October 3, 2008

Evergreen SchoolScene

Nhi Quach: Exploring the globe

By Alka Joshi
Special to the Times

UCLA student Nhi Quach is ecstatic about spending the next 27 months in Africa with the Peace Corps. Little did she realize when she left Vietnam for San José six years ago that she would make a habit of crisscrossing the world. “The first time, I freaked out because I didn’t speak English. Everything was so different, but I learned new skills. The second time, it will be easier. I’m no longer scared of something different, something new,” says Nhi, whose family of four settled in Seattle, Washington, in 2002. Two years later, she lost her father to cancer.

UCLA student Nhi Quach

When her uncle and aunt in San José were also diagnosed with cancer, 19-year-old Nhi came to the area to take care of their small children. Although her uncle passed away, her aunt survived and encouraged Nhi to attend Evergreen Valley College and take ESL and math classes. “At first, I was so intimidated. Everyone already seemed to have friends. But then I started to make friends, too.”

Nhi credits her EVC professors for instilling a cultural curiosity in her. She loved the exposure to writers from around the world in her English classes at EVC. “I learned about literature and how being able to read it critically allows you to grow. I got different perspectives about so many cultures.”

Paying for college is a challenge for anyone. Nhi was able to get by comfortably with financial aid, working 20 hours a week and taking out a student loan. Another thing that helped was her foresight in taking as many upper division courses as she could at EVC at $20 a unit instead of at the heftier UCLA price tag.

After attaining 60 credits at EVC, she went on to UCLA. Originally, she had planned to apply her BS in Biology towards the eventual goal of becoming a doctor or dentist, but she noticed that not one of her classmates wanted to teach the future doctors and dentists of America. At UCLA Nhi took a course where she explored the teaching profession and now believes that her passion may lie in teaching at the medical and dental schools because “it’s more fun working with students than grownups!”

With the Peace Corps in Africa, Nhi will be teaching science or math, so she’ll have a chance to find out whether she’s cut out for it. With her newfound passion for travel and confidence in her ability to navigate any shore, Nhi Quach may have a lot more exploring to do before she settles down.

Silver Creek Day at the Oakland Raiders

The Silver Creek High School Parent Teacher Student Association (SCHS PTSA) is proud to announce an exciting new addition to the Silver Creek Raiders family – the Oakland Raiders.

Through the ongoing efforts by members of the Silver Creek community, the Oakland Raider organization has approached the Silver Creek Raiders with a proposal to help out our school programs where they can. While several different events are being planned in this partnership for the near future, our first exciting event is Silver Creek Raiders Day at the upcoming NFL game between the Oakland Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs in Oakland on Sunday, Nov. 30.

No matter which ticket category you are interested in, the price of each ticket includes game admission, a hot dog lunch and an official Oakland Raiders ball cap. (The $50 tickets are in the light green colored sections; the $60 tickets are in the white colored sections; and the $85 tickets are in the light blue end zone sections.) Through the generosity of the Oakland Raiders, a portion of every ticket sold by Silver Creek High School for this Silver Creek Day at the Oakland Raiders game goes to benefit our high school.

To order your tickets, print and fill out the order form at right and send it back to SCHS PTSA with your check (made out to SCHS PTSA) to one of the addresses noted in the form.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to give us a call (408) 309-0191 or email us at wongclan@sbcglobal.net. Please join us and support the Silver Creek Raiders and the Oakland Raiders at the same time… and come out for a fun time!

Thank you very much for your time and your support for our public high school!

—Ed Wong
SCHS PTSA Co-President and SCHS

Barnes & Noble set to roll out the red carpet (or make that apples!) at Educator Appreciation Week events

During the week of Oct. 11-19, Barnes & Noble stores across the country will roll out the red carpet (or make that apples!) to honor pre-K through grade 12 educators in their communities with fun events and special receptions.

“We partner with schools year-round, but at our fall appreciation events, we really take the time to thank educators for all their hard work,” said Sarah DiFrancesco, Barnes & Noble’s Director of Community Relations. “Educators are so vital to our children’s lives. They teach them to read and inspire in them a love of learning. Our booksellers take pride in creating special events to show how much we appreciate them.”

The Barnes & Noble store at Eastridge Shopping Center in San Jose will host several educator events through the month of October. They include the following:

1. Educator Reception featuring children’s author Pam Carroll. (Golden Numbers- A California Number Book), Brian Herzog (T Is For Touchdown) and more - Thursday, Oct. 16 at 4:30 p.m. - Learn how Barnes & Noble can be a great resource for you in the classroom. Obtain lots of free materials.

2. Educator Special Event featuring Dr. Harry Wong, Author Of The First Days of School - Thursday, Oct. 30 at 4:30 p.m.

To RSVP for both receptions, please contact Michael Koller, Community Relations Manager at (408) 270-9477 or crm2247@bn.com and leave your name, school, phone number and grade taught.

