DIY Bookmark Blog

Are you tired of dog-ear marking your book pages?  Here are three do-it-yourself solutions to boring bookmarks.

View the video here.

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By Kira & Maya, School News Team

Beach Clean Up Day - Service39

Beach Clean Up

By: Kolby & Colin, School News Reporters

Say thank you to all the people that came to the beach cleanup. It was hosted on Saturday, September 19th by I Love A Clean San Diego and Service39. Design39Campus students, their family, and their friends helped the community and helped stop pollution. Many people participated in the Del Mar beach clean up, and those people have been coming every year to help protect the sea.  

At the beach they were given a bag for trash, a bag for recycling, a pencil, and a tally sheet to keep track of what you pick up. The list included things like, bottle caps, water bottles, fishing equipment, plastic paper dishes, bags, food, and more.

You could walk down on the sandy beach of Del Mar looking for garbage. Or you could walk above the beach around the park and playground. There were trails that led down the coast next to the Amtrak Surfliner and San Diego County Coaster (the two trains that go up and down the Del Mar Coast.)

Lastly, you can go to the beach every year and help keep our community clean.

Thank you to all the D39C families who came out to help clean the beach!    

A BRIDGE TO BRIDGE!

A BRIDGE TO BRIDGE! 

By Eurielle and Riley  

Our fun after school program, BRIDGE, has got fun

active games for our students! It is a cool way to continue school if parents are at work. Mr. Donny, our BRIDGE head staff that works full time, has creative activities for our students.  

We asked him questions about BRIDGE and we got some interesting answers. “What do you like most about BRIDGE?” we asked. “It gives students an opportunity to continue their school day with Exploration and MIM.  We’re trying to make that the most fun for the students.”

The students can continue school and work on homework, study, and play fun games during BRIDGE. “What are some of the projects you guys have done and are doing?” we asked. “Some things are simple arts and crafts and cardboard building and music or robotics.” They do cool crafts like for example, salt art. They make pictures with glue then sprinkle salt on top. It turned out really cool in the end.

“What has changed from last year and this year?”  Last year was Design39Campus’ first year and grand opening for the students. “Staff are bringing their superpowers, more kids, and 7th graders.” Since this is the second year at Design39campus, it should have changed. “Do you have special plans for students this year?” Mr. Donny answered saying that there was a new program called Mentors to Motivate. Mentors to Motivate is a program where students receive additional homework assistance. Each student has a mentor. They can do arts and crafts. Or play at the basketball courts!

This was what Mr. Donny had to say about the amazing BRIDGE! After gathering this information we came to the conclusion that you better watch out because this year BRIDGE is gonna be AWESOME!

First Grade Halloween Projects

First Grade Halloween Projects

By Ella M. and Kate R., School News Team Reporters

Guess who is doing halloween projects! First graders! Mrs. Kasner and Mrs. Jacob’s class have decided to make costumes of the students’ choice. They are going to have an exhibition on October 30th. At the exhibition, all the groups will have their own booth presenting what they have worked so hard to create. Some kids are making costumes from real life animals and some are doing ghosts and other imaginary things like that. At their exhibition the student will present, What can I see? What can I hear? What can I do?

These kids are 6 or 7 years old and already doing a project that involves researching and lots of time to get the perfect costume. They are using www.kidfacts.com to get all the facts that they need to make their project look like the real thing. They have to find three facts to be able to do their project.  They have a packet that they are all filling out with all the information they need and also drawing what their project is going to look like.

Some kids are making a mask, claws, body, and legs with all the real prints on them. Others are going to be cats. They are also going to make a mask and a shirt and even a shirt as a costume. These students are taking a big step with this project and are working very hard on it. They have come a long way and are doing an amazing job.  We can’t wait to see how everything turns out!

Soles For Souls

Soles For Souls

By Colin A., 6th grader, School News Team

The person who brought the Soles for Souls Foundation to Design39Campus is 7th grade student Layla Marzona. The purpose of the Soles for Souls Foundation is to help out other people in the world that do not have shoes and that are getting diseases from not wearing shoes.

