Submitted by Denair Unified School District
Denair Unified School District has posted the agenda for the April regular board meeting, scheduled for April 16, 2015. The public meeting starts at 7:00 pm. The meeting will be held in the DUSD Leadership/Board Room.
Submitted by Denair Unified School District
A new elementary charter school that would include Spanish instruction for all students with rigorous core subjects and exposure to fine arts tops the list of items to be considered Thursday night by the Denair Unified School District board of trustees.
The proposal calls for Denair Unified School District to form a new school known as Denair Elementary Charter Academy, or DECA, for the 2015-16 school year.
DECA’s mission, according to the proposed new charter, “is to provide students with an engaging, nurturing, equitable learning environment that promotes the development of skills necessary for the 21st century.”
One of the innovative features of the new charter school would be a dual immersion English/Spanish class for kindergarteners. The class would follow the 90% Spanish and 10% English dual immersion model, said Principal Sara Michelena. The goal is to have a 50/50 mix of English and Spanish speakers. The intent, she said, is to add a dual immersion class at successive grade levels each year as the first group of kindergartners gets older.
All other DECA students also will have regular Spanish instruction, Michelena said. In addition, the new charter school would have two 30-station computer labs to teach tech skills and would continue to focus on arts enrichment for all students. Even at the elementary level, there will be an emphasis on building a college-going culture and “assist students to become self-motivated, competent, lifelong learners.”
Parents and community members can weigh in on the new charter at Thursday night’s meeting. Trustees have until the end of April to adopt the rewritten charter petition and send it to the state, which must give final approval.
Thursday’s meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the district’s board room at 3460 Lester Road.
Submitted by Denair Unified School District
Name: Cristina Rojas
Family: Sons, Alex (20) and Max (18); daughter, Grace (12)
School: Denair Charter Academy
Subject taught: Independent Study – all
Experience and education: Bachelor’s degree in economics and teaching credential in math. I have been teaching in Denair since 2010.
What most inspires you about teaching? Making a difference in the lives of students is what inspires me.
What are your biggest challenges as a teacher? Time.
What is your favorite teaching tool or activity? My favorite teaching tool/activity is having in-depth conversations with my students.
How has Common Core affected your classroom strategy? Common Core has jump-started many relevant real-world, cross-curricular conversations between me, my students, other students and teachers in the classroom.
What do you want your students to remember? I want my students to remember that they all are valuable, have worth and have something special to offer this world.
How can parents support what you do? I believe parents can support what I do by being present and engaging in their child’s life.
What’s next in your classroom? Continued collaboration and problem-based learning activities and lessons.
What would surprise people about your job? The amount of paperwork that this job entails would surprise people.
What do you do for fun? I love to travel, am passionate about cooking and enjoy reading.
Submitted by Denair High School Sports Boosters
Denair High School Sports Boosters are hosting a Jeans and Jersey dinner, dance and auction on Saturday, April 18, 2015. Happy Hour starts at 6:00 pm, with dinner following at 7:00 pm, at the Denair Community Center. Attendees are encouraged to wear their favorite athletic team’s jersey to the event.
Tickets are $35.00 each and attendees must be at least 21 years of age to attend. Tickets can be purchased by calling Carissa Borba at (209) 410-3516, Robert Hodges at (209) 652-4336 or Susan Gilbert at (209) 216-6214. Additionally, you may contact any DHS coach for tickets.
Submitted by Denair Unified School District
Most parents can agree that getting their middle school age students up early on a Sunday is quite a challenge. However, this past Sunday, nine Denair Middle School students were up and traveling to Modesto before the sun even rose in the sky. These dedicated students call themselves the Coyote Trail Blazers, also known as CTB, and they comprise an after school running club at Denair Middle School. Their early journey to Modesto was the culmination of weeks of preparation to participate in the Modesto Marathon 5k. The school club consists of eleven students who have been running twice a week to prepare for the race and to improve their overall fitness. Family, friends and the DMS club coordinators were all present at the race to either run with students or cheer them on from the sidelines.
The after school club is voluntary and open to all students grades 6-8. It is led by four DMS staff members: Valorie Periera, David Rodriguez, Isabel Alvarado and Elise Domico. The coordinators strive to make running, health, and fitness enjoyable for the students. When the club began, students were asked to share their reason for joining. Many simply stated that they love to run. Others stated that they wanted to learn to love it. Student participants do not just run circles on a track. They do a variety of activities such as speed drills, games that incorporate running, off campus runs and stretching/flexibility exercises. All of the students are at different levels in terms of their running ability. Coordinators do not emphasize competition between students instead encouraging each one to set their own personal goals.
Many of the students involved with CTB recently began representing DMS through participation in track. Often, students in CTB complete their training with the club and then head over to Denair High School to hone their skills in various track and field events. The small, tight knit staff relationships at Denair Unified school District makes it easy to work out a situation where students can take part in both of these activities. Continue reading “Coyote Trail Blazers Run for Fun and Fitness” »