Merced Sun-Star article
BY BRIANNA CALIX
First, a fire ripped through the home of young Joe Tapetillo III. With their home half-destroyed and uninhabitable, the boy and his family were forced to move to a hotel as they began the long months of repairs and construction on their Olive Avenue house. But, just five days after the fire last summer, the family suffered another setback. Thieves broke into the half-burned home and ransacked it, taking everything of value – mechanical tools, a baseball collection, and a guitar that was a special Christmas gift to young Joe.
His father, Joe Tapetillo, Jr., gave him the instrument to help him fulfill his dream of becoming a musician. “In band, he played the trumpet, but it wasn’t his cup of tea,” Tapetillo said. “He always turned back to the guitar.” Joe, now 12 years old, retold the story of the double tragedy in an essay for his sixth grade class. For the assignment, teacher Frank Delgado asked students to write about their aspirations. Joe wrote about his hopes of becoming a musician and the uphill battle he faced after losing his guitar. Reading the essay aloud to his class, he became emotional. “I felt like I was about to cry, and then I just couldn’t stop,” he said. “I knew I was going to get a lot of talks about this.”
But his emotion touched the heart of his classmate, Julianna Baez. “When you lose something that means a lot, it hurts,” she said. She told her father about Joe’s emotional story, and Alejandro Baez also was touched. Then, a few days later, Julianna showed up with a gift for Joe – a guitar. “A lot of kids said they’d give me one, but I didn’t believe them,” Joe said. When Julianna gave Joe the instrument, she said: “Don’t thank me. Thank my dad.”
On Monday, Joe did, when he finally had a chance to meet Baez in person. Baez said he hopes the Chenoweth students will learn a lesson about generosity. “It’s something good you can do for a kid to make him follow his dreams,” Baez said. “Sometimes, it’s not just about receiving. It’s also about giving and not being selfish ... and making somebody else’s day.”
Tapetillo said the gesture proved to him there’s still good people in the world. “Not everybody is out there only for themselves,” he said. “It sends a positive message that the community will step up in a time of need. It shows my kid that there’s people out there who still care.”
Delgado said it’s important for young people to learn lessons of generosity and kindness. “It’s very heartwarming,” he said.
Chenoweth Principal Vance d’Escoto said the gift represented the spirit of the school. Chenoweth teachers and students strive to be a “community of caring,” and have taken to heart the message from country star Tim McGraw’s song “Humble and Kind.” “It’s like a ripple effect,” d’Escoto said.
Joe believes the gift is indicative of something deeper: “This shows that God has a way of planning things.”
Read more here: http://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/article143849589.html
Merced Sun-Star Column by MCSD Public Information Officer Sara Sandrik:
A powerful partnership between Rivera Elementary and Rivera Middle schools is helping students at both campuses improve their reading and writing skills, while building invaluable relationships along the way. It’s exactly the type of collaboration Merced City School District leaders envisioned when the preschool through sixth-grade campus was built right next to the middle school using voter-approved Measure S and Measure M funds.
The program began last year when seventh-grade teacher Lynn Parker reached out to her friend, Sally Rawlings, who was still setting up her first grade class at the new elementary school. Parker and Rawlings are both UC Merced Writing Project teacher consultants, which means they have worked together to improve their own writing and teaching skills through a professional development program hosted by the university. Parker has also served as associate director of the project under the direction of Dr. Pauline Sahakian since its inception. She suggested using the same collaborative model to support students at Rivera.
“She’s one of my mentor teachers. So this was big,” Rawlings said. “I didn’t even have to think about it. I was very excited to do this.”
Since that time, Parker has been working with her Language Arts Enrichment students not only to improve their own reading and writing skills, but also to help them learn techniques to teach the younger students. The seventh-graders meet with their partners every other week, alternating between their own classroom and the elementary classroom. They ask thoughtful questions and give constructive feedback to help the first graders add compelling details to their work, which strengthens their own skills as well.
“It’s a great feeling for me, but I think even more importantly, it’s a great feeling for them,” Parker said. “They get to be role models, and they get to be in a leadership position that they might not be able to in other areas of their school day.”
I recently had a chance to visit the students as they worked in pairs on a Wednesday morning. It was incredible to see how easily they conversed and the connected while making revisions together. Seventh-grader Emanuel Angel told me, “I really enjoy having to work with someone else, and it makes me feel in a better way that I’m teaching someone how to write, and their education is growing as well as mine being here teaching them because it makes me feel better about myself because I’m helping someone that can use it a lot in their life and future.” His partner, first-grader Teagan Helling acknowledged, “It actually has been a big help.”
Rawlings said her students soak up all of the knowledge their middle school mentors share, and the program is making a noticeable impact. She tells me, “It’s been super powerful. I’ve seen leaps and bounds in the growth of their writing, just from every other week meeting with these seventh graders, so it’s been fantastic.”
