School year ending with celebrations, field days

School is out for summer! The year ended with music performances, field days, parties, promotion ceremonies and graduations. It was a busy year with small school sports racking up some impressive scores, student-led community education programs about our local watershed and other great activities, teachers who were recognized for their contributions to enrich their student’s learning opportunities and community members who made a difference at local schools by volunteering, mentoring and celebrating our students. Congratulations to all who will be taking the next step in their academic careers – both here in Petaluma and beyond.

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For one young Casa Grande student, his first week of summer will be spent joining an incredible panel of individuals to participate in the annual ieSonoma event taking place at Sonoma Country Day School on Friday. Ram Goli, who graduated last Friday evening from Casa Grande High School, will sit on a panel of local teacher, student and community innovators, who will share their inspirational stories in a series of short talks following a keynote address by “science evangelist” and educator Dr. Ainissa Ramirez. Goli has participated in the Sonoma County Science Fair, SSU’s SHIP internships program, various robotics competitions and Maker activities during his academic career here in Petaluma. It’s his passion and out-of-the-box approach that truly sets him apart, says Sonoma County Office of Education Student Engagement Coordinator Jessica Progulske. “He’s trying to shake up the educational landscape as a student,” she said, adding that he delivered a presentation to his high school teachers, urging them to allow students to pursue real, unsolved scientific inquiries rather than ones that already have answers in a textbook. He was also instrumental in helping SCOE re-imagine the county science fair and create what will be called a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) Expo for the 2016-17 school year. “He’s not playing by the established rules of traditional education in the classroom setting. He’s reinventing the game,” Progulske said.

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Meadow School’s Hawks made the most of their final day on campus for the 2015-16 school year. Students and staff were all smiles as tug-of-war, water play and other group activities were organized as part of the year-end festivities.

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Miwok Elementary students headed into summer by spending time on their campus field as a school community last week making fun memories that will last until they get back to campus in the fall.

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Grant School fifth graders rounded out their year with a field trip to the Marine Mammal Center the final week of May, and the entire school marked the end of the year with a school-wide field fun day, complete with sack races, face painting, chess matches and parachute games.

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The halls were alive with music at Sonoma Mountain Elementary on May 25 during the Spring Concert program that was followed just a few days later with the sixth-grade promotion ceremony.

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Liberty School hosted a school-wide awards assembly on May 31, honored their its sixth-grade graduates on June 2, and then skated its way into summer as a school, celebrating thefinal day of the school year with an event at Cal Skate.

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Wilson School will wrap up the year tomorrow, June 10, with a school-wide assembly presenting their Citizenship Awards followed by a campus field day for all to enjoy.

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For most campuses, school will resume the third week of August. Penngrove Elementary and Mary Collins School at Cherry Valley operate on a year-round school schedule, and with both campuses resuming classes the week of July 18.

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The Chalkboard weekly column reporting on all our local school and student news will resume in August.

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