MARK Highlights
Manteca Unified School Board
the
March 2019
Making a Wish Come True Page 24
MUSD School Board President Stephen J. Schluer, Area 6 Vice President Eric Duncan, Area 1 Board Clerk Kathy Howe, Area 2 Vacant, Area 3 Marie Freitas, Area 4 Cathy Pope-Gotschall, Area 5 Bob Wallace, Area 7
MUSD Superintendents Superintendent Dr. Clark Burke Deputy Superintendent Roger Goatcher Trustee Michael Seelye, Area 3, has retired from the Manteca Unified Board of Trustees after 15 years of service. Seelye was instrumental during the economic recession and a mentor to other board members. The Area 3 vacancy will be filled at a special board meeting on Tuesday.
#proudtobeMUSD
Vision Every student works to achieve grade level standards, feels safe, and is supported to realize individual success.
Mission Through smart actions and decisions, MUSD will work together using meaningful, measurable and aligned data for all students to achieve mastery of grade level standards in all subjects based on their unique educational pathway in a safe environment inclusive of design, security and climate. 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 and student interns. Highlights is intended to be a reflection of the
MUSD Vision and Mission, because above all, we value supporting students realizing individual success. The Mark Highlights Team are: Victoria Brunn Director and Executive Editor vbrunn@musd.net Lindsay Stayner Content Coordination and Editor lstayner@musd.net
Peter Gale Reporting, Design, Photography, and Editing Erica McCullough Design and Photography Johanna Victor Photography and Reporting Community Outreach Interns Feature stories submitted by student interns, or an outside contributor, will include an author’s byline credit.
Contents
M A RC H 2019
Making the Mark
Mossdale Living History Museum
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Teaching How to “Get Focused, Stay Focused”
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Parachute Mania
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10th Annual Acorn League All Star Memorial Basketball Game
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Celebrating Native American Culture
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MELS Garage Family Rocket Day
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Read Across America Day
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HOSA Leadership Conference
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St. Patrick’s Day Cards
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Calla Wins Robotics Competition
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Crystal Apple Awards
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East Union JROTC
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New Weston Ranch Head Coach
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CIF Sportsmanship Award
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Small Group Instruction
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Every Student Succeeding
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SHS Volunteers Clean Up
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20th GECAC Bowl-A-Thon & Farmer’s Market
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Women of Woodbridge Donation
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Teacher Credential Info Session
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Kicking for a Cure
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FFA State Degrees Earned
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Be.Cuisine Competes in CA ProStart
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Brock Elliott Math and Science Night
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Features 10th Annual Fashion Show
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Making a Wish Come True
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Sierra High School Selects New Activities Director
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EUHS Boys Volleyball Begins Solid Season
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MHS Reading Programs Double Student Growth
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Sprinkle Kindness Everywhere
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A Special Collaboration
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Four Years Flying with SOFIA
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In Other News
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Mossdale Living History Museum
The students in Megan Reed’s third grade class worked hard at researching and writing about a person in history for their informational writing unit. The culminating event was a Living History Museum where families were invited to learn about important people in history via student presentation. Students dressed up to become their person and bring their presentations to life!
Teaching How to “Get Focused, Stay Focused”
Sierra High School’s ‘Get Focused, Stay Focused’ student group visited Stella Brockman 7th grade students.
presentations that combine their findings with their own experiences in high school.
The students research to prepare
They talked about high school preparation, importance of grades, expectations and motivation. Eighth grade students had a similar visit from the group last month. These students are working together to bridge the transition to High School!
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Parachute Mania Rosemarie Buccieri’s TK class at McParland made parachutes in their class using a hands-on discovery and experimentation model. This lesson was one Future Teachers did with their mentor teachers at the Exploratorium. Students try different combinations of materials until they figure out what works best. This model of instruction is a key part of the Next Generation Science Standards and helps make learning experiences more memorable for the student.
10th Annual Acorn League All Star Memorial Basketball Game Boy MVP: Bryant Davis, Stella Brockman
The 350 people that attended The Maryann Wallace Pangburn 7-8 grade All-Star Classic held on Saturday, February 23rd at East Union High School, got a peek into the future of basketball in Manteca USD. Both boys and girls competed in two great games as the North faced the South. All twenty elementary schools were represented and MVPs were selected at the end of each game.
Girl MVP: Taylor Snaer, McParland
This was the 10th annual ALL STAR games played in honor of the former Manteca USD teacher Maryann Wallace Pangburn. Her father and MUSD Board Trustee Bob Wallace said, “The fans saw some great basketball, the players had a wonderful time, and the ACORN league made some money to help with future student activities—a win-win for everybody.”
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Celebrating Native American Culture Celebrating the Native American Culture in Manteca Unified, educator Linda Voorheis accompanied several students to attend the 42nd California American Indian Education Conference in Sacramento.
Students who attended ranged from all grade levels. This is an opportunity for students
and advisors to share traditional and academic teaching and learning, and to honor those who have contributed to the advancement of Indian Education in California.
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“Our two teams of Hand Game players did well at the tournament,” Voorheis reported. “They won second and fourth place and came home with wireless headsets and Chromebooks.”
MELS Garage Family Rocket Day Over fifty people participated in MELS Garage Family Rocket Day on Saturday, March 9th. Families worked together to build straw rockets and a compressed air rocket. A competition was held with the winning compressed air rocket flying over 360 feet. It was built by a family from Golden West. The Rocket Club from Lincoln Elementary also launched rockets for all to enjoy.
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Read Across
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Anthony Chapman, Vice Principal, Sierra High
Dr. Clark Burke, Superintendent
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America Day
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Stell a
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man Steve Clark, Principal, Sierra High
Guest readers from Savemart Supermarket
coln n i L
Victoria Brunn, Director of Community Outreach
Dr. Meeker-Mau, Senior Director of Elementary Education
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Komure’s Kindergarten through 3rd Grade enjoyed Green Eggs & Ham while listening to the classic book by Dr. Seuss. Volunteers from Stockton Rotary Club read to the primary classes. The visitors brought the stories to life. We want to thank MUSD Nutrition Services and our volunteers for making this event a big hit with our students to cap off our week of Read Across America Events.
