Harvest Christian students deliver the turkeys

What’s happening in Petaluma schools|

The week before Thanksgiving was a busy one for all. Students at Harvest Christian School managed to collect and deliver 16 frozen turkeys for the school’s 14th annual Turkey Drive to support Sonoma County residents. The turkeys were collected on Thursday when school was open, and delivered the same day to the Redwood Gospel Mission. This year, the school offered an online donation option generating additional support for the giving program. All this was accomplished despite the several days of missed classes due school closures from poor air quality from the regional fires. Well done, Harvest Lions!

-

Cinnabar students are in the swing of things. As part of the arts program on campus, students learned about square dancing. The 10-week class concluded with a presentation of what they had learned, according to Superintendent/Principal Sandy Doyle. Barbara Arhon has been square dancing her entire life, and as a retired teacher she enjoys returning to schools to share her love for performing arts, notes Doyle. Cinnabar also includes ballet for TK/K students, along with art and music teachers in grades 1-8, band and choir for grades 4-8 and a Maker program, videography and photography in middle school. “Diversifying the arts opens greater opportunities for our students,” says Doyle. “They learn that art is not just about coloring and paints, but expands to included performing arts, visual arts, music, and photography.”

-

Earlier this school year, McKinley School’s Mustangs in Mrs. Parnow’s first-grade class investigated vibrations as a source of sound. The classroom activities then focused on exploring different sounds created by a variety of instruments. Once students gained an understanding of the concept, they designed and crafted their own instruments from recycled materials, according to their teacher. Sounds like there are some future musicians at McKinley Elementary.

-

Penngrove’s Panthers are “Rockin’ the Read In” this month. At Back to School Night, the administration shared that its goal this year is to cultivate the joy of reading among students. In an effort to accomplish this, the school is hosting a fun evening event for students with games, charades and activities all the while raising money to go directly to improving and updating the classroom libraries. “Our classrooms are the first place that children can access books, and we’d like to make sure that our rooms are filled with plenty of books of varying topics that incorporate more recent historical issues as well as social, emotional and cultural diversity,” explains Principal Amy Fadeji. It looks like this focus on literacy will also support the efforts being made to find ways to make connections to literacy and STEM for students. Students have been working with robots (Ozobots and BeeBots) through STEM curriculum, and will start basic coding soon. Books with topics on innovation like, “What do you do with an Idea?” and “The Most Magnificent Thing” are being read by the lower grades tying all the lessons together.

-

A group of young girls at Sonoma Mountain Charter Elementary School are rallying their classmates to lend their support to others this holiday season. Members of Girl Scout Troop No. 10971 are collecting coats this week at the school office as part of a “One Warm Coat” drive. The girls are also collecting scarves, mittens, gloves, sweaters and sweatshirts that can be donated to those in need as the colder months approach. The school will also add to the donations with sharing longtime unclaimed items from the campus’ Lost and Found closet. Thank you to these Scouts who are providing a great example of how a few individuals can create a big impact.

(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.