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Instruments needed, free books, cursive, free summer program

Education Roundup

Do you have any musical instruments around your house no longer being used? Valley Vibes Orchestras, a new youth music initiative in the Sonoma Valley, is partnering with the Sonoma Valley Education Foundation to launch an after-school youth orchestra program in January (I’ll be writing more about this soon). If your child has outgrown or lost interest in an orchestral instrument, consider donating it for the future enjoyment of another Sonoma student. Any and all instruments (especially violins, violas, and cellos) can be dropped of at the Sonoma Valley Education Foundation every day from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 17878 Railroad Ave., and you can get a receipt for your tax-deductible donation. If you would prefer to have the instrument(s) picked up at your home, call Anne Case at 425-773-3408.

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Read Conmigo is a bilingual literacy campaign that provides Latino parents with free books to parents to read to their children at home. The campaign has already distributed more than 350,000 free books to classrooms and families since 2011. Parents of children in grades K through 5 can register online to receive free bilingual books every second month, at readconmigo.org and shipping is free. Teachers can sign up for a one-time shipment of free children’s books at readconmigo.org.

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I recently came across a great listing of free summer programs for high school students. Some even provide travel to countries around the globe. Now is the time to act for top-notch summer programs, the best ones, and all the selective free ones have winter deadlines. Examples include a seven-week leadership program at Princeton University for low-income students and six weeks in India on a State Department program. thecollegiateblog.org/2012/08/19/80-free-summer-programs-for-high-school-students/

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Congratulations to Sonoma Valley High junior Delaney Gold-Diamond who placed first in the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Voice of Democracy speech contest. Senior Buster La Haye placed second. Each year, 100,000 high school students enter this national contest. Gold-Diamond and La Haye were the local Sonoma winners writing a speech on the theme of “Is Our Constitution Still Relevant?” Some middle-school students compete in their own essay contest and the local winners in Sonoma were Grace Cutting and Taylor Stifler of St. Francis Solano School who tied for first place.

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The Sonoma Valley Education Foundation started its annual appeal just before Thanksgiving. Its mailing features students talking about the many ways that SVEF programs enhance their life at school (El Verano pre-school, the engineering pathway at the high school, the College & Career Center, the gardens, Exploratorium Science and Visual Thinking Strategies). Why support the Ed Foundation? Because strong and effective public schools are a hallmark of a great and thriving community (donate online at svgreatschools.org).

The shops and restaurants and wineries at Cornerstone are running special Thursday “Visit & Vote” events that will win one Sonoma Valley school or nonprofit $15,000 in event services. On Thursdays from Nov. 28 to Dec. 20, from 4 to 7 p.m., visitors can vote and the organization receiving the most votes will earn a Cornerstone special event package worth up to $15,000.

California is bucking the national trend to eliminate the teaching of cursive in third grade. It is a divisive topic as some think it is a waste of instructional time (typing skills being more useful) while others think cursive helps to develop fine motor skills and helps students to develop their own unique stamp of identity. California is one of 45 states adopting the national “core curriculum” guidelines but the standards don’t include cursive handwriting and so California has added back in their own cursive requirement.

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Is your child age 16 to 21 and an accomplished literary, performing or visual artist? The City of Sonoma’s Cultural and Fine Arts Commission is now accepting entries for its $2,000 scholarship award. The entry deadline is Jan. 23. Students can download the application at sonomacity.org and each entrant is asked to submit five samples of their work. Typically 15 to 20 local students apply. Last year’s winner was Esmeralda Chavez-Mata, who was a senior at Sonoma Valley High.

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Altimira Middle School has a busy campus at this time of year. The school is running a canned food drive to benefit FISH from Dec. 3 through Dec. 14. Its student leadership class is developing a senior-citizen/student buddy program with Merrill Gardens Senior Assisted Living Program and seniors from Merrill Gardens are heading over the Altimira this month to start the process. Finally, on Wednesday, Dec. 5, the school is hosting its combined annual science fair/holiday craft fair and book fair. Hundreds of parents, children and friends from the community visit their campus to enjoy the event.

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Dunbar School has implemented a program called “Catching Kids Caring” that combines an anti-bullying curriculum with the school’s own positive reinforcement. Students are rewarded when they are “caught” doing something positive for someone else. “Lifeskills” slips are given for organization, effort, caring, perseverance and the like. Students can win books of their choosing as prizes. Students are also rewarded for volunteering (such as campus beautification), helping another student, making anti-bullying posters, etc. Students choose an award from the principal’s “treasure box.” The anti-bullying curriculum, “Steps to Respect” was purchased with a grant from Sonoma County Office of Education. Students seems to be responsive to program, and the number of suspensions due to bullying are down at Dunbar over the past two years.

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Author Lisa Guernsey agonizes in her book “Screen Time” about how much screen time is right for children. Her research led her to focus on the three Cs: content, context, and your child. She suggests that parents be picky about the content of what their children see on-screen, and when choosing interactive titles, seek out those that put children in control. She suggests that you keep an eye on your child’s attitude and behavior before, during, and after they play their games or watch their shows, and to take time to talk about what they’ve seen, and to play some games together. And to accomplish that last C, figure which games and shows really interest your kids and what piques their curiosity and why. Seventy-two percent of iTunes’ top-selling “education” apps are designed for preschoolers and elementary school children, according to a recent report from the Sesame Workshop. lisaguernsey.com

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Two Sonoma Valley teachers presented their projects at the Teacher Technology Showcase at Sonoma State University last week as part of their graduate school program. Christina Sanders, a fifth-grade teacher at Sassarini presented on “How does VoiceThread get students talking about Literature” and Diane Dalenberg, academic coordinator at El Verano, presented on “Using Re-purposed Websites for Conducting Retrospective Miscue Analysis.” This event provided an opportunity to see how Sonoma State’s graduate-level students and recently credentialed teachers are using technology to support student learning.

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Two Sonoma Valley High teachers have new books out. Librarian Nancy McEnery’s book “The Napa River” is available at Readers’ Books as well as several stores in Napa and online through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The book looks at the historical importance of the Napa River to the development of the city, originally as a transportation artery and today as the centerpiece of the downtown renewal. Daniel Alderson is a Bay Area writing project teacher-consultant and veteran English teacher at the high school. He is the author of “Talking Back To Poems: A Working Guide for Aspiring Poets” (1996) and he recently published his second book, “How To Write an Essay: Writing Practice for Essay Writers,” which is available at Lulu.com. Gleaned from his 20 years in the classroom, Alderson argues that the mastery of reading and writing by means of an ongoing writing practice lead to success in college and the world of work and, equally as important, to a life of the mind. His book offers a hands-on approach that builds essay-writing skill step-by-step.

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SOS (Sonomans Offering Support) has a Christmas adopt-a-family wish list for local families in need and you can purchase from the list easily online at amazon.com. All of these families have children who are students in our schools and most are only asking for jackets, shoes and other necessary items, not toys. The community support has been amazing but there are a few items left still needed. Visit facebook.com/SonomansOfferingSupport for complete details.

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Sonoma Academy is hosting an open house and Activities Fair on Thursday, Dec. 6. from 6 to 8 pm. This is the last open house before applications are due for 2013-14. The evening includes an activities fair, a presentation by the Head of School, mini-classes and opportunities to ask questions of SA teachers, staff, and students. Call 636-2476 to register. Sonomaacademy.org