The Vine September 15, 2017 From the desk of Superintendent Chris Williams

PRHS Grad Wins Emmy Congratulations to PRHS grad, Jamie Martin (class of 2004), for winning an Emmy Award for editing for her work on “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” She credits a video project from Mr. Pierce’s class as inspiration: “I can honestly say I would have never gotten into editing without your film project assignments. Thank you for being a wonderful teacher and challenging your students to think creatively in different mediums!” Here is a link to an article in the SLO Tribune: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/entertainment/tv/article172901686.html

Mr. Pierce shared a bit about her high school video project. He said that it required the students to "transform a classic American or British play, novel, short story, or poem into a modern cinematic masterpiece, by putting a new twist on an old tale." Her project was titled James Blonde: From Shakespeare with Love. He says that Jamie’s project was “a sophisticated film in every facet: the script, the acting, the props, the locations, and especially, the editing, were all top-notch.” Mr. Pierce also shared a great picture from 2008 (left) when he and Mr. Cantrell held their annual Oscars show at PRHS for video editing (which originated in 1998). Jamie and her group were given a special Oscar called “Pierce’s Pick” because it “served as the model of excellence for many years to come.” Congratulations to Jamie Martin and thank you to Mr. Pierce and Mr. Cantrell for sharing this story!

PRHS Grads Team up for Documentary Also making news in the field of video production are three recent PRHS graduates. Forest Erwin and Jordan Braly worked together to create a documentary about the life of Kevin Perez, an up-and-coming boxer from SLO County. You can read more about them and watch the 4-minute video here: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/article172959031.html

Now Hiring Bus Drivers Thank you to all our hard-working bus drivers and members of the Transportation Department who get our students to and from school and activities safely each day! Interested in becoming a bus driver? Free training is starting up again on September 25. Click this link for more information: Bus Driver Training or contact Lisa Costanzo at rycostanzo@pasoschools.org.

All Pro Dad’s Day The first All Pro Dad's Day of the new school year was held this week at Winifred Pifer Elementary. There was a great turnout of more than 60 individuals who joined together to take the step to make intentional memories with their children. The theme for this month was respect. Students shared out how they feel respected and a father shared that the person he respected the most was his wife. It was a great morning starting the year on such a positive note. Next All Pro Dad's Day is scheduled for October 11.

Lunch with your Kid Lewis Middle School held its first Lunch with your Kid event this past week. It was an amazing turnout! Tons of parents showed up to eat with their kids and meet their children’s friends.

Color Lessons Kindergarten students at Virginia Peterson Elementary ended their two weeks of learning colors with an engaging lesson on healthy fruits. It was a wonderful chance to build vocabulary and discuss trying new things. Students learned about healthy habits, rainbow yoga breathing, and got to "eat the rainbow.” Throughout the two weeks, students and staff wore a color of the day.

Elementary Athletics Underway Elementary athletics started last week with students participating in cross country and girls’ volleyball. New this year is the sportsmanship medal. At the end of the meets or games, students select a member of the opposing team who demonstrated the character trait of the week. That student is awarded a medal by the other team. Last week’s character trait was “safety.” Thank you to Rotary for sponsoring all of our medals for the entire year!

School Assemblies Thank you to our PTA groups for helping to bring assemblies to some of our schools this week. At Kermit King, students and staff welcomed Brent Poppen whose story educated and inspired his audience. Principal Kelly Ward said that she received numerous compliments from parents who said their children were touched by his presentation.

At Pat Butler, the PTA group brought in a group of professional BMX riders to talk to the students about bicycle safety and healthy lifestyles. This was also a reward for students demonstrating their RISE behaviors. And 1st grade teacher, Mrs. Horrell, really got into the action by volunteering to get jumped over. She didn’t even flinch!

School Gardens The Early Learning Academy at The Arts Academy at Bauer Speck had the opportunity to build a community garden for all the Bauer kids to share. Soil was brought in this week and kids enjoyed helping put it into the garden boxes. The class learned a lot while partnering with One Cool Earth last year, and is excited to have the ability to learn from the gardens now on a daily basis. The Early Learning Academy at Winifred Pifer established a small garden outside their classroom at the end of last year, and the students took ownership and pride in the seeds that they planted, often reminding the teachers that they wanted to check and tend to their plants.

