M A Y / J U N E 2 0 1 9 V O L U M E 9 , I S S U E 6

PASS AmeriCorps Newsletter

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

Program

Updates 1

Spotlight

Article 1

VUSD Schools

Casita

Center 2

Grapevine Elementary

2

Madison Middle

3

Rancho Minerva

Middle

3

Roosevelt Middle

4

VIDA 4

Rancho Buena

Vista High 5

Vista High 5

Alta Vista High 6

General Murray High

6

About Us/

Contact Us 7

Calendar 7

V I S T A

U N I F I E D

S C H O O L

D I S T R I C T

Vista Unified School District

sessions, passing on skills and life

lessons that students could benefit

from. Others may throw goodbye

parties, celebrating a fantastic year

of the mentor and mentee relation-

ship and making it through the ups

and down that the year brought.

Then there are those who may

write their mentees congratulation

and/or farewell letters,

congratulating the stu-

dents on their progress

and leaving them with a

strong, send-off message.

It is important to say

goodbye in a way that

acknowledges the mentor-

mentee relationship and

the strides that have been

made, the hard work

done, and the goals ac-

complished. A year of

service is a special, unique experi-

ence filled with challenges and ma-

jor accomplishments, and deserves

celebration for the mentor and the

mentee.

Teacher Appreciation Week and understanding professionals

that mold our children’s lives in a

positive direction. In PASS Ameri-

Corps, we partner with teachers to

support our students, and know

how much they affect their lives on

a daily basis. We would like to

express our thanks and gratitude to

our stellar educators!

The PASS AmeriCorps service for

2018-2019 has surely been a wild

ride, and it is important to remem-

ber to stay strong. This is the time

of the year where there are many

loose ends to tie up and we have

to be diligent in doing so. End of

year tasks include gathering teacher

comments, making sure that men-

toring hours and National

Days of Service projects

are reached with the stu-

dents, ensuring that the

binders are in order and

up-to-date, and that any

other forms of information

tracking are in order. Men-

tors get an opportunity to

reflect upon the year and

see what worked for them,

what they wanted to do,

and set themselves up for

next year if returning or prepping

the next member who will take on

their school site. Their end-of-the-

year project acts as a culmination

of a year of service as a PASS

AmeriCorps mentor. These pro-

jects range from podcasts, videos,

interactive games, art projects,

and everything in-between. Last-

ly, and what’s arguably the most

important aspect, is wrapping up

the year with the students. Stu-

dents may be promoting to mid-

dle school or high school or

graduating altogether. The PASS

AmeriCorps mentors may be

moving on to the next chapter in

their lives and left to say farewell,

or will be returning to a different

school site. Some mentors may

run small groups to have farewell

2018-19 Service Year Reflections

Teacher Appreciation Week is

celebrated from May 6—May 10,

to honor teachers and recognize

the lasting contributions they

make to our lives. Teachers play a

critical role in educating and shap-

ing our children: the future leaders

of our country. They are kind,

patient, hard-working, dedicated

P A G E 2

Cielo, Jazlynn

and Ms. Penrod

after a

successful

session of

mindful

movement

The end of the

year is here! It

feels like this

past school

year has flown

by at an

unprecedented

speed, though

I'm sure some students would

argue this year felt like it would

never end. This past month I've

been very caught up in figuring out

how I want to say goodbye to the

students and to Casita, while also

focusing on making my time with

them count. Activities, games, and

fun time have been very needed as

testing season concludes. As for

goodbyes, I wanted to give each

student a personal farewell, and

since I knew they would be

receiving certificates of

completion, I decided to

present those to them with a

personalized letter. Some

students agreed to help me

out with my mandatory "end

of the year project" that is

required for all PASS mentors,

so they received their letters

and certificates while I

interviewed them on camera. I

will be compiling their

responses and reactions into a

video and presenting that to

the rest of my PASS mentor

peers on our last day of

service. I'm so grateful I got

to work with each and every

one of the students that

participated in PASS

AmeriCorps this year. They

have made such an impact on

me and through working

with them, they taught me about

how to treat others with

compassion and kindness, how

to regulate emotions and help

others in need, and most

importantly, the value of being

authentic and original at all times.

