The expansion of Lot L project between Pacific Heights and Loma Chica is currently underway. Public Safety, Facilities and Administration have been monitoring the impact on available parking spaces since classes began on August 16 and have found that there is a 2-3 hour period in the morning when there is no available student parking. District Facilities and Planning leadership along with executive college leadership have been in close contact and have considered several solutions with the goal of offering temporary parking. As a result of these discussions, subsequent quick research and the hard work of facilities staff to stripe this past week, yesterday, Thursday, August 31, 2017 an additional 285 parking spots were opened on the practice soccer field and a small dirt area next to Lot P. Thank you to public safety staff who provided exceptional customer service the first week of classes, assisting students in finding available parking and even providing rides to buildings from far away parking lots.

The expansion of Lot L will be completed in December 2017 at which time we will gain all parking spots we had before construction began, along with a net increase of 61 spaces.

The future construction site for the Environmental Science Building (Building 12) which will overlook the ocean is currently being prepared. Construction will begin in September with completion scheduled for December 2017. A groundbreaking celebration will be held for the Environmental Science Building on Tuesday, October 3, 2017 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The entire campus community is invited to attend the celebration along with the Board of Trustees, elected officials and many community members.

Upgrades to Loma Chica (Building 14) which is where the Child Development Center is housed are set to begin May 2018. New play-yards will be built with all new equipment installed and necessary updates will be made to the building. The project is scheduled to be completed December.

The new Social Science/Creative Arts Complex (Building 1) which will replace the current Building 1, is in the program planning phase. It will include a 520 seat theater, a black box theater, a recital hall, an art gallery and many classrooms for art, sculpture, music and other creative arts. The current Building 1 will be vacated in December 2018, with construction beginning April 2019. The completion of this building is schedule for June of 2021.

For more information regarding construction, please visit the Capital Improvements Project website.

Article by Cherie Colin

The Classified Senate is excited to announce that we have teamed up with the SHNSF to support the senate’s Student Scholarship Fundraising efforts! Join the SHNSF for select performances of “Aladdin” and “An American in Paris” and save! By purchasing tickets for select discounted performances, $5.00 from each discounted ticket goes to the Skyline College Student Scholarship program.

The Senate is very excited that we have been able to secure very highly attended and popular shows, while still receiving a discount and donating to a great cause.

Both shows are at the Orpheum Theater

Book now!

Visit shnsf.com and use the promo code “SKYLINE1”.

Aladdin Dates & Times:

• Nov 9 at 8:00 p.m.
• Nov 10 at 8:00 p.m.
• Nov 11 at 2:00 p.m.
• Nov 16 at 8:00 p.m.
• Nov 17 at 8:00 p.m.
• Nov 18 at 2:00 p.m.
• Nov 30 at 8:00 p.m.
• Dec 1 at 8:00 p.m.
• Dec 2 at 2:00 p.m.

An American in Paris Dates & Times:

• Sep 12 – Oct 8: Any weekday performance.

Thank you for supporting our fundraising efforts to support Skyline College students! Enjoy the show!

Article by Michele Haggar

The Puente Program invited family and friends to learn how best to help students achieve success in the Puente learning community. Dean Mary Gutierrez and Program Services Coordinator Marisa Thigpen welcomed the assembled families of the two Puente cohorts and invited students and their families to stop by to ask for help or merely to say hello. This set the tone of welcome continued by the presentation of services: Flor Lopez spoke about all the services offered by SparkPoint, Pamela Ortiz Cerda let everyone know about the Dream Center, Aileen Conmigo shared how to access the Financial Aid office and key deadlines, and Jorge Murillo spoke to the benefits of the EOP&S program.

Guests also had the opportunity to hear from former Puente students as well as mentors (a big thank you to panelists Michele Haggar, Cindy Castillo, Jorge Murillo, Leandro Torres-Mantilla, Kimberly Cano-Avena, Jeremiah Holbrook, and Pricsilla Sanchez-Lopez).

During the event, students were able to share what would best help them to succeed and families and friends shared what they could offer to their students. This is important because being part of the “familia” is what Puente is all about—with the love and support from family members and the community, students are more easily able to reach their academic goals. Special thanks to Rocio Aguilar-Pedroza, Alberto Santellan, Denise Hum, and Marisa Thigpen for their facilitation as well as assistance at the event.

Article by Lucia Lachmayr

SparkPoint at Skyline College has been selected by NASPA (Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education) to participate in an upcoming webinar titled California College/University Basic Needs: Context, Data, and Effective Models, part of NASPA’s NorCal Meaningful Conversations Virtual Roundtable series. This event will host three top leaders from the Community College, California State University, and University of California sister systems as they lead a conversation with the aim of deepening our understanding of the factors that produce hunger and homelessness, data on student basic needs, and effective strategies from each system.

