Submitted by Denair Unified School District:

For all the planning, the strategizing and the meetings about coronavirus that Terry Metzger has devoted time to in the past two weeks, one constant has emerged: whatever decisions seem right today might be quickly overtaken by the ever-changing sequence of public health needs tomorrow.

Thursday night, the Denair Unified School District superintendent briefed board members, staff and the public on the steps the district has taken related to the pandemic and likely will be confronted with in the days and weeks to come. Expect many spring sports and large schoolwide events to be cancelled and most student and employee travel postponed.

“There are a lot of moving parts,” Metzger said. “Things change quickly throughout the day. Our goal is to use common sense and make the best decisions based on the information we have at the time.”

Last Friday, Metzger attended a meeting with the Stanislaus County public health officer, who met with most of the public school superintendents as well as officials from CSU Stanislaus, Modesto Junior College and Merced College.

Continue reading “Superintendent Discusses Coronavirus Response, Impacts” »

This morning the Stanislaus County Public Health received confirmation that two adult male residents of Stanislaus County have tested positive for the novel (new) coronavirus by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). These tests will be confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

One person was a passenger on the Grand Princess Cruise to Mexico and one has no history of travel to a country with known community transmission and no known contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case. Stanislaus County Public Health is working to determine the source of the individual’s infection and is conducting contact investigations for both.

We understand there are several pending COVID-19 tests in the county and monitoring of individuals. At this time, there are no known cases at the schools or district offices. We take this very seriously and will continue to take precautions in our regular cleaning and disinfecting schools and offices. Currently all schools are open and well students are expected to attend class. We will continue to work in collaboration with the Public Health Officer and the Stanislaus County Office of Education to keep our students and staff safe, and will keep the public updated as more information becomes available.

We are restricting/cancelling all non-essential, previously approved out-of-county travel and field trips to locations that have confirmed “2 or more community spread” cases (i.e., counties of Contra Costa, Riverside, Sacramento, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, San Francisco, Yolo; Seattle, WA etc.). The list of locations experiencing community spread will be reviewed daily.

Public Health recommends the following daily measures to reduce the risk of getting sick:

• Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or use hand sanitizer

• Cover your cough or sneeze

• Stay home if you are sick

• Get your flu shot to protect against flu or symptoms similar to COVID-19

• Try alternatives to shaking hands, like an elbow bump or wave

• If you have recently returned from a country with ongoing COVID-19 infections, monitor your health and follow the instructions of public health officials.

• Healthy people should not be excluded from activities based on their race, country of origin, or recent travel

Anyone who is medically fragile or with respiratory symptoms, such as a cough, sore throat, or fever, should stay home, practice proper cough etiquette and hand hygiene, and limit their contact with other people. If your symptoms become more severe and you need medical attention, call your provider first.

Sincerely,

Terry Metzger, Superintendent

Available in English and Spanish, Click Here

Two leaders from the Denair Unified School District participated on a panel last week that discussed the mental health needs of students.

Superintendent Terry Metzger and DUSD Board President Crystal Sousa were among three education leaders interviewed by a Modesto Bee reporter as part of the forum. Sousa also is principal at Valley Community School in Atwater.

The event in Turlock was hosted by EMC Medical Foundation. Metzger, Sousa and Tracy Manzoni of the Patterson Unified School District shared advice on how K-12 students can best cope with social media pressure, anxiety, depression and other common challenges.

Metzger talked about some students are affected by their interactions with peers on social media.

“When we were growing up, if we had a conflict with someone at school, we were usually able to escape it at home,” she said. “With social media, that’s not true anymore. Also, we need to understand that social media and online gaming are designed in a way to stimulate the brain in the same way that addiction does. Students are constantly thinking about their likes, followers and streaks. Kids never get a break. There’s a lot of pressure.”

Sousa said as many as 40% of the at-risk students at her Atwater school are gang members. Many of them have undiagnosed mental health issues, she said. One tactic the school has implemented to lessen social media pressure, Sousa said, is to ban cell phones on campus.

“Now I look around me and kids are actually looking each other in the eye at lunch and having conversations,” she said.

Sousa offered some general advice to all parents: Just listen to your kids. …. What’s the harm of giving them too much attention, because we know the harm of not giving them any attention or (not) giving them help when they’re crying out.”

Since the fall of 2018, the Denair district has offered mental health services to students and their families in partnership with Sierra Vista Child & Family Services of Modesto. A full-time mental health clinician is stationed at Denair Middle School to work with students and their families from all DUSD campuses.

The program is funded by the Legacy Health Endowment, whose mission is to provide financial and technical support to improve the health of people living in Stanislaus and Merced counties.

One of Legacy Health’s grants funds a program directed by Sierra Vista that focuses on the mental health of people living in southeastern Stanislaus County. Research by Sierra Vista shows that some children and teens in the area can be adversely affected by their socioeconomic status or rural living conditions.

Submitted by Denair High School:

PACIFICA – A coach’s perspective. That’s what R.J. Henderson tried to impart to his Denair players Tuesday night in a tearful locker room after 47-44 defeat against Pacific Bay Christian in the first round of the Northern California Division V basketball tournament.

Less than a day later — the sting and disappointment of a close loss still fresh in his mind – Henderson talked not of how the season ended, but of the magical moments it featured and the lifetime memories that were created.

“We had an incredible run,” he said. “You’re not going to repeat 26-4 very often. It was just one of those great years. I want to thank those kids; my coaching staff, which was terrific; the administration, which let the coaches coach; and the parents, who supported all the traveling we did in the spring and summer to be in the position we’re in.

“It was just a special group. Everything that transpired since November has been special.”

Continue reading “Denair’s Season Ends with 47-44 Loss in First Round of NorCal Basketball Tournament” »

Submitted by Denair High School:

R.J. Henderson thinks Tuesday’s first-round matchup against Pacific Bay Christian in the NorCal Division V basketball tournament could not have worked out any better for his Denair team.

That’s because, in many ways, the seventh-seeded Eagles (27-3) are very similar to the 10^th-seeded Coyotes (26-3).

They have a big center – 6-foot-7 senior Dwight Bumgarner – who can be a load in the middle. He averages about 14 points and nine rebounds a game.

Denair responds with its own physical front line featuring 6-6 senior Jacob Kuharski (10.3 ppg, 8.6 rpg) and 6-2 senior Jordan Smith-Sires (12.9 ppg, 8.4 rpg).

Continue reading “Denair Seed 10th in NorCal Basketball Tournament; Coyotes Open Play Tuesday in Pacifica” »