A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTORS
Volume 5, Issue 1
This fall was the beginning of the eighth year of the Biotechnology Institute at Carlmont High School. The program has grown so much from its early days. Our pioneering graduating class was only 35 students. Many of them have now graduated college and are entering the workforce or graduate school. As educators and directors of this program, it is so rewarding when these students reconnect with us, provide updates on their lives, and reflect on how BTI influenced their studies and career goals.
Alice Gevorgyan is one BTI alumna who we heard from this summer. She just graduated from Cornell University, Summa Cum Laude. She also earned a CALS Academic Excellence Award for her strong academic performance as a Plant Sciences major. Click here to see the website that showcases her extraordinary accomplishments at Cornell. In her introduction, she also writes about BTI as an influence.
We are looking forward to an exciting year with your students, and we hope to provide a positive experience that they can take with them beyond their years at Carlmont. As always, we appreciate your support of the unique BTI program here at Carlmont - whether it is supporting us financially with donations via CAF, volunteering as a mentor or guest speaker, or organizing a field trip opportunity.
The BTI Staff
INTRODUCING OUR NEW MENTOR COORDINATOR, Mr. FABIC
I’m excited to take on this role in addition to teaching BTI English. The mentor program provides an opportunity for students to see snapshots of different professional careers. Mentors come from many leading companies throughout the Bay Area who generously provide their time and expertise to students. If you are interested in becoming a mentor, please don’t hesitate to email me at ocortez@seq.org.
Looking for professionals to speak about their careers at our Sophomore Symposium in February
Career Round Tables – Professionals will speak in a small group format about their career, and educational background, give a brief job description and offer the pros and cons of their field. Students will have 20 minutes with each professional and then rotate to the next. Ideally, professionals from a wide variety of biotech careers will be represented. Colleagues are welcome to sign up together and present as a team.
What: Carlmont High School's Biotech Institute is offering a symposium to sophomores on biotechnology education and experience. We will start the morning at 9:00 am with a keynote speaker and then divide students into small groups to meet with professionals.
When: Friday, February 10, 2023
Time of Career Roundtable Presentations: 9:30-10:30 am.
Where: In-Person at Carlmont High School's Student Union, 1400 Alameda de las Pulgas, Belmont CA 94002
How: Email Faith Velschow, fvelschow@seq.org, or Sign-Up Here.
What's happening in our classes
2025
English II with Ms. Gold
In English II, students recently wrapped up a unit on the ethics of selecting the genetic traits of a child. They are now immersed in Aldous Huxley’s novel, Brave New World, which tells the story of a future dystopia that uses genetic engineering to manufacture and control its citizens. They will wrap up the semester developing a vision for a utopian high school.
World History with Ms. McKee
World History with Ms. McKee - Students will learn the social, political and economic continuities and changes that impacted the world from the 1700s through today. We will focus on the following themes within Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East: Pre Colonial Society, Revolutions, Imperialism, The World at War, Independence and Nation-Building, Genocide, and Contemporary Issues.
Biotechnology 1-2 with Ms. Burndon
Biotechnology 1 will be learning about the impact of biotechnology on society through the stock project and other online career and current event explorations. We will be doing labs to develop the core skills of Biotechnology, including measurement, solution preparation, microbial culturing, and work with DNA and proteins.
2024
English III with Ms. Gold
Students began the semester writing narrative essays and are now reading Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, which examines the motivations and ethical challenges of a scientist. They are also exploring the book through a psychological lens—looking at the light and shadow sides of the mad scientist and monster archetypes. After our Frankenstein unit, we will delve into the ethics of direct-to-consumer DNA testing kits.
united states history with ms. moynihan
Covering one topic a week, currently in a unit about the Progressive Era of the late 19th century and its impact on society and quality of life. Unit tests will be projects that connect our content to science and innovation during the time period under discussion and connections to present-day with continued scrutiny over how innovative technologies have impacted democratic processes and society and driven the path the US has taken during the 20th century through the present.
Biotechnology 3 with Ms. Abdilla
We started off semester 1 with a review of solution preparation, learning about the plant and flower parts and the function of those parts. Semester one will include a review of the lab equipment the junior have not previously had a chance to use and will focus on plants - germinating seeds, growing plants from seeds, and cloning plants using 3 different techniques.
