How Focused Learning Goals Lead to an Alcatraz Swim

Seventh grade student Joe Gallagher is featured this week in the Los Altos Town Crier for his impressive swim from Alcatraz to the San Francisco shore - a tremendous achievement that began with a Focused Learning Goal in fourth grade at BCS.  

Every year, each student at BCS develops Focused Learning Goals (FLGs) in the core subject areas, a social/emotional/behavioral goal, and a passion goal.  Last spring, the Distinguished School Site Validation Team observed this signature practice, and were struck by “the amount of student reflection and ownership or learning in each grade level.”

For Joe, he set his passion goal in swimming and water polo for the last several years, providing him practice in goal setting and perseverance.  The ambitious one and a half mile open water swim that Joe completed in the bay - with no wet suit! - aligns with our mission to help students reach their full potential.  

Please join us in congratulating Joe on this wonderful accomplishment!

SPORTS

No suit, no sweat

Published on Wednesday, 27 August 2014 01:02

Written by Pete Borello - Staff Writer/peteb@latc.com

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Courtesy of the Gallagher Family 
Joe Gallagher – a 12-year-old from Los Altos Hills – swims from near Alcatraz Island to the San Francisco shore. His uncle, Joe Locke, an accomplished open-water swimmer, accompanied him.

For his recent swim from just off Alcatraz Island to the San Francisco shore, Joe Gallagher had little choice but to brave the chilly bay wearing only a Speedo, goggles and a swim cap.

“I don’t have a wetsuit,” the 12-year-old said.

Before it was over, Gallagher didn’t have a swim cap, either – it was lost at sea – but that didn’t stop him from completing the nearly 1.5-mile swim in 60-degree water. The Los Altos Hills resident and his uncle, Joe Locke, managed to reach the beach at Aquatic Park in 45 minutes.

“It’s always really cold,” Gallagher said of the San Francisco Bay. “I was numb for a couple of seconds, then I was better.”

This wasn’t the seventh-grader’s first foray into the bay. Inspired by his uncle – an accomplished open-water swimmer – Gallagher began swimming at Aquatic Park in fourth grade.

The first time out, he swam for 30 minutes in 55-degree water, according to his mom, Anne Marie Gallagher.

Gallagher completed a longer swim at Aquatic Park the next year and by the end of sixth grade set his sights on Alcatraz.

“That was my goal,” he said.

Gallagher prepared for a month, mostly in the pool at Fremont Hills Country Club. The Bullis Charter School student estimated that he swam 40-45 laps every day by himself.

Five days before heading to Alcatraz, Gallagher journeyed to Aquatic Park with his uncle for a test swim.

“I did a training swim that was about the same distance (as departing from Alcatraz),” he said. “That helped me.”

Then on the morning of Aug. 16, the pair returned to San Francisco for the real deal.

Riding in a small vessel with room only for his parents, Anne Marie and Fred, and the boat captain, Gallagher and Locke slipped into the bay just a few hundred feet from Alcatraz at 6:15 a.m.

The swim started smoothly, according to Gallagher, but then they hit rough waters.

“Near the middle, the current got really strong,” he said.

So strong that the boat captain – who followed them closely – grew concerned for their safety.

“I sort of got swept away, and the boat captain thought we weren’t going to make it,” Gallagher said. “Then my uncle went to the left and I followed, and we were OK.”

At least they didn’t have to contend with sharks – Gallagher said the only sea life they encountered were seals.

When the duo touched shore at 7 a.m., Anne Marie said her son had “a huge grin on his face.” Gallagher didn’t have the energy for a celebration, however.

“It was really early – we were up at 4:30 a.m. – so we didn’t really celebrate,” he said.

There’s always next time. Gallagher, a former competitive swimmer who switched to water polo a year ago, said he is contemplating doing other ocean swims.

“I’ll probably do more,” he said. “But as of now, I haven’t decided.”

If Gallagher does, it’s a good bet his uncle will be swimming alongside him.

Gallagher probably couldn’t have found a better partner for the Alcatraz swim than Locke. The 45-year-old swam the English Channel three years ago and the Catalina Channel in 2009.

Last month, the Mill Valley resident became only the second person to swim from the Farallon Islands to the south tower of the Golden Gate Bridge – and he did it in record time. Locke completed the approximately 30-mile swim in 14 hours. The water temperature dipped close to 53 degrees and he didn’t wear a wetsuit.

“His toughness and perseverance inspire us all,” Anne Marie said of her brother.

As the wetsuit-free swim from Alcatraz proves, Locke’s nephew is showing some of the same attributes.

Building Community at BCS

A special look at how one classroom started building community on their first day of school.

We All Fit Together from Bullis Charter School on Vimeo.

Student Perspective: 6th Grade Survey Project

Written by Guest Blogger and 6th Grade Student Elena A.

On the last week of March, the sixth grade started a survey project. Even though it wasn’t a PBL, it was an add-on for one of our math units about statistics and graphs. Dr. Gross, Mr. Gross’s wife, is a former senior research director at GfK - a company who gave us the opportunity to send out a survey they had already invested money in. GfK is a survey company that surveys people from all over the US. The sixth grade was responsible for coming up with two topics to survey people on, then picking four subcategories for each overall topic.

