Schools

Morgan Hill Unified School District’s Board of Education delayed a vote on a new policy regarding trustee reimbursement for professional development at the Feb. 10 meeting.

With workshops such as “A Cow’s Eye View,” “Pokemon Math,” “The Secret Life of Strawberries,” and “Jamba Juice Jenga,” local students were treated to a Saturday filled with academic enrichment Feb. 7 at the 14th annual Science Alive Conference on the Gavilan College campus in Gilroy.Middle school students (grades 6-8) from Morgan Hill, San Martin, Gilroy and Hollister were introduced to math and science based, hands-on activities in a wide variety of one-hour workshops spread throughout the day.In all, there were 18 workshops, where students explored such things as the principles of energy storage and conversion, the physics of sound and music, the magic of geometry, principles of electric circuits and how the heart functions. Each workshop called for students to construct a project to test what they had learned.Students pre-registered for the sold out event, filling in their four top choices of workshops they wanted to attend. Each student was then placed in three selected workshops.Instructors included faculty and students from Gavilan College, San Jose State University and Gilroy High School as well as others from the Chabot Space and Science Center and Gilroy Veterinary Hospital.

What inspires you?I’m inspired by problems that need to be solved. They inspire me to work hard and get things done.What is your favorite subject, and why?My favorite subject would have to be math because I like to understand how things work and find patterns, and there’s always a right answer.If you had the power to change one thing in the world, what would it be?I would make society more sustainable and environmentally conscious. Climate change is currently the most pressing global issue as it has the potential to be disastrous for everyone, with rising sea levels, droughts, and superstorms.If you could go anywhere, where would you go?I would go to Europe, making sure to visit my family in Norway and spending time in Spain to practice my Spanish.Name one big challenge in your life right now:The big challenge I’m facing right now is dealing with being constantly stressed and tired. I’m done with my college apps, but scholarship applications are just as stressful.What is your dream job?I don’t know what I want to do with my life right now, but my dream is to do something meaningful that I enjoy and help make the world a better place.What are your three favorite things?The sun, the water, and (vegetarian) food.Favorite book:“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” by J.K. Rowling.What do you want to do after high school?After high school I hope to go to a four-year university, probably Cal or UCLA, and then go on to get a Master’s degree.Something that makes you smile:My friends never fail to make me smile. Because of them I successfully made it through a very stressful junior year and the first half of senior year.Top three most played songs of you iTunes or iPod:Currently the three most played songs on my iPod are “All of Me” by John Legend, “Wonderland” by Taylor Swift, and “I’m Not the Only One” by Sam Smith.

Pianist David Kerr, a senior at Mount Madonna School, will perform his first original composition as part of the United States Open Competition, which is scheduled for Feb. 16-21 in Oakland.The Morgan Hill resident, who started playing the piano at age 4 and currently studies with teacher K.K. Koo, will compete in two of the 88 events that encompass the music competition.“I absolutely loved the process of writing my own music,” said Kerr of his first composition. “Music has, and always will be, a huge part of my life. In creating my own music, I found that I learned more about myself and now have an entirely new field in which to expand upon my studies.”On Feb. 19, he will perform his original composition, titled “Thoughts Racing.” The next day, Kerr will compete at the senior level in a Liszt duo with partner Kristin Wolfe, performing “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2.” For the duo competition, two pianists play simultaneously and both parts are considered solos.“Initially, I was very resistant, mainly because I felt I wasn’t good enough,” said Kerr of his first upcoming competition. “Now, I feel that it’s a wonderful way to push myself to new levels in terms of my performance. It does induce a certain level of stress, although for what I feel I am getting out of it, I am totally willing to put my best effort forward.”Kerr said he was inspired by a friend to work on his own composition. Eight months later, he completed “Thoughts Racing.”“I have always enjoyed playing the piano, although the countless hours of work required to reach that enjoyment is quite daunting,” Kerr said. “Fortunately, I stayed with it and now I’m at the point where even the hard work is enjoyable.”For more information on the competition, visit usomc.org.

