This is one in a series of Q&A’s with teachers new to Denair Unified in 2021-22.

School: Denair Middle School

Family: Husband, Juan; sons, Xavier, 13, and Sebastian, 11.

Subject taught: Dual Immersion (DI) Spanish, DI Social Science and English Language Arts.

Experience and education: Spanish Dual Immersion at DECA, Spanish at DHS and Spanish at Modesto

Junior College.

What attracted you to Denair? The students at Denair. The students are phenomenal, sweet and kind. The Denair community is friendly, family environment. The camaraderie and friendship is seen in

the schools and town.

What most inspires you about teaching? The students inspire me. I have seen the students want to learn something new and different. A challenge they are willing to face to achieve their goal of becoming proficient in another language.

What is a challenge you look forward to tackling this year? Taking the dual immersion students to the

next level will be a challenge that they are ready for.

What is your favorite teaching tool or activity? Sharing. My favorite teaching method is the sharing of

life moments that reflect on what is being learned in the classroom.

What do you want your students to remember? Funny moments in class that made everyone laugh.

How can parents support what you do? Parents are welcome to participate in activities throughout the

year. I welcome communication with the parents.

What would surprise people about your job? I am in a constant bilingual mode: speaking Spanish and

English all day. My bilingual mind is thinking and speaking in both languages throughout the day.
What do you do for fun? I run, cycle and swim.

All the excitement and energy that accompanies the beginning of a new school year were evident this week in the Denair Unified School District as more than 1,300 students returned to in-person instruction Wednesday. They were greeted by teachers and other staff thrilled to welcome them back.

The energy was infectious, but the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic still were evident across Denair’s four campuses. The most obvious example is that the smiles of students and staff were hidden by face coverings — at least in the classroom, where masks still are required.

Denair – like hundreds of school districts across California – must adhere to health and safety guidance handed down by the California Department of Public Health and federal Centers for Disease Control. That means masks still must be worn in class, though they can be taken off outdoors. Other precautions like temperature temps, social distancing and testing also have been relaxed.

“It’s very confusing that the state’s guidance is called ‘guidance,’ ” explained Denair Superintendent Terry Metzger at Thursday night’s monthly Board of Trustees meeting. “We’ve been told over and over that these are public health orders that we are mandated to follow.”

Continue reading “Denair schools up and running with in-person classes; some parents unhappy that masks still are mandatory” »

This is one in a series of Q&A’s with teachers new to Denair Unified in 2021-22.

School: Denair High School

Subject taught: Science

Experience and education: BS of Science in Biology from CSU Stanislaus. SIngle subject teaching credential from CSU Stanislaus.

What attracted you to Denair? The small community.  

What most inspires you about teaching? As cheesy as it sounds, I want to make a difference. I want to have some type of positive impact in this world. I believe that if you want to change the world for the better, it starts with education. 

What is a challenge you look forward to tackling this year? Teaching chemistry! My first year ever teaching chem, but I’m excited to jump in! 

What is your favorite teaching tool or activity? Labs! This gives the students opportunities to be hands-on in the classroom and see how labs are applied in real life.

What do you want your students to remember? Everyone is unique. 

How can parents support what you do? Communication! Just keep an open line of communication with me. This will make a world of difference when it comes to student success. 

What do you do for fun? I love being outdoors! Kayaking, swimming, walking my dogs. I also love watching movies and snuggling with my pups! 

This is one in a series of Q&A’s with teachers new to Denair Unified in 2021-22.

School: Denair Elementary Charter Academy.

Subject taught: I am the afternoon preschool teacher.

Experience and education: I have my AS degree in child development. I have my bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in human resources.

What attracted you to Denair? I like what Denair stands for in regards to its mission statement and values. I also like how it is a smaller district. I like the fact that it is close to home. 

What most inspires you about teaching? The fact that I get to be a good role model to the students and get to watch them learn and grow. 

What is a challenge you look forward to tackling this year? I look forward to successfully be able to manage a larger class size this school year. 

What is your favorite teaching tool or activity? During my lesson plans, I like to find songs and art activities that are similar to what we are learning about. I enjoy doing that.

What do you want your students to remember? I want them to remember me being a fun, kind and caring teacher.

How can parents support what you do? Parents can support what I do by having open communication. They are also welcome to volunteer and help out when we go on field trips. 

What would surprise people about your job? One thing that might surprise people about my job is that preschool is 3- to 5-year-olds, but the 5-year-olds are not in our program very long at that age, as they are getting ready to enter kindergarten. Another thing that may surprise people is that each preschool teacher at DECA gets two paraprofessionals (teacher’s aides) to help out with the students. What do you do for fun? For fun, I like to watch sports and spend time with my family and friends. I also like to go hiking and take road trips.

R.J. Henderson calls them “the core four.” He’s referring to Mario Plascencia, Cooper Feldman, Jack Henderson and Connor Leonard, who have played basketball together since junior high and just helped Denair to its first back-to-back Southern League titles in 30 years.

The Coyotes lost just once in their COVID-shortened season, posting a 9-1 league record and an 11-1 mark overall. Had there been a Division V playoff tournament this year, Denair undoubtedly would have been one of the higher seeds.

Henderson knew his four juniors would be the key to this year’s team, but even he was pleasantly surprised at how well the Coyotes played.

“What a special group,” he said. “I underestimated them. I thought we would take a little bit of a step back given that we only had one senior in our rotation, in our top eight. I thought we probably were a year away. We were led by that core group. They’re gamers. Their ability to compete kind of got us over the top.”

Continue reading “Denair boys defend Southern League basketball title” »