Student Trustee Michael Battistone

On Friday, September 19, the District Student Council gathered for their kick off event in the District’s Board Room. Administrators, faculty, union representatives and trustees joined students for a day filled with good food and fun activities. I was very encouraged by the large turnout and the enthusiastic show of support.

After a tasty lunch, a group of about forty people played an icebreaker game, which required people to share their deepest, darkest secrets…or at least tell the whole group what their favorite fast food is! The theme of the meeting, “Gold Medal Year”, was definitely evident with the cake, which was topped with the five Olympic rings.

Then, it was time for the District Student Council to get down to business. During the meeting, I let everyone know that I have high hopes for the group and that I am really adamant about creating a strong organization to act as a support system for all students within the District. The meeting discussions were lively, thoughtful and productive, with full participation from representatives from each college.

As a group, we determined that that voter registration is one of the first issues that the DSC will be working on. We are all very enthusiastic about creating a stronger group of youth voters. The DSC is also eager to improve the communication between the district and each college with new and creative communication channels.

Friday’s activities can only lead to one conclusion, that this year is going to take cake: anyway you slice it, IT’S GOOD!

John D. Renley & CCCD Foundation Faculty Scholarship

Application Due Date: October 3, 2008

The Dr. John D. Renley Faculty Scholarship was established by the Coast Community College District Foundation in 2003 to encourage faculty members in the District to pursue professional development activities aimed at improving classroom instruction and teaching. 

Effective with the 2008-09 academic year, it has been expanded to include full- and part-time faculty members who have taught a minimum of five semesters at the Coast Community College District colleges.

For 2008-09, the CCCD Foundation has three $1,000 faculty scholarships available.

Applications are due by October 3, 2008.  You can e-mail them to Martha Parham, District Director, Public Affairs, Marketing & Government Relations at  mparham@cccd.edu, or they can be sent to:
CCCD Foundation
c/o District Office
1370 Adams Ave.
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Unique High School is Tops Based on New API Scores

Newport-Mesa's Early College High School, a partnership between the Newport-Mesa Unified School District and Coastline, has seen tremendous growth in student Academic Performance Index (API) scores according to the California Department of Education. The API is a measurement of academic performance and progress of schools in California. It is one of the main components of the Public School Accountability Act passed by the California legislature in 1999.

Early College High School exceeded its growth target by jumping from an API score of 786 in 2007 to a score of 848 in 2008. The school was only targeted to grow their API score by 5 points.

An API score of 848 puts Early College High School in the number two slot on the list of top performing high schools in the Newport Mesa Unified School District. Only Corona del Mar scored higher at 858.

"It's clear from this report that Early College High School has quickly established itself as one of the top high schools in the district," said Betty Disney, Coastline Dean of Instruction and Early College High School Liaison. "The school opened just 3 years ago, and our popularity is growing fast. Students like the smaller learning environment, and parents appreciate the quality instruction and proven performance record," she continued.

"Our staff is very dedicated to helping our students reach their highest potential," said Kathy Slawson, Principal of Early College High School. "It's a team effort among all staff members here."

The unique high school, located on the Costa Mesa campus of Coastline, offers both high school and college classes, and allows students to graduate in five years with a diploma and two years of college credit (usually enough for an Associate in Arts Degree).

For more information, visit  www.coastline.edu/students/echs/.

Fourteen ECHS Students Selected to Participate in International Competition

ECHS launched its Transatlantic Global Advocacy Project with tryouts that involved 25 students teaming up to present reports on global warming. The faculty evaluated the presentations and selected fourteen local students to team up with British high school students for the Transatlantic Project competition.

“What is most interesting is that each competing team will be made up of American and British students who will collaborate on their projects from opposite sides of the Atlantic,” said Betty Disney, Coastline Dean of Instruction and Early College High School Liaison. “High school students in a similar program at North Lindsey College, England will make up the British part of the teams.”

Fourteen U.S. students and eight U.K. students were selected to form four international teams. These teams will use most of the schoolyear to tackle the next phase of the international competition, which is to create a website addressing the topic of global warming.

In February, the four teams will present their website projects via teleconference to an international panel of judges. The winning team will be announced in March. In July, the students on the winning team will get to participate in a cultural exchange, with the U.S. students visiting England and the English students visiting California.

Group 1 student winners are: Kayla Donohue (Bottom Left), Sammy Harkness (Bottom Right), Ramon Calderon (Top Left), and Donovan Farmer (Top Right). Instructors joining them are (Left to Right): Nina Campellone, Jody Green, Jessica Roseth, and Kenneth Lopour.

Group 2 student winners are: Bryanna Place (Bottom Left), Harrison Chan (Bottom Right), Stephanie Stringham (Top Left) and Nathaniel Zucker (Top Right).

Group 3 student winners are: Keaton Phillips (Bottom Left), Neal Lawton (Bottom Right), Mary Simich (Top Left), and Langdon Holmes (Top Right).

Group 4 student winners are: Ana Martinovic (Left), and Javon McGriff (Right).

Langdon Holmes presents his group’s report on the effects of global warming.

SammyHarkness - ECHS student Sammy Harkness explains some of the causes of global warming.

Coastline Now Offers Certificate in Emergency Management

Fires, floods, earthquakes and terrorist threats are only a few potential tragedies we face in today’s world. With thousands of lives at stake and billions of dollars of property at risk, it is becoming critical that employees, even those who are in non-emergency fields, have emergency response training.

