Mark highlights November 2017 issue 2

MARK Highlights

Manteca Unified School Board

the

Why?

Making a positive difference to each and every student daily. facebook.com/ proudtobemusd

November 2017, Issue 2

Cooking to Make it Count see page 12

Contents

N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 7, ISSUE 2

At Our Schools

MUSD School Board

Brock Elliott Dines with Scientists

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President Stephen J. Schluer, Area 6

Parent Institute Graduation

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Vice President Bob Wallace, Area 7

East Union Readers’ Theatre Performs at Neil Hafley School

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Board Clerk Evelyn Moore, Area 5

Canned Food Drive

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Neil Hafley Annual Walk-Jog-a-Thon

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Michael Seelye, Area 3

SHS Hosts Get Focused Stay Focused

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Nancy Teicheira, Area 4

Lathrop Schools Dare Graduation

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Professional Learning

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MUSD Superintendents

Spirit Week was a Success

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Lathrop Choir Performance

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Golden West Pride in All They Do

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Red Ribbon Week Parade

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Cooking to Make it Count

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be.tech Keeps it Real

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Buffaloes Unite to Honor Veterans

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Sierra Gives Back with Canned Food

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Staff v. Student Volleyball at LHS

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Family Science Night

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State Superintendent Tom Torlakson Announces New Rules to Protect Students from Unintended Pesticide Exposure 23

The Mark Highlights is published twice per month, on average.

Superintendent’s Office: It is a publication Community Outreach Manteca Unified School District of the MUSD Superintendent’s Office Community Outreach team. Highlights content is contributed on a rotating basis by every school site in the district. Highlights is

Kathy Howe, Area 2

Superintendent Jason Messer Deputy Superintendents Dr. Clark Burke Roger Goatcher

Vision

Community Outreach

Brock Elliott Day

Eric Duncan, Area 1

Manteca Unified School District will ensure every school day is relevant, rigorous, and leads students to become productive and engaged members of a global society while residing in the central valley.

Mission Manteca Unified School District is committed to providing a safe environment where all students will thrive with the tools, resources and support needed to achieve their academic and personal potentials.

24 intended to be a reflection of the MUSD Vision and Mission, because above all, we value making a positive difference to each and every student daily.

The Mark Highlights Team are: Victoria Brunn Executive Editor and MUSD Director of Community Outreach vbrunn@musd.net

Peter Gale Design, Writing, and Editing pgale@musd.net Lindsay Stayner Content Coordination, Editing, and Design lstayner@musd.net Note to school site contributors: please send photography at the highest resolution possible. When emailing from a cell phone, please use “actual size.”

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At O u r S ch o o l s

Brock Elliott Dines with Scientists Submitted by: Debbie Ruger Brock Elliott Elementary Students had an opportunity to have dinner with scientists.

Mrs. Talavera and Mrs. Fells each hosted a group of students to attend the County Dinner. There they met and talked with several scientists from a variety of fields.

This was a great experience for our students to both connect with professionals in our community, and to gain a better idea of what it takes to become a scientist.

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Parent Institute Graduation Submitted by: Jacalyn Davis Great Valley Principal

Parents participated in a 9-week program where they learned valuable information.

Fifty-four parents from August Knodt, Great Valley, and George Komure graduated from the Parent Institute for Quality Education program!

The parents participated in a 9-week program where they learned valuable information on how to support their child’s education inclusive of learning

college requirements.

Mrs. Rhonda Peacock, school nurse, was the keynote speaker. She shared an inspirational message in both Spanish and English.

Congratulations to all our parent graduates and their families!

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At O u r S ch o o l s

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East Union Readers’ Theatre Performs at Neil Hafley School Submitted by: Lori Guzman-Alvarez Neil Hafley East Union High School students performed a Reader’s Theatre for Neil Hafley students in kindergarten and first grade on October 4th.

