Much more than field new at PHS

Goal at Petaluma High is to keep every student involved inside and outside the classroom.|

Every day will be special at Petaluma High School this school year.

The Associated Student Body has adopted as a theme for the year - “Make it count.”

“It emphasizes that every moment at school counts,” explains school principal David Stirrat. “We want to make every day meaningful for every student.”

Led by Kerry Lowell, Petaluma is making a strong effort to involve every student in some activity beyond his/her academic load. “We don’t want to have any student left out,” Stirrat said.

This year there will be slightly more students to get involved as Petaluma is expected to have about 30 more students than last year.

As each day passes, all Petaluma students move closer to a new synthetic-turf football field and track that come with a multitude of impressive accessories, including new entryway, new snack bar, new ticket booth and new bathrooms. The project also comes with a $7 million price tag, to be paid with voter-approved bond funds along with money from the school district’s capital improvement funds.

Stirrat said the construction will have only a minimal impact on students. “There will be fewer areas for the PE classes, we’ll lose 35 parking spaces and our neighbors will have to put up with some noise and truck traffic,” he said.

“The good part is that it is going to look beautiful. We look at it as a community center where everyone can use the track and enjoy the benefits of the field.”

Another community asset will be a replacement swimming pool. The design for that project is currently being reviewed by the State Architect office with completion expected right before the start of the 2018 school year.

Led by new staff member Scott McCulloug, there is new energy and renewed interest in Petaluma auto mechanics, a program that was in danger of closing because of lack of interest last school year.

Engineering teachers Dan Sunia and Chris Jones are working together on a “loop” program that allows engineering students to loop between design and engineering so they can experience both design and engineering.

Petaluma High’s award-winning agriculture program continues to be a leader in the North Bay, not only through its strong Future Farmers of America (FFA) opportunity, but in preparing agriculture students to move on to four-year schools.

To let students and the community know about what is happening on campus, the school newspaper, the Trojan Tribune, under the guidance of Jessi Redfield, is now available online as well as in print form.

The school video program “Trojan Live” not only keeps students informed about what is going on around the campus, but streams live sporting events on its YouTube channel. This will be showing all Petaluma home football games, along with both the varsity and junior varsity Egg Bowl as well as select varsity volleyball games. In addition, Petaluma High has a new website that is more comprehensive and more in alignment with websites throughout the district.

There are two important additions to the Petaluma staff outside the classroom with Debby Vandergande taking over as new librarian and Joao Parreira promoted to head of maintenance.

It all adds up to a new year with new challenges building on a 144-year tradition of preparing students for what comes next in their lives.

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