Layla Marzona wanted to help out because she wanted to donate shoes to people who need them and don’t have any shoes. Kenya is one of the areas of the world that do not have shoes to wear and now they are getting diseases.  Layla Marzona posted a video on YouTube which talks about the Soles for Souls Foundation and how wearing shoes helps the world. Also it helps the environment and recycling.

So many people throw away their shoes everyday, and she wanted to make use of those by giving them to other people who do not have any shoes. The boxes that hold the shoes are not here anymore because the event is over now. But Layla did collect 550 shoes and her goal was to get 500 shoes. That’s awesome!.

Thank you Layla Marzona for bringing this wonderful, creative Soles for Souls Foundation to Design39Campus.

Service39 Making a Change in Our World

Service39 Making a Change in Our World

By Lauren M., School News Reporter

Our first round of explorations is over and our new ones are here. Service39 is one of the many new explorations here at Design39Campus. It is a way for students to not only interact with their school, but to interact with their community. While in Service 39, you get to find a charitable topic that you can use to write an project proposal, make a flyer, and to put your project out into the community. While doing this you can earn money for a good cause!

Kolby, grade 6, weaving a waterproof sleeping
mat for the homeless.

While interviewing Mrs. Eveleth, the LED of this class,  I learned some interesting things about Service39. The Service39 class is an extension of D39C’s Collaborative group, and it was created by two parents, Mrs. Bradshaw and Mrs. McKittrick. After some brainstorming, the Service39 participants decided to create care packages for the homeless. As Mrs. Eveleth said, everyone is responsible for a part of the package. Some students are responsible for figuring out a way to pack the goods and decorate the package.  Some students are responsible for weaving a 6 foot by 3 foot waterproof sleeping mat made out of Plarn, a yarn made out of recycled plastic bags. Other students are collecting blanket, toys and other things for the homeless people including pet food, toys for young children, and other goodies.

Service39 is doing a great deed to our world. Thanks Service39!

Mrs. De La Torre’s Spanish Class

Mrs. De La Torre’s Spanish Class

By: Colin Altevers Harris

Mrs. De La Torre is a 6th grade homeroom teacher and 7th grade Spanish teacher. She is teaching a Spanish Deep Dive for seventh grade students this year. She obviously wanted to teach Spanish because it is her native language. She was born in Mexico, on the border area. She moved to the United States when she was seven years old. 

During this past week, Mrs. De La Torre gave her students a project. The project was on different areas in the world. The students made  shirts at home and came back with them completed.  The t-shirts had pictures from different areas of the world that speak Spanish.  Also the students put sentences on the front of the t-shirts in Spanish. Here is one of the students from her class.

Mrs. De La Torre would like to teach every grade Spanish.  She thinks eventually our whole school will have a familiarity with Spanish. Mrs. De La Torre also thinks the kids are having fun learning a new language like Spanish.

The E-Waste Drive - October 28th & 29th

The E-Waste Drive

Helping out the Global Problem

By: Nitya, School News Reporter

Do you have any old devices in your house that you don’t use, or just don’t work?  Well, I’m here to tell you that those devices can be hazardous to you and other people.  Those devices add onto a big problem called e-waste.

You may be wondering, what is e-waste or why it is a problem?  E-waste is all of the old, broken, unused devices just lying about.  It’s a problem, because all of these devices have many chemicals inside of them, waiting to leak out.  When you throw these devices out, they land in a landfill. When they just sit in a landfill, lead, mercury, and even more chemicals leak out and poison the ground, the air, or water source.  These chemicals also affect the health of the people in the surrounding area.

Some students at Design39 have chosen to do something about this e-waste problem.  So, do you have any old devices in your house that you don’t use, or just don’t work that you really want to get rid of?  Well, if you do, the chance to get rid of them is coming soon. On October 28th and 29th, the First Lego League Team, ‘EVAwesome’,  will collect your e-waste for recycling after school at Design 39.  Drop off your old devices in the e-waste collection bin, located at the school parking lot. Once you drop it off, the electronic waste will get picked up and recycled.  Not only will you get rid of the devices you don’t need, but you will help solve a global problem.  Help out the school and the earth, take care of this digital problem.

