THE CHALKBOARD: School year drawing to a very active conclusion

Students in fourth, fifth, and sixth grades from Cinnabar, Dunham, Liberty, Meadow, Two Rock and Wilson have been having a lot of fun playing volleyball against each other this spring.|

Students in fourth, fifth, and sixth grades from Cinnabar, Dunham, Liberty, Meadow, Two Rock and Wilson have been having a lot of fun playing volleyball against each other this spring. All six schools participating in the league came together for one last game against each other on Monday at the annual Small Schools Volleyball Jamboree at Petaluma Junior High School.

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Wilson School is hosting its annual Open House tonight. Principal Eric Hoppes announced classrooms will be open from 6:15 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. for families to see their children’s work and to visit other grades. The fifth graders put on a dinner at the event to begin their fundraising for their sixth-grade outdoor education week at Walker Creek next year. Dinner starts at 5:30 p.m.

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Casa Grande High School has been selected to receive a 2015 California Gold Ribbon School Award from the California Department of Education according to Principal Linda Scheele. The award will be presented to Casa Grande, and other identified California schools in Sacramento on Wednesday. “We are proud that Casa is being acknowledged for our outstanding programs and achievements by the Department of Education,” says Scheele.

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Students in Casa Grande High’s Health Career Pathway listened to information on Petaluma River history and took a historic tour of the David Yearsley Heritage Center. These students are compling a reseach project on Petaluma, including a paper, Google map and blog. After their tour, students completed a “selfie scavenger hunt” in which small groups had to find and take a selfie at 10 historic locations relevant to their projects, shared Jolene Thinnes. Congratulations to the winning student team: Taylor Johnson, Marissa Ranada and Elena O’Rourke.

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Outdoor activities for local students abound these final weeks of classes before summer vacation begins. Word is third graders at Dunham Elementary School released their butterflies in the school garden late last week. Cinnabar Elementary School students in Ms. Azevedo’s class participated in “Acorns to Oaks” program at Tolay Lake Regional Park, learning about local Native American culture. Students from Corona Creek and Meadow schools headed off for sixth-grade camp and YesTo Carrots, Kenilworth Kares Klub, McDowell Elementary kindergarteners and Bounty Farm members came together for a fun day on the farm to learn about the parts of a plant, how to plant seeds and how to compost.

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Grant School participated in Bike to School Day hosted annually by the National Center for Safe Routes to School. “We had a record 51 bikes parked in our bike racks and needed to put a few in over-flow parking. It was so fun for our Grant Leadership Team to join me in helping greet our bikers, assist them in parking their bikes and making sure they signed our poster,” shared principal Catina Haugen. “Even some teachers and many parents biked with their kids this year.”  What a great way to start the day.

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Valley Vista Vikings welcomed Annabeth Bondor-Stone and Connor White, co-authors of “Shivers!: The Pirate Who’s Afraid of Everything,” May 5.

The students and teachers reported having a lot of fun gathering on the blacktop watching and listening as the authors presented their book. The program was made possible by support from Copperfield’s Books here in Petaluma.

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Congratulations to the Class of 2105. Graduating seniors from Petaluma area high schools were honored at the annual PEF Scholarship Reception on April 29. The program awarded a combined 241 students from Casa Grande High, Petaluma High, Valley Oaks High and St. Vincent High a total of 336 scholarships in the amount of $243,875.

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On May 2, Petaluma High School FFA team members Clayton Arntz, Connie Jones and Carly Olufs individually placed in the top five ranking at the California State FFA Dairy Judging Finals on the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus.

The students will now move on to compete at the national level contest in October in Louisville, Kentucky. Local high school alums/dairy ranchers Frank Gambonini and Dominic Grossi coach this state champion team.

This is the pair’s third state FFA champion dairy team in six years, according to Petaluma High School Agriculture Department Chair, Kim Arntz. 

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Petaluma Junior High School principal Renee Semik announced PJHS has openings for the Sixth Grade Academy program for the 2015-16 school year. This dynamic program, located on the campus of PJHS, will be in its fifth year of using 1:1 ipads with all in-class instruction.  Students enrolled in the program also have the opportunity to take band, drama or STEM elective classes. Contact the PJHS office at 778-4724 for more information or download an application at campus website petalumacityschools.org/6th-grade-academy.

(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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