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Mc
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C o m mu n it y C o r n er
d A n n ex n a
luer, Board
Stephen Sch
President
Kathy Howe,
Board Clerk
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HOSA Leadership Conference
HOSA-Future Health Care Professionals from San Joaquin County gathered at the County Office of Education to prepare for their upcoming State Leadership Competition at the end of March. The Area Leadership Competition takes place to prepare the students who compete. Manteca High School took 38 students and 5 advisors to participate. Ezekiel VanStaaveren took 1st Place in Prepared Speech and Sean Melan took 3rd Place in Extemporaneous Speech.
St. Patrick’s Day Cards The Manteca High College Prep Club had so much fun making and delivering Valentine’s Day cards to the patients at St. Jude’s Rehabilitation Center, that they decided to do it again! Photographed, are the creative, green and glittery St. Patrick’s Day cards the students crafted after school and then delivered to the patients of St. Jude’s.
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Calla Wins Robotics Competition The annual Engineering & Technology Day was held at San Joaquin Delta College on February 1st. Calla High School students attended for the second year in a row. In the robotics competition, they collaboratively worked together to program a robot to seamlessly run an obstacle course. The challenging environment of a timed competition allowed all the members to showcase their abilities to think quickly and problem-solve. Taking first place in the competition were Andrea Pena and Jason Rodriguez. Douglas Richards and Christian Fort were awarded 3rd place and finally, 4th place went to Ash Bricky and Deseray Sanchez.
Not only did the students finish phenomenally, but three students were also offered summer internships at Lawrence Livermore Lab.
are incredibly proud of all the whole team for their amazing work! Congratulations to all the competitors!
Calla High School staff and students
Crystal Apple Awards Jared Rio of Sierra High School, Allison Birakos of Lathrop High School, and Kenneth Scott Myers of BE.Tech were among the nine recipients of this year’s Crystal Apple Awards. Outstanding teachers are nominated for the award, which
is presented by area congregations of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Site administrators attended with the awardees to celebrate their being honored by their students.
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East Union JROTC
Congratulations to East Union high school Army JROTC for winning 2019 Fresno State University U.S. Army JROTC Raider Endurance and Fitness Challenge held on Saturday, 23 February 2019. The competition was held at Fresno State University football stadium. Six top Army JROTC programs from central and northern California competed in the competition. This is the fifth year of Fresno Raider Challenge.
Since its inception in 2014, East Union Army JROTC has won this prestigious and grueling competition for five straight years. The competition consists of 3-mile ruck march with 25lb rucksacks followed by physical fitness and endurance tasks including grenade toss, low crawl, high crawl, rope bridge, precision marching, First Aid application and litter carry. Other events included a physical fitness test consisted of 200 burpees, 200 squats, and a sprint.
Each Day, East Union JROTC cadets raise and retrieve flags on campus. Cadets perform a flag retreat ceremony in full uniform in front of East Union High School.
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New Weston Ranch Head Coach Coach Sal Reyes has been selected as the new Weston Ranch High School Cougar Varsity Football Coach for the 2019-2020 school year. Working this past year as the Varsity Football Assistant Coach, Reyes has also served as the WRHS varsity wrestling head coach for the past two years. “We are really excited because Reyes works well with the kids in JROTC,” said WRHS Athletic Director Dr. Roland Davis. “He understands what needs to be done as head coach and will help make our school a fighting school.” The new head coach is also excited to take on this leadership role. “It is a great honor and responsibility that Principal Troy Fast and Athletic Director Dr. Roland Davis have entrusted me with,” said Reyes.
“We will build a winning tradition and instill a sense of discipline into our football program.” After serving for 21 years in the armed forces, Reyes has worked as a JROTC teacher at WRHS for six years. “Football has been a part of my life from the time since I was seven years old,” Reyes said. “I played youth football, Jr. High School football, and High School Football in Southern California.” Reyes has also worked in several different football coaching positions from being an assistant pop warner coach, to a Junior Midget (D1) defensive coordinator on the island of Oahu. He has also held various volunteer positions at the high school
level as a secondary’s coach, and as varsity advisor. “I truly believe and know that the lessons football taught me have helped me to succeed in other areas of my life,” Reyes said. “I want our players to learn these same lessons through the great game of football. GO COUGARS!” Coach Reyes is eager to begin getting his athletes ready for the fall football season.
CIF Sportsmanship Award Junior Titus Haley won the CIF award for displaying good characteristics and sportsmanship during the Cougars recent Division III Section playoffs for the section title championship!
Once Haley’s name was announced, the team excitedly embraced him to celebrate his accomplishment. By popular vote, Titus was then
selected as the CBS 13 and CW31 Athlete of the Month! Congratulations, Titus. Thank you for making Cougar Nation proud.
Haley’s leadership during the Cougars title game victory against Central Catholic pushed the Cougars through a difficult beginning and helped the Cougars regain their focus in the second half. “It felt good to get rewarded for the way that I act,” said Haley. “I always try to display good characteristics on the court at all times.”
Athlete of the Month!
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Small Group Instruction TK-6 ELA/ELD District Coordinator Lisa Schnaidt was invited by Lathrop Elementary School administration to lead a pull-out day training for 3rd4th grade teachers on the power of differentiation through small group instruction. According to the research of Gibon and Hasbrouck, “Findings reveal that students receiving instruction in small groups learned significantly more. The smaller group size increases opportunities for students to respond and stay engaged. Teachers hear and see students’ responses and can
provide immediate constructive feedback.” Teachers learned about preparing for and managing small groups using teaching routines and procedures. They also learned about formative assessment within small group instruction, and what resources they have within the McGraw-Hill Wonders core curriculum that support this important work. Teachers engaged in collaborative work to determine their next steps in implementing small group instruction.
Every Student Succeeding Fourth year member of the MantecaSierra FFA chapter William Burden was awarded the CSBA Every Student Succeeding Award on February 14. The Every Student Succeeding Program recognizes and honors students in public schools who have successfully overcome obstacles or difficulties in their lives.
SHS Volunteers Clean Up
Thirty-five Sierra High School National Honor Society students worked hard to clear trash from Northgate Park on Saturday, Feb. 23rd, by Mcnair school.
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20th GECAC Bowl-A-Thon Thanks to all of the MUSD Schools and Employees who helped make the Give Every Child A Chance 20th Annual Bowl-A-Thon a success.
On behalf of the students who receive services from our program, we would like to thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.
Your support allows us to continue to make a difference in the lives of the youth we serve. We hope to see you all back next year!
