The Vine
March 31, 2017
From the desk of Superintendent Chris Williams
Open House
The Arts Academy at Bauer Speck and Georgia Brown Elementary both celebrated open house this week. Parents filled the
multipurpose room at Bauer Speck to watch performances by the band (first-time ever with string instruments) and dance
classes. At Georgia Brown, classrooms were filled with parents and students who were showing off their work. There was
also a book fair happening in the library and students got the chance to work in the garden. Open house season
continues with Kermit King and Winifred Pifer on April 5th and Pat Butler and Virginia Peterson on April 6th.
Vote for Virginia Peterson Garden
Please help Virginia Peterson Elementary receive a Seeds of
Change grant by voting daily! You can vote by clicking the link
below or go to the VP Facebook page. You can vote daily
from multiple devices so be sure to use your phone, tablet,
and desktop to help keep the Panda Garden growing!
https://www.seedsofchangegrant.com/GalleryDetail.aspx…
Science Night
Winifred Pifer Elementary held its 6th
annual Science Night this week. Hundreds
of people showed up to participate in
hands-on activities. Thanks to Pifer
teachers, parents, and the help from the
PRHS students and Mr. Fairbanks, the night
was a HUGE success again!
STUNT Team Undefeated
The Paso Robles High School STUNT team has started the season with a 4-0
record defeating Arroyo Grande, St. Joseph, Santa Barbara, and
Nipomo. STUNT officially becomes a CIF sport in the coming school year.
Teams compete head to head for four quarters in tumbling/jumps, partner
stunts,
pyramids,
and routines.
Even if you
don’t know
anything about competitive cheer, you can catch on
quickly! The girls compete at home again on April 25th.
Students Participate in Geometry Lab
Mr. Evan Clark’s Honors Geometry classes at PRHS had a
wonderful hands on lab last week. The students
constructed theodolites and used them to find the
distance between two
flags out on the practice
field. It was a wonderful
way to have the
students apply the
trigonometry knowledge
and skills they are
learning in class.
Students worked in
teams to overcome the
problem set created by
Mr. Clark.
FFA Students Volunteer at Ag Day
Submitted by: Gracie Ellis, FFA Reporter
Paso Robles High School FFA participated in the Arts Academy at
Bauer Speck Ag Day. This event is important to FFA members
because youth are the future of agriculture. FFA members brought
livestock projects and
plant projects to show
the elementary students.
Our environmental
horticulture students
taught 5th grade students
the importance of
understanding where
their food comes from
and how to plant it.
Each student got to plant
a little garden for them
to take home. Our
animal science classes
showed kindergarteners
about animal care and how to properly handle them. We took goats, lambs,
ducks, chickens, and rabbits. Our chapter loves to support our community and
would like to thank Bauer Speck for letting us participate in this event!
STEAM Lessons
Students throughout the district are participating in
awesome STEAM lessons with our teachers. In Jessica
Wilcox’s class at Virginia Peterson Elementary, students
worked on building bridges with marshmallows and
toothpicks after reading different gingerbread man
stories all week. They worked cooperatively together to
construct a bridge that would get the gingerbread man
across the river.
Also working on an engineering lesson were students at
Georgia Brown Elementary. They had to construct a
vessel that would carry a grapefruit without using their
hands. Students
got a chance to
build, test, and
rebuild if
necessary. Great
lesson not only in
engineering but
in growth
mindset as well!
VAPA News
Congratulations to the Lewis Middle School band for earning a SUPERIOR
rating and two excellent ratings at the SLO County Band Festival at
Cuesta College last week. The students got to perform on a large stage
and received feedback on their performance from three judges.
Congratulations also to the Lewis Middle School choir who traveled to Cal
Poly and sang on the stage in the Performing Arts Center. Many students
had never been there and got the experience of singing in a huge room
with great acoustics. They received two excellent ratings (only two judges
for choir) and received some fantastic feedback on their performance.
PRHS Advanced Choir performed very challenging
music and earned SUPERIOR ratings from both judges
at the Central Coast Choral Festival. The students also
received feedback and got to listen to other high
school choirs from around Central California. The
Spring School Choral Festival provides a professional,
adjudicated experience for school choirs to rehearse,
perform, and receive feedback on their performance
from professional judges, in the world-class
environment of the Cal Poly Performing Arts Center's Harmon Hall. The objective is to improve the quality of musicianship
and stage presence of these groups while giving them exposure to the University and its music programs.
