MARK Highlights
Manteca Unified School Board
the
Oct-Nov 2018
Picnic, Pumpkins, and Pies Page 16
Why?
MUSD School Board
Making a positive difference to each and every student daily.
President Stephen J. Schluer, Area 6 Vice President Bob Wallace, Area 7 Board Clerk Evelyn Moore, Area 5 Eric Duncan, Area 1 Kathy Howe, Area 2 Michael Seelye, Area 3 Nancy Teicheira, Area 4
MUSD Superintendents Superintendent Dr. Clark Burke Deputy Superintendent
Roger Goatcher
Vision Manteca Unified School District will ensure every school day is relevant, rigorous, and leads students to become productive and engaged members of a global society while residing in the central valley.
Mission Manteca Unified School District is committed to providing a safe environment where all students will thrive with the tools, resources and support needed to achieve their academic and personal potentials.
#proudtobeMUSD
Manteca Unified School District 2271 West Louise Ave Manteca, CA 95337 (209)825-3200 Submit stories:
communityoutreach@musd.net The Mark Highlights is published by the MUSD Superintendent’s Office Community Outreach team. Highlights content is contributed by every school site. When highlight articles are submitted, they are edited for length and clarity. Feature writing is produced by the Community Outreach Team. Highlights is intended to be a reflection of the MUSD Vision and Mission, because above all,
we value making a positive difference to each and every student daily.
Peter Gale Design, Photography, and Reporting
The Mark Highlights Team are:
Erica McCullough Design and Photography
Victoria Brunn Director and Executive Editor vbrunn@musd.net Lindsay Stayner Content Coordination and Editor lstayner@musd.net
Johanna Victor Photography and Reporting Community Outreach Interns In-depth stories submitted by student interns, or an outside contributor, will include an author’s byline credit.
Contents
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At Our Schools
Great Valley Celebrates International Peace Day
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Durham Ferry Visit
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Veritas STEM Balloon Challenge
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DUI Court at Stella Brockman
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Lathrop’s Elementary Mascot
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Mobile Dairy Visits Neil Hafley
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Acorn League X-Country Championships
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Shasta Attends Educational Excursion
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East Union Hall of Fame
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LHS Honor the Shield
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MHS 2018 VOL Tennis Champs, Pay it Forward, Hosa at Disney and Honor the Code
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FFA Barn Dance
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BE.Tech 12 Golden West Dia de los Muertos
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Lincoln Jog-a-Thon
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MHS Bleeding Control
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CTE Conference
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Weston Ranch Cougars Attend UOP BLOCK Conference
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Sequoia 2nd Annual Picnic, Pumpkins and Pies
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Sierra High 5k Run
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Great Valley Harvest Festival
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Community Outreach Diving Into a Robotic Future
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Making Sense of Science
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From Alumni to Employee
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District Celebration
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A Bird’s Eye View of Budgets
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Making the Magic Wheelchair
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In The News
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Red Ribbon Week
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Great Valley Celebrates International Peace Day The International Day of Peace, or Peace Day, is observed around the world each year on September 21. This was established in 1981 by unanimous United Nations resolution. Peace Day provides a globally shared date for all humanity to commit to Peace above all differences and to contribute to building a culture of peace. Great Valley observed a moment of silence, dressed in Peace attire, and came together for a group picture in the shape of a heart to show our commitment to a culture of peace.
Durham Ferry Visit Fifth grade students from Great Valley experienced Durham Ferry Outdoor Education Center. Participants hiked along trails in the natural riparian (riverside) ecosystem, and engaged in activities connected to Next Generation Science Standards and California’s Environmental Principals and Concepts. Students used their senses and minds to become scientists in their local environment. Experiences included: Observing creatures living in the water and plants. Digging several holes and comparing depth needed to get water. Then, reasoning why the depth differed.
It was an incredible day of discovery for our students and chaperons. Science is all around us, especially as we are so close to the San Joaquin River. It is a hidden jewel, right outside our back door!
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Veritas STEM Balloon Challenge In Mrs. Garcia’s STEM Elective class, students in seventh and eighth grades competed against one another in a balloon challenge. The goal was to build a free standing balloon tower. The 7th graders were victorious in building the tallest structure that stood alone without any support. The tape and teamwork made it happen!
DUI Court at Stella Brockman
Stella Brockman held the Choices & Consequences DUI Awareness Presentation for seventh and eighth grade students. Judge Vlavianos, along with attorneys and other professionals, show students what court is like by sentencing a defendant live at Stella Brockman School.