Flower Dissections - They love me…they love me not. All of the BTI 3-4 students were able to play this age-old game while dissecting their flowers for this lab. While flowers are beautiful, they are the reproductive part of plants, and what better way to learn the difference between a stamen and stigma, than by getting up close and personal…even using a stereoscope to see the ovaries and ovum inside the flowers.
Chemistry for Biotech with Mr. Engberg
So far this semester will have investigated why some beverage cans float or sink, the gas laws, and chemistry of smells. In addition to a general introduction to chemistry, the main focus for the first semester will be project-based learning centered around the creation and analysis of a student-created beverage. Students will mostly be creating this beverage at home and then testing the properties at school. During this project, we will focus on the chemistry concepts of solutions, concentration, measurement, bonding, structure, and other basic chemistry concepts.
2023
English IV with Mr. Fabic
I enjoy exploring how literature provides useful and powerful lenses to view the world, its issues, and its beauty. In addition to my deep curiosity for science (and science fiction), I’m also interested in improving the education system, learning about the intersection between finance and society, and sports/health.
Starting with an introduction to the class and learning processes, we will cover academic ground ranging from our “What’s Next?” college admissions essay writing unit, to our Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury) informative essay section, and finally with our argumentative writing unit addressing the issues presented in John Carreyrou’s investigative story Bad Blood. We will also explore the world of Jurassic Park (Michael Crichton) and 1984 (George Orwell) in the latter half of the year. Classes will cover salient topics from the texts through discussions, writing activities, reading of relevant supporting material, and creative projects. Each unit will culminate with a final essay project. We will also strive to build a challenging, engaging, and safe learning community that pushes students to actively reflect on the relevance of the texts in their lives and to society as a whole. Our goal of preparing students for success beyond high school by becoming emergent critical thinkers, capable writers, and ardent readers continues.
american government with ms. moynihan
This semester we are doing project-based learning around the three overarching themes: 1. Engagement in Government: exploring the role of government and how an individual can influence government policy. 2. U.S. Government Structure and Function: discovering how the national government is set up and works. 3. Civil Rights and Civil Liberties: investigating the rights and liberties of American citizens, and the role the government plays in protecting them and sometimes infringing on them.
Biomanufacturing with Ms. Burndon
Students will begin the year by manufacturing a variety of biotechnology products, from cosmetics to supplements to biologics, and performing validation testing. We will start next semester with the student favorite project Urease Medical Device Project, where students use low-tech materials and their Biotech skills to design an alternative to Dialysis, then learn about the computer side of Biotech with a unit on Bioinformatics and DNA sequencing related to Jurassic Park. For their final Capstone project, students will manufacture a Biotechnology project of their choice.
What the class of 2025 has to say
why did you join Bti
I found out about BTI in 8th grade and have wanted to join ever since then. I am very interested in science and wished to be a part of the BTI community. I hoped that being in a group with the same students throughout high school would help me build stronger bonds while preparing me for a field I am interested in as well. - AL
I thought it would be an experience that I would not be able to get anywhere else. So far, it has been—the classes that BTI has offered are different from what regular classes offer. - OT
I joined BTI because I was excited about more of my classes being science-based, and being surrounded by others who were just as interested in science as I am. I love all of the hands-on work and learning how to be more independent in the lab. -CF
tell us about a positive initial experience in the BTI program.
On the first day of school, it was pretty amazing to just jump straight into doing a lab where we made cheese. It felt like it was just nice to have an immediate start and not have to wait a week or two to actually start doing things in that class. - CW
The change in English and History has been so amazing, I love all the topics we have been focusing on. -SM
All my teachers are really nice, and I am looking forward to the Exploratorium field trip. The first BTI social event: Notebook Decorating and Popsicles, was really nice because all my teachers in BTI were there and there was a strong community feel to it. - LAB
building BTI community
BTI is a family—we spend hours together each day, we see the same teachers and classmates for multiple years, and we have our own BTI group chats and inside jokes. We love each other…and we drive each other crazy. Just like a family. And just like a family, we love to hang out together and socialize! We had two great social events this September.
Notebook decorating
In early September, we beat the heat by enjoying popsicles while decorating our notebooks in the nicely air-conditioned biotech lab. While scientific notebooks contain the same information within their pages, the BTI students made sure that the exterior covers displayed their unique personality with lots of vinyl stickers and washi tape! No chance of any student confusing their notebook with other BTI students!
