This week, we revisit Irvine High School with this aerial shot from around 1977.

The campus is impressive from afar, but what’s remarkable about this photo is all the residential development that’s missing just east of the Santa Ana Freeway. Indeed, the same bird’s-eye view from 2013 would reveal grids of housing in place of what we’re assuming are orange groves.

This photo was shared by Irvine High graduate David Winterhalter, who has maintained hundreds of images from the school’s early years. In fact, Winterhalter, a photographer, has posted more than 1,000 pictures on a Facebook page called “Irvine High – The First Four Years.”

Do you have an old photo of the Irvine Unified School District you’d like to share? Send it to ianhanigan@iusd.org, along with some basic caption information, including names, dates and locations. We may publish it on the NewsFlash as part of our IUSD at 40 project. Images from IUSD’s first four decades will be posted occasionally on Thursdays.

As we touched on in an earlier post, IUSD continues to explore new technologies in and out of the classroom, with the intent of leveraging the talents of its staff and engaging students.

Well, student engagement was definitely on the mind of one Plaza Vista School teacher, who recently asked kids to come up with their own technological innovations for the school’s first-ever Technology Applied Science Fair. Nearly 100 students in grades three through eight accepted Scott Bedley’s challenge, developing their own software, apps and websites for the contest.

“When I developed the Technology Applied Science Fair I wasn’t sure how many students would be interested in being part of an optional computer technology competition,” says Bedley, who teaches fifth-graders at P.V. “I’m so proud of the number of students who stepped up to the challenge and shared their passion, ideas and creativity.”

Students ages eight to 14 signed up for the fair back in September either as individuals or as teams, tackling one of three categories: “Innovative Ideas,” “Innovative Use” or “Innovative Creation.” Their projects were presented in December, and the entries were judged by tech heavyweights from Blizzard Entertainment, Broadcom, Google, Honda and, of course, IUSD.

On Jan. 24, 18 finalists were announced at the fair’s inaugural awards ceremony. The top three teams learned they’ll be taking a field trip to Google’s Irvine offices, where they’ll get to take a tour, have lunch in the commissary and chat with Google engineers about their projects.

Abhishek Duvvuri was the fair’s school-wide winner. He developed a website for non-profit organizations designed to promote social interaction on a global scale.

Ty Karaoguz and Rohan Sepahi, who teamed up for one of the top-scoring projects, created a better way to view computer-based devices for those who would normally require prescription eyewear.

Finalists Adharsh Subramanian, Rithik Goel, Rishub Goel and Ali El Shantaly came up with a project that connects people with local charities to help others.

As for Bedley, he says he’s always looking for ways to motivate students through innovative educational practices, and he built the fair around three words: Create. Innovate. Demonstrate.

“I look for ways we can enrich the learning experience through project-based activities,” he says, “and when coupled with competition it better prepares students to compete globally. Competition is one of the key factors that made America so successful.”

As such, Bedley says he hopes to pilot another TAS Fair at the high school level. Eventually, he says, he’d like to see a yearly competition with projects from kindergarten through the 12th grade, and in the meantime he has offered to help other schools coordinate their own site-based fairs. (Educators who want to contact Bedley can do so by emailing him at ScottBedley@iusd.org.)

“I’m looking to form some partnerships and am so thankful for the support from the people at Google and the Vasur Foundation during this pilot process,” he says. “I’m hoping to connect with some universities, businesses and those whose goal is to empower our students through competition, higher-level thinking and creativity.”

“Without school district leadership that values innovation and trusts their teachers, creating and implementing a successful project such as the TAS Fair would have been challenging,” Bedley says. “I’m so thankful to leaders like our Superintendent Terry Walker; my principal, Heather Phillips; and the amazingly dedicated teachers at Plaza Vista for being open and supportive in finding new ways we can positively impact students.”

A Venado Middle School teacher is the subject of a nice feature story on the Orange County Register’s website.

Reporter Lauren Jow penned the profile on Brendan McBrien, who has taught music for more than 25 years and composed hundreds of original songs. Here’s a brief excerpt:

Sometimes Brendan McBrien, 52, wakes in the middle of the night, struck by the ghost of a melody floating fleetingly through his head.

The muse strikes him often and unexpectedly, a musical bent born at an early age when he first heard the string quartet in “Eleanor Rigby” by The Beatles.

“I remember being just a little boy just frozen by the sound I was hearing,” he said.

Since growing up playing the French horn, McBrien has trained in every orchestral instrument and has enjoyed a long career of composing music – not for grand orchestras worldwide but for his students.

You can find the full story, along with photos and a video, by clicking here.

Sierra Vista Middle School will host its second annual “Night at the Museum” showcase this month, featuring scores of student projects created for this year’s National History Day competition.

From 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 31, parents and students will be able to check out dozens of exhibits, websites, performances, research papers and even documentaries, all based on historical events and tied to this year’s contest theme, “People, Ideas, Events.”

Hundreds attended last year’s “Night at the Museum,” pictured above, and 43 Sierra Vista projects advanced to the county competition. The school has previously earned National History Day honors at the county and state levels.

“Students feel personal success and gain confidence when speaking about a topic they have personally researched,” says Cathy Turner, a humanities teacher who has organized the event the last two years. “They are also more passionate when they choose topics of personal interest, and they increase their ability to articulate learning through presentations.”

We’re told more information will be posted on teacher Jon Miller’s website.

“Will The Infrared Light Emitted By The Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) Affect The Color Sorting Sensors At Candy Factories?”