The drunk and drugged driving education included simulations, a video and a live question and answer session with a prison panel from both Folsom Men’s Prison and State Women’s Prison. Students were able to learn the facts and have a better understanding of the consequences for irresponsible driving.
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Lathrop’s Elementary Mascot Meet Wolf E. Warrior, Lathrop Elementary’ s new mascot and warrior who debuted this month during a school assembly.
hard, our school pride, WE will guard. This is our fortress, this is our school, and at this fortress, Warriors Rule!”
Students performed the school’s mantra to welcome Wolf E., “WE are mighty, WE are strong, with Warrior pride, WE can’t go wrong. Warriors work so very
Sierra High School’s Community Leaders of America (CLA) invite you to our…
PROCEEDS SUPPORT A Manteca-Sunrise Kiwanis Project
FREE INDOOR EVENT FOR ALL SHOPPERS! SIERRA HIGH SCHOOL GYM & CAFÉ 1700 THOMAS ST MANTECA
Dream Closet Helping college-bound foster children realize their dreams of higher education. Questions? Advisor Jared Rio - jrio@musd.net
209.858.7410
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Mobile Dairy Visits Neil Hafley
The Mobile Dairy Classroom, along with MUSD Nutrition Education, made a visit to Neil Hafley. Nutrition Education was there to teach about the five food groups. They handed out fake money for the students to purchase fruits and vegetables at their farmer market stands. Kimberlee McLaughlin of the Dairy Council of California brought along Coco the Cow and Tootsie Roll, a twomonth old calf, from Cal-Denier Dairy in Galt. This free program of the Dairy Council of California helps educate kindergarten through sixth- grade students about the role of agriculture
in the food supply, from the journey of milk and dairy foods from the farm to the table and school cafeteria. Besides milk, they learned of the many products from dairy such as cheese, butter, whip cream, ice cream, and yogurt, to name a few. They also learned that a cow has one large stomach and likes to each alfalfa, pineapple, strawberries, and cantaloupe. On their way back to class the students were excited to pet the calf Coco.
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Acorn League X-Country Championships A t O u r S ch ools
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Shasta Attends Educational Excursion Shasta school seventh graders were privileged to be able to attend an educational excursion to the San Jose Technical Museum.
to witness the students as they interacted with science and technology in the hands-on areas of the technology museum,” said Audrey Parker.
Seventy-four seventh graders from Shasta had the opportunity to learn about technology and science due to the generosity and collaboration of Manteca High School and the department of Career Technical Education and STEM.
It was amazing to see their interest piqued, to hear the exclamations of surprise over what they were learning, and hear the laughter while learning was such a priceless experience.
“It was a privilege as the principal of Shasta
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These excursions are definitely very expensive, however it is very hard to put a price tag on the experience and the enrichment that it brought to our students. “We are forever grateful to the generosity of Mr. Gonzalez and Manteca High School and the time that Mrs. Ruble put in to making this all possible,” said Parker. “This is the type of collaboration that makes working for MUSD so incredibly rewarding.”
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East Union Hall of Fame
On Friday, October 26, East Union High School held their 2018 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony to honor: Jose Barron, Dino Cunial,
Dick Durham, Jim Brown, and Tony Agbayani.
They were honored for their exemplary service and dedication to EUHS.
Life-long contributors to community, like these hall of fame members, make us Proud to be MUSD!
LHS Honor the Shield
On Friday October 5th, Lathrop High School held its Honor the Shield Rally to celebrate student success.
event, which featured a student led skit with their mascot searching for items needed for school spirit.
The drum line and choir kicked off the
A student club danced, there was a
physical game, and to end the event, the faculty and staff performed a dance routine where even principal Greg Leland showed off his dance moves with the LHS Mascot.
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On October 11th, the MHS Girls Tennis Team celebrated their third consecutive VOL Title! On October 25th the Lady Buffs sent three doubles teams to the VOL tournament with the duo of Julia Tang and Sahiba Kaur taking first place and the duo of Makenna Condit and Ellie Kim taking second place.
2018 VOL Tennis Champs New Hope Church wanted to give back to the Manteca High community. Teachers were given the option to participate in a Pay it Forward Challenge by picking up a $75 Target gift card to use however they choose for their students. The gift cards came with a card for teachers to write their stories explaining how they used the money and why. MHS administration has been overwhelmed by the number of teachers who chose to participate in the Pay it Forward Challenge.
