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Grad night, donations to the schools, sugar, benefits of music

Education Roundup

Sonoma Valley High School’s grad night celebration is an all-night drug- and alcohol-free graduation party. There has not been a fatality on the night of graduation since the event was established in 1987, but it takes a year-long effort by volunteers and committees, as well as community support, to pull it off. The event begins on Friday, June 1, at 9:30 p.m. and runs until 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 2.  Volunteers are still needed for set-up and the late night and early morning shift, as well as clean-up on Saturday, June 2. Contact Tracy Krikorian at svhsgradnight@gmail.com or call 320-7947.

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Kudos to Holly Bennett and her barn sales. As of this month, thanks to Bennett, nine Sonoma teachers have received grants ranging from $200 to $1,500, for projects including field trips, outdoor education, chemistry lab supplies and reading materials. The total amount she has donated to date from her five sales exceeds $6,500. Her next one is Saturday, June 2, at the Field of Greens at 1777 W. Watmaugh. She needs volunteers for the day before, day of and between sales. (Holly.Bennett@sothebyshomes.com)

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Also making some great donations to the schools is the Republic of Thrift. Last week they gave $500 to every public school PTO, as well as $500 to the Sonoma Valley Education Foundation, totaling $6,000 overall. If you haven’t already, check out their shop on Highway 12 where the old Shaker furniture place used to be.

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Binging on soda and sweets for as little as six weeks may make you stupid, according to a recent UCLA study. Researchers found that a diet steadily high in fructose slows the brain, hampering memory and learning – but that omega-3 fatty acids can counteract the disruption. The Journal of Physiology reports that a high-fructose diet alters your brain’s ability to learn and remember information. This study is the first to uncover how much sugar influences the brain.

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After much research, I have found that the most reasonably-priced, sleep-away camp option nationwide, for ages 9 to 17, is 4H camps. You don’t need to be active in 4-H and you can choose your location, anywhere in the country. They tend to cost around $125 to $300 a week (residential).  

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ArtEscape is offering a free Art Play Day on Sunday, June 3, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 17474-A Sonoma Highway. Children will paint and embellish a mask. All materials are provided. Go to artescapesonoma.com.

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Sonoma Charter School is having a raffle of 100 bottles of Sonoma wines on Thursday, May 24. Funds raised will be used to support classrooms and programs, including art, music, library and drama. The luxury wine collection will be divided into two 50-bottle lots. Two hundred tickets will be sold at $50. Contact scsoffice@scs.k12.ca.us or go to sonomacharterschool.org/page158.html.

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A new list has come out of the public schools in California that are consistently improving academic achievement, reducing achievement gaps and best preparing students for college. The goal of this honor roll is help other schools learn from higher-performing schools and replicate their best practices. In Sonoma Valley, none of our schools were honored but 11 in our county did get the nod and you can read the complete results at edresults.org.

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While the results are controversial, US News & World Report has turned their ranking attention to high schools and posted the top high schools in America. No one made the list in our neck of the woods, but nearby, Roseland University Prep in Santa Rosa was ranked number 7 in California and number 40 in the nation. Redwood High in Larkspur was ranked 146th in the nation, and Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley was number 248 in the nation. You can read the whole list at usnews.com/education/best-high-schools.

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The Santa Rosa Press Democrat presented their annual awards to area high school students last week. They honored a handful of top athletes from among 38 local high schools. Sonoma Valley High School senior Annie Studdert was named one of the best girl soccer and basketball players in the area and she was selected as (large school girls) Athlete of the Year. They also gave out their 63rd annual Redwood Empire Journalism Awards and Sonoma Valley High School junior Arianna Maysonave won first place in the editorial category.

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Only 22 percent of California’s eighth graders passed a recent national science test, ranking our students 47th in the nation, above only Mississippi, Alabama and Washington, D.C. Scores were not broken down beyond the state level. The top five states were Massachusetts, Montana, North Dakota, Utah and Vermont. You can read more at ocregister.com/news/students-353581-state-scores.html.

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Congratulations to St. Francis fourth-grader Kelly Needleman for winning the local Native Sons of the Golden West annual essay contest. Her essay will now be sent to the State competition.

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Very early interactive musical training benefits children even before they can walk and talk, according to a new study by McMaster University. Babies who participate in interactive music classes with their parents smile more, communicate better and show earlier and more sophisticated brain responses to music. Two music educators got a grant from the Grammy Foundation in 2008 to study groups of babies and their parents after six months in one of two types of weekly music instruction. Babies from the interactive classes showed better early communication skills, smiled more, were easier to soothe and showed less distress when things were unfamiliar or didn’t go their way.

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Just in time then, I have another local camp to add to the list. Teach Me Music is offering classes Tuesday, June 5 to Thursday, July 12 at Sonoma Valley High School, and Sunday, July 15 to Thursday, Aug. 9 at Presentation School for ages 3 months to teens. Classes range from Mommy-and-Me-type movement classes to voice and improv lessons. The tuition for six weeks is $150. All courses are taught by Bren Wrona Norris, who is a trained music teacher with an MS in psychology. Go to teach-me-music.com or call 415-225-5613.

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What a beautiful job Sonoma Valley High School junior Ella Krikorian did singing the National Anthem at the start of the Gran Fondo bike race earlier this month.

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I am not sure what it is like for a young child to arrive at pre-school and find that three other kids in the class share the same name, but the list of the most popular names in America just came out and they are as follows (in order): Boys: 1. Jacob 2. Mason 3. William 4. Jayden 5. Noah 6. Michael 7. Ethan 8. Alexander 9. Aiden 10. Daniel. Girls: 1. Sophia 2. Isabella 3. Emma 4. Olivia 5. Ava 6. Emily 7. Abigail 8. Madison 9. Mia 10. Chloe. I know, I find some of these hard to believe as well, but this is based on a 100 percent sample by the Social Security administration.

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More than 7.4 million students with federal student loans will see their interest rates double on Sunday, July 1, unless Congress steps in.

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