I can only hope they gained as

much from me as I did from

them. I will never forget your

students, thank you so much for

letting me work with them. They

will do great things.

P A S S A M E R I C O R P S N E W S L E T T E R

Grapevine Elementary School

Casita Center for Technology, Science & Math Alexandra Penrod,

PASS AmeriCorps Member

Jesica Romero Salazar,

PASS AmeriCorps Member

David and

Ms. Penrod

in the

mindful

movement

room

Aileen, 5th grade student,

decorating some rocks for

the preschool garden

It's finally the end of the school

year! I can't believe it went by so

fast. May was a busy month for

the Grizzly students. Our 3rd -5th

graders finished their all their

testing and they are glad it is over!

A big shout-out to them for trying

their best! This month some PASS

AmeriCorps students volunteered

their lunch time to decorate some

rocks to beautify the schools'

preschool garden. I was invited to

see some of my 3rd grade after

school students do a presentation

on monarch butterflies! They did

such a wonderful job! I was also

invited to the Birch Aquarium by

the 5th grade teachers! It was so

much fun and informative. We

learned how the kelp forests are

important to the ocean habitat.

We got to see all the different

animals that live in the ocean.

Lastly, we are wrapping up the

school year with a LEGO-

LAND Field Trip with the 5th

grade students, the 5th grade

promotion and barbeque. We

have so many fun events com-

ing up for the 5th graders for

their hard work this year. Per-

sonally, I would like to thank

all of Grapevine Staff for being

so welcoming and supportive

of the PASS AmeriCorps pro-

gram, especially the 3rd-5th

grade teachers. You have been

so flexible with allowing me

into your classrooms and pull-

ing out students! I really appre-

ciate it! I would also like to

thank all my 30 students for

participating in the PASS

AmeriCorps program. I will

definitely miss all my students

and all the wonderful memo-

ries this school year. I would

like to give a special thank you

to my 5th grade girls who

came to Girls’ Circle every

week and participated in the

activities. I look forward to

seeing the 5th grade classes

promoting. Again, a big thank

you for a wonderful year at

Grapevine Elementary! Have a

fun summer!

Students at the Birch

Aquarium

P A G E 3 V O L U M E 9 , I S S U E 6

I was aware that the school

year was going to go by fast,

but I still get shocked about

how fast it flies by after Janu-

ary. The majority of 8th grad-

ers are happy that their mid-

dle school days are coming to

an end, but others are having

bittersweet feelings about

their next steps in their jour-

ney. Some students are nerv-

ous about high school because

of the amount of work they

will be getting and others are

concerned about the transi-

tion from a small campus to a

bigger campus. I have students

excited for their elective clas-

ses that they chose in high

school like Robotics, Photog-

raphy, Art, Graphic Design,

AVID, Forensic Science, and

many more. The month of May

consisted of testing and our

8th grade dance, that was filled

with lots of fun. On June 5th,

the 8th graders will be having a

full day of fun activities and

breakfast served by their

teachers. Last, but not least,

June 6th is the 8th grade Pro-

motion Ceremony and stu-

dents will be off to high school.

I can gladly say that I had two

amazing school years at Madi-

son Middle School and will be

miss Madison. Thank you to all

my PASS AmeriCorps students

for their hard work, and for

the dedication of all teachers

and staff. Middle School is a

tough group to work with, but

Madison Middle School Lisbeth Soria Barrios,

PASS AmeriCorps Member

James Donovan Durney,

PASS AmeriCorps Member Rancho Minerva Middle School

Favorite school memory:

"Getting to know most of my

teachers , friends and staff."

With the 2018-2019 school

year nearing its end, I write

this newsletter in both joy

and sorrow. It’s truly sadden-

ing to see this year come to

an end, as it’s been such a

fantastic year at Rancho Mi-

nerva Middle School. It’s been

nothing but a pleasure work-

ing at RMMS and especially

mentoring the amazing young

adults I did this year, those in

and out side of the PASS

AmeriCorps program. I can-

not speak on the behalf of the

students on how I impacted

them, but I certainly can say

that they helped me grow

immensely as an individual.