Lewis Middle School Drama
finished its first of two
productions this past
weekend. Robin Hood was
well received and the
students did a fantastic
job. We are so proud of our
young thespians!
And don’t forget to catch The Little Mermaid, opening this weekend. The show is the
latest from the Paso Robles High School Theatre Company. Tickets are available at
www.prhsdrama.com.
Liberty Students Earn Awards for Photography
Liberty High School students Jacob Button, Lenthonio Stevenson, and Robbie Contreras
received Honorable Mention awards in the California Streaming photo contest. The students
submitted photos that they had taken locally. Included below are the students’ photos (left
to right): “Lost in Nature” (Jacob Button), "Destiny” (Lenthonio Stevenson), and "Wings of
the Mind” (Robbie Contreras).
Pifer Fun Run
The 10th annual Winifred
Pifer PTA Fun Run was held
last Friday. Every Pifer
Panther ran laps to music
for the school's largest
fundraiser. Over $10,000
was raised to support
special assemblies and field
trips. Students ran 2,717
laps. 8 laps equals 1 mile. Each student was challenged to run 8
laps. A total of 339 miles were completed at the Pifer Fun Run!
Pictured to the left is awesome principal Mrs. Stoner running laps as
the Pifer Panther!
ASES Students Learn About Countries
Virginia Peterson ASES students spent the week learning about Spain, Greece,
Qatar, and Egypt. During the activity the students filled out a passport book with
the country flag and interesting facts. Students enjoyed writing their names with
the Egyptian alphabet.
PRYDE Students Enjoy the Outdoors
Georgia Brown PRYDE students have been
enjoying the sunshine this week. Students have
played baseball, soccer, cards in the shade of the
play structure, and spent time in the garden with
support from One Cool Earth. A favorite project
for TK through first graders was making pinecone,
peanut butter and bird seed feeders. Second
through fifth graders have enjoyed being able to
visit the book fair after school.
Safe Routes to School Event
On May 6th from 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM, Rideshare, the sponsors of
PRJUSD Safe Routes to School Program, will be at the Hidden Creek
Village Apartments for a community celebration of Bike Month.
There will be a kid’s bike decorating station, bike safety assembly by
Bike SLO County, transportation information for all of SLO County, an
Assurance Wireless information booth, yummy food, and a Ride Well
bike giveaway! The bike safety assembly will begin at 11:00 AM. To
be entered in the bike giveaway, you must attend the safety
assembly. Hidden Creek Village Apartments is located at 80 Cary St.
And mark your calendars for Bike to School Day on May 10th!
Liberty Students Complete Science Lesson
This week, the trout fry at Liberty High School were released to their designated release
site at Barney Schwartz Park. Students closed out the trout project and brought in a
cricket project, which has been used for drawings, cricket research/slideshow
presentation, and use of the scientific method in discovering factors that influence cricket
chirp rates!
Liberty's Leadership class is also planning a spring spirit week next week with lots of fun
events!
Students Win Writing Contest
Congratulations to the Lewis Middle School students who
won their school’s writing contest. These students will be
participating in the PRJUSD Writing Celebration on May 2nd
at the Paso Robles High School Performing Arts Center.
Apple Grafting with the Horticulture Students from Cal Poly and
the Rare Fruit Growers Society
Submitted by: Gracie Ellis, FFA Reporter
The Paso Robles High School
Environmental Horticulture students
worked with the California Rare Fruit
Growers Society and students from Cal
Poly during an apple grafting lab. The
students learned how to correctly graft
apple trees using two different types of
methods. Each of the Bearcats worked
with a student from Cal Poly and a rare
fruit grower member. It was a
wonderful experience and the high
school students had a great opportunity
to visit with and learn from the students
attending Cal Poly. Each of the students
had a great time! We are excited to
watch our fruit trees grow and we really want to go and visit the Cal Poly campus! Thank you so much to all of the
students and the Rare Fruit Grower Society for visiting our school and working with us on this wonderful lab!
Attendance Award
Congratulations to Virginia Peterson Elementary School for having the highest
attendance percentage for Month 7 at 95.80%! Pictured here are Virginia
Foletta, Dawn Hawley, and Billy Stewart.