What inspires you?What inspires me are the words my grandfather said to me: “You can do it all.”What is your favorite subject in school and why?My favorite subject in school is Geology because I’m really interested in what the earth has to offer.If you had the power to change one thing in the world, what would it be?StarvationIf you could go anywhere, where would you go?AfricaName one big challenge in your life right now?Deciding what will come next in my life.What is your dream job?My dream job is to film animals in the wild, or to work for National Geographic.What are your three favorite things?My farm animals, fixed gear bicycles, being self-sufficient.What is your favorite book/author?Maria SabinaWhat do you want to do after high school?Go to college.Something that makes you smile:TacosMost played song on your phone/iPod:“21 questions” by 50 cent

In the spirit of the holiday season, staff from the Santa Clara County Office of Education’s Migrant Education department once again coordinated the adoption of several families in need this year, according to a press release from SCCOE.More than 15 families served by the Migrant Education program were adopted by staff from the SCCOE’s Educational Services and Business Services branches and the Alternative Education, Environmental Education and Migrant Education departments.“We really do make a difference in the lives of families,” said Veronica Ramos, SCCOE Director of Migrant Education. “Through the incredible efforts of our staff we are able to make the dreams of a few families come true and give them a holiday that they wouldn’t have had otherwise.”The families adopted by Migrant Education are receiving clothing items, donations of food, gifts and grocery gift cards, and all items have been delivered to the families throughout the week, according to SCCOE staff.SCCOE staff also contributed more than 280 toys to the SCCOE’s annual toy drive, benefiting children served by the Head Start, Foster Youth Services and Migrant Education programs.“While the holidays have traditionally provided an opportunity to highlight the needs of vulnerable individuals in our community, the reality is that throughout the entire year many of our children and families go without even the most basic of necessities,” said Jon R. Gundry, County Superintendent of Schools. “I hope that the dedication of the County Office staff to reaching out and supporting the families and children in our programs inspires others to make a small charitable contribution or extend a helping hand to those in need.”

The Morgan Hill Unified School District will begin accepting Transfer Request Forms at 8 a.m. Jan. 8, 2015 from parents/guardians who are interested in having their children attend a district school outside of their assigned home attendance area for the 2015-16 school year.

An advocacy organization that represents 40,000 part-time college instructors across California is urging Governor Jerry Brown to make a sea change in how part-timers at schools like Gavilan College—which depends heavily on part-time faculty—are compensated.

What inspires you?Both of my parents have been my inspirations. They’ve shown me that with hard work and dedication I can accomplish what I propose to myself; that giving up shouldn’t be an option because even though they are deaf, they didn’t give up. They found a way to get over their struggles and overcome their obstacles. I admire everything they do for me and my siblings, in order for us to achieve our goals.What is your favorite subject in school, and why?My favorite subject at school at the moment is Economics. It has led me to learn so much more about our world and economy on how everything financially functions.If you had the power to change one thing in the world, what would it be?There are a couple things I would like to change in the world. I would make sure there’s equality, no discrimination, for everyone to treat each other kindly and for immigrants to have an opportunity to stay in the U.S.If you could go anywhere, where would you go?I would say Europe. As well, I would love to travel to anywhere in the world and learn about that certain place and its culture.Name one big challenge in your life right now:Trying to balance my academic life and personal life.What do you want to do after high school?Go to college and pursue a higher education.What is your dream job?I don’t have a specific dream job. But I would love to help my community and those in need. Helping others has always been a part of me that I love doing. As well, I would love to have a job where I can travel, meet new people and continue learning from others.Something that makes you smile?Making others smile.What are your three favorite things?Spending time with my family, going on adventures, and sleeping.Favorite book:“The Hunger Games” series by Suzanne Collins.Top three most played songs on your iTunes or iPod:—“Hero” by Enrique Iglesias—“Tenerte” by Luis Coronel—“Si tal Vez” by OV7