Canned Food Drive Neil Hafley school’s Student Leadership organized the KCRA Kids Can Food Drive to benefit our local food closet.

Ms. Wisner, Mrs. Bratcher, Mrs. Thorpe and Mr. Redd’s classes brought in the most cans and won popcorn parties for their classes.

Neil Hafley Annual Walk-Jog-a-Thon Neil Hafley school’s Community Club held the Annual WalkJog-Athon on Friday, October 27 on the East Union track.

This event, which brought in approximately $12,000 in donations to match the students’ distance efforts, is the biggest fund raiser of the school year.

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At O u r S ch o o l s

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SHS Hosts Submitted by: Peter Gale Community Outreach Team

Led by Rachelle Fast, Get Focused Stay Focused (GFSF) Coordinator, Sierra High School hosted a twoday conference for counselors and administrators from both inside and outside the District.

A former Link Crew advisor, Fast told attendees that having one day of spirited Link Crew action is not enough to help students make a plan and follow it through.

Instead, she led attendees through a specially prepared booklet that serves as an introductory plan and guide for the GFSF program.

The conference’s agenda included an introductory session on the impact of skills based education plans on campus culture.

Later, Fast’s students came to the conference to share firsthand experiences about how the program has changed their perspectives, making life goals, and finding success.

Day one ended with classroom visits that allowed educators to see skills based education plans in action.

On day two, Fast helped attendees learn how to increase community engagement with the program, how to integrate with counseling, and going over the GFSF modules—including integration with other manuals and online resources like My 10 Year Plan.

GFSF utilizes a comprehensive guidance course that helps students identify their interests and life goals, discover a career aligned to those interests and goals, and develop an educational pathway to prepare for that career.

Each year of high school students follow up and expand their plan.

Below: Fast introduces attendees to the GFSF program. EUHS counselors confer about what the program can do for their campus.

Students share their experiences with the program.

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Lathrop Schools DARE Graduation Submitted by: David Silveira Lathrop Elementary Principal

Lathrop schools continue to promote the DARE Program which promotes drug abuse resistance education, or in other words, Daring to Say NO to Drugs.

Annually all fifth�graders in the city of Lathrop participate in the program.

Professional Learning Lathrop Elementary takes an ownership approach by involving staff in the decision making process through Professional Learning Communities.

Our Tech team collaborated on SAMR level implementation support within the classrooms across the campus.

Lathrop Elementary is proud to be supported by the Lathrop Police Department and the City of Lathrop.

This partnership also helps students get to know their local police and see them as people they can trust.

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At O u r S ch o o l s

Spirit Week was a Success

Submitted by: David Silveira Lathrop Elementary Principal

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Not only did our students get involved with spirit week, but so did our staff.

gathered to show their pajama swag in style.

Pajama Day had the most participation during the week-long event. Check out a few of our teachers in the photo above,

The next spirit week will be in the spring with several days of different options to encourage a creative, fun campus.

Lathrop Choir Performance

Submitted by: David Silveira

Lathrop Elementary Principal

Patriotic songs help students remember the costs of freedom.

Lathrop students celebrated Veteran’s Day at the Valverde Park Memorial Celebration on Saturday, November 11th.

Our Veterans sacrificed greatly for our freedom, and our community annually supports them by attending this choir tribute.

Annually, students perform two patriotic songs under the guidance of Mr. Mike Mulidor.

Patriotic songs help students remember the costs of freedom.

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Golden West Pride in All They Do Submitted by: Sherie Gates Golden West Principal

Pride In Yourself, Pride In Your School, Pride In Everything You Do.

Every morning, Golden West leadership students conclude the announcements with our school mantra:

Pride In Yourself, Pride In Your School, Pride In Everything You Do.

Golden West first grade students were captured demonstrating campus pride as they collaborated together to keep the newly remodeled campus looking clean and sharp.

They also remind everyone on campus to choose a positive attitude and have a fantastic day.