Pay it For war d
Hosa Officers traveled to Anaheim to develop leadership skills through the various obstacle courses and activities that Disney employees as well as Hosa advisors planned for them.
MHS Hosa at Disney
MHS students learned how to develop their own leadership legacy to become confident in their ability to accomplish goals and be motivated to achieve the impossible.
On October 3rd, a fund-raiser was held at Mountain Mikes Pizza to help with funeral expenses for the father of a Buffalo.
Honor the Code
Mountain Mikes donated 20% of sales that evening to the family of Donnie Howlin. Coach Varnum took the varsity football team to dinner before night practice to show their support for the Howlin family. Way to Honor the Code Buffs!
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FFA Barn Dance On Saturday, September 29th the MUSD FFA chapters held their first Barn Dance at the school farm. The Weston Ranch FFA Alumni Chapter—and Advisors from all of the
sites—worked hard to put the event together. Over 150 students from all five FFA chapters attended the inaugural event that included dinner and an evening of dancing.
BE.Tech
BE.Tech participated in Manteca’s annual Pumpkin Fair by selling “made from scratch” pumpkin bread, cinnamon bites and brownies.
They also hosted a dinner to introduce parents to Big Picture Schools and encourage parents and students to work together with teachers in completing Individual Learning Plans. Golden West bilingual aides, Delfina and Maria, provided an opportunity for students, families and staff to learn about Dia de los Muertos. It is a special time to honor the dead and celebrate life. Students were able to learn about an ofrenda. It is an alter decorated with special offerings for a loved one who has passed away.
Golden West Dia de los Muertos
Offerings include treasured photos, candles and the person’s favorite food and drink. Families and staff also enjoyed sharing sweet bread (pan de muerto) and coffee or hot chocolate.
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Lincoln Jog-a-Thon
Lincoln Elementary had their annual Jog-a-Thon on Friday, October 12, 2018. Students were excited to show school spirit by walking or running, all motivated by the music and cheers from teachers and parents. Parents were invited to be spectators or participate along with their children. It was a great day to be outside in the sunshine, get some exercise, and raise money for our school.
MHS Bleeding Control Two nurses presented to Cheryl Behler’s ROP Health Careers class at Manteca High School on October 1, to teach students what everyone should know to stop bleeding after an injury.
Students learned how to compress the wound and apply pressure, how to use a tourniquet, and even how to pack a wound with gauze and then apply pressure to stop a bleed.
CTE Conference
This kind of first aid trauma care is not only helpful to those wishing to pursue a career in medicine, but for everyone to know how to help in the case of an emergency.
CTE student officers met with district admin to share successes and how the district could better support CTE.
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Weston Ranch Cougars Attend UOP BLOCK Conference Contributed by: Weston Ranch High School On October 8, Weston Ranch High’s BSU and M.E.Ch.A School clubs and students had the opportunity to attend the Second Annual Building Leaders Overcoming Challenges with Knowledge (BLOCK) conference hosted by the University of the Pacific.
Conference is to connect, inspire, and support local youths in the 7th through 12th grades,” M.E.Ch.A advisor Cervantes explained.
The BLOCK conference attendees, along with their teachers Ms. Cervantes, Mr. Zamarripa, and Mr. Menzel, took part in a day-long celebration where students received instruction in collaboration.
“The conference is designed to target boys and young men of color in hopes they will become engaged in school and excel academically,” added Cervantes. “We want the students to be responsible, learn to be self-advocates, improve communication, and develop self-efficacy skills.”
They also attended workshops designed explicitly for local underrepresented youth promoting academic and personal excellence.
“Ultimately, encouraging educational engagement leads to college as a realistic option for each youth,” BSU Advisor Mr. Zamrippa added.
“The mission of the BLOCK
WRHS took more than 40 students to
UOP and met Keynote speaker TyLicia Hooker who regaled the audience with a powerful greeting and message on the importance of values, both family and community. She shared her story of perseverance and how she managed to attend UOP with the help of the CIP program which promotes community involvement to get a scholarship to attend UOP. Ms. Hooker, a graduate of Cesar Chavez High School, concluded her morning talk by expressing the importance of overcoming obstacles in life and focusing on reaching your goals. “I felt like she was very passionate about being here and talking to us,” said Andrea Espinoza. “The fact that she got personal with us was great. I felt vulnerable, and I can safely say that
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for the first time I was able to relate to staff in personal manner.” Espinoza’s comment shows the connection she made to the conference was powerful. The students were then whisked off to workshops where they listened to speakers explain what colleges are looking for from their applicants. “You have to let the colleges know why they should accept you. You have to promote and sell yourself,” said Mr. Menzel. As the students listened to the college speakers, many of the BSU female attendees got involved in the station. This workshop provided all students with a great opportunity to bond with one another. Looking around the room, everyone in attendance had a high-interest level, and it was impressive.
