The Vine Issue 7 - Paso Robles Joint Unified School District

The Vine

April 6, 2016

From the desk of Superintendent Chris Williams

Welcome back! I hope that each of you enjoyed time with your family and friends and were able to relax. It is always inspiring to return and see our students and staff continuing to do incredible work. I had my first opportunity to attend the SkillsUSA state competition in San Diego last week and was extremely impressed with our students’ work and their many accomplishments. Thank you to our CTE advisors and staff that continue to prepare our students for success. Well done! One Team, One Dream! Belief: Every student will have success. Goal 1: Student success and student achievement. The highest levels of performance are empowered by the deepest levels of belief. Belief creates vision. It sees the invisible. It sees the goal and the pathway that are required to accomplish the goal. Belief is not simply about individual performance. It is an essential element of exceptional team performance. Shared belief empowers a team to operate a full capacity. - “Above the Line” Urban Meyer with Wayne Coffey

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Paso Robles Schools

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SkillsUSA The Paso Robles High School SkillsUSA members competed this past weekend at the California State Leadership & Skills Conference in San Diego. PRHS sent a contingent of 55 students and competed against 2300 others from throughout the state. These students earned the opportunity to compete at the state level by winning gold medals at the Region 2 contest held at PRHS this past February. The students’ hard work paid off this past weekend as 32 of them returned with medals. PRHS had a clean sweep, winning all three medals, in Electrical Construction Wiring. Students also had a strong showing in Plumbing and Early Childhood Education, taking home two of the three medals in each. Eight students who earned gold medals will advance to the National Leadership & Skills Conference this June in Louisville, Kentucky, three of those students returning for the second year in a row. Students advancing : Mason Brown (Telecommunications Cabling), Destini McAllen-Alcaraz (Commercial Baking), Nick Cummings (Welding Sculpture), Alim BenBrahim (Electrical Construction Wiring), and Sarae Collins (Mobile Electronics Installation). Returning to the national conference for the second straight year are: Cassidy Moses (Early Childhood Education), Aca McDonald (Marine Service Tech), and Mason Steiner (Plumbing).

Also earning a gold medal was Shane Terra (TIG Welding). His event is a California-only contest and does not advance to the national competition. Silver Medalists: Nicholas Newman (20 Second Elevator Speech), Madison Harris (CPR/First Aid), Jonathan Russell (Diesel Tech), Harrison Gomes (Electrical Construction Wiring), Michael Dye, Chris Hernandez, Tanner Washburn (Welding Fabrication), Austin McMinn (Plumbing), Iver Hansen (Welding Combo).

Bronze Medalists: Kelsey Nunes, Vincent McGranahan, Chloe Holsted (CPS Education), David Krivinko, Skyler O’Connor, Sebastian Ouellette (CPS Manufacturing), Carina Ezzell (Early Childhood Education), Clinton Marsh (Electrical Construction Wiring), Vince McGranahan (Extemporaneous Speech), Cassidy Moses (Job Interview), Roxanna Romero Lopez (Mobile Electronics Installation), Ernie Trejo (Welding SMAW), Brina Dang , Aaliyah Lewis (Digital Cinema Production).

Joshua Tree Project PRHS students in Field Biology took a field trip during spring break to Joshua Tree National Park. The students were accompanied by their teachers Geoffrey Land, Mark Dimaggio, and Alisa Bredensteiner. The students put in three solid days of field research and greatly impressed the park's chief of botanical research. Their program is helping to pioneer a multi-year research study on the health of Joshua Tree woodland forests within the context of climate change. About the Joshua Tree Project: 1. Students work directly with Chief of Botanical Research at JTNP 2. Students learn and use sophisticated real world research protocols 3. Students contribute important data to an ongoing study regarding effects of climate change on Joshua Tree forests 4. Teachers expand classroom learning and collaborative engagement

PRHS Track & Field Track & Field at PRHS had a very busy spring break! Congratulations to Frosh/Soph Boys Team for taking home 2nd place medals in the Sprint Medley Race. Congratulations to Girls and Boys Varsity - Distance Medley 1st PLACE!

