Irene Keener, the foodservice manager forYosemite Unified SchoolDistrict, retired October31, ending a 22-yearcareer with the district.

She started workingfor Coarsegold Elemen-tary School District in1987, but worked for justa short time in thekitchen.

After that she movedon to a variety of jobsthroughout a career thatended with her oversee-ing the nutritional needsof the district’s morethan 2,000 studentsalong with all other foodservice activities.

These duties includedmaking sure the districtcomplied with all guide-lines established by thestate and federal govern-ments. These issuesincluded food safety,nutritional requirements,governmental mandatesabout what schoolscould and could notserve to students, and

the federal free andreduced meal program.She also administeredthe food service budget.

Keener said she thor-oughly enjoyed hercareer, especially work-ing around the students,many of whom referredto her as “Miss Irene.”

After her short time inthe Coarsegold kitchen,she became the cafeteriaclerk. In 1995 she wasnamed food servicedirector for CoarsegoldSchool District.

Her many otherduties through the yearsincluded teaching homeeconomics for seventh

and eighth grades; serv-ing as detention monitor;assistant track coach,working with the longdistance runners; teamteaching a latch key pro-gram; teaching a cookingclass for adults (one ofher favorite positions,she said); and being themother on the ski bus fora number of years.

Each of these dutiesholds fond memories forKeener. She mentionsone outstanding memo-ry from riding on the busfor the Mountain AreaSki School trips. Theywere caught in a snowstorm as they returnedhome and she recallsstanding at the front ofthe bus wiping the insideof the windshield withtissue so the driver couldsee to get the studentshome safely.

When Yosemite HighSchool started planningits cafeteria in the late1990s, that district hiredKeener part time to over-

see the final stages ofplanning and then to bethe food service directoras a job-share withCoarsegold School Dist-rict.

When those two dis-tricts unified in 2006, she

became the food servicemanager for the newlyformed district.

In her retirement,Keener looks forward tospending more time withher family and travelingwith her husband in

their recreational vehicle.Srini Vasan, the dis-

trict’s chief business offi-cer, will manage the foodservice department. JohnHouldridge has beenhired as the food servicedirector.

“This will stay with

me the rest of my life,”commented YosemiteUnified School DistrictTrustee Greg Schoonardafter he and the rest ofthe board members wit-nessed a presentation tothe four staff memberswho were doing theactual medical assistanceto a Yosemite High stu-dent October 14.

District 5 MaderaCounty Supervisor TomWheeler presented cer-tificates to Bob Kernag-han, Terri LeQuia, LinaMoberly, and DeniseTrappen at the beginningof the November 9 YUSDboard meeting.

These four staff mem-bers have been recog-nized for the work theydid “on the floor” withYHS junior Doug Bergafter he experienced amedical emergency dur-ing his fourth periodSpanish class.

Numerous other staffmembers and some stu-dents participated in thelife-saving event. YHSPrincipal Ed Van Hoosecalls it a true team effortthat included office staff,administrators, campussupervisors, the Spanishteacher Rebecca Brokaw,and some of the studentsin the class.

Van Hoose was not on

campus when the eventtook place and he saidlater that it was a verygood feeling to know theschool staff was so capa-ble. “We have a trulyspecial staff on campus,”he said at a staff meetingfollowing the incident.“The people who res-ponded did so well and Icommend everyone whowas involved.”

YHS Vice PrincipalDiane Adney was theadministrator - in -charge for the incident.

Those involved in,and affected by, the inci-dent believe Berg is backin school today becausestaff members have beentrained, they acted calm-ly and efficiently, theyhad the proper equip-ment, and they knewhow to use it.

The school’s emer-gency plan just “fell intoplace,” commented TonyMisner, who teaches theRegional OccupationalProgram (ROP) Emer-gency Medical Tech-nician class for the dis-trict.

Some have beenimpressed by how thingshappened. LeQuia, whois a licensed vocationalnurse in the NavyReserves, and who hasseveral years experienceworking in an emer-gency room, should nothave been aware of the

event as it began, but shewas doing somethingshe says she never doesand she saw the emer-gency just as it began tounfold. She rushed to theclassroom to assist.

LeQuia, who is aparaeducator for theMadera County Office ofEducation, was in a near-by classroom with a YHSstudent when she notic-ed a message on her cellphone. She says shenever responds to callsduring class unless it isfrom her teacher.

