On April 26th 2014, in collaboration with Clear Channel Radio Station Wild 94.9 and Serramonte Mall, Skyline College hosted its first “Serramonte High School Invasion” at Serramonte Mall in Daly City. The goal of the event was to allow high schools students to see the innovative programs that Skyline College has to offer while rocking out to the Bay Area’s number #1 hit music station. Radio personality Nessa and Outreach Coordinator Florentino Ubungen co-hosted the event and gave out prizes throughout the day. Students were given passports upon arrival and were entered into the drawing after receiving stamps from eight program tables. The prizes included ten, $100 gifts; a David Lee signed basketball and a PS4. The grand prize was Wild 94.9 would throw a mixer at the high school with the most student attendance.

The event was a great success with over two hundred high school students participating in the drawing. Representatives from various departments and programs at the college made invaluable connections with future Skyline College students! This was a great event for the college that benefitted the community at large. Special thanks to the Office of Marketing, Communications and Public Relations and Outreach for coordinating this innovative event and thanks to all the programs/departments that participated.

Article by Florentino Ubungen | Photos by Wild 94.9

The Skyline College Urban Music Ensemble (UME): Music 287 will perform on Monday, May 12 from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30pm in the Dining Room, Building 6. The UME is a performance ensemble focused in the music of Hip Hop, Jazz Funk R&B and Blues. This performance is FREE to the public!

Urban Music Ensemble Performance
Monday, May 12th
2:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Fireside Dining Room, Building 6

For more info on the UME, or associated course Hip Hop Culture and Politics (Mus 276) or the Business of Independent Music (Mus 287) please contact professor Kymberly Jackson, email jacksonk@smccd.edu.

The 2014 Skyline Shines Award Nominations are now open! The purpose of the awards is to recognize individuals or groups who help Skyline College to shine in terms of its quality of programs and services and its reputation for quality. Two awards will be made annually, one to a member or group of Skyline College employees and one to a member or group from the community. Please submit your nomination(s) by Tuesday, May 13, 2014 at noon to the President’s Office. Download the application here.

Friday, May 16th at 7 p.m. in the Skyline College Art Gallery
Ground Floor of Building 1.

Please join and celebrate the release of the 44th Issue of Talisman, Skyline College’s Literary Magazine. The event, held in the Skyline College Art Gallery, will include food and beverages, copies of the magazine, as well as feature readings from the Student Prose and Poetry Prize Winners and many other student writers from this issue of Talisman.

Talisman staff hopes to see you at this special event. If you have any questions please contact Rob Williams, Talisman Faculty Advisor williamsrob@smccd.edu

Beta Theta Omicron, the Skyline College chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, won the 2013 USA Today Case Study Challenge. USA Today sponsors a Case Study Challenge for Phi Theta Kappa chapters. Members develop a Case Study on a current event within the framework of the Honors Study Topic. The 2013 topic was The Culture of Competition. Beta Theta Omicron’s case study was “Will we have to compete for a place to live?” The winning case studies are published at www.usatodayeducate.com.

Case studies are intended to be used by students and faculty. The Case Study includes a 700-word explanation of a current issue, references, and study questions. Beta Theta Omicron has won eight of the 12 Case Study Challenges, including the first challenge in 2002. All of the Chapter’s case studies can be found online here.

Article by Christine L. Case

Congratulations to Skyline college for winning annual Greater Bay Area Region (GBAR) Sputum Bowl Preliminaries.

Skyline College has proven its academic prowess by sending eight representatives in two teams to the annual GBAR- California Society of Respiratory Care Sputum Bowl Preliminaries. The victor (Skyline College) of the preliminaries will represent the Bay Area at the statewide respiratory conference in Long Beach for a chance to win California on a national level at the CSRC annual conference.

This competition was conducted in a fashion much like the gameshow, Jeopardy. A total of 8 teams competed in a preliminary round robin competition to determine seeding and then compete in bracketed elimination rounds. Two Skyline College teams (Spit-tacular and Spit Happens) entered this competition. Skyline made it to the finals as “Spit Happens” faced off with San Joaquin Valley College’s team “Valley Fever” in an epic 12 minute battle of wits. Cheered on by faculty and students, “Spit Happens” emerged victorious and earned the right to represent the Bay area in Long Beach in May.

Let’s wish them best of luck for State competition.

