Fontana Unified Family STEM Showcase Highlights Innovative Curriculum
Programming drones and getting behind the wheel of a forklift simulator, Fontana Unified parents and students explored new aspects of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) during the District’s inaugural Family STEM Showcase, held May 4 at Citrus High School. Among the new technology available for students in the fall are Microsoft’s HoloLens augmented reality headsets, HTC Vive virtual reality headsets, heavy equipment simulators, an inflatable planetarium and a Makerspace collaborative work lab.
Henry J. Kaiser High School senior Jashandeep Lobana – an accomplished tri-sport athlete, AP scholar and avid volunteer – has been recognized as a 2019 Gates Scholar, one of two in Fontana Unified and among 300 students in the nation to be honored. Lobana’s academic feats have already secured him a $40,000 Edison International scholarship and admission to Johns Hopkins University, where he plans to study neuroscience before attending medical school and pursuing a career in neurosurgery.
Fontana Unified School District showcased student excellence, touted award-winning schools and programs and announced two major projects at the 2019 State of the District scholarship breakfast on April 23 at Center Stage Theater. During a keynote address, Superintendent Randal S. Bassett announced the District’s two newest projects to propel the District forward: an innovative secondary school that will feature a museum and community science center; and a 1:1 tech device initiative that ensures every student has access to a laptop or tech device in the classroom.
Jurupa Hills High School senior Kaitlyn Dodgen – an International Baccalaureate Class of 2019 Diploma Candidate – has been recognized as a 2019 Gates Scholar by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, one of just 300 students across the United States to receive the honor. Dodgen, who has a 4.6 GPA, was accepted into more than a dozen colleges, including two Ivy League schools, and will attend the University of Chicago to study statistics. The university has an acceptance rate of less than 10 percent.
Fontana Unified will hold its first-ever Family STEM Showcase from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 4, providing families with a day of engaging activities that highlight science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) offerings in FUSD schools. The event, hosted on Star Wars Day, will feature activities like Minecraft, coding, robotics, rocketry, augmented and virtual reality, 3-D printing, Makerspaces, an innovation bus, an escape room and more. The free event will be at Citrus High School, 10760 Cypress Ave., Fontana.
As cheerleaders chanted “We are Southridge Tech,” Fontana Unified board members, administrators, educators and students celebrated Southridge Tech Middle School’s honor as one of 16 California schools newly chosen for the 2019 Schools to Watch list. The Schools to Watch list, created by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform, identifies schools across the U.S. that share three features: academic excellence, developmentally responsive to early adolescence and social equity.
Fontana Unified School District on April 17 renamed Dorothy Grant Elementary School and Southridge Middle School to reflect the schools’ efforts to prepare students for the academic and professional challenges of the future. Grant becomes the Dorothy Grant Innovations Academy, paying homage to the school’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) academies. Grant is also home to one of Fontana Unified’s two Code to the Future programs, which engages students in technology-based lessons and develops block coding, robotics and scripted coding skills.
Fontana Unified Students Accepted to UC Summer STEM Programs
Jurupa Hills High School students Carlos Ortega-Cuellar and Elian Lintang will explore college-level science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects through the California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science (COSMOS), a four-week residential program for high-achieving math and science students. Ortega-Cuellar will study engineering mechanics at UC Davis while Lintang will study engineering at UC San Diego.
Fontana Unified Renames Elementary School, Middle School
Fontana Unified School District on April 17 renamed Dorothy Grant Elementary School and Southridge Middle School to reflect the schools’ efforts to prepare students for the challenges of the future. Grant will be known as Dorothy Grant Innovations Academy, paying homage to the school’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) academy and Code to the Future program. Southridge is now Southridge Tech Middle School, reflecting the school’s efforts to prepare students to boost academic achievement through technology and celebrating its status as a Microsoft Showcase School.
Dressed in Dolores Huerta-inspired T-shirts while chanting “Si Se Puede,” students from Fontana Unified’s Dolores Huerta International Academy welcomed Huerta to campus on April 15 to celebrate her 89th birthday. Students showcased dancing skills while holding flags from different countries, showing what it means to be a part of an international academy, and performed a skit about Huerta’s life as an activist.
