Poway Unified School District

Brock Bobzien, a Junior at Poway High School, has earned a spot on the USA Wrestling Team for the World Cadet Championships in Budapest, Hungary this July To qualify, Brock won the World Team Trials in the Greco-Roman division and placed 2nd in Freestyle. We wish you good luck, Brock! Read more about the journey here: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com//brock-bobzien-to-wre

#PowayUnified is partnering with Sharp HealthCare to provide another COVID-19 vaccine clinic on June 4 & June 25 at Del Norte HS for anyone (ages 12+) who want the Pfizer vaccine. Make an appointment and get the consent form: https://www.powayusd.com//St/Raising-Awareness/Coronavirus

Three #PowayUnified fourth graders were named winners of the City of Poway's Water Awareness poster contest! Jocelyn (Left, Valley ES), Chloe (Middle, Chaparral ES) and Rozelle (Right, Chaparral ES) each depicted why they love water, how they conserve it, and how they encourage others to do the same. They will have their artwork entered for a chance to be this year's North County Water Agency Calendar cover. Congrats! (Pictured here with Poway Mayor Steve Vaus. Photo by Emily Sorensen, Pomerado News)

Seven more #PowayUnified high school students received National Merit Scholarships in May, worth $2,500 a piece Congratulations to our students on this outstanding achievement! Click here to read more: http://bit.ly/pusd-nmsc-2

The #PowayUnified School District and its offices are closed today, May 31, in observance of #MemorialDay. Join us in paying tribute to those who lost their lives in service to this country.

It's Friday January 8, which means this is your first #PowayUnified News Minute for the year 2021. Christine Paik covers school and community-based COVID notifications, School Board Recognition Month, and two outstanding student achievements. Enjoy.

This is a notice that the #PowayUnified Food and Nutrition Department will continue to serve free meals to PUSD students during the temporary closure January 4-15, 2021. Please see the post for important details, or visit: bit.ly/pusd-nutrition

It's a wonderful feeling seeing #PowayUnified students be recognized on a national level for their exceptional work. PBS’ Student Reporting Labs recently nominated Yeonseo Seok, a senior at Westview, as a 20 Under 20 Up-And-Coming Storyteller. Congrats! Read more about the work Yeonseo and her SRL colleagues are doing in their communities: https://studentreportinglabs.org/blog-posts/srl20/ (Note: This photo was originally published by Student Reporting Labs, and we pulled this from Twitter.)

As the days grow colder and winter sets in, 2nd grade Explorers at Del Sur Elementary wanted to make sure the community was taken care of over the break: "Thanks to our very generous community we were able to assemble 130 care packages for the Veterans Village of San Diego (VVSD). The VVSD provides services to homeless military veterans. Our care packages included winter beanies, socks, snacks, and a special letter written by each student." Way to go, Explorers! Del Sur Educational Foundation

HAPPY NEW YEAR We are looking to 2021 as a source of hope, light, and rest for all. Stay safe, #TeamPUSD.

In honor of #CSEdWeek2020, we're here to remind you that #PowayUnified has an app! We developed a free, one stop shop where families can stay in-the-know about news & info from the District. You can even subscribe to your particular school, so you never miss a notification. Downloading is free, and easy on the App Store and Google Play. Tell us below : Have you downloaded the Poway Unified School District app yet?

This is your last #PowayUnified News Minute of 2020. Watch for a recap of Creekside Elementary's Holiday Drive-Thru, swearing in of PUSD Board Members Dr. Patel and Dr. Sytsma, temporary in-person closure following winter break, and "Ave Verum Corpus" from PUSD's high school choirs. Have a safe and happy holiday. Christine Paik

As we wrap up this difficult year, we are reminded to look for the silver linings. Whether it's student accomplishments, staff spirit or the generosity of stakeholders, we remain hopeful for 2021. Please enjoy the last #TeamPUSD Newsletter of 2020: https://www.smore.com/ab4v5

Yesterday we shared opportunities from Code.org for #CSEdWeek. Today, we invite you to see how Edmund (one of our students ) is using computer science and app technology to make a life-saving difference for people with dementia. Please help us congratulate Edmund on this well-deserved award from Congressman Scott Peters by leaving a comment below!

Please help us congratulate Poway High School Senior Ryan Whitson on his selection for the All-National Honor Ensemble through the National Association for Music Education This is a prestigious national honor for music students, and Ryan is the only student from San Diego County to participate in the Symphony Orchestra. Full story: bit.ly/pusd-ryan Leave a emoji in the comments to celebrate!

