The state’s recent state-at-home order caused by surging COVID cases and dwindling intensive care space in regional hospitals will have no immediate effect on the Denair Unified’s ability to teach a limited number of students on campus, district trustees learned Thursday night.

“Schools are considered an essential sector, so we remain open,” Superintendent Terry Metzger told the board during a Zoom meeting.

Small groups of students began returning to Denair’s four campuses in early November in what are called “learning pods.” All told, only about a quarter of the district’s 1,300 students come to campus for one or more days of in-person instruction.

In most cases, those students are either in special education, are English learners, are enrolled in Denair Elementary Charter Academy’s dual language immersion program or are in danger of failing one or more classes at the Denair High School or Denair Middle School. At Denair Charter Academy, some independent study students have resumed in-person weekly appointments with their teachers.

The rest of Denair’s students still receive their lessons at home via distance learning as they have since the pandemic first closed campuses across California in March.

A public appeal by the Denair schools’ musical director for donated instruments struck just the right chord with many members of the community, who have generously responded with nearly two dozen new and gently used instruments.

One Turlock businessman, Mitch Logsdon, spent nearly $8,000 to buy eight brand new instruments. Logsdon owns United Equipment Co. in Turlock – the building off Lander Avenue just west of 99 freeway that looks like a tractor. Logsdon is a 1974 Turlock High graduate with no connection to Denair schools, but he was moved to help after reading about Fred Steiner’s request in the Turlock Journal on Nov. 20.

“For some reason, the article really got to me,” explained Logsdon, who said he played clarinet for two years in junior high school but otherwise is not musically inclined. “I think Denair is a nice little community and I got the feeling the music department doesn’t get a lot of attention, so I called Fred and talked to him about it.”

Denair High School’s oldest surviving alumnus, Sterling Pratt, celebrates his 100^th birthday on Saturday, Dec. 5 and though he no longer lives in the area, many in the community want to congratulate him on his milestone.

Initially, there was to be a tribute paid to Mr. Pratt on Saturday during a 5K run put on by the Denair High FFA chapter. Unfortunately, that event has been postponed until early next year by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Still, some members of the Denair family would like to call attention to Mr. Pratt’s big day.

Mr. Pratt was born on Dec. 5, 1920 to Charles and Myrtis Pratt. He grew up on his family’s dairy farm at the corner of Hamlow and Gratton roads. His brother, Calvin, was born in 1925.

When Mr. Pratt was a young boy, his father bought the grocery store in Denair. A few years later, he built a new store called Denair Cash Store at what is now the Village Market location. Mr. Pratt recalls stocking shelves and cleaning eggs at the store. He preferred working there to his chores at the dairy.

In 1936, Charles Pratt sold the market to Harold and Lola Chance Walton – a deal that would loom large later in Sterling Pratt’s life.

Mr. Pratt graduated from Denair High in 1938. He said his favorite subjects were math and science. He took a year off school to work at the lumberyard his father owned on the north side of Denair, then began attending Modesto Junior College in the fall of 1939. Still intrigued by science, Mr. Pratt took classes like organic chemistry and quantitative analysis.

There are many generous programs to help families in need during the holiday season, especially with toys for children and food for people of all ages. Things that are equally in demand – but less often given – are bathroom items and other household essentials.

Recognizing that, some employees of the Denair Unified School District and their partners at Sierra Vista Child & Family Services and the Center for Human Services are teaming up this year for the first time to provide hygiene baskets to about 75 Denair families.

The plan is to distribute the baskets on Thursday, Dec. 17 between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. during the daily food pickup at Denair Middle School. That is the last food distribution for Denair families with children before the two-week Christmas break begins.

The Denair Unified School District has a modest music program, but instructor Fred Steiner has ambitious plans to grow it over the next few years.

But to do that, he needs more and better instruments to replace horns and woodwinds and drums that, frankly, are a little past their expiration date and should be retired.

It’s hard to make beautiful music with a clarinet or trumpet that is older than a beginning student’s grandparents, which is why Steiner is inviting members of the Denair community via a video to donate unwanted instruments to the district that may be gathering dust in a closet or attic.

“Several of the instruments we have are 50-60 years old. … A lot of the older instruments have simply been used by many, many students over several decades and they’re reaching a point of requiring a lot of regular, expensive maintenance. I’m hoping we might receive some useful donations that are an upgrade to our current inventory,” explained Steiner, who came to Denair this year after 16 years in the Palos Verdes School District in Southern California.