Coastline’s new Emergency Management certificate program is popular with city, county and state government employees, as well as law enforcement and fire department employees. The program is also suitable for professionals in public or private organizations who are concerned with disaster response training.

To earn a certificate in Emergency Management, students must complete four courses: EMGT 100-Preparedness, EMGT 110-Response, EMGT 120-Recovery, and EMGT 130-Mitigation. Each course combines classroom training and mock emergency scenarios to train students to be effective in an emergency situation. Students also hone their skills in Coastline’s on-site Emergency Operations Center (EOC), located at the college’s Garden Grove campus.

“The life-like situations we present in the EOC allow students to test their response to tragic, real-world scenarios. They have to deal with logistics, planning, deadlines, casualties and destruction,” said Joumana McGowan, Dean of Career and Technical Education at Coastline.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that Emergency Managers can expect to earn between $65,000 and $120,000 annually. The Bureau also projects by the year 2012 there will be an 18.3% increase in the number of jobs available in emergency management.

Coastline Brings Home 16th Emmy Award for Stellar Educational Programming

Members of the Coastline telecourse production team accept Coastline’s 16th Emmy award for “Physical Anthropology: The Evolving Human.”

What does Coastline have in common with hit shows like “The Office” and “24”? They are all recipients of the coveted Emmy award.

This month, at the LA Area Emmy Awards, Coastline earned its 16th award. The LA Area Emmy Awards celebrate the achievements of select broadcasts produced in the greater Los Angeles area. In addition to the Emmy’s awarded on the national stage, Emmy’s are also awarded for local programming.

Coastline took home the award in the category of Best Instructional Programming for its series “Physical Anthropology: The Evolving Human.” The college has won Emmy awards in the past for other educational programs including “Astronomy: Observations & Theories” and “Psychology: The Human Experience.”

Coastline Director of Telecourse Production and Telemedia, Laurie Melby, worked as the Series Producer for “Physical Anthropology” and credited the success to her talented team at Coastline. “The very cool thing about my job is that we get to meet and interview some of the leading experts in the field,” said Melby. Thrilled to receive another Emmy, she added, “This is a very big thing for us—to get recognized by our peers in the television industry for doing our job in an extraordinary fashion.”

“Physical Anthropology” was produced with the help of more than 30 content advisors and more than 100 professional experts. For the series, a Coastline producer had the opportunity to travel to Africa and Europe to conduct interviews and gain footage of anthropologists working in the field. Footage includes hominid digs at Kobi Fora and Olduvai Gorge, and conversations with world-renowned scientists at the Max Plank Institute in Germany.

For producer Harry Hughes of Buena Park, California, the opportunity to shoot the series on-location was an amazing experience. “Obviously, being able to visit all those exotic places, that so few people get to see, was amazing, but to have met and interact with all the incredible ‘Anthro’ folk was truly a life-enriching experience.” He added, “If that isn't enough, an Emmy is a nice addition to the family.”

OCC Launches 60th Year with Enrollment Boost

By the first day of school, more than 22,000 students were enrolled at Orange Coast College, according to Kristen Clark, OCC Dean of Admissions and Enrollment Services.

Clark predicted that enrollment would continue to increase as students added last-minute classes to their schedules.

“This is a special year for us,” said Vice President of Instruction Melinda Nish. “The campus is celebrating its 60th Fall Semester and the campus looks fantastic with new and remodeled buildings, and beautiful landscaping.  We may be getting older, but we are definitely getting better with age!”
 
OCC has one of its largest course offerings this fall with more than 2,100 class sections, about 6% more than last year.  “We anticipate strong enrollment with a 3 to 5% growth rate,” Nish said. OCC also added 19 tenure-track professors to its instructional staff.

The Lewis Center for Applied Sciences opened its doors after a $9 million renovation. The renovation completely transformed the building’s interior space, which houses the marine science, geology, astronomy and physics programs. The renovated building includes expanded labs for those interested in marine science.

Donate Your Used Books!

OCC’s Friends of the Library (FOTL) is looking for a few good used books for the fall book sale on October 22.  You can drop off books at the FOTL store located at the library main entrance during the regular operating hours.  Donors can pick up tax receipts at the library’s checkout desk.

The book sale will take place from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. in the library courtyard.

The library is open from 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 8 a.m.-3 p.m. on Friday; 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday; and 12 - 5p.m. on Sunday.

Radical Reels Returns Oct. 1

Action shot from Radical Reels

Catch the steepest and deepest in high-adrenaline outdoor sport films when the 2008 Radical Reels Tour comes to OCC on October 1. The screening will take place at 7 p.m. in the Robert B. Moore Theatre.

At the screening, you will hurtle down mountains of untouched powder, feel the rush of stomach-dropping kayak descents, fly high with the world’s wildest base jumpers, and experience much more in extreme mountain sports.  

Growing out of the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour, Radical Reels screens the best in action sports filmmaking, audience-tested and programmed for maximum excitement.

Radical Reels is for people who like to take their outdoor adventures to the extreme, or at least watch other people pursue the madness!

Jamie Lee Curtis to Headline
Children’s Book Fest Oct . 5

Actress and Author Jamie Lee Curtis

More than 50 authors, including Jamie Lee Curtis, will join illustrators, entertainers and storytellers at the Fifth Annual Children’s Book Festival at OCC on Sunday, October 5.

 A day of family fun will feature booksellers, live animals, train rides, crafts, food and entertainment. Festivities begin at 10 a.m. and conclude at 4 p.m. in the campus quad. Popular children’s authors Barney Saltzberg and Gary Soto will join Curtis, a mother of two and author of several children’s books.