Merced Sun-Star Column

BY SARA SANDRIK

 

Preparing students to be college and career ready takes a multifaceted approach with support in a number of areas.  In fact, our Merced City School District Superintendent and Associate Superintendent of Educational Services recently took part in a roundtable discussion about those efforts with leaders from other local educational agencies, as well as the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium, the Governor’s Office, and the California Department of Finance.  While it is a complex topic, one of the first steps is simply helping students to believe those goals are truly attainable.

 

Our schools tackle that challenge in a number of ways, including college and career fairs and trips to colleges and universities across the region.

Last Friday, I had the chance to join dozens of students from Reyes Elementary as they took a tour of Merced College. Their principal, Mr. Alexander, has a special connection to the campus because he attended classes there and played on the Blue Devils baseball team. He explained that the purpose of the trip was to reinforce his school’s vision statement: “Dream, Achieve, Succeed.”

 

The third through sixth graders who were selected for the learning excursion are all enrolled (and have had good attendance) in the After School Academic Advisory program, which helps students improve their study skills, self-esteem, and understanding of specific subjects.

 

After stepping off their buses, the Reyes Thunderbirds were warmly greeted by Merced College students and staff members who would serve as their tour guides. One of the guides engaged the young visitors by asking what they want to be when they grow up. Several small hands shot toward the sky, and the first three volunteers happily shared their dreams of becoming a scientist, a doctor, and a chef. Then they broke up into groups and began their journey through the campus to see how it could help put them on the path to those professions and many more.

 

They learned about acting classes and other performing arts opportunities at the theatre. They walked through the greenhouse and barn to learn about the college’s agriculture classes. They saw a parking lot full of cars being repaired by students in the industrial technology program. They got a glimpse of the Allied Health Center on campus (with a view of Mercy Medical Center in the background) which offers everything from Diagnostic Radiologic Technology to Registered Nursing programs. There were also stops at gym, the aquatics center, and the baseball diamond where the students learned about the possibilities for playing competitive sports or just focusing on their fitness.

 

Along the way, Mr. Alexander made many connections between those college courses and the classes his students have had a chance to experience at the elementary level. He had them raise their hands if they participated in the Reyes playwriting program, photography lessons, and many other extended day offerings. It was a way of making college feel even closer for the young scholars. He explained, “We want our students to realize that there are higher-education opportunities here locally that they can easily access once they complete high school or sometimes even before that.”

 

It’s a message that seemed to hit home with the students as they whispered about which classes they would like to take at the campus. Third grader Nyguel Thor told me he plans to become a scientist with a focus on animal genetics, so he enjoyed learning about all that Merced College has to offer. He said, “I think it’s actually pretty fun because I’m seeing all of these animals and buildings I’ve never seen before.”

 

So while a tour may be just one step toward college and career readiness, for these students it was certainly a step in the right direction.

 

Sara Sandrik, an Emmy Award-winning former journalist, is the public information officer for the Merced City School District. She can be reached at ssandrikgoins@mcsd.k12.ca.us.

Read more here: http://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/local/education/article139226478.html

 

Students from the Merced City School District swept the top three spots at the Merced County Office of Education STEM Fair on Wednesday.  STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math.

 

The event showcased 33 science projects from 66 students in grades 5 through 8.  In addition to MCSD, the other participating school districts included Atwater Elementary, Delhi Unified, and Our Lady of Mercy.  The exhibits were judged by local scientists or professors from UC Merced and Merced College, among others.

 

For the overall competition, Tenaya Middle School 7th graders David Lee Hernandez and Eric Amezquita took third place for “The Domino Theory,” Jonathan Lopez-Hernandez, also a Tenaya 7th grader, took second place for “Magnets That Charge” and Hoover Middle School 8th grader Sadies Dinh took the top spot with “Can Dog Drool Kill Bacteria?”

 

Those top three exhibits will compete in the California State Science Fair on April 24-25 at the California Science Center in Los Angeles.

