Next week is Red Ribbon Week at schools across the country. Red Ribbon Week began in 1980 as a way to discourage drug, alcohol and tobacco use among children while promoting healthy behaviors. Former First Lady Nancy Reagan was one of the original proponents.

The campuses in the Denair Unified School District have a number events planned starting Monday. All are being coordinated by staff as well as student members of the PHAST (Protecting Health and Slamming Tobacco) Clubs. The national theme this year is “Drug Free Looks Like Me.”

In 2018, Denair High finished third in Stanislaus County in the contest for best decorated campus. The previous year, the Coyotes were second in the county.

Here is what is happening on each campus during the week:

Denair High School

• Monday: ’80s dress up day.
• Tuesday: Camouflage day.
• Wednesday: Dress as your favorite celebrity.
• Thursday: Wear your Halloween costume.
• Friday: Purple and white day.

There will be activities during the week, including visits from the Army, Marines and Fire Department. There also will be fun games and music at lunchtime Friday with many neat prizes, including tickets to the last football game that will include a free taco truck tailgate.

Denair Middle School

• Monday: Don’t snooze in the fight against tobacco and drugs. Wear pajamas.
• Tuesday: Catch the drug-free wave. Wear your favorite beach clothing. Flip-flops OK, but no swimsuits.
• Wednesday: Wear pink and green together. Pink is to recognize Breast Cancer Awareness Month; green is the color of the PHAST club.
• Thursday: Spirit Animal Day. Spirit animals are a guide t o health choices. Bring your favorite stuffed animal to school.
• Friday: Scare away tobacco and drugs. Wear Halloween costumes (no full face masks, face paint or weapons allowed).

There will be numerous lunchtime activities to help educate students about the dangers of drug, tobacco and alcohol use. There also will be educational announcements through the daily bulletin. The  campus will be decked out in red ribbons as well.

Denair Elementary Charter Academy

• Monday: Sleep tight and don’t let the drugs bite! Wear pajamas and bring a stuffed animal.
• Tuesday: Howl away drugs! Wear your coyote spirit gear. 
• Wednesday: Drugs are crazy; stay away! Wear crazy hair and crazy socks.  
• Thursday: Be a good sport; stay off drugs! Wear sports team or athletic apparel.
• Friday: Say “boo” to drugs! Students can wear their Halloween costume. 

Decades of service to the community and the school district will be recognized and honored Friday night when the athletic facilities at Denair High School are formally renamed the Denair Lions Sports Complex.

The ceremony will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the parking lot at Jack Lytton Stadium just before Denair’s final football game of the season against Waterford.

Founded in 1949, the Denair Lions Club has been a longtime supporter of the Denair Unified School District and its students. Many of the Lions Club members are graduates of the Denair school system as are their spouses, children and grandchildren.

Through the years, the Lions Club has completed many significant and important projects at the high school. Lions Club members purchased and installed football, baseball, softball and basketball scoreboards. In 2020, the Lions Club bought new LED lights for the football stadium and members spent multiple weekends installing them.

“When I came to Denair in 2018, it was quickly apparent that the Denair Lions were a strong and positive force in the community,” said Superintendent Terry Metzger. “Club members are well-connected to the schools and they care about our programs and students. 

“I attend several club meetings each year and have found the Lions to be genuinely interested in what’s happening in the district and eager to help wherever they can. I’ll also say that they are not afraid to ask hard questions, which I really appreciate because it helps us improve the way we serve our community.”

In recognition of all that the Lions Club has done for the school district, three black metal arches will be dedicated Friday — one over the football parking lot, one over the back gate of the football field and one entering the gym. All will say Denair Lions Sports Complex.

The signs were built and donated by T.J. McDonald, owner of West Steel and Plastics. Inc. of Turlock.

The Lions Club members’ generosity extends to more than just the athletic facilities.

“This collective group of giving men provides for our families during the holidays with both Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday dinner baskets and our elementary students enjoy their enormous Easter egg hunt,” said Denair High School Principal Kara Backman. “We also have an amazing partnership with Dr. Plett and the Denair Lions Club to support students who need prescription glasses.”

All current and former Lions Club members have been invited to Friday’s ceremony.

Amanda Silva and Gabriela Sarmiento began new duties this week in the Denair Unified School District.

Silva, the principal for the past three years at Denair Middle School, returned to the district office to become interim director of special education. She will oversee special ed programs for the 247 students at the district’s campuses. Sarmiento, an English teacher at DMS, stepped up to replace Silva as interim principal.

Superintendent Terry Metzger complimented Silva as “absolutely the right person at the right time to fill this role.” Silva served in the same capacity for two years before becoming principal at DMS in 2018.

“There had been a revolving door of principals at the middle school. Supporting the school and organization as a whole was why I went to DMS,” said Silva, who has a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a credential to teach moderate to severe special ed students and a master’s degree in educational leadership.

She praised the commitment of the DMS staff and is proud of the relationships she has built with students and staff. 

Continue reading “Denair administrative shuffle: Silva once again leads special education, Sarmiento takes over as DMS principal” »

With COVID cases and quarantines among students and staff appearing to level off, the focus of Thursday night’s Denair Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting – for the first time in many months – was about more traditional academic topics. 

Student performance plans for the high school and middle school were presented. Updates were given about special education and teaching English to non-native speakers. Teachers involved with music, art and folkloric dance shared information about their programs.

Still, there was no denying the invisible elephant present in the room. Even as educators, students and other staff become accustomed to COVID’s many impacts and safety requirements, the question on everyone’s mind is, “Who will be affected next?”

For instance, Superintendent Terry Metzger told trustees that 18 students and five staff members have tested positive for COVID just this week. Fifty students are on modified quarantine – meaning they can still attend school – while 19 others are confined to their homes. Eleven staff members are quarantined because of potential exposures or positive test results themselves.

Metzger said the numbers are “down significantly from a month ago, but up a bit from last week.”

“It seems to go in cycles,” she said.

Continue reading “Quality education happening in Denair classrooms, but pandemic continues to cast a shadow” »

COVID cases, unfortunately, continue to interrupt campus life in the Denair Unified School District. 

Among those affected this week are 165 students at Denair Elementary Charter Academy who are quarantined because of an exposure to a single person who tested positive for COVID. The impact also was felt at Denair High School, where 82 students are in quarantine, including the entire varsity and junior varsity football and volleyball teams.

The situation is not unique to Denair, said Superintendent Terry Metzger. Many school districts across Stanislaus County also have experienced waves of COVID-related exposures and quarantines because of the highly contagious delta variant.

“Last week we had a couple of big exposures … and it resulted in a lot of people having to go into quarantine, either modified or at home,” she said.  “It feels like that was a wake-up call for our community. ‘Oh, OK. So what do we do now?’ ”

Continue reading “COVID impacts still rippling through Denair schools; high school football, volleyball teams all in quarantine” »