Carmel High School students deliver groceries to Big Sur families

A group of Carmel High students, teachers and administrations trekked across the woods to deliver groceries to 11 families stranded on the south side of Pfeiffer Canyon this week.

According to Health Teacher Leigh Cambra, student Chantal Gonzalez went around to her neighbors in Post Ranch to see what they needed. With a grocery list for 11 families in hand, a group went grocery shopping, bagged the goods, and trekked hiked in the woods to deliver the bounty. Joining Cambra and Spanish Teacher Bridget Randazzo were students Caroline Mierzwa, Diego Cabrera, Diego Salinas, Katya Fredericksen, Hailey Rowe, Coral Barrett, Alex Myers, Julia Kurz, Nick Haws, and staff members Diana Vita, Patrica Hunt, Shannon Rains, and Tammy Waldman.

 "It ended up bring the perfect amount of people for the amount of food we had," Cambra wrote.

"Now, we kept hearing about a trail. Caroline warned that it was steep and slippery after the rains. I guess, in my mind, I kept thinking 'it’s just a trail connecting two sides of Big Sur.' Well, I was wrong. There is a path that’s maybe a quarter of a mile and then you get to this new trail. The trail itself is a half mile that zig zags up the side of a hill, elevating 500 feet. We were carrying gallons of milk, beans, rice, eggs, diapers, juice, and more. We ended up meeting the families at the post office and they were very happy to have the fresh food.

"The walk back is mostly downhill and pretty fun. But what you start reflecting along the way back is that we have students having to walk that everyday to get to a bus (and then that long bus ride). I don’t know if I would want to come to school very often if that’s what I had to do."

Cambra and her Big Sur team are planning another delivery soon. Stay tuned.

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Teens express their views on social justice -- through art

Carmel High students were prompted to react artistically to the racially motivated killings in Charleston, North Carolina when nine churchgoers were killed by a white supremacist last summer.

The result will be on display at 2 p.m. Sunday, during the opening of the "Teens, Art and Social Justice"  exhibit at the Monterey Peninsula Justice Center, 1364 Fremont Blvd.

Art and graphic design classes were inspired to react to the tragic event and other issues such as Black Lives Matter, bullying, the environment, LGBTQ rights, and mental health, which are important to teens. Students created art pieces expressing their ideas about social justice, using various mediums, including digital graphic art and oil painting

The works displayed are from the classes of art teacher, Steven Russell and graphic design teacher, Holly Lederle.

The MPJC Art Gallery is open 1 – 5:30 Wednesday and Friday. The exhibit may also be viewed during events at the Monterey Peace and Justice Center, 1364 Fremont Blvd., Seaside.

The exhibit will be on display through June. 

Peninsula districts host forum on Ogle, social media

Carmel, Pacific Grove and Monterey Unified have teamed up to offer an education forum on the impact of social media in schools and communities, with the presentation of Joe Allen, a police officer with the Glendale Police Department.

Allen helps law enforcement agencies, school districts and parents understand the impact of social media in schools and the community. He will help parents and the community understand the current social media world of blogs sites, messenger sites, photo posting and anonymous self-destructing mobile apps.

Carmel, Monterey and Pacific Grove officials meet regularly to address issues of mutual concern. Recently, all three districts faced misuse of the social media app Ogle. This forum is an opportunity to educate parents about it.

Two presentations will be held at 7 p.m. on consecutive days:

On Tuesday, April 5, at the Pacific Grove Performing Arts Center, 935 Forest Ave., Pacific Grove.
On Wednesday, April 6, at the Carmel Performing Arts Center, 3600 Ocean Ave., Carmel.

Carmel High mock trial team placed 8th in state championship

For the second year in a row,  Carmel High mock trial team earned a spot at the state level, earning 8th place overall during the 35th annual California Mock Trial Finals held March 18-20 in Sacramento.

At the Califonia Mock Trial Finals, the winning teams from 34 counties presented People v. Hayes, a criminal case involving murder and a pre-trial argument on the Fifth Amendment.

Carmel's pretrial attorney, Alex Poletti, won the J. Skelly Wright award for excellence in pre-trial advocacy on the prosecution.

Carmel's team has been doing great since their coach, government and politics teacher Bill Schrier, sign them up for the Empire mock trial competition two years ago. Congratulations, team!

Carmel mock trial team outdoes itself in San Francisco

Last year, in their debut participation in Empire Mock trial in San Francisco, Carmel High students took fourth place.

This year, they snatched silver.

The team, composed of Mindy Morgan, Yuan Tao, Savannah Foster, Anna Gumberg, Madeleine Fontenay, Sara Phillips, Teejan Saddy, Becca Goren, Julia Sudol, Madi Brothers, Ian Geertsen, Alex Poletti, and Sarah Morgan, was undefeated in the preliminary rounds, reports team coach Bill Schrier. After earning a spot in the final, they finished second out of 22 teams from 6 countries.