“The Effect Of Transforming Ampicillin-Resistant And Kanamycin-Resistant Plasmids On The Percentage Of E.coli That Is Double Resistant To Ampicillin And Kanamycin”

“Who Has More Bacteria In Their Mouth – A Human Or A Dog?”

These are all projects from last year’s District Science Fair, and we’re pretty sure we understand the premise of one of them, though we’re not saying which one.

Nevertheless, we’ll be excited to see what curious Irvine students come up with for IUSD’s 32nd annual District Science Fair, which will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 26 at Woodbridge High School.

The 2013 edition will once again be brought to you by the generous support of the Broadcom Foundation and the Irvine Public Schools Foundation, and parents are encouraged to check with their child’s school or science teacher to learn more about the requirements and deadlines.

While you’re at it, you may want to check in with the Orange County Science & Engineering Fair as your young scientist is preparing his or her entry. Note that students must participate in the District Science Fair and meet the following criteria to be eligible to register for the OCSEF:

• All 6th through 8th grade Division Award Winners (Blue Ribbons) ONLY may register for OCSEF. Note: Entries from 6th through 8th grade are limited by the County and spots will be allocated on an equitable basis across IUSD’s elementary and middle schools.
• All 9th through 12th grade students who participated in the IUSD Science Fair may register for OCSEF, regardless of what ribbon they won.
• Both individual projects and group projects may be submitted for Grades 7 through 12.
• Your science teacher must approve your entry.

Good luck to all of this year’s participants.

IUSD Superintendent Terry Walker was among a handful of local education leaders to take part in a three-hour county presentation on the new Common Core instructional standards Thursday.

The public forum, held in Newport Beach and titled ”Transformational Change in Education,” sought to demystify the new standards, which will place more of an emphasis on thinking critically and creatively, articulating positions, taking intellectual risks and collaborating effectively.

Set to be phased in over the next two years, the Common Core standards are also more closely aligned with college expectations. Local educators expressed optimism that the changes will benefit struggling students as well as advanced learners, according to this report in The Orange County Register.

“What we all know is good teaching is going deep, understanding the relevance of what they’re learning,” Walker says in the Register’s story. “This isn’t something new. We know what good instruction looks like.”

Our latest snapshot of IUSD’s early years features Vista Verde School, or rather the first Vista Verde School, which opened on Michelson Drive back in 1975.

Enrollment and demographic shifts ultimately led to the decision to move Vista Verde to a brand new campus at 6 Federation Way in 2006, yet the school held onto its name and branding, much like Alderwood Elementary had done the previous year.

Meanwhile, the original Vista Verde property was purchased by William Lyon Homes, which is moving forward with plans for new residential development.

Do you have an old photo of the Irvine Unified School District you’d like to share? Send it to ianhanigan@iusd.org, along with some basic caption information, including names, dates and locations. We may publish it on the NewsFlash as part of our IUSD at 40 project. Images from IUSD’s first four decades will be posted on Thursdays.

Some very cool student inventions will be showcased later this month at the 26^th annual Astounding Inventions contest.

The event, presented by Greenberg Traurig LLP and the Irvine Valley College Foundation, is set to take place on Saturday, Jan. 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Irvine Valley College’s Hart Gymnasium. (Click to enlarge the flier to the right.)

Established to promote student interest in math and science, Astounding Inventions annually features the handmade innovations of Irvine and Tustin students in kindergarten through the eighth grade. Last year’s award-winning entries included the “The iWinder” and the “North Pole Watering System.”

As per usual, the public will be able to check out all of the inventions for free on the day of the event. There will also be stage shows and some interesting science displays, including a real human brain, a “Make Your Own Slime” station, water rockets and Tesla Coil “lightning.”

For more information, click here.

Our friends in the science department have asked us to pass along word of an opportunity for science-minded students in grades one through six.

Enrollment is now under way for Science Little League, which we’re told is a fun and educational after-school program offered by the Irvine Public Schools Foundation. Taught by IUSD teachers, these courses encourage students to explore scientific concepts in a hands-on environment. There is a cost to enroll, but some of the proceeds will benefit the district’s science program.

Each session consists of a series of five 90-minute classes, which will be starting soon at College Park, Culverdale, Greentree, Northwood, Santiago Hills, Stone Creek, Stonegate and Turtle Rock elementary schools, as well as Plaza Vista and Vista Verde K-8 schools. Organizers say there are still spots available, but enrollment ends on Friday, Jan. 25.

For more information or to register, go to www.ipsfacademy.org.

Facilities consultant Tony Ferruzzo and representatives from HMC Architects discussed IUSD’s plans for a fifth comprehensive high school on Tuesday and gave board members a virtual tour of the newly designed campus.

Ferruzzo began the presentation at the Jan. 15 Board of Education meeting with an overview of the design process, explaining the roles and responsibilities of the various committees that solicited input from local stakeholders. Architects then showed how previously established educational specifications were transformed into detailed schematics of classrooms and common areas.

But the highlight was an interactive three-dimensional graphic that gave board members and the audience the perspective of swooping through the campus and into some of its buildings, including the library. Renderings depicted angular, two-story classroom buildings clustered around a pair of welcoming quads, with ball fields buffering the school’s instructional areas from Irvine Boulevard.

Scheduled to open in 2016, IUSD’s fifth comprehensive high school will be located south of Irvine Boulevard in the Heritage Fields development of the Orange County Great Park. To access a PDF of the presentation, click here.