Additionally, the Golden West community gym is now home to two murals which serve as a daily reminder to students and staff to have PRIDE.

Students cannot control others, but they can control their responses and attitudes.

PRIDE: Perseverance, Respect, Integrity, Diversity, Excellence

You will find pride in many locations.

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At O u r S ch o o l s

Red Ribbon Week Parade Submitted by: Sherie Gates Golden West Principal

“Your future is key, so stay drug free.”

Each year, Golden West students participate in Red Ribbon Week.

Doors were adorned with posters and activities were planned throughout the week. The theme was “Your future is key, so stay drug free.”

Primary students participated in the annual “Spook Away Drugs Parade.”

It was a beautiful day for 4th-8th grade students, staff, and families to enjoy the traditional parade and culmination of Red Ribbon Week.

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Cooking

to Make it Count Submitted by: Peter Gale Community Outreach Team

Sometimes doing what your teacher says, really pays off. When nudged by Amy Lee to enter the Fox 40 Farm to Fork Cook Off—with only two days to spare before the due date—Adrian Cardenas took up the challenge.

Cardenas felt inspired when Lee said, “I just wanted to give this to you because I know it is something you could do, and do well.”

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Although he cooks for his mother and sisters three days a week, he decided to prepare his dish at his grandparents’ house.

“My grandparents have a nicer, bigger kitchen, and I asked them if I could come over because I usually cook dinner for them once per week,” said Cardenas. “I cooked dinner and took the pictures of my dish. I submitted the pictures, recipe, and application and about three days later, I got a call while I was in class.”

Cardenas then related how Kristine from Fox 40 called to congratulate him for being selected as one of their top three finalists for the Farm to Fork Cook Off. Those finalists were invited to a kitchen at the Art Institute of California in Sacramento to be filmed while preparing their dish from scratch within a 45-minute time limit.

“It kind of happened really fast, which made me happy because when I went to the cook off, they said there were over 250 entries,” said Cardenas.

He submitted a chicken marsala dish with balsamic vinegar, Brussels sprouts and mashed potatoes. Contest rules stipulated that he had to submit a photo of himself with the dish.

He also had to describe the meal, list the equipment he used, and the ingredients in less than 300 words.

“I thought the picture I took was very nice and what I wrote probably intrigued them,” said Cardenas. “It is something my family requests every couple of months. What really makes the chicken marsala is definitely the sauce.”

Although this is an exciting opportunity for any high school student, the culinary program as Sierra High School is definitely not new.

The Family Community Career Leaders of America (FCCLA) Advisor, Elizabeth Aschenbrenner, explained,

“The culinary program has been going here at Sierra since I started it in 1994.

Now, we have three full-time teachers.”

“Adrian has had all three teachers,” added Amy Lee, his current advanced culinary arts teacher. “He started off with Life Management, he took Culinary 1, and Food Science.”

“He was my teacher’s assistant and now he is in the Career Tech Education (CTE) capstone,” said Aschenbrenner.

“We have been a program of excellence since 1997 with California CTE.” Practicing for the contest, Cardenas said that he tried simulating the event

Above: Advanced culinary arts teacher Amy Lee helps students prepare a hand mixer to use for prepping the class Thanksgiving Feast.

“We have been a program of excellence since 1997 with California CTE.” Below: Elizabeth Aschenbrenner, FCCLA Advisor, instructs two of her culinary 1 students on how to prepare an onion for their Thanksgiving meal.

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by timing himself with the same 45-minute window.

culinary technique, that doesn’t mean the contest was easy.

“I found that in the competition I finished with about 5-7 minutes left, just like at home,” said Cardenas. “I was surprised to find that I can work under pressure, even when I wasn’t in my own environment.”

“I was definitely nervous the whole time,” said Cardenas. “We were all 17 and seniors in high school. I just thought it was really cool to see other people who all have the same passion as me.”

