Category Archives: News

Scott Evans Earns Eagle Scout Rank

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Scott EvansCongratulations to Everett “Scott” Evans, who recently became an Eagle Scout, the most prestigious and highest ranking in Boy Scouting.

Among the requirements for an Eagle Scout is to complete a service project. Scott chose to renovate the playground at Denair Elementary School. Over the summer, he gathered some volunteers — family, friends and other Scouts — to make improvements for younger students.

It took them two weekends to sand and repaint the basketball, volleyball and tetherball poles that had rusted through the years.

Scott, 18, has been a Scout for 10 years. He began with Troop 28 sponsored by the Denair Lions Club, but moved to Turlock Troop 21 last year because of declining membership in the Denair troop. His other accomplishments include the Arrow of Light (the top rank for a Cub Scout) and serving as patrol leader, senior patrol leader and quartermaster.

He is the son of Cary and Kimberly Evans.

DUSD Enrollment Decline Slowing, but Still Affects Budget Outlook

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DUSD Logo

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

Santa made a brief appearance at Thursday night’s meeting of the Denair Unified School District school board. If there was one thing school officials could wish for this Christmas, it is more students.

Trustees heard an interim budget report from Chief Business Officer Linda Covello, who shared that the district remains on track to meet its fiscal targets this school year, largely due to a one-time $500,000 infusion of state funding to its $13 million budget. But lurking on the not-too-distant horizon is a sobering reality: Unless the district can begin to grow enrollment again, there may be some difficult financial decisions to make.

Total district enrollment this school year, Covello said, is 1,316, a 2% decline from the previous year. The loss of students has dramatically slowed from a few years ago, when the rate was as high as 11%. The trend is critical because enrollment is at the heart of how the state calculates Average Daily Attendance, or ADA. Each student is worth roughly $8,000 per year in state funding.

“Our decline is getting better, but we’re still going down,” Covello said. “The middle school is pretty much stable. We have declining enrollment at the high school and growing enrollment at the elementary school.”

Part of Covello’s responsibility is to project three years out. Right now, her forecast is for the district to creep back into deficit spending in 2016-17 and 2017-18 because of fewer students and higher mandated contributions to state retirement funds. Even under those scenarios, Denair still would meet the state requirement to have at least 3% of its budget in a reserve fund. Continue reading “DUSD Enrollment Decline Slowing, but Still Affects Budget Outlook” »

Brielle Prock’s Smoothie Project Earns $3,000 Grant for DMS

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Brielle Prock

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

Brielle Prock is on a roll. Earlier this year, the seventh-grader at Denair Middle School was one of three California students elected to be an NFL Play 60 ambassador. And this month, she became one of eight students in the country awarded a $3,000 grant as part of the Adventure Capital Transformation Experience sponsored by the Domino’s Pizza chain.

“It’s pretty cool and I realize that a lot of people don’t have some of the chances that I’ve had,” said the precocious 12-year-old, who already has been to Chicago for a NFL Play 60 Challenge summit and next week will fly to Michigan for a meeting at Domino’s headquarters.

“I think she’s as excited about the snow as much as what we’ll be doing there,” said Ray Prock Jr., who will accompany his daughter to Ann Arbor.

“I’ve only been to the snow a couple of times. It’s California and it’s warm here,” countered Brielle.

AdCap’s mission is to inspire, empower and motivate “creative, curious and brave student entrepreneurs who wish to make changes in school and community health and wellness.” Prock’s project is to install a smoothie bar in the Denair Middle School cafeteria.

She emailed photos of a three-dimensional poster board drawing of her project in November, made the first cut and then aced a phone interview with a New York-based representative of the GenYouth Foundation. She was notified Dec. 3 that she won.

Prock said the idea for a smoothie bar originated last summer when she was in Chicago. She remembered it when her parents encouraged her to apply for the AdCap grant. She asked some of her friends, who told her to go for it. Continue reading “Brielle Prock’s Smoothie Project Earns $3,000 Grant for DMS” »

Hundreds Attend Candlelight Vigil for DECA Teacher Mark Selee

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Mark Selee vigil

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

With an extraordinary December sunset as a picturesque backdrop, hundreds of students, teachers and community members gathered on the playground at Denair Elementary Charter Academy Wednesday night for a candlelight vigil to celebrate the life of Mark Selee. The popular fourth-grade teacher died Nov. 22 of an apparent heart attack.

Many in attendance wore bright yellow T-Shirts proclaiming, “Mr. Selee. Forever In Our Hearts!” The walkway from the parking lot to the playground was lined with luminaries decorated by fourth- and fifth-graders. The playground was chosen, DECA Principal Sara Michelena said, because it’s where Selee often played basketball with students.

As people filed in, staff members distributed candles to everyone. Bill Morrissey, husband of teacher Patti Morrissey, set the mood with guitar music in the background. Colorful balloons swayed in the gentle evening breeze. A nearby table was full of photos of Selee and his students.

After Michelena welcomed the group, Ashley Eudy sang “Amazing Grace.” During the song, the candles of nearly 500 mourners were lit one by one.

“It was beautiful. Perfect,” said Michelena.

Pastor Dave Larson said a prayer. His is from New Life Church in Turlock, where Selee’s funeral will be held Friday at 1 p.m.

Then, one after the other, all 26 students from Selee’s class offered personal reflections. They recalled that he often was funny, that he loved 1980s rock music and the Pittsburgh Steelers football team, and that he hated glitter – which is why many of them respectfully used it as part of the signs and posters they created to honor him.

Two members of the Turlock Sea Dogs Swim Team, which Selee helped coach, spoke. They were followed by three of his DECA colleagues who knew him best – Morrissey, Tami Sondeno and Kirsten Sweeten. The audience then joined Eudy in the Christian anthem “I Can Only Imagine” before Larson offered a moving final prayer. Continue reading “Hundreds Attend Candlelight Vigil for DECA Teacher Mark Selee” »