Category Archives: News

A Class Act! 10 Questions for Samantha Ericksen

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Samantha Ericksen

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

Name: Samantha Ericksen

Family: Husband and three daughters

School: Denair Charter Academy

Subject taught: Kindergarten through sixth-grade home school class

Experience and education: BA and teaching credential from Biola University. I spent five years as a classroom teacher in Modesto. This is my 14th year at DCA.

Why most inspires you about teaching? Seeing students make progress in areas that are challenging for them.

What are your biggest challenges as a teacher? Teaching multiple levels effectively.

What is your favorite teaching tool or activity? Using technology to create projects with my students.

How has Common Core affected your classroom strategy? I use more conversation between students to inform their learning.

What do you want your students to remember? I want them to remember that they are capable of anything. They CAN succeed.

How can parents support what you do? Participate in school work. Check their assignments. Show you care about school.

What will it take to improve academic success in DCA? A group effort between parents, teachers and students to emphasize the importance of lifelong learning.

What’s next in your classroom? We are focusing on water and energy and how we can conserve both.

What would surprise people about your job? That the time I spend on paperwork exceeds the amount of time I actually spend with students.

What do you do for fun? I became a teacher because I enjoy being with children and helping them become lovers of learning.

Stimulating Lessons Popular at Denair Elementary State Preschool

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Denair Elementary State Preschool

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

Activity time each day in the Denair Elementary State Preschool is a choreographed frenzy of exploration, excitement and energy among two dozen 3- and 4-year-olds and a team of skilled educators. To the untrained eye, it may seem slightly chaotic, but rest assured – learning is happening at a rapid rate.

In one corner of the classroom, the focus is on science. There is a small fish tank and another for a lizard. There are rocks and shells and blocks to hold and count. There is a magnifying glass, a small weight scale and an array of colorful objects. Youngsters use a small water tank to test what floats and what sinks.

Across the room, there is more introductory science and math. Giggling children in mini-lab coats and goggles find out what happens when vinegar is mixed with baking soda, use oversized tweezers to count how many seeds are in a pumpkin or eagerly work a magnet to see whether metal or plastic items are affected by it.

Nearby, students wearing smocks paint their names or discover what colors are created when others are mixed. Their previous artwork hangs proudly on the wall.

There are multiple computers with programs in English and Spanish. There is an area set aside for reading, and blocks and toys and pencils and paper available around the room.

It is a vibrant place, with plenty of visual, verbal and sensory stimulation. No doubt, it’s a fun way for a preschooler to spend three hours a day.

Site supervisor Mary Worman and Lenora Gomes share teaching duties for the two classes – one from 8:15 to 11:15 a.m. and the other from 11:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Para-professionals Shirley Corriea, Erica Prock, Cassie Talaga and Sandra Wynne patiently help with lessons and individual instruction. The staff spends plenty of their time on their knees or sitting on the floor to get to eye level with their students. Continue reading “Stimulating Lessons Popular at Denair Elementary State Preschool” »

Denair Loses Heartbreaker to Le Grand

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DHS Coyotes Football

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

Keep it simple. That was the theme last week at Denair High’s football practices. It almost paid off in another agonizingly close loss Friday night against powerful Le Grand.

In a game played in a steady rain, the short-handed Coyotes competed bravely until a late score by Le Grand sealed its 21-12 Southern League win.

Denair (2-7 overall, 0-6 SL) and Le Grand (7-2, 6-0) are at opposite ends of the league standings. But the Coyotes gave the Bulldogs a scare on a wet Halloween night, threatening to take the lead until a costly fumble recovered by Le Grand in its own end zone late in the game.

“We played a helluva football game,” said Denair coach Ted Howze, whose 18-player varsity roster was thinned when one player got the flu and couldn’t play and another was injured during the game.

Even before those two setbacks, Howze and his staff decided last week that the Coyotes needed to refocus on some basics – especially on defense – to regain their competitive edge.

“I really stripped the defense down to its core elements. … We simplified everyone’s responsibilities,” Howze explained.

The results were evident during a tight first half in which Le Grand built a 7-0 lead. Denair missed a chance to tie the game in the second quarter when it lost the first of its two key fumbles inside the Le Grand 10 yard line.

“Our team played flat out stellar football in the first half. The best we played all season,” Howze said.

Howze singled out defensive ends Dominyc Silva and Trenton Howze, along with nose-tackle-turned-cornerback Richie Richards, as key to holding Le Grand’s offensive in check. Richards has been a terror all season on the line, but moved outside Friday with no practice after starting cornerback Weston Fair came down with the flu and couldn’t play. Continue reading “Denair Loses Heartbreaker to Le Grand” »

Outgunned Coyotes Defeated by Ripon Christian

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DHS Coyotes Football

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

The excitement of an afternoon homecoming celebration gave way to the harsh reality of a tough football season Friday night for the Denair High team.

Outmanned and physically overmatched, the Coyotes quietly were beaten 31-0 by Ripon Christian before an enthusiastic crowd at Jack W. Lytton Stadium.

A week after nearly upsetting Orestimba on the road, Denair saw the accumulation of injuries and roster attrition undermine its chances against Ripon Christian. The Coyotes suited up just 19 players, five of whom were nursing various aches and pains that kept them from contributing to the fullest.

Despite another gritty effort, the outcome wasn’t in doubt after the first quarter. Denair trailed 31-0 at halftime after RC quarterback Billy Marr threw four touchdown passes. With a running clock the entire second half, neither team found the end zone again.

The loss dropped the Coyotes to 0-5 in the Southern League and 2-6 overall with two games left in the season – this week at league-leading Le Grand (6-2, 5-0), followed by a home game against Waterford (1-7, 0-5).

“Le Grand is a quality team with quality athletes,” assessed first-year Denair coach Ted Howze. “We’ve got our hands full.”

Though the on-field results haven’t always reflected it, Howze said the program has improved this season after going winless a year ago.

“We continue to work on getting better. We continue to prepare our underclassmen for next year. And we tell our seniors to have fun these last two games,” said Howze.

The junior varsity team, in particular, offers realistic hope for future. The Coyotes defeated Ripon Christian 12-7 Friday night, raising their record to 3-1-1 in the Southern League and 5-2-1 overall. Since Waterford does not have a JV team, Howze plans to promote all the sophomores to the varsity for the final game of the season.

“It’s coming,” he said of another victory at the varsity level. “The work ethic is there; you can see it.”

Follow the Denair football team on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/Denairhighschoolfootball/