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Coding, Catholics, Cal, camp, Clo, calendar

I have been hearing a lot of chatter about the news earlier this month that the 15 Catholic schools that are part of the Diocese of Santa Rosa have all received a 400-word “morality” addendum to their contracts that their teachers and administrators (Catholic or not) must sign in order to continue to teach in the schools. The schools that Sonoma students attend that are affected are St. Francis Solano School, Cardinal Newman High School, St. Vincent’s High School and Hanna High School (Presentation School is an independent school and Justin-Siena High School is not part of the diocese). This move, made by Santa Rosa Bishop Vasa, is highly controversial and gaining national attention. The National Catholic Reporter has been reporting on the story: “The (teacher) contracts now include an addendum requiring they agree they are ‘a ministerial agent of the bishop’ and that they reject ‘modern errors’ that ‘gravely offend human dignity,’ including ‘but not limited to’ contraception, abortion, same-sex marriage and euthanasia.” The signed letters were due back to the diocese March 15.

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The approved calendar for the 2013-14 school years for all Sonoma public schools is now available online at the district website at: svusdca.org. The first day of school is Aug. 21.

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The second course in the three-year, linked-learning Engineering, Technology & Design pathway at Sonoma Valley High School will be called Principles of Engineering, and it will be open next year to juniors who did not have a chance to participate in the pathway this year and who are interested in exposure to engineering. A STEM 101 curriculum and industry sector software, called SolidWorks, will be used in the course, which will be taught by Kelly Kennedy. All current sophomores in the pathway will automatically be enrolled in this next course in the pathway progression.

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The Boys & Girls Club is offering spring break camp March 18 to 22 and the clubhouse is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The camp cost is $12 for morning, and the clubhouse is free to members after 1 p.m. (with a free afternoon snack). The spring break theme is STEM; science, technology, engineering and math, with lots of hands on, creative and messy fun. There is also a spring training rock climbing camp for kids in grades on to five, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for $100 a member. Call 938.8544, ext. 102 to sign up or email nzuniga@bgcsonoma.org.

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Congratulations to our local students who had winning entries in the Clover Stornetta/Kid Scoop News Milk Carton Masterpiece contest. Fourth-graders Victoria Gonzalez and Liberty Gilliland of El Verano School; third-grader Nadia Alquezada of Dunbar School; and second-grader Dharma Niles of Prestwood School were among the top 12 in the entire county. Students submitted their artwork to Kid Scoop News and the 12 top artists received “Wholly Cow” books, a Clo the Cow toy, and their submissions will be considered for placement on a Clover Stornetta milk carton.

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Did you know that all high school juniors and community college students who are interested in attending UC Berkeley (and meet some key qualifications) are invited to the Cal Summer Experience, a free two-day residential program on the Berkeley campus in late June? The college offers one program for high school students and one for community college students. Activities include: faculty lectures; a UC personal statement writing workshop; test preparation, major selection, transcript evaluation and other related advising; a panel of current Cal students. To qualify, high school students must have an unweighted GPA of 3.5. Community college applicants must have completed at least 30 semester transferrable units by the end of this school year, with a GPA of 3.4. Applications are due April 2. Email inquiries to cal.experience@berkeley.edu. I hope a number of our local students take advantage of this great, free chance to experience life on a college campus.

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Sonoma Valley High School senior and varsity baseball player Jonah Son (with the help of his teammates) is organizing a Home Run Derby for his senior project. The event, on Saturday, March 30, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., will raise money for the high school team. In addition to various age groups having a turn to try and hit a home run (an age appropriate distances) there will be prizes, raffles, a BBQ and a fun Sonoma day at the field. Everyone is invited, all ages, regardless of baseball experience.

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Congratulations to the St. Francis School Academic Decathlon team for its second place finish at the Santa Rosa Junior High Academic Decathlon in early March. The school’s team came in first place in the Team Logic Quiz and second place in the Team Super Quiz. Team members included seventh-grader Nick Biaggi (who scored a first place in literature); eighth-grader Nancy Pecha (first place in religion); eighth-grader Anna Staca (third place in current events); eighth-grader Hanna Maillard (first place in fine arts); eighth-grader Grace Cutting (first place in English); eighth-grader Quinn Cordero (second place in science); eighth-grader Campbell Martin (second place in social studies). Also competing on the team were eighth-grader Abigail Craig, seventh-grader Alec Nogara and seventh-grader Amy Stanfield. Five Diocesan schools in Sonoma and Napa counties competed.

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Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate awards cash grants to outstanding public school teachers each year as a way of giving back to the communities in which company employees work and live. Its Education Foundation has granted more than $750,000 to 1,320 school teachers since its founding in 1992. This year, it expects to award approximately 60 teachers grants of $850 that they can use in whatever way they see fit. Nominate a teacher at bhghome.com/educationfoundation.

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There is an interesting documentary on education premiering on PBS on March 25 and 26. The film, “180 Days: A Year Inside An American High School,” is about a dynamic young principal and five remarkable students at a struggling school in Washington, DC. Learn more at 180schooldays.org

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Artescape is offering an intermediate level knitting class for adults and teens on March 21 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. The cost is $30. It is also offering a preschool paper-craft class on March 23 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. for ages 3-5 for $20. Call Artescape at 938-5551 to register or with any questions.

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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson recently announced that California has joined the national Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) network of 18 states, designed to teach every student real-world skills to meet the needs of a competitive global economy. “California is part of a growing national movement to teach students the critical thinking and problem-solving skills they need for college and careers,” said Torlakson. “Forging a partnership with P21 provides California with additional tools and resources to implement the Common Core State Standards and our newly revised Career Technical Education Standards. This partnership underscores our commitment to prepare every student for the challenges of a changing world.” Joining the partnership sounds lovely. I have no idea what it will mean for our students in the future.

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I have written about this before, but the idea that K-12 students should be learning computer coding continues to be a hot topic (“The most important language your child isn’t learning in school” is a frequent headline). There are a lot of ways that you can get your child interested in coding outside of school. Scratch.mit.edu is a cool web site for all ages to try computer coding. Computational Thinking at google.com/edu/computational-thinking is another. Check out code.org for more ideas and resources.