However, she noticedthat it was from a personwith whom she sharestransportation duties fortheir children and shedecided she should takethe call. She stepped out-side the classroom,called the person, andjust as she answered acampus supervisor ranfrom Rebecca Brokaw’sclass with a look of panicon her face, then she sawKernaghan leave hisclassroom and go to theother class.

She hung up thephone and ran to theroom where she began tohelp Moberly with car-diopulmonary resuscita-tion (CPR).

She later learned thather friend had called herby mistake.

Kernaghan, who has27 years experience as a

paid-call firefighter, wasonly a couple doorsaway, so students couldrun quickly to his roomto get him. Berg’s bestfriend, Brandon Cum-mins, was seated acrossthe aisle from him andimmediately went to hisaid when he noticed himhitting his head on thedesk behind him.

One of the school’sthree Automated Exter-nal Defibrillators (AEDs)was located nearby inthe school office andcampus supervisor Laur-ie Kenyon was able to getit to the classroom withinminutes.

Kernaghan was train-ed to use the AED and itworked perfectly, tellinghim to administer ashock. After the shock,

CPR was resumed andmoments later theynoticed that Berg wastrying to breathe andthat he had a pulse.

He was taken byambulance to Children’sHospital of Central Calif-ornia and later trans-ferred to Stanford Medi-cal Center where animplantable cardioverterdefibrillator (ICD) wasimplanted. He returnedto school November 3and reported that he feltjust fine.

At the board meeting,the entire incident wascalled “team work of the

best kind.”YUSD Superintendent

Steve Raupp says thisevent emphasizes theimportance of all typesof safety training andplanning and this, hesays, is a district priority.“We know that beingprepared and beingtrained in the properresponse is critical,” hesays.

Sierra Telephonedonated an AED toYosemite High Schoolseveral years ago andeveryone hoped it wouldnever have to be used,but when it was needed,it proved to be a life-saver.

“That is the way welook at all the work weput into safety plan-ning,” Raupp said. “We

hope we never have touse it, but we know if thetime comes when we dohave to respond to anemergency, we must beprepared.”

Coarsegold Elemen-tary School has one AEDon site and, after theNovember 9 board meet-ing, Rivergold Elemen-tary has one. Misner sayshe would like to seethree more for the YHScampus because it is solarge and spread out (95acres). He would like foreach school site in thedistrict to have an AED.

At the board meeting,

YUSD Director of Main-tenance, Operations andTransportation KevynMoberly, accepted a newAED for Rivergold. Thisunit was made possiblethrough district staffdonations.

Naomi Isaak, RN,clinical coordinator forBuilding Heart-SafeCommunities, with theCommunity RegionalMedical Center inFresno, brought the unitand gave a demonstra-tion to the board andother staff members inattendance.

She emphasized thatanyone can use thedevice because it tells aperson exactly what todo and how to do it. Shepointed out that theGood Samaritan law pro-

vides protection forthose who use it (Calif-ornia Health and SafetyCode 1799.102).

The unit convertsquickly and easily to apediatric unit, somethingvery necessary for theelementary schools.

Doug Berg’s father,Jerry, says the family is“so appreciative of theway things were han-dled,” at YHS that day.“Everyone knowingwhat to do, doing it atthe right time and in theright way” made all thedifference for his son, hesaid.

Volume 6 Number 1 November 19, 2009

School News

Naomi Isaak, the clinical coordinator for Building Heart-SafeCommunities, Community Regional Medical Center, demonstrated theautomated external defibrillator (AED) at the Yosemite Unified SchoolDistrict board meeting November 9. The new unit was recently pur-chased to be placed at Rivergold Elementary School through donationsfrom YUSD staff members. Assisting with the demonstration is KevynMoberly, YUSD director of maintenance, operations, and transportation.

District 5 Madera County Supervisor Tom Wheeler, back left, present-ed certificates from the board to the staff members who gave medicalaid to Doug Berg, a Yosemite High School student, during his medicalemergency October 14. Pictured are, front row L to R, Terri LeQuia,Lina Moberly, and Denise Trappen. Back row L to R, Wheeler, and BobKernaghan.

Rivergold School second grade students formed lines through whichthe area veterans entered the school’s auditorium November 10 for acelebration to honor those who have served their country. Approxi-mately 50 veterans attended the recognition by the three second gradeclasses. See story on Page 4.