GECAC School Farmer’s Markets Give Every Child A Chance has continued their partnership with the San Joaquin Office of Education (SJCOE) in Project REACH (Running to Embrace Attitudes, Confidence and Health). Project REACH is designed to help students learn about nutrition and how to build healthy lifestyle habits. Program REACH is funded through a $75,000 grant to the SJCOE from Kaiser Permanente, Northern California Community Benefit Programs. The SJCOE contracts with a Stockton-
based nonprofit named PUENTES to provide produce from community farms for MUSD students to sell in their Farmers Markets.
The Farmers Markets are operated by Nile Garden, Lathrop Elementary, Sequoia, Golden West and August Knodt GECAC After School Programs.
Students learn about the nutrition of the products they are selling, prepare meals using the fresh produce, and learn retail skills by managing the market.
They will continue to hold their markets twice a month for the remainder of the school year. All money raised will go back to fund their club. We hope to see the community pay them a visit in the weeks to come!
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Women of Woodbridge Donation During the March board meeting, Sue Edmiston and Cindy McGehee with Women of Woodbridge presented two checks to the MUSD Homeless program. The first, in the amount of $579.00, collected from a Valentine’s Day Fundraiser, and the second in the amount of $8,600.00, garnered from a fashion show luncheon. Since May of 2013, the Women of Woodbridge has donated a grand total of $103,162.50. Thank you, Women of Woodbridge. Manteca Unified appreciates the continuous dedication to students.
Teacher Credential Info Session Cal State Stanislaus held a teacher credentialing session at the MUSD District Office on February 28th.
options, requirements for the program, the application process and financial aid incentives for future teachers.
They addressed the California teacher shortage and provided information about credential program
Those who already have a bachelor’s degree can earn a California teaching credential in one year.
Kicking for a Cure
In their 2019 Kicking for a Cure campaign, the Manteca High Buffalo Girls Soccer Team raised awareness, strengthened community, and deeply committed to #HopeforAmy, raising more than an unprecedented $28,000.00!
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Fe at u r e s
FFA State Degrees Earned On Tuesday, March 12th Manteca Unified School District was honored to have State FFA Degrees awarded to several of our FFA Students.
To earn a California State FFA Degree, students must invest over 500 hours and $1,000 in their project as well as exhibit premiere leadership and personal growth in their chapter.
EUHS
Students earning the degree from East Union are: Hanna Osgood, Taylor Campbell, Katelin Bean, Natalie Thomason, Ally Nascimento and Chelsey Costa. From Sierra High, Luke Burden earned his degree. Clyde Wilson, Dominic Yabut, Logan Reid, Reibecca Castro and Breanna Cheavers are from Weston Ranch High School. From Lathrop High, David Gavino and Sydnee Barrios achieved this accomplishment.
MHS
SHS
Earning the degree from Manteca High School are Alyssa Post and Hannah Gonzales. Congratulations to each of these students on this major accomplishment.
LHS
WRHS
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Be.Cuisine Competes in CA ProStart BE.Tech sent a team of three be.cuisine students to participate in the California ProStart Cup 2019 in Pomona in mid-March. Maria Alcazar, Tiaynna McClyde and Michelle Navarro competed against 30 other high school teams in the Culinary Cup in which teams prepare three courses in one hour using only two butane burners.
While the team did not place, their aguachile appetizer was one of nine photos that the keynote speaker/lead judge shared on social media. “The team did well. They were
focused and communicated,” said Veronica DeAnda, BE.Tech advisor. “We did not place this year, but we got a taste of the ProStart Cup. It’s an awesome competition.” Pro start is supported and organized by the California Restaurant Association. “The Pro Start Cup is the most prestigious hospitality event for high school students. This was BE.Tech’s first year competing and I was most impressed by the level of competition and passion that students bring to the competition,” said Chef Andrew Griggs, be.cuisine instructor. “For our first go, our students brought tremendous passion and flavor to the competition and we all learned a lot.” Griggs further added, “Besides the competition, this trip was a wonderful opportunity to build relationships and share a level of fine dining that we need here in the San Joaquin Valley.”
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Brock Elliott Math and Science Night
On a Thursday evening, students and families arrived at Brock Elliott Elementary’s annual Math and Science night. Teachers and staff teamed up to create an array activities and challenges that enable families to explore STEM together. “We have been doing Math/Science Night for several years,” said Debbie Ruger, principal at Brock Elliott. “It has progressed from more traditional activities to tech-based STEM activities including technology, robotics, coding, engineering, math problem solving, etc.” Ruger said. “It is closely aligned to State Standards and NGSS standards.”
Float or Sink?
Purpose: To design a boat that will float and hold weight. Materials: Aluminum foil — flat sheets (the same size), Container with water, and Pennies/colorful stones. Procedures: 1. Fill a container with water. 2. Build a boat from a piece of aluminum foil to hold the most pennies.
Some of the activities included making slime, estimating how many items contained in a structure, engineering boats sturdy enough to hold as many small stones as possible, Ozobots, math puzzles and more.
to complete a task.”
“Witnessing the smiling faces was my favorite part of the night!” commented Audrey McMahon, teacher at Brock Elliott. “I loved watching their faces become full of concentration and determination to improve their designs
Ready to try Math and Science Night at home? Brock Elliott shares with you two activities that were implemented during family night, which you can try at home!
3. Place the boat on the surface of the water. 4. One at a time, slowly add pennies to your boat until it sinks. 5. Ms. McMahon challenges you to remake your boat after it has sunk to improve your design to hold more pennies.
Math and Science Night is a lively, nontraditional learning environment. Brock Elliott even served a few goodies such as cotton candy, popcorn and Kona Ice. Debbie Frazer, a teacher who lead the Ozobots activity stated, “Family Nights, like our Math and Science Night, are a great way for families to engage in fun learning activities together. Which is so much more fun than the nightly homework battle.”
Slime
Materials: Borax powder, water, 4 oz Elmer’s glue, teaspoon, bowl, 2 jars / cups, food coloring, measuring cup. Procedures: 1. Pour glue into one jar 2. Add 1/2 cup water 3. Add food coloring 4. In separate cup, mix one cup of water and add 1 tsp of borax powder.
5. Slowly stir glue mixture into borax solution. 6. Knead slime by hand until dry. 7. Don’t worry about extra water in bowl. 8. The more you play with the slime, the firmer and less sticky it will become.
