Sonoma Mountain students saddle up for Bicycle Rodeo

The Bicycle Rodeo is coming to Sonoma Mountain Elementary Friday. SoMo’s Bicycle Rodeo on Friday takes place from 8:30 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. “Do not forget you must wear helmets, and bring locks for your bikes,” remind the event coordinators. Bicycles will be inspected for safety during the fun-filled event. Fridays are Spirit Day on campus so students are encouraged to show their SoMo spirit by wearing their SoMo logo t-shirts and sweatshirts or school colors of purple and teal. Safe riding, SoMo students.

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The Fellowship of the Verb saga is taking place in Mr. D-Z’s room at McKinley Elementary School. Students follow a map willed to them by an elderly wizard, so the student adventurers set off across an enchanted land on a quest for glory and gold. Working both independently and cooperatively, the students apply their knowledge of spelling patterns and Latin and Greek roots to earn travel dots that speed them along the map toward Treasure Mountain. “Each day the groups draw Fate Cards that put them in conflict with creatures such as the dreaded Wolfigator and savage Band of Orcs who must be defeated through the use of word analysis skills or a magic item previously acquired through their vocabulary work. Adventurers stand before the Sorcerer’s Council and demonstrate their learning each week, leveling up from human Serf all the way to supernatural Wizard, with each level granting them new traits and abilities,” describes D-Z. The story is unfolding in Room 9.

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Valley Vista’s Vikings are busy with preparing for their upcoming campus beautification day on Sept. 17. This first two-hour day of community building and beautification will focus on the front area of the school campus. It will be exciting to see how the ongoing program grows, literally and figuratively.

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Valley Vista is also kicking off its campus Girls on the Run program this month. The group will participate in a non-competitive 10-week program. According to the girslontherun.org, web site, the program “inspires girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running.

Girls on the Run is a transformational physical activity-based positive youth development program for girls in third through the eighth grades.” The program teaches life skills through dynamic, interactive lessons and running games. The program ends with a celebratory 5k running event.

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St. Vincent de Paul Elementary eighth grade student, Caitlyn Young attended Science Camp at Sonoma State this past summer. Her week-long adventure at Tech Trek offered interesting field trips, hands on projects in physics, and meeting lots of new friends who share her interest in learning about scientific processes. “Going to the Green Music Center was the highlight of the week. I was able to see how different types of architecture inside the center affected how instruments are heard by the audience,” shared Caitlyn. “During the camp, I made musical instruments to demonstrate sound waves, catapults and trebuchets. And I made cars that ran on balloon power.” Tech Trek will be an experience this young scientist will never forget it. 

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Relay for Life took place on Aug. 29 this year at a new venue - Petaluma High School. Many local students participated in raising funds, walking the track for the 24-hour relay and supporting all those who shared in the many memorable moments of the community gathering. Congratulations to all those who represented their schools so well and for being part of the 47 teams made up of 588 participants who raised more than $153,000 for the American Cancer Society, according to the event website.

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(Maureen Highland is a Petaluma mother and executive director for the Petaluma Educational Foundation. She can be reached at schools@arguscourier.com)