Irene Keener

A publication of the Bass Lake School District, andYosemite Unified School District An insert to the

Sierra Star and Sierra Home Advertiser

Published at YUSD offices, 50200 Road 427, Oakhurst, CA 93644

Phone 559-683-8801 ext. 338 www.yosemiteuhsd.com

This year YosemiteFuture Farmers ofAmerica traveled acrossthe country to Indian-apolis, Indiana to attendthe National FFA Con-vention with 20,000 otherFFA members.

Students who wentwere Steven Zimmer-man, Amanda Bagwell,Emily Goldman, ClaytonGambril, Cody Gambriland Clayton Guillemin.They were there from

October 20- 24.They went to one of

the largest career showsfor youth that includedmany colleges and uni-versities from around thecountry and many agri-culture companies shar-ing information abouttheir products or em-ployment opportunities.

Students got to attendlarge FFA sessions andone of those sessions hadMike Rowe from DirtyJobs on Discovery chan-nel as a motivationalspeaker.

Four Yosemite Highgraduates received theirAmerican FFA Degree,which is the highestdegree any FFA membercan receive.

Receiving degreeswere Jessica Gambril,Robert Zimmerman,Ashley Christensen andRachel Olsten.

All Yosemite FFAmembers who went tothis once-in-a-life timetrip had fun and cameback with a great experi-ence.

Yosemite CommunityEducation Center willoffer pre-registration forthe Emergency MedicalTechnician (EMT) Basicclass starting December1.

The class will be heldJanuary 12 through May

27 on Tuesdays andThursdays from 6-10p.m. Cost is $200.

There is a mandatorylaboratory class onWednesdays from 6-9:30p.m. starting January 26.

Registration will beavailable online at

www.adultreg.com/yosemite or at theEducational OptionsOffice, Road 427,Oakhurst (located nearYosemite High School),or by calling LawnnaPorter at 683-8801 ext.366.

The road to the adop-tion of the USConstitution is pavedwith pumpkins, or atleast it was as YosemiteHigh School’s US Gov-ernment classes andRivergold and Coarse-gold’s eighth grade class-es united October 30 toteach and learn about theUS Constitution andFederalism.

Eighth grade studentslistened to the seniorgovernment class stu-dents describe how theUS Constitution andFederalism came to be.

After the seniors com-pleted their presenta-tions, it was questionsfrom the eighth graders.

Much to the seniors’surprise, some questionsactually stumped them,and they had to look tothe eighth graders tosupply the answers.

When I asked theeighth graders why theythought they had tostudy the constitution ineighth and 12th gradeand then again in col-lege, one student replied“so we can have life, lib-erty and the pursuit ofhappiness.”

At the conclusion ofthe presentations, stu-dents were offeredcarved pumpkins of theirchoice.

YHS students hadcarved pumpkins in thetheme of the constitutionand federalism. Over 100carved pumpkins glow-ed all around the eighthgraders, with someboasting States Rights,the 3/5ths Compromiseand some depicting thecountry’s foundingfathers such as JamesMadison and BenjaminFranklin

Eighth grad teachersSherry Graves, Rich Sis-cho, and Gina Hansen -

Sedor, along with YHSteachers Deborah Brownand Phil Branstetter feltthat this gave studentson both ends of the gradespectrum an opportunityto share and have mutualconversations about ourgovernment.

Any citizen wouldhave been proud to seeover 200 students en-gaged in active learningand the sharing of theirknowledge of our gov-ernment.

This activity was partof the ongoing verticalarticulation with districtschools, which is coordi-nating studies fromgrade to grade.

This spring anotherreunion of sorts has beenplanned to include all200 students to reviewfor the Constitution testthat both the eighthgraders and seniors inhigh school must take tograduate.

Calm - Storm - Calm- Storm.

The 2008-2009 fiscalyear saw that cyclerepeat several times. Itwas a year of roller coast-er funding, uncertaintynot only about the futurebut also of the past.

How can you beuncertain about the past,you may ask. Let meexplain. It can happenand has happened inschool funding. It iscalled retroactive fund-ing reductions.

At the very beginningof the year, the statedetermines what thefunding formula will befor the next year. But,when the state’s coffersdo not get enough “capi-tal” from taxes and otherincome such as propertytax, capital gains tax,sales and used tax, “capi-tol” paralysis occurs.