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10th Annual Fashion Show by Adriana Churich CTE Fashion Merchandising
The 10th annual Fashion Show produced by the students of the Career Technical Education (CTE) Fashion Merchandising class at Manteca High School was held March 2nd and it exceeded most expectations. The class has executed this night of entertainment since 2009, and has kept improving through the years to become a District staple anticipated by students, local businesses, and our community. This year’s fashion show completely transformed the MHS Dr. Robert C. Winter Gymnasium from its beige and green room into an exciting venue ready for one of the best fashion shows it has ever hosted. The students of the CTE Fashion Merchandising class spent Friday setting up. The show featured models from Manteca High, Sierra High, East
Union High, and Lathrop High. Model casting calls at each school site was a four-day process where aspiring models could audition. “Rehearsals were personally my favorite part,” said CTE student Karina Perez.
“We were able to build friendships with the models, and everyone interacted with each other.” DemBagueBoys, a three-piece performance group, opened the show and served as the emcees this year for the event. The fashion lineup included a few new stores and students were directly involved in the collections. The first act of the show included TJ Maxx, Thrift Collection, Old Navy, Spirit Wear, and Prom Collection. The second act was introduced by The Crew with a dance performance
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and included Target, Cutie’s Clothing, Simply Irresistible, Student Work, Hibbett Sports, a Denim Collection and the Formal Connection. One of the most commented collections was the Thrift Collection— an original idea of foreign exchange student Alberto Muguerza. For this collection, students had to create and style outfits from various thrift stores that would eventually be sold for charity.
“I am really proud of the original pieces that my students made, the Thrift Collection was absolutely exquisite,” said CTE teacher Angie Anaya. “We’ll definitely have it every year now!” The Spirit Wear Collection involved all the schools coming together to show their school spirit and pride, while the Prom Collection featured donated and borrowed dresses from students who wanted to take their dresses out of their closets, reuse them and show them off on the runway.
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Cutie’s Clothing was modeled by teachers who were escorted by mini models who wore clothing from Simply Irresistible, Old Navy, and Target. Student Work was created by Sierra High’s Fashion Design students who created and designed their own clothing that was worn and shown in the fashion show. The crowd favorite Denim Collection featurd denim pieces re-designed and re-purposed by the students who were required to customize an existing piece of denim and make it their own. With so many stores and so many outfits, almost every model was able to model two different outfits and some modeled three. The incredible hair and makeup were done by freelance makeup artists. Although a huge event for these students, there is more to do. “The fashion show is done, but there is still a lot of work to do,” Anaya said. “We must thank everyone that helped us make the fashion show so memorable.” In addition to clean up and thank you notes, the CTE Fashion Merchandising students will be attending FIDM’s Debut Fashion Show in Los Angeles on April 5th.
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Making a Wis 24
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Keannu Linnell’s teammates surround him during a special locker room session before he experienced his VR wish.
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Some wish to go to Disneyland, some to have something special and some to meet their hero. For Keannu Linnell, the Lathrop community came together to grant his wish of playing football with his team again on Friday March 15th.
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“He developed brain cancer the fall of his sophomore 1 year,” said Greg Leland, Lathrop High School (LHS) Principal. “Once he went into the hospital, he had a stroke and started having seizures. It has been a long road back for him, but he has improved tremendously over the last couple of years.” Leland explained that Keannu not only lost the ability to walk, but also lost the thing that was most important to him—his athletics. To make his wish come true began back in May of 2018. Keannu was referred to Make-A-Wish by a member of his medical treatment team and the family was invited to the Sacramento office. “He came to the wishing place where he went through each category: I wish to go, I wish to be, I wish to have, or I wish to meet,” said Michelle Sanders, Vice President of Communication and Outreach for the Central California and Northern Nevada chapter. “His wish was to play football with his team again. That got us thinking, ‘How are
we going to grant this?’” After the meeting Sanders described how the answer was waiting in her email inbox—a message from EmergeXR, a virtual reality (VR) company who wanted to partner with them on a VR wish. “Keannu is a in a wheelchair, so some things are physically hard for him, but I had heard of another chapter doing a Virtual Reality (VR) wish, and I thought maybe we could do it virtually.” In December, Sanders reached out to LHS administration and planning began in earnest. According to Sanders, this chapter of Make-A-Wish grants 400 wishes a year—but only 10 of those are public reveals that involve the community.
“This is probably the biggest thing we have ever done,” Sanders said. “To see it all come together is just miraculous.” Leland explained that his family is a very community-oriented family.
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4 “Keannu’s sister is actually his 1 to 1 paraprofessional,” Leland said. “She pushes him and makes him work. She holds him accountable. He has had a 3.8 GPA.”
“That for me has been one of the neatest things to watch, that brother-sister relationship and that dynamic of her working with him every day,” Leland said. “It is really heartwarming.” LHS Athletic Director Chuck Selna explained that Coach Joseph Pirillo brought the players back from Keannu’s sophomore year and suited them up to play—even though some of them are no longer on the football team. “The magnitude of support that people have shown for this event is really mind blowing,” said Selna. “Our grounds crew and custodial staff have done a fabulous job. A lot of people have really gone out of their way to
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make this happen.” Despite rainy weather, these former players, students, families and community members gathered at LHS Saturday, March 9, to film the Lathrop Spartans competing against the Weston Ranch Cougars in order to create the virtual reality experience for Keannu. They filmed several plays on the field in the rain and a motivational locker room scene. Vice Principal Bill Pinol narrated the game as the virtual commentator.
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Blindfolded, Keannu wheels toward his VR Wish.
2. Inside the VR box with headset on. 3. The Linnell family is introduced. 4. Coach Joseph Pirillo gives Keannu a special football jersey.
5. Make-A-Wish CEO Jennifer Soto and LHS Principal Greg Leland.
6. Lathrop Fire Department came out in support.
7. Keannu wheels toward a standing ovation after his VR experience.
On the day of the reveal, the VR company EmergeXR had set up on the field two huge LED screens—like those used at professional sports arenas— that faced the home stands. A large black box stood on the midfield as the place Keannu would go to experience being a part of the game. The crowds began to fill the stadium as the cheer team danced to music and pumped up the crowd. Food vendors were also on site to offer snow cones, pizza, and more. After an introduction from Leland, local Make-A-Wish chapter President and CEO Jennifer Stolo explained
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8. The MUSD Board of Trustees came out to support Keannu.