Article by Ijaz Ahmed

 

On Saturday, May 3, 2014, the English Language Institute hosted its twice-annual ESL Registration Day for new ESOL students.  Fourty-one attendees were able to come to Skyline College’s Learning Center and participate in nearly all of the steps to matriculation.  Thirty-one placement tests were given and 37 people attended an orientation with counselor Kenny Gonzalez.  All of these students are meeting with Kenny this week to review their placements and register for classes.

Chris Rico, ELI Program Services Coordinator, assembled a volunteer team of ESOL students to assist new enrollees at every step of the way.  Students assisted clients with filling out the application, and A&R’s Minerva Velasquez was on hand to provide G-numbers.  Goldie Lee and her excellent assessment staff ran the testing process, ably assisted by Jairo Barreto, who ensured that the technical aspects of the day ran smoothly.  ELI student assistants America Lopez and Selena Wu helped make counseling appointments and guide students throughout the day.  Campus Ambassador Bianca Porras introduced new students to the processes of Financial Aid.

ESL Registration Day is critical to many members of our non-English speaking community who would like to improve their English and get an education, but who need encouragement and guidance through the very complicated steps of matriculation.  Outreach for the event takes many months and can be difficult to target the population.  The event often brings out very dedicated and tenacious individuals; the ELI staff were particularly touched by a mother and daughter who walked forty-five minutes to get to the college for the event.

The ELI wishes to thank Dr. David Reed for allowing The Learning Center to be used for this event and the College Success Initiative for providing the funding.  Because of this campus collaboration, over forty new students can begin their educational journey at Skyline College.

Article by Leigh Anne Shaw

LD Specialist Carol Newkirk stands on the pitcher’s mound.

On May 3rd, Skyline College’s Disability Resource Center (DRC) joined the Education Revolution (EdRev) at AT&T Park in San Francisco. EdRev is a fun and informational event for parents and students with learning differences and ADD/ADHD. In addition to enjoying activities on the baseball field, participants heard from national speakers on LD and ADD/ADHD, as well as connected with many exhibitors and vendors. DRC was the only Bay Area public institution of higher education to exhibit at the event and had a great response from attendees. DRC met with parents and prospective students and connected with local high schools special ed programs and community organizations. EdRev participants were able to sign up for a DRC open house and assistive technology demo to take place on May 13th at the DRC in 5-132. The DRC team ended the wonderful event by heading to the baseball field and running the bases!

DRC faculty Melissa Matthews, Carol Newkirk, and Judy Lariviere tabled at EdRev and received a huge response from conference goers.

Article by Melissa Matthews

On Thursday, May 8, ESL students from Jefferson Adult School visited the ELI for a campus field trip.  For many, this was the first time that any of these students had been on a college campus.  Although they may be months or more from their decision to attend, their ESL teacher Francisca Wentworth was committed to instilling a vision of a college pathway to careers.

“Our students need to be able to see what is possible for them, and visiting the college is the best way to do that,” said Wentworth.

This field trip was the culmination of several activities planned through a Silicon Valley Foundation grant written specifically to create more pathways between Jefferson Adult ESL and Skyline College ESOL.  Events preceding this field trip have included a faculty textbook retreat and discussion, faculty class visits, and a series of workshops conducted by counselor Lavinia Zanassi and ESOL faculty Leigh Anne Shaw.

Chris Rico met the students and brought them to the Career Services Center, where Lavinia Zanassi presented information on careers.  Florentino Ubungen met the students there and took them on a comprehensive tour of Skyline, featuring many of the CTE programs.  The students finished at the ELI for a Q & A session before departing the campus.

The students were excited at the idea of someday joining their former classmates who have moved from Adult School into Skyline ESOL classes.  It was an incredibly inspiring day for students who previously had never considered a college education as part of their immediate future.

Article by Leigh Anne Shaw

Inside Skyline College is a newly developed website that serves as a resource for faculty, staff and administration of the college. This site takes the place of the former Faculty/Staff site and includes important resources such as how to order business cards online. The goal of the page was to shift internally-focused information from the public website into an easy to use portal format. Much of the information on the site contains quick links to easily access information of interest.

The site is still a work in progress, so feedback about what would be helpful for you and your department to see/be able to access from this portal is welcome. Please contact Cherie Colin at colinc@smccd.edu with any feedback.

Thank you to Liz Gaudet, Web Programmer Analyst who worked diligently in conceptualizing and implementing the site.

Article by Cherie Colin with help from Liz Gaudet