That's not all. Teejan Saddy won best witness, while Anna Gumberg won best attorney.

Congratulations, gals and guys. Maybe you'll climb in state mock trial too? ;)

Carmel music teacher Nancy Fowler remembered

Carmel Middle School music teacher Nancy Fowler, who died in an automobile accident in Castroville on September 10, will be honored by the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra during its performance on Sept 17 at the Monterey Fairgrounds.

The Monterey Jazz Festival worked with Ms. Fowler and her jazz band students since 2004, and prior to that when she was instrumental music teacher at Walter Colton Middle School.

In honor of Ms. Fowler, the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra will close their free 45-minute set performance with a traditional New Orleans jazz funeral procession and second line. The concert will start at 11 a.m. at the Garden Stage. This is a free  event, and is open to community members who wish to pay tribute to Ms. Fowler.

Music teacher Janice Perl of Trinity Christian School will join the band to sing “Just a Closer Walk with Thee” which will be followed by a celebratory parade of “When the Saints Go Marching In,” in which everyone in attendance will be invited to play and sing.

Nancy was a great fan of the Monterey Jazz Festival, and each year she brought a huge contingent of students to Monterey Jazz Festival’s Concert for Kids featuring the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra. This year, she and her colleague Tom Lehmkuhl planned to bring 180 students and teachers to the event, according to organizers. The students attending Thursday’s concert will be coming with Carmel Middle’s principal, Ken Griest.

Ms. Fowler was a beloved teacher and remembrances of her have been popping up since her accident. This weekend, Carmel Unified Board President Rita Patel, her family and friends drew her name on the sand dunes off Highway 1. Check it out.

Carmel's Marvin Biasotti has left the district, but not the area

The summer came and almost went and I didn't get a chance to write about former Carmel Superintendent Marvin Biasotti and his marathonic nature at the district. Yeah, in this day and age of superintendents lasting no more than five years, being at the helm for almost 16 is quite possibly a record. Biasotti, 63, plans to stay in the area, which has been home for 35 years, he told me in an email. His wife plans to continue working for another five years and "most importantly, we can't think of anywhere place we'd rather live," he said.

When I wrote about incoming Superintendent Scott Laurence, I quoted a teacher in the district remembering Biasotti fondly, which made his day.

" It felt good to know that I am being remembered in positive terms," he wrote. "I also appreciated her comparison of teaching in the district to Disneyland; i.e., the happiest place on earth. As superintendent, I always considered it my most important function to promote working conditions that allowed our teachers and support staff to give their all to our students. That quote warmed my heart."

Biasotti plans to remain involved in education, perhaps through mentoring new administrators.

"It's too soon for me to know where the next chapter of my life will take me, but I'm certain that it will include volunteer work. In the coming months I plan to explore a number of the many charitable organizations that do important work on the peninsula.  I liken my current situation as my second adolescence in the sense that the possibilities are many and varied."

It'll be great to see what adventures await Mr. Biasotti. Keep me posted!

Carmel High again named among country's top high schools

Carmel High School has once again received the highest ranking as a Gold Medal Winner in the U.S. News and World Report list of the best high schools in the nation.

Carmel High moved up this year to 33rd place in the state and 196th in the nation. The list considers more than 21,000 U.S. schools for the list, making Carmel High place firmly in the top 1 percent of all schools in the country.

Carmel High was awarded the Gold Medal “based on their performance on state assessments and how well they prepare students for college” according to the U.S. News & World Report article. “A great high school must serve all of its students well, not just those who are college bound, and it must be able to produce measurable academic outcomes to show it is successfully educating its student body across a range of performance indicators,” the article reads.

“This reinforces the fact that the work we are doing is paying off for all students" departing Superintendent Marvin Biasotti said in a statement. “We are particularly proud of our ranking in the state."

School officials analyzed the schools that placed ahead of Carmel and found only eight comprehensive high schools ahead of them -- the others are magnet schools, academies, or charter schools that have selective enrollment processes.

"Of the eight, none of them have as high a ratio of socio-economically disadvantaged students as Carmel High," Biasotti said. "In fact, their percentages of disadvantaged students are less than half the level of (Carmel High School). It appears that no comprehensive high school with a population that approximates our demographics is doing a better job of preparing students for college.”

Find the U.S. News and World Report here.

Carmel High receives "Gold Ribbon" award

Carmel High School has been honored with California's new "Gold Ribbon Schools Award" program, which is temporarily taking the place of the California Distinguished Schools Program.

The California Distinguished award is on hiatus while officials create a new accountability system. The awards go to schools that are academically successful and innovative. A total of 193 middle schools and 180 high schools received the Gold Ribbon Schools Award this year.

