Class Act! 10 Questions for Diana Hulbert

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Submitted by Denair Elementary Charter Academy

Name: Diana Hulbert

Family: Husband, Clark; and three children, Trent, Danica and Vanessa

School: Denair Elementary Charter Academy (DECA)

Subject taught: Transitional kindergarten

Experience and education: Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction, 12 years of teaching experience.

What most inspires you about teaching? I am privileged to teach the youngest kindergartners.  TK serves students turning 5 years of age between September 2 and December 2.  I’m inspired by watching my students interact with one another and by the pure joy they find in learning.  By being one of the first teachers the students meet, I hope to set a positive tone that sets students up for success throughout their education.

What are your biggest challenges as a teacher?  Sometimes students have difficult and unstable home lives.  In these cases, learning takes a back seat because basic needs are not being met at home.  It’s truly heartbreaking.  Students who are frequently absent have difficult time keeping up with the class.  There are not enough hours in the day for me to re-teach what was missed.

What is your favorite teaching tool or activity? I love using music and movement to teach!  We sing throughout the day, and I give my students ample opportunities to move.

How has Common Core affected your classroom strategy? Students are encouraged to talk to each other to solve problems.  It’s interesting to hear a five-year old explain how he or she got to a certain answer.

What do you want your students to remember? I’m sure some young students easily forget their earliest school experiences.  I hope my students will remember feeling safe and loved in our classroom. I hope they will remember the joy they brought to me and the fun we had together! Continue reading “Class Act! 10 Questions for Diana Hulbert” »

Justin Steeley Named Southern League Football Co-MVP

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Submitted by Denair High School

Justin Steeley, the heart and soul of a determined Denair High football team that succeeded despite limited numbers, was selected as the co-Most Valuable Player of the Southern League in voting by the league’s coaches.

Also honored were Joe Brasil, chosen as lineman of the year for his play on offense and defense, as well as defensive back Brendan Curnow.

Steeley is a senior who excelled at running back and linebacker. He scored 17 touchdowns and was the emotional leader all season for the Coyotes (6-5), who reached the Division VI playoffs before losing to eventual Sac-Joaquin Section champion Amador. For much of the season, Denair had no more than 15 players on its varsity roster.

Steeley shared the league’s top honor with Toby Silva, a wide receiver and defensive lineman for league champion Orestimba.

Brasil, a senior, was a force on both sides of the ball. At 5-foot-9 and 230 pounds, he was the Coyotes’ strongest player and the one they often ran behind on offense and counted on to make a big play on defense.

Big plays were Curnow’s specialty. The senior scored six touchdowns as a running back against Le Grand and spearheaded the Coyotes’ ball-hawking secondary with hard hits and interceptions, including three against Ripon Christian.

Three Denair players made the all-SL second team – defensive back Chase Pritt, linebacker Zach Ramalay and tight end Dylan Mann – while Joe Ciccarelli and Hector Obando gained honorable mention.

The awards were announced Saturday night by head coach Anthony Armas at the Coyotes’ football banquet.

DCA Wood Shop Students Building More Than Projects

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Submitted by Denair Charter Academy

It doesn’t matter that most of Barry Cole’s wood shop students came to his class this fall not knowing the difference between a band saw and a table saw or had never operated a router or drill press before. Cole’s patient instruction and infectious enthusiasm soon removed any doubt.

The brand new cutting boards, footstools and even a dog house made of pine and oak and poplar are testament to the curiosity and ingenuity of Cole’s Denair Charter Academy students. They bring him a picture of a potential project and he shows them how to make it. Along the way, the teens build more than a simple pencil holder. They gain confidence.

“This is about envisioning a project and developing the skills to complete it. It’s a feeling of accomplishment,” explained Cole. “It’s always a different kid, several times a day.”

Cole is a longtime teacher in the Denair district who moved to DCA’s independent study program last year. He coordinates the science curriculum across many grade levels, and also teaches a landscaping class in addition to his woodworking elective.

Cole’s grandfather was a carpenter, specializing in garage doors. As a young boy, Cole followed his grandfather around, learning the proper use of tools and enjoying the satisfaction of completing a project.

“I love the smell of the wood and I love making things, especially from repurposed wood,” he said.

It didn’t take much for Cole to convince first-year DCA Principal Brian LaFountain that a wood shop class would be a fun addition to campus.

“We started with 10 kids in one class on Monday and now we have 20 or so. We had to add another class on Thursdays,” LaFountain said.

Cole made calls, sent letters and beat the bushes for scrap lumber. Denair Lumber has been a generous donor as have local farmers and others in the Denair community. Some of the tools came from Denair Middle School, where Cole had used them as part of his science instruction. Others were purchased using a $5,000 budget. Continue reading “DCA Wood Shop Students Building More Than Projects” »

Denair Charter Academy Hourly Teachers Receive Pay Increases

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Submitted by Denair Unified School District

Another piece of the salary restoration puzzle was put into place by Denair Unified School District on Thursday night when they unanimously approved 2.2% pay increases for 13 teachers at Denair Charter Academy.

The instructors at the campus serve home-school students and parents in grades kindergarten through eighth as well as teens enrolled in the independent study high school program.

Unlike teachers at the district’s other campuses, they are paid hourly and are not covered by a union contract. When the district faced financial crisis in 2013, their pay was reduced 3.5%. Thursday’s board action restores their wage in the same proportion as already has occurred this year for union-covered teachers, as well as non-teaching classified staff and administrators.

Also on Thursday, the board:

  • Elected Trustee Kathi Dunham-Filson as board president for 2017 and Trustee Ray Prock Jr. as clerk.
  • Approved the addition of two new courses at DCA: the history of Mexico and introduction to culinary arts. Matthew Groom will teach the first course; Barry Cole will lead the second.
  • Heard a report from Lucy Zamora, principal at Denair Elementary Charter Academy, and four of her instructors who recently attended a conference on dual immersion language programs in New Mexico.
  • Cheered as Denair High School Principal Kara Backman reported that more than $30,000 was raised for the campus’ FFA programs and students from the first-ever tractor pull in November. More than 1,100 people attended the event at Jack Lytton Stadium.
  • Heard a presentation from Mike Curry of Johnson Farms, asking the district to join other public agencies and residents in opposing the State Water Resources Control Board’s plan to increase flows in the Tuolumne, Stanislaus and Merced rivers.