Please enjoy the Poway Adult School's Poway Symphonette and their virtual concert Season of Music!" Ulli Reiner and the Poway Symphonette bring the sights and sounds of music and nature together in a virtual musical program. Ulli is the Artistic Director and a #PowayUnified Teacher. https://youtu.be/8N1czgmEWcs

WATCH: We are pleased to share with you a recording of Mozart's "Ave Verum Corpus," performed by the combined advanced choirs of Del Norte, Mt. Carmel, Poway, Rancho Bernardo, and Westview High Schools Please enjoy: https://youtu.be/DEx3_9CIXJI

This year, our Technology & Innovation Department has made it easier than ever for teachers to introduce coding activities into their Canvas LMS courses for #HourofCode. These same activities are accessible outside of the classroom, too! Simply visit www.hourofcode.com/us/learn for dozens of grade-level appropriate tutorials that promote a Growth Mindset in computer science education. Code.org

Back in September and October, feeder patterns held community conversations on racial equity and inclusion. They will be meeting again in early 2021, so don’t miss out! Visit this website to check the dates and topics for your feeder pattern: http://bit.ly/pusd-equity

How sweet is this? Olivia, a Del Sur Elementary student, dropped off cheerful bags of individually wrapped snacks and toothbrushes to our Caring Connections Center last week. Her reason? She "just wanted to help our families" in need. Her heart for the community has us feeling like: Tell us below! What is your favorite way to give back to your community during the holidays?

VIDEO: Watch the full announcement from Good Morning San Diego where Mandela Tobin, Westview's Defensive Lineman, commits to playing football for Duke University We are so excited for Mandela, and know he will do great things in this next step of the journey. Thank you to Paul Rudy KUSI for broadcasting this special day. https://youtu.be/DMqPr36RQwk

Below is roundup of food assistance resources in San Diego County while schools are closed during winter break. Additionally, you may visit San Diego Hunger Coalition website if you or someone you know is in need of meal assistance: sandiegohungercoalition.org/covid19

Happy Friday, here’s your #PowayUnified News Minute for Oct. 23 with Christine Paik. Kudos to Poway’s CTE Dept. on a successful college and career night, Digital Citizenship Week with Tech & Innovation, and upcoming Red Ribbon Week and Poway High’s drive in concert next week.

Can you believe we're only one week away from winter break? Here's your #PowayUnified News Minute with Chief Communications Officer Christine Paik: Diving into #CSEdWeek2020 and #HourOfCode2020 (featuring Willow Grove Elementary School), Edmund Sumpena's Award from Congressman Scott Peters, and a virtual winter concert from RBHS. Enjoy!

WATCH: This week’s News Minute with Christine Paik covers quite a bit! SDG&E restored power at 6 schools this week, Westview’s Defensive Lineman Mandela Tobin will play football for Duke University, the District’s California School Boards Association Golden Bell Award, PUSD Foundation donation from The San Diego Futures Foundation and Amazon Logistics, and Adopt-a-Family. Have a good weekend!... San Diego Gas & Electric Good Morning San Diego

Over 1,500 #PowayUnified students and their families attended the first-ever Virtual College and Career Info Night October 20! Missed the event but still want to watch a session? They were all recorded, and can be viewed in our session catalog here: http://tiny.cc/PUSDCollegeandCareer Thank you to #TeamPUSD for working together to put on this crucial event for our families, and for the dozens of presenters who shared important info on the college admissions and career pathway processes. The session catalog is also available on the powayusd.com website. Poway CTE Poway Adult School

Winter Concerts are a tradition in #PowayUnified, and this year is no exception. Even though our student orchestras cannot gather in person like in years past, we can still support them virtually. Please enjoy this snippet of Rancho Bernardo High School Orchestra's 2020 Winter Concert The FULL VIDEO can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/m_odFZHPwP8 We highly recommend watching the full thing

Recently the NCL Inc. Poway Chapter (National Charity League) donated some supplies for our Youth In Transition program. The girls in the NCL Class of 2024 held a virtual meeting and shopped for item on Amazon, including: feminine hygiene products, packs of snacks, adult coloring books and colored pencils. These items will directly benefit #PowayUnified students who are identified as homeless or in need of additional assistance. Thank you so much for your kindness and generosity, NCL Inc. Poway Chapter! Our community truly appreciates it.

