CIMS CONNECTIONFEBRUARY 2017

Family Engagement Center Parent Newsletter

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CIMS.VVUHSD.org

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@CIMS_VVUHSD

PARENT NIGHT

Several students chosen to move on to the County Competition

CIMS families gathered Jan. 19, as students showcased their History Day projects in the multipurpose room.

The event, which ran from 5-7 p.m., included dozens of creative displays and websites created by CIMS students. Among them were displays about Martin Luther King, Frida Kahlo, Harriet Tub-man and Walt Disney. This year’s theme is “Taking a Stand in History.”

San Bernardino County Superinten-dent Ted Alejandre and Victor Valley Union High School District Superin-tendent Dr. Ron Williams attended the ceremony, praising the students for their achievements.

Dr. Melda Gaskins asks a student about his Martin Luther King, Jr. display.

Cobalt Institute of Math & Science, 14045 Topaz Road, Victorville, CA 92395; (760) 955-2530

See HISTORY DAY on Page 8

MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Published by the CIMS Family Engagement CenterFamily Engagement Liaison, Veronica Hill

Students recognizedat History Day showcase

Assistant Principal Daniel Gervais speaks to students about their website entries.

February is already upon us. We are four weeks into the semester. Continue to encour-age your children to do well in school. It is important to give them time after school to complete their homework. Homework is a time for students to review what they have learned in class, prepare for the next day and ask ques-tions of what they didn’t understand. After school tutoring is very active, and teachers in all core subjects are avail-able. It doesn’t matter who your child is taught by in class — all teachers in after-school tutoring are available for all students. Saturday school is a good time for students to catch up on work, attendance and math (Feb. 11, March 11, April 8 and May 6 from 8-11 a.m.). Coffee with the Principal will con-tinue this month on Feb. 10. I encourage you to be there. I love hearing what parents want to know and your input. One of the concerns this month was about the CIMS graduation venue. As our school grows and the graduating class gets larger, we are definitely look-ing into a bigger venue. This year was a little tricky, as the district only gives certain days for graduation. All schools cannot graduate on the same day. There are only a few venues around and this month we learned that the venue we wanted does not let two schools use the

Homework, tutoring and graduation

Hardy Brown, Angela Powers andVVUHSD Superintendent Dr. Ron Williams.See MESSAGE on Page 8

Mrs. Rand’s 5th period US Histo-ry class was transported into a swank Speakeasy last month, as the likes of Al Capone, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Gloria Swanson gathered for libations and vit-tles in Room 205. “Rumor has it that this swanky hot

spot is the Bee’s Knees,” read the cryptic message. “You can find it at the corner of 2nd and Main Street… but don’t draw a crowd. We don’t want to alert the ‘fuzz.’ Be sure to tell ‘em that Joe sent ya!”

After knocking twice, guests alerted their hostess to the secret password: “Social Studies is the Bee’s Knees,” and gained entry into the underground club. Twinkle lights sparkled and candles flick-ered in the dimly lit club as party-goers noshed on chips, brownies, and sparkling cider while listening to music by The

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CLASSROOM BREAKOUTSCOMPETITION

Mrs. Rand dressed up in 1920s attire for her U.S. History 'Speakeasy' breakout session.

US History students visit '20s Speakeasy

Al Capone was one of the many colorful characters portrayed by Rand's students.

CONTACT US

Published monthly by Veronica Hill, Family Engagement Liaison.

Send comments, photos and story ideas to vhill@vvuhsd.org

The Victor Valley Union High School District Science and Engineering Fair will be held Feb. 3 at the district offices.

The fair is open to all district students in grades 7-12.

VVUHSD Educational Services administrators Christine Foote and Carol Cronk are organizing the event, which will be the first district-wide science fair after several years without one.

The projects will be judged Feb. 1. A public event will be held from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 3 in the VVUHSD board room. Projects can be viewed from 5-6 p.m. in conference rooms A and B, with an awards ceremony from 6-6:30 p.m. in the board room.

The winners will move on to the SIM Science and Engineering Fair, which in-cludes entrants from San Bernardino, Inyo and Mono counties.

The SIM event will be held April 4 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, with an awards ceremony the next day at the National Orange Show Valencia Room in San Bernardino.

