ECRWSS PRESORTED STD US POSTAGE PAID GARDENA, CA PERMIT NO. 40
POSTAL CUSTOMER www.ScrippsRanchNews.com
Volume 7 Issue 3 • February 2024
Michelle Kramer tops 1,000 points for SRHS
SCORING MACHINE
Scripps Ranch Girl Scouts, families and friends await a race during a previous Powder Puff Derby race day. (courtesy of Ben O’Day)
By Hector Trujillo
N
o, it’s not Deja Vu, but rather another Kramer who has broken the 1,000 point mark playing for the Scripps Ranch High School womens basketball team. This time it was senior forward Michelle Kramer during the 65-42 victory over Cathedral Catholic High on Jan. 26, matching the same feat her sister, Amanda, achieved in 2022. “I was just super excited and happy to follow in the footsteps of my sister,” Michelle said. “It was fun doing it with a team that I’m super close with. Everyone is my friend and I love that I was able to do it with them.” Michelle has been a standout player from the moment she first stepped on the court with the Lady Falcons, building great See MICHELLE KRAMER, Page 11
It’s Powder Puff Derby time again By Kaila Mellos
P
reparations for the annual Girl Scout tradition of racing homemade derby cars are underway, with Ben O’Day leading the effort again this year in Scripps Ranch. The Girl Scouts are working hard to finish their cars for the Powder Puff Pinewood Derby, with race day set for March 16 at Dingeman Elementary School. “I think one of the best parts about it is not racing their car; it’s the experience of building it, and that’s been the core of the event for many years,” O’Day said. About 120 Girl Scouts have registered and are expected to participate this year. With the $15 registration fee, each Girl Scout receives a derby car set that they must use to build the car that competes in the race. Each set includes a wood block, wheels and nails that must be used. No pre-cut cars or other pieces purchased online will be allowed in the race, along with cars from previous years. See POWDER PUFF, Page 2
Michelle Kramer drives to the basket for Scripps Ranch High School. (photo by Jim Wick)
Michelle Kramer (photo by Jim Wick)
Lost & Found: The things students will lose By Kaila Mellos
N
aomi Chavez has seen firsthand what young students leave behind after a long day at Miramar Ranch Elementary School. As a parent and volunteer lost and found coordinator, and a Family Faculty Association (FFA) member, she has taken it upon herself to collect items daily around campus. “The things that I have found range. It’s something different every time I am there,” Chavez said. “It’s not just the jackets that I hang for parents to pick up, but there are also hats, beanies, umbrellas, barrettes, water bottles, and full lunches that have not even been touched, some with mold and bugs. I have even found a dress in October, and some jeans in NEWS, Pages 2-3
•
The coat fence holds an abundance of items left behind at Miramar Ranch Elementary. (courtesy photo)
January.” When Chavez does her daily walk-throughs at the school, she takes a wagon to collect all the items she finds along the way. “In the past, I do two wagon trips through the campus usually,” Chavez said. “EarLIFE, Pages 4-7
•
lier this month, I did four wagon carts full. It was so full to the rim that another parent had to help me climb the hill because they kept falling off the wagon.” The items in the wagon end up in one of two places on campus: the cafeteria in a lost
LEISURE, Pages 8-9
•
SCHOOLS, Page 10
•
and found cubby, or the fence along the outside recess area. The cubby in the cafeteria is the first place everything ends up, with hopes the items will be claimed by the kids. After that, Chavez tries to put everything out on the fence at least once a month to see if SPORTS, Pages 11-12
•
parents can help move things out of the school’s possession. “We always leave it out for a week or two if it’s not going to rain,” Chavez said. “When they are not claimed, I pick up the jackets, put them in big trash bags, and then the principal decides where we will donate them: either to Salvation Army or Goodwill most of the time.” Chavez noted that many name-brand and expensive jackets go unclaimed in the lost and found fence roundup even after there are multiple emails and snippets in the school newsletter to check for kids’ items. “Some of the jackets are expensive brands that look brand new, and I just cannot believe that they go unclaimed to be donated away,” she said. See LOST & FOUND, Page 10
WORDS & PICTURES, Pages 13-16