For Digital Citizenship Week (Oct. 19-23), the #PowayUnified Tech & Innovation Department is sharing lessons, resources and tips for students and their families on how to use technology responsibly (via Common Sense Media). Now more than ever, it is important to work with students in cultivating healthy media habits for a more respectful digital environment. You can find our Tech & Innovation department on Twitter and Instagram (@pusdinnovate). Give them a follow for more #bytesizedlearning. #PUSDInnovate

Reminder: The Virtual College and Career Fair is TOMORROW NIGHT Families of 9-12th grade students, don't miss out on this opportunity to learn about financial aid, pathways to career, special education post-high school, and more. Look for an email from #PowayUnified this evening. The email will include a catalog that lists: a schedule for the night, all live presentations, and an extensive list of pre-recorded video sessions you can access at any time. See you then!

Hope you’re having a good weekend, Poway Unified! Better late than never! Here’s this week’s News Minute with Christine Paik following a week where our remaining 16 elementary schools reopened, Valley Elementary got a special donation from some alumni, and the PUSD Board of Education approved our Racial Equity & Inclusion Plan.

Such a warm Welcome Back to Campus from Rancho Bernardo High School Bronco Ambassadors this morning Turtleback students were greeted by RBHS Seniors, complete with homemade signs and a masked Billy the Bronco. In addition to this morning, they also greeted the PM group of on-campus students and are planning more ways to support PUSD students in their feeder pattern. #PowayUnified

Did you know October 12-16 is #NationalSchoolLunchWeek? The National School Lunch Program serves nearly 30 million children every school day. A healthy school lunch has a big impact on a student's life, both inside and outside the classroom. Students enrolled in #PowayUnified schools can pick up FREE breakfast and lunch at convenient school sites, Monday-Friday from 7-8:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. More info about PUSD meal pickup: https://powayusdnutrition.com/ School Nutrition Association

It’s Official: All 26 #PowayUnified elementary schools are open for in-person learning, nearly 7 months (to the day) after emergency closures. This would not have been possible without collaboration, support, and patience from staff and families. Congratulations to #TeamPUSD for reaching this long-awaited milestone.

We are just one day away from opening the remaining 16 #PowayUnified elementary schools for in-person, AM/PM learning and wanted to show you some of the faces you might see around. So grateful for each one of these wonderful staff members. If you see any of them in-person, make sure to stop and say "Hello!" #TeamPUSD

Del Norte and Westview High School Feeder Pattern Families: There's still time to join the conversation! Engage with other families and their students to foster trust and build relationships focused on improving racial equity and inclusion through our #PowayUnified Community Conversations series. Del Norte feeder pattern meets October 13 at 6pm. Westview feeder pattern meets October 21 at 6 pm. RSVP if interested in participating.

Today’s #NationalHispanicHeritageMonth highlight is: The Méndez Family. This family, who are of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritages, is known for the successful desegregation of California schools. In 1947 as a third grader, Sylvia Méndez was the first Mexican-American to attend an all-white school in the state. The landmark case that followed, which was brought forth by her parents Felicitas and Gonzalo, is the first case in which the U.S. ruled in favor of desegregation (Méndez v. Westminster). This case is credited with paving the way for the more well-known Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education. Learn more: http://bit.ly/mendez1947

It was a great day back on campus for Abraxas High School Transition and Diploma programs this morning. Students and staff were excited to safely greet one another after months of virtual learning (AHS started classes mid-July). We are so happy for our 75 students who returned to on-campus learning today (another 67 return on Monday), and are so thankful for our Abraxas staff who made today a reality. #TeamPUSD More info: Abraxas will host cohorts of students on campus in an alternating schedule, leaving Wednesdays as an "all virtual day" for a deeper campus cleaning and sanitation. Similar to the elementary schools' AM/PM setup, Monday/Tuesday cohorts will not mix with Thursday/Friday cohorts. Families were given the option to remain fully virtual if they choose.

Hey #TeamPUSD teachers and staff: As we move forward with re-opening in phases, help students and their families get to know you better! Show us the friendly face behind your mask by taking selfies with it on, and without it. Tag us (@powayunified), use hashtag #PowayUnified, and we will repost your pictures throughout the week for our community to see. It's our hope that, regardless of learning model, students of all ages will become more familiar with the faces of their school staff for the 2020-21 year. Whether you're a new member of #TeamPUSD or not, help us spread the smiles!