After a whole grade discussion with Dr. Gross, we were able to brainstorm and pick main topics and sub-categories. After writing up all our ideas on the board, we started ruling out the ones that seemed impractical. Dr. Gross came to the decision that our survey itself would be in an entertainment category. The two main ideas we chose were movies and music. Our subcategories for music were frequency of listening, types of music, how you listen to music, and live music performances. Our underlying questions for movies were types of movies, frequency of watching, people you watch movies with, and how you watch movies.

Taking these sub topics, each class split into groups of around three people to make a survey question for each sub topic. After we finished that, Dr. Gross would check them and send them “into the field.” People that are on the survey list who didn’t receive a survey in March were sent one class’s survey questions. The people on the list range from 13 year-olds to 105 year-olds from different ethnic backgrounds.

We were successfully able to send them out, and once we got our survey answers back, all three classes were able to compare their data and come to conclusions about America’s music and movie culture.

Survey Results:

• A total of 1085 respondents completed the survey
• Most people watch action/adventure movies- about 25%
• Most people watched movies with family or romantic partners- about 40%
• Most people watched movies on their home TV- about 80%
• Most people listen to pop or rock music- about 35%
• Most  people have been to a live music performance (depends on definition)- about 80%
• The number of Hispanics who responded to the survey was high- 45%
• Mostly women responded to the survey - 70%
• The answers were affected by how the question was written

Eighth Graders Reflect on BCS Experience

Eighth grade students at Bullis Charter School recently presented their Culmination Projects to a panel of community members and local elected officials who were invited to attend the event held at BCI.  

Students shared highlights from their education at BCS and reflected on past, current, and future goals.  

We are pleased to share this letter that one of the panelists sent to the Santa Clara County Board of Education after her experience listening to the presentations.

May 29, 2014

Dear Santa Clara County Board of Education,

I am a parent of a Bullis 7th grader and I recently spent time one-on-one with four 8th grade students at Bullis Charter School where I experienced their “culmination” presentations. It was simply amazing. I have worked with students of all ages as a volunteer for 15 years and have never seen students with such confidence and self awareness. Several students discussed areas in which they struggled academically. These students  took responsibility for not working diligently as they could in the past. Coming to Bullis each received the support and encouragement they needed to step up and master the subject despite their history. 

As another example, a student who had attended Almond school in Los Altos,  was always middle of  road so she didn’t get much attention from her teachers at Almond, but at Bullis she was encouraged to achieve her “personal best”. Each student spoke about their approach to improving their abilities regardless of having been at the bottom, at the top, or at the middle of their class before coming to Bullis. 

The students also spoke about their future career plans and their desire to make a difference in the world, not just plain ambition but a desire to move through life doing what they felt was important for their career satisfaction. This is something many of us spend years figuring out in our careers. To put some context around this, I have two kids who attended schools in the Los Altos Disctrict: Loyola school (K-6, K-4), Oak school (5-6), Blach intermediate (7-8), so I feel I have some ability to compare Bullis with the district schools. While my children have enjoyed the occasional great teacher what Bullis achieves is consistently top notch and remarkable. 

My son started at Bullis as a 7th grader this fall and I didn’t know what to expect but he still arrives home every day HAPPY to be in school. Challenged and working harder than he ever has, but happy. The atmosphere, true dedication to excellence, focus on the whole child is nothing short of remarkable. There are english learners in my son’s class, but they receive the attention they need. The dedicated teaching staff hold office hours after school, engages in interactive modes of teaching and find ways to help each child. I feel so fortunate to have tried Bullis Charter School. The level of education and focus is the best I have ever experienced after 12 years of classes in Los Altos schools.

While there is a never ending battle for facilities and fair treatment of Bullis school, let us not lose site of the quality of education and quality of citizenship that Bullis is bringing to our kids. That the teaching staff and leadership do this despite the bitter Los Altos School Board environment keeping their dedication and focus on the kids. I am grateful everyday that the charter school has worked hard to exist and provide these outstanding opportunities for our community. I am a long time supporter of public education and attended public school in the San Jose Unified district, public undergraduate school (UC Berkeley), and public graduate school (University of Arizona). 