https://www.facebook.com/prhstrack/

This past weekend, the teams competed at the West Coast Relays in Clovis. Highlights from the meet include 3rd Place finishes by our Boys 4x100m relay in the open race including Ty Jones, Steven Schouten, Javier Solis, and Jordan Summers. Our Girls 4x400m relays placed 3rd in the open race running 4:14.83 including Gwyn Lundy, Ashley Davis, Kendall Caruana, and Natalie Barahona. In the Seeded 1600m, Pablo Cortez broke onto the medal stand in 3rd at 4:40.32 as a freshman. In the Invitational 1600m were Gannon Chamberlain (12) in 3rdrunning 4:19.09 and Tradi Berti in 1st running 4:18.44 only .33sec off Zander Souza's School Record of 4:18.11. And for one of the most impressive overall performances of the day was by our Ashley Davis. Ashley finished 11th overall in the 800m Invitational race at 2:22.49, ran a 62.5 second leg on the 4x400m relay mentioned above, and the icing on the cake was her 2nd place finish in the 1600m Invitational race running 5:02.09 breaking Maddy Cline's School Record of 5:02.89!!! Interested in helping? We are really looking for some help running our field events at the Atascadero Dual Meet. Even if you don't have experience, we can teach you. To sign up to volunteer go to http://vols.pt/mMB2NM. We are also looking for help with our Middle School Track and Field Invitational. Students help to run this meet but parent supervision is needed at the field events and around the track. To sign up to help with the middle school track meet, click here http://vols.pt/JkTzZa. Thank you to the Bearcat Track and Field Coaching Staff for all of the updates on their athletes!

Alumni Spotlight Keegan Mullin attended school in PRJUSD since kindergarten. He graduated from PRHS in 2011 and received the Gates Millennium Scholarship which allowed him to fulfill his lifelong passion of attending film school and becoming a director. Keegan is currently a senior at Chapman University, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, where he has directed several short films and aided in the production of many others. His most recent film, The Last Words, has been showcased at numerous major film festivals including, The L.A. International Shorts Festival, San Jose International Film Festival, Austin International Film Festival, and Sedona International Film Festival. Most recently, his film was among the Central Coast Film Makers Showcase and won Best Narrative Short at the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival. Keegan's film was also chosen as a semifinalist for the Student Academy Awards. In 2015, Keegan won the Director's Guild of America's Student Film Award for outstanding achievement in directing for his film The Last Words. He is travelling this week to Seattle where his film was chosen to be screened at the Seattle Deaf Film Festival, the largest deaf festival in the country. Keegan is presently been asked to direct an independent film called The Eleventh, a film about 9-11 from a child's perspective. Keegan will graduate in May with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Film Production and a minor in Psychology. He will remain at Chapman University to continue writing and directing while working towards a Masters in Psychology.

PRHS Drama Production It's never too early to buy tickets to Paso High Theatre Company's spring musical! Have you heard? We are going to be performing THE DROWSY CHAPERONE - A Musical within a Comedy: April 22nd – May 1st. When a die-hard theatre fan plays his favorite cast album, the characters come to life in this hilarious musical farce. Winner of 5 Tony Awards (including Best Book and Best Original Score), The Drowsy Chaperone is a loving send-up of the Jazz Age musical featuring one show-stopping song and dance number after another. With the houselights down, a woman in a chair appears on stage and puts on her favorite record: the cast recording of a fictitious 1928 musical. The recording comes to life and The Drowsy Chaperone begins as the woman in the chair looks on. Mix in two lovers on the eve of their wedding, a bumbling best man, a desperate theatre producer, a not so bright hostess, two gangsters posing as pastry chefs, a misguided Don Juan and an opinionated chaperone, and you have the ingredients for an evening of madcap delight. Hailed by New York Magazine as, "The Perfect Broadway Musical" The Drowsy Chaperone is a masterful meta-musical, poking fun at all the tropes that characterize the musical theatre genre. APRIL 22, 23, 29, 30 at 7:30 PM and APRIL 24 & MAY 1 at 2:00 PM We hope you can join us and bring your friends! Check out PRHSDRAMA.COM for ticket information! We hope to see you there!

