Gung Hay Fat Choy, Petaluma! The kindergartners at Valley Vista went from being Vikings to Dragons during the festive parade on the blacktop. Carrying the colorful dragon costume over their heads and weaving across the playground, the students created an exciting celebration for all.
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La Tercera Elementary School students and teachers kicked off The Great Kindness Challenge program this week. On the first day, families were invited to share on small pieces of paper the ways we are kind. Each piece was then placed on a large banner for all to read. With the message “Kindness Matters,” thegreatkindnesschallenge.com site offers a checklist and activities for a week-long program, Jan 27 through Jan. 31, with the goal to “empower students to create a culture of kindness” at school and in their lives.
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College and career outreach specialist Valarie Alston brought Universal Technical Institute to the Casa Grande High School campus last Wednesday. Two UTI representatives brought a 30-foot trailer with a race car, motorcycle and other equipment they had on display. Students from Sonoma Mountain High School and Casa Grande were treated to a STEM presentation and live demonstrations of the vehicles. “UTI has been presenting to our students for several years; however, this is the first time they have brought the full show,” shared Gregory Stevenson, principal at Carpe Diem and Sonoma Mountain high schools.
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Students Angelina Lopez and Gemma Villa Ledezma of San Antonio High School attended the Los Cien luncheon with Mr. Smith, vice principal last week in Santa Rosa. Los Cien, an organization of and for Sonoma County Latino leaders, hosted a luncheon talking about the value to Sonoma County residents of the 2020 census. Lopez and Villa Ledezma were able to introduce themselves to county leaders, including Petaluma City Council Member Kevin McDonnell, Verity’s Joyce Galindo, and Los Cien Executive Director Magali Telles, among others, reports Smith. “It was an excellent presentation led by Lisa Carreno, CEO of United Way of the Wine Country, with a panel of experts preparing for this year’s census.”
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Also last week, Congressman Jared Huffman was a guest speaker at Live Oak Charter School. Justin Tomola, executive director of Live Oak Charter, shared that the impetus for the visit derived from Ms. Shepherd’s Climate Club as well as by letters written by Ms. Osner’s sixth-grade students to Congressman Huffman. The letters shared the students concerns about climate change. Congressman Huffman is District 2 representative and is a Congressional leader in climate change actions. “His visit inspired students to continue to take action through involvement in local government and to make choices that support renewable energy,” noted Tomola.
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More than 40 students and Petaluma Junior High School librarian Ms. Hazen had lunch with New York Times best-selling author Kate Milford recently. The Greenglass House Series author shared all about her newest book in the series, answered student questions and ended by telling the attentive audience a story. One of the most interesting questions posed to Milford was “How do you overcome writers block?” which led to a wonderful exchange with the students.
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Harvest Christian School recently hosted Patric Kearns, Master Falconer from Wine Country Raptors and Chris Melançon Falconer from LOLA Sonoma Farms. Patric and Chris brought with them a Harris hawk named Smoke and Chance, a Gyromado falcon. After finishing the book My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George, Mrs. Priest wanted the students to have a greater understanding of falconry and asked Wine Country Raptors to come make a presentation to Harvest’s fourth and fifth grade classes. One of the primary characters in the novel trains a falcon to hunt food for him as a means of surviving in the wilderness. During the 45-minute presentation, the students learned about various types of raptors, as well as many of their unique characteristics. The two birds that Patric and Chris brought along captivated the students and put on quite a show with their sounds and movements.
(Maureen Highland is a mother and executive director for the Petaluma Educational Foundation. She can be contacted at schools@arguscourier.com)
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