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due to the welcoming atmosphere. The performance task was to work as a team to find the ‘Xs’ placed strategically throughout the room and then make a human bridge from one ‘X’ to the other. Some groups were short on members, so they took off their coats and used them to help stretch out the line to the ‘X.’ “The goal was to work together and come up with new ideas to solve problems,” said Espinoza. “I think we accomplished that.” When the morning workshops concluded, students adjourned to UOP’s volleyball gym for lunch.
Next, the students attended a conference where they learned about how to become a leader and how to work with others.
As the students ate and shared experiences about the morning, musical acts entertained them, and some students joined the artists on stage. As time went on, the stage filled up with more students who sang and danced.
There was high energy in the room, and the students spoke with confidence
Before the day ended, the attendees watched skits performed by the conference hosts. Each vignette reflected a theme of the day, and the first skit was all about values.
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It appeared this would be the last thing the students got to see, but, for the WRHS students, one more surprise happened. Jamel Jackson—WRHS class of 2008— entertained the crowd with music and singing. It was an inspirational performance, and to see a graduate of WRHS performing for so many people was a proud moment for the Cougars in attendance. The day came to a close, but the memories will live forever. Getting the opportunity to sit with students from other schools, be in a college atmosphere, and hear the messages was indeed an eye-opening experience. College is a reality and should be an opportunity viewed with optimism and hope for a brighter future. Change cannot happen with just words. Change occurs with dialog, and effort, and collaboration. It was a great day for the Cougars in attendance, and it was a great day to be part of the change.
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Sequoia 2nd Annual Picnic, Pumpkins and Pies 1 1.
Students play pumpkin toss tic-tac-toe.
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Helping each other with a heavy pumpkin.
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Leaping to the next hula hoop.
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Playing Roshambo to see who gets to pass the other player.
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The pumpkin toss, trying to make it into a bucket.
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Students used stencils to help their precision face painting.
Gathering together as a community for food, games and even some pies in faces, Sequoia school held their second annual Picnic, Pumpkins, and Pies event on October 23rd. Families sat together in the picnic zone visiting with each other as they waited to witness which children would win the opportunity to smash a whip cream pie into the face of their favorite teachers.
Tickets were sold for the privilege, and students could put 2 the ticket in the drawing box for which teacher they wanted to pie. First up for a pie in the face was 7th grade language arts and social studies teacher Jen Adolfson. “The kids love it, so it is fun,” said Adolfson. “The money goes to the art program and
then to the junior high kids who get to go and visit colleges.” “It is really a community event to bring in the families,” said Principal Suzanne McCreath. “It is just a night out for families to have some pizza, some pumpkin pie, and play some games.” Each grade level provided a different game. These included: bean bag throw, pumpkin toss, pumpkin tic tac toe, ring toss on a candy corn (traffic cone) and hopscotch roshambo—where players hop from one hula hoop to the next until they get to the player coming from the opposite direction. Then, the roshambo determines who gets to go first continuing on their path. Face painting, music, pizza, popcorn and pumpkin pie sales also helped to raise money for students. “Usually we use the money raised to pay for our artist in residence, which is a program by the County Office where they send an artist to do either painting or pastels projects with the kids, or dance,” said Vice Principal Fallon Phillips. “This year, we have both. Each of the classes get four visits
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3 from dance and four from the artist throughout the year.” Christopher Gresham, sporting his impressive beard by shoving it completely through the pie in the face hole, is the Parent Teacher Partnership (PTP) President. “I’m the proud parent of a first grader here, my daughter Oriana, and I just love helping out,” said Gresham.
“I’m just trying to pay it forward as best I can.” A stay at home dad, Gresham’s wife works for California Department of Justice. This is his second year as the PTP president.
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4 Julian, a third grader, was the lucky raffle winner who got to pie Gresham in the face. “My goal is to one day transition into working with the school district somehow,” said Gresham. “I love kids and I definitely enjoy sharing knowledge.” This year, the PTP also set up an essay contest for fifth graders to help pay for their science camp. The Sequoia PTP fall fundraisers were very successful in bringing the community together and the PTP has cash to help empower students with these kinds of learning experiences.