These tax revenues areessential to make Sacra-mento and the rest of thestate function. Whenthese taxes don’t come inas estimated, the statestarts making mid-yearcorrections.

The districts go intopanic mode because theyhave already built theirbudget for staffing andother operations basedon a certain fundingmodel provided by thestate, and now they haveto make mid-year correc-tions.

Can they take back

what they gave? Yes,they can!

The “storm” startedlast October when Sacra-mento announced the$25 billionbudget cri-sis.

T h e“calm” start-ed when theg o v e r n o re x p r e s s e dhis confi-dence thatthe various ballot meas-ures in the Novem-berelection would providerelief.

The “storm” cameback when “vox populi”(a Latin phrase for voiceof the people) delivered astunning defeat on allballot measures in theNovember 2008 elec-tions.

The New Year deliv-ered “calm” when thePresident Obama hintedpossible federal help.

Then it was “storm”when the governorannounced that becauseof federal funding, thestate would seek reliefand cut its share of fund-ing to schools.

Then it was “calm”once again when thegovernor announcedthat for 2008-2009 therewould be less fundingcuts, followed by “storm”that there will be morecuts for 2009-2010.

When the deadline toadopt state budgetpassed us by, there weremore concerns that therecould be more cuts. Evenafter the state budget

was adopted, there arestill concerns that therecould be mid-year cuts.

If your head is spin-ning due to the flip flop,so is ours. What madethe task more difficultwas the June 30 deadlineto adopt the districtbudget (the deadlinedoes not apply to statebudget adoption).

Two major factorsplayed a big role in our2008-2009 closing. Theone time ARRA (Ameri-can Recovery and Rein-vestment Act), alsoknown as FederalStimulus Funding StateFiscal Stabilization Fund,Title I and Individualswith Disabilities Educa-tion Act or IDEA).

The second one is thedeficit factor reductionthat the state was goingto impose for 2008-2009but was deferred to 2009-2010.

This means less cuts in2008-2009 and more cutsin 2009-2010 instead ofmore cuts in 2008-2009and less cuts in 2009-2010.

With so many unantic-ipated changes happen-ing, the district is work-ing hard to preservequality of educationwhile maintaining fiscalstability and positive cer-tification.

My children alwaysmade fun of me when Irefused to go on theroller coaster rides, butafter riding the budgetroller coaster, MagicMountain and Six Flagsshould be a piece of cake.

PHOTO BY DEBORAH BROWN

YHS senior Ben Siverly carved a pumpkin that represents the 3/5Compromise reached in 1787. The pumpkin shows a slave who,through the compromise, counted as 3/5 of a person in populationcounts for the states to determine how many representatives each statewould have in the US House of Representatives.

PHOTO COURTESY OF FFA

Yosemite High FFA members who attended the National Conventionin October are, left to right: Amanda Bagwell, Emily Goldman, ClaytonGuillemen, Cody Gambril, Steven Zimmerman, and Clayton Gambril.

A group of YosemiteHigh School studentswill be participating inan intensive eight-hourTeen Survival Drivingclass December 12 in SanBernardino at the SanBernardino County Sher-iff’s Department Emer-gency Vehicle OperationCourse Training Center.

The students in theRegional OccupationalProgram (ROP) CriminalJustice class will attendthe class along with theirteacher, Madera CountySheriff’s Deputy RoyBroomfield, who is alsothe school’s resource offi-cer.

Broomfield says this isextremely valuable train-ing for teenage drivers,particularly those whomust travel the mountainroads.

“I wish every studentat YHS could attend thistraining,” he said. “Thestudents will learn skillsthat they will use the restof their lives any timethey drive any type ofmotor vehicle.”

Broomfield notes thatYHS students have muchmore dangerous drivingconditions than students

the same age in the val-ley.

Students driving inthe mountains must con-tend with winter drivingconditions including ice,snow, and black ice; ani-mals on the road; poorvisibility because there isnot lighting along theroads; and the narrow,winding roads.

During the one daytraining, the studentswill spend 90 minutes inthe classroom learningabout how a car handlesat various speeds. Theywill spend the rest of thetime driving on a closedcourse that covers about300 acres.

They will drive theSan Bernardino CountySheriff’s Department ve-hicles.

The class includes pre-cision driving, accidentavoidance, vehicularcontrol, emergency lanechanges, skid recovery,controlled braking, andstate of the art computerbased classrooms.

