THE CHALKBOARD: Cinnabar students lend a hand to the river

What’s happening in Petaluma area schools.|

Lucienne Wurr’s class at Cinnabar School spent last Tuesday at Steamer Landing Park by the Petaluma River. LandPaths and Friends of the Petaluma River arranged a stewardship project for the third-graders to work on. Students worked hard pulling invasive plants (mallow, wild radish and milk thistle) and planting native plants at the park. Wurr reports students were proud when they were able to get large roots pulled out, and by the amount of work they completed. They also painted flags with their hopes and dreams for the environment. “Everyone was grateful for the opportunity to spend the day outside on a dry day between storms,” shared Wurr. Cinnabar School also honored longtime volunteer Carol Veeninga at an all-school assembly last week. Mrs. Veeninga has volunteered her time twice a week for many years, making copies and preparing projects for teachers and the office staff, as well as helping with school events. At the assembly, the staff wore the beautiful scarves that Mrs. Veeninga crocheted for them in their favorite color as a Christmas gift. The students and staff sang happy birthday to, and made cards for, Mrs. Veeninga to help celebrate her 80th birthday.

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The fourth annual Art Adventure Week at Sonoma Mountain Elementary School was once again an exciting and memorable program for students. Teachers conducted their own activities in the classroom, and there are many school-wide events, including a visit with Ane Rovetta, artist and storyteller, who led interactive assemblies to kick off the week. Classes also rotated through T-shirt silk screening centers to apply the Art Adventure logo to their shirts. These shirts are worn to school on Friday, on Art Rotation Day, reports principal Michele Gochberg. The week also offered Visual Thinking Strategies lessons in classrooms where students participated in facilitated critical-thinking discussions about various art pieces in their classrooms. Wrapping up the week was Art Rotation Day. Students grouped with members from grades K-6 to rotate through three classrooms to learn about different artists such as O’Keefe, Picasso, Monet and mediums such as pastels, mosaic, collage, watercolor, clay sculpture and fabric design. A project was completed in each class in the style of the artist or using specific techniques and mediums. Gochberg emphasizes this program is a true community project. “In our first year, local artists painted our ball walls, and in our second year, our Buddy Bench was constructed. This year, we are wrapping up a project that we began during last year’s Art Adventure Week as it is a big one. Students all made clay stars last year, and this year, they have been working with Jacki Yurth and local mosaic artist Sueann Bettison-Sher to complete clay pieces such as flowers and hands. Every child is contributing, and the pieces will be used to create mosaics for our entryway columns in front of the school.”

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Petaluma City Schools hosted its first Basketball Jamboree this past Sunday. All seven elementary schools in the district - Grant, McNear, Mary Collins at Cherry Valley, Penngrove, McKinley, McDowell and Valley Vista participated in this high-energy basketball tournament. More than 100 fourth- through sixth-graders registered to play. In fact, Grant and Penngrove had to field two teams because of their high turnout numbers. North Bay Basketball Academy collaborated with the Petaluma City Schools’ ASAP, After Schools Activities Program, to coordinate scheduling coaches to teach basketball skills to the schools two times a week after school. NBBA also reached out to the Petaluma High School boys and girls basketball teams to help coach the elementary students. Mary Lim, ASAP manager, said, “This program provided many opportunities for our high school students to step into roles that they may have never experienced before. Coach, referee, announcer and scoreboard monitor were a few of the jobs that had to be filled in order for this Jamboree to operate smoothly.” The teams played all day Sunday starting at 8:30 a.m. It ended up with Penngrove and Grant finishing as the top two. Their final Championship game was a back-and-forth nail biter. Penngrove won, 29-26. NBBA awarded the top two teams basketballs.

(For more on the Jamboree, see page B1.)

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Harvest Christian School students are enjoying some exciting performing arts activities as they prepare for their annual school stage play. The cast of Annie Jr. gathered to watch the 1982 version of Annie, and enjoyed pizza and popcorn as they prepared for their roles in the play that will happen on May 3 and May 4 at the Petaluma Community Center. Harvest also offers “Move Over Mozart“ as an after-school enrichment program, and last week held their mid-year piano recitals.

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In partnership with the City of Petaluma, Daily Acts will be hosting a workday at McNear Elementary School on Saturday Feb. 25 from 1-4 p.m. The purpose of the day will be to install a habitat garden for students, parents, and local wildlife to benefit from for years to come. The community is invited to join school volunteers for this transformative event to sheet mulch 4,000 square feet of underutilized lawn and install a native plant habitat garden. This interactive workday will allow attendees to learn about a variety of beneficial plants native to this region, as well as rebates that residents have access to, in order to create a water-wise landscape in their own home, according to Liz Platte-Bermeo, programs coordinator.

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

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