Denair Middle School will never be confused with the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry made famous in the “Harry Potter” series, but the two educational settings do have something in common – an organizational structure in which students and staff are divided up into what are known as Houses.

In author J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” adventures, the Hogwarts Houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. At DMS – which implemented the House system at the beginning of the current school year – they are known as Amethyst, Onyx, Diamond and Titanium.

At Thursday night’s meeting of the Denair Unified School District Board, trustees heard a presentation from the middle school’s principal, students and a staff member about how the House system is working.

The concept is simple. Sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders are evenly divided into four Houses, with students from each grade represented in each House. All the teachers and most of the support staff also are assigned a House. At DMS, there are about 70 students and 10 adults per House.

The students earn points for their House by working together to model positive behavior, support each other and compete in fun events against the other Houses. At the end of the year, the House with the most points will have its name etched on a permanent trophy.

Leadership teacher Clayton McDonald heard about the House system at a California Association of Directors of Activities conference he attended last year. Intrigued by the idea, he did some research online and found that it is used by schools representing different grade levels across the country. He pitched the concept to Principal Gabriela Sarmiento and she signed off, paving the way for it to be implemented at the beginning of this school year.

“We’ve been leaning into it,” McDonald told trustees. “At rallies, instead of sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders sitting separately, they sit by Houses. We have friends competing with each other. It’s fun.”

Students are recognized and can earn points for extracurricular activities, participation in Spirit Week and rallies, wearing T-shirts with their House colors and competing during lunchtime in games like pickleball, basketball, volleyball and handball. Videos played Thursday night showed students excitedly working and playing together in many different situations.

Sarmiento said the response from students has been overwhelmingly positive. A student survey showed that they enjoyed mixing with people from other grade levels.

“Students who wouldn’t otherwise engage in an activity together are working together,” she said. “At the very least, it breaks that ice and they’re not strangers.”

Three students who spoke Thursday night echoed that reaction. 

“The best part is getting to talk to kids from other grades,” said eighth-grader Alexa Camacho, who is a member of House Onyx.

Seventh-grader Galilea Padilla, part of House Amethyst, hopes “it will unite our school and promote a positive culture.”

Eighth-grader Victor Sarmiento — the principal’s son and a House Diamond member – said, “The competitions are fun.”

Board members complimented the students and McDonald for how quickly they were able to launch the House system. Students in McDonald’s Leadership class met over the summer so the program was ready to go when school began in mid-August.

“I’m impressed you guys gave up parts of your summer to organize this. Keep the spirit going,” said Trustee Crystal Sousa.

Added Trustee Kathi Dunham-Filson: “Congratulations to you guys – you’re the founders. I’ve never seen kids at your rallies so excited and bought in.”

Gabriela Sarmiento said the next step is identify ways to integrate all the positive energy from the House system into the classroom.

“It’s great to provide opportunities for students to collaborate and have fun activities, but as a staff this week, we just started the conversation about how to incorporate academics into it,” she said.

In other action Thursday, trustees:

• Heard an update from Superintendent Terry Metzger on the district’s Local Control Accountability Plan, or LCAP, and the progress Denair is making toward its LCAP goals.
• Approved an overnight trip for 10 Denair FFA students to attend the California State FFA Leadership Convention on March 21-24 in Sacramento. The conference includes convention general sessions and workshops, a career show, a FFA national shop and more. Students must pay the $220 per person registration cost; the Denair Ag Boosters will cover food, transportation and lodging.
• Authorized the Denair High School Sober Grad Committee to host Grad Night 2024 at Boomers in Modesto. Students will be transported from Denair High to Boomers at 9 p.m. on Friday, May 24 and return to Denair High School at approximately 2:30 a.m. All seniors in good standing are eligible to attend.
• Ratified the 2024-25 comprehensive safety plan for the district’s four campuses.

For the third consecutive year, the Denair boys soccer team was chosen as the No. 1 seed in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI playoffs. The previous two times, the Coyotes walked away with the coveted blue banner signifying a Section championship. They certainly can hope history repeats itself when this year’s tournament begins Friday night.