At each station of thecourse, students will ridethrough the course withan instructor and thenthey will be put in a car

by themselves to drivethe same course with acertificate. The instructoris able to talk to them byradio to make sugges-tions.

It is a pass - fail pro-gram and those who suc-cessfully complete it willbe given a certificate.Broomfield says someinsurance companiescould give student driv-ers a deduction once theyhave passed this coursewith a certificate.

He stresses that this isthe same instruction thatlaw enforcement officersand police academycadets receive. Law en-forcement officers spendnine days at the school,however, with additionalfocus on driving skillsteenagers do not need,such as pursuit drivingand cornering.

This is the second yearBroomfield has taken hisstudents to the class. Hesays it is a very time-con-suming and expensiveprogram.

The cost of the classand lodging is coveredthrough ROP but stu-dents are responsible forbuying their meals.

2

OES PHOTO

Students in Scarlett Bullock’s fifth grade classroom are displayingtheir “High on Nature” attitudes.

On October 30, thefifth grade students fromScarlett Bullock’s andSherrie Clark’s classesfrom Oakhurst Elemen-tary School went toGlacier Point to studyrocks and nature withYosemite Institute.

While we were inYosemite National Park,we visited Glacier Point,hiked up Sentinel Domeand learned aboutYosemite.

We went to GlacierPoint first and gazedover the most stunningview.

There were massivemountains piercing thesky and shadows danc-ing across the valley. Butsuddenly, we were allstaring at the landmarks.

Half Dome stood talland mighty, rising higherthan the clouds. Rightabove it was MountLyell. Majestic and colos-sal, it took our breathaway, towering higherthan all the other moun-tains.

Then, we learnedabout geology. Welearned that Half Domeis not really half.Yosemite was formedfrom a glacier comingthrough and carvingsharp jagged edges inYosemite making a U-shape valley. But if frozeand melted leaving a biglake in Yosemite Valleyalong with waterfalls.

We’ll bet you didn’tknow there is a wholesong about the rockcycle, too! There is heat-ing and cooling, break-ing down, layering, heatand pressure.

We also learned howanimals connect to oneanother. For example, thechipmunks connect tonuts and then nuts con-nect to the trees. Thetrees connect to the soiland the soil connects toinsects.

Maybe you’ll want tobecome “hard-cored.”The environmentalists inYosemite eat the core ofapples so that helplessanimals won’t dependon others to feed them.

After a while, we

hiked up Sentinel Dome.Our legs ached, and oureyes felt like theyweighed 10 pounds, butthe view was worth it.

At 8,117 feet, you canpeer over all of YosemiteValley. There in front ofus was Half Dome,Mount Lyell, El Capitanand so much more!

In awe, we trottedaround when our eyesstumbled upon a deadJeffrey Pine tree. Wethought about what welearned - how the pointswon’t hurt you on aJeffrey pine cone becausethey are turned under.

By the end of our day,we all got to knowYosemite a little betterbecause the field trip wasso much fun.

This was one of thebest trips we have everexperienced.

We thank the natural-ists from Yosemite Insti-tute for teaching usabout nature throughhands - on activities,songs, lectures and hik-ing.

Estimated at over 300years old, the giant oakof Oak Creek Intermed-iate recently becamesomeone’s treasure foronly $2. The oak thattowered over the schoolparking lot had beenshowing signs of weak-ening for the past year.

The old timer finallygave up its fight againstgravity a month ago andcame crashing down onto the parking lot. Thetree, hollowed from age,exploded into pieces thatconsumed the entireparking area.

It took crews severalweeks to finally clean upthe entire mess, but theywere able to retrieve afew cords of good fire-wood.

No doubt this king ofthe oaks had seen its ownshare of fires through thevalley over the years.

He has stood proudbut silent as he saw theOakhurst valley developinto a bustling littlemountain town from hisperch overlooking theFresno Flats Historicalsight.

It is from the presenceof these giant monarchsthat we acquired the

name of our town andthe very name of theschool, Oak CreekIntermediate, of whichhe presided over.

The oak has beenreigning there sincebefore the founding ofour nation.

The firewood wasauctioned off at the OakCreek Intermediate an-nual Spaghetti Dinnerand Auction November13.

The raffle tickets soldfor $2 each and the win-ner received a cord ofhistory for their dona-tion.