Tie-dye
While we wear our BTI shirts with pride and excitement, it is important to let our true colors shine. At the end of September, the BTI students tie-dyed to their heart's content with real deal dyes… which left some of us looking like a little smurf-ish for a few days. The bright colors and beautiful patterns the students used on their shirts really set the BTI students apart on campus!
Save the Date
- Oct. 21: BTI Lunchtime Social: Halloween Slime Time, U21
- Oct. 25: 10th and 11th-grade field trip to the Exploratorium in San Francisco
- Nov. 15: Meet-Your-Mentor Breakfast for 11th
- Nov. 18: BTI Lunchtime Social: Pie Feast (Even if you're unable to bring a pie that day, we want you there!)
- Dec. 15: BTI Study Night, 5:00–7:00 PM in U21
BTI Swag on redbubble
Love your BTI swag? Want more?
We are committed to giving students a free tee-shirt each year, but if you would like more swag, visit BTI’s Redbubble shop where you can find our logo on various products such as mugs, masks, drawstring bags, tote bags, water bottles, and stickers. There are also shirts and sweatshirts in many styles and colors. First, go to Explore Designs to select a logo color: black, navy, grey, or white. Scroll down to see products. For shirts, click on the shirt style you like. It will open in a larger window and then you’ll see a button that shows the shirt color choices. (Read the Redbubble reviews regarding shirt sizes. Women’s fitted tees run small.)
Redbubble is a print-on-demand platform, and we are offering BTI gear at Redbubble’s baseline cost. In other words, BTI will not profit from sales, so this is not a fundraiser. Orders will be mailed to your home—it takes a week or two. Redbubble handles returns and exchanges.
Join our parent/teacher Development Committee
We would love to have you participate in our development committee that meets once a quarter and provides various levels of support to the BTI directors and the program in general. Class Parent Reps serve as the point of contact for communication that the development committee sends out. We also have Members-at-Large who advise us. It is a low level of commitment that makes a big impact, and it is an excellent way to get to know other BTI parents.
Want to get involved on the development committee? Send an email to the directors: Susan Gold, sgold@seq.org and Jaime Abdilla, jabdilla@seq.org. We would love for you to join!
Financial support—Setting our goal for 2022-23
your donations to caf keep the bti program funded
A fully funded BTI program requires $150,000 per year. Fortunately, Sequoia Union High School District provides at least half that amount every year. The rest is raised by corporate donations, grants, and contributions by BTI parents through CAF. Meeting our financial goal covers many special benefits and especially ensures that Carlmont is able to dedicate two sections of Biotechnology 3-4 specifically for BTI students. This allows the BTI juniors to enjoy their own unique biotechnology curriculum and smaller class sizes.
Please consider donating to CAF to help support Carlmont and this amazing academic and professional three-year program that provides a strong learning community for our teens with content and experiences that they find relevant and challenging. Thanks to our partnership with CAF, when you donate, you can allocate up to 90% of your contribution to the BTI program. We encourage you to donate generously to both Carlmont and BTI.
GRANTS/CORPORATE DONATIONS
BTI parents, please check with your employers to see if they participate in donation matching or are open to providing a donation to the BTI program. One parent wrote a letter to their corporate office with supporting information, including a link to the newsletter, and was able to secure a $2000 to $3000 donation each year. Give it a go! It is usually the combination of corporate and parental donations that allows us to meet our financial goal each year. Thank you.
other ways you can help
- If you have access to supplies that can be donated to our science labs, contact Ms. Abdilla at jabdilla@seq.org.
- If you have connections for industry tours, contact Ms. Abdilla at jabdilla@seq.org and Ms. Gold at sgold@seq.org
- If you have other ways to help, just let us know!
contact information
- Directors of BTI: Ms. Abdilla at jabdilla@seq.org and Ms. Gold at sgold@seq.org
- Mentor Coordinator: Mr. Fabic at ocortez@seq.org
- Senior Parent Class Rep - Jenna Tekeil – jennatekiel@outlook.com
- Junior Parent Class Rep - Lisa Wong – land.lisaw@gmail.com
- Sophomore Parent Class Rep - Shirley Chan – shirleyrd1@gmail.com