center!

Adven-

tures of various sizes have taken

place, from fun educational study

trips to scientific experiments. All

type of student inquiries were en-

couraged and supported, no

question was too big or too

small. With such an innovative

environment it was no surprise

that Casita Center’s hard work

was recognized with the most

prestigious title, becoming an

authorized International Bacca-

laureate school! Years of work

by students, teachers, school

staff, parents, and Principal

Smith have elevated Casita

Center to a new domain. The

future is exceedingly bright for

Casita Center, and PASS will

continue to honor its commit-

ment to

excellence. That being said, I

am saddened that such a won-

derful year has come to an

end, but the memories I've

made will be cherished and

treasured forever. True to the

saying, home is where the

heart is, Casita Center will

always feel like home to this

PASS mentor.

the month of May to the word

'appreciation' and PASS Ameri-

Corps hosted an Appreciation

Station. Students rotated be-

tween 3 stations that were

each targeted to appreciate

important women, teachers,

and friends in their lives. Stu-

dents enjoyed creating flower

pens and cards for those who

they wanted to appreciate.

Students worked together and

PASS AmeriCorps

at Madison Middle

is wrapping up its

first year, and

what a year it has

been! We have

completed goals

and have learned

a lot about our-

selves and others.

Madison Middle

School dedicated

helped each other with folding

and creating beautiful and

heartfelt gifts. In June, students

will be writing letters of advice

to students coming in to a new

grade level. This year has been

a terrific year and next year

will be even better. I hope all

students and staff have a won-

derful and safe summer!

gold. Olive had their very own

Boom Town for Colonial Day.

Students were able to partici-

pate in arts and crafts, square

dancing, and made wax candles

just to name a few activities.

Second and third graders visit-

ed the Birch Aquarium to learn

about sea life. May was the

month to celebrate Join Hands

Day and PASS students

worked on a service project

where they created a poster to

express the importance of

joining hands and becoming

one. The After School Educa-

tion Safety Program just fin-

ished their basketball, baseball,

and kickball tournament. PASS

collaborated with them to help

students have fun and show

great sportsmanship.

It’s a bittersweet time as

school is coming to an end.

However, students are excit-

ed about the activities for

the final week of school.

They have learned a lot

about the history of Colonial

Times and the Great Gold

Rush. Thanks to Green Oak

Ranch, fourth graders had a

learning experience where

they were able to search for

Appreciation

flowers

P A S S A M E R I C O R P S N E W S L E T T E R

Olive Elementary School

Madison Middle School

Casita Center for Science and Technology Daisy Gallardo,

PASS AmeriCorps

Member

Diego Bautista,

PASS AmeriCorps Member

Rosalba Rocha,

PASS AmeriCorps Member

Join Hands Poster -

created by PASS

students

P A G E 3 V O L U M E 7 , I S S U E 4

When May came around, it was

hard to believe the year was

starting to come to an end. Our

eighth graders were getting

nervous for the new transition

to high school and the rest just

anxious for the year to wrap

up and get all their assignments

in. For this month's project, the

PASS students celebrated

Teacher Appreciation Week by

writing notes to their beloved

teachers and making posters

around the school to thank the

teachers and staff for all that

they do. It was so nice to see

the students show apprecia-

tion, especially since the year

was so close to the end. Also, I

had students from PASS write

notes and questions of advice

to Vista High School students

and they received responses to

help put their minds at ease. I

know our students will be suc-

cessful at whatever they do and

though I am sad to see them

go, I am so proud of how much

they have grown and I am ex-

cited for them to start their

new chapter in the coming

years!

sponses that will be returned to the

middle schoolers by the end of the

month. We appreciate the thought-

fulness our students have put into

their advice! May 13th was VHS’s

prom held at Carlsbad Flower

Fields which proved to be, by all

accounts, a big success. On May

29th students were given the day

off as we celebrated Memorial Day.

Upon return from that final holiday,

We have reached the school year’s

final stretch! On May 4th, Vista

High School hosted a blood drive

for which we saw great turnout –

both among staff and students. May

6th was Join Hands Day. To cele-

brate, we invited 8th graders from

Rancho Minerva Middle School and

VIDA to write questions they may

have about high school. Our high

school students then wrote re-

students only had seven days of

school left! We are all looking

forward to running across that

finish line.

social studies class, students com-

pleted their journals to show what

they learned about slaves, explor-

ers, and indigenous peoples. They

later presented their historical

journey in class. As the school year

came to an end, students were busy

preparing their final projects. Thank

you to all students who participated

in the PASS program for the 2016-

2017 school year. Good luck to all

the rising high school students and

to the rising 8th grade Sharks. Have

a safe summer and an amazing next

school year.

