Category Archives: School News

10.19.16

Rowing Info Session: POSTPONED

THE ROWING INFO SESSION HAS BEEN POSTPONED. STAY TUNED FOR UPDATED INFO.

Exercise your mind and body with rowing. Rowing clubs have been around in San Diego for about 180, but due to the cost and lack of accessibility, not many San Diego youths have had the opportunity to try it out.

San Diego Community Rowing is on a mission to broaden accessibility to the sport of rowing (also known as crew) in the South Bay. They want Sweetwater students to come learn about this exciting new opportunity at the new National City Aquatics Center on the Sweetwater Channel.

10.05.16

PSAT College and Career Day!

Who?

  • Most of our FRESHMEN, SOPHOMORES and JUNIORS will be taking the PSAT.

  • SENIORS will register for a college or career activity.

    senioractivity

What?

  • The Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) is one way to prepare for college entrance.

When?

  • WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 19th — a very exciting day filled with wonderful activities related to college and career readiness aligned to our school mission.

Why?

  • For FRESHMEN and SOPHOMORES, this test will provide a score that will reveal areas of strength and areas that need to be further developed for college-readiness.

 

  • For JUNIORS, the PSAT scores are used for the National Merit Scholarship, which provides money to students for college.

 

  • SUHi uses PSAT scores to guide student placement recommendation, to discover students who have Advance Placement (AP) potential, to learn how much students grow from year to year, and for students to realize that COLLEGE IS A REALITY.

Where?

  • PERIOD 1 CLASSROOMS. If your first period is mixed grade level, you may be reassigned to another classroom.

  • SENIORS will be either in the computer labs or in their senior period 1 class where they will be filling out college applications or engaging in career presentations.

How?

  • The morning of October 19th, students will report to period 1

    • At around 7:45 (please be on time) we will have an all school assembly with very important youth empowerment information

    • American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego and Imperial Counties will have topics in regards to: social justice, restorative practices, youth organizing, youth empowerment, and how these all relate to college attainment and higher education

  • After the assembly will be a break for nutrition break, then students are expected to report to their testing location (students will receive passes to where they need to report to and their period 1 teachers will remind students of where they are to report to in the morning)

  • During testing:

    • Leave your cell phones at home

    • Bring a snack–the cafeteria will be open from 7-7:30 to serve early breakfast in addition to nutrition break

    • Bring your ID and a pencil

 

 

09.04.16

Nothing Is Impossible

by Marina Garcia, Staffwriter

The Devils’ Advocate

Screen Shot 2016-09-04 at 8.44.32 AMThere are about 2,000 students attending Sweetwater High School. All of these students come from different places and have different stories to tell. However, there is one story in particular that deserves to be shared. Senior Antoine Serrano’s story is one worth listening to. He was born in Chula Vista in April 1999. He lived in Tijuana for most of his life until his family moved back to National City in 2013. His first year at Sweetwater wasn’t a walk in the park. Coming from Mexico, Antoine spoke very little English, so trying to fit in was a challenge. Students would bully him for not knowing how to speak English and would make fun of his accent. “I was trying to get better with my English, but those people didn’t know that I was struggling so much. I still tried to learn from my mistakes so that they would not know that their comments affected me,” he said. However, that didn’t stop this bright student from achieving greatness. By the end of his freshman year, he was placed in ELD 7/8, a regular English class and moved from bilingual math to a regular math class. He also received an award for having the highest GPA in his class.

As a result of his hard work and dedication, Antoine has had many opportunities and has attended many summer programs throughout his high school years. He was accepted and received full financial aid for the programs Upward Bound at UCSD, and the COSMOS program for Engineering Design and Control of Kinetics Sculpture. He also went to Stanford Pre-collegiate Studies and learned about Engineering.

Antoine is the first in his family to plan on going to college. He wants to attend Stanford University and hopes to major in Aerospace Engineering. His goal is to go to college and always try to become better; this has made him stay focused on his grades. His teachers, especially Ms. Claudia Tellez, have been there to provide support for him since 10th grade. Today, he is currently taking four AP classes, and is President of the Robotics Club at Sweetwater High School. Antoine didn’t expect to be where he is today. His advice to underclassmen is to set goals for themselves, take advantages of the opportunities offered here in the U.S., and always stay confident.

Antoine’s story is living proof that anyone can accomplish anything. He continues to surprise his peers and teachers with his determination and wit. Thank you, Antoine, for being an inspiration for hopefully many generations of Sweetwater students to come.

09.04.16

Cultural Connection Committee: This Club Needs YOU

Screen Shot 2016-09-04 at 8.27.53 AMby Piolo Teo Maling, Staffwiter

The Devils’ Advocate

Word around school has been spreading about a new club on campus that welcomes students who have recently arrived from other countries and who are learning to speak English with open arms. This new club is a place where anyone can just be themselves without worrying about harsh judgment by the public nor be afraid to socialize with anyone. This club was born from the notion that new, international students spend much of their school day isolated from the general population because they are in bilingual classes, or they may even self-isolate because they are shy or embarrassed about the language barrier. However, we believe that students will learn English more quickly and integrate into our school community faster if they are invited to do so by the students who are already here and involved in the school culture. It’s a little bit like Link Crew, but this club is targeted towards English Learners and is ongoing throughout the year. This new club is known as the Cultural Connection Committee, and its advisor is Mrs. Ojeda.

The club – Cultural Connection Committee, also known as 3C – has been established on the idea of spreading awareness of the egregious effects of language barriers. It is founded on the desire for new students from other countries being able to be comfortable around the school while spreading school spirit and participating in school activities. Sadly, these students do not always have the ability to let their voices be heard due to the language barriers that prevent them from easily sharing their thoughts with the public. Many students on campus are able to communicate well with other students; however, what about the students who are unable to converse with their fellow students due to English not being their primary language?

If you want to be a part of helping SUHi’s newest students become part of our Red Devil family, you are welcome to join us on Fridays at lunch in Room 306. 3C does not require bilingual or multilingual speakers or anyone with spectacular skills in order to be a part of the club – no matter who you are, this club needs YOU!