Note from the Directors:

Jaime Abdilla & Susan Gold

This fall marks an exciting milestone for the BTI program at Carlmont High School as we celebrate our 10th year! It is incredible to see how far we've come since our pioneering class of just 35 students. Many of those early graduates have now ventured into the workforce and graduate school. Many stay in touch, and it’s truly rewarding to hear how BTI has influenced their paths and aspirations.

We are enthusiastic about the year ahead with YOUR students! Our goal is to create a positive and enriching experience that they will carry with them beyond their time at Carlmont. Your ongoing support has been invaluable, allowing us to maintain our dedicated BTI-only sections of Biotechnology 3-4 and continue our mentor program, which fosters meaningful connections and guidance for our juniors. We thank you for your generosity. Thank you for believing in our unique program and supporting our mission.

Together, let’s make this a remarkable year for our BTI family!

Ways you can continue to support the BTI community:

Support both BTI and CAF as generously as your pocketbooks will allow. BTI families are able to allocate a portion of their CAF donation to the BTI program. Here is the link to make your donation.

• Become a Mentor: We are still looking for volunteers to participate in our mentoring program, which begins on Nov. 1. For more information, please contact Mr. Oscar Fabic Cortez at ocortez@seq.org.

• Industry Tour: Host 54 sophomores plus chaperones for a field trip to a biotechnology company. Our students love to see professionals at work and hear about their day-to-day jobs.

• BTI Wish List: Do you work in the biotech industry? Is your lab looking to donate lab supplies in clean, working condition? If so, please look at the BTI wish list and contact Ms. Abdilla at jabdilla@seq.org

Class of 2027

Biotechnology 1 with Ms. Burndon

We 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, and a fall final where students use their lab skills and knowledge to design a Biotech-based treatment for protein undernutrition.

English II with Ms. Gold

Students started the year with an introduction to ethics based on Susan Linataud’s book, The Power of Ethics. They also explored the bioethical issues surrounding assisted reproductive technology and embryonic gene editing. We 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. Students have also researched applications of biotechnology for an informative essay they wrote about the field.

World History with Mr. Fenech

We began the year with community-building activities and having fun getting to know each other. Our units will take us through the social, political, and economic continuities and changes that impacted the world from the 1700s through today. This semester, we will cover the topics of Pre-Colonial Societies, Revolutions, and Imperialism. We will explore these topics through the perspectives of various regions and cultures to reveal a complete narrative of our world’s history.

Class of 2026

Biotechnology 3 with Ms. Abdilla

We started off the fall semester with a review of solution preparation, learning about the plant and flower parts and the function of those parts. This semester will also include a review of genetics and how to predict the outcome of offspring by focusing on the genetics of Wisconsin fast plants. We also conduct labs focusing on germinating seeds, growing plants from seeds, and cloning plants using 3 different techniques.

Chemistry for Biotechnology with

Mr. Engberg and Ms. Lu

So far this semester will have investigated why some beverage cans float or sink, the gas laws, and the 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.

English III with Ms. Gold

We began the semester writing narrative essays and are now reading Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, which examines the motivations and ethical challenges of a scientist. We 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 a bioethical issue and argument writing.

U.S. History with Ms. Moynihan

Currently, we are approaching the end of our first unit about the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era of the late-19th/early-20th centuries. Many political, economic, and social changes arose with the rise of big business and industry, unleashing many social, political, and economic problems that the middle class wanted to tackle in order to help the urban poor, immigration, and corruption in both business and the government. Recently, under the Progressive Era content, we’ve also been discussing environmental conservation vs. preservation and private property rights regarding resources that could benefit a wider community. We’ll soon take a brief look at American Imperialism and how we emerged as a world power prior to the outbreak of war in Europe. Our following unit will regard WWI and the 1920s, followed by the Great Depression. I’m hoping we may be able to finish (or at least get part way through) the Great Depression and New Deal by the end of the semester.

Class of 2025

Biomanufacturing with Ms. Burndon

Welcome to BioMont! In our newly formed Biomanufacturing “company”, students will begin the year by manufacturing a variety of biotechnology products, from cosmetics to supplements to biologics, and performing validation testing. We will end the 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. Second semester we will compare student-manufactured to commercially available Taq Polymerase for PCR and 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.

English IV with Mr. Fabic

My goal is to prepare students for success beyond high school by helping them become emergent and engaged critical thinkers, capable writers, and ardent readers. Our first semester begins with a “What’s Next?” college admissions essay writing unit, followed by a Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury) informative essay, and finishing with an argumentative essay writing unit addressing the issues presented in John Carreyrou’s Bad Blood. The following semester, we explore the world of Jurassic Park (Michael Crichton) and end the year with 1984 (George Orwell).

American Government with Ms. Moynihan

In our introduction to government at the start of this fall semester, we began by tracing the foundations of our American democracy and form of government as outlined in the U.S. Constitution. Our current unit focuses on principles in the Constitution, our federal system, the independent judiciary, and the structure of our government. At the end of this unit, students should be able to explain how to amend the constitution, explain how power and responsibility are shared and limited in our government, and describe the major principles of the American Constitution. Our next unit will focus on the Legislative Branch. Students are continuing their practice of civil discourse and critical thinking regarding issues that our current government (and major players currently involved) are tackling today and presenting strong arguments based in the Constitution as well as comparing our modern government to what it may have looked like back in the late 1700s. As it is a presidential election year, we will be taking breaks from regular curriculum every so often to take a look at the campaigns of the presidential candidates and measures and propositions proposed on the county and California specific ballots and debate the ideas presented. Students will be trained and expected to formulate their own ideas around these topics and base their reasoned opinions through concrete and reputable evidence.

Sophomore Symposium

On October 4, our sophomores had the opportunity to attend an engaging symposium on campus, designed to inform them about careers in biotechnology and the broader field of science.

The morning started with an inspiring keynote presentation by Julie Fogarty from Gilead Sciences. Dr. Fogarty shared her career journey with us and the life lessons she learned along the way. Here were the key takeaways she identified from her experience:

• Be passionate, and pursue your dreams with vigor
• Be open to opportunities that may seem out of line with your goals
• Talk to people and learn about their careers and lives

Throughout her presentation, students also learned a great deal about her exploration of biomedical and chemical engineering, and her work on vaccines, cancer treatments, and HIV medications.

After her presentation, students broke out into small groups to hear about the work of other professionals. We are so grateful to the speakers who donated their time and expertise and showed enthusiasm for their fields. We are also grateful to the SUHSD Work-Based Learning specialist, and networker extraordinaire, Faith Velschow for finding these professionals.

Notebook Decorating and Popsicles

Our first BTI social event of the year, Notebook Decorating and Popsicles, gave students the chance to escape the heat and get to know their BTI peers and teachers outside of class. They exercised their creative side by personalizing their notebooks using an assortment of vinyl stickers, washi tape, and various art supplies. The popsicles were a sticky treat that matched the fun vibe of the day.

Exploratorium Field Trip – 10th & 11th Grade

The BTI sophomore and juniors had a fantastic day at the Exploratorium in San Francisco.

Students wandered through the halls engaging with interactive scientific displays and even watched a demonstration of a cow eye dissection. The Seaglass Restaurant provided a perfect spot for a quick lunch, where we all shared French fries and snacks and talked about our favorite exhibits.

This outing not only deepened the students' appreciation for science but also strengthened the bonds of their BTI family.