Helix proudly celebrated its 63rd commencement on June 5. Almost 500 Highlanders received their diplomas in front of a packed house at Benton Hart Stadium. The valedictorians were Kayla Cartaciano, Adrian Lam, Spencer McCall, and Naomi Orosz.<\/p>\n Helix\u2019s mission is to provide all students with the educational foundation needed to attend an institute of further learning, if they so choose. This same educational program provides an outstanding foundation for those wishing to head straight into the workforce or join the military. Students are taking advantage of the opportunities Helix offers in droves. In a survey, 94 percent of the graduates stated plans to attend college in the fall; 50 percent will go to four-year universities, and 44 percent plan to attend community college.<\/p>\n Science Building dedication<\/strong><\/p>\n At the most recent Helix Charter Board meeting, it was announced that the Science Building will be dedicated with a bronze plaque honoring two of the original science teachers at Helix. The plaque will read, \u201cDedicated to William L. Ramsey and Frank M. Watenpaugh, Jr. The Founding Fathers of Helix High School Science Department.\u201d At the meeting, Watenpaugh\u2019s son, Tim, read a biography about Ramsey and Watenpaugh and their dedication to Helix. A $20,000 donation will be made to the Science Department in their names.<\/p>\n Alumni picnic in August<\/strong><\/p>\n Helix alumni are invited to attend the first All Class Picnic on Sunday, August 16 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. This will be a great opportunity for alumni to reconnect with old friends, and celebrate their alma mater. Families are welcome. The picnic will feature:<\/p>\n Please RSVP to help with food estimates \u2013 helixannualpicnic@yahoo.com<\/a><\/p>\n Design and construction scholarships awarded<\/strong><\/p>\n Students from Helix\u2019s Architecture, Construction and Engineering Club (ACE) were recognized recently at ACE Mentor Program of America\u2019s annual banquet. ACE is a national program that pairs mentors with schools to help students explore careers in design and construction. Eight Helix students were awarded with more than $50,000 in college scholarship money at the banquet, including the top award of $25,000 to attend the New School of Architecture. Helix alumnus Emilio Ingrasci was also granted a $20,000 scholarship to continue his education at the New School (he is currently studying in Milan, Italy).<\/p>\n Track team goes far<\/strong><\/p>\n Four members of the Helix track team qualified for the CIF State Championships after winning the 4×100 relay. The relay team members are juniors Nate Stinson, Michael Austin, Mekhi Stevenson and Mason Vinyard. Freshman Cierra Steward also qualified in the long jump, but was not able to compete due to an injury.<\/p>\n Chromebooks coming to campus<\/strong><\/p>\n Helix will pilot a new technology program for the 2015-2016 school year. At the 9th grade level, eight teachers and 258 students will work with Chromebooks in order to integrate technology into their schoolwork and learning workflow. The program is modeled after a program designed by Project Red, a national organization that conducted a study of educational technology that focuses on student achievement and its financial implications on schools.<\/p>\n Office closed in July<\/strong><\/p>\n Helix administrative offices will be closed for the month of July. Staff will return at various times through the last week of July and the first week of August. The new school year will commence on Wednesday, August 5. Have a great summer!<\/p>\n \u2014Jennifer Osborn writes on behalf of Helix Charter High School. Write to her at josborn@helixcharter.net<\/a>, call the school office at 619-644-1940 or visit helixcharter.net<\/a> para m\u00e1s informaci\u00f3n. <\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Jennifer Osborn Congratulations to the Class of 2015 Helix proudly celebrated its 63rd commencement on June 5. Almost 500 Highlanders received their diplomas in front of a packed house at Benton Hart Stadium. The valedictorians were Kayla Cartaciano, Adrian Lam, Spencer McCall, and Naomi Orosz.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":727,"featured_media":222021,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11548","_seopress_titles_title":"Helix Highlights \u2013 June 26, 2015","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11564,11547,11548],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-223352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-features","category-la-mesa-courier"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/727"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223352"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223352\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"DSC_3918web\"](\"https:\/\/lamesacourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/DSC_3918web.jpg\")
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