Save the Date:
Friday, March 13th
10 am – 1 pm
Castle Park High School
1395 Hilltop Drive
Chula Vista, CA 91911
STEM In Your Backyard is a free, student- friendly interactive event that brings the world of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) to life for students of all ages! Play hands-on games, meet STEM professionals, use microscopes, generate electric currents, and so much more! Each STEM in your backyard is unique and different! See your school’s STEM activities in action! Come witness all of the STEM that happens right in your backyard!
$10 for Adults, $12 at the door $5 for Students, $7 at the door
Checks can be made out to “Chula Vista High School ASB”
Once Upon a Mattress – A Musical Comedy. Poster Design by Ximena Lewis
The kingdom is an unhappy one. The King has been struck dumb by a witch’s curse and the Queen has assumed power. She decreed that no one in the Kingdom may wed until Prince Dauntless is married to a true princess of Royal blood. So far…NO ONE qualifies.
Enter Princess Winnifred, as unlike a typical princess as you can get! Prince Dauntless is pretty impressed and is soon obviously in love with her – to the consternation of the angry Queen, who decides to give her an impossible test – a pea is placed beneath twenty mattresses and if Princess Winnifred cannot sleep, she will prove her royal birth.
11th and 12th grade U.S. History and Senior Government students from Eastlake High School recently participated in a unique opportunity, where they were amongst a pretty impressive group of individuals.
Donnie Edwards, retired NFL player and Sweetwater District Alum, is the founder and executive director of the Best Defense Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on helping military veterans and their families. Thanks to Edwards and his foundation, students filled Eastlake High’s theatre where 12 veterans shared their military and civilian life experiences.
For nearly 22 years, Edwards has dedicated his life to giving back to the military by participating in USO tours, and organizing trips to take veterans to their former battlefields. Like Normandy, where he took seven Iwo Jima survivors back to the islands earlier this year.
Ranging from the ages of 95-100, many of the veterans expressed their desire to inspire young people to have a feeling of hope and pride in their country. “We are here today to encourage all of you to make an active contribution to someone who is out serving our country today,” said Edwards. “I use the platform I have to give back to the men and women who gave so much to us.”
Eastlake High Principal Dr. Ricardo Cooke encouraged students to “listen with their hearts”, as veterans spoke about their experiences in the Korean War, Pearl Harbor, Vietnam War and Normandy Invasion. During the Q & A portion of the event, students asked questions like, what made you enlist in the military, what was your biggest take away from joining the military; and what was the driving force to keep you going?
One veteran quoted late U.S. President Ronald Reagan when he said, “Freedom is not free. Our freedom could be lost in one generation.” For most of the men, it was their belief in their country and so that future generations could enjoy life and live in freedom.
Edwards attributes his dedication to giving back to veterans specifically to his 14 year long career in the NFL and the platform it provided for him to be able to give back to our military.
“If you take anything away from today, please remember one thing,” said a WWII Veteran. “We did it for you. When you see the U.S. flag flying in the breeze, it moves by the last breaths of every late serviceman that fought for this beautiful country.”
Meet Joseph Amaro, Sweetwater Union High School District teacher dedicated to educating students via creative and innovative instruction since 1995. For more than 20-years, Amaro has worn several hats in the Sweetwater District, most recently as an Engineering, Robotics, and Advanced Manufacturing ROP/CTE Instructor at Montgomery High school, home of the Aztecs.
Prior to his current position at Montgomery High, Amaro worked at Sweetwater High, Bonita Vista High, Chula Vista High, Southwest High and Eastlake High School teaching Auto Shop and ROP/CTE courses.
For the past four years, Amaro has been the coach and mentor of the Sweetwater Districts competitive VEX Robotics Program introducing students to the world of robotics. As such, Amaro oversees all twenty-five schools involved in the VEX Competitive Robotics Program. Amaro believes Robotics is changing the lives of students “one robot at a time” and he luckily plays a small part in that.
“It motivates me year after year the amazing opportunities that robotics students are realizing in their lives,” said Amaro. “Young men and women are attaining goals never before imagined. They are attending the colleges and universities of their choice. I see students attaining careers that were not even in existence ten years ago.”
Currently, the Sweetwater District is the only high school district in San Diego County that supports a middle school league and high school league with over seventy teams. “What our district has done over the last four years is to set a model for schools nationwide,” said Amaro.
Due to that model, last year the Sweetwater District program was asked to host the annual California State VEX Robotics Championships in March, over a four day period at Montgomery High. This year after the State Championships, Amaro was asked to be a Judge Advisor at the Annual VEX Worlds Championships. “Having that experience totally energized and strengthened my resolve to get as many students in our community from elementary school through high school involved in robotics.”
According to Amaro, he has always had a servants heart interfacing and engaging in young people’s lives and seeing what project based learning can do to motivate their desire to learn.
“I don’t consider myself as just a teacher,” said Amaro. “I believe my role as an educator is to a provide proper emotional and intellectual support, along with various curriculum knowledge they will be able to use to make informed decisions as to their future career path. I am in the business of changing lives. I am having a great time.”
For more information on the Sweetwater District VEX Robotics Program and to learn how to become a volunteer, contact Joseph Amaro at joseph.amaro@sweetwaterschools.org
In honor of Arbor Day, Sweetwater High School recently added five new trees to their campus for the sake of enhancing student and environmental health. Arbor Day is a national holiday dedicated to encourage individuals and groups to plant trees. Thanks to a partnership with Lumbercycle, A Reason to Survive (ARTS), CALFIRE, SDG&E and California State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, the grant funded opportunity encourages planting more of the right trees in the right places as a vital part of healthy communities and ecosystems, providing countless benefits.
“In less than a year, we at Sweetwater High will be celebrating our 100 year anniversary,” said Sweetwater High Principal Maribel Gavin. “As of right now, we do not have enough green spaces on campus. We appreciate the generous assistance and support to beautify Sweetwater High School for the betterment of our students, staff and environment.”
Sweetwater High students from select environmental classes, participated in the event where representatives from Lumbercycle and CALFIRE provided an educational demonstration on how to properly plant and water trees. The school received two Raywood Ash and three Chinese Flame trees that are appropriate species for this location.
According to Lumbercycle, these benefits include giving humans oxygen needed to breathe, improving air quality, slowing climate change by incorporating carbon into wood, cooling neighborhoods with shade, reducing energy bills and enhancing human physical and mental well-being, to name a few.
After the tree planting demonstration, students formed teams and were supported by expert coaches to plant and water the remaining four trees around campus.
“This exercise not only is educational for our students but good for our climate,” said Principal Gavin.