Crime Scene Investigation

Crime Scene Investigation

By Maia K. and Angelyn, Schools News Team

Have you heard? There’s been a crime at Design39Campus! But never fear, the CSI is on it! CSI stands for Crime Scene Investigation. Of course, not the actual CSI, the Design39Campus CSI. That’s right, our school is now offering a CSI class to 6th and 7th graders. The class will have guest speakers, such as real members of the CSI, a police officer, and a lawyer. The students in this interesting exploration will learn chemical analysis, how to tell if something is a forgery, how to find a person based on their dental records, they'll  learn to lift fingerprints, and document a scene. They’ll play the game “Clue”, and eventually, they’ll create their own crime scene. If you didn’t get in, don’t worry, Mrs. Gonzales will probably offer it again, over 90 kids signed up for this popular choice. No more information can be given about this exploration. You’ll have to find out about the CSI class for yourself, because the rest of the information, is classified.

What is 7th Grade PLTW?

What is 7th Grade PLTW?

By Bella and Fiona, School News Team

What is the 7th grade PLTW? PLTW stands for Project Lead the Way, and can be for any grade. To specify it to one level, Mrs. Gonzalez's 7th grade PLTW includes building motors, snap circuit systems, nightlights, and many other awesome activities. They also learn about electrons, atoms, electrical currents, and a bunch of other interesting science things.

Audrey Skeen, one of the many students in 7th grade PLTW, answered a few of our questions. “We’ve done snap circuits, [which is] kind of what we’re doing right now. [Also,] we’ve done building, engineering, science and math, [and] we made motors and telegraphs. [During this unit] we’re going to be making night lights and solar powered cars.” There is always a project to look forward to!

While we were watching the PLTW class, we experienced a slight mishap. These can be expected when working with electricity and power tools, so students have to exercise caution when participating in PLTW. Jack Lee explained the reason of the accident to us. “We were trying to make a snap circuit with a light and a fan without it blowing up, and it just did blow up! [The battery] exploded because we overheated it… We had six batteries and our snap circuit was also connected to the outlet, which is like over 125 volts, [and] is way too much. [(Volts are like the amount of energy in something. A battery usually has about 1.5 volts. )]” The battery didn’t actually burst spraying stuff everywhere, but a greyish, bubbly liquid oozed out of it. Mrs. Gonzalez, who is quite experienced in electricity and building projects, hastily removed the battery before anyone accidentally touched it. The stuff inside a battery is acidic, and can give a nasty burn. PLTW is a very exciting class. Students build, learn, and experience many interesting things. You never know what will happen or what you will build in PLTW!

Science Olympiad

Science Olympiad

The time of year has come again! It's time for the Olympics. The Science Olympics. It is D39’s second time competing in Science Olympiad and the students are stoked!

Science Olympiad, for those who don't know, is an after-school program which students take hands-on classes that teach them about science. Each specific class is based on a different aspect of science, including engineering, physics, and chemistry. The classes each also have a theme that goes along with the subject of science, for example, Crime Busters, Bottle Rockets, Bio Process Lab, and Disease Detectives. Each class is unique and super fun!  

     Once you learn what class you’re in, you and your class trains for five months. After training, certain students are chosen to make up teams. Then, using all the knowledge you learned, your team competes against all types of teams, all around the region. This year's competition is going to be on February 6, 2016 at Carlsbad High. It's going to be exciting to know what place we get this year!

     Overall, Science Olympiad is a great experience for everybody! Students have learned a lot and have had so much fun so far. It's going to be an awesome year, and hopefully we will do great on the competition. See you there!    

Celebrating Veterans Day with DIY’s

Celebrating Veterans Day with DIY’s

By: Cadence N. and Malak S.

November 11th is the day we celebrate Veteran’s Day, a day to honor all victims and veterans from all US wars. It is also the anniversary of the end of World War I. To show appreciation for a veteran we can celebrate with a special craft.