6 Top: Jen Adolfson poses with the student who pied her. Above: Before, during, and after PTP President Christopher Gresham was pied in the face by Julian.
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Sierra High Faustina Rosas 5k Run
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Great Valley Harvest Festival Great Valley Elementary School held their annual Harvest Festival on Friday, October 26th.
Ms. Thomas, 2nd grade teacher said, “I have been teaching here for 18 years, and we have had a Harvest Festival every year. There are free games where children can earn prizes and candy, and they can also buy tickets to spend at the booths.” Kristen Robertson, Great Valley Program Coordinator explained, “Our Parent-Teacher-Council (PTC) is selling tickets for the entire event. PTC pays for field trips and student activities.” Robertson also explained that many groups shared donations, including: candy, cupcakes, cookies, drinks and even one family who donated honey sticks. Family activities included face painting, a black light dance party, karaoke, haunted house, ring toss, dice, fishing, and tic-tac-toe. There was also a lot of food for sale. “It’s a great community activity and a safe celebration for the kids to wear their costumes, play games, get treats and spend time with their family at their school,” said Ms. Simonds, 2nd grade teacher.
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Diving Into a Robotic Future
Controlled with a network cable that tethers the robot to a student soldered remote, the SeaPearch robots are piloted using three propellors that enable the students to guide the ROV in three dimensional space.
After placing their SeaPerch Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) into the pool at Weston Ranch High School, one student works the controls, another spools out the cable attaching the remote to the ROV, and another teammate walks along the pool calling out directional instructions. These students work together to navigate their ROV through a series of underwater hoops, make the ROV surface, and then dive back down to retrace its steps—as fast as they can.
Taking this dive into robotics could be a dive into their future.
“For the SeaPerch program, or the underwater ROVs, the kids have learned how to solder, how to follow directions, how to build something that is water proof, and design the control boxes—they have done all of it,” said WRHS Robotics teacher Cliff Borden. “Second semester, they will start modifying the kit by adding parts to it and changing the configuration to complete a task.” “The wax keeps it waterproof so that the water doesn’t get in and kill the motors,” said Enoch Carillo. “It took a week to fully build it because there are multiple parts that you have to put together and solder,” said Carillo. Brian Arollo added, “It was difficult because when we were soldering our remote, we found that we messed up our left joystick and so when we push forward, the propeller will keep going
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forward, so we have to stop and recenter each time.”
“This is really about trial and error. If you mess up, you go back and fix it,” said Andrew Valencia. The students took turns in the different roles, each participant trying to make the fastest time through the underwater ring obstacle course. “We have just been practicing this week,” said Nell Mercado. “This is easier than piloting air drones because there are so many air currents. Here we don’t have to do as much balancing.” Borden added, “This gives them the whole concept, they learn about buoyancy, they learn about thrust. All the things they have learned with the air drones apply in water, but there is more resistance.” In April, the students will compete in San Jose and depending on how they do, they may qualify for the nationals at MIT. “Right now, they are practicing last year’s competition, and their scores are
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pretty good,” said Borden. “I have high hopes for this group of kids that they will continue this even into college with STEM programs.” See the WRHS Robotics video.
Below: While one student pilots the ROV, another lets out or retracts cable and a third (on the right) gives directional coaching.
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Making Sense of Science
As part of an ongoing multi-year grant partnership with WestEd, Manteca Unified continues to see great improvement in teacher and student engagement with the help of the Making Sense of Science (MSS) grant program. Lisa Synder, MUSD District Next Generation Science Standards Coordinator, explained that this program has significantly increased the amount of science instruction in 4th and 5th grade MUSD classrooms. “MSS is to help the teachers become more comfortable with the Science content so that they will be more comfortable delivering the content to the kids,” explained Snyder. “We need to engage our kids early and often in hands-on science.” WestEd, a non-profit educational research company, offered to San Joaquin county districts the opportunity to see if their Making Sense of Science program translates into improved student learning. The concept is to give teachers indepth science training because when teachers are more comfortable with the science, they are more likely to do science with their students.