Keannu’s journey to the gathered crowd. She introduced his family and welcomed the cheer team to perform.
huge LED screens came to life to allow them to share the virtual game with Keannu.
“What is amazing about coming to these small communities is seeing the incredible involvement and passion,” said Stolo.
In this first-person VR experience, the player representing Keannu wore additional camera equipment so that Keannu could feel like he was in the game. The crowd witnessed the rainy game get to a 14-7 half-time score where the Spartans trailed.
9. The LHS Band pumps up the crowd. 10. Christopher Courtney had his wish
After their performance, she helped the stadium to quiet down as they waited patiently until Keannu was wheeled onto the track by his sister.
11. Keannu is surrounded by LHS cheer. 12. The stadium erupts with “Make A
He wore a blindfold and noise cancelling headphones as he made the journey down the track.
13. Keannu takes the microphone for a
They wheeled him into the special VR chamber at midfield, and shortly his experience began. For the crowd, the
come true in 2017 - a trip to Hawaii.
Wish.”
few fun comments.
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Next, in the locker room scene, players individually came up to the virtual Keannu to offer their encouragement and faith in his ability to lead the team. After some words from Coach Pirillo, the team retook the field. Meanwhile, the audience maintained their silence, watching the VR experience and waiting for their turn to embrace Keannu with their cheers. After Keannu experienced running into the end zone to make a 2-point conversion and win the game, the walls came down on his VR chamber and his team mates gathered around him. The crowd of supporters then erupted into applause, replacing the sound of the of the VR recording. Removing the VR headset, Keannu glided down the wooden walkway to approach the podium with one fist raised into the air as his family and teammates gathered around him. With an energetic smile, Keannu thrust his hand out into a fist bump
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toward his teammates. His mother, Yesenia Linnell said, “I’m really glad that everybody came, was able to get together and just cheered Keanu on.” “Well, all I’ve got to say is that in about seven years he will be ready to take over the raiders and I can retire,” said Alec Linnell, Keannu’s father.
Amid the cheers and attention, Keannu took a turn on the microphone, enjoying his moment as he quieted the crowd with, “Wait, did I say to ca-lap?”
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His antics brought even more cheers as several speakers took a turn to honor him. “Keanu, you are inspiration to all of us,” said Coach Joseph Pirillo. “I just want to say this, for as long as I am here, nobody else is going to wear the number five jersey.” He then lay a special white #5 LHS jersey on Keannu’s lap. Lathrop Mayor Sonny Dhaliwal presented him with a plaque for his bravery, drive and determination. A representative from Northern California Officials Association gave Keannu a special edition polo shirt and then led the crowd in chanting, Nannu once again. Retaking the microphone, Stolo closed the ceremonies. “We have a tradition at Make a Wish, in order to have a wish come true, we need you to all get on
your feet, raise your arms up in the air, and yell ‘Make a Wish.’” The audience did this cheer three times to honor Keannu. Nick Woodward of the Stockton Record reported that his mother Yesenia said, “He’s been aching for this.”
“Eventually, he’s going to walk,” Yesenia Linnell said. “And he’s going to run, one way or another. He won’t let anything stand in his way.” According to Stolo, Make-A-Wish is not just for terminal children. “Actually 75% of our children go on to live long and healthy lives,” said Stolo. “There is so much joy to MakeA-Wish. Something like this speaks volumes to a community, so we bring the community together to be a part of the wish. They are the wish alongside the child. The wish actually happened today.”
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Sierra High School Selects New Activities Director Community Service Activities Block Program.
Aisha Saeed
Student Intern Social science teacher Jared Rio is a highly admired member of Sierra High School’s staff. In addition to his role as a social science teacher, Rio serves as club advisor for Community Leaders of America and coach for the Academic Decathlon Team.
He said, “I feel ecstatic! I am ready to get to work to continue building on a wonderful leadership program here at Sierra.” Having never served as Activities Director before, Jared Rio applied for the position with hopes of becoming selected.
When students were asked how they felt about Mr. Rio becoming the new activities director, students were equally as elated. “Mr. Rio has such an eccentric and creative personality. He’ll totally bring something new to the table,” said junior Kanani Drummond. SHS seniors will graduate this school year and miss experiencing the up and coming leadership program led by Mr. Rio. Senior Vanessa Miranda said, “I think he would be an excellent director. He is the definition of a leader and motivates others to do their best no matter what.” Citing his past experience, Mr Rio is more than qualified to take on this position and the challenges it entails. While Mr. Rio holds many titles, he humbles himself in being part of Sierra High’s many programs and activities. Rio said, “I am excited to continue
building a reputation of excellence that is rooted in respect and tradition.”
“I am most excited to work on Sierra’s 25th Anniversary celebration! Rio exclaimed. “We will be busy recognizing our past by celebrating our future.”
In past years, Rio worked closely with the Activities Director at John C. Kimball High School in Tracy. There, he undertook programs such as the Veteran’s Breakfast, Kony 2012, Mock Trial, and his human rights class. While at West High School in Tracy, he advised community service clubs such as KEY Club and California Leadership Association. At Sierra, Rio introduced CLA, Academic Decathlon, human rights class, and instituted the 100 hours
Jared Rio, and his Community Leaders of America club, helped organize efforts to raise donations for the Paradise fire victims in November 2018.
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EUHS Boys Volleyball Begins Solid Season Daniel Acevedo Student Intern
The East Union Boys Volleyball team works hard to make sure they have an amazing season. The end of February and throughout the month of March, they have given pre-league EUHS crowds a taste of what is coming. Team members include: Harsimran Sing, Jonathan Castaneda, Luis Tristan, Parmbir Khattra, Cameron Torres, Jacob Lill, Alec Alegre, Austin Scott, Kalub Wilcox, Flabio Mercado, Riland Simpao, and Santana Vasquez. Coaches Barnes and Herrera push their team to apply their best effort regardless of their opponent. The coaches build up players’ skills and teach them how to play as a team. At the end of one of their games, although the team
won, the coaches expected the team to work more cohesively.
