The Otay Ranch Student Center held its annual APEX fundraiser netting more than $15,000 for school technology, reported Vice Principal Melissa Maguire. The fundraiser kicked off with a pep rally, followed by two weeks of character-building lessons and students collecting pledges for a culminating fun run. Topics discussed included being fearless, adapting, and being original.
Springs’ Otay Ranch Academy for the Arts (ORAA) kicked off the new school year with TK/K students playing bingo, 1st graders creating self-portraits, the 3rd/4th combo class making clay figures, the 4th-grade learning cooperation through a Minecraft challenge, and the 5th/6th-grade combo class building mousetrap cars.
Springs’ Otay Ranch Academy for the Arts (ORAA) teacher Taylor Olson had a Jedi Training Camp. Students practiced skills to be Jedi: balance, concentration, teamwork, problem-solving, agility, accuracy, and peace. The favorite activity, Ms. Olson reported, were lightsaber battles.
Damian Cortez, an 8th grade student with Springs’ Otay Ranch Academy for the Arts (ORAA), is the April 2022 Student Artist of the Month. His artwork is entitled “80s Back to School.” He is a resident of Chula Vista.
Teacher Jennifer Graham offers a Space Exploration Class to 3rd through 6th-grade students at Springs’ Enterprise and Otay Ranch Learning Centers. In one lesson, for example, she demonstrates how protecting an egg relates to real-world challenges faced by engineers who design things like bike helmets, space crafts, and Mars landers. The students worked with partners to design a “landing craft” that protected their “Eggstronaut” while taking flight from the two-story story balcony of the Enterprise building. Students tested to see if their invention worked and wrote about the results.
Ayesha Chloe Abril, a 6th-grade student with the Otay Ranch Academy for the Arts, is the March 2022 Student Artist of the Month. The Chula Vista resident’s artwork is entitled P.L.A.Y.
Springs’ Otay Ranch Academy for the Arts (ORAA) participated in the Great Kindness Challenge in January, a week-long bullying prevention program in which students are encouraged to “create a culture of compassion, inclusion, unity and respect.”
Brynne Dukes is the new principal of Springs’ Otay Ranch Academy for the Arts (ORAA). She has been an educator for 25 years, earning her teaching credential and Master’s degree in Curriculum, Teaching and Learning from Sonoma State University.
The Arts and Academia: Unlocking Hidden Benefits
Motivation, inspiration, creativity, self-esteem — we associate all these traits with success, especially in young artists, musicians, and actors working toward their dreams. Science has demonstrated that while these strengths may come more naturally to some than others, participation in arts education both in and out of the classroom can bolster not only these but a surprising variety of other skills. Continue reading
Elsa Hoff is the August Student Artist of the Month. She will be going into the 8th grade at Springs’ Otay Ranch Academy for the Arts (ORAA). She is 13 and lives in Chula Vista.
Springs Charter Schools are parent choice schools where the community is our classroom. Our mission is to foster the innate curiosity of our students, empower their parents, and promote optimum learning by collaboratively developing a personalized learning program for each student.
Eagle = Choice, Freedom, Initiative
River = Community
Book = Empowering Parents (Knowledge is Power)
Torch = Curiosity, Passion for Learning
Hands = Collaboration
Keys = Personalization, Unlocking the Student’s Potential
Oak Branches = Continuous Lifelong Learning