Janet Cabezut, fourth grade teacher from August Knodt said, “Making Sense of Science training has allowed our teachers to explore science through the eyes of a student.” She added, “Teachers are excited to facilitate science and watch our students apply strategies they have mastered in science across the curriculum.” As a scientific study, Snyder asked for schools to volunteer. In the first year, 2015-16, they had three groups. Group one had 4th and 5th grade teachers from four MUSD schools attend an intensive science summer camp and some additional training throughout the year. Group two consisted of another four MUSD schools who received money for materials, but who did not go to the MSS summer camp. Group three was all the remaining MUSD K-8 schools.
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“I have analyzed the online curriculum usage data for Mystery Science and how much time teachers are spending in the program,” said Snyder. “There is a statistically significant difference in the engagement of our teachers at our group 1 and 2 schools more than group 3 schools.” “We have been provided hands on experiences and in-depth discussions regarding the implementation of NGSS, specifically looking at building science knowledge through literacy and other cross-curricular units,” said Katie Sisneros, teacher at Golden West. “Overall, we have been provided with ideas, supplies, and encouragement to take risks in making positive changes to our classroom practices in terms of how often—and what we teach— when it comes to grade level science instruction.”
The MSS summer camp was a full week of science
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training for eight hours a day—primarily a focus on productive scientific discourse. “Every day they do a Science investigation, a literacy investigation, and analyze a teaching case with actual student work and then tie it all together into a beautiful professional development,” said Snyder. Participant teachers had two years of intensive five-day Making Sense of Science summer camp followed by two years of PLC meetings. The other group schools have now begun participating in the summer camp courses, or camps offered at other times during the year. The most recent extension experience being October 4-7, 2018. In addition to the increase in use of the online Mystery Science curriculum by MUSD teachers, MSS claims that the
‘Above: Just one sample from our many campuses, August Knodt students learn engineering principles with their hands-on creations.
student learning increase even shows on state test results. “For a program to move the needle on the state test is almost unheard of,” said Snyder. MUSD has increased their involvement with the MSS grant and is training more teachers at grades 6-12 in the systematic scientific methods. “When teachers start doing more science with their students, teachers see that Science is not just reading from a book,” said Snyder.
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From Alumni to Employee From Friday night football games, to school dances, and hanging out with friends, high school gives you memories that will last a lifetime— especially if you come back to work from where you graduated. Just ask these alumni who once attended high schools in Manteca Unified. “I remember relationships more than anything. Relationships with my coaches, teachers and friends that shaped who I am today,” said Anthony Chapman, Assistant Principal at Sierra High.
Chapman added, “Those relationships paved the way for my desire to return to my alma mater and try to give back as much as I received.” Other educators shared similar thoughts. “I get up every day wondering what is going to happen today and how I can
make a difference,” mentioned Rick Inderbitzin, teacher at East Union. “I am blessed to be able to go to work and love what I do. Not many people can say they love their jobs and have the opportunity to help and guide young people.” Some alumni shared memorable experiences from going to the games, school functions and hanging out with their friends. Some even shared that they met their wife or husband in high school. A few alumni commented on how the campuses are mostly the same, but the neighborhoods have changed. “The surrounding area has changed. Campus used to be encompassed by corn, carrot, and alfalfa and now those fields are homes of our students,”
said East Union athletic director Jesus Ramirez. There are also specific moments or people that alumni remember from their time spent at one of our local schools. Sierra High math teacher Malia Brandi remembers, “being a part of homecoming week and making our float, getting all dressed up for the game and then going to the homecoming dance.” “Freshmen year meeting Coach Tevani Liotard by far. Tevani was the one who encouraged me to participate in
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three sports and became my mentor. She is the wind beneath my wings to this day,” said Eryn Bowers, Business Teacher at Sierra High. One of the big changes commented on is technology. “The thing that has changed the most over the years is the use of technology,” answered Tristyn Silva, Agriculture teacher at East Union. “I remember students having pagers, very few had cell phones. The use of a computer in class to look up information never occurred unless we went to the computer lab.” “Students still make the same bad decisions we did, the only difference is ours were not recorded and shared
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with the rest of the world for posterity,” added East Union Language Arts teacher Nathan Smith. But along with changes, these alumni can see the ways in which schools have stayed the same. Amber Talcott, Counselor at Sierra High states, “The culture of supportive teachers and staff as well as the emphasis on well-rounded individuals—with academics, sports, clubs and other leadership roles— remains the same.” Others remember seeing the same teachers who once taught them, the school spirit that is expressed by the students, and feeling the same way when they step on campus. While some may have planned to one day work at their alma maters, others came by it on chance but nonetheless have loved every second of it. One example is Sandy Avelar, who is currently works at Manteca High.
