All the excitement and energy that accompanies the beginning of a new school year were evident this week in the Denair Unified School District as more than 1,300 students returned to in-person instruction Wednesday. They were greeted by teachers and other staff thrilled to welcome them back.
The energy was infectious, but the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic still were evident across Denair’s four campuses. The most obvious example is that the smiles of students and staff were hidden by face coverings — at least in the classroom, where masks still are required.
Denair – like hundreds of school districts across California – must adhere to health and safety guidance handed down by the California Department of Public Health and federal Centers for Disease Control. That means masks still must be worn in class, though they can be taken off outdoors. Other precautions like temperature temps, social distancing and testing also have been relaxed.
“It’s very confusing that the state’s guidance is called ‘guidance,’ ” explained Denair Superintendent Terry Metzger at Thursday night’s monthly Board of Trustees meeting. “We’ve been told over and over that these are public health orders that we are mandated to follow.”
This is one in a series of Q&A’s with teachers new to Denair Unified in 2021-22.
School: Denair High School
Subject taught: Science
Experience and education: BS of Science in Biology from CSU Stanislaus. SIngle subject teaching credential from CSU Stanislaus.
What attracted you to Denair? The small community.
What most inspires you about teaching? As cheesy as it sounds, I want to make a difference. I want to have some type of positive impact in this world. I believe that if you want to change the world for the better, it starts with education.
What is a challenge you look forward to tackling this year? Teaching chemistry! My first year ever teaching chem, but I’m excited to jump in!
What is your favorite teaching tool or activity? Labs! This gives the students opportunities to be hands-on in the classroom and see how labs are applied in real life.
What do you want your students to remember? Everyone is unique.
How can parents support what you do? Communication! Just keep an open line of communication with me. This will make a world of difference when it comes to student success.
What do you do for fun? I love being outdoors! Kayaking, swimming, walking my dogs. I also love watching movies and snuggling with my pups!
This is one in a series of Q&A’s with teachers new to Denair Unified in 2021-22.
School: Denair Elementary Charter Academy.
Subject taught: I am the afternoon preschool teacher.
Experience and education: I have my AS degree in child development. I have my bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in human resources.
What attracted you to Denair? I like what Denair stands for in regards to its mission statement and values. I also like how it is a smaller district. I like the fact that it is close to home.
What most inspires you about teaching? The fact that I get to be a good role model to the students and get to watch them learn and grow.
What is a challenge you look forward to tackling this year? I look forward to successfully be able to manage a larger class size this school year.
What is your favorite teaching tool or activity? During my lesson plans, I like to find songs and art activities that are similar to what we are learning about. I enjoy doing that.
What do you want your students to remember? I want them to remember me being a fun, kind and caring teacher.
How can parents support what you do? Parents can support what I do by having open communication. They are also welcome to volunteer and help out when we go on field trips.
What would surprise people about your job? One thing that might surprise people about my job is that preschool is 3- to 5-year-olds, but the 5-year-olds are not in our program very long at that age, as they are getting ready to enter kindergarten. Another thing that may surprise people is that each preschool teacher at DECA gets two paraprofessionals (teacher’s aides) to help out with the students. What do you do for fun? For fun, I like to watch sports and spend time with my family and friends. I also like to go hiking and take road trips.
R.J. Henderson calls them “the core four.” He’s referring to Mario Plascencia, Cooper Feldman, Jack Henderson and Connor Leonard, who have played basketball together since junior high and just helped Denair to its first back-to-back Southern League titles in 30 years.
The Coyotes lost just once in their COVID-shortened season, posting a 9-1 league record and an 11-1 mark overall. Had there been a Division V playoff tournament this year, Denair undoubtedly would have been one of the higher seeds.
Henderson knew his four juniors would be the key to this year’s team, but even he was pleasantly surprised at how well the Coyotes played.