The schools "provide great examples of the things educators are doing right—embracing rigorous academic standards, providing excellence and creativity in teaching, and creating a positive school climate," California Superintendent of Public Schools Tom Torlakson said in a statement.

Schools applied for the award based on a model program their school has adopted that includes standards-based activities, projects, strategies, and practices that can be replicated by other local educational agencies. The new award is recognizing middle and high schools this year and elementary schools in 2016.

The Gold Ribbon schools will be recognized later this month during regional ceremonies held in Sacramento, San Diego, Visalia, and San Francisco.

Carmel Middle School Celebrates Earth Day with National Award

Carmel Middle School, along with four other educational institutions in California, were honored on Earth Day by the U.S. Department of Education with its fourth annual Green Ribbon School awards.

U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced the winning schools and districts as part of Wednesday's Earth Day celebrations. A total of 58 K-12 schools and 14 districts in 26 states, plus the District of Columbia and the Department of Defense Education Activity, were honored. The complete list of the honorees can be found on the U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools Awards Page. A brief description of their award-winning Green Ribbon programs is available from the U.S. Department of Education report, Highlights from the 2015 Honorees.

U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools have developed a comprehensive approach to creating "green" environments through reducing environmental impact, promoting health, and ensuring a high-quality environmental and outdoor education program. Torlakson selected California's nominees for the honor based on a competitive application reviewed by the California Department of Education, along with state and federal agency partners and the California Association of Private School Organizations.

To read more about Carmel's program in the story I wrote about them click here.

Carmel's Harrison Bolton headed for California's geographic bee

Harrison Bolton, an eight grader at Carmel Middle School, will be participating in the 2015 California National Geographic State Bee in Fresno this Friday.

A total of 111 students ages 10 to 14 will take part of the state's tournament, which will be held at Cal State Fresno.

Harrison is a top student at Carmel Middle, earning a 4.0 GPA for his entire tenure, his dad, Christopher Bolton says. Harrison will be attending Carmell High School this Fall.

The state Bees are the second level of the annual National Geographic Bee. The state champion will receive $100, and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to represent California in the national championship of the 27th annual National Geographic Bee at National Geographic Society headquarters May 11-13, 2015

 

 Good luck, Harrison! Your  fans in Monterey County will be cheering for you!

Carmel mock trial team places 6th in California tournament

Speaking of remarkable guys and gals, the team members of the Carmel High mock trial team placed 6th in California's tournament, competing against 33 other teams from all over the state.

The tournament took place Sunday in Riverside. 

"It's actually a much bigger deal than Empire because every team at state is already a champion," wrote the team's coach, government and politics teacher Bill Schrier. If you've read my previous stories and posts, you'll remember that Schrier credits "Empire" a prestigious, invitation-only mock trial tournament, with giving Carmel the edge. The team prepared over the summer to compete in Empire in the fall, which Schrier help them better prepare for the countywide competition.

And the statewide.

 "California is widely recognized as he best state for mock trial in the country,"  Schrier said.

California Mock Trial officials "award medals to the top 8 teams. We came in 6th, and that hasn't ever happened to a team from Monterey County," he wrote!

Way to go, team. You make Monterey County proud!

Carmel Unified selects Scott Laurence as new superintendent

Scott Laurence, now the superintendent of the San Mateo Union High School District, has emerged as the finalist to replace Marvin Biasotti as Carmel Unified School District when he retires at the end of the year.

The Board will conduct a site visit with other members of the Carmel Unified community to Laurence place of current employment on March 23. The board expects to vote on a contract for Laurence at its April 1 regularly scheduled Board meeting.

“Scott Laurence’s experience and personal qualities are exactly what the board and our community stakeholders wanted to see in the next leader of Carmel Unified," Carmel Unified Board President Rita Patel said in a statement. "For the past 15 years, Marvin Biasotti has led our school district on its path to become one of the top school districts in California and the nation. We look forward to the next chapter under the stewardship of Mr. Laurence.

For more information on Laurence and Carmel Unified's announcement, click here.

Carmel high students host event to address hunger

For the second year in a row, Carmel High students will host "Empty Bowls," an event to alleviate hunger at the local level.

The “Empty Bowls” Soup and Bread Supper, along with the Carmel High Art Show, and open house will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 30.

Empty Bowls is an international grassroots effort to alleviate hunger. It starts with a group of craftspeople creating handcrafted bowls. For a $20 donation, guests are invited to enjoy a simple meal of soup and bread, and are welcome to keep their bowl as a reminder of all the empty bowls in the world.

All the money raised at the Carmel High event will be donated to Ag Against Hunger, a local non-profit dedicated to providing fresh produce to schools and food banks. Tickets are available in the CHS ASB Office or online here. at . For more information, or to donate to this cause, contact Diana Vita: (831) 624-1821, ext. 2780.