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“When I graduated in 1975, I would never have imagined I would be working and probably be retiring one day from my alma mater, MHS, but it has been a pleasure and continues to be,” stated Avelar. The one thing all alumni share is the love they have for their school and having the opportunity to give that same experience to the generations of students who follow. There is still a tradition of excellence,” said Manteca High bilingual paraprofessional Marisela Martinez. “The teachers that I had, who are still here, continue to make learning fun and exciting!”
Manteca High School’s Special Education Teacher Adam Liel proudly concluded, “My father graduated from MHS, I graduated and hopefully my son will graduate from here. We love Manteca High!”
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District Celebration The MUSD Board of Trustees held their semiannual District Celebration of students and staff at Lathrop High School on October 30th. Over 200 students were honored for their academic, athletic, career technical education, and other achievements. The LHS Advanced Choir, who will perform at Carnegie Hall in June, opened the event with their beautiful performance of the Star Spangled Banner. Student Board members ran the event, reading student names, and handing out certificates.
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Among the honorees were students from most MUSD schools who achieved a top-scale score on the CAASPP test in the spring of this year
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and high school students who achieved a top score on at least one Advanced Placement test. Students with outstanding
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achievements in Hosa, FCCLA, FFA, JROTC, and a few special recognitions for unique accomplishments were also awarded at the Board Celebration.
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A Bird’s Eye View of Budgets Local government agencies, including public schools, use their budgets to describe their program plans for the current, upcoming, and past years. It involves many different individuals from the local taxpayer to entities across various levels of government. What is a school budget? Where does it come from? How is it spent? Meet Jacqui Breitenbucher, Manteca Unified School District’s Chief Business Officer (CBO), Manteca High alumnus, former principal, and mother to three sons who are also Manteca High alumni. As the CBO, she ensures the district is making fiscally responsible decisions while remaining financially solvent. Though, she isn’t the only one involved. Who else is involved in the school budget? At the district level, budget discussions and management involve administrators like Sandra Vitale, MUSD’s Director of Fiscal Services, the accounting department, the board of education, and the Superintendent,
as well as oversight from the County Office of Education. At the state level, the governor, state legislators and state education agencies are involved in their roles of setting and managing state funding and state policy. This includes the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) which determines state funding to school districts. At the national level, the federal education department and members of Congress are involved in their work around education funding and federal policy, such as Title I. What is the role and purpose of the school budget? The school budget describes the district’s plan for the upcoming year as related to revenues and expenditures. Budget planning provides district leaders an opportunity to outline operations and objectives by providing specific funding. This helps bridge the gap between stated goals and resource allocation. “The school budget has to be planned and projected 3 years in advance,” said
Where does your dollar go?
Breitenbucher. “It is mandated by state law that school districts identify detailed plans for their budgets. And, it must be posted publicly, throughout the year,” stated Breitenbucher. See the MUSD Budget. See the California Department of Education website. “Another important document that goes hand-in-hand with the budget plan is the LCAP, or Local Control Accountability Plan,” Breitenbucher pointed out. The budget plan guides and supports the district in planned expenditures and expected revenues. “The LCAP reveals exactly where every dollar is spent for the purposes of student achievement. The LCAP involves parent participation in directing expenses,” Breitenbucher explained. “Parents look at the data and say whether they’d like more money spent on counseling needs or English Language (EL) education.”
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What are the major budget categories? The average household budgets for specific and general living expenses such as transportation, utilities, food, maintenance, etc. School districts have very similar budgets but to a much larger scale. •
Transportation- buses, gas, qualified drivers, and repair costs
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Facilities- classrooms are modernized and campuses are clean and safe
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Energy- lights during the day, heating during the winter and cooling during the summer
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Health and Safety- the school nurse, supervisory staff, and our mass emergency messaging communication systems
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Instruction and Leadershipqualified teachers and administrators, instructional aids, and classroom supplies
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Curriculum and Staff Development- curriculum material costs, and teacher training
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Nutrition Education- Breakfast and lunch and the qualified staff who ensure current nutrition standards
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Library and Counseling Servicessupporting student and family support and educational planning
Where does revenue for the school budget come from? “Revenue comes from local, state, and federal taxes. The state allocates funding for specific programs while other money, such as lottery money, is considered unrestricted,” explains Breitenbucher. “We can spend this money on our target goals. Federal money is explicitly outlined for specific programs for students, which is called restricted money, such as Prop 39.”