Sincerely,

Dr. Nina Bhatti

BCS Students Shine in Bay Area Events

BCS Choirs Earn Top Marks at Festival

Earlier this month, all five of the BCS choirs, spanning grades 1-8, participated in the CMEA Choral Festival in San Jose.   The BCS Treble Voices, G-Clef, Sonore, Cambiata and Mattiniere each performed 3 pieces and were adjudicated by 3 different judges.  EVERY ONE of these choirs, whether at the beginning or intermediate level, received an “Unanimous Superior” rating - the highest score possible - from every adjudicator.   The Cambiata Choir performs at the CMEA Festival held in San Jose Additionally, Sonore (grades 4-6) and Mattiniere (grades 7 & 8), our two intermediate level groups, were judged on their sight-reading abilities, the ability to sing a 2-3 part song they had never seen before.  Both choirs also garnered “Superior” grades! Mr. Belles, our choir director, and all the students are to be congratulated for these tremendous achievements!   BCS' All Female Mattiniere Middle School Choir If you would like a chance to hear these amazing ensembles, please attend the Choir Concert on May 20th at Cubberley Community Center or a special performance by some of them at our 10 Year Anniversary and Open House celebration on May 22nd! 8th Grade Student Received Leadership Award Congratulations to our very own 8th grade student, Damoni Nears, for being recognized by the Santa Clara County Alliance of Black Educators at their 25th Annual Spring Recognition Ceremony. Leon Beauchman, President of both the SCCABE and Santa Clara County Board of Education, presented Damoni an award for her leadership and civic involvement.  We are very proud of Damoni and the leadership she has demonstrated during her time at BCS, and we look forward to seeing the great things she will continue to do in the community as a BCS alumn! Damoni and Ms. Lee after the awards ceremony  at San Jose State University

Parent Perspective: Finding the Right Model of Education for Our Child

When I look back at all of my educational years spent in school, I know for certain I learned best while in medical school.  My school was one of the first adopters of a problem-based learning curriculum.  This meant we learned about the human body and condition in both its normal and its diseased state in a multi-disciplinary and multi-system approach.

We often learned in smaller case-based groups where we explored our knowledge through examples and active questioning of one another and our teachers.   It was a synthetic, integrated, hands-on and collaborative approach to learning.  It made sense to me and organized my learning and understanding of medicine in an accessible format.  It also set the stage for what medicine and so many other professions demand--the foundation of asking questions in the journey of life-long learning, approaching problems from various viewpoints and working and learning together in collaborative teams.

When we moved to Los Altos over 10 years ago, BCS was in its infancy as a school in our community.  As our son approached Kindergarten age, I took the time to explore and learn more about the educational philosophy and methodology of BCS compared to our LASD home school.  

BCS offers a collaborative learning environment
for all students

I asked lots of questions of friends in our community at BCS and our district school, attended back to school nights at both schools and was excited to have the opportunity to tour BCS and spend time learning from the principal about BCS in more detail.  I knew the curriculum and educational approach at BCS was my first choice for our son given my own educational experience.  

The problem-based and hands-on learning spanning school years and disciplines was exciting and innovative to me, and I suspected it would be for him as well.   Although my husband and I felt our son would likely thrive at either our LASD school or BCS, I truly hoped he would secure at spot at BCS in the lottery--which he did.  

As we near the end of our son's first year at BCS, we are thrilled our collective experience so far.  Our son comes home every day from school excited and happy and exhibits a passion for learning across all areas of his Kindergarten experience.   My husband and I have met and become friends with families who share the same excitement about BCS , education and the learning opportunities  BCS provides for our children.    

The diversity of families is most definitely representative of the Los Altos community at large--highly educated and informed parents who care about the education their child receives.     

As a pediatrician in the community, I am well aware that many of our surrounding communities have choice/lottery schools.   I know many families from Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Mountain View who are thankful for the choice in their public education--be it a language immersion grade school or a school which has an alternative educational model compared to traditional district schools.  All of these educational choices are lottery-based opportunities, and families can decide whether it is  an educational experience  they would like to explore and then enter the lottery for their child.  

Students benefit from fully integrated curriculum
in every grade from K-8

As parents we know that all children learn and thrive differently from one another in various school and learning settings.  Sometimes we don't know which type of school will best suit our child until we actually begin the educational journey with our child.   Having  fluidity and flexibility in our choice is an option every parent  desires and should have for their child.  

I have known families who have made the choice to change schools to BCS for their child, and I have known families who have made the choice to leave BCS for their child.   The reasons embedded in each choice are unique to each child and family.  But having the choice is so very important for our children and families in Los Altos. 

 Cara & Dave Barone

Students' Cell Watercolor Art on Display at Helix in Downtown Los Altos

BCS 5th graders recently completed an integrated STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) unit on human body systems, which resulted in their unique art project being put on display at Helix in downtown Los Altos!

As part of the art integration, students created watercolor paintings based on photographs of different types of cells and on the work of artist and microbiologist Dr. David Goodsell from Scripps Research Institute - a molecular biologist who also specializes in distinct artistic renditions of living cells based on scientific data.

In looking at Dr. Goodsell’s paintings, students discussed elements of design used in the paintings’ compositions together with his use of color and tone to depict space and portray the cells in both an artistic and scientific manner simultaneously. 

Students use black and white reference photos to
 create their cell watercolor paintings

Students then used black and white reference photos, watercolors, and watercolor pencils to create their own paintings of cells and viruses.

Fifth grade teachers collaborated with one of our art specialists, Mr. Lipson, to get in touch with Dr. Goodsell and arrange for him to view the students' artwork and discuss it with them via Skype.  Dr. Goodsell also shared one of his latest paintings with students and described the process he used to create it.

The artwork will be on display at Helix in downtown Los Altos for the next several weeks.