“You guys lost as a team today!” Coach Barnes exclaimed. “You lost 11 points.” Barnes explained that even though he was proud of the team’s victory, they could have done better. Barnes emphasized that 11 of those points could have been prevented if the team would have worked more fluidly. The coaches explained that great performance not only derives from game skills, but from familiarity with the people on your team and knowing how to play as a whole. They also emphasized sportsmanship before insisting that the team run laps— despite their victory. “It was not easy getting along at first,” Cameron Torres explained. “Every day is a fight for our positions, so we all work very hard.”
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It is very evident that as the team has played more games, they’ve become better at working as a whole. The more they bond, the easier it is for them to collaborate and better their team performance.
“We overcome it by practicing together and learning how to play as one.”
“My favorite thing about each game is how we’ve meshed, not only as a team, but as brothers since the time we began,” Torres said.
Overall, the team engages it’s crowd by knowing how to come back stronger every time. Just when it looks like their energy is dying down, they prove the crowd wrong.
At games like Tracy High or Ripon Christian, although the team did not leave with a victory after losing a set, they increased their competitive energy to win the next set. The EUHS boys have always managed to either win, or to lose by a very close call. “Adapting to each other and building chemistry has been an obstacle,” said Jacob Lill.
On March 25, the team had their first league game against Kimball and all their hard work was put to the test. They took home a victory, playing 4 sets and winning 3 of them. The season has just begun and there is no doubt that the Lancers will leave with a great season.
“My favorite thing about each game is how we’ve meshed, not only as a team, but as brothers since the time we began,” Torres said.
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MHS Reading Programs Double Student Growth Kaylee MacDannald Student Intern
In September of 2017, Manteca High School (MHS) recognized a significant need for improvement to some student’s reading comprehension. As the program has continued, MHS has doubled previous growth.
Some of those incentives include a free kid’s meal from The Habit, a free 6-inch Subway sandwich, a Ranger meal from Texas Roadhouse, Stockton Heat tickets, or a personal pizza from Round Table.
In order to help these students build their reading comprehension skills, as well as vocabulary and fluency skills, MHS piloted two reading intervention programs: Lexia and Reading Plus.
“Manteca High has been very fortunate and received generous support from several businesses in our community,” said Ana Wooten, a MHS teacher. “This school year alone, we have been given over $20,000 in donations to offer as incentives when our students reach their goals in the program.”
These programs develop essential reading and comprehension skills through use of creative incentives that help drive the students towards their individual weekly goals. Progress is monitored closely by English teachers, and when students reach their goals in the program, they can choose from a variety of incentives.
These incentives have made a significant difference. “In the past, our students who have struggled with reading have not experienced much success,” Wooten said. “So, having weekly achievable goals and incentives in place helps to increase participation, motivation and growth.” During the 2017-2018 school year, the 208 students who participated in these programs experienced
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significant growth in their reading comprehension levels. Forty-six students of those students increased two or more reading levels in that year alone. For the 2018-2019 school year, Principal Frank Gonzales supported continued use of both programs.
By the end of the fall term, ninety-one students had progressed through two or more reading levels, doubling the previous year’s progress in half the time. Other high schools in the district started taking note of the success that MHS students were experiencing and recognized that their students had the same needs. Use of Reading Plus has now expanded to several other MUSD high schools, including: Weston Ranch, Manteca Day, East Union, and more. “The goal is to go from learning to read, to reading to learn,” Wooten said. “For our students to become life-long readers, we need to develop their foundational reading skills first and build their confidence.”
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Wooten emphasized how important these amazing programs are and the support they provide to develop these essential life skills. To celebrate program success, MHS administration scheduled an assembly just before spring break where the Stockton Kings came to support, promote, and get the students excited about the reading programs. They also encouraged students to maintain good health, which has a positive impact on overall student performance. At this assembly, the Kings facilitated games, handed out Kings gear, and emphasized the importance of being healthy and
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always doing your best to learn and grow. This successful program is a strong example of fulfilling the MUSD Vision of “Every student works to achieve grade level standards, feels safe and is supported to realize individual success.” This reading program, together with its individual goal-based incentives will continue to increase student success at Manteca High School and throughout MUSD.
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Sprinkle Kindness Everywhere
Kids for Peace has recognized August Knodt as a Kindness Certified School for their second annual participation in the Great Kindness Challenge in February. In 2018, the Great Kindness Challenge had over 13 million participating students from more than 24,000 schools in 115 countries around the world. This year, to prepare for Kindness Week, August Knodt staff wrote chalk messages around campus
and more than 130 staff and students ordered a kindness themed spirit wear shirt. “It is really one of the best weeks of the year because everyone’s spirits are lifted,” said Program Coordinator Heidi Azevedo.
“Everyone walks around with smiles on their face— it just spreads all over the campus.” Kindness Week Coordinator Alexis Agdeppa and her committee members Tiani Hudgins, Makayla Balderrama,
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Lisa Spitsen and Angie Ojeda planned and implemented this busy week. “We had an awesome team of people for the last two years to spread kindness school wide,” said Agdeppa. “Students think about not only their own kindness but what it could mean for other adults and people in the community.” Agdeppa is a special education teacher who works with students in grades 4-6.
“It even teaches kids to be kind to themselves,” Agdeppa said. “Like what you can do for your health.” Students kicked off Kindness Week by decorating the cafeteria with bulletin boards and completing kindness checklists that spread cheer to classmates, families and friends. “Every student on campus gets a Great Kindness Challenge Checklist,” said Agdeppa. “There are 50 things on the list. Simple things like thanking your
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librarian or writing a kind note to a friend and putting it in their backpack, or making a wish for a child in another country.” On the junior list, for grades Pre-K to 2, there are 12 things that include “give your friend a high five” and “entertain someone with a happy dance.” Students who worked hard on the checklist could earn a “Choose Kind” bracelet. “At August Knodt, we use SOAR, Safe Optimistic Accountable and Respectful as our pillars of character,” Azevedo said. “Kindness falls under the Optimistic and Respectful pillars.” As part of their Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports, Kindness week promotes positive behavior. “It gets kids to think about the right thing to do, and spreads that all over campus,” Agdeppa said.
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On the second day, older and younger classes were paired for an opportunity to make kindness cards or posters for the other class. “We had kindergartners come into our classroom,” Agdeppa said. “We gave them a little treat and they gave us a kindness poem, and a cute little critter they made.”
Wednesday, classes were assigned non-teaching staff to sprinkle with kindness.
classes made over 400 kindness cards to deliver to their community partner Meals on Wheels. “We also make over 400 kindness bookmarks,” Agdeppa said. “We put them in the library so that classes who go in throughout the year can pick a bookmark with positive sayings to promote being kind.” On Friday, they took a school-wide photo with all 800 kids outside to form a giant heart on the playground.