Wasuma Elementary

is moving full steamahead this fall. Studentsand teachers are enjoy-ing fall festivities and areworking diligently,learning about every-thing from the changingof the seasons in kinder-garten to MedievalChina in junior high.

Our academic pen-tathlon team is gearingup for competitionwhich will be held inMadera in March. Thetheme this year is alsoMedieval China. Thereare five categories for thecompetition includingmath, speech, essay,Super Quiz, and litera-ture.

Wasuma has per-formed well over thepast two years and weare expecting a success-ful and exciting experi-ence this year as well.The pentathlon team isled by Elaine Solomon,math coach John Dewey,Super Quiz coach

Shannon Ecklund, andessay and speech coachLarissa Bond. The pen-tathlon team is spon-sored by PTA.

Wasuma is very proudto have made a huge

jump in our academictest scores this year onthe STAR, the Californiastandardized tests. In2007-2009 our AcademicPerformance Index (API)was 785. For the 2008-2009 school year our APIjumped to 810.

We credit our newResponse to Intervention(RtI) program, new mathadoption, a strong cul-ture of collaboration, andso many families com-mitted to the educationof their children for this

improvement. Our junior high stu-

dents recently participat-ed in Challenge Day inthe school cafeteria.

Challenge Day is adynamic motivationalday that gives studentsan opportunity to dis-cover each other’s differ-ences and challenges andcelebrates them.

In order for ChallengeDay to take place manyvolunteers had to comeforward and studentshad to be very brave inorder to face their feel-ings and fears.

The outcome wasincredibly positive. Sev-eral students apologizedfor mistreating theirclassmates and newfriendships were forged.

The next step forChallenge Day is the for-mation of the “Be theChange” group thatkeeps “the change” mov-ing and keeps the prom-ises made on ChallengeDay present.

Special thanks to ourChallenge Day coordina-tor Jean Smith.

PHOTO BY RICK SLAYTON

The Yosemite High School marching band participated in the Veterans’ Day Parade in FresnoNovember 11.

The Yosemite HighSchool marching band isbusier than ever thisyear.

The new uniformswhich the band acquiredallow the students toparticipate in events thatwere not open to thembefore they had uni-forms, notes YHS MusicDirector Randy Hyatt.

One such event isBand Day at Fresno StateSaturday, November 21.YHS students will spendthe day participating invarious activities andthen will be part of thehalf-time show at theCSUF vs. Louisiana Tech

game at 2 p.m. in Bull-dog Stadium.

The band has been inthe Heritage Day parade,at the 9-11 observance,the Veterans’ Day paradein Fresno, and at footballgames, in addition to theFall Band and ChoirConcert at YHS.

Area resident RickSlayton attended theVeterans’ Day paradeand said he overheard aperson say, “Wow, theyhave a great band,” asYosemite marched by.

Slayton said “I could-n’t have been moreproud of Randy Hyattand our students. They

represented Yosemiteand our mountain com-munity well!”

The band will per-form at the December 8Winter Concert to closeout the fall semester.

Spring semester willfind the students in anumber of concerts andother activities: February27, Night on the TownDinner Theater; March16, Spring Concert;March 25, Spring Con-cert and Honor BandsPerformance; May 6, Jazzand Percussion perform-ance; May 26, end of theyear concert band andpercussion.

Hyatt says a majoreffort this year is torecruit current eighthgrade students to be partof the program next year.

He is working withelementary schools to letstudents know what isavailable and to encour-age them to be part ofeither the band or choirclasses offered at YHS.

The school was able topurchase 200 used uni-forms through theInternet for $6,000 from ahigh school in Georgia.Community fundraiserswere held to make thepurchase possible.

PHOTO BY JOE SMITH

The Yosemite High School Cadet Corps par-ticipated in the Veterans’ Day Parade in FresnoNovember 11. The group also marched in thelocal Heritage Days Parade and at the 9-11observance. In February they will go to CampPendleton to watch two former Cadets gradu-ate, they will sleep and eat on the base, tourthe facility and tour a nuclear submarine.

The students at Mead-owbrook CommunityCay School participatedin the International Dayof Peace (Peace Day)September 21.

The students in PaulaMcCabe’s class partici-pated in the Pinwheelsfor Peach activity andmade pinwheels thatwere displayed in andoutside the classroom.

