AUSD Notes: Highlighting the pursuits of Alameda schools’ students, staff

A 10th-grader won second place at a poetry contest's county level, and a recent Black History Month event was held.

Alameda Unified School District students and staff are involved in more noteworthy and exciting pursuits than the AUSD can possibly list (truly — our sites are brimming with engaging achievements and projects). We’d like to take the opportunity this week to highlight just a few of them.

First, we are delighted to announce that Hakim Karimzada, an English language learner at the Alameda Adult School, has an exhibit at Rhythmix Cultural Works.  Karimzada is a master calligrapher from Afghanistan whose work blends modern and traditional styles to create exquisite works of art that reflect the culture, art and language of his native country.

Sometimes focusing on a letter, word or series of words as in a poem, his colorful paintings reflect a variety of traditional scripts, as well as one he invented on his own. The exhibit, called “Dance of Words,” is up through March 2. You can also see his artwork online at rhythmix.org/events/dance-of-words.

We would also like to congratulate Roan Byrne Sarno, a 10th-grader at the Alameda Science and Technology Institute whose recitations of “Battle Hymn of the Republic” (by Julia Ward Howe) and “To the Oppressors” (by Pauli Murray) won second place at the Alameda County level of the “Poetry Out Loud” contest.

A partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, “Poetry Out Loud” encourages high school students to learn about poetry by selecting, memorizing and reciting classic and contemporary poems. Roan won ASTI’s competition in November and then advanced to the county level.

Third-grade students at Bay Farm and Paden Elementary schools get a shout out for putting on Valentine’s Day post offices in February at their respective schools.

During the event, which combines a Valentine’s Day celebration with hands-on learning, students wrote and processed hundreds of valentines through a simulated postal system that includes a beautiful mail box, regional and branch post offices, streets and classroom mailboxes.

Students apply for and then play the roles of postmaster general, systems designers, stampers, regional and branch mail sorters and letter carriers.

In addition to the joy of delivering valentines, students got to practice writing (each wrote 30 messages) and addressing letters, exercising social-emotional skills (by listing positive traits of each recipient) and developing career skills (by submitting applications to each post office job).

Finally, the AUSD’s Office of Equity held a Black History Month event in February that featured a host of noteworthy speakers and performances under the theme of “Lift Your Voice.”

The event’s headliners included author Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond (author of the highly acclaimed picture book “Blue”); rapper MC Kai; author Vielka Lisa Montout; spoken word artist Jaylondon; poet and educator Kayatta Patton; activist, author and educator Tyson Amir; and breakdancing group The Oakland Originalz. Video and photos of this very celebratory event are available on the Office of Equity’s webpage at alamedaunified.org/departments/office-of-equity.

We always welcome news of innovative projects and noteworthy achievements from our students, staff and families — please contact me at my email address below if you have something to share.

Reach Susan Davis, the Alameda Unified School District’s senior manager for community affairs, at 510-337-7175 or SDavis@alamedaunified.org.