Trad Berti Defeats Top Runner and Breaks Own Record
New Balance Meet of Champions - Distance Festival @ Azusa Pacific
Bearcats Luis Armendariz and Trad Berti traveled to Azusa Pacific to run in one of
deepest fields in HS Track Distance running. Luis Armendariz finished 33rd overall in
the 3200m running 9:31.88. However, the highlight of the evening was Trad Berti's
breakout performance in the 1 mile winning the running 4:10.55 out kicking Callum
Bolger of San Luis Obispo (3rd place finisher in the 3200m last year at the California
State Meet and seed #1 at the race). Berti's mile time converts to a 4:09.1 1600m
blowing away his previous school record of 4:16.36 by over six seconds. As they
finished 1-2, the announcer posed the question to the stunned audience, "You think
your league finals are tough, those two are both from the same athletic league."
Trad was in last place at the end of the first lap. In the final 300 meters, Trad brings
down the hammer and takes the lead in front of a stunned audience. Huge upset,
Trad has never finished in front of Callum, it's what sports and athletics are all about
Read more about his race in the Tribune: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/sports/highschool/article141093668.html
Santa Barbara Easter Relays - Santa Barbara City College
The rest of the Bearcats were at Santa Barbara City College for the 79th annual Easter Relays. Highlights from the day
included 3rd place finishes from the Frosh/Soph Women’s 4x800m and Varsity Women’s 4x400m Relay, a 2nd Place finish
by the Frosh/Soph Men’s Distance Medley Relays and 1st place by the same Frosh/Soph Men’s Team in the 4x800. Here
are the highlights in the individual events:
Annie Meeder takes 2nd running a PR of 11:08.06 taking 2nd in the
Varsity Women’s 3200.
Kyle Meeder finished 4th in the Men’s Varsity 3200m running 9:56.69
and 10:03.38.
In the Varsity Women’s 100m Hurdles, Madison Mitchell took home
gold running a PR of 15.52 wind-aided.
The Bearcat Pole Vaulters had a great day. Torri Pugh won the
Frosh/Soph Women’s Vault at 9' 6", Clay Wilshusen took 2nd in the
Frosh/Soph Men’s Vault at 11' 0", and Codie Wilshusen won the
Varsity Women’s vault at 11' 8" just 4" short of revisiting her school
records set last year at PAC 8 League Finals.
In the throws, Jacob Franklin takes 3rd in the Varsity Men’s Shot
throwing 51' 2" and 5th in the Discus at 146' 11". Corban Payne also
got on the medal stand with a 2nd place finish in the Frosh/Soph
Men’s Discus with a throw of 104' 09".
In addition to the great performance by the Bearcats, our one and
only Head Coach Ivan Huff was honored as the 2017 Easter Relays
Honoree coach. Ivan Huff, a Bearcat Alum, Athlete of the Year, and
Athletic Hall of Fame member, has been the face of running at Paso
Robles High School since 1986 and is a symbol of dedication and
commitment. The Bearcats are incredibly proud of what he has
accomplished and still looks to accomplish in the years to come!
All and all it was a great day for the Bearcats! Tomorrow, 21 Bearcats travel to Buchanan High School, home of the
California State Track and Field Meet, to compete in the West Coast Relays.
Tooth Fairy Visit
Dr. Newsome and the tooth fairy visited Winifred
Pifer kindergarten and 1st grade students. Students
learned about the importance of dental cleanliness,
healthy food choices, and prevention of tooth decay.
Discount on Charter Spectrum Internet
Spectrum Internet Assist is now available in Paso Robles. If your child is eligible
for free or reduced lunch, you may qualify for this program. Through Spectrum
Internet Assist, households can receive high-speed internet and modem at a
reduced rate of $14.99/month. For more information, call 1-844-525-1574.
Seeking Summer Business Partnerships
Throughout San Luis Obispo County, local businesses are being recruited to partner in the
third year of the "Just 1" campaign. Every high school in the county will hold a "Just 1"
Summer Job Fair. The Paso Robles High School job fair is scheduled for April 5th from 2:00
PM – 4:30 PM. Participating businesses are asked to consider hiring "Just 1" student in a
meaningful job for the summer.
The "Just 1" Summer Job Program offers students the opportunity to get hands-on
experience in the working world and earn some extra dollars at the same time. For
students in career pathways, "Just 1" is a way to put into practice some of the skills and
knowledge learned in the classroom. For other students, "Just 1" offers a look into the
working world with the added benefit of earning some extra dollars for college or that much desired car.
Last year, more than 300 high school students, 16 years of age and older, interviewed with more than 100 businesses,
large and small...of course, employers are free to hire more than one student to fill their staffing needs! Contact
[email protected] for more information.