McCabe says peacedoesn’t necessarily haveto be associated withwar, but can be related toviolence and tolerance inone’s daily life, and topeace of mind.

The students in theclass also participated inconflict resolution work-shops and team workactivities.

Approximately 50mountain area veter-ans, many with chil-dren or grandchildrenat Rivergold School,were honored Novem-ber 10 by the secondgrade students duringa morning assembly.

The students fromthe classrooms of KoriDavis, Chris McMillen,and JoAnne Steffkesang songs, told thehistory of the Americanflag, and served cake tothe veterans.

As the assemblyopened, the studentsformed two linesthrough which the vet-erans entered the audi-torium. As the veteransentered, smiles brokeacross many faces atthe sight of the childrenstanding respectfully tohonor them. Somestopped to greet thechildren, others gave ahug and kiss to theirchild or grandchild.

Cub Scout Pack 341led the flag salute andthen the students sangthe Star SpangledBanner.

Waving flags, thestudents sang a numberof patriotic songs,including God Bless theUSA.

McMillen told theveterans that it wastruly an honor to recog-

nize them and the serv-ice they performed fortheir country and forthe sacrifices they madefor the common good.

Rivergold PrincipalAl Nocciolo noted thatthe day was the birth-day of the United StatesMarine Corps whichwas formed November10, 1775.

“I’m in awe of youwomen and men whohave served,” he said.

After the program,

one veteran called themorning “very touch-ing,” adding that “Ireally enjoyed it.”

He noted that sometears had been shed bythe veterans during therecognition.

Veterans who at-tended ranged fromthose who served inWorld War II to somewho are currently serv-ing their country in themilitary reserves.

Rivergold School second grade teacherChris McMillen welcomes a veteran to theircelebration as two students look on.

Over summer vaca-tion, 29 students partici-pated in the CoarsegoldSchool Summer ReadingProgram.

We were required toread four books oversummer vacation and

then write a page and ahalf book summary orpass an AcceleratedReader test with a scoreof 80 percent or better.

Incoming fourththrough eighth graderswere able to participate.The year before only 17students participated, soit was good to see morestudents reading overthe summer.

All students who ful-filled the requirementsgot to go on a trip toIsland Water Park.

It was not a contest.All we had to do wasread four books andcomplete summaries ortests.

I hope we can do itagain this year, and Ihope more kids will par-ticipate.

Everyday I see stu-

dents and families whoare overcoming extreme-ly difficult situations. Ihave a challenge for allmountain area families:

Give as much as youget.

All good things startwith “one:” one can offood, one book read, onehomework assignmentcompleted or one act of

kindness.Parents, help your

child learn the gift of giv-ing by supporting localorganizations that helpothers in need. If you donot know who to contact,call your local school andthey will make sure thatit gets to someone inneed.

We are so blessed inthe mountain area. Wehave so much; showyour kids that the holi-days are more than a

new Wii console. Helpsomeone this year who isin need.

I would like to thankour local Toys for Tots,Elks, and Manna Housefor providing toys,clothes and food forneedy families through-out the mountain com-munity.

The spirit of giving isalive and well in themountain community,you can make a differ-ence with only “one.”

This is the 10-yearanniversary of the RedRibbon Coalition. Every-day families are affectedby the use of illegaldrugs and illegal use oflegal drugs. This year’stheme was “Dream,Believe, Achieve, andSucceed.”

At Coarsegold Schoolthe leadership classwants the community to

know that Red RibbonWeek is more thansinging a song and wear-ing a red ribbon. It ismaking tough choiceswhen your friend asksyou to drink or do drugs.

Yosemite High Schoolhas made great stridesthis year with its drugtesting program. Thankyou to those businessesand individuals that

have given so that stu-dents have another rea-son to say no.

Throughout the weekof Nov. 2-6, Coarsegoldstudents participated innumerous activities.

The goal of the weekwas to support them inmaking healthy choicesand being a positive rolemodel for their friends.

If one drives out theback gate of YosemiteLakes Park, or if youdrive down River Road,you will come upon akindergarten througheighth grade school. Asyou drive into the park-ing lot you will findyourself saying, “Thisdoesn’t look like a typi-cal school,” but thenagain you see childrengleefully playing on theplayground.

You have foundRivergold School, theschool with the best testscores in Eastern MaderaCounty for K-8 schoolswith an API of 818.