Carmel's practice on "Empire" gives them edge in Monterey County mock trial

If you read the story that my fine colleague Peter Funt wrote a few weeks ago, you already know Carmel emerged champion of the Monterey County high school mock trial. If you missed the story, here it is.

It had been a few years since Carmel won the tournament. In fact, Pacific Grove had been the winner for the three previous consecutive years. So what made the difference? Carmel High government and politics teacher Bill Schrier credits "Empire."

 "Empire" is a selective mock trial competition that's been taking place in New York since 2007, and it was held for the first time in San Francisco last fall. It was the first time Carmel participated, and the team earned forth place among 24 teams that came from different parts of the United States and abroad. 

And that gave them the edge, Schrier said.

" Empire was instrumental in providing the students experience in a high level competition prior to County.  It also allowed the team to bond earlier.  I honestly don't know how we'd have done it without Empire," Schrier wrote in an email.

So there you have it. Carmel is now getting ready for the statewide tournament, after getting some deserved recognition by the Carmel City Council. Way to go ladies! Can't wait to hear how it goes in Riverside. 

Search for new Carmel superintendent moving along

Carmel Board President Rita Patel reports on the Carmel Unified website that Leadership Associates, the firm that's conducting the superintendent's search, received 40 requests for applications and 28 completed applications were submitted.

Eleven of the applicants are women, 17 are men, and three are from out of California.

Trustees are expected to meet with consultants to review applications and select finalists on March 4.

Finalists are expected to be interviewed on March 13 and 14, and a site visit to the finalist would be scheduled soon after. A contract for a new superintendent would have to be approved at a regularly scheduled board meeting. A new superintendent is expected to begin July 1.

All Saints' Day School celebrates diversity

As part of the International Week Festival at All Saints' Day School, the middle school hosted a panel discussion last week about the cultural similarities and differences immigrants experience when they come to the United States.

The panel was composed of nine All Saints' Parents and teachers from Ecuador, England, Japan, Trinidad, Uganda, Tunisia, Czech Republic, Germany, and Colombia. The students had great questions about cultural differences, how the moving to the USA affected family life, what people  missed most and more.

This is just one of many events that took place at the Episcopalian, private school in Carmel during the biennial celebration of international diversity.

Parents of students helped celebrate this event and presented their ancestors’ home countries through music, dance, slideshows, artifacts and food, reports Kristin Templeman, the school's communications director.

And it was great fun, she said. Next time we won't miss it!

Stephen Hinshaw addresses ADHD explosion

Dr. Stephen Hinshaw, a psychologist from University of California at Berkeley and co-author of The ADHD Explosion, will talk about the science behind its causes, medication and behavioral treatment. Audiences will learn more about issues facing children, teachers, clinicians, and family members who contend with ADHD every day.

The event is sponsored by the Carmel Public Library Foundation, and proceeds from the evening benefit its mission, which is to fund 100 percent of the collections, programs, equipment and services for Carmel Public Library.

The program will take place at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan 13. Book signing after program.

At Carpenter Hall, Sunset Center, 9th & Mission, Carmel. 

Free and open to the public. $10 suggested contribution. Seating is limited.

Carmel mock trial team shines in San Francisco

You may remember I wrote about the Carmel mock trial team and their participation in the Empire Mock Trial in San Francisco, an elite competition where participation is limited to a select few teams. Read the article here.

The competition took place Nov. 20-24, and the Carmel team did not disappoint. It was the first time they participated in the tournament, and they earned forth place among 24 teams that came from different parts of the United States and abroad, teacher Bill Schrier reported.

"We went against schools from Little Rock, Arkansas; Springfield, Ohio; Canada; and a Southern California team. We won three of those four trials, and one of our witnesses, Mindy Morgan, won a trophy for being one of the best witnesses in the tournament. Each team member also showed tremendous personal improvement," he wrote in an email.

Way to go, team! Now, let's get ready for the Monterey County competition!

Laura Markham comes to Carmel

The Parent & Teacher Lecture Series of the Carmel Public Library Foundation will host Early Childhood Psychologist and Parent Educator, Dr. Laura Markham for a presentation and book signing.

Markham is the author of "Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids" and founding editor of AhaParenting.com. Markham assists parents in transforming their relationships with their children. She has appeared on the Morning Show and speaks to parent and school groups across the country.

Proceeds from the evening benefit the Carmel Public Library Foundation whose mission is to fund 100 percent of the collections, programs, equipment and services for Carmel Public Library, ensure free library service perpetuity.

The event will take place at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept, 16, at Carpenter Hall, Sunset Center, Lincoln St & 9th Ave, Carmel.

Cost: Free and open to the public. $10 suggested contribution. Proceeds benefit Carmel Public Library.