The principals at both campuses have also been impressed by the program and its results. Rivera Elementary Principal Catherine Puckett says, “Students teaching students is a ‘win-win’ partnership! The self-esteem, academic support and social emotional effects are extremely positive. Ms. Parker’s seventh-graders get to hone their writing and mentoring skills while giving their first grade mentees from Mrs. Rawlings’ class a boost in self-confidence and writing proficiency. Any time you can use what you have learned in your classroom for a real world application is the affirmation we all need to grow exponentially.”
Rivera Middle School Principal, Sergio Mendez agrees. “The collaborative efforts by these two teachers offer students the opportunity to build necessary skills, enjoy valuable interactions through mentorships, and above all else, build the confidence needed to succeed. Both Ms. Parker and Mrs. Rawlings are to be commended for their efforts.”
The teachers say the greatest reward is seeing their students excel, and they look forward to writing the many more chapters of this success story … together.
Link to Merced Sun-Star story: http://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/local/education/article143408874.html
Two Cruickshank Middle School Students were recognized at the CSF/CJSF Central Regional Spring Conference in Fresno, on Saturday, March 18, 2017. The California Scholarship Federation (CSF) is one of California’s oldest honor societies.
In 1921, Charles F. Seymour, founder of CSF, established a statewide honor society for California students. The nonprofit organization honors outstanding high school students who have earned academic excellence. In 1967, the CSF Board of Directors founded the California Junior Scholarship Federation to honor outstanding middle school students. The two organizations continue to grow and foster the recognition, motivation and education of academically talented students, and give more than $120,000 in scholarship awards every year during their Regional Spring Conferences throughout California.
Cruickshank Middle School nominated two 8th graders, Grace Clinton and Spencer Brown, for the California Junior Scholarship Federation Marian Huhn Award. The Marian Huhn Award was established in honor of a former California Junior Scholarship Federation registrar of who dedicated countless hours to the success of CJSF. Every junior high and middle school CJSF adviser in their region may recognize two of their most outstanding CJSF members based on academic excellence and service to their school and community.
These candidates represent the commitment and dedication of the motto: Scholarship for Service. What makes these students exceptional is their ability to participate in extracurricular activities, donate time and energy in serving others, while enrolled in honors and advanced classes, and maintaining high academic achievements. Each candidate submitted an extensive application that included lists of service activities, letters of recommendations, and a personal statement.
The committee had the daunting task of choosing the five final recipients. All candidates received a certificate and the Huhn Memorial pin. In addition, the Five Award recipients received a medallion and a check for $250. Nineteen applications were submitted in the Central Region and the five finalist were students from Fresno, Livingston, Merced, Madera, and Hanford. Spencer Brown, from Cruickshank Middle School was one of the five finalists to receive the award.
Two students from UC Berkeley and one from UC Davis visited Hoover Middle School on Wednesday, March 29 while cycling across the Central Valley. They spoke to Mrs. DeMers class about solar energy and also brought 3D printed miniature solar powered bicycles for the students to assemble and enjoy! The UC students are part of an organization called Cycle for Science.
Cycle for Science brings hand-on, renewable-energy focused science lessons to communities by bicycle. The group's driving mission is fourfold fold: (1) to teach the next generation of U.S. scientists and citizens about renewable energy, climate science, and basic physics, (2) to bring young, diverse scientists into classrooms across the country as real examples of who scientists are and what they do, (3) to empower scientists by connecting them to the communities that they serve, and (4) to leverage science education and adventure.
After receiving rave reviews during its debut in 2016, the Charles Wright Elementary Wax Museum delighted visitors for a second straight year on Wednesday, March 29.
The project features dozens of sixth graders who each play the role of a significant figure from the past or present, including Elvis Presley, Bruce Lee, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, Queen Elizabeth, President Donald Trump, and Walt Disney.
To prepare for the their moment in the spotlight, the students conducted research, created props and backdrops, selected costumes, and memorized short speeches they wrote about the person they chose to portray. Other classes were invited to walk through the cafeteria and push a button on each display to hear those speeches so they could also learn about the famous individuals.
Teacher Kodi Matsuo organized the interactive project, which combines lessons in language arts and social studies plus public speaking. She says it’s a fun way to bring these well-known names to life for the students who play them, as well as those who visit the “museum.” She pointed out this year, one class had just learned about astronaut Neil Armstrong, so the students and their teacher were especially excited to hear his speech.
The Charles Wright Wax Museum is quickly becoming a tradition that students look forward to as they enter sixth grade.
Parents also had the opportunity to enjoy the students’ work during Open House, which took place Wednesday night.
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