— Kristopher Reilly

Science andEngineering Fair planned Feb. 3

at district office

Mrs. Rand sets scene for living history lesson about the 1920s

See BEHAVIOR on Page XXXXXX

See SPEAKEASY on Page 8

The Family Engagement Centers of CIMS and Silverado high schools are offering free family Zumba nights on Wednesdays in the CIMS multipurpose room.

Family ZUMBA Night will be offered on Feb. 1, 8 and 15 in the CIMS multi-purpose room. All CIMS students and families are welcome to attend, and admission is free. RSVPs are encouraged but not required.

The fast-paced class, taught by Silver-ado PE teacher Janice Frye-Williams, featured upbeat music and hip-shaking moves. Participants ranged in age from 3 to 60.

Complimentary water is offered during the events, along with raffle prizes.

Invented in the 1990s by Colombian dancer and choreographer Alberto Beto

Perez, Zumba is a fitness routine that combines hip-hop, soca, samba, salsa, merengue and mambo movements to energetic music. Participants can burn between 500-1000 calories during a single Zumba class.

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Get your groove on at our CIMS Family Zumba Nights

Janice Frye-Williams leads a zumba class during the first of five free family nights at CIMS.

Thank you to all the students and staff who purchased from our Scholastic Book Fair that ran Nov. 28 - Dec. 6. We did very well in sales, $1472.12 to be exact, which earned CIMS Library $736.06 in new books!

CIMS is seeking prizes, treats and other goodies that we can use for student incentives. Parents are invited to donate items such as boxes of pre-portioned rice crispy treats, multipacks of chips, variety boxes of candy bars, and any assortment of $5 gift cards etc. “I’d love to offer a bigger variety of rewards for students on campus,” said Assistant Principal Daniel Gervais.

“Students will be rewarded for mak-ing good decisions on campus and will receive systematic and consistent conse-quences for inappropriate behavior.”

Book Fair earns CIMS$736 in new books

Donations needed for student rewards

Diego LeComte honored at MLK

celebrationCobalt Institute of Math and Science

student Diego LeComte won the city of Victorville's annual Civil Rights Essay Contest and was recognized at the city's Martin Luther King Jr. Day event on Jan. 16.

A portion of LeComte’s winning essay about civil rights leader Frederick Doug-lass is now displayed on a bronze plaque at the City’s Civil Rights Memorial. LeComte (pictured holding his essay) won the contest when he was a sixth-grader in the Victor Elementary School District last year.

— Kristopher Reilly

FAMILY ENGAGEMENT

LIBRARY

STAR STUDENT

Families check in for the first of five free Zumba nights in the CIMS multi-purpose room.

CIMS senior families are invited to a free Financial Aid Completion Night, scheduled for 5-7 p.m. in the Cobalt Institute of Math and Science computer lab, room 1320.

During the workshop, hosted by Des-tination College Adviser Ernesto Chavez, parents and students will be given assis-tance completing the FAFSA/California

Dream Act paperwork.Please make sure you bring the fol-

lowing documents with you:• 2015 tax returns• FSA ID and Password• Parent and Student social security

numbers (if you have them).For more information, please contact

Mr. Chavez at (760) 955-2530, ext. 45116

Financial Aid Night planned for Feb. 21

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CIMS students traveled to Victor Valley College on Jan. 27 to attend the 12th annual Celebrating Women in Math-ematics and Science conference.

Approximately 300 students from around the High Desert attended the conference, which is aimed at high school girls with an interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

It was sponsored by our local branch of American Association of Universi-ty Women, as well as the SB County Alliance for Education and Victor Valley College.

Participants attended workshops on issues such as water resource manage-ment, firefighting, crime scene inves-tigation, emergency medical services, air quality, rocket science, the mining industry and robotics. All workshops were presented by successful profession-

al women currently working in STEM fields. Other workshops have included aerospace, finance, hydrology, FBI, for-estry, and aeronautical engineering.

The first Celebrating Women in Mathematics and Science was presented in April 2005.