Empty Bowls Donation Paso Robles High School Advanced Ceramics students have been working the past few weeks to make bowls for the Empty Bowls fundraiser for ECHO (El Camino Homeless Organization). Under the direction of PRHS ceramics teacher Mr. Gwiazda, the students have made 63 bowls to donate. Senior Nick Burnell (far right) is responsible for 36 of them. Also helping with the project are senior Ryan O’Mahoney (center), junior Ethan Athey (left) and senior Joshua Potter (not pictured). Here is a link for more information regarding the fundraiser: Paso Daily News - Empty Bowls Fundraiser

Pat Butler Field Trip The Butler Bears returned from spring break and headed to Cal Poly for a showing of “Peter & the Wolf”. The entire school loaded into seven busses and headed out first thing in the morning. It was a great day to be a Butler Bear!

Artwork on Display

The district office is proud to display the many pieces of artwork created by our students from throughout the district. Here are some current pieces from Virginia Peterson Elementary:

Staff News Congratulations to the following employees on their new positions within the district: Damien Capalare – Pat Butler Elementary Principal Mr. Capalare joined Paso Robles Joint Unified School District in 2015 and is grateful and excited for the opportunity to join the Pat Butler staff as Principal. Having served multiple school districts in the Central Valley, he moved his family to Paso Robles to be part of the positive transformation that the district is making. Mr. Capalare studied and earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree and teaching credential at California State University, Fresno, just down the street from his childhood home. After teaching fourth grade in Fresno, he spent a short time working for the Hawaii Department of Education before moving his family back to the Central Valley where he then taught mathematics. After receiving his administrative services credential at Fresno Pacific University, he began his administrative career in Central Unified School District at Steinbeck Elementary School where he served as Guidance Instructional Advisor. Mr.Capalare is leaving his current position as Assistant Principal at Flamson Middle School where he has fallen even more in love with the community and district. Mr. Capalare considers himself a family man above all else. He is happily married to his wife, Stormy, and is father to two sons, the older of which attends transitional kindergarten in the district. He looks forward to the many challenges and celebrations ahead and hopes to be a fixture as an administrator in the district for years to come. Celia Moses – Bauer Speck Elementary Guidance Specialist Mrs. Moses attended Azusa Pacific University in Southern California where she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She began her career as a teacher in 1992 in Pomona. She moved to Paso Robles in 1998 where she worked part time for the school district while raising her family. She served as a Spanish language translator, teaching adult English as a Second Language classes, teaching parent literacy classes, and as a substitute teacher. She returned to teaching at Virginia Peterson and Georgia Brown followed by Flamson Middle School for seven years. She was honored as teacher of the year at both Georgia Brown and Flamson Middle. Most recently, she worked as the Instructional Coach at Georgia Brown and Bauer Speck. Mrs. Moses lives in Paso Robles with her husband, Mike, and two daughters who attend PRHS, Cassidy, a senior, and Sofia, a freshman. Paso Robles Joint Unified School District would also like to welcome the following new employee. He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the district and we are happy to congratulate him on his new position. John Azevedo – Paso Robles High School Wrestling Coach Mr. Azevedo grew up in Modesto, California where he was a two-time high school state champion wrestler. He earned a degree in physical education at California State University, Bakersfield. While there, he won three NCAA championships including the Division 1 Championship in 1980. Mr. Azevedo made the 1980 U.S. Olympic team (which missed the Moscow Games because of the boycott), and was ranked as high as fourth in the world in freestyle wrestling. After an injury ended his hopes of making the 1984 Olympic team, Mr. Azevedo turned his attention to coaching. He spent eight years as an assistant at Arizona State, Notre Dame, Wisconsin and Bakersfield. In 1989, Mr. Azevedo took over the wrestling program at Calvary Chapel High School in Santa Ana where he led the team to a then-record seven state championships and 10 CIF championships in 12 years. Mr. Azevedo became the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo head coach in 2004. While there, he coached nine All-Americans, two NCAA finalists, and nine PAC 10 champions, and the list goes on. Mr. Azevedo continues to train hundreds of wrestlers in the Hitchcock/Azevedo Wrestling Camps in Squaw Valley. He has been married to his wife, Theresa, for 35 years and has two daughters: Jessica who works as a paralegal in Grover Beach and Janelle who is a nurse in Sacramento. He is also the proud grandfather to Blair and Gideon.

Employee of the Year Nominations due this Friday! Please submit nomination forms to the Human Resources Department by this Friday, April 8th.

Fundraisers