Although he stayed consistent with his

Adrian Cardenas was selected as the

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Above: Adrian Cardenas prepares his chicken marsala dish for the Fox 40 Farm To Fork culinary competition under the close scrutiny of the camera. The event will be broadcast by Fox 40 at 11 am on November 22.

“I was definitely nervous the whole time.”

Far Left: A culinary student harvests leaves to use in a recipe. Left: Herbs flourish in the green house during the winter. Below: the outdoor garden also helps keep the culinary program supplied.

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He continued, “So, I’m definitely in the planning process for the next one and going to ask a couple of Sierra students who are in the film class to help me make my video and edit it.”

Working alongside Adrian Cardenas for this next competition are two of his fellow FCCLA club members, Joshua Silveira and La Tanya Matthews.

Above: Students peel sweet potatoes for the class’s Thanksgiving feast. The culinary program exposes students to new foods.

One of these students had never had sweet potatoes before.

Fox 40 Farm to Fork winner of those three finalists, even though one of the judges said he didn’t like Brussels sprouts at all.

“But he said that he would definitely eat them again if they were prepared the same way,” said Cardenas. “One of the other judges said that she couldn’t get enough of my mushroom sauce.

She said everything was high caliber.”

He has been awarded a $10,000 scholarship to the Art Institute of California in Sacramento—and a KitchenAid mixer worth another $500.

His Sierra High School teachers are very proud of Adrian for his victory.

He has been awarded a $10,000 scholarship to the Art Institute of California in Sacramento—and a Kitchen Aid mixer worth another $500.

Cardenas is now getting ready to compete in the FCCLA regional competition in February—but this time, he must submit more than a photo.

“For the upcoming competition, we have to make a video of ourselves and why we feel that we should be awarded the scholarship,” said Cardenas. “The top four finalists get flown to New York and meet Rachel Ray, to compete for a $25,000 scholarship.”

“I’ve really gotten close to him this year,” said Joshua Silveira. “We are in the same kitchen group. We are getting the recipe soon to prepare and we can practice here. Since this is a commercial kitchen, it is a lot easier than practicing at home.”

Another FCCLA teammate, La Tanya Matthews, really believes in Adrian.

“We want to get Adrian enough money to go to his dream school because he really wants to become a chef,” said Matthews. “He’s really passionate, even in the class.

He’s like, ‘Wait, let’s re-evaluate what we just did.’

He always helps us get better, so that’s what we are trying to do. We want to help him get where he needs to be.”

Amy Lee explained

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that this regional competition will be held February 10, in Merced. “We have 11 FCCLA competitors,” said Lee. “Some will compete in Fashion, some in food science, some in culinary, and some in display.”

Explaining what gives him so much drive and passion for cooking, Cardenas added, “I love taking ingredients and making them into something different. I also love to serve people, have them taste my food, and see a smile on their face.”

“He’s a good cook. I like eating his food,” said Matthews. “Honestly, cooking with him is like cooking with the top-class chef. He helps us with

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everything and we are like his soldiers in his army.”

With that kind of loyal support, it is highly likely for Cardenas to be successful again.

“I hope that people will see how passionate I am about this and that it is what I want to do for my future,” said Cardenas.

The edited version of the Fox 40 Farm To Fork Cook Off—that showcases his passion—will air on November 22nd at 11:00 am.

“He helps us with everything and we are like soldiers in his army.”

From Left to Right: Supporting Adrian Cardenas on a day when he was ill from school, Kaiyah Tanforan, La Tanya Matthews and Joshua Silveira take a moment away from making their Thanksgiving mixed-berry cobbler for a quick photo. Matthews and Silveira are joining Adrian when he next competes in the regional FCCLA competition.

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be.tech Keeps it Real Submitted by: Dominique Muñoz Community Outreach Intern Above Left: Applying the moulage makeup to Marcus Mendoza, Above Right: Logan Wilson is simulating a person who is bleeding form the nose and ears so that fellow students can watch diagnosis and treatment in action.