“What a special group,” he said. “I underestimated them. I thought we would take a little bit of a step back given that we only had one senior in our rotation, in our top eight. I thought we probably were a year away. We were led by that core group. They’re gamers. Their ability to compete kind of got us over the top.”
For most teens, spring break is a time to take a break from school, hang out with their friends or even take a short trip to the coast, mountains or Disneyland with their families. Anything that’s relaxing and helps to recharge their batteries before classes resume and the run-up to final exams begins.
Angelina Curry’s spring break this year was like none of that. While most of her peers were thinking of anything but schoolwork, Curry dove deep into a complicated project.
She wrote a book.
The 15-year-old, who will be a junior at Denair Charter Academy this fall, credits her parents and a particularly inspiring DCA teacher for encouraging her to follow her dream, which has culminated in a self-published book entitled “Melting the Ice.”
Now available on Amazon, it is set in South Korea. It is the story of a 21-year-old woman named Kwan who seeks her first job to help pay for her mother’s medical bills. She is hired as a secretary at one of the country’s largest technology firms and ends up working for an emotionally demanding boss.
According to the book description, Kwan “begins to see past his intimidating demeanor and realizes that deep down he is a good person. She starts to wonder, why is he so cold? Can she help him? Will he let her close enough? Can she melt the ice that surrounds his cold, wounded heart?”
The book runs 105 pages and 15 chapters. Curry wrote it from the family’s home computer in their living room in Delhi. She started as early as 6:30 a.m. and often wrote until 7 p.m., taking breaks only for meals.
“The more I wrote, the more it came to me,” she said.
Her editor was her favorite DCA teacher, Karen Sanchez, who provided encouragement and advice when Curry told her what she wanted to do.
“The idea was all hers,” said Sanchez, who has worked with independent study students such as Curry at DCA for the past five years. “I’ve always encouraged her to write a short story. I wasn’t expecting her to write a full-fledged, 15-chapter book.”
Curry has never been to South Korea. The story’s setting, she explained, was inspired by her love of the Korean boy band BTS and the K-pop music genre. The plot reflects her interest in books in which “the guy was cool and girl helped warm him up.” But, she’s quick to point out, “Melting the Ice” is not “an office romance.”
Curry has been interested in writing since she was a student at Hickman Charter School. As a seventh-grader, she picked up a copy of “How to Improve Writing” – which was intended for high school students – and read it cover to cover. She began keeping a diary. Writing, she said, was a way for her to deal with anxiety and emotional issues.
“I want to acknowledge the people who helped me make this happen,” she wrote in the author’s note for her book. “My mom and dad, who are always there to support me, love me and help me take care of my mental and physical well-being and to encourage me to keep at my dream of writing. My teacher Mrs. Sanchez who helped me self-publish this novel and who was the first to read my book and tell me how much she enjoyed it. She is by far the best teacher I have had.
“I would also like to thank my friends who have stuck by my side for the past years and continue to support me and were so excited to read my novel. But most of all, I would like to thank God for helping me get to this point, health-wise, to be able to do all this. I hope you enjoy ‘Melting the Ice.’ ”
When Easter Break was over and the book was written, Curry sent it electronically to Sanchez, who helped with editing. Sanchez also researched self-publishing options on the Internet and identified someone to design a book cover.
“Melting the Ice” has been available on Amazon since May 25. The cost is $3.99, though it’s free for those with a Kindle Unlimited subscription. More than 200 people already have downloaded it or read it for free. It even has four five-star reviews.
Curry, who says her career goal it to become a full-time writer, already has begun her next project, a book entitled “First Impressions: Eternal Love.” Five chapters are written.
“It’s about a guy who has money but is miserable to be around. He’s a photographer,” she said. “One day, a girl who just lost her job is walking down the road, sees a baseball in the gutter and throws it at a tree, but misses and breaks a window in his mansion. That’s how they meet.
“I have a notebook where I want the story to go, but I know they’ll get married in the end.”