For that matter,Rivergold School has thebest test scores for a

school with over 100 stu-dents in Eastern MaderaCounty.

Rivergold School isproud of our studentsand the families whochoose to send their chil-dren to us.

Rivergold staff ex-pects the best out ofthemselves and, yes, weexpect the best out of thechildren we serve.

One will see bestefforts not only in theclassroom but also in themusical / theatrical per-formances such as UrbanCircus or Tribute to OurVeterans performed anddedicated by our secondgrade students andteachers.

Come and enjoy thewinter and spring stu-dent performances onthe Rivergold stage.

If athletics is an inter-

est, Rivergold studentsdemonstrated their bestas they have garneredfootball, volleyball, soc-cer, basketball, and trackchampionships.

The Rivergold familyhas much to be proud of:Dedicated teachers whoteach and motivate chil-dren, parents who sup-port the best efforts ofteachers while alsoencouraging their chil-dren to do their bestwork, and the communi-ty and parents and teach-ers who dedicate theirtime and effort for thesuccess of the HawkFestival, the Hawk Walkand other fundraisingactivities designed byparents for the simplepurpose to support theThree A’s - Academics,Activities, and Athletics.

The Coarsegold girls’volleyball team workedhard to win the Mount-ain Area Championship

this year.Throughout the sea-

son the girls exemplifiedsportsmanship andteamwork.

Under the guidance of

Coaches Robert Jacksonand Amanda Fouch, theycreated a strong bondand learned to rely oneach other, thinking insync with one another.

COARSEGOLD SCHOOL PHOTO

Coarsegold students, left to right, who participated in the SummerReading program include Madison Stretch, Lillian O’Day, and JennaBarrayo.

COARSEGOLD SCHOOL PHOTO

Jayden Wilson and Taylor Gowdy are shown with one of the RedRibbon Week signs at Coarsegold School.

Mountain Area Championship Volleyball Team from CoarsegoldSchool: Top row L to R: MicKenzie Stretch, Mara Long, Amanda Fouch,Eirena Ewert, Robert Jackson, Cassie Salisbury, Sierra Dominici,Sabrina Lovett, Hannah Medrano, Justise Martin, Cierra Bordwine, andTaylor Ferguson. Bottom row L to R: Jewel Crosson, Kayal Furin,Mataya Brown, Christina Kieffer, Kesley Cooper, Kayleigh Skerce, JaneWood, Riley McConnell, Ali Boyer, McKenna Hunziker, Olivia Pearson,and Kelsi Stieler.

On the second day of

school, as I walked fromthe staff lounge to theadministration building,I looked up at the flagpole and what I sawmade me gasp.

At the top of the staffflew the United Statesflag, dwarfed by theCalifornia State flag by atleast three times. Thesymbol of our countrylooked like a postagestamp on top of the BearFlag! I simply couldn’tbelieve my eyes! What aninjustice!

Not believing what Isaw, I asked some of myfellow teachers if theyhad noticed the flag. No,they hadn’t, but whenthey did their reactionwas the same. “That’sjust wrong,” I heard timeand time again.

I was full of regret forwhat was flying over ourcampus. Something hadto be done.

I printed the UnitedStates Rules for FlagEtiquette which statesthat other flags may besmaller than the UnitedStates flag, but none maybe larger.

I showed that infor-mation to our principal,Al Nocciolo, who sug-

gested I look into findinga replacement flag.

I wrote a letter to theLadies Auxiliary of Vet-erans of Foreign WarsPost 8743 explaining thatas a fifth grade teacher Iwas responsible for

teaching my studentsabout the 50 states, theDeclaration of Indepen-dence, the AmericanRevolution, and the USConstitution. I also toldthem that as a proudAmerican, I taught flagetiquette.

My husband served inthe Army in OperationDesert Storm and hadbeen a member of VFW.

I asked if there wasanything they could doto donate a flag thatRivergold could fly withpride.

The day after I mailedmy letter, Bud Russell,the commander of VFWPost 8743 called to tellme the letter had beenpassed along to him andthe VFW would beproud to donate a flag tothe school.

On September 10, Mr.Russell and his wife pre-sented my class with anew American flag, 5 feetby 9.5 feet.

My students gave uptheir recess to accept theflag and thank Mr.Russell.

I wish more peoplecould have been witnessto the cheers of my classas our beautiful flag wasraised over the school.