“Seeing what they did and how they remained calm gave me confidence.”

This week, be.tech’s First Responders Academy is practicing real life medical scenarios.

They are doing a scenario with many different cases. One patient came into the ER at Doctors Hospital Manteca with head trauma who suffers from memory loss, and another came in with a gunshot wound and more.

These students are a part of every aspect of the scenario. They are the ambulance drivers that transfer the patient, they are the actors with wounds and scratches.

Right: Alexia Murillo is simulating a person whose gunshot wound has caused a lack of circulation to her arm.

There is a student who has learned how to create realistic looking wounds to increase the realism of the event. This kind of makeup work is called moulage.

Practicing how

to deal with medical emergencies is beneficial for many reasons.

“I personally want to go into the medical field so seeing what they did and how they remained calm gave me confidence,” said Logan Wilson.

Alexia Murillo says she “had a gunshot wound in this scenario on the upper right arm, as well as loss of distal circulation.”

Both students stated, they hope to learn how the hospital staff would remain calm, and care for the patient if this were real.

Interviewing students who participated in this scenario, I learned that no matter how much schooling you have, you will eventually be learning how to care for a patient correctly by muscle memory and by working together.

This event gives them practice and a look into what they could potentially be doing for a career. It is an amazing opportunity to see not only how things are done, but to discover if helping with emergency medicine is really what they want to do.

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Buffaloes Unite to Honor Veterans Submitted by: Fernanda Almaguer Community Outreach Intern

Once a Buffalo, Always a Buffalo.

This year marks the 50th reunion of Manteca High’s class of 1967.

Out of the 450 students who graduated in 1967, six of them lost their lives in combat in the Vietnam War: Gale Butcher, James Lowry, Jacky Landers, Davide Gore, William Morgan and Joseph Ernie Tafoya.

The class wanted to honor their six fallen classmates—and all veterans— with a special Veterans game that took place during the first round of playoffs for Manteca High School Varsity Football Team on November 9th, 2017.

With the help of congressman Jeff Denham, Manteca High School had the honor of receiving two flags.

The first flag was flown during the

game and the second one will be permanently displayed in a glass case with the names of the six fallen students from the class of 1967 in Manteca High’s front office.

A half time recognition also took place on this exciting night. Current Manteca High School students, staff, and members of the Manteca community honored nine veterans for their incredible courage and bravery.

On November 9th, we remembered our fallen Buffaloes and gave thanks to all our veterans. In a night filled with tears, laughs, and pride, we all felt like a community that truly lives up to our saying: “Once A Buffalo, Always a Buffalo.”

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Sierra Gives Back with Canned Food

Submitted by: Madi Boyd Community Outreach Intern

The cans will be donated to Second Harvest Food Bank in Manteca.

Above: Mr. Gutierrez’s third period class and their collected cans. At right, the Second Harvest Food Bank logo. Their website claims that they will serve 1,900 families in San Joaquin county this Thanksgiving season.

Thanksgiving is a time for meeting with family, and eating as much food as possible. However, at Sierra, several clubs are focused on giving back to the community by contributing to the annual canned food drive.

“The members of our club are working together to collect a total of 100 canned food items by the end of this week,” said Yasmin Ballew, President of the KIWIN’s Community Service Club.

This is their first year contributing to the canned food drive, and Ballew is “excited to be a part of giving back to my community.”

Several other clubs are also participating in the canned food drive, and as an incentive to bring in canned products, the club or class that brings in the most cans wins a prize!

Mr. Juan Gutierrez, a photography teacher, is on the road to another victory.

When asked how he manages to collect the most,

he said, “It’s quite simple really. I offer the kids a point of extra credit for each can they bring in. Some teachers have really upped their game this year, so it’s really fun.”

The cans will be donated to Second Harvest Food Bank in Manteca, and the food will provide for several Thanksgiving meals.