Veterans Day Cards! These supportive cards are the perfect gift for a veteran. The things you will need to make these cards are one blank card, some blue, white, and red paper, a marker or sharpie, and glue. Also, try to find a piece of paper that is the same color as the card. First, write your message inside and write “Thank You” at the bottom on the face of the card. Next, take your red paper and cut a rectangle that will fit in the blank space, do the same thing for the white and blue. Then, take the same colored paper as the card and cut out three stars and place them on the bottom of the red, white, and blue stripes. Lastly, glue the stars on the strips and then glue the strips on the card!

Flag my Heart! To make this simple craft you will need red paper, white paper, blue paper, glue, and scissors. First, take the red paper and cut out the shape of a heart. Next, take your blue and cut out a square. Than, take your white paper and cut out a star and three stripes. Finally, glue them in their places and you are done!

Hands Together as One! This is a picture for your veteran. You will need Blue Paint, Red Paint, White Paint, a piece white paper, and a paint brush.  First take your white paper, blue paint, and the paint brush and make a square/rectangle in the top left corner.  Next paint your fingers white and place them on the blue to make stars. After  paint your whole hand red and place them on the paper to make red stripes. Ta-Da! You care finished with your Hands Together as One Project!

Lastly are Flag Flower Jars! To make this craft you will need Red Paint, White Paint, Blue Paint, a Star Stencil and 3 mason jars.  First you will take two of the mason jars and paint white and red stripes. Next take your 3rd jar and paint it blue. When the blue jar dries take the stencil and paint stars from the stencil. Ta-Da! Now you have crafty, different flower jars!

Ideas adapted from:

Flag Flower Jars - http://mysoulfulhome.com/patriotic-ideas-projects/

Veterans Day Card - http://colorfulom.blogspot.com/2011/06/cas-ual-fridays-challenge-color-block.html

Flag my Heart! - http://www.acupcakefortheteacher.com/2012/04/heart-flag-this-memorial-day.html

Hands Together as One! - http://crafts.lovetoknow.com/wiki/American_Flag_Crafts_for_Kids

What’s Going on During Lunch?

What’s Going on During Lunch?

Article By: Kate Rozell and Eurielle Hasim, School News Team

Here at Design39Campus, we have so many activities for students to get active during lunch time and great  lunches and areas for kids. If you buy lunch, they measure all the protein, nutrition, calories, carbohydrate, fat, and vitamins in the food to make sure our students are eating a healthy lunch. Bringing lunch is a good option too, you can pack your child’s meal. We have 3 areas for students to eat lunch. We have the turf (the false grass), the outdoor lunch tables, and in the Showcase. The Showcase is more cooler than the other areas because it has air conditioning. If you are too cold to sit in there, there is always the outdoor lunch tables. But if there are too many kids, maybe you can sit on the turf.

       One of the favorite activities is scooter games in the Fitness Lab. The Fitness Lab is split into two sections and one part is for strength and training and getting fit. The other part is for scooters and other fun games. For the students’ safety, we have Motion Managers to keep us safe from doing dangerous things or if they think we could get hurt by what we’re doing. People also like playing in the Pavilion. Sometimes kids play with scooters there, too. Usually, on certain days, dodgeball is open and the students split up into two teams and play. 

On the black top, there are quite a few games to play. They painted white shapes on the ground so students could play four corners and fun games like that. There are handball walls, basketball, and tetherball. Some kids create their own games on the field but kids mostly play soccer.  A fun thing to do if you don’t want to play outside, is go into the gameroom! The gameroom has a lot of fun activities. There is ping pong and foosball and a whole world of fun games. There is arts and crafts, rainbow loom, card games, board games, and puzzles, too. The game room is open at lunch time every Tuesday and Thursday, for now. Soon, they’re going to change the days so we can have more time in the game room.

Kids love the fun activities we have going on at lunch and we are lucky to have so many happy students in this campus.

