COBALT INSTITUTE OF
MATH & SCIENCE
Home of the Cougars
Fall News
Principal’s Message
Welcome to our first semester
newsletter of the school year 2015-16! I
write this with a big smile and sigh of
relief! Yes, we did it! The staff, parents,
students, and partners set a great tone
for the first semester at Cobalt Institute
of Math and Science (CIMS). We had a
very smooth start up this year and we
are well into the teaching and learning
process. Many Clubs and grade
advisors are starting to meet, plan
events, set up goals, and reaching their
objectives. Our music department is
playing and producing music and our
drama department is planning their first
production during 6 & 7th period on the
last day of school in December. I’m
thinking there is more to come! The 7th
and 8th graders are doing well with their
Pathway STEM classes in technology,
robotics, biomedical and engineering
sciences. We added a new study skills
class in 7th grade to better prepare our
students for their rigorous courses. The
9th through 12th graders are well on their
way at developing their skills and
deepening their knowledge in
Biomedical or Engineering Pathways.
This year is even more exciting than the
year before because we are CIF (with
our own High School Sports teams) and
we will have our first senior
graduation…although we are excited,
we will be sad to let them go. Many of
our seniors (all 18 of them combined)
have applied to over 62- 4 year colleges
and universities. The Graduation date is
May 17, 2016. They will wear and carryon the proud endorsement of “Cobalt
Cougar Pride”…from the Cobalt Institute
of Math and Science in Victorville,
California.
Our focus this year is to really work with
our students to create and implant a
culture of pride in who they are, what
they are doing, what they will
accomplish and the clothes they are
wearing at school. We ask that you as
parents continue to help us do this.
The following is a rough chronology of
events at CIMS so far, and anticipation
of things to come.
The first few weeks of school focused
on making sure students were
acclimated and reminded of CIMS
school rules and high standards.
Teachers reviewed the student premier
planner, reviewed and established class
rules, reviewed the dress code policy,
class materials, class syllabi and
emergency plans/routes. Our
enrollment for this year is up to 900 and
we have more or less maintained this for
this school year. Students have worked
diligently to help maintain their
established school site traditions. The
staff is proud of what we have
accomplished here. Next year we are
expecting 250 or more students bringing
our enrollment to 1100 plus. Our
waiting list of 7th graders is growing.
The open enrollment packets are
available starting December 14, 2015.
Get your application(s) in early!
The Afterschool Program is supportive
of our staff, students and parents. The
Activity Leaders works with our teachers
to make sure students are on task with
homework and tutoring support. Their
average daily attendance rate is 105%.
Finals are scheduled for December 14,
15, 16 and 17th. All students, 7th thru
12th grade students must take the finals.
It counts for at least 20% of their
semester grades. The students and
teachers take the tests very serious.
Many teachers have incorporated
Common Core in their finals with
project-based learning, open-ended
questions and thinking creatively outside
the box. Many of the tests are based on
and prepare the students for the state
testing (SBAAC).
Many things are in progress:
The library and Career Center are open
and ready for service. Please
encourage your students to utilize it.
Read the quick article in this newsletter
from our librarian, Mrs. Weaver and our
counselors, Mrs. Bershee and Mrs.
Provansal on the Career Center hours.
We are still soliciting our parents to
support us with a Parent Booster Club to
help with parents who cannot afford the
uniforms, backpack and other needed
materials for academics and athletics. If
you want to help, please do not hesitate
to call and add your name to the list or
attend the monthly Parent Booster
meetings starting again in January. If
you want more information, please call
760-955-2530; give us your name, email
and number.
This year the district has approved
CIMS for a large sum of money from the
LCAP one time funding. You will see
some well needed changes such as: a
new piano lab, new guitars, graphing
calculators, science tables/Chairs, two
more science labs, a larger server,
aerospace simulator and high school
library books!!!!! Our staff and students
can hardly wait to reap the rewards of
these additions. Our English teachers
received a grant from the Rotary for
$1800 and we’re working on our CAPP
Grant (college going culture) of $10,000
a year for the next 3 years. Come see
our college flags hanging in the
Cafeteria!
The school had a final WASC visit this
year to add on the Senior Class in our
accreditation. You guess it…we
passed! Our school is now fully
accredited for 7 thru 12th. Again I was
reminded of that comment from the
WASC team committee that this school
was the “Best kept secret in
Southern California.”
Looking ahead:
Students return from Winter Break on
January 4, 2016!
Open Enrollment for new students start:
December 14, 2015
Next School Site Council: January 21,
2016, Room 206, 5 – 7 pm. (All are
welcome!)
Career Fair Day: March 25, 2016
Your students should be receiving a
progress report every 4 ½ weeks. It is
sent home with the student but we
encourage you to go onto Aeries (your
ABI) to check your child’s grades and
class work. If you don’t have access,
please come to the office and ask for it.
Enjoy the holidays! Our next newsletter
will be posted on April 27th!
Respectfully,
Melda Gaskins, Ed.D
Principal
Greetings from our Assistant
Principal!
It’s hard to believe 1st semester is
already coming to an end. It’s been an
amazing journey so far, learning the
culture of CIMS. I’m proud to work sideby-side with these amazing,
hardworking staff. As we continue to
face challenges to grow our school I
know our teachers, classified staff, and
students are up for it. In addition, it has
been a powerful experience celebrating
all the things we do at CIMS. Some
highlights this year was:
 Class of 2016 has submitted 62
applications to four-year colleges.
 Our first year in CIF athletics and
became members of the Cross Valley
League.
 The entire school saw a 3-Screen
presentation on anti-bullying.
 Our ELA teachers earned the Teacher
Mini Grant for 2015-16 from the
Rotary Club
 In November, 208 (24%) CIMS
students above a 3.5 were served
breakfast at our Breakfast of
Champion
 We had 4 middle school district
wrestling champs and 1 athlete place
2nd
 Key Club was awarded $850 &
placed 3rd in Clean-up for Cash
Program
 45 seventh graders went to
Stemapalooza, hosted at San
Bernardino Valley College!
Parents: Be sure to check the
website for the Finals and other
important information. If you have any
concerns about your child’s grades,
make sure to stay in contact with the
teachers and use the Aeries Parent
Portal on a regular basis.
I hope that your holidays are
wonderful and that you enjoy the break.
Many of us have a lot to be grateful for.
Everyone please rest up and gear up for
a prolific second semester.
Sincerely,
Alex Senar
Assistant Principal
Calendar items
Date
12/18-1/3
1/8
1/18
1/21
1/25
2/12-2/15
3/25-4/3
5/17
5/25
Event / Location
Winter Break
1st Semester Report Cards
mailed
No School/MLK Day
School Site Council Mtg
9th grade PSAT testing
Presidents Holiday
NO SCHOOL
Spring Break
NO SCHOOL
GRADUATION/Save the
date
Last Day
1:11pm release
Please check out our website for many
additions as the year progresses…
vvuhsd.org/cims
AVID News
AVID is planning its first college field trip
to USCR and UCI for 7th and 8th graders.
The high school field trip will be decided on
Mrs. Myles return. Both trips will take place
late January or early February. The dates
and times and cost are TBA but, will be
decided by Dec, 15th. These field trips are a
great opportunity for CIMS students to get a
glimpse of college life.
Please be on the lookout for our Magic
Mountain field trip in March. The park is
open only for AVID students from region
ten. The dates and cost are TBA. The
money raised for Magic Mountain goes to
scholarships for seniors in our region. Start
saving now.
It is time for the AVID Write-OFF.
We distributed this month, the writing
prompt: I grew up hearing over and over, to
the point of tedium, that “hard work” was
the secret of success: “Work hard and you’ll
get ahead” or “It’s hard work that got us
where we are.” No one ever said that you
could work hard-harder ever than you ever
thought possible- and still find yourself
sinking ever deeper into poverty and debt.
Adapted from Barbara Ehreneich, Nickel
and Dimed: On (Not) getting by in America
Assignment: Should the United States
Government raise the federal minimum
wage to $15.00 per hour? Plan and write an
essay in which you develop your point of
view on this issue. Support your position
with reasoning and examples taken from
your reading, studies, experiences, or
observations.
If you have an AVID student you may want
to discuss the issue of raising the minimum
wage in America. Please encourage them to
do their best.
Regional winner, site winners and honorable
mentions will be acknowledged at the WriteOff ceremony March 10, 2016 at 7:00pm in
Riverside.
Victorville Community Clean-up
For the 3rd year in a row, Builders Club and
Key Club members along with parents, staff,
and SHS students volunteered on Saturday,
October 24, 2015 to help clean up our
community. We had a total of 78 volunteers
and collected 68 bags of trash. This was the
biggest turn out we have yet at Cobalt.
KEY CLUB Competes
“Clean up for Cash Program”
CIMS Key Club (High School) participants
were presented with a check in the amount
of $850.00 for placing 3rd place in the
Clean-Up for Cash Program which was
sponsored by ICR Staffing Services, Inc.
Students accumulated hours by performing
community service picking up trash around
the neighborhood afterschool and on a
Saturday. Six public high school districts
from Barstow to Phelan were invited to
participate and were among our competitors
in this month long program that ran from
September 15, 2015 through
October 15, 2015.
forever. Yearbooks are only $60 at the
student store and are perfect for gift giving.
Mock Trial
We are happy to announce that the first-ever
Mock Trial Competition team completed
their season. We will be attending a
dinner/awards banquet on January 16th at
the Orange Show Fairgrounds in San
Bernardino. Students worked very hard to
learn their respective parts and I couldn't be
more proud of the ENTIRE team... those
who performed and those who worked
behind the scenes to support their
teammates. We look forward to an even
better season next Fall! We will continue to
meet in the Spring semester on a lessfrequent basis as a club on campus to get
ready to rock for next year's competition.
Thanks go out to the entire staff for the
encouragement they gave to the students
who participated.
Mrs. Rand, Mock Trial Coach
Classroom News
CIMS Yearbook
Now is the perfect time to buy your CIMS
student a yearbook for Christmas! The
yearbook staff is hard at work creating a
yearbook that all students will be proud to
own. The staff is covering all sports and
events on campus including Back to School
Night, Jr. High dances, Monster Mash,
Homecoming, and the Cancer Walk. The
yearbook is filled with memories that you
and your student will want to remember
HP Biology/PLTW-Human Body
Systems:
PLTW Biomedical Human Body Systems
has been busy learning about bones, and
how Forensic Anthropologists can use the
skull and pelvis to determine the gender of
the skeleton. They also were able to build
the brain of their manikin, using different
colors of clay to represent the lobes and their
functions.
In this picture, students are dissecting and
labeling the sheep brain.
HBS students learn how to use micropipettes, an opportunity the PLTW
Biomedical program offers that most High
School students don’t receive. It takes
practice to master the technique of pipetting
the mixture up into the tip, then extracting
very carefully into the tiny well of the
practice gel pad.
Practicing the technique helped students for
when the day came to extract DNA from the
micro-tube and pipette into the actual DNA
gel well. If the sample is not deposited
properly in the gel well, it will not be visible
after electrophoresis.
These pictures show the electrophoresis
equipment and the DNA band results. The
smaller bands run through the gel faster than
the bigger bands.
Honors Biology began the year learning
about molecules and polymers.
Students then created their polymer bounce
balls, experimenting with the change of
formula to see if their hypothesis would
work. Sometimes it didn’t work.
Sometimes it did!
Physical Science/Physics/Aerospace
Engineering:
For the 8th grade science classes this fall
we have been focusing on scientific
models and engineering. The students
have been involved in developing
scientific models for buoyancy and
density. We have done projects such as
Cartesian divers and hot air balloons. The
students have focused on measuring,
designing, experimenting and fabricating.
We will continue this theme next semester.
Physics classes: we have been using and
applying the laws of physics to design and
build cars electric model toy cars. The
students use the cars to study equations of
motion and kinematics. The final event is
a contest dubbed, “Run what ya brung” to
race the cars and find the fastest car.
In Aerospace Engineering the students
design, build and fly a glider. They design
the glider on a computer engineering
program, and once they have developed a
successful plan, then they build an actual
glider from balsa wood part. We
constructed a rubber band launching
system to launch the gliders. Of course no
project like this is complete without a
good contest; so the students competed for
the glider that could fly the longest
distance.
Another exciting project that the students
worked on was to develop an airfoil on a
computer simulator. The students tested
the airfoil on the simulator, for lift to drag
ratios. Once they were satisfied with their
airfoil, they build an airfoil. We printed
the airfoils on a 3-D printer, and we also
made foam airfoils. We tested the airfoils
for the lift to drag ration in a wind tunnel
and compared the results.
It has been an exciting fall in all the
courses.
History Department:
CIMS History Department offers our
students the opportunity to challenge
themselves with many advanced placement
and elective courses, as well as a strong
dedication to teaching civics, history, and
government. Our dedicated history teachers
have a total of almost 100 years of teaching
excellence between them, and include Ms.
Amanda Ballard, Ms. Shannon Gibson, Ms.
Angela Powers, Ms. Katherine Rand, Ms.
Danielle Sims, Ms. Anita Tucker, and Ms.
Bonnie Vigil-Potts.
selected to compete in the San Bernardino
county competition, and 4 who were
selected to compete in the state competition.
Some of our electives provide our students a
glimpse into a variety of areas including
sociology, psychology, and mock trial.
These added courses do a lot to help
students direct career goals as well as help
them with continued growth in the social
sciences.
Math Department: Greetings from the
CIMS math department!
Exciting things are happening in the CIMS
math department. In order to prepare
students for college and careers in the 21st
Century, students are writing more during
lessons. Student writing is focused on the
justification and clarification of their
thinking with the use of technical math
vocabulary and symbolism.
In order to enhance student learning, many
classrooms are utilizing chrome books in
daily lesson plans. Besides chrome books,
eighty graphing calculators along with
several laptops will be added to the
department in the near future. CIMS math
teachers are very excited to share this
technology with students so different
learning styles can be addressed.
Pie? No, Pi! The department is gearing up
for its second annual Pi (3.14) Day on
March 14, 2016 (3-14). The day celebrates
and teaches students about Pi (the ratio of
circumference divided by diameter).
Classroom instruction will be centered on
the concept of Pi. Students will also have
the opportunity to be involved in other
activities to celebrate this special Math day.
Finally, all of our history students are doing
a project for History Day! Students have
been diligently working on a college-level
research project and are preparing either a
research paper, dramatic performance,
exhibit, digital documentary, or website.
This is a tremendous opportunity for our
students to work independently or in a group
to thoroughly research their topic. Studies
show that students who participate in a
history day project at any level do better in
college than those who have not done so.
Last year we had 6 students who were
PE/Outdoor Activities:
PE classes have been going really well this
1st semester. Just a couple of updates for
you; the weight room will be getting new
upholstery on the machines that needed to
be fixed. Physical Fitness testing will be
starting on February 29 and go through
March 7, 2016. Please make sure that you
will come prepared for all of the tests.
The Outdoor Education class has been
having a great time this year. We have
learned how to make an emergency fire,
building an emergency tarp shelter, and
Currently, CIMS History Department offers
four advanced placement classes (AP),
which allow students to receive college
credit if they can pass the AP test in the
spring. Current classes are: AP European
History, AP US History, AP Government,
and AP Macro Economics. We are hoping
to add AP Psychology for next year to allow
our students the opportunity to earn college
credits.
learning how to navigate with a compass.
We can’t forget about the s’mores that tasted
so good. We all hope that during the Winter
Break everybody tries to get outside and
enjoy nature. We hope that you all have a
safe and happy Winter Break.
English News:
Congratulations CIMS English teachers!
The CIMS English department received a
$2,100 grant from the Rotary Club of
Victorville. The English department will use
this money to buy books for our school’s
library. The books will be novels that have
been challenged or banned in the past and
the students will engage in critical thinking
as they read and explore why books are
challenged and banned. These books will
support a project based learning initiative
called “Banned in America”, where students
will debate the reasons for or against
banning books.
Project Based Learning is a method
of teaching where students are asked a big
real world question. Then the students’
research, ask questions, and design projects
that answer the question. This leads to
students who are more interested in their
projects because they have more control and
freedom in working on a task that is
meaningful to them.
The English department is very excited to
start this project and to help students learn in
new and inventive ways. Thank you Rotary
Club of Victorville for supporting CIMS
teachers and students
ASB News
First semester of the 2015-2016 school year
has been eventful. CIMS’ first senior class
has held many activities that they are hoping
become traditions such as senior sunrise,
painting the front quad,
and an Iron man volleyball game against the
juniors. Homecoming was a highlight for the
high school students with CIMS’ first
royalty, Serenity Bisher and Dominick
Dieterle.
We exceeded our goal at the 2nd annual
blood drive and had an overwhelming
turnout for the 3rd annual Monster Mash.
Students who earned a 3.5 or higher on first
quarter grades were celebrated with a
pancake breakfast as well as having their
names on the wall of champions. CIMS
students stepped up at the 3rd annual cancer
walk held on November 20th raising money
for Relay for Life, Victorville.
CIMS has over 25 clubs for students to be a
part of:
Art Club, ASES, Band, Basketball
(girls/boys), Soccer (girls/boys),
Builder’s Club, Cross Country,
Chess/Card Club, Dance Club,
Decathlon, Drama, Environmental
Club, Film and Animation, Friday
Night Live/Club Live, Golf, HOSA,
Key Club, Mock Trial, Outdoor
Education Club, Pentathlon, Prayer
Warriors, Science Club, Volleyball,
Wrestling, Yarn Club, Yearbook.
As the second half of the year begins the
following are dates of activities to
remember:
Jan. 12 – senior class picture
Jan. 29th – Honor Roll Rally
Feb. 20th – Winter Formal
March 8th – Spring Pictures
March 18th – Mr. Cougar and
Spaghetti Dinner
March 23rd – Career Fair
April 14th -16th – Drama Performance
April 22nd – Prom
April 29th – AVID Idol
May 6th – Spring Fling
May 12th - Senior Awards Night
Grad Night
th
May 16 – Graduation Practice
Senior Picnic/Senior
yearbook distribution
May 17th – Graduation
May 24th – Underclassman Awards
Cobalt Counseling
CIMS Counseling Department Celebrates a
College-Going Culture!
We’ve had a very productive semester
getting our students exposed to and ready
for the exciting world of college! CIMS
hosted College Day on November 4th in the
multipurpose room. Cal State University
schools, UC schools, community colleges
and private colleges were represented.
Students participated in various workshops
and projects. CIMS also got to unveil over
25 awesome new college flags now on
display in the MPR. They look great and the
“college-going” tone they set will be
enjoyed for many years to come. The PSAT
was given on October 14th and 81 of our
high school students took the exam to
prepare for the upcoming college entrance
exams, great job on being college bound!
Additionally as part of our efforts to
strengthen our college-going culture, Ms.
Jaramillo (our fantastic Destination College
student advisor) has been busy making
classroom presentations on A-G college
entrance requirements and helping students
outline their 4 year plans. She has also been
spending time with the seniors and with the
AVID students working on Personal
Statements for university applications. Most
impressively, she has supported CIMS’ first
graduating class through the entire college
application season, and to date our seniors
have submitted over 62 applications to 4year universities. Way to go, Class of 2016!
Thank you, Ms. Jaramillo!!
CAREER CENTER IS NOW
OPEN!!
Computers are available to research
colleges, scholarships, careers and complete
assignments. We also have peer tutors, come
on in and sign-up.
COUGAR CANYON COLLEGE AND
CAREER CENTER
HOURS:
B Lunch for High School students
After school by appointment
(see Counseling office)
Library
The library is open before school at
7:15a.m., both lunches and after school until
3:15 p.m. It closes for lunch at 11:45 and
reopens at 12:15. On early out Wednesdays,
Minimum Days and other special schedule
days, the library will be closed during both
lunches. If there are other closures, it will
be posted in advance whenever possible, on
the outside doors.
Students: Don’t waste your time searching
the Internet for information! Avoid the
hassle by using these great databases:
Gale Student Resources in Context, and
Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context
Go to CIMS’ website, click on Library, then
click on “Database Research Access”. The
links and passwords are right there!
Make your research fast, easy and still get
AWESOME results!
After School Program News
ASES is our after school program that is
open to 7th -9th grade students. ASES is
proud to partner with Cobalt Institute of
Math & Science to provide tutoring services
and enrichment activities to our students for
the 3rd year in a row. We believe in the
importance of supporting our students’
progress through tutoring and enrichment
programs that will enhance learning
opportunities.
American Media directed, produced and
acted in their very own film, “Monsters are
due on ASES.” Along with the help of
ASES Leadership, American Media hosted a
Premier Night Friday, October 30, 2015.
The Premier was a huge success and many
students and parents alike praised the
students on their filming and acting skills.
ASES hosted its first ever Thanksgiving
Dinner, November 20th. This meal allowed
students a chance to meet in a more formal
setting and share their feelings about
Thanksgiving and what they were thankful
for. Nearly the entire meal was prepared by
the Culinary Arts class and the tables were
set and decorated by the Leadership class.
Great Job Culinary Arts!!!!! That was a lot
of food to cook!!!!
ASES Leadership has
been VERY busy. Not only have they been
working alongside many of the classes on
their projects but they have also had many of
their own. Leadership has hosted their first
fundraiser, the Penny War, from November
9th to the 20th. It was a huge success. The
rules were simple, Pennies are worth
positive points and each “non-penny”
money was worth negative points. The class
with the most points in the end won a Pizza
Party and the class with the LEAST points
participated in a campus clean up and their
instructor was pied in the face. Not only did
the Penny War raise over $150, but it also
succeeded in bringing on a spirited rivalry
between the ASES classes. All students and
teachers participated in bringing pennies for
their classes and silver change and dollars to
“bomb” other classes. Leadership is
currently in the process of running a student
store. They are learning the ins and outs of
customer service, making change, making
receipts, stocking, and balancing a cash
drawer. They are also in the process of
planning a very special Grinchmas to reward
all of the hard work of the ASES students.
Stem is currently in the process of collecting
recyclables for their next big project. They
are currently learning how we can
REDUCE, REUSE and RECYCLE to make
our planet a better one. We cannot wait to
see what they make out of it.