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2018 Irvine Teachers of the Year

5/24/2018

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OC Teachers of the Year: Irvine has two! 

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KARI TUCKER-MCCORKHILL TEACHES PSYCHOLOGY AT IRVINE VALLEY COLLEGE AND IS THE ONLY COMMUNITY COLLEGE HONOREE
By Irvine City News staff ​
The Orange County Department of Education revealed its 2018 Teachers of the Year recently, as Superintendent Al Mijares and an entourage traveled to six locations in a big yellow school bus to surprise six winning teachers in person.  

Two of the six stops were in Irvine: Kari Tucker-McCorkhill, who teaches psychology at Irvine Valley College, is the only community college honoree. And Irvine High’s Archana Jain is the second local educator to be named one of six Orange County Teachers of the Year. 

Archana Jain, who has been an IUSD math teacher for more than 12 years, was surprised with the Teacher of the Year honor in front of her students in her classroom. Superintendent Mijares, IUSD Superintendent Terry Walker, Irvine High Principal Monica Colunga, IUSD Board Member Lauren Brooks, Irvine Teachers Association President Teri Sorey, and members of her family were present, along with other OCDE officials 
Prior to joining IUSD, Jain was an aerospace engineer for a decade. She was also named the district’s 2018 High School Teacher of the Year. She has encouraged and inspired young women to get involved in STEM, and is a mentor for the Robotics Club, the Society of Women Engineers, the Engineering Club, Astronomy Club and OC Maker Challenge. Jain not only uses her experience and impressive background in the classroom but she has also used it to create an engineering pathway for Irvine High School students. She formed the Irvine Technology and Engineering Center to give students access to rapid prototyping tools and industry software.
By establishing a dynamic, project-based environment, Jain has helped students find academic success and purpose.
 

“This is such a huge honor,” Jain said. “We are all capable of achieving more than we think if we persist and believe in our abilities.”  

Kari Tucker-McCorkhill has earned a reputation among students and colleagues at Irvine Valley College as a dedicated, enthusiastic and passionate educator. 

One example of her devotion to education: she dedicated the proceeds of a statistics book she published to fund student scholarships at the college. 
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Tucker-McCorkhill constantly strives to make her psychology lessons relatable with real-world examples. Her students have used psychology principles they learned in her class to create a mentoring system aimed at helping new students adjust to the college life. 

“With many years of experience in the classroom, I have come to realize that truly effective teaching is a career-long endeavor that requires constant attention to the most important goal we have as educators – to inspire and encourage student’s learning and growth,” Tucker-McCorkhill said. 

Congratulations to two of Irvine’s outstanding teachers. 

They and the other teachers of the year were awarded with a trophy and prizes, and all six will be guests of honor at a dinner gala held at the Disneyland Hotel in November. There, they’ll receive cash awards from sponsor SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union and the Dr. James Hines Foundation, established by Orange County residents Bill and Sue Gross. The five Orange County finalists who teach pre-kindergarten through grade 12 are eligible to compete in the California Teachers of the Year program. 
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IPSF STEAM fest at the Great Park

5/24/2018

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IPSF STEAM Fest at the Great Park 
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STUDENTS WERE INSPIRED BY ENGINEERING WITH LEGO AT IPSF’S OC STEAM FEST, COURTESY IPSF.
Irvine City News staff ​
An estimated 5,000 people came out to the Orange County Great Park on a sunny Saturday for the family-friendly OC STEAM Fest. Put on by Irvine Public Schools Foundation, the event had fun and interactive activities for kids designed to spark their interest in science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics, also known as STEAM. 

“The OC STEAM Fest provides students with a fun and educational opportunity to explore interests and discover the many different kinds of STEAM-related career opportunities that are available to them,” says Neda Eaton, president and CEO of IPSF.  

There were some 50 booths offering activities that included a “work and learn” virtual reality station by presenting sponsor EON Reality and a life size human foosball by Waste Management. Live entertainment and innovative demonstrations were part of the event as well, including a robotics competition between IUSD middle schools refereed by John Remar of Discovery Channel’s BattleBots. 

“Over the past 21 years, IPSF has proudly contributed over $68 million in programs and funds to support education in Irvine,” Eaton says. “It’s been so much fun to bring the community together with our partners and celebrate educational excellence for all children in Orange County.” 

IPSF provides millions of dollars in funding to Irvine Unified School District (IUSD) each year to support STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) education, small-group learning, afterschool and summer programs, grants for classroom innovation, and support for mental-health initiatives, athletic trainers and school nurses. For more information, visit ipsf.net. ​
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Irvine loses its modern master of dance Donald McKayle

5/14/2018

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Irvine loses its modern master of dance, Donald McKayle

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By Irvine City News Staff
Donald McKayle, a world-renowned choreographer, dancer, director teacher and writer who lived in Irvine and was a UCI professor for nearly 30 years, died recently at the age of 87. 