Sierra High School students collected almost 3,000 cans school wide.

However, Mr. Gutierrez’s 3rd period digital photography class collected 1,068 cans or non-perishable food items.

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Staff vs. Students Volleyball at LHS Submitted by: Jessika McCuaig Community Outreach Intern The annual Lathrop High School staff versus student volleyball game marks the end of volleyball season. Both staff and students alike were pumped to play this year, with the staff wanting to retain their championship title.

This year, the game took place on November 8th in the main gym, playing for the best two out of three sets. ASB Vice President Jesse Moebius took on the commentating role for the game, which added to the amusing atmosphere.

To start off the game, student team captain Malia Akers had battled Mrs. Heather Anderson, the staff

captain as well as varsity coach, in a brutal game of Rock, Paper, Scissors.

Akers took that win with her paper beating rock. Soon, the crowd was laughing and having a grand time due to Jesse’s commentating of the game. He kept it fun and lighthearted with his hysterical comments and sportsmanlike criticism.

Throughout the first set, both teams were trying their hardest to be the first one to take a point. Julianna Denning and Jahsita Faa’lii defended the net as middle blockers for the students, while Coach Davis and Mrs. Alison Birakos protected the back row. Ms. Stephanie Maestretti had a beautiful serving streak that was broken

by Jerald Asican and Sergio Tapia with a

bump and hit.

Eventually, the set ended, with a score of 25-17 for the staff.

Knowing all the staff ’s hidden talents, the students took on the second set with added determination. Gabe Gutierrez, for the students, was set for multiple kills—challenging the staff to up their game. Mr. Michael Morgan was all over the court trying to get a piece of the ball, costing his team a point or two. All in all, staff took the second set 25 to 23.

Luckily for the audience, both teams agreed to do a third set just for fun.

Coach “T”, who coaches the boys’ as well as the freshmen girls’ volleyball teams, had comedically pulled down the net to aid her teammates serve.

At the end, the students took the set 16-25.

Staff took home the win and the game was a success: being a night to remember with its awesome atmosphere and friendly competition.

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Family Science Night

MELS and GECAC work hard to help students see things from a new angle.

Science Night gave families a hands-on lab experience. They learned about motion, force, structure and more with common household items.

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Lo ca l N e ws

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State Superintendent Tom Torlakson Announces New Rules to Protect Students from Unintended Pesticide Exposure SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today praised the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR External link opens in new window or tab.) for adopting new rules to further protect students and school communities from pesticide exposure. These rules will take effect on January 1, 2018 and regulate agricultural pesticide use near schools and licensed child-care facilities.

“Children, teachers, school staff, parents, and school communities need safe healthy school environments to learn and succeed, and that includes protection from unintended, unhealthy pesticide exposure,” said Torlakson. “I thank Director Brian Leahy and the Department of Pesticide Regulation for their work in adopting stricter regulations with particular attention to avoiding chemical drift onto school sites. I am pleased we will have an additional layer of protection.”

With the new regulations, California growers must tell schools in advance what pesticides will be used nearby. Starting January 1, 2018, public K-12 schools, licensed day-care facilities, and county agricultural commissioners must be provided annual notification of the pesticides expected to be used within a quarter mile of schools and facilities in the upcoming year. Some pesticide applications will be prohibited within a quarter mile of these schools and facilities between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“These rules will help to further protect the health of children, teachers and school staff from unintended pesticide exposure,” said Brian Leahy, DPR director. “They build on our existing strict regulations and give an additional layer of protection.” #### Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100 Last Reviewed: Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Photographs by: Wendy King

Brock Elliott Day

Community Outreach Team On November 9, 2017, Brock Elliott school held their annual ceremony honoring the 17 fallen veterans killed in action during the Vietnam War. Major General (R) Eldon P. Regua was the guest speaker, student readers honored the fallen, and the school band and choir performed.