The garden at Pat Butler Elementary is really progressing. Ryan from maintenance installed irrigation and seedlings were donated by One Cool Earth. Mrs. Sanchez planted cabbage and celery with kindergarteners at recess. Mrs. Kris from PRYDE planted lettuce with her students. The Butler Bears are looking forward to growing and improving their garden!

Students at the Arts Academy at Bauer Speck are getting their garden ready for the fall by pulling weeds. They already have pumpkins growing in their garden. And the garden at Georgia Brown Elementary is thriving! Lettuce and tomatoes are growing in abundance. We love seeing all this fresh produce at our schools!

Gallery Exhibit The first gallery exhibit of the school year features work from our staff and alumni. Guests last night were treated to a special performance from our PRHS jazz band. And, of course, we have our student employees, our resident artists, busy at work creating new pieces to sell. Get out to Studios on the Park to see our talented students and staff!

Positive Behavior at Every School All of our school sites have spent these first few weeks of school teaching their students about expected behaviors throughout campus. Here, students at Georgia Brown Elementary are learning about the expectations during recess and lunch.

Students at the Arts Academy at Bauer Speck have already started earning their ROAR tags for demonstrating positive behavior. Also earning recognition was custodian, Mr. Jerome. He was given Bobcat Bravos from the staff for helping to make the school ROAR. Way to go, Mr. Jerome!

Music Notes Bands and choirs throughout the district are up and running at each site and students are so excited! In general music, students are learning about tempo and dynamics, as well as note reading. Here, Ms. Amato’s 3rd grade class at Winfred Pifer Elementary practices placing notes on the staff using candies, and learns the difference between line notes and space notes and how to identify each note’s name.

Subscribe to the National Award-Winning Crimson Newsmagazine Interested in subscribing or even sponsoring the PRHS Crimson Newsmagazine? Click the link below for more information: http://www.crimsonnewsmagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/subscriptionsform.jpg

Vision Screenings Many of our schools participated in the local Lions Club Vision screening these past two weeks. The Lions Club provides each elementary school with an optometrist who screens all kindergarten, 1st grade, 3rd grade and 5th grade students. This screening provides staff with information regarding student's visual performance. If a student is found to have difficulties seeing, the health team will contact the parents to recommend further testing. There are several local programs that can assist families who do not have health insurance or cannot afford a visual exam/glasses.

For children with severe astigmatism, wearing glasses to correct blurred vision can significantly improve accuracy and reading speed. Students with poor vision have difficulty focusing and participating in class and struggle to complete their work, often to the point of giving up. After receiving glasses, students typically have better attention in class, are more engaged, and are more willing to complete their schoolwork, all of which contribute to better overall school performance. Pictured here are students and volunteers at Georgia Brown Elementary: Wes VanDenEikhof checking the visual acuity of 1st grade student Adelaide Aiello and Dr. Doug Major screening transitional kindergarten student, Maycee Edwards.

Bearkitten Preschool Begins Last week marked the first day of Bearkitten Preschool! The lab preschool is a part of our CTE Pathways for Education and Child Development where our own PRHS students work directly with the preschoolers under the guidance of teacher Brenda Matthysse. The best part is when these Bearkittens come back as Bearcats!

Library News Today is National Dot Day and Kermit King Elementary students joined students all over the world reading Peter H. Reynold’s The Dot. This book celebrates the creative spirit in all of us and the need to keep trying to express this energy. The Dot was read with every class, and students were each encouraged to “make your mark and see where it takes you.”

The Paso Robles High School library is a popular spot on campus. The PRHS Library is the hub of the school and a place where all Bearcats are welcome. And check out the brand new library furniture.

STEAM Kindergarten students in Mrs. Pafumi’s class at Pat Butler Elementary are beginning to explore early robotics with the BeeBots. Young learners are challenged to understand directions and plan a set of movements. The learning will progress across multiple subject areas as students use the BeeBots to solve problems in literacy and mathematics. TK students in Mrs. Drennan’s class at Pat Butler Elementary worked cooperatively with their third grade buddies to engineer structures. The curious students were engaged in wonder as they designed their projