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African American Students of Honors Celebration 2022
 The African American Students of Honor program is continuing this year despite the challenges students, families, and staff are continuing to deal with regarding our ongoing health crisis. The African American Student of Honors Committee has been working on this year's celebration and would like to share with you the following information:
All elementary (K-6) students that are identified as being African American in Powerschool will be acknowledged for demonstrating outstanding attendance, STAR test scores (above grade level), academic performance/improvement, and progress towards IEP goals.
Middle and High School eligibility is determined by calculating the unweighted GPA of students. Those students with an unweighted GPA of 3.0 or higher will be included in this year's celebration.
The plan is to hold the celebration on May 19, 2022, at Contra Costa College. It will be held outdoors to comply with local, state, and district health requirements.
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2022 Black History Oratorical Contest
The purpose of the oratorical fest is to allow for our students to think about, research, write, and speak publicly about a topic.
Schools should:
- Hold a site-level oratorical fest between the dates of April 12, 2022 through April 19, 2022.
- Identify a panel of scorers: a minimum of three (3), no more than seven (7) persons to score participants.
- Utilize the rubric in this document to score participants.
- Submit their 1st and 2nd place winners, by division, to the OAASA department no later than April 21, 2022, 5:00 pm.
TIME LIMITATIONS
- PRIMARY DIVISION (Grades K – 2nd) – A Time limit of two minutes will be permitted for orations.
- INTERMEDIATE DIVISION (Grades 3rd-5th) – A time limit of three minutes will be permitted for orations.
- JUNIOR DIVISION (Grades 6th-8th) – A time limit of four minutes will be permitted for orations.
- SENIOR DIVISION (Grades 9th-12th) – A time limit of five minutes will be permitted for orations.
JUDGING CRITERIA
- Aplomb – poise, self-confidence, audience appeal
- Voice Quality – audibility, articulations, inflection of voice, moderation of pitch
- Physical Dynamics – proper use of gestures
- Observance of Time Limit – contestants should not go over nor under time limit
- Creativity and Relevant Content – poetic and/or musical interpretation welcome
- Posture
- Accuracy of Content
Composition – punctuation, spelling, grammar, logic
For more information check the OAASA website.
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Spotlight Influential Black Women
The First Black Woman In Space: From Chicago to the Stars
As a young girl, Mae Jemison spent most of her free time staring up at the stars hoping to one day be able to go to space. Several years later, Jemison would apply to be an astronaut and blast off into history by becoming the first Black woman to travel into space. Learn more about Mae Jemison’s journey to becoming an astronaut and her mission into space, in NOVA’s ”The Secret Life of Scientists”.
Black Women In STEM
Representation is important both inside and out of the classroom. Black women make up only a small percentage of individuals in most STEM fields. In addition, women in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics face more challenges than their male counterparts. Despite all hurdles, Dr. Bridgette Shannon, a chemist, stayed true to her love and passion for science and has become both a leader and role model.
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OAASA and Youth Finance Institute of America Virtual Workshop Series:
All times are 5pm-6pm.
Thursday, March 3- Budgeting and Finance. Learn about the importance and mechanics of budgeting. Understand options for banking to avoid check-cashing institutions.
Thursday, March 10- Credit Management. Learn how to build and keep a great credit score.
Thursday, March 17- First Job. Discover the power of a resume. Job search techniques, interview best practices, and how to have a good attitude in the workplace
Thursday, March 24- Financial Aid for College. Understand your options to finance college. Grants, scholarships, and student loans were decoded.
Thursday, March 31- First Car. Everything about buying your first car from Financing options, Dealership Negotiations, and how to get a Driver’s License.
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OAASA Supports Literacy
New culturally relevant (African American authors, characters, themes) books are arriving the first week of March at all schools in the district. All African American students will receive four books at/around their individual grade level pre-packaged with their names on them. These books will be delivered to grade level classrooms (PK-6) and 2nd period classes (7th-12th). Students and families can also access the digital library:
Capstone Digital Library
Student Username: wcontraebooks
Student Password: lovetoread
Check out this mailer you should have received for more information. |
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CAC Awards Ceremony
The District’s Community Advisory Committee (CAC) for Special Education will host its annual You Make a difference awards ceremony at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 4 via Zoom to honor individuals who have made an extraordinary impact in the lives of special education students in WCCUSD.
You Make A Difference recognizes parents, students, community members, educators and school staff members from regular or special education who are involved with children with special needs who demonstrate outstanding contributions above and beyond in the role as a parent, a job description or general expectations.
The event is 100% virtual. Use the Zoom information below to attend the celebration.
Link to join Webinar https://wccusd.zoom.us/j/95435316942
Webinar ID: 954 3531 6942
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OAASA Newsletter Submission Form
If you or your organization desire to have an article featured on the OAASA Newsletter, please submit Via this link. Thank You |
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