“Each non-teacher staff member was celebrated with special notes, treats, flowers, and other special gifts delivered by their appointed class,” Azevedo said.
“A really important aspect was that teachers, campus staff, and other students could nominate students as Kindness Champions,” Azevedo said. “Selected student names were read in the morning announcements and how they show kindness. They also received one of our spirit wear t-shirts.”
“That was one of the biggest things to watch kids feel so good about what they were doing,” Agdeppa said.
During the week, stations were featured at recess where students could write a kind message on a heart and give it to a friend.
“I think they were surprised at how good it felt to do little acts of kindness for somebody and to see it make that person’s day.” Thursday was a community focus as
“We collected some of the messages and posted them around campus,” Agdeppa said. “And we had a photo frame that said Kindness Matters, so students could make memories.”
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In the weeks following the event, the kindness has continued. “It has just opened their eyes,” Agdeppa said. “I have seen students complimenting their classmates, running to help them if their books fall down, and catching the door if they see someone with their hands full.” Azevedo added that growth mindset quotes are used daily at August Knodt during the morning announcements.
During kindness week, they included the quote made famous by Wonder author R. J. Palacio, “When given the choice between being right and being kind, choose kind.”
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A Special Collaboration
Below: Stephan Unterholzner and Matt Tate present to the MUSD School Board of Trustees.
Showcasing their collaborative efforts at the MUSD District Board of Trustees meeting on March 12th, Special Day Class (SDC) Teacher Matt Tate, and science teacher Stephan Unterholzner shared how they have collaborated to bring more STEM to special education at Sierra High School. Both assert that this partnership has resulted in greater student engagement. Steve came to Matt in the summer of 2017 and over coffee, discussed integrating more STEM into the special education classroom.
“We first used Ozobots, and then Steve and I did a MELS Garage summer boot camp for one week for junior high and high school kids” said Tate. For that summer session, Tate and Unterholzner used different engineering activities and friendly competitions like making catapults or driving a robot dinosaur. With the funding from Career Technical Education (CTE) backing the camp, they were able to introduce more activities than just the Ozobots. Tate explained that he collaborates with Unterholzner from January to May because that is his designated time to teach science.
“Steve comes in on average twice per week, on Monday and Wednesday,” said Tate.
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Explaining that he volunteers his preparation period for those two days, Unterholzner said, “These kids are worth my time.”
“I would love to see the general ed teachers get into the SDC classes even once a month to see what is going on and be visible to those kids.” Sometimes, it is all about the energy and enthusiasm that the collaboration provides. “Last year, we participated in his balloon launch,” Tate said. “Sometimes Steve will call me up and say something like, ‘My robotics class is doing something really cool, you should come over for 15 minutes.” This summer, Tate is running an SDC STEM Summer Camp. “I am introducing Snap circuits and using Strawbees to do building challenges,” Tate said. “The illustrated directions are easy to follow, and they get to experience why procedures are important.” Tate emphasized that meeting his
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special education student needs is based on each student’s Individual Educational Plan (IEP). “This allows them to become more verbal, and they are becoming more attached to the school,” Tate said. “The tech is important because it gives students a different outlet to express their intelligence and creativity skills.” Tate describes creativity as the peak of learning according to the new Bloom’s Taxonomy. “The more you can get students creating something, they are learning the most,” Tate said. Tate teaches digital literacy skills that translate to all aspects of life. He teaches students how to use social media and uses role playing activities for how to search online. They are also taught how to watch a video to learn how to do something.
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Together, they have made some strong connections on campus.
“One of Matt’s students was voted as the Winter Fest King,” Unterholzner said. “The culture of our school is improving because we are getting more kids involved with them.” Unterholzner said that he believes SDC classes should be the heart of any campus and a place where teachers and students should volunteer to help. “The more we can get our general ed students to serve in that manner, the better the culture in our school would be.”
Tate explained that he has also collaborated with the Get Focused, Stay Focused students and the Leadership students.
“The social skills are huge because they need to be exposed to different environments, we deal with developmental skills about 60% of the time and only 40% of the time with academics,” Tate said.
“Once a week, leadership comes in and plays games with them or helps with the science class,” Tate said. “This is so that the leadership students are getting some experience teaching also.”
“A big reward is seeing these kids come out of their shell,” Unterholzner said. “At their level, their social and life skills are the main things that we are trying to teach these kids.”
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When they are seniors, Tate’s students participate in a workability program and have jobs off campus.
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general ed teachers on campus.
“Teachers have to be invested for the long haul, but you can see the growth before your eyes,” Tate said.
“Creating a positive culture in the classroom helps,” Tate said. “But you have to be comfortable with trying new things, stepping out of your box and trying again.”
Tate concluded by stating his belief that all special education teachers could do this and collaborate with
At the board meeting, both men shared how successful and personally rewarding their collaboration has been.
They both encourage teachers across the district to try it out and partner more with special education classes.
Photograph courtesy of Photo360.
April 11 - Evening of the Arts
Pictured in their new uniforms, the Sierra High School Band invites you to attend their upcoming events:
April 26 - Jazz Night at the Den May 4 - SHS Band Concert
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Four Years Flying with SOFIA
This year, there are only 14 school districts in the country invited to participate. Below: Megan Smith of LHS will fly with SOFIA in October of 2019.
Since 2011, the SETI Institute has partnered with NASA and select school districts to give high school science teachers the opportunity to experience the Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors (AAA) program. MUSD became a partner district with SETI and NASA in the fall of 2016. This fall will mark the fourth consecutive year MUSD has sent teachers to experience this intensive week-long immersion experience at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center at Hanger 103 in Palmdale, CA. This year, there are only 14 school districts in the country invited to participate. In October 2016, Jeff Baldwin of LHS and Larry Grimes of SHS began the MUSD partnership with the program. In October 2017, Chris Courtney of SHS, Tim
Horning of MHS, Remberto Lopez and Juliet Mathews of EUHS, Todd Walker of LHS and District Science Coordinator Lisa Snyder flew with SOFIA. In October 2018, James Wright and Stephan Unterholzner of SHS, Joseph Verderame of WRHS and Lisa Snyder participated in the program. And in October of 2019, Megan Smith of LHS will take her turn to fly with the program.