 

Several MCSD students also earned top honors for their individual grade levels.  For fifth grade, Givens Elementary student Dana Saeteurn earned first place for "A Video Game for the Blind."  Reyes Elementary fifth graders Kayla Alvarado, Julian Ponce, and Lesly Navarro-Chavez earned second place for "Paper Robotic Hands," and Burbank figth graders Claire Chuang and Sophie Zhu received third place with "Potato Chip."  In the sixth grade contest, Rivera Elementary students Zon Forest Moua, Jacob Schwessinger, and Prabdeep Kera received third place for "Power from the Water."  Tenaya students swept the seventh grade contest.  In addition to the overall winners mentioned above who earned first and second place for their grade level, Aidan Mondo earned third place for "Can Certain Materials Block Wifi Signals?"  For the eighth grade competition, in addition to Dinh taking the top spot, Rivera Middle School students Allen Arganda and Jesus Zaragoza received second place for "Comparison of Dissolving Times of Alka-Seltzer in Water, Coca-Cola, and Gatorade," while Tenaya students Cristal Esquivel-Salas, Aaliyah Martinez, and Joslin Diaz earned third for "Is the Bottled Water We Drink Actually Healthy?"

 

In addition to projects from Merced County schools, other exhibits during the STEM Fair included Merced Educational Television (METV), the MCOE Fab Lab and MCOE Educational Technology Center.  This event was made possible by sponsorship from PG&E and MID.

 

Congratulations to all of the winners!  These are photos of those who were able to attend the ceremony at the Merced County Fairgrounds:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hundreds of students representing all of our Merced City School District campuses took the stage at the historic Merced Theatre on February 23rd for the second annual Spotlight showcase.  The event was a chance to celebrate our students' emerging talents and to highlight arts education opportunities throughout the district.  

 

These videos show the performances in their entirety. 

 

Act 1 features:  Elementary Concert Band (Burbank, Fremont, Gracey, Muir, Peterson), Clark Preschool, Sheehy, Tenaya, Reyes, Stowell & Wright Bands, Hoover, Rivera Elementary, Rivera Middle School.

 

Act 2 features:  Franklin, Givens, Burbank, Fremont, Stefani, Muir, Chenoweth, Peterson, and Cruickshank.

More than 200 fifth and sixth grade students from across the Merced City School District showed their skills and sportsmanship during the second annual March Madness basketball tournament.

 

A total of 28 teams competed at the district's four middle schools during the week of March 8th.  The winners of each bracket went on to the Final Four on March 13th before Muir Elementary and Rivera Elementary faced off in the final on March 14th.  It was a great game, but in the end Muir emerged victorious with a final score of 35-32.

 

Thank you to all of the teachers, teachers on special assignment, administrators, support staff, volunteers, and parents who helped make this tournament possible!

 

Muir Elementary basketball team

Rivera Elementary basketball team

 

The Merced City School District has embarked upon a special pilot project to support student health and provide a convenient option for parents.  The district is partnering with the Merced County Department of Public Health to bring Tdap (pertussis) vaccination clinics to all 13 elementary school sites that have 6^th graders enrolled.  These clinics are being held on various days during the month of March.

 

Students who are entering 7^th grade during the 2017-2018 school year must show proof of having received one dose of pertussis containing vaccine (given in the form of Tdap, which is tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis) after the age of seven.  Many students in this age group have not yet received this vaccine.

 

The district provides outreach to parents with information about the need for this vaccination starting in December, but in years past there was often a “mad dash” in the two weeks before the new school year, as parents tried to schedule appointments for their children.  Due to limitations in the ability of primary care providers to get students in on short notice, the Health Department often faced an overload of families during that time.

 

The district hopes the clinics this month will help to reduce the burden on families, school sites, and the Health Department.  The vaccinations are being provided free of charge to students. Parents/guardians are only required to complete and return a consent form.  Students will be seen at school, monitored for any vaccine reactions, and returned to class, with little time missed.

 

Consent forms have already been sent home to all families in the district with students currently in 6^th grade.  Anyone with questions about this program can contact their child’s school site.