They’ve taught me kindness,

empathy, patience, and really

the list can go on. Never once

was there a dull day nor a day

I didn't look forward going

into my school site. With that

all said, I’m ending the year

strong by spending it with

students as much as possible

and doing what little last things

I can for them. Part of this

includes having them help me

with my PASS AmeriCorps

end of the year project, which

I elected on doing a “yearbook

t-shirt” where I’m having the

students sign it with either

how they were impacted by a

year of mentorship, with a

quote or song lyric that they

feel best represents them, and/

or a drawing

that represents

them. In turn I

am giving them

tasty treats and

writing each

student who I

worked with a

personal

“goodbye” card.

It’s tough doing

so as each one finished is a

Ballet folklorico performance

at the RMMS open house

8th Grade Promotion

Super proud of Diego,

who received Student

of the Month in May

we made it. I want to wish

everyone a wonderful and safe

summer!

reminder on the year ending,

but also blissful in reminding

me of all the great moments

spent with my mentees. It’s

tough to say bye to such a fan-

tastic school, but I know the

next mentor will do great

things and will hopefully be as

blessed as I have been during

my time of mentorship.

P A G E 4

P A S S A M E R I C O R P S N E W S L E T T E R

Roosevelt Middle School Haley Childrose,

PASS AmeriCorps Member

Vista Innovation and Design Academy Mikayla Gordon,

PASS AmeriCorps Member

8th grade PASS

student, Marco,

working hard to finish

the year strong

Thank you to all who've kept up with

our PASS AmeriCorps newsletter this

school year. I feel lucky to have gotten

to know such incredible, inspiring and

resilient students over the past 9

months. Even through times of great

adversity, PASS AmeriCorps students

at RMS have worked tirelessly to ac-

complish their goals both in and out of

the classroom. They've set goals, chal-

lenged their comfort zone, mastered

new skills and served their school

community. At the same time, they've

been faced with challenges. The result?

Growth, maturity and the manifesta-

tion of dreams that they will continue

to pursue as they move on to the next

chapter of their lives. As the school

year comes to an end, PASS students

are challenged to reflect on both their

accomplishments and setbacks, and

plan for the future accordingly. Our

conversations focus on adjustments we

can make based on those set-

backs and ways in which we

can build upon our strengths.

Though there are only a few

days left of the school year,

there is much to look forward

to. This Friday, PASS and non-

PASS 8th grade students will

spend the second half of the

school day enjoying hot

dogs, hamburgers and

good company at the

8th grade barbeque.

They are promoting on

Thursday, June 6th,

alongside their peers as

teachers, staff and family

members commemo-

rate their achievements.

7th grade PASS students will

spend the remainder of the

school year wrapping up test-

ing and putting final touches on

their artful learning projects. In

my own reflection, I am left

with nothing but gratitude,

pride and hope. I am confi-

dent that each and every stu-

dent whom I’ve had the privi-

lege of mentoring will change

our world for the better.

8th grade PASS student,

Travis, presenting his

research on the effects of

screen time on youth

Second year PASS students

Yadira and Jackie with their

PASS certificates

We are now wrapping

up our school year here

at VIDA. In May, the

school came together to

showcase the amazing

accomplishments of

students and teachers

with the spring Design

Expo. Students were

able to show their par-

ents and community the amazing

things they have done this year.

The night included robot displays,

artwork, and performances. PASS

AmeriCorps students were hard

at work helping their teachers

present some of their displays. It

was very cool to see all of the

amazing-ness of VIDA in one

place. Seventh graders also partic-

ipated in “Mock – Trials” in their

Language Arts classes. PASS stu-

dents dedicated a lot of time after

school to be sure to memorize

and do well in their “trials” for

class. All of them did amazing!

