Category Archives: News

Coach of DHS Soccer Team Satisfied to be ‘Under the Radar’

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Brallan Hernandez

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

First-year Denair High School soccer coach Greg Gaudio quietly hopes his Southern League opponents take his young team lightly. And though the Coyotes have struggled the past few seasons, they appear primed to make some noise this fall.

They’re off to a 3-0 start behind the powerful offensive duo of seniors Francisco Licea and Isaac Starks.

The Coyotes opened with a dominating 8-3 victory at Hughson behind Licea’s four goals and three more from Starks. The defense limited the Huskies to five shots.

Then, the Coyotes took care of a strong Rio Vista team 3-1 at home, with Licea scoring twice and Starks adding the third goal. Freshman goalie Uriel Gonzalez made eight saves.

Starks nailed four goals and Licea had three assists in a 6-2 home victory over Big Valley Christian. Freshman Seth Martinez and sophomore Oscar Garcia also scored.

It all adds up to an impressive start for a Denair team that won just two out of 14 Southern League games last season. Part of the credit goes to Gaudio, a longtime youth and travel soccer coach in the region who played collegiately at CSU Stanislaus. He admittedly didn’t know much about his team as practice began last month, but says the early results are encouraging.

“I’ve changed the positions of a lot of players to get them in a position to where they can naturally excel,” Gaudio explained. “You can tell it’s really helping the team. It’s allowing them to be a team. Everybody is playing together. It seems to be working.” Continue reading “Coach of DHS Soccer Team Satisfied to be ‘Under the Radar’” »

Visit by Air Force Personnel Highlights DECA Assembly

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Pointon MacDonald

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

The last time Airman First Class Hannah Pointon appeared at an elementary assembly in Denair, she was the guest of honor as the perfect Christmas present for her parents, who didn’t know she was coming and cried tears of joy in an emotional reunion.

Friday morning, Pointon returned to the campus she once attended. This time, there were no surprises. And she brought along a colleague, Air Force Tech Sgt. Brad MacDonald.

The visit continued Pointon’s relationship with Denair Elementary Charter Academy teacher Patti Morrissey, who taught Pointon in fourth grade about 15 years ago. Then, Pointon and her classmates “adopted” some U.S. military personnel, sending cards and letters. After Pointon joined the Air Force a few years ago, Morrissey’s classes chose to adopt Pointon, who grew up in Denair. Her parents, Jody and Roger Jorge, still live here.

Pointon hadn’t been to Denair since Christmas. She and MacDonald, who both are cardiopulmonary technicians, are stationed at Nellis Air Force Base near Las Vegas. They drove eight hours Sunday to California and are staying with the Jorges at their home.

Friday, wearing their Air Force fatigues, they were the featured guests at an 8 a.m. assembly for more than 500 DECA elementary students. MacDonald, in a booming voice, led the Pledge of Allegiance. And he and Pointon proudly joined with the youngsters to sing the “Star Spangled Banner.”

Seeing the awe in the students’ eyes “makes you walk a little taller,” the soft-spoken Pointon admitted.

“They are the reason we do what we do,” MacDonald said.

Afterward, they took cookies decorated with the Air Force logo to Morrissey’s class and briefly shared their backgrounds with her fifth-graders. Continue reading “Visit by Air Force Personnel Highlights DECA Assembly” »

School Spirit on the Loose, Stirred up by Dr. Seuss!

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IMG_0032

Submitted by Denair High School

School has started and Denair High School’s student body has got big plans this year. Last year we stepped up our game when it came to float building, and we’d like to continue to improve this year after year. Last year, TJ McDonald took our float trailers and added some solid skirting around them which made decorating them much easier and allowed for a much more professional looking product. This was no small task and it was greatly appreciated. This year Richard Bettencourt and Mr. Stavrianoudakis are constructing permanent solid backboards to add stability and safety for when the floats travel down the road. If time permits, they are also planning to add an electrical outlet to each corner of the trailers to make for easy plugging in of Christmas lights, fog machines, stereos, etc. Future goals include the addition of moving parts. It’s a lofty goal, but one that leadership believes is possible.

As the title should have clued you in, this year’s theme will be “Dr. Seuss” and the students have begun planning and are very excited. Just as last year, the Leadership class and Art department will be coordinating the construction of the floats. The backboards will be drawn and painted in the leadership room and outside lawn area, while the float figures will built in the Art room. Continue reading “School Spirit on the Loose, Stirred up by Dr. Seuss!” »

Denair Farm & Family Sponsoring DHS Scholarship Raffle

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Farm & Family Flyer 2015

Submitted by Denair Farm & Family Festival

The Denair Farm and Family Board and Denair Civic Association are sponsoring the Denair High School Scholarship fund at this year’s Annual Denair Farm and Family Festival.  Tickets can be purchased for a $5 donation that will be enter you in a chance to win a clean 1997 Acura CL.  Their goal is to issue 1000 tickets to make this a large scholarship. Tickets can be purchased from any Denair Civic Association board member.  Tickets are also available at the Denair Fire Department today.

DHS Learns Important Lessons in Opening Night Loss

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DHS Coyotes Football

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

It was a learning opportunity. Sure, Anthony Armas and his Denair High football players had every expectation of playing to win Friday night on the road against Summerville. But a ragged first half full of opening-night nerves and a few key mistakes torpedoed the less experienced Coyotes early as the Bears raced to a 28-0 advantage.

Denair regrouped at halftime and settled down to play a cleaner game in the final two quarters, scoring twice while holding the Bears to a single touchdown. The final score was 34-13, a margin Armas said didn’t fully reflect how competitive his side was.

“I think we’re still young and we’re still learning,” the first-year coach said. “Defensively, we made some alignment mistakes in the first half and they cost us. Offensively, we’re getting better, but we had some guys who were a little unsure early on.”

Those breakdowns were reflected in each team’s first possession, Armas said.

Denair got the kickoff and had driven to midfield when it had a pass intercepted. On Summerville’s first offensive play, the Bears ran a halfback option on which the running back faked a sweep. Instead, with Denair’s defenders closing fast to stop the run, the back lobbed a pass to a wide open receiver behind the Denair secondary. Just like that, it was 7-0 Summerville.

Summerville controlled the line of scrimmage the rest of the first half, scoring three more times on a night in which the scoreboard and clock never worked. It went out during the junior varsity game, Armas said, forcing the officials to keep the time on the field and constantly update both teams.

It was an odd start to Armas’ head coaching career. Friday was the Denair graduate’s first time in charge after many years as an assistant at Denair and Pitman High in Turlock. Continue reading “DHS Learns Important Lessons in Opening Night Loss” »