The AAA program is a professional development opportunity for high school science teachers designed to improve science teaching & learning and increase student STEM engagement. Invited teachers fly two all-night missions on SOFIA, which is a highly modified Boeing 747SP airliner fitted with a 2.7-meter (106-inch) telescope combined with seven cameras and spectrographs that study celestial objects using infrared.
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SOFIA operates during 10-hour overnight science missions at altitudes between 39,000 and 45,000 feet. This altitude is above more than 99 percent of the water vapor in Earth’s atmosphere that blocks infrared light from reaching ground-based observatories. Megan Smith, who studied Genetics at UC Davis and is working on a STEM Master’s degree at Teachers College of San Joaquin, has taught at LHS for the past three years. “I am incredibly passionate about STEM integration in the classroom and I felt that the SOFIA project would be an excellent opportunity to share real-world examples with my students,” Smith said.
“I also wanted to be a role-model for my female students and encourage them to follow a pathway in STEM, where women are currently underrepresented.” To prepare for the rigorous program, every teacher must complete an online university astronomy course. “I have started designing some projects for my STEAM 101 course that will include some of the information about NASA that I have learned,” Smith said.
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“I am also setting up a virtual guest speaker to share their experiences working for NASA. I want my students to be exposed to many different STEM careers.” Stephan Unterholzner, who graduated C.S.U. Sacramento with a degree in Chemistry and Computer Science, has taught at Sierra High School for 24 years. “SOFIA has definitely given me more stories to tell,” Unterholzner said. “There are many applications in chemistry and physics that I can use when teaching.” “The most interesting time was spent interacting with the scientists who were on the mission,” Unterholzner said. “Hearing what they were researching, how the instruments worked, and so on was invaluable.” Joseph Verderame earned his Bachelor of Arts from Sonoma State University with a Major in Chemistry and a Minor in Biology. He has taught at Weston Ranch High School for 15 years. “Since I completed my flight week in the SOFIA program, I have taken a deep reflection into how I teach the electromagnetic spectrum,” Verderame said. “I have integrated pieces of the NASA SOFIA curriculum throughout my courses.” For many teachers, it is a chance to watch large-scale science in action.
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how the infrared telescope and attached instruments worked together.” Some of these projects involve other sources of data collection. “I am currently working on a citizen science project out of NASA-JPL where my students will be able to operate a full size (24 meter) radio telescope located in southern California from our classroom,” Unterholzner said. “We will analyze data from the telescope as it looks at a variety of objects from black holes to quasars, as well as our own Milky Way Galaxy.”
“Of all of the things I experienced, the most educational was the first-hand observation of how many different people it takes to run a program like SOFIA,” Verderame said. “It was staggering to observe in person.”
Jeffrey Baldwin, who studied Mathematics at Eastern Washington University, has taught at Lathrop High School for 11 years. He has taught for MUSD for a total of 27 years, and was one of the first MUSD teachers selected for the SOFIA program.
Christopher Courtney earned his bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from UC Davis and has taught for MUSD for 19 years, and 11 years prior to that for other districts.
“I am an astronomer, a pilot, and this is a telescope in an airplane,” Baldwin said. “The optics of SOFIA are interesting to me, the ability to observe infra-red astronomy from above the stratosphere.”
“My students now have more hands-on learning activities to do because of the materials provide by SETI,” Courtney said. “Having a chance to interact with practicing scientists and engineers was fantastic. I began to fully understand
Baldwin loved seeing science obtained, collected, and recorded in raw form. “Books always show the conclusion, but the first-hand experience of data collection is really remarkable,” Baldwin said.
“Each individual on SOFIA was the best in their field. How lucky was I to be part of that?” Baldwin has also taken the opportunity to facilitate Star Gazing events at LHS and in partnership with MELS Garage. Baldwin said, “Sharing my experiences with my students will hopefully encourage them to continue on with a life of exploration.” Megan Smith is looking forward to her turn to fly. “I am so incredibly excited for the immersive STEM week and flights this Fall. I plan on sharing my experiences with my high school classroom, with my Verizon Innovative Learning STEM Summer Camp middle-school girls, and with my students in the STEM II Masters program at TCSJ,” Smith said. She added, “I believe I will walk away with a lot of great knowledge in Astronomy, hands-on learning activities, and real-world applications that I can implement in my lessons.”
In Other News
Fast start at Weston Ranch High for Fast It’s been a whirlwind past few weeks for Troy Fast.
READ ACROSS AMERICA
Theodor Geisel would have been 115 years old on March 2.
HELP MAKE A WISH COME TRUE The 17-year-old Lathrop High student who is battling germ cell neoplasm — an aggressive form of brain cancer — wants more than anything to play football once again with his Spartan teammates.
KICKING FOR A CURE
Amy Gross had been aware of the Kicking for A Cure game.
‘THIS IS FOR KEANNU’
Davis Reyes-Ruiz may not have played football with Keannu Linnell.
Manteca Unified may eliminate breakfast at high schools
Manteca Unified may end breakfast service at all district high school campuses.
Former Lathrop HIgh QB’s Make-AWish Revealed at Spartan Stadium Wearing a virtual reality headset and positioned at midfield, Linnell virtually made the game-winning play.
Teen Quarterback Plays Football Via Virtual Reality after Battling Brain Cancer A San Joaquin County teen’s only wish, to play football again after battling brain cancer, has been granted.
Michael Seelye, a longtime Manteca Unified trustee, set to retire
For 15 years, the Manteca Unified School District Board of Trustees has been able to rely on Michael Seelye’s knowledge and passion for education to put students first.
SPARTAN ARTS INVASION
Paola Baltazar was excited and surprised that her selfportrait drawing won Best of Show at Tuesday’s Spartan Arts Invasion.
Are you connected to the classroom?
1. Download our app from mantecausd.net/mobileapp or search “Manteca USD” from the app store. 2. To access Q Parent Connection, obtain your PIN and Password from mantecausd.net/login 3. Unable to access Q Parent Connection, or missing student information? Ask your school site to connect you!
4. Open the Manteca USD app, click Q Parent Connection, and login. • Receive emergency notices and electronic school flyers. • See student grades, assignments, and attendance.
Other Manteca USD App Tools:
What a parent said
on our LCAP Thought Exchange. (comment rated an average of 4 stars)
