September 17, 2013
WHAT’S HAPPENING’S TRI-CITY VOICE
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Ohlone Roundup SUBMITTED BY JEREMY PENAFLOR September 5, 2013 Ohlone defeats College of the Siskiyous, 3-0 (25-16, 25-13, 25-23) Ohlone double match at Butte September 6, 2013 Ohlone defeats Lassen College, 3-1 (25-14, 25-18, 17-25, 26-24) Butte College defeats Ohlone, 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-21) Ohlone College Classic September 12, 2013 Lassen defeats Ohlone, 3-1 (25-11, 20-25, 25-16, 25-12) Lassen defeats Cuesta, 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-22) Cuesta defeats Ohlone, 3-2 (25-20, 20-25, 18-25, 25-23, 16-14)
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Mariners beat Monarchs in pre-league tune-up SUBMITTED BY MIKE HEIGHTCHEW PHOTOS BY MIKE HEIGHTCHEW The Moreau Catholic Mariners finally subdued a scrappy Mt. Eden Monarch team, 50 to 43 in a real offensive battle to the end on Friday, September 13. The outcome of the September 15 match was in doubt until the final whistle as Mariner Rian Goulart recovered a Monarch fumble to give the Mariners control as the clock ticked off the last seconds of the game. A powerful show of offensive force by the Mariners cleared the way for Jason Hinton to have a
great night as he ran and cut though Monarchs defenses but the Monarchs were not be counted out. They managed to finally slow down the Mariner offense, forcing Quarterback Lucas O Rourke out the pocket. Monarch Quarterback Jonathan Sturholm made a game of it with an impressive 14 point rally to bring them back to contention. Moreau Catholic’s offense is a good addition to the Mission Valley Athletic League (MVAL) and should be fun to follow as they can light up the scoreboard quickly against league opponents. This year should be an interesting MVAL season. League play begins September 27.
GO RENEGADES!
BY M.J. LAIRD
A
utism sent four young Fremont musicians to China earlier this month, but it was their music that got 1,000 audience members to their feet, arms waving, singing, and applauding for more. “Five years ago, I could never have written this story,” says Kathy Hebert, referring to her son’s success with Dream Achievers, a band begun two years ago. Since then, Dream Achievers has performed in more than 50 Bay Area venues with a repertoire that includes jazz/hip hop to Latin beat and classical to cultural. “What I love most is that people are often floored when they learn our children have autism,” says Hebert. “The band can play for hours and no one has a clue; the members are so professional.” Dream Achievers was invited to Kwun Tong Maryknoll College and the China Welfare Institute Children’s Palace to build awareness of the capabilities of people with disabilities. In China, people with disabilities are often shunned, says band founder and manager Anna Wang, mother of band saxophonist Lawrence Wang and one the founders of Friends of Children with Special Needs (FCSN) in Fremont. She serves as FCSN Vice President of Local Programs. “There are so many people who need to find hope when they have children with autism,” she says. “We traveled thousands of miles so people could see this talent in our children with autism. We felt like we were ambassadors to a foreign country. Our musicians were a delegation showing what can be achieved.” The trip was funded by a Chinese businessman who had visited FCSN with his autistic son. Seeing the accomplishments of disabled people in
art, drama, music, and education programs, he returned home inspired and opened a school for children of day workers, denied enrollment in public schools, and included his son in the educational program. “For parents of children with autism, they often feel like their dreams for their children are broken. I tell them to change their dream accordingly and they will find love, hope and respect for their children,” says Wang. Dream Achievers began at FCSN when Wang’s daughter, Beverly, an accomplished pianist, convinced her mom to let her lead a music camp to help children with autism find a love of music. Now in its seventh year, the camp trains students to play four challenging songs in three half-hour lessons. Students who are quick to catch on to music move on to advanced classes the next year. From the camp, five musical savants emerged to form Dream Achievers. For Wang, the band was an obvious next step to showcase their talent, sending a valuable message to the world. Lawrence amazed his mother when demonstrated a gift for hearing
prise of everyone, he stood up and played two songs that had been taught. Lawrence went on to become a featured soloist at Virtuoso International Flute Ensemble’s 2009 Spring Concert. From there, he started lessons in saxophone and within two
of even more. In 2011, he bought a digital drum and joined Dream Achievers. Two female members of the band, pianist Alice Jen, age 14, and keyboardist Phoebe Memmott, age 13, began with music lessons at ages five
music just once and being able to perform it, especially since he had been fearful of loud sounds and high pitches most of his life. At age 19 Lawrence sat in FCSN’s music class; Wang puts emphasis on “sat” since Lawrence plugged his ears and removed himself from the class. After three half-hour lessons, to the sur-
months, was performing around the Bay Area. Last year, he took another step—not just playing saxophone for Dream Achievers but also singing. Like Lawrence, percussionist Chris Koraltan, now 22, arrived at music later. He played tambourine, shaker, and conga for his church, then participated in FCSN’s music camp and discovered he was capable
and six, respectively. Alice, who played by ear before she even spoke her first word, has accrued a number of awards, including first place at Western Regional California State Talent and Performing Arts Competition for three years. She participated in FCSN’s music camp in 2006 and began winning awards the next year. Phoebe was the lone mem-
ber of the band who chose not to travel to China this year since she would have missed her first week of high school. Back in high school, Gregory Hebert asked for a guitar after strumming one a few times at his grandmother’s house. His mom agreed to indulge the request, telling herself: “Okay, I will spend $50, even though I know he will never play it.” Kathy Hebert relishes being proved wrong. Gregory never even looked at the tiny book of chords that came with the guitar. Instead he watched You Tube videos, and to his family’s amazement, proved to have perfect pitch. When his younger brother repeatedly missed the same note on a trombone one night, Gregory called from the other room, “G-sharp!” While performing on stage may be the dream of any young musician, the music of Dream Achievers expands beyond their individual personalities to speak to audiences of hope, potential, and new possibilities. Dream Achievers has performed its 100-song repertoire for organizations including Genentech and Rotary, for congressional representatives and weddings, all bookings Wang has arranged through contacts. “The story is still being written. I can’t believe this is happening. It is so wonderful. This band is going places, giving people hope,” says Hebert. She has just four words for parents: “Never give up hope.” Dream Achievers is slated to perform at the Moon Festival celebration on September 20.