A few popular items are featured at every event - the chance for educators to win a $500 Barnes & Noble gift card, author school visit, fabulous prizes and giveaways, a 25 percent discount on classroom and personal purchases, and a 10 percent discount on CDs and DVDs.

All Pre-K through 12th grade school teachers and administrators will receive 25 percent* off their book purchases and 10 percent off DVDs and music from Oct. 11-19 when they present their valid Barnes & Noble Educators Discount Card. *Normal exclusions apply. See any bookseller for details.

San Jose Introduces Expanded Youth Guide on Police, Safety and Crime

Mayor Chuck Reed, Independent Police Auditor Barbara Attard and Chief of Police Rob Davis have produced a revised and expanded Student’s Guide to Police Practices.

The purpose of the guide is to educate young people and their parents on issues that challenge today’s youth. Basic police practices, important legal issues, and laws that affect young people are discussed. The guide contains suggestions on interacting with police officers and on how to avoid being victimized by crime. A number of new topics are included, such as: gangs, cyberbullying, hate crimes, internet safety and dating abuse. Valuable city and community services are listed in the resource section of the guide.

Copies of the guide are available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese and may also be downloaded at www.sanjoseca.gov/IPA. Presenta-tions about topics covered in the guide are available for students 6th grade and above by calling the IPA office at (408) 794-6226.

2nd Annual ECEG Celebrity Basketball Game Oct. 11

Evergreen Community Education Group (ECEG), a group of parents from all Evergreen Schools, and Silver Creek High School, will be hosting their 2nd annual Celebrity Basketball Game 7 p.m. on Oct. 11 at the Silver Creek High School Gymnasium. Celebrities this year will be provided by First Down Promotions, a company that assists schools, service organizations and charities in their fundraising activities by producing and staging benefit basketball games between past NFL players and local amateur teams. $10 Game tickets and $2 raffle tickets are on sale at all Evergreen School District schools or by calling Rich Velasquez at (408) 238-7050. A pre-game dinner with entertainment will be offered this year for $5 pre-sales and $6 at the door starting at 4:30 p.m. Those interested in supporting this event through the purchase of raffle tickets, sponsorships and/or donations can contact Robin Guzikowski at robinguz@sbcglobal.net. The members of the ECEG which is made up of the Evergreen Council of PTAs and Silver Creek High School wish to thank you all for supporting our schools and our community! All monies raised in conjunction with these events support all schools in the Evergreen School District.

MAEP offers a variety of new classes for Fall

Ever wish you could learn to cook and dance like they do on television? Now you can! Metropolitan Adult Education Program’s Erikson Center is offering a wide variety of new classes for the fall including Chocolate Decadence, Ballroom Dance, Positive Parenting and over 300 online courses.

New cooking classes include Chocolate Decadence where students will be taught how to temper and handle chocolate, and create beautiful and tasty desserts and confections; and Italian Cooking (demonstration class only) where students learn the art of Italian Cooking.

Dance classes include Ballroom Dance, Miami Style Salsa and Nightclub Dance. No prior dancing experience is needed to enroll in the dance classes.

And for the holiday season, learn to make beautiful holiday cards in MAEP’s Cards, Cards, Cards class. Planning a holiday celebration but need some tips on making the event go more smoothly? Take the Holiday Entertaining Made Easy course to help jump-start your next large event.

MAEP also offers a Positive Parenting class to enhance your skills in raising children and a Conflict Resolution/Anger Management course to teach you how to resolve conflicts more effectively.

Don’t have time to come to school for a class? Try one of our more than 300+ online classes. Online classes are available 24 hours a day, run for six weeks and are non-credited. For a complete list of online courses, visit www.ed2go.com/metroed.

To register for any of the classes offered at MAEP’s Erikson Center located at 4849 Pearl Avenue, San Jose, call (408) 723-6450 or visit www.MetroED.net. Most classes begin in October and November. Pre-registration is required before attending classes.

Innovative Learning Conference 2008

Registration is now open for Innovative Learning Conference 2008. This three-day event – Oct. 14-16 in San Jose, California – will offer more than 60 in-depth, hands-on workshops, 200 insightful sessions, expert presenters and hundreds of exhibitors. You’ll see the latest innovations in classroom technology and leave with valuable materials, ideas, strategies and plans that will enhance your classroom, school or district. Learn more – or register now – at www.ilc2008.org.

Ed-tech conference leaders FETC and CUE are teaming up for the first time to bring education’s brightest thinkers together for the advancement of classroom technology at (ILC). This brand-new event will be the place to obtain innovative educational strategies for improving K-12 student achievement.

Expert speakers and respected thought leaders include keynote speaker Danny Forster, host of the Discovery Channel’s “Build it Bigger.” Sessions at ILC 2008 will be presented in four main focus areas: Innovation, Leadership and Administra-tion, Teaching and Learning and Technology Management.