The Rising Tide – Pacific High School

Monday, May 30, 2011 (Holiday)

Tuesday, May 31, 2011 (Finals)

Period 0 6:29 a.m. – 7:24 a.m.
Period 2 7:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Break 9:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
Period 3 9:45 a.m. – 11:45 p.m.
LUNCH 11:45 p.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011 (Finals)

Period 0 6:29 a.m. – 7:24 a.m.
Period 4 7:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Break 9:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
Period 5 9:45 a.m. – 11:45 p.m.
LUNCH 11:45 p.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Thursday, June 2, 2011 (Minimum Day)

Period 0 6:29 a.m. – 7:24 a.m.
Period 6 7:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Break 9:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
Period 1 9:45 a.m. – 11:45 p.m.
LUNCH 11:45 p.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Each month, the San Bernardino City Unified School District’s Board of Education honors students from each of three District schools. The following students were recognized by the Board of Education for outstanding achievement during the May 17, 2011, Board meeting. Teachers nominate students based on outstanding citizenship, athletics, fine arts, academics, and most improvement.

Cajon High School – Toni Miller, principal

Simone Hall, 11th grade

Steven Lee, 11th grade

Milly Medina, 12th grade

Pacific High School – Tex Acosta, principal

Cynthia Mata, 12th grade

Jacqueline Reyes, 12th grade

Isaiah Vasquez, 12th grade

Shandin Hills Middle School – Carmen Beck, principal

Mark Cambron, 8th grade

Semaj Davis, 7th grade

Jeanette Parks, 7th grade

For the last several years there has been an important trend in education that can be summed up in one word—smaller.

Smaller class sizes allow teachers to provide each child with more individual attention. Small-group instruction allows teachers to tailor their lessons to students with similar needs. And, smaller learning environments make it easier for high school students to find their path among thousands of their peers.

Smaller Learning Communities (SLCs) exist at most San Bernardino City Unified School District high schools. San Andreas and Sierra High Schools, by virtue of their small campus sizes and separate morning and afternoon sessions, have provided non-traditional students with smaller learning environments for many years. Total school enrollment at each campus is usually fewer than 700 students, compared to 2,000 or more at a traditional high school. Middle College High School, which offers students dual enrollment in high school and San Bernardino Valley College, provides smaller learning environments as part of its high school component.

Pacific High School uses a school-within-a-school approach to help students find their path. Groups of students share a core group of teachers and instructional leaders with a focus on specific career pathways. In the case of Pacific, this includes the School of Business and Communication, the School of Life Science, the School of Leadership and Justice, and Sci-Phy High. These pathways help students connect classroom learning with real-world tasks and explore potential careers.

Sci-Phy High students share a focus on careers in forensic and environmental science, engineering, and electronics. The Sci-Phy High motto is Real Life Right Now, referring to the school’s focus on problem-based learning. Problem-based learning encourages students to work together to solve real-world problems, igniting their curiosity so students want to learn.

Arroyo Valley High School also offers SLCs for ninth- and tenth-grade students to help them form connections with their teachers and classmates.

“Each group shares the same set of teachers and all have taken the names of different types of hawks,” SLC coordinator Sue Lucey said. Arroyo Valley’s mascot is the hawk, so this provides each SLC with its own identity while also connecting it to the larger school community.

Additionally, Arroyo Valley offers career pathways for students who want to explore career options or already know what path they want to take after graduation. They include Business to Career (B2C); Hawk Medical Occupations (HMO); Culinary, Organic, Recycling, and Environmental (CORE) Academy; and The Teaching Academy. The Teaching Academy is one of the schools most popular and successful pathways, having served as a model academy for other schools in the state.

High school students who participate in SLCs, based on grade level or career focus, benefit from having a strong support group of teachers and a stable group of classmates.

Arroyo Valley High senior Myshaundriss Watkins said The Teaching Academy has become like her second family. Former principal Karen Craig encouraged Watkins to join the academy during her freshman year. Watkins admits she was on the wrong path, not doing her best and not thinking about college. The teachers and other students in the Teaching Academy provided the support and inspiration she needed to do well. “We really build a bond,” Watkins said. “My teachers are more like parents than teachers.”

Richard Robledo echoed those sentiments. The high school student said at first he had a problem fitting in at school, but as part of Arroyo Valley’s smaller learning communities, he was able to find himself. “Some of the teachers were like my mom or dad, and I had friends I could look up to and who looked up to me,” Robledo said.

Arroyo Valley High School
Baccalaureate: Friday, May 27, 6 p.m., AVHS fine arts theater
Graduation: Thursday, June 2, 6 p.m., AVHS Karen Craig Stadium
Graduates: 653*
Valedictorian: Martha Hernandez
Salutatorian: Myra Chavez

Cajon High School
Graduation: Thursday, June 2, 6 p.m., Cajon’s Jack Wilkins Cowboy Stadium
Graduates: 600*
Valedictorians: Holly Richardson, Mackenzie Roddy, and Eric Uribe
Salutatorians: Jennifer Kester and Andrew Pierce

Middle College High School
Senior Crossing: Monday, May 23, 6 p.m., San Bernardino Valley College Auditorium
Graduation: Wednesday, May 25, 6 p.m., San Bernardino Valley College Greek Theatre
High School Diploma Graduates: 47* (includes 13 students who also earned an A.A. degree)
Valedictorian: Abigail Corrujedo
Salutatorian: Javier Alba

Pacific High School
Graduation: Thursday, June 2, 6 p.m., Pacific’s Bailey Bowl
Graduates: 450*
Valedictorian: This information will be available after May 24, 2011
Salutatorians: This information will be available after May 24, 2011

San Andreas High School
Graduation: Wednesday, June 1, 6 p.m., San Bernardino Valley College Greek Theatre
Graduates: 305 (includes AdvancePath graduates)*

San Bernardino Adult School
Graduation: Wednesday, June 1, 6 p.m., California Theatre
Graduates: 400 (includes high school diploma and GED certificate graduates)*

San Bernardino High School
Salute to Seniors: Friday, May 27, 6 p.m., SBHS Auditorium
Graduation: Thursday, June 2, 6 p.m., SBHS Stockton Football Field
Graduates: 401*
Valedictorians: Jorge Gonzalez and Andrea Rodriguez
Salutatorians: Amber Delperdang and Natalie Salem

San Gorgonio High School
Senior Celebration: Friday, May 27, 6 p.m., San Gorgonio gymnasium
Graduation: Thursday, June 2, 6 p.m., San Gorgonio’s Phil Haley Stadium
Graduates: 553*
Valedictorian: Jennifer Ngo
Salutatorians: Michele Nelson, Dilia Berganza-Palma, and Alyssa Wolk

Sierra High School
Graduation: Tuesday, May 31, 6:30 p.m., Cajon High’s Jack Wilkins Cowboy Stadium
Graduates: 200*

Approximately 3,609 San Bernardino City Unified School District students will receive their high school diplomas this year. This does not include those graduating from vocational programs.

*Note: Graduate counts are approximate at this time. In some instances, exact counts are not available until just prior to graduation.