Art and Design at Design39

Art and Design at Design39

by Angelyn, School News Team

There are many good Deep Dives that are happening at this school for 6th and 7th grade students. But not everyone knows what they are and what they do. So here is one of them, the Art and Design Deep Dive.

Right now in the Art and Design class, Mrs. Grissom is teaching contouring line drawing. Mrs. Grissom said, “They used what they have learned to use, the elements of design and the principle of art.” She has planned to do outside composition with the students soon.

Mrs. Grissom chose this class to teach because she loves art and teach students the best it can be. She teaches kids to express themselves.

I asked a few questions to the students during 6/7 Deep Dive.  So let’s see what they say about Art and Design.

Faith likes art but sometimes she thinks it’s frustrating. She chose this class as her Deep Dive because she mainly likes art. The most interesting thing she likes about this class is countering drawing. Countering drawing is when you look at what you’re drawing and make it look realistic.  So far, Faith thinks she made a lot of progress. She pretty much like to draw during her free time but not all always.

Taylor may like the Art and Design class. The interesting thing that she likes about the class is probably drawing their shoes. She wouldn’t choose this class again because she want to try different Deep Dives. She likes everything that is happening in this class and there is nothing she doesn’t like. Taylor thinks that she is doing pretty well in the Deep Dive.

Melisa likes this class because it let her and the class express their drawing. The thing that Melisa likes about this class is the art and Mrs. Grissom. The most interesting thing about this class is doing a lot of countering drawing. The thing that Melissa doesn’t like about this class is that they have to use certain drawing tools to complete their projects. She thinks she is doing really well in the elements of art. During Melisa’s free time, she always draw because her passion is drawing.

The students and their class have learned a lot about art since the first day of Deep Dive. From making their drawing realistic, drawing their shoe, and drawing outside. They have learned so much from their Deep Dive teacher, Mrs. Grissom.

7th Graders are Off to Camp!

7th graders are off to camp!

By Tamara Alsaied, School News Team

From October 5th to October 9th, 7th graders of Design39 will be shipped off to Cuyamaca Outdoor School. The outdoor education camp is typically for 6th graders but, the LED’s of 6th and 7th grade decided it’s best to have the 6th graders go to a three day camp, and have the 7th graders go on a five day camp. The camp, or outdoor school, will solely be focused on education of the environment.

Bella, a 7th grade student in Mr. Fitzpatrick's homeroom, explained to me in further depth about the outdoor education center. “One day we will be doing archery and rock climbing, and another day we will be learning about the environment. It’s kind of pricey though, $375 per student!” Mr. Fitzpatrick (shown on the right) has gone to Camp Cuyamaca 14 times! “You will be learning without knowing it!” Mr. Fitzpatrick tells us about the camp. Students will be separated into groups for when they go on adventures.  

While some students are on adventures, other students will be in the outdoor classroom. In the outdoor classroom students will be learning about the environment. Sounds like fun, right! On the website, the officials says that students come back to their regular learning environment more successful with learning!  And don’t worry, if you have food allergies they won’t give you the food allergy. They have a kitchen with a chef on the campus!

7th graders, have lots of fun and 6th graders, let’s enjoy our short lunch lines. If you would like to learn more about Camp Cuyamaca just click on the link down below! http://www.sdcoe.net/student-services/outdoored/pages/outdoor-schools-6th-grade-camp.aspx

Chicks of the School

Chicks of the School

by: Nitya and Ella, School News Reporters

Have you heard the news?  There are baby chicks at school!  

Mrs. Lamb’s class had school funds from last year and it was decided that they would raise chicks.  At first it was just for fun, but now it’s a Deep Dive for kids to try.  The class had fun raising the chicks and still are.

At first is was a lot of waiting, 3 weeks with nothing going on.  Recently the first chick hatched, and most had all hatched within 24 hours. The chicks are in the incubator to keep warm just like a hen would do. Mrs. Lamb said, “It gets to about 95 or a 100 degrees in there.”  That is how hot it needs to be for the chicks to hatch.