The 8th graders had their pro-

motion ceremony at the

Moonlight Amphitheatre in

May. Students got all dressed

up and were able to be recog-

nized for all of their hard work

and for making it to the end of

middle school. It was very

great to see all of the stu-

dents get their accolades

and be recognized. To end

the year with PASS stu-

dents, they were able to

get their own PASS Ameri-

Corps program certificates

to signify their participation

in the program. As we

wrap up this school year I

am in awe of all my PASS stu-

dents. All of them have

worked hard all year to improve

their grades and their behaviors. It

has been amazing to see their

growth and get positive feedback

from their teachers. I’d like to

thank them for all of their hard

work and dedication this school

year. I am very sad to be leaving

VIDA, but I know that all of the

students have what it takes to

succeed in their next journey. Mrs. Mikayla and students

posing with their PASS

certificates

P A G E 5 V O L U M E 9 , I S S U E 6

Vista High School Karen Ordorica & Andrea Venegas,

PASS AmeriCorps Members

Rancho Buena Vista High School Lei Ai Bambarger & Christina Heredia,

PASS AmeriCorps Members

ferent forms of prejudice and

discrimination affect our com-

munities today. It is so great

that Vista High students will be

given the opportunity to par-

ticipate in this visit. The staff at

Vista High is always trying their

best to ensure that all their

students are given great op-

portunities and meaningful

experiences to aid their educa-

tion. This is something we will

miss from Vista High. As our

service year is coming to an

end, we would like to thank

each member of the panther

family for always making us feel

welcomed and supported. We

had 2 great years with our

PASS AmeriCorps students at

Vista High and are very proud

of their accomplishments and

like a scary step to take, Vista

High has done their best to

make sure each graduating

student can handle any chal-

lenge and obstacle that may

come their way. As for all the

underclassmen, everyone is

thrilled to move on to the

next chapter of their high

school career. All in all, every-

one is looking forward to

ending this school year and to

starting fresh in August. On

another note, the sophomore

class will be going to the Mu-

seum of Tolerance, and here,

students will get a better un-

derstanding of what the many

victims of the Holocaust ex-

perienced and the damage it

caused to many families. Stu-

dents will also learn how dif-

personal growth they’ve made.

We hope everyone enjoys their

summer and we wish everyone

happy and healthy futures!

Students enjoying their

time at the PASS

AmeriCorps End of Year

Celebration

Greetings panther family! Time has

flown by very quickly and the year

is coming to an end. Students are

finishing up final projects and study-

ing for finals. Seniors are preparing

to exit their adolescent years and

start their new chapter of young

adulthood. Although, this may seem

Miss Andrea's field

trip to Job Corps

gram Certificates of Comple-

tion. The smiles on their faces

and the pride they experience

is wonderful to see. We are

very proud of all of our stu-

dents and their achievements

this year.

One fine Monday, May 20th to

be exact, the Random Acts of

Kindness Club brightened up

the school with colorful and

inspiring painted trash cans--

what a great idea! To support

students and staff, as well as

provide information and re-

sources about mental health,

the counselors at RBV hosted

a Mental Health Awareness

Event on Monday, May 20th

during lunch. The counselors

had a Self Care Station with

As the PASS AmeriCorps

Mentoring Program comes to

end at RBV for the 2018-2019

school year there is so much

to reflect on and celebrate!

During the months of May and

June, the PASS AmeriCorps

students have been doing

their best to finish their Spring

semester strong. It has been

exciting to see the students

confidence grow in the class-

room, their study skills im-

prove, and their leadership

abilities blossom. One student

reflected and said, "PASS has

helped me become self- moti-

vated to finish what I start."

One of the highlights has been

awarding students their PASS

AmeriCorps Mentoring Pro-

engaging activities and also

cheered every Longhorn with

soft cuddly therapy dogs from

Love on a Leash. Thank you for

everything and we hope every-

one has a fantastic summer!