— Photos by Julie Provansal

Students attend 'Women in Math and Science' conference

Edison Awarding $40,000 College Scholarships for STEM applicants Edison International, parent company of Southern California Edison (SCE), is accepting applications from eligible high school seniors planning to study Science, Technology, Engineering or Math. Edison International is awarding $40,000 college scholarships, provided over four years at $10,000 per year. Deadline to apply is Feb. 1, 2017. To learn more about the Edison Schol-ars program, visit scholarsapply.org/edi-sonscholars

Full tuition offered at VVC for Victor Elementary grads Exciting News! Any student who grad-uated from an elementary school in the Victor Elementary School District, has at least a 2.50 GPA and is planning to attend VVC or Barstow Community College can have their full tuition paid for! This is an amazing opportunity that not many High Desert students take advantage of – let’s make this the year that CIMS community college-bound students blow every other school away. Deadline is Feb. 10. Applications must be TYPED and can be accessed at http://www.vesd.net/VEEF

High Desert Community Foundation offering several college scholarships

The High Desert Community Founda-

tion administers a number of annual schol-arship funds with various requirements.

Scholarship recipients for 2017 will be announced at their respective high school award ceremonies in May or June. The eligibility criteria for each of these scholarships is listed on the High Desert Community Foundation website. Learn more at hdcfoundation.org

CIMS students attended a STEM conference at Victor Valley College Jan. 27.

Local women presented workshops focused on their STEM fields.

SCHOLARSHIPS FIELD TRIP

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CIMS DATEBOOKFEB. 1● Family Zumba Night (6 p.m., MPR)

FEB. 8● Family Zumba Night (6 p.m., MPR)

FEB. 10● Breakfast with the Principal (9:30 a.m., Room 205)

FEB. 11● Winter Formal - Hilton Garden Inn

● Saturday School

FEB. 15 ● Prom Fashion Show

● AERIES workshop, (2-3 p.m., room 1324)

● School Site Council (5-7 p.m.)

● Family Zumba Night (6 p.m., MPR)

FEB. 16● Pathways to Success Field Trip● High School Lock-In

FEB. 21● Free FAFSA (Financial Aid for College) workshop for parents

SPORTSGIRLS HS BASKETBALLFeb 7 - University Prep AWAYFeb 9 - Excelsior AWAY

BOYS HS BASKETBALLFeb 3 - Hesperia Christian - AWAYFeb 7 - University Prep - AWAYFeb 9 - Excelsior - AWAY

GIRLS HS SOCCERFeb 2 - Big Bear - HOMEFeb 7 - Silver Valley - HOMEFeb 8 - Excelsior - AWAY

BOYS HS SOCCERFeb 2 - Big Bear - AWAYFeb 7 - Silver Valley - AWAYFeb 9 - Lucerne Valley - HOME

Allie Bolanos, Sherry Medel and Sterling Self were nominated and vot-ed in as important School Site Council members during the Jan. 25 meeting.

Bolanos was named Chair, Self was named Co-Chair, and Medel was named secretary during the meeting.

Additional members of School Site Council are Dr. Gaskins (Principal, Par-liamentarian), teachers Rudy Patterson and Angela Powers, classified members

Karrie Dwiggins and Vince Lynn, and parents Dion Morwood and Francis Herdlein. As part of the CIMS school plan, we encourage the involvement of parents and families in the education of their children. We would like to cordially in-vite you to serve as an important member of the School Site Council.

The School Site Council meets once a month from 5-7 p.m. to discuss how we can best meet the educational needs of our students. Become an active voice at our school by nominating yourself! Our next meeting is 5 p.m., Feb. 16 in Room 206.

For more information, please call Veronica Hill at 955-2530, ext. 45123.

Mr. Self, Bolanos and Medel named to School Site Council

SCHOOL NEWS & EVENTS

Academic Pentathlon Team to compete in five school subjects

The CIMS Academic Pentathlon team is up and running. The team is comprised of 8th graders of all perfor-mance levels and are in the process of whittling the team down to nine mem-bers.

CIMS Pentathlon team will compete against other schools in the High Desert

in five subjects: English/Literature, His-tory, Science, Math and Art.

This year, the theme is World War II. The competition, scheduled for April 29, is going to be hosted at CIMS for the first time.

For more information, please contact Mr. Nichols, ext. 45403.

Allie Bolanos, Chair, and Sherry Medel, Secretary, of CIMS School Site Council.

Sterling Self was voted as Co-Chair for SSC.