You start the process of hatching chicks by getting eggs, but you can’t just get any eggs, you have to get fertile ones. So you cannot just get eggs from the grocery store, you have to get eggs that have been fertilized by a rooster.  You also need special equipment to raise these eggs, like the egg turner and the incubator, which Mrs. Lamb already had when she taught 2nd grade.  

One interesting thing that you can do when raising chickens is, after 10 day you can take the egg out of the incubator and hold it up to a very bright light so you can see whether or not the chick is growing.  The class did this to see if the chicks were growing, and if the chicks are growing, they will most likely make it through the journey of life.  

When the chicks are all hatched and ready to go, the students will foster the chicks for about a week  and then send them off to a farm.  One student actually has a chicken coop at his house so he can raise a chick at his house.  

The class has almost completed the process of hatching chicks, but no matter what, the chicks of the school will always be cute and cool.

Architecture of Design39Campus

Architecture of Design39Campus

Written By: Kate Rozell & Julia Wang

From the outside of the school to the internal heart where the learning happens, you can be assured that the architecture and design of Design39Campus is cozy and comfortable for all the students.

“Collaboratories”

The whiteboard walls scattered around the school campus in the Collaboratories and classrooms, are great for writing down your thoughts on a large surface. Other people can write down and share their thoughts and ideas on it as well.

As you can see, the Collaboratory is a large and friendly environment with comfortable seating and guitar pick shaped tables that are literally made for collaborating!

“The Gallery”

Presentations are also a great way to share your opinions, thoughts, and facts. A great area in the school to share presentations is the Gallery. There are three large TVs for digital presentations and a large area at the bottom of the seats for physical presentations.

The large stair-like seats are suitable for small children and include a handicap section. The steps on the left side make it easier to climb to the top and have an overall view of the presentation. Another cool feature about the Gallery is the tall ceilings. The tall ceilings echo your voice and make it seem louder. That way everybody can hear your voice, your opinion, and your facts and thoughts.

In the Gallery, there are 3 little holes that kids normally call the “cheese holes”. They are for the students to sit inside and read silently, or work on an assignment with a partner or by themselves. They can fit up to approximately 2 people each, so groups of kids can collaborate and work together.

“The Loft”

Yes, the cheese holes and the Gallery are great places to read, but where do the students get the books? At the top of the stairs, there is a little place called the Loft. There are studios, bookshelves, and whiteboard tables for students to work with. The studios have soundproof glass walls, that give the teacher the ability to keep an eye on their students while letting them quietly collaborate.

There are many, many books in the Loft that you can take home, read, and turn back in. This makes it a “library”. But this library is a unique library.

If you enjoy a book so much, but you don’t know where to buy it, you could ask the Mrs. Hamilton to keep the book as your own. There is not a “check out system” at D39C, but students do get to go in the Loft at lunch and grab any book they like, and bring it back when they are done. There may be some conflict about losing books and money. Well, all of the books are donated by D39C families and more books are donated than taken.

The whiteboard tables are clean surfaces to write on with expo markers so when you leave, you can take a picture of your ideas, and then erase the tables for other students to use. The green chairs placed under the whiteboard tables have wheels so you can roll around collaborating with multiple groups without yelling across the room.

“The Showcase”

Once the students are done with half of their classes, it’s time for lunch! The students can either eat at the cafeteria or eat in an open air conditioned area called the Showcase. There are larger and longer tables in the Showcase so your huge group of friends can sit at one table and have fun during lunch. But during the rest of the school day, what is the Showcase used for? Well, the Showcase is used for musical theatre and school presentations. The Showcase not only comes with large tables, but it also has a stage and a projector.

“Rolling Fire Doors”

Although this school is a very fun and safe place, there are natural disasters that occur. One natural disaster is fire. Fire can get into the school and harm students. But Design39Campus has thought of everything! Firewalls go down during a fire so if the fire is in that area, it will be blocked off. This way firefighters can put the fire out in a contained area and students can flee safely.

As you can see, Design39Campus is a very fun, safe, and educational place to learn. Students will have fun whether it’s the education, architecture, or furniture. Come check out this amazing architecture in a tour of the school!