14 Creative Seniors Put Their Own Mark on Denair High Parking Lot

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Submitted by Denair High School

Fourteen drab patches of blacktop at Denair High School were transformed Thursday into colorful personalized parking spots by a group of energetic seniors.

The students responded to an offer by Principal Kara Backman to all members of the Class of 2018. Seniors had to submit designs for preapproval by Backman and campus supervisor Melissa Treadwell. Having completed that process, Thursday morning was a time to paint, with an added bonus of an entire day away from class.

The school provided most of the paint, brushes and rollers, but students could bring their own colors.

Predictably, purple was a popular choice as the primary color or accent, though Courtney Prock’s space is a bright pink (her favorite color) and Madison Keas’ is orange (borrowed from the San Francisco Giants, plus her love of the Disney musical “Newsies.”)

As far as themes, flowers were popular, as were Coyote paw prints, images of sports teams (football, volleyball, softball and baseball) and, of course, multiple references to the Class of 2018.

Bryson Prock’s space includes an American flag and the words “My life depends on ag,” a tribute to his family’s roots, and his numbers from football (60) and baseball (9). Bryanna Suarez’s spot highlights the word “Ohana,” which means “family” in her Hawaiian heritage and reflects how she feels about her classmates. Hollie Collins’ features her nickname (“Hillie Bean”) in the middle of a daisy.  “People tell me I remind them of a daisy or a sun flower because I’m happy,” she giggled.

Natalie Rosander also used a bloom – a sun flower – as the focal point of her parking spot. Above are the words “There’s a big beautiful tomorrow” and below “shining at the end of every day.”

Emilee Fanning found inspiration from an image of Winnie the Pooh on Pinterest. Her space is built around the cartoon character holding a heart balloon and includes the words “How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” Continue reading “14 Creative Seniors Put Their Own Mark on Denair High Parking Lot” »

Denair Fire Department Deep Pit BBQ Follows Farm & Family Festival

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Denair Fire Department Deep Pit BBQ is an annual event in Denair. It features some of the best deep pit BBQ you’ll ever taste! Tickets are $10 in advance, or $12 at the door. They offer drive-thru, take-out, or dine-in. Your generous donations help support public safety in the Denair community. Join them after the Denair Farm & Family Festival for dinner!

Denair Students, Staff and Community Members Inspired by Rachel’s Challenge Program

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Submitted by Denair Unified School District

“Only kindness matters.”

At its heart, that is the message delivered powerfully, emotionally and respectfully Tuesday to Denair students, their teachers and parents during a series of presentations known as Rachel’s Challenge.

The nationwide program is a tribute to Rachel Scott, the first student killed on April 20, 1999, in the mass shooting at Columbine High School in Denver. Before she died, Rachel was a champion on her campus for forgiveness, love and compassion, often defending classmates who were bullied, taunted or teased by other students.

Though rooted in tragedy, Rachel’s Challenge has become a force for teaching children and adults. Since it was started by her family, the program has reached more than 23 million people.

Tuesday, more than 500 middle and high school students listened intently to the 45-minute presentation in two sessions at school. Later that night, about 60 parents and community members also participated.

Superintendent Aaron Rosander first saw Rachel’s Challenge a few years ago when he was superintendent in Mariposa County. He worked more than a year to bring it to Denair.

“I felt it was important for kids to understand civility and kindness and compassion never go out of style,” he said, adding that he knows that “we have some kids who suffer silently.”

Rachel believed the definition of compassion was “forgiving and loving,” presenter David Hills explained. Though only a teenager, she wrote with maturity and clarity about her five-step approach to life:

  • Look for the best in others; eliminate prejudice.
  • Dream big
  • Choose positive influences
  • Speak with kindness
  • Start your own chain reaction of kindness

Continue reading “Denair Students, Staff and Community Members Inspired by Rachel’s Challenge Program” »

Youth, Lack of Experience Contribute to Season-Opening Loss for Denair Football Team

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Submitted by Denair High School

Ten juniors, seven sophomores and just five seniors. That’s the makeup of the 2017 Denair High football team. And if you factor in the differences in physical maturity between those players – as well as the relative lack of experience – Friday night’s 48-2 season-opening loss to Summerville isn’t nearly as surprising as the final score might indicate.

Any thoughts that the momentum of last fall’s overachieving playoff team would carry over to this year were erased by halftime, when the Coyotes trailed 35-0.

“We started very slow,” assessed Denair coach Anthony Armas. “We didn’t adjust to their size and speed. … They definitely were the better team.”

Armas and his staff have two weeks to address the myriad problems he saw from the sideline Friday night and again when watching film over the weekend. Denair has a bye this week and next plays a week from Saturday at Millennium of Tracy.

“We’ve got a lot to work on. We did a lot of stuff wrong,” Armas said. “We misaligned a lot on defense. Assignment wise, we didn’t do what we needed to. … By the second half, a lot of kids were trying to freelance, especially on defense. We need to have them understand what we’re trying to do and understand the schemes.”

Understanding, Armas expects, will come with additional practice. But he also realizes there is no substitute for experience. With the Coyotes’ limited number of players and restrictions on live contact at practice, it’s difficult to replicate varsity game speed in middle of the week.

“I think it was a lot of youth, but at the same time, that’s the hand we’ve been dealt,” Armas said. “We’re not going to make any excuses.”

Amid the disappointment, Denair did do some things right.

“I thought Hunter Musgrave ran the ball very hard. If anyone stood out, it was him,” praised Armas.

Musgrave, a junior, was Denair’s leading rusher and also one of its leading tacklers from his cornerback spot on defense. He didn’t leave the field until late in the game.

The Coyotes’ only points came on a safety in the third quarter when a Summerville player muffed a punt, then fell on the ball in his own end zone.

Despite being “physically manhandled,” Armas believes his players emerged with no major injuries – just the normal assortment of bumps and bruises.

He expects that four practices this week and four more next week before their second game will be enough to correct some of the fundamental problems that doomed them against Summerville. With a heat wave in the forecast, Armas said “we’ll be smart about it” and make sure there is plenty of water on hand.

Junior varsity game: Denair lost 22-6

This week: Bye. Denair (0-1) will be at Millennium of Tracy on Saturday, Sept. 9. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.