December 1999 News Archive
Thursday, December 16, 1999
Peggy Lubchenco Recognized as AAPG 1999 National Earth Science Teacher of the Year
La Colina Junior High School science teacher Peggy Lubchenco has been selected as the American Association of Petroleum Geologists’ (AAPG), and their non-profit foundation’s, 1999 National Earth Science Teacher of the Year. She will be honored at the April 16, 2000, AAPG National Convention in New Orleans. At that time, she will be presented with the AAPG $5,000 Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Natural Resources in the Earth Sciences. Half of the award is designated for use under the teacher’s supervision for educational purposes at his/her school. The $2,500 balance of the award is for personal use by the teacher. (According to Lubchenco, who was notified of the recognition on Tuesday, December 14, she has not yet been determined how the financial award will be used.) Also included will be an expense-paid trip to the AAPG national convention in New Orleans.
The American Association of Petroleum Geologists was established in 1917 and is based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is a 31,000-member international organization. The organization initiated the teacher recognition program in 1996. According to a representative of AAPG, "This award is given to recognize teachers who have gone beyond the textbook to incorporate applied geology into their lesson plan and bring students an appreciation of how one field of science touches their everyday life. We hope in recognizing teachers that we are encouraging other teachers to do the same."
"I am very humbled and honored to have been selected for this honor," stated Lubchenco. She went on to add, "I believe you are only as good as the people around you who give you encouragement and creative inspiration. This is the fourth school district I have served in during my 15-year teaching career and this District’s administration, our students and their parents, have all been very supportive of quality science education. Although this award recognizes my program at La Colina, our community is very fortunate to have a team of dedicated, hard-working science educators in our public schools."
In addition to the support of her colleagues, Lubchenco cited her collaborative partnership with Santa Barbara City College geology teacher Jan Dependahl. As an important part of her program’s success, Lubchenco and Dependahl design field trips for Lubchenco’s junior high school students. Collaboration with other science teachers in the county through the UCSB-sponsored Science Partnership for School Innovation has also added freshness and inspiration to the La Colina earth science program.
To be considered for this award, a teacher must have at least three years of full-time teaching experience, teach at least one unit per year on natural resources, and teach a unit that fits the AAPG’s definition of "natural resources." This fall, Lubchenco was selected as the Pacific Section AAPG nominee. As one of the five regional nominees, she was required to submit three letters of recommendation (provided by Santa Barbara School District Superintendent Michael Caston, La Colina Junior High School Principal David Ortiz, and Will Winn, a science teacher at Goleta Valley Junior High School) and complete an in-depth, application that included comprehensive lesson plans for earth science.
Prior to joining the Santa Barbara High School District in 1995, Lubchenco served as a junior high school science teacher in Seekonk, MA (1990-94) and Tauton, MA (1987-90) and as a high school science teacher in Marina, CA (1984-87). She received a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Science from Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO (1977); Teaching Credential in Life Sciences from Chapman College, Monterey, CA (1984); Master of Science in Biology from Brown University, Providence, RI (1994).
During the second semester of the 1999-2000 school year, Mrs. Lubchenco will be on sabbatical, expanding her science experience. She will travel to New Zealand with her husband, Dr. Steve Gaines, and her two daughters, Erin and Andrea, exploring the geology of New Zealand and Australia and visiting local schools to observe earth science classes in action down under. During that time she will stay in contact with her La Colina students through the Internet.
Santa Barbara High School Students Line Up to Serve their Community
For the second year in a row, Santa Barbara High School, home of the Dons, will host D.O.N.S. Day, an acronym for Doing Outstanding Non-profit Service. D.O.N.S. Day will take place on Wednesday, December 8, 1999, in the school’s gymnasium. Students will visit during their second through fourth periods (9:00 a.m. to noon). Structured along the lines of a "job fair," about 40-50 non-profit organizations will provide information and sign up student volunteers.
SBHS Community Service Coordinator Bill Dodson expects 1,000 students to participate this year and visit tables staffed by representatives from groups such as Easy Lift, Art From Scrap, First Night, and Life Chronicles. With a "passport" in hand, students will travel from table to table, gaining information and having their passports stamped. Students with a minimum of five stamps on their passport will be eligible to enter a raffle, where they have a chance to win prizes.
Dodson noted that the same event was well received last spring, when over 35 organizations attended. Among the sign ups from the first D.O.N.S. Day, more than 50 students made a commitment to work as Museum of Natural History dinoguides. Transition House had over 40 students express an interest in volunteering. "We feel that D.O.N.S. Day will give local non-profit organizations a chance to show the good work they do in our community. We also see this event giving our students a view of how to help. We hope that D.O.N.S. Day becomes a Santa Barbara High tradition," said Dodson.
D.O.N.S. Day draws attention to the District-wide 60-hour community service requirement for high school graduation. Students have four years to accumulate community service hours. Santa Barbara High has been phasing in the community service requirement. The requirement applies to current freshmen, sophomores, and juniors.
Santa Barbara High School is located at 700 E. Anapamu Street. For additional D.O.N.S. Day information, call Bill Dodson at 966-9101, extension 227.
Goleta Valley Junior High Students Reach Goal of "2000 by 2000"
In late September, Librarian Gerry Sottak challenged Goleta Valley Junior High’s 930 students and staff to read at least two books by the year 2000 in order to reach a school-wide reading goal of "2000 by 2000." At weekly intervals, as books are read, interlacing rings (paper strips identifying the reader, book title, and author) have been added to the paper chain that circles the library ceiling. On Thursday, December 2nd at 11:15 a.m., an "Over The Top" ceremony will take place in the school library, when students learn that they have reached their goal.
The paper links provide a visual reference for students to gauge their reading progress. They are eagerly monitoring a whiteboard posted in the library that indicates the current total. It took 1,200 paper links to circumnavigate the library. Currently, with almost 1,800 links, the multi-colored chain is circling the library a second time.
Teacher Jennifer Kroger saw her 13-year-old students embrace the word "challenge" and the idea of being part of a school-wide goal. She has been incorporating a library unit into her English curriculum to help familiarize students with different types of books and how to locate subjects that are of personal interest to them. According to Kroger, "I think this has also helped to make the library seem less intimidating and more accessible. Students are gaining the confidence to explore more books on their own now that their interest has been sparked by this reading challenge!"
Holding a short length of chain, Librarian Sottak noted that for some students who have difficulty reading, "...this paper link may represent the first book they have ever read cover to cover, it reflects hours and hours of work." What Sottak didn’t realize when she set the original goal was the level of enthusiasm that students would have for "2000 by 2000." With words that are music to every educator’s ears, countless students have told Mrs. Sottak that they would like to see this reading project continue through the school year.
Goleta Valley Junior High School is located at 6100 Stow Canyon Road.