PASS students participated in the

final national day of service project

this month. 8th grade students

celebrated Join Hands Day, writing

letters to Vista High School stu-

dents with questions as they pre-

pared for promotion on May 25th.

The final cohort of Project AWARE

sessions came to an end as well. An

important project students focused

on this month, was their family

history project that included an

essay and visual presentation. For

Latavia answering

RMMS/ VIDA eighth

graders' questions

about High School.

Rancho Minerva Middle School

Vista Innovation and Design Academy (VIDA)

Vista High School

Chelsea Kozikis,

PASS AmeriCorps Member

Vanessa Acosta,

PASS AmeriCorps Member

Skyler Vanderhye and Brighid Morse,

PASS AmeriCorps Members

Ximena V.

with her

Family

History

Project

visual board.

Teacher Appreciation

Posters

P A G E 4

Jonthan Tarr

Scholarship that will

be implemented at

Alta next year.

It's been a great first year at Alta

Vista High School. In the first

trimester, continuation rugby

dominated the competition. We

celebrated American patriotism,

diversity, and promoted com-

munity. Alta finished the 1st

trimester by hosting a blood

drive in which over thirty stu-

dents participated. In the 2nd

trimester, Alta's basketball

team won the championship

game and the PASS room re-

ceived much more attention.

Students now had a place on

campus they could call their

own. Alta also hosted a second

blood drive during this time.

The last trimester produced a

winning soccer team and an

experimental passing football

league, which turned to be a

huge success. PASS, and sever-

al of the counselors, brought

ACCESS2Jobs and Learn4Life

into the school to help stu-

dents find summer work. PASS

has worked closely with Alta

staff to expand the sports pro-

gram, implement new partner-

ships, and of course, help stu-

dents improve their grades,

attendance, and behavior.

addressed issues students face

every day, in their personal

lives and at school. They also

discussed ways to ignite change

within the school environment.

We celebrated “Special Per-

son’s Day” around Mother's

Day, in which we provided

ceramic pots, soil, and succu-

lents that students were able

to decorate for a special per-

son they’d like to honor in

their

lives. The project was a major

success, with over 30 students

getting in touch with their

creative and sentimental sides.

The energy is buzzing at

GMHS and it won't slow down

until after graduation!

It's been a busy month here at

Major General Raymond Mur-

ray High School! Between

prepping our seniors and staff

for graduation, getting ready

for summer, and fastening

odds and ends, time has flown

by. We held our last Peer

Leaders Uniting Students

(PLUS) forum in the middle of

the month where students led

and participated in groups that

P A S S A M E R I C O R P S N E W S L E T T E R

Major General Murray High School

Alta Vista High School Corey Bishop,

PASS AmeriCorps Member

Drawing by Madison Middle

School 8th grade PASS stu-

dent, Flor

Olive PASS stu-

dent Jenisis,

showing of her

Join Hands

creation.

Pablo from VHS writes: “Thank you

for impacting my school year. You

taught me to be responsible and

helped me get my grades up. You

also helped me catch up on my work

in class. Thank you, Ms. Morse.”

PASS Students Fernando

S. and Enrique R.

planting Special Person’s

Day succulents

Jennifer Garritson and

Dana Tsoutsoudakis,

PASS AmeriCorps Members

6401 Linda Vista Road - Room 412

San Diego, CA 92111-7399

Phone: 858-569-5474

Fax: 858-565-4150

Email: mquiroz@sdcoe.net

Website: www.sdcoe.net/pass-americorps

The PASS AmeriCorps Program serves stu-

dents in grades 3 through 12 at 29 school sites

across San Diego County, including campuses

in San Diego, Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos,

and Valley Center. Each PASS AmeriCorps

member provides support for 30 targeted stu-

dents through individual and group mentoring,

academic support, grades and attendance re-

views, leadership development, guest speakers,

service learning projects, and parent outreach.

Through their service with PASS, our Ameri-

Corps members are able to create positive

change in our schools and communities.

San Diego County Office of Education

PASS AmeriCorps Program

PASS

AmeriCorps

Program

Upcoming

Month’s

Calendar

______

June