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WORKSHOPS

Aeries workshopfor CIMS parents planned Feb. 15

Do you need help accessing the Aeries Parent Portal? Come learn how to get access to your student's

grades, attendance and much more at our first AERIES workshop in the computer lab. During this workshop, held from 2 to 3 p.m. Feb. 15, we will provide you with one-on-one support so you can easily access your student's progress at home.

Aeries is a robust Web-based program used by schools throughout the state. It provides parents with up-to-date infor-mation on student’s grades, attendance, class schedules, test scores and homework assignments.

The system can also provide informa-tion on any fees/fines owed to the school, and full transcripts.

RSVPs are recommended so we have time to retrieve your student's access codes before the event.

If you are not able to attend, you are welcome to make an appointment with Family Engagement Liaison Veronica Hill during the hours of 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. She can assist you with accessing the system and setting up weekly e-mail no-tifications of your student’s progress. The system is available in several languages, including Spanish.

TO RSVP, please call Veronica Hill at (760) 955-2530, ext. 45123 or e-mail vhill@vvuhsd.org

Scholarship opportunities

offered for CIMS seniors

The Victor Valley Chamber Founda-tion, Inc. will once again award a number of $500 scholarships to qualifying high school seniors from throughout the Victor Valley. If you have a student or know of stu-dent interested in applying for a scholar-ship please complete and print the appli-

cation, available on the CIMS website. The application deadline to apply for is Feb. 28. A scholarship presentation will be made at the Valley Morning Insight Breakfast on April 5. For more information, please call Lisa De La Cruz, 760-245-6506.

On Saturday, Jan. 28, the CIMS Academic Decathlon competed at the 33rd annual San Bernardino County Decathlon at Redlands East Valley High School. More than 300 high school students from 39 teams representing 22 high schools are participating, Teams consist of nine students, three from each grade-point category. Students receive points by competing in 10 events, including written tests in math, economics and language arts, and prepared and impromptu speeches in front of a panel of judges. The final event is the Super Quiz, a college bowl-style round of play composed of dozens of multiple-choice questions, on Feb. 6 at 2:30 p.m. An awards banquet will be held on Feb. 11 at the National Orange Show in San Bernardino will reveal the winners and finalists of this year’s competition. The winning team and qualifiers will represent the county at the statewide decathlon March 17-20 in Sacramento.

— Photo by Kristin Savko

Academic Decathlon competes in Redlands

The CIMS Academic Decathlon Team at Redlands East Valley High School.

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FEEDBACK

A new online survey, posted on the CIMS website, invites parents to commu-nicate your perceptions about our school.

If you have any questions about this survey, contact CIMS counselor Julie Provansal at (760) 955-2530.

You will have access to this online survey beginning February 1. Look for the main navigation bar, where you'll see 2017 LCAP School Climate Survey.

The purpose of this survey is to obtain parent perceptions about the school.

Your participation is voluntary. It is also very important. The information you provide will help guide district and school efforts to promote safety, enhance learning supports, and improve student achievement.

• This is an anonymous survey. It is designed so that no one can be identified from the data. You do not have to respond to any questions that you feel could be used to identify you. Simply skip any such questions.

• All questions apply to CIMS school only.

• The results are for the use of our district. The California Department of Education and WestEd will preserve data confidentiality and refer any data requests to the district.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ACCESSING THE SURVEY

If you have more than one child at this school, you will only need to complete one survey for this school. Please fill out just one survey about the school using your oldest child as a reference.

Access the login page for the survey using the following URL: surveys.wested.org/csps/FM724PF?lang=en or use the survey link on the district webpage: www.vvuhsd.org

Use the following school code and click the Take Survey button:

School Code (case sensitive): CJ49HH

Thank you for taking this important survey!

CIMS Families - Did you know there are a variety of ways you can stay updated with the latest news and happenings on campus? Today, we're are going to look at 5 different ways you can stay abreast of current events at CIMS.

1) Online Cougar Calendar - Our Cougar Calendar is updated daily with the latest events on campus, including sporting events, minimum days, Coffee with the Principal, field trips, senior class events and much more. Did you know that if you click the envelope icon with the check mark, you can subscribe to e-mail alerts directly from the calendar? Be sure to check it out!

