PESH’N

What is it? Physical, emotional, and social Harassment. The leadershipclass has issued this challenge, “PESHing,,,uou see it every day…but, do what? What will you do about it?” This thought provoker is accompanied by two small posters one with an all seeing eye and they other with a graceful scrollwork design. The idea (I believe) is to think about this uncomfortable subject and then decide to take action.

Junior Volleyball Girls Rock

Coach Sid Fraser sends the following report, “Both teams are currently undefeated with wins over Pomolita, Pt. Arena, Mendocino, Eagle peak and Ft. Bragg. We are entering our last week with two away matches at Eagle Peak and Fort Bragg respectively.” That is pretty awesome and bodes well for our AV girls volleyball program for years to come.

The Parachutes dropped

This year I missed the launching of the small parachutes that fourth
graders craft.. Teacher Vickie Brock sent me a report, “On Friday we had our first 4th grade competition- the parachute drop. Twenty-four students entered and received homework passes just for entering! The winners were as follows: 1st place Guillermo Varelas and Cristian Bucio 6.24 sec. (airborne), 2nd place JT Varlin 5.38 sec., 3rd place Carlos Topete, Jorge Medina, Gabriel Segura 5.28 sec. Prize for the fastest falling parachute went to Onofre Soto at 1.40 sec.” Tamara Wilder will be working with the 4th graders on Nov. 4. Some of you may have seen Tamara in her buckskin dress in the Fiber Hall at the County Fair. Daughter of Cindy and Kirk Wilder she is an expert on things most of us don’t know how to do anymore. These are skills that many of our ancestors depended upon for survival.  Information on hunting, skinning and tanning animal hides are a few of the skills she will share.

High School Blood Drive

Selene from the AVHS Leadership class sent me this report on the Blood Drive last week. “The blood drive went pretty well. There were about 27 donors and most were students. Every donor had to stay and eat something for 15 minutes after donating blood just in case they might start to feel ill. A lot of students weren’t able to donate for reasons like not enough iron in their blood or because they went to Mexico.”

Persuasive Topics

Betsy Taylor told me that the 7th graders are writing persuasive essays now and that many of the topics they’ve chosen involve convincing people to help. They would like us to help the AV Health Center, the homeless,immigrants and families of cancer patients. Also on the list arguments for a skate park and a community swimming pool. I was never taught to write a persuasive essay.
This seems like a very practical piece of equipment to add to the “tool kit of life” that students are supposed to be assembling in high school.

Where are They Now?

Ramon Jimenez is attending U.C. Davis and Emilio Torales is at SF State. Both students came back to share their college experiences with students at the High School. They attended a soccer game after their presentation. I am always taken by surprise when students come back to visit. When I left my mega sized high school in Los Angeles I never looked back. There were no warm and fuzzy memories there and no nostalgia. I think it says a lot that many AVHS graduates care enough about their high school days to come back.  Daniel Angulo recently dropped Ms. Taylor a note that indicated that he will probably be going to Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand on his with his brother during his 6-week holiday break. He is taking argumentation, sociology, introduction to government, world politics and sophomore English plus working 12 hours a week. He is planning on a major in government with a concentration in international relations. He hopes to study abroad in Florence Italy this spring.

Rethinking What You’re Drinking

Carole Brodsky for the Ukiah Daily Journal, “Terry Nieves the program director for the Mendocino County Schools Network for a Healthy California, holds up an empty 20 oz. Soda bottle. In it are 17 cubes of sugar…The average teenager drinks 750 cans of soda per year, “ Public Health Officer Dr. Marvin Trotter states that at current levels, one in three children will become diabetic by the age of 40. Sweetened beverages, according to Nieves, are fueling the problem.”

Got School News? Tryder@mcn.org or Terry at 895-2146