Submitted by Denair Middle School

A Spanish-speaking family who had lost everything in the Napa fires of 2017 moved to Denair early last year. In the course of registering her daughter at Denair Middle School, the mother shared with bilingual secretary Elvia Brizuela that they had very little. Their clothes, their bedding, their life’s possessions – all had been lost.

The mother – whose husband is a farm worker — was worried about her children and the effect having to wear the same clothes over and over was having on them.

Brizuela quietly went to work, asking members of the campus community to donate items. Many were happy to help. Others donated anonymously or provided money. The family was provided for and their crisis eased.

Not long after that, Brizuela encountered a single mother in a similar situation. She had one child in middle school and another in high school. She asked Brizuela if she knew anywhere that sold discounted furniture. Her children also needed clothes.

Again, Brizuela discreetly put the word out. And again, her co-workers responded. One anonymous donor even took the family shopping at Walmart.

“She was amazed,” Brizuela said of the mother. “Today, she’s back on her feet and she paid it forward” by helping out others in need.

From such generous and humble beginnings was born the Coyote Closet, an effort by the Denair Unified staff and the Legacy Health Endowment in conjunction with Sierra Vista Family Services, which oversees mental health programs for the district.  Continue reading “New Coyote Closet Helps Students, Families In Need” »

Submitted by Denair High School:

If they didn’t know it already, Denair High students are being reminded this week of the evils of e-cigarettes, vaping, JUUL pins, and other tobacco-related products.

It’s a coordinated effort involving the school’s PHAST (Protecting Health and Slamming Tobacco) Club and the Stanislaus County Office of Education.

The series of information-related activities and events was highlighted Wednesday with a powerful presentation in the Denair gym by the father-daughter team of Ray and Brooke Lozano, who crisscross the country warning students about the dangers of tobacco and alcohol use.

“Ray asked for a show of hands who’s tried smoking in any form, and maybe 75 to 100 of our 275 students raised their hands,” said Melissa Treadwell, the PHAST Club adviser. “The kids think vaping is an alternative to smoking and that there’s no nicotine. They’re wrong.”

Denair High has a strict anti-tobacco policy. Any student caught with cigarettes, e-cigs, vaping devices or a JUUL pin (which looks like a flash drive) face suspensions of one to three days. Treadwell estimated there already have been eight instances involving boys and girls this school year – up from only two last year.

“It’s not just Denair High,” Treadwell said. “Everyone is struggling with it now.”

With that in mind, SCOE helped bring the Lozanos to Stanislaus County, where they put on presentations all week at various schools.

“Ray’s a really fun guy. The kids really pay attention to him,” Treadwell said.

Among the sobering bits of information shared Wednesday with Denair’s students and staff: Continue reading “Anti-Vaping, E-Cig, and JUUL Presentation Engages Students” »

Submitted by Denair High School

Working professionals from all walks of life – firefighter/paramedic, horse breeder, Realtor, nonprofit executive, dental hygienist, law enforcement, nursing, accounting a more than a dozen occupations – came Friday to share an important message with nearly 300 high school students: You can be whatever you want to be.

The skills may vary, but students from Denair High School and Denair Charter Academy heard some consistent themes in a variety of career-based presentations Friday morning – work hard, get the best education you can, treat people with respect and follow your passion.

Do that, they were told, and a satisfying and successful professional career can be had.

It was all part of an informative and wide-ranging College and Career Fair at the high school.

The point, explained Principal Kara Backman, wasn’t to direct teens down any particular path, but to open their eyes to many different possibilities.

“We really want kids to figure out what their inner passion is and learn about the kinds of skills they need to develop to attain it,” she said.

Students were able to sign up for three 20-minute sessions to listen, watch videos in some cases and ask questions. After lunch, more than two dozen representatives from local colleges and businesses set up booths in the gym, allowing students to browse and gather more information.

One of the sessions featured firefighter and paramedic Kevin Gresham, whose wife, Cherie, is Denair High’s guidance counselor.  Continue reading “Career Fair Exposes Students to Many Opportunities” »

Submitted by Denair High School

Not that anyone living in Denair is ever likely to forget, but there now is a vivid reminder on a busy downtown corner of the community’s state championship football team.

Last week, four players from that team worked with Denair High art teacher John Stavrianoudakis and Denair alum Hector Obando to design and paint a mural on the side of a former gas station at the corner of Main Street and Sante Fe Avenue.

A purple Coyote mascot’s head is bracketed by the words “2018 State Champions.” It is visible to anyone driving near the busy intersection.

It is just the latest way to commemorate Denair’s amazing rise in football last fall. The Coyotes (12-1) – whose only loss to Ripon Christian cost them the Southern League title – crushed everyone in their way once the Division VII playoffs began.

Their historic streak culminated with a 42-14 victory over Santee of Los Angeles for the state title.

It was at that game – played before a partisan, purple-clad crowd at Jack Lytton Stadium – that the idea of memorializing the spectacular feat came to Denair businessman and Coyote booster Bob Holloway.

“We were still in the stands when I started talking to the superintendent,” Holloway said. “They had to jump through some hoops to make it happen, but they did and here we are. It was a helluva accomplishment. Little old Denair won a state championship.”  Continue reading “Mural Commemorates State Football Championship” »

Submitted by Denair Elementary Charter Academy:

Denair Elementary Charter Academy is a great place for students to start or continue their education.

The school features traditional as well as dual language immersion instructional tracks for kindergarten through fifth-graders, plus a transitional kindergarten program.

Youngsters are exposed early on to the importance of attending college, there is a wide range of fun and important electives and afterschool activities, and emphasis is placed on being safe, responsible, respectful and kind.

All this occurs on a pretty and well-maintained campus under the direction of an experienced staff passionate about educating students.

Word of DECA’s success continues to spread, with more than a third of its 558 students coming from outside the Denair Unified School District boundaries.

With kindergarten registration just four weeks away, a new crop of parents and students are poised to discover what so many others already know – DECA is the place to be for a quality elementary education in Stanislaus County.

Parents of children who will turn 5 by Sept. 1 of this year may begin picking up kindergarten application packets Jan. 22 at the DECA office. For the first time this year, they may also download forms off the DECA website http://dusd.k12.ca.us/deca.

Feb. 12 is the first day applications can be returned. Parents should be sure to include up-to-date immunization records, a birth certificate from the county the child was born in and proof of residency (a utility bill, for instance).

Parents intending to enroll their child in the popular dual language immersion program also must attend an orientation session. Dates will be announced soon. Continue reading “Denair Elementary Charter Academy Continues to Shine; Kindergarten Applications Can Be Picked Up Jan. 22” »