Most Memorable Students
Everyone loves “Where are they now?” the part of School News that reports on what AV High graduates are up to. Last week I gave every teacher at Anderson Valley High School and Anderson Valley Elementary School a small pink paper with this request, “What some of your most memorable students are doing now would be a great boost to “School News”.
Here are the first results. Charlie Olson has three children and a wife Kimberlee. He is a Master of Arms in the U.S. Navy stationed at Lemoore Naval Base. He has been in the Navy for 15 years. Mariko Mooring is in the Job Corps in Sacramento. Justin Allen, class of 1999, is finishing his last semester of nurse’s training at Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City Michigan. Karen Espinosa just returned from a semester in Brazil and is now starting her senior year at Mills College with a major in International Studies. Crystal Espinosa is heading to Italy for a semester then she’ll go back to Stanford for her Junior year. Victor Guerrero went to Universal Technical College for auto mechanic training and works for Mercedes Benz in Chico. I encourage anyone in the community who has a report on an Anderson Valley young person to send it to me at tryder@mcn.org or call 894-8429 and leave me a message. It is a source of pride and a lift for the entire community to follow up on AV hatchlings. Glow Like Germ
Todd Adams and Kathy Cox worked together to give students a vibrant heads up on taking Swine Flu seriously. Using a product called “Glow Germ,” a fine invisible but, black-light-sensitive powder they worked together to “infect” as many students as possible. Everyone who came in contact with the powder glowed when inspected under a blacklight provided in the science room. Many were surprised to see that they had been exposed. The point? Germs are transmitted easily and invisibly. The lesson? Wash your hands!
A Chat With Flick
Last week I talked with Flick about Volleyball. He told me things I never knew like the fact that they begin to work with girls while they are still at the elementary school so that they grow up in volleyball. The after school program is a big piece of the puzzle. Flick feels that when the parents see the girls playing after school they begin to feel positive and start to support girls participation. This is a foundation that everything else builds upon. In the summer volleyball alums have come back to work with the girls. Leah Collins, Karen Espinosa, Claudia Jimenez and Dora Jimenez all came back to inspire and instruct. Our volleyball program works on numbers not height or talent. It’s all about giving lots of girls a chance to decide to play. That is why when our teams scrimmaged with Ukiah a team five divisions above us in the state we looked really good. Teams like to play us because we have a good reputation, are well respected for our gritty defensive style. Flick told me we jumped right over several six footers on the Ukiah team. Playing Roseland the Jr. Varsity won 2 our of 3 and the Varsity won 3 out of 5. I was at this game and our girls are just so much fun to watch. Laura the natural blocker ever ready at the net, Sydney digging, tucking and tumbling and going for everything, Stella elegant as a very talented spiking and serving swan, etc., etc.
Estephany Arias Interview
I interviewed Estephany Arias about her trip to the National Council of La Raza Conference in Chicago this summer. Here are some but, by no means all of her thoughts on her experience. “As I think back on it I think it was a really great. It let a lot of us Hispanics get to know other Hispanics who are doing great things in the world. I guess in a way it boosts your confidence; you don’t see yourself as a minority anymore. You see that you can get somewhere too, not have to stay in the fields because you are a minority. I learned more about what I wanted to be when I grow up. About what career suits me best. I think I’d like something to do in the law. I wish I had known that everyone was going in large groups because I went there by myself. I did have my brother with me but he’s not into that stuff very much so he ended up walking around downtown most of the time. I was pretty much on my own and everyone had their groups because they were from the same school group. I had to try and fit in with some groups. In a little way I think I have more confidence in me. Like I know that I can do what I want to do. Like I’m not the only person who sometimes feels like they have too much pressure on them to do something, that everyone feels like that and that everyone can overcome it. Yes I would because its just a great experience. You get to see a lot of different jobs. You get to meet a lot of new students which is something we don’t get to do much around here. I met people from other states and other places. The best part was meeting all the people. The best moment was during the dance in the hotel where we were all staying. It was when this girl went up and talked about her family and about immigration and all kinds of stuff that had to do with her family. In the end they clapped and you could tell they didn’t clap like, ‘Okay, get off the stage now.’ They clapped like they could connect with her. The worst part was definitely being lonely. You’re by yourself and everyone is in groups of 5 or 6 or 10 and so you’re just walking around by yourself sometimes and don’t know what to do. I was really nervous before I went mostly because I was going to be alone and I knew that. I’m super glad I went.”
Baked Potato Plea
“The AVHS Leadership program got off to a strong start after a well-planned retreat the week before school started. Leadership has a lot planned for the upcoming year including two blood drives, a canned food drive, a community action day in the spring, and much more. The two most immediate events are the good old baked potato booth at the Fair (featuring organic potatoes and all the toppings you can imagine) and a revised homecoming program October 9th and 10th. There will be much more information coming soon. In the meantime, if anybody has a working refrigerator and freezer unit that they would like to donate to the school, we badly need one for our potato booth. Call me, Nat Corey-Moran, 895-3496.”
22 Made It
At a time when getting jobs is increasingly hard, the summer intership program sponsored by the Anderson Valley Education Foundation is really valuable.
Gail Gester reports, “I am pleased to report that all 22 of the AV Education Foundation summer interns hired by business people in the Anderson Valley have successfully completed their work hours. AVEF is grateful to all the participating mentors who gave these students the chance to work and learn on the job. This program would not be possible without the support of local business men and women. Information about the internship program for 2010 and all the ongoing AV Education Foundation programs is available through a link on the school web site. Congratulations to the summer 2009 interns: Hanna Brock, Domingo Ferreyra, Lily Leighton, Itzel Perez, Veronica Vargas, Sarah Pardini, Azusena Pena, Karen Espinosa, Sierra Kuny, Jose Orozco, Orianne McEwan, Reba Pardini, Maribel Garcia, Jeanette Ochoa, Angel Espinoza, Miriam Barragan, Sasha Herrera, Monica Alverez, Nathan Schenck, Maribel Benitez, Andrea Espinoza and Chevi English.
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