THE CHALKBOARD: Hats for Hurricane Help at Valley Vista School

What’s happening in Petaluma-area schools.|

According to principal Catina Haugen at Valley Vista Elementary, her student body has connected with Black Elementary School in Cypress, Texas recently. The Texas principal, Mrs. Ledoux, has been in contact with Petaluma’s Mrs. Haugen about specific needs for their school. The Valley Vista Viking student council is hosting a Hats for Hurricane Help fundraiser this week. Students can bring in $1 or more toward Black Elementary supply needs, and students who participate can wear their favorite hat all day on Friday - even during class. “We are excited to help a specific school as they start their second week of school following the devastating natural disaster of the hurricane,” says Haugen. What is so wonderful about this program is the students are coordinating the campus activity resulting in a true students-helping-students effort. Great work, Viking student council!

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Each year at Harvest Christian School the kindergarten teachers invite parents to come and share their professional careers with the class. This past week, Coast Guard Culinary Specialist Kevin Frazier (parent to triplet kindergarten students at Harvest) showed the kids a chef’s coat, read them a Coast Guard boat book and had one of his daughters come up as a volunteer to show how to do proper push-ups as part of his presentation. Students all took home chef’s hats, a Coast Guard pencil and a Coast Guard coloring sheet courtesy of Frazier. Thank you for your service and for sharing your career path with these future community leaders.

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Get ready. Captain Underpants is coming to Meadow Elementary School. Author David “Dav” Pilkey’s Captain Underpants series was first published 20 years ago, and has been entertaining children (and adults) all these years with some crazy character adventures. The campus visit is being made possible by Copperfield’s Bookstore. It is sure to be a special and humorous visit for students and teachers alike.

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Last Friday night, the usually quiet campus of Mary Collins School at Cherry Valley was alive with students and families at school from 5:30 p.m. until 9 p.m. to enjoy the Because of Winn Dixie BBQ/Party. The event was made even more memorable with live characters from the well-known young adult book making guest appearances - even the dog Winn Dixie. The character meet-and-greet was followed by a showing of the movie in the school’s amphitheater. The book was part of the student summer reading program with the books provided by the Rotary Club of Petaluma Foundation and Friends of Cherry Valley Library. “It was a true collaborative effort to support the students in our community,” shared Cherry Valley librarian April Derby.

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The community group Fabulous Women is rallying around Kenilworth Junior High student Eric Arenas and his family with an event on Sept. 24 from 11 a.m.–2 p.m. at McNear Park. The community building potluck gathering has been named Strength in Numbers and will offer guests the chance to paint “kindness rocks” and raise funds through a bake sale during the event. The KJHS student is currently battling leukemia. The gathering is intended to demonstrate he is not fighting this challenge alone but has his school community and the larger Petaluma community by his side.

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Kudos on a game well played! Football players from both Casa Grande High and Petaluma High took to the field this past Saturday to launch the return of the Egg Bowl. Both the JV and varsity teams played with passion, sportsmanship and school spirit. What they brought to the field with them was a sense of Petaluma pride resulting in a contagious community spirit for those both at the game and those who were following the event in the weeks leading up to the kick off. If you want a little piece of Egg Bowl history, logo shirts are still available for a limited time only by contacting either high school campus or visiting Alphabet Soup Benefit Thrift Stores on Western Avenue. The stores operate in support of the mission of PEF supporting all local schools. The retail locations carry the shirts that were produced by the school district in an effort to support the return of this fun community-building event.

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St. Vincent High has announced its annual campus Open House event for students and families to learn about course offerings, meet teachers and students and tour the campus. The event is 1-3 p.m. on Oct. 15.

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As previously shared, Vicki Hoefle will host a How to Raise Capable, Cooperative, Responsible and Respectful Kids presentation for parents with kids of all ages. The event will take place at the Petaluma Public Library on Oct. 4 from 7:30-9 p.m., followed by a four-class series for parents starting Oct. 18. For more information on the free event and to register for the series of classes, contact Live Oak Charter School or visit vickihoefle.com.

(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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