Fremont Unified School District Board meeting report BY MIRIAM G. MAZLIACH The following are highlights from the Fremont Unified School District (FUSD) Board meeting held on September 11, 2013. Prior to the start of the meeting, Board President Larry Sweeney asked attendees for a moment of silence in memory of “9/11” and in recognition of “all those serving to protect our freedoms.” Community Leadership Superintendent’s Report: Fremont Schools Superintendent, Dr. James Morris stated that the Board had approved the acquisition of real property located at 53068 Fremont Blvd. Supt. Morris thanked the FUSD schools’ staffs and those at the District office for a “smooth start to the school year.” He noted that there was an increase in the number of students and that more students had to be overloaded this year. Agenda Item Unaudited Actuals: Assistant Superintendent of Busi-
ness Services, Raul Parungao and the Director of Accounting, Robert Pascual presented their report to the Board, as required by the Education Code before the September 15 deadline. Their financial report on the 2012 – 2013 school year outlined how the year concluded financially. The District’s reserve grew from $19.8 million to $21 million, a $1.3 million increase. The General Fund ended with a fund balance of $32.9 million indicating an increase of $11.7 million over the projected balance, due mostly to unspent categorical program funds. Unfunded liability to our district is $114 million. The Board unanimously accepted the report. Agenda Item – State Testing Results: Director of Assessment and Instruction, Dr. Jan March, spoke on FUSD’s students’ STAR (State Standardized Testing and Reporting) results. Students in grades two through eleven took these standards-based exams in the spring. The results indicate the API (Academic Performance Index) which measures the academic
growth of schools in a variety of areas, including the CAHSEE graduation test rate and how we are doing on closing the achievement gap. March stated that overall FUSD had a 90.7 pass rate on the CAHSEE (California High School Exit Exam). The overall District API was 891. Regarding STAR tests, although there was growth among AfricanAmerican and Hispanic students, the rate was lower than that of the main group of FUSD students. The state will continue to require the CAHSEE exam, even though Common Core Standards are being introduced at the school districts. Agenda Item – Approve Farsi (Dari) for World Language Credit: An outside course for high school credit was approved by the board for Farsi (Dari), to be taught through the Ibrahim Khalilullah Islamic Community Center. Over the years, FUSD has approved various World Language Schools in order to meet the many language requirement needs of the district’s stu-
dents. The curriculum of the Farsi course was prepared by college professors and a similar course is offered by Cal State University East Bay. It is being offered only for students in grades eight through eleven, as an additional option for the foreign language requirement. The Board approved this item unanimously. Agenda Item – Enrollment Update: Assistant Superintendent of Business Services, Raul Parungao gave an update on the district’s student enrollment numbers. In Fremont, there are 33,584 students attending schools for the 2013 – 2014 school year. It appears that enrollment will continue to grow by approximately 350 students or more each upcoming year. Additionally, under the new law which assigns more local control of funds for education, (Budget Act of 2013 – 2014), FUSD must implement a gradual class size reduction in order to earn about $6 million on its part. The Board previously approved lower-
ing the class size for Kindergarten to 28 students/per teacher, grades one through six at 30 students per teacher, and at the secondary level, 27.5 students to one teacher. Parungao also stated that in addition to students previously overloaded in the last school year, there are 506 newly overloaded students this year. Agenda Item – Long Range Facilities Planning: Community forums have been taking place at various school sites to discuss and hear from parents, students and administrators about what is needed or wished for at each location. Dr. Morris explained that the district is looking at existing facilities, seeing how enrollment is going and how to plan for the number of students, as well as develop plans on what work needs to be done, school by school. Each school will then hold follow-up meeting to continue with the planning process. For more information, visit the district website at www.fremont.k12.ca.us.