2) Twitter Feed - Be sure to follow @cims_vvuhsd for the latest daily bulle-tin items, news and announcements from Cobalt Institute of Math and Science. You can download the Twitter app directly from your smartphone, or simply check it daily online at the following link: https://twitter.com/CIMS_VVUHSD. Our Twit-ter Feed is also available for viewing on the home page of our website!

3) Monthly Newsletter - Each month, the Family Engagement Center at CIMS posts a monthly newsletter, highlighting important information, staff and class news, student accomplishments, field trips and much more. Be sure to send your e-mail address to parent liaison Veronica Hill so you can be added to the monthly e-mail blast! Sign up here. You can view past editions by visiting http://

cims.vvuhsd.org/news/parentnewsletters

4) Remind App - Remind is often used by teachers to keep students updated with the latest tests and homework assign-ments. The CIMS Family Center recently launched an alert especially for parents, where you can RSVP for events, keep updated on important news/information, and share your feedback.

TO SIGN UP ON YOUR SMARTPHONE: Open your web browser on your iPhone or Android phone and click the follow-ing link: rmd.at/cimsfamily You will be prompted to download the mobile app and get started.

GET TEXT NOTIFICATIONS: If you have a smartphone and prefer text notifica-tions, text the message @cimsfamily to the number 81010. If you have trouble with this, try texting @cimsfamily to (720) 408-2126.

5. Marquee - Finally, if you prefer getting news the old-fashioned way, our marquee is updated weekly with import-ant events going on at the school. We also send out announcements via automated phone calls, so be sure your current num-ber is on file with the school.

We hope these modes of communi-cation are helpful to our CIMS families. If you have any suggestions on how we can better serve you, please call Family Engagement Liaison Veronica Hill at ext. 45123 or e-mail vhill@vvuhsd.org

How are we doing? Complete online survey for CIMS

Stay in the loop with our new parent communication tools

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PARENT SUPPORT

On Feb. 10, CIMS will hold its month-ly Coffee with the Principal. Parents and caregivers are invited to come enjoy some hot coffee and pastries with Dr. Gaskins while learning more about the latest hap-penings on campus.

Family engagement liaison Veronica Hill will be recruiting volunteers and shar-ing ideas on how we can better serve our parents’ needs. The meetings will be held monthly from 9:30 a.m. until 10:15 a.m. in Room 205.

RSVP to Veronica Hill at 955-2530, ext. 45123 or e-mail vhill@vvuhsd.org

Next 'Coffee with the Principal' to be held Feb. 10

Principal Dr. Melda Gaskins was extremely proud of the student’s achieve-ments. “It was a great night,” she said. “The students really did a wonderful job!”

Cobalt Institute of Math and Science history teacher Angela Powers helped coordinate the event.

"The students who were chosen to display their work in the showcase were those who were able to tackle a complex topic in an easy to understand way," said Angela Powers. "They worked really hard fall semester to put their projects together and will be polishing them in order to be more competitive at the County level of competition. We are already looking forward to next year’s school showcase!"

The 27th Annual San Bernardino County History Day awards ceremony will be held in March. From there, some students could advance to the state finals on May 6 and 7 at William Jessup Univer-sity in Rocklin, Calif.

HISTORY DAY from Page 1

Charleston Chasers, Duke Ellington, Ruth Etting and other 1920s artists.

“This serves as the culminating activity for our unit on the 1920s,” said Mrs. Rand. “I assign students the roles of several notable figures from the 1920s… they research them and ‘become the character’ in the Speakeasy, where they interact and learn about each other as they fill in a ‘dance card’ at the Supper Club.”

Rand got the idea from a fellow teach-er at Chaparral High School, with whom she regularly collaborates on breakouts.

Both are members of the Teacher Lead-ership Network at the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools office.

— Veronica Hill

SPEAKEASY from Page 2

facilities on the same day even when there is just a practice. We are still learning as we grow. Our students and their class advisors are doing a great job of building traditions, getting involved and understanding the business of high schools. If you need to under-stand or have questions, please take some time to join us next month. Finally, I want to thank parents for really buckling down with CIMS on the dress code and tardies. We really want to keep our students focused on educa-tion and you have helped us to do this. Keeping uniform helps to keep down the drama. Thanks, parents, for all you do and trusting us with your children.

MESSAGE from Page 1

San Bernardino County Superin-tendent Ted Alejandre spoke at the History Day Showcase.