The presenters include:

Chad Thompson: Chad serves as the Director of SparkPoint and Career Services at Skyline College in San Bruno, California, where he leads services including financial coaching, career counseling, public benefits support, food pantry support and community resource connection. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Film Studies from Claremont McKenna College and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker & Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University. Chad has a passion for financial literacy and student success and works toward creating positive change in the community.

Ruben E. Canedo: Ruben serves dual roles in the Basic Needs world. At the campus level, Ruben serves as Chair of the UC Berkeley Basic Needs Committee. At the UC system level, Ruben serves as the Co-Chair of the UC System Basic Needs Committee. Ruben is an alumnus of UC Berkeley with degrees in Ethnic Studies and Social Welfare. His graduate research focused on intersectionality, higher education policy, holistic equity services, and the politics of leadership decision-making.

Ravin Craig: Ravin is the Health Educator for Humboldt State University (HSU). Ravin has a Bachelor’s in Political Science and Multicultural Queer Studies, as well as a Master’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences with a focus on college community health communication. Ravin runs HSU’s on campus food pantry Oh SNAP Student Food Programs and the HSU Peer Health Education Program. She has a passion for food sovereignty and justice-minded health education.

If you are interested in learning more about the basic needs issues facing students in higher education and the leading strategies in addressing them, please register at the link below and join us on September 5th, 12:00pm – 1:00pm PST.

Registration

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfXtG4T2clxKIa9hHiDNYDF5FBiBan_b93-qbmsRzaHAnznPw/viewform?usp=sf_link

Join the webinar at: https://berkeley.zoom.us/j/549833525

• Call in: 1 (877) 369 0926 or 1 (877) 853 5247
• Meeting ID: 549 833 525

If you have any questions, please contact Chad Thompson at thompsonc@smccd.edu

Article by Chad Thompson

Join Skyline College’s Comprehensive Redesign teams by September 5, 2017, and help the college fulfill its promise to empower students to find success at every point in their educational journey.

In year two of the redesign, we will confirm Meta-majors, continue to develop guided pathways, redesign Student Services, continue to expand the implementation of the Promise Scholars Program, and explore how we can redesign general education to engage students in deep and meaningful learning.

To start, the Design Team is creating six inquiry teams that will research, explore and work towards making recommendations to the Design Team on the following topics:

1. Exploratory Course – An exploration of how to best design a first semester course to support all students through the transition into college and careers with the goal of promoting academic and professional success for all.
2. Foundation (Affective Domain) – An exploration of the beliefs and behaviors that promote college success for all and how Skyline College can incorporate them into all foundational courses.
3. GE Redesign – A continued exploration of how Skyline College should contextualize general education courses to make them more relevant to students and make the curriculum more cohesive.
4. HIPs (High Impact Practices) – An exploration of pedagogy centered on equity and high impact teaching practices such as undergraduate research, service learning, e-portfolios, culminating projects, study abroad, internships and more.
5. Student Support Services – An exploration of redesigning student services to be in alignment with meta-majors that includes implications for modifications to orientation, delivery of career development support and services, increasing comprehensive educational plans, and examining integration with instruction.
6. The Undeclared Student Experience – An exploration of the experience of undeclared students, including how to incorporate exploration into their experience to give them the tools to choose a degree or certificate.

The inquiry teams will begin their work this semester and we need you! Interested in serving as inquiry team leader or joining as a member? Please e-mail skymmgp@smccd.edu for more information!

Have additional questions? Please reach out to the Meta-majors & Guided Pathways co-leads: Lorraine DeMello, Luis Escobar, Carla Grandy, Mary Gutierrez, Jessica Hurless, Mustafa Popal and Jesse Raskin or visit the Meta-Majors & Guided Pathways website: http://skylinecollege.edu/metamajors/index.php

Article by Jessica Hurless

SparkPoint at Skyline College received a $125,000 grant from The Grove Foundation. This funding supports the scholarships and services provided by SparkPoint through the Grove Scholars Program.  Up to 50 Career and Technical Education (CTE) Students from Skyline College will be selected to receive up to $2,000 in the 2017-2018 academic year.  Grove Scholarship applications are available online at www.skylinecollege.edu/sparkpoint and are due by September 14 at 3:00 p.m.

Eligible students will be selected for the program based on three short personal statements that describe who they are, why they have chosen their career path, and why financial literacy is important to them. Academic standing and GPA are not a factor in selection, as long as the student meets the minimum requirement of 2.0 GPA and 75% completion rate.  Once being selected for the Grove Scholars Program, students will receive individualized financial coaching and career counseling, as well as a $2,000 scholarship for the semester.

Please forward any questions regarding the Grove Scholarship program to Andrea Doffoney Anyanwu at anyanwua@smccd.edu, or to grovescholar@smccd.edu grovescholar@smccd.edu.

Article by Andrea Doffoney Anyanwu | Photo by Angelita Gajeton