Denair Middle School Hires New Spanish Teacher

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Isabel Alvarado

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

Ms. Isabel Alvarado is the new Spanish teacher at Denair Middle School. She graduated from Atwater High School and went on to CSU Stanislaus where she graduated in 2012 with a double major in Spanish and Sociology.

Ms. Alvarado is a native Spanish speaker who came to the United States at age 10. She was challenged learning English and took it in stride when classmates teased her about her difficulty speaking English. This hard working student pursued her education and helped other students struggling with English. In college, she worked for the migrant program tutoring students.

In the classroom, Ms. Alvarado works on providing engaging activities to help students learn vocabulary and have fun speaking in Spanish as they are learning. She loves when her students participate in her lessons.

Ms. Alvarado is collaborating with other Spanish teachers in the Denair Unified School District to make a continuous curriculum that best meets the needs of students. She hopes her students continue studying Spanish in high school.

Ms. Alvarado believes in the power of learning a second language and reminds her students that bilingualism can help them get jobs and assist them in traveling the world.

Ms. Alvarado is this year’s Middle School soccer coach as well.

Gina Michael Joins Denair Middle School Staff

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GinaMichael

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

Mrs. Gina Michael is the new Social Studies teacher at Denair Middle School. She graduated from Chapman University with a degree in Social Science. She taught 7th and 8th grade Social Studies at Hickman Charter School prior to coming to Denair.

Mrs. Michael loves the “story” part of history and studying various perspectives from around the world. She particularly is interested in technology, archeology, civics, and politics. She loves a good argument and appreciates seeing both sides of an issue.

In the classroom, Mrs. Michael is planning engaging lessons that help students think about and question their world. She hopes to move away from the “read your book and fill in the worksheet” model of teaching. She wants to instead create a dynamic program full of 21st century learning activities. She is already bringing technology into her lessons.

Mrs. Michael and her husband enjoy camping with their two sons and watching them play sports.

Denair High School Pumped Up for First Football Game

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DHS Football

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

They are small in numbers, but mighty in spirit. Energized by a new coach with an innovative offensive approach, the Denair High football team can’t wait for the 2014 season to start.

The Coyotes open at home Friday against Summerville. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. at Jack Lytton Stadium.

The 21 members of the varsity and 23 boys on the junior varsity have been practicing for two weeks, but the seeds to a revamped program were planted in early April when Ted Howze was selected to be the varsity coach.

It is Howze’s first foray into the high school ranks after many years as a successful coach with the Cen-Cal Junior Football program in Turlock. He is a veterinarian by training and owns a large-animal practice in Turlock. He also is a former Turlock city council member (2006-10).

Howze has a strong connection to Denair High. His oldest son graduated in the spring and his two youngest sons still attend the school. His late wife, Sharon, was an assistant track coach for the Coyotes.

He takes over a program that was 2-17 the past two seasons.  Howze knows he must change the culture for Denair to again become competitive in the Southern League.

“One of our primary goals is to create an atmosphere where students and parents want to be at Denair High — athletically and academically,” he said. “It’s going to set a tone for other sports as well.”

Howze is passionate about football.

“I’ve wanted to be a high school football coach since I was 15 years old,” said Howze, who played guard and linebacker at Hanford High School before earning degrees in exercise physiology and veterinary medicine at the University of California at Davis. “I knew football was something that influenced my life and built character.” Continue reading “Denair High School Pumped Up for First Football Game” »

DHS Field Ready for First Home Football Game

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DHS Paw Prints

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

On Sunday August 24th 2014, seventeen Denair High School students along with several Athletic Boosters, parents, and community members came out to the Denair football field for a workday that involved a lot of painting.

Students repainted the purple words “Denair Coyotes” and the large coyote paws that lead up the walkway into the stands. They also added a second “Denair Coyotes” and paws on east side of the top walkway in the stands. Some of the Athletic Boosters were out Monday adding black paint outlines to the words and paws.

Athletic Booster Vice President Mr. Russell Steeley and Dominyc Silva, DHS Varsity Quarterback, painted the goal posts. The lift was donated by United Rentals, and Denair High School offers a special thanks to Denair High School alumnus Mr. Jon Rudd for his generosity.

The Athletic boosters painted the stairs with yellow safety paint, and Isaac Starks repainted the door to the announcer’s booth.

Athletic Commissioners Edwin Flores and Brendan Curnow took care of signing up students to volunteer and coordinated adult support.

Denair High School’s first home football game is Friday August 29th, 2014. The Junior Varsity game starts at 5:30 pm with the Varsity following at 7:30 pm.

Breanna Vaughan Joins DHS Science Department

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Breanna Vaughan

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

Ms. Breanna Vaughan is Denair High School’s new science teacher. She is teaching Chemistry, Anatomy and Physiology, Physics, and Honors Biology this year. Ms. Vaughan graduated from CSU Stanislaus in 2007, with a degree in Biological Sciences. She taught high school science for three years outside Fresno.

Ms. Vaughan loves seeing students having fun and appreciating and learning science. This year she will focus on improving labs, bringing computers into the lab for virtual simulations and dissections, and developing benchmark assessments that measure student achievement in her courses.

At CSU Stanislaus, Ms. Vaughan was a three-sport athlete playing collegiate soccer, basketball, and running track and field.