by Tabitha Kappeler-Hurley
April 28 and 29 found over 20 Cal Hills Mustangs out on the track at the Santa Clara Relay for Life. These students raised $4,392 to fight cancer, provide services to survivors, and increase awareness on cancer prevention topics. The Mustangs were joined by nearly all Cal Hills Classified and Certificated staff members throughout the 24-hour event. Throughout the 24 hours, team members walked the track, assisted in the snack bar, helped with all types of logistical tasks and had fun as they fought cancer in this great community event. Their enthusiastic presence was noted by several long-time participants as a great addition to this year’s event. As an event, Relay in Santa Clara raised $103,151 and continues to raise funds for this important cause. The team wishes to thank all of its generous sponsors in helping them exceed their financial goal of $4,000. “We were really impressed with how our students participated in both the fundraising as well as the 24-hour event," Principal Carl Stice said. "It was amazing to see them feel the joy of volunteering and contributing to a great cause. As a cancer survivor, it meant the world to me to have our students there supporting the event.” The fantastic efforts of the this team of students will be celebrated by the Milpitas Unified Board of Education on Tuesday, May 22 at its regularly scheduled meeting. For immediate release Contact: Shannon Carr,
Board Support & Communications Specialist (408) 635-2600, ext. 6031 Students at Rose elementary are quite literally giving more food for thought about eating fruits and vegetables thanks to the installation of a salad bar, which had a soft opening at the school on April 9. “Throughout the week, students will always see a rainbow color of fruits and vegetables offered in the salad bar,” said Sandy Huynh, Director of Student Nutrition Services. Each day, students have the opportunity to choose from six items at the salad bar, including vegetables, fresh whole fruit, and an assortment of self-service components, such as garbanzo beans, frozen strawberries, celery sticks, and corn. These options will change periodically to offer new, seasonal produce as they become available. Food waste in school meal programs has been a nation-wide topic, with students taking the required fruits and/or vegetables and throwing it directly into the trash can. “Evaluating the way and the types of fruits and vegetables are being presented during lunch time can help attract students to actually consume it,” Huynh said. “What we learned is that they (students) tend to not eat something if they’re not familiar with it. So we want to start slow and put something out that they know and like already. So the strawberries were a hit.” Both academic research and actual experience in schools across the country has shown that children significantly increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables when given a variety of choices on a school salad bar, according to the Salad Bars to School website. Huynh noted just that, on the second and third day of the launch, students were already open to selecting more things, such as the celery or garbanzo beans. “We also noticed that there are students becoming more open to try other types of fruits and vegetables that we have out on the line,” she said. “So it is incremental success.” While it is too early to conclude the success of the salad bar, Huynh said there appears to be more students buying school lunches since its opening. “You can tell from their face that they are actually excited coming through the line and looking forward to the different fruits and vegetables that they get to choose,” she said. “It’s promising because children generally are not eating enough fruits and vegetables in their diet.” Rose Principal Nanci Pass said she was excited to have the salad bar installed at the school, and has been working with Student Nutrition Services to get it up and running for the past year. “Over the past few years our students have engaged in Project Based Learning units that have focused on both developing healthy eating habits and reducing our waste,” she said. “The introduction of the salad bar does both. Students are choosing to eat more healthy foods and taking portions that work for them. We are also reducing the amount of trash generated during our lunch time by eliminating the individual plastic packages of vegetables that we previously served. It’s a win for both our students’ health and the environment.” Providing healthy eating opportunities for children in schools is imperative. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity prevalence among children and adolescents has almost tripled since 1980 with approximately 17 percent (12.5 million) of children and adolescents ages 2 to 19 as obese. The salad bar was funded through the Equipment Assistant Grant from the California Department of Education. The $23,500 grant funded the equipment at Rose and Randall elementary, the latter of which a salad bar will open at next school year. Accessories including the serving utensils, pans, liners, and food are funded through the Student Nutrition Services’ budget. “The intention of the grant was to assist Districts to purchase equipment to serve healthier meals that meet the updated meal patterns, with emphasis on serving more fruits and vegetables in school meals. This includes improving food safety and expanding access,” Huynh said. Sixteen 10th and 11th grade students from Calaveras Hills High School went on a field trip to San Jose City College's main campus on April 25. Xiomara Martinez was the host, and she began the morning with a fabulous presentation of information about all the programs and services offered at SJCC for students.