Denair (19-6-2) will host No. 8 Woodland Christian (6-7) at 6 p.m. at Jack Lytton Stadium in the first round. A victory would earn the Coyotes another home match Tuesday against the winner of Friday’s meeting between No. 4 Waterford (11-10-1) and No. 5 Millennium (6-7-2) of Tracy. Denair faced Waterford twice during the Southern League season and won both matches.

Denair finished third in the Southern League behind Delhi and Orestimba, larger schools that are both in the Division V playoffs. The Coyotes had a chance to finish second but lost 1-0 to Orestimba on Tuesday. 

After winning Section titles the past two seasons, Denair has made it to the second round of the Northern California Division V tournament.

Two Denair High wrestlers – Christian Vrioni at 157 pounds and Evan Coronol at 190 – walked away with championships at the Southern League Meet on Saturday. The victories earned both a spot in the Sac-Joaquin Sub-Section Meet this weekend in Sacramento.

Vrioni, a junior, raised his season record to 14-10 by dominating his three opponents in Mariposa. He won by major decision (more than eight points) in the first round, then pinned his final two foes.

Coronol (14-7) is a sophomore who began the year on the junior varsity team and joined the varsity before Christmas. He had an impressive run through the SL dual-meet season, winning all seven of his matches to earn the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye Saturday. He turned heads again by pinning both opponents in less than 2 minutes.

Vrioni’s and Coronol’s performances thrilled Denair Coach Bryan Herrington, who has rebuilt the wrestling program this season despite not having any seniors.

“This area is a hotbed of wrestling and we competed in some of the toughest tournaments this year,” Herrington said. “Our guys learned from the competition they faced.”

Vrioni’s story epitomizes the Denair program, which finished last season with just two wrestlers on the team.

“Christian came out as a freshman, then quit by Christmas,” Herrington said. “I didn’t see him at all his sophomore year, but he came back this year and was named co-captain with Jesse (Ruelas Jr.).”

Ruelas Jr. (21-13) – who finished fourth at 150 pounds Saturday and is an alternate for the Sub-Section Meet – was Vrioni’s workout partner all year.

“That’s really upped Christian’s game very fast,” Herrington said. “It’s night and day difference between what Christian was at the beginning of the season and now. … At the beginning, he didn’t turn any heads and nobody paid much attention. By the end, coaches were coming up to me and saying, ‘Your 157 is pretty good.’

“I told Christian that if he kept putting in the work, it would pay off. The biggest thing now is he just looks confident.”

Coronol’s ascendance is equally impressive. He’s a first-year wrestler who had never been on a mat until October. He started at the JV level, but was so dominant that Herrington promoted him to varsity despite having a glut of wrestlers at the heaviest weights.

“He’s one of those kids that at the very beginning, Coach (Jesse) Ruelas (Sr.) and I looked at each other and said, ‘We might have something here.’ He won every JV tournament we put him in. He was way, way stronger than those kids,” Herrington said. “He just has the right mentality to get good fast.”

Coronol flexed his strength Saturday with two quick pins. In the finals against a Waterford wrestler, he again showed why his coaches are so high on him.

“They got locked up and if you’re going to go muscle-to-muscle with him, that’s a bad idea,” Herrington said. “Evan just threw him down and pinned him.”

The next step for Vrioni and Coronol is the Sub-Section Meet on Friday and Saturday at Rosemont High School in Sacramento. That’s where the top wrestlers from all the small schools from Merced to north of Sacramento will come together. The top four in each weight class will move on to the Masters Meet next week in Stockton, the final competition before the State Meet in Bakersfield.

“I don’t really know what to expect because they’re getting so good so fast. It just depends on the draw,” Herrington said of Vrioni and Coronol. 

Herrington had hoped to have more athletes competing this week, but disappointing performances, health and not making weight conspired against the Coyotes.

“I really thought we might get five or six kids into the Sub-Sections, but things don’t always happen the way you want,” he said. “You’ve got to take the good with the bad. There are a lot of things to be excited about. I have zero seniors this year, so I have everyone coming back.”

Wednesday was a special time for Karina Arellano and members of Denair High School’s Project Life team. That was the day that Arellano earned her diploma from special education program, marking a significant milestone on her journey toward independent living.

Arellano is not a typical high school student. She is 22 years old. She has been part of the Project Life program since its inception at Denair High in 2018. Project Life is a focused effort to teach important skills to students with intellectual or developmental disabilities who often are dismissed as unemployable. 

