THE CHALKBOARD: Meadow students celebrate spring with Holi Festival

What’s happening in Petaluma-area schools.|

Meadow Elementary School really knows how to celebrate the arrival of spring. Last week, students and staff participated in school’s annual Holi Festival activities. The Holi Festival is a traditional Hindu event celebrated in India and Nepal. Known as the Festival of Colors, the special day coincides with the arrival of the spring season. Across the globe, people celebrate the day by running around covering each other in a rainbow of colorful powders. Meadow students carried on the tradition with an afternoon celebrating on the school’s field, resulting in a vibrant vision and school full of smiles.

-

What do ancient China, the history of comics and horse stomachs have in common? They were all topics shared at McKinley’s Accelerated Program’s Genius Hour exhibition. Mr. De Lucia-Zeltzer (also known as Mr. D-Z) reports his fourth-grade scholars presented their passion projects to all. Students chose a topic (sky’s the limit), developed questions for research and designed a product to present their findings. Many students also were inspired to create interactive components for their presentations to deepen and extend understanding, according to Mr. D-Z. Great work, McKinley Mustangs!

-

Two Cinnabar Elementary School teachers were recognized at the school board meeting last week. Cinnabar Superintendent/Principal Tracie Kern shared that Anne Vonder Kuhlen and Trey Minehan Willis are dedicated teachers with more than 20 years experience each in educating young students. “Both teachers earned the Longevity Recognition Award for providing education continuity to Cinnabar students and their families. Anne and Trey go above and beyond for their students and the students thrive under their care,” says Kern.

-

Petaluma Junior High School Bantams are excited to announce they raised more than $450 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in the school’s annual Pennies for Patients drive. “We crushed last year’s donation by more than $150,” says principal Renee Semik. Congratulations to PJHS ASB students who host and promote the drive for the entire school community. Your hard work paid off, and will make a difference in the effort to find a cure for leukemia/lymphoma.

-

Cindy Demchuk, principal at Laguna Elementary School, reports the school community will be celebrating the USA Mille event on April 24. Demchuk shares the Mille is a vintage car rally modeled after the one in Italy that ran from 1925-29. “Our students are going to wave Italian flags and say ‘Venuto’ or ‘Buon Giorno’ as the elegant cars ride by,” she said. The school, located on Chileno Valley Road, will be a special spot for this exciting event.

-

The Sonoma County Office of Education will host the countywide Elementary Spelling Competition on April 3 at 4 p.m. Twenty elementary students will compete for the title of county champion.

Grades 4-6 students participating already have won school-level and regional spelling bees, and are considered the county’s best spellers from the elementary grades.

Students in grades 7-9 will be in the spotlight at the Sonoma County Junior High Spelling Competition on April 4 at 4 p.m. Between 40 and 50 students from across the county will participate. These super spellers earned the honor of advancing to the county event by winning their school competitions. These annual spelling competitions, which are open to the public, give students the opportunity to demonstrate their spelling ability, think on their feet and speak before an audience. The top two spellers from each event are eligible to advance to the California State Spelling Championships held in May. The Sonoma County Elementary Spelling Bee will include the following Petaluma schools: Corona Creek Elementary, Meadow Elementary, Sonoma Mountain Charter School and Two Rock School. Local schools participating in the event at the junior high level include: Cinnabar Elementary, Harvest Christian School, Petaluma Accelerated Charter School, St. Vincent Elementary, Kenilworth Junior High, and Mary Collins School at Cherry Valley. Good luck to all our students, you are A-W-E-S-O-M-E!

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

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.