After the informational session, the students had the chance to participate in the Major Fair that was on campus at the Student Center. This was where current students could chat with professors and advisors from the various programs available to SJCC students. Cal Hills students completed "passports" by stopping at different info booths, and were treated to a pizza lunch. After the fair, they had two Student Ambassadors (Fidel and Lionell) -- also student athletes preparing to transfer to San Jose State University this fall -- give an extensive campus tour, showing students around the school and answering lots of questions about the student experience. The Cal Hills students were actively engaged in the day's activities and we are so grateful to our hosts! --Submitted by Diana Carty Volunteers came out in full force on Saturday, April 21 for an amazing day at Anthony Spangler Elementary School.
"With over 200 volunteers at Spangler, our Comcast Cares Day was a huge success," Principal Catherine Waslif said. That day, volunteers were able to complete many schoolwide improvement projects, including gardening, library shelving, window washing, planting, painting, and organizing. Waslif wished a special thank you to Comcast cares coordinators Amin Fazal, Nadya Smith, and Janaye Cooper; Mike and Nancy Mendizabal of Kiwanis; the Board of Education; Silvia, Tania, and Stephanie of the Spangler PTA; the Maintenance, Operations, Transportation Department; MUSD volunteers; Spangler staff Katie McClure, Benjamin Vallejo, Tam Hoang, Teresa Starr, Nicole King, Lydia Adidjaja, Amber Blanco, Gina Sainten and Liz Gutierrez; and the Milpitas High School and local community volunteers. ![]() For immediate release Contact: Shannon Carr, Board Support & Communications Specialist (408) 635-2600, ext. 6031 On the primary playground at Rose Elementary School, there is a new place for students to go when they are looking for friends thanks to fourth graders Eva Saucedo and Alexis Tritton. If a kid is lonely, they can sit on a bench that reads “Buddy Bench,” which will provide a signal to other kids to ask them to play. “We hope that the buddy bench brings out kindness and acceptance in our students,” Assistant Principal Lori Nuno said. “The buddy bench encourages our primary students to take risks and get to know someone they may not have met or maybe only know because they have seen them playing on the playground.” Tritton said she got the idea for the project from a school one of her friends attends. Saucedo said when she joined Rose in second grade, having a buddy bench would have helped her develop friendships sooner and she is excited to see students making new friends because of it. “I think it makes the school a better place,” Tritton said. Saucedo and Tritton approached Principal Nanci Pass and Nuno with the idea of purchasing a buddy bench last school year. They discussed how to get the funding and encouraged them to bring it to the school’s Parent Teacher Organization. The girls researched the specific bench and color they wanted, along with the cost then they used their lunchtime to draw up a plan to present to the PTO. Saucedo and Tritton approached the organization at its September 21 meeting. “The most intriguing thing I found with it was the fact that they came up with such a great idea on their own, and presented it to us,” PTO President Valerie Negrito said. “They were prepared with an actual company that we can purchase from. They did the homework on something they felt strongly about beforehand.” The PTO voted to fund their idea, and paid for the bench, which cost approximately $1,000. The bench was installed on March 28. Both Tritton and Saucedo shared their excitement in making a mark on the school with something that will be in place long after they are gone. “The buddy bench is just one way our school community supports our students in turning an idea into something real through perseverance, hard work, and patience,” Nuno said. “Without Eva and Alexis' willingness to put the work into bringing the buddy bench to Rose, the buddy bench would have stayed just what it started out as … just an idea. Our students need to know that the greatest things have come from ideas, whether great or small. However, it's the work that is put into that idea that makes it so great.” Negrito admitted that having a buddy bench would have helped bring out her shyness when she was in school. “I was such a soft spoken, and shy one back then,” she said. “Being surrounded by same face friends made me comfortable with specific people. This perhaps would've broke that down for me to come out of my shell and get to know others.” ![]() WE are happy to announce that Milpitas Unified School District has teamed up with the City of Milpitas to bring back the Milpitas Elementary Olympics! Please join us on Saturday, May 5 to witness students (explain a little bit about the event and what attendees can expect to see) at the Milpitas High School football field. To ensure sufficient time for parking, please plan to arrive early, as the opening ceremony will begin promptly at 10:30 a.m. Parking will be available at the following locations:
**Please note
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NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING:
The governing board of Milpitas Unified School District will hold a Public Hearing on Tuesday, June 28, 2022. Media ResourcesArchives
July 2024
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