“We want to teach them to be as independent as possible,” said lead teacher Renee Hall.

Currently, there are 21 special education students enrolled in the Project Life program, which spans grades 6-12. Another seven students ages 18 to 22 are part of the adult transition program. That’s the phase Arellano just completed.

Her next move will be to attend Continuum College in Turlock, which serves developmentally disabled adults in Stanislaus and Merced counties. One of the ongoing goals for Arellano is to be able to confidently access public transportation from Denair – where she lives with her parents – to Turlock.

Getting on a bus, being able to order and pay for food at a restaurant or holding down a job are exactly the kind of independent living skills Project Life was created to teach. Arellano, for instance, has worked at the Denair Market, Pet Supply, Turlock Feed and the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds as well as the Coffee Cart at Denair High.

The chance to hone their job skills across various settings at local businesses is one of the practical benefits of Project Life, said DHS Principal Breanne Aguiar.

“These on-the-job experiences provide students with real-life lessons and job skills training that promote independence, responsibility and employability,” she said.

Arellano’s graduation ceremony was held in the district’s board room and attended by her family, friends, teachers and other school district officials. There were plenty of smiles – and even a few tears – as she was awarded her diploma.

“I have been Karina’s teacher for five years,” Hall said. “I have had the privilege of watching her grow into the young lady she is today. My staff and I are so proud of how far she has come in our program. … We will miss Karina as she moves on to the next chapter of her life, but she will always be a part of the Project Life family.”

The Denair High boys soccer team – the two-time defending Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI champions – are in prime position to hang another banner this season.

The Coyotes are 17-5-2 overall and 8-1-2 in the Southern League after Tuesday’s 3-1 victory over Gustine on Tuesday. With three games left in the regular season, Denair is one point behind Delhi (17-3-3, 9-0-3) in the SL standings and, perhaps more importantly, is far and away the presumptive No. 1 seed among Division VI schools with the playoffs beginning Feb. 9.

“They’re playing very good,” said Denair Coach Antonio Padilla. “I’m very happy. They’re having fun. We’re looking forward to the playoffs.”

The win over Gustine was Denair’s sixth in its past eight matches since a 3-2 non-league loss to Turlock before Christmas. The only times the Coyotes didn’t win they played to 1-1 ties against Gustine and Delhi.

The Jan. 19 match against Delhi could have gone either way. The Hawks led 1-0 at halftime before Denair’s Goliath Padilla tied the score with a goal midway through the second half. The Coyotes threatened again later in the game, but Diego Padilla hit the post with a shot.

“We controlled most of the game,” Antonio Padilla said. “We just ran out of time.”

Goliath Padilla, a sophomore, leads the team with 31 goals and 15 assists. His older brother Diego, a senior, has 13 goals. Another senior, Justin Hernandez, has six goals, including two in Tuesday’s win over Gustine. Senior goalie Sergio Torres also has had a strong year, highlighted by stopping three penalty kicks and posting five shutouts.

Denair’s latest victory did come with a cost, however. Diego Padilla strained his right hip flexor and could be sidelined until the playoffs. 

“At the end of the day, we are a team. I told the boys that we could still do it,” said Antonio Padilla. “I need Diego to rest and be ready for the playoffs.”

Denair finishes the regular season with three away matches – Friday at Waterford (11-9-1, 6-5-1), Monday at Ripon Christian (6-12-3, 3-6-2) and Tuesday at Orestimba (13-8-4, 7-1-3). The Orestimba game was postponed from Jan. 23 because of a wet field.

Playing on back-to-back days the same week the playoffs begin isn’t Padilla’s preference, but it “doesn’t always go the way you want.”

The playoff pairings will be announced Wednesday and, unless they stumble, the Coyotes appear to be in line for the No. 1 seed. In the current rankings on MaxPreps, Denair is first, followed by Esparto (9-6-1), Bradshaw Christian (9-8) of Sacramento and Delta Charter (6-3-1) of Tracy. Ripon Christian  — Denair’s opponent Monday – is ranked fifth. The other top SL schools – Delhi, Orestimba and Gustine – all are in Division V.

“The next three games mean something for league and playoff seeding,” Padilla said. “We’re only one point behind Delhi in league; if they tie or lose, we could win league. We’ll see how it goes.”