With the Britton Middle School gymnasium filled to near capacity for its fourth annual science fair—which displayed projects from about 320 eighth-grade students—classmates Eliza Martin and Xuan Nguyen wore white T-shirts with words and drawings that helped detail their experiment titled, “Poo-Ti-Fuel.”Over the course of the first semester, the two 13-year-olds tested different organic matter to identify which produced the best biofuel. One of those substances chosen by the duo—and colorfully drawn on the front of their shirts—was cow manure.“We put the variables in bottles filled with water and strapped a balloon on the top,” explained Nguyen, minutes after she and Martin received first-place blue ribbons awarded to winners in seven different categories Tuesday night. “We recorded the data over one week and measured the energy created by the circumference of the balloon.”Their hypothesis was correct: the bananas and cow manure were tied for producing the most biofuel ahead of mixed vegetables.“It was really an honor to win,” Martin said. “We put a lot of work into our project.”Another first-place finisher, 13-year-old Gabe Milos, was equally as excited with the results from his experiment measuring the difference in distance of a ball struck by a cork-filled baseball bat and a standard one.“It’s lighter so you can swing the bat faster,” said Milos, a Morgan Hill Pony Baseball League player who was inspired for his project after watching an old Chicago Cubs game in which slugger Sammy Sosa was caught using a corked bat. “I wasn’t expecting to win. It was cool, though.”Twins Satyen and Shrayen Patel, blue ribbon winners in the Chemistry category, thought it would be cool to examine, “What’s in Your Drink?,” for their science project. They discovered that there is more sugar content in organic orange and apple juices than in Coca-Cola and Diet Coke. However, “the sugar in the juice was good sugar,” Satyen Patel explained.The top four finishers in each category, including Biology, Botany, Behavioral, Engineering/Electricity, Physics and Chemistry, received ribbons and their entry tickets to the Jan. 15 citywide science fair that puts Britton’s students up against fellow eighth-graders from Martin Murphy Middle School and Oakwood School.“What’s really nice is they have been working on their projects since September and this has really been a culmination of the entire semester,” said Britton science teacher Jim Levis. “We really tied together all of the school. This is a multi-disciplinary project. It just happens to be under science.”Levis, as well as colleague George Flores, stressed that students drew from many school subjects—using a variety of graphing and data tables used in mathematics and computer classes as well as writing abstracts to describe their work taught in English class.“Overall, I was very impressed with the projects,” said Flores, who was named MHUSD’s 2014 Educator of the Year earlier in the evening. “Our goal is to take the top students to the county.”More than 40 judges, many of them former Britton students and now AP Science students at either Live Oak or Ann Sobrato high schools, selected the best of the best. Per science fair rules, each project must have variables (independent and controlled) and measurables (dependent variable) based on changes they make to their independent variable.Students Elenah Zuniga, 13, and Julisa Artiaga, 14, tested out some classic home remedies in their project, titled “The Mystery of the Myths.”“We wanted to find out if they worked or not because they kept being used,” Artiaga said.In addition to asking family, friends and other adults which remedies they’ve used over the years and how they turned out, the partners tested to see if shaving cream removed stains (it worked on ketchup but not mustard) and if eggs and mayonnaise made hair shiny (they both do).“More than half of them worked,” Zuniga said.Schoolmate Haley Young, 13, went solo in her experiment to see which antibacterial and baby wipes were the most effective. She found out that Lysol and Pampers were the best.“Science and math are my favorite subjects,” Young said. “And a lot of math had to do with my (science) project.”Taking first place in Biology, Samuel Van Rhijn’s “Oxygen in the Tank” measured how the size of fish correlates to the oxygen level in the tank.“It was fun to see what other people did (for their projects) and how it affects the world,” said Rhijn, who was already planning to make some edits to his project before the city competition.Partners Eliana Ojeda, 13, and Samantha Joice, 14, bested the Engineering/Electricity division with their project, “Potato Battery,” where they determined that red potatoes generated more voltage than white or Russet potatoes.“I love science,” Joice said. “It’s my favorite subject.”