Two educators from the Orange Unified School District were recognized by the University of California, Davis during the 2022 C-STEM Conference in late October.
During the event, West Orange Elementary School Principal Dr. Monica Murray was announced as one of four California C-STEM Robotics Administrators of the Year and McPherson Magnet teacher Lauri Truong was recognized as one of seven California C-STEM Teachers of the Year.
UC Davis’s C-STEM Program focuses on integrating computing and robotics into classrooms with hands-on project-based learning. It is a UC-approved educational preparation program for undergraduate admission for K-12 and community college students to all UC campuses.
The C-STEM Teacher and Administrator of the Year Awards recognize individuals for their exceptional contributions to the creation and maintenance of programs that highlight computing, integrating computing into STEM subjects, and inspiring students to pursue careers and post-secondary study in STEM fields.
Robotics is at the center of Dr. Murray’s vision as her team strives to have C-STEM taught in every classroom at West Orange Elementary. She works to ensure that all students have access to materials necessary to participate.
Truong leads C-STEM classes for students in grade six through eight as part of the elective program at McPherson Magnet. She also runs an after-school C-STEM program for elementary students.
Here are the other stories we have been following this week:
- Sixty of the top educators in Orange County were honored at the annual Teachers of the Year dinner celebration. One of the five finalists, instrumental music teacher Ben Case, was chosen as a California Teacher of the Year by Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.
- STEM students from the Irvine and Tustin unified school districts were awarded for their dynamic innovations at this year’s Intel Global Impact Festival after participating in the Careers in AI Program.
- An upcoming two-day workshop hosted by OCDE will break down the fundamentals of community schools for educational teams and partners seeking to transform their own campuses.
- Two students from Orange County were selected to speak this year at the Global Health Leaders Conference led by Johns Hopkins University. The conference is an annual program that works to develop the next generation of leaders in global health, public health and medicine.
- The Laguna Beach Unified School District announced the appointment of Kim Johnson as its new director of early learning. Her new role will include working with children between the ages of 3 and 5 to lead them on the path toward school readiness.
- Nutrition services employees in the Santa Ana Unified School District are attending weekly cooking classes to brush up on their skills as the school system steps away from pre-made, frozen meals.
- The Ocean View School District Board of Trustees turned an unused property into a new park for the community. The piece of land was formerly a school that was closed in 1988 due to declining enrollment.
- Students from the Huntington Beach Union High School District showcased their creativity by personalizing parking spaces with art.
- Hundreds of students from the Orange County School of the Arts dressed up in creative Halloween costumes and performed a flash mob dance to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”
- A junior high school in the Fullerton School District that was named in honor of a former superintendent turned 50 years old in October.
- Laguna Beach High’s theater cast and crew of “She Kills Monsters” were surprised when Oscar-nominated actor and playwright Qui Nguyen came to see their show. After their performance, Nguyen spent some time to mentor the students.
- Ocean View High School students are learning math and how to work as a team as they run a small coffee business on campus.
- The Orange County Board of Education discussed a proposed policy that would prohibit, among other topics, “instruction that advocates or teaches communism with the intent to indoctrinate.” The Voice of OC reported that trustees asked for more time to discuss and work on the policy brought forward by trustee Ken Williams.
- Eight demonstrators drew the attention of current Orange County School of the Arts students on Thursday as they alleged that sexual misconduct occurred at the campus when they were students.
- The OC Health Care agency is urging residents to follow disease preventative measures in response to a spike in cases and emergency visits associated with respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.
- The OC Register reports that the division in the Placentia-Yorba Linda community is carrying into this election season as two incumbents face three challengers in the upcoming Nov. 8 election.
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