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Then comes Mello-Roos, a local tax that is associated with the Community Facilities Districts (CFDs) wherein annual property taxes go toward Manteca Unified to pay for existing or new school facilities. The Manteca Unified school board can also approve bonds to sell on the stock market. “In a previous board meeting, we were approved to sell $22 million in bonds. This will help fund the modernization of Manteca High and build Ethel Allen Elementary,” explained Breitenbucher. Per-pupil spending varies nationwide. California is known as the country’s third largest economy but is ranked rather low in terms of per-pupil spending. Per-pupil spending is the dollar amount spent on the public education of each student per year. By comparison, California spends approximately $11,500 while New York spends more than $22,000 per student.
Get to Know the CBO
Jacqui Breitenbucher was born and raised in Manteca, CA. “I went to Lindbergh, Shasta Elementary, then over to Lincoln Elementary and finally, graduated from Manteca High. My dad was a teacher and administrator here in the district and all three of my sons also
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graduated from Manteca High.” “I began my career here as a substitute teacher. As I traveled to different school sites, it really gave me such an eye opener. I experienced the different climates at the different schools. “Then, I loved being a first grade teacher for five years. Soon after, I was honored to serve as Vice Principal at Neil Hafley then placed at Sequoia as Principal for eight years. I worked through various challenges like eradicating gangs and bringing up student test scores.” Breitenbucher worked toward another credential and decided to interview for the Chief Business Officer position at the District Office. She has been the seated CBO for 10 years and believes that she still has much to give.
Jackie Breitenbucher hugs her son Kenji at his high school graduation in 2018.
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Making the Magic Wheelchair
As we shared last month, Scott Myers and his BE.NEXT volunteer students worked together to create a magic wheelchair halloween costume for Cash Goeppert. Learn More:
On October 21st, the magic wheelchair was revealed at LHS.
1. MUSD Video
Over 200 hours of volunteer time was spent in on the project.
4. Modesto Bee
2. MUSD Article 3. Manteca Bulletin 5. Stockton Record 6. Turlock Journal
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L o cal N ews
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In The News Upgrading Weston Ranch Field
$11.9 M for Sierra High Work
It took years of discussions and workshops, and more than one set of plans.
There is $79 million in needed work at Sierra High as well as four elementary campuses — French Camp, New Haven, McParland, and the McParland Annex.
Strong Turnout for Community Service Fair at Sierra High The local Boys & Girls Clubs was one of several organizations at this first ever event hosted by the Community Leaders of America.
Squeezing Out More Space Manteca Unified — by repurposing existing classrooms and building resource centers for various student pullout programs such as for Read 180, Speech, Bi-lingual Aides, Intervention, Give Every Child a Chance, Kids Zone, DST and Program Coordinator Space
Learning Life Saving Lesson Hands only cardio resuscitation – taught so far to 10,000 Manteca Unified students – was presented to freshmen at the East Union High School gym Wednesday by a team from Manteca Ambulance, East Union High School and be.tech Health Career students
CLA’s Annual
VETERAN’S BBQ
Championships Cap Acorn X-Country Season Taylor Snaer and Chloe Silva ran the closest race at Thursday’s Manteca Unified Acorn League Cross Country Championship meet at Woodward Park.
They Led The Lancers Tony Agbayani, Jose Barron, Jim Brown, Dino Cunial and Richard Durham were inducted into the East Union Hall of Fame on Friday night at Dino Cunial Field before the varsity football game between East Union and Manteca.
Strong interest in be.tech programs The inaugural ‘Seat at the Table’ Tuesday had a strong turnout featuring a catered meal and plenty of information about be.tech Charter High School.
We would like to cordially invite veterans and their families to our 2nd Annual Veteran’s BBQ. We want to pay tribute to local veterans and active military personnel who exemplify the true character of the American spirit. Questions? Contact Jared Rio 209.858.7410 jrio@musd.net
Saturday, th November 10 Sierra High Café
1700 Thomas Street - Manteca
- FREE EVENT - NO RSVP DOORS OPEN AT 11 AM
PROGRAM BEGINS AT NOON
Red Ribbon Week
The MUSD School Board adopted October 22 - 26 as Red Ribbon Week to celebrate students and staff to committing to being drug free.
School sites participated in the fun with many holding a spirit week and giving students opportunities to dress up in fun ways.
Golden West students dressed in theme all week to commit to living drug free.
The district maintenance yard and district office employees also celebrated the cause with a signed pledge and group photos.