Danny and Jesse smiling with

their certificates

Painted trash can colored

by the Random Acts of

Kindness Club

P A G E 6

P A S S A M E R I C O R P S N E W S L E T T E R

Major General Murray High School Lauren Dougherty,

PASS AmeriCorps Member

Alta Vista High School Noah Filzer,

PASS AmeriCorps Member

Julia and Ms. Lauren at

the final Project

AWARE meeting

These last two months have been a

blur! Finishing up with class work,

packets, and ensuring that the stu-

dents have a game plan for the next

year, whether it be continuing educa-

tion or going out into the workforce

or military. We have been busy!

Students were able to take a short

break and have some fun at the Mur-

ray Olympics in May; a great way for

students to decompress with some

fun competition. It was wonderful to

see the MGM community come to-

gether and have some fun before

summer officially starts.

As the PASS AmeriCorps mentor, it

has been a pleasure to see the

growth of each student from when I

first met them to the young adults

they are growing up to be. All stu-

dents have become more confident

in themselves and their capabilities as

students and agents of change in

their communities. I am fortu-

nate enough to see how their

hard-work and perseverance

has paid off and they are realiz-

ing that their dreams and goals

are becoming realities. I am

humbled to be their mentor

and I truly cherish the mo-

ments that have been made in

PASS AmeriCorps. I am in-

credibly thankful for this op-

portunity and the ability to

work with such amazing stu-

dents.

As I leave MGM, I want my

students to know how incredi-

ble each one of them are. They

are capable, strong, compas-

sionate, and advocates of

change, and I can't wait to see

what they accomplish. Each

student is unique and it is that

uniqueness that will allow

them to achieve all of their

wildest goals. As Maya Ange-

lou said, "If you're always try-

ing to be normal, you'll never

know how amazing you are."

Kiana working hard on

her English packets

An amazing project to

culminate an amazing

year at Alta

The start to May came along with

one of Alta’s most anticipated

“Discovery Thursday” activities

where students attempted to

dethrone the staff during a softball

game. Unfortunately for the stu-

dents, they had no chance and

ultimately lost by a large margin.

Following the staff vs. students

softball game, Alta planned their

second and last adventure trip

where students had the oppor-

tunity to participate in a kayaking

day. Students and staff paddled at

Mission Bay down in San Diego.

This was a unique opportunity for

students to participate in an activi-

ty that is rarely offered for free,

and several students took ad-

vantage of the opportunity. In

addition, the Alta Vista football

team has played very inspired and

have been very successful so far.

The last game of the year is

the ‘big rivalry’ against Major

General Murray High school.

This game will decide the win-

ner of the continuation league

football championship. Lastly,

in the PASS AmeriCorps

room, we have been working

on the end of the year project

where we cut out the

AmeriCorps logo on a

block print. Each student

in the PASS program was

provided an empty canvas

and were encouraged to

make a unique print with

their own creative spin.

This project represents all

the individuals that attend Alta

Vista and although we are all

different, we are all similar in

some way. Now after making

75 plus prints, the final step

was to artistically burn the Ameri-

Corps logo on a piece of wood,

culminating in a unique master-

piece that represents all the

unique individuals that attend Alta.

At the end of such an amazing

service year, it's amazing to end

with such a great project.

Did someone say

ADVENTURE TIME?!

PASS

AmeriCorps

Program

Upcoming

Month’s

Calendar

______

June

2019

6401 Linda Vista Road -

Metro

San Diego, CA 92111-7399

San Diego County Office of Education

PASS AmeriCorps Program

Phone: 619-718-6655

Fax: 619-683-7678

Email: mquiroz@sdcoe.net

Website: www.sdcoe.net/pass-americorps

The PASS AmeriCorps Program serves students in

grades 3 through 12 at 30 school sites across San Diego

County, including campuses in San Diego, Oceanside,

Vista, San Marcos, Escondido, and Valley Center. Each

PASS AmeriCorps member provides support for 30

students through individual and group mentoring,

academic support, grades and attendance reviews,

leadership development, guest speakers, service learning

projects, and parent outreach. Through their service

with PASS, our AmeriCorps members are able to create

positive change in our schools and communities.