“Donald McKayle’s passing is truly the end of an era in American dance,” said UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman. “His passion for teaching and mentoring young, talented dancers remained unabated throughout his long life, and one of his greatest legacies is the hundreds of professional dancers now performing around the world.”

He was a five-time Tony Award nominee and one of the first African American men to both direct and choreograph major Broadway musicals, including “Raisin” (1973) and “Sophisticated Ladies” (1981).

McKayle’s contributions to the world of dance earned him a medal from the Kennedy Center as a “master of African American choreography.” His choreography garnered two Emmy Award nominations, an NAACP Image Award and a citation as “one of America’s irreplaceable dance treasures” by the Dance Heritage Coalition and the Library of Congress.

McKayle taught and mentored UCI students until his final days. 

The Los Angeles Times said McKayle’s “seven decades in modern dance distinguished him as one of the art form’s leading lights and socially conscious practitioners.”

“At least two of his works are considered modern classics,” The New York Times obituary said, citing “Games” from 1951 and “Rainbow ’Round My Shoulder” from 1959.

Born in Harlem, New York, McKayle began dancing during his senior year in high school after being inspired by a Pearl Primus performance. He made his professional dancing debut in 1948. During his seven-decade career, he danced or worked with Martha Graham, Anna Sokolow and Merce Cunningham and in the classic Broadway productions “House of Flowers” and “West Side Story.”

McKayle joined the UCI faculty in 1989 and was honored in 2000 with the UCI Medal, the university’s highest honor. He was the Claire Trevor Professor of Dance and Artistic Director of UCI’s Etude Ensemble, which he founded in 1995.

His original choreography “Death and Eros” was performed at the university’s annual Dance Visions just this February.
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“The world knew Donald as a groundbreaking dancer and choreographer; we at UCI knew him as a great teacher and mentor,” said Stephen Barker, dean of the Claire Trevor School of the Arts. “Donald was a great choreographer because he was a great human being. We celebrate our opportunity to have known and worked with one of the giants of American dance for such a wonderfully long time.”
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National Merit Scholarships has Irvine winning big

5/1/2018

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Super Scholars! 

By Irvine City News staff ​
The first round of the 2018 National Merit Scholarships were announced recently, those sponsored by corporations, company foundations and other business organizations. 

Seven Irvine Unified School District students received one of the prestigious scholarships, the most students of any school district in Orange County and the second-most in the state, according to IUSD.  

In addition, two Irvine students attending Arnold O. Beckman High School in the Tustin Unified School District also received this category of National Merit Scholarships. 

National Merit-Sponsored Scholarships and University-Sponsored National Merit Scholarships will be announced in coming weeks, no doubt with more Irvine students receiving them. Corporate sponsors provide National Merit Scholarships for finalists who are children of their employees, who are residents of communities the company serves, or who plan to pursue college majors or careers the sponsor wishes to encourage.  

Most of these awards are renewable for up to four years of college undergraduate study and provide annual stipends that range from $500 to $10,000 per year. Some provide a single payment between $2,500 and $5,000. Recipients can use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university of their choice. 

Nationally, 1,000 distinguished high school seniors have won corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship awards. NMSC will name recipients of National Merit $2500 Scholarships on May 9, and winners of college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards on June 6 and July 16. 

Here is Irvine’s first round of National Merit super scholars: 
 
Avadh S. Patel 
Irvine High School 
Probable career field: Computer Science 
Schneider Electric North America Foundation Scholarship 

Irene L. Fu  

Northwood High School 
Probable career field: Consulting 
Aerojet Rocketdyne Foundation Scholarship 

Claire Li 
Northwood High School  
Probable career field: Business 
Allergan Foundation Scholarship 

Minu Choi 
University High School  
Probable career field: Psychology 
The PWC Charitable Foundation Scholarship 

Hartejas Dhindsa 
University High School 
Probable career field: Law 
BASF Corporation Scholarship 

Patryk T. Kozlowski 
University High School 
Probable career field: Mechanical Engineering 
Allergan Foundation Scholarship 

Shivakrish Vasireddy 
University High School  
Probable career field: Computer Science 
ADP Henry Taub Memorial Scholarship 

Michelle C. Xu  
Arnold O. Beckman High School 
Probable career field: Biomedical Engineering 
Schneider Electric North America Foundation Scholarship 

Brian Minh Tuan Chu  
Arnold O. Beckman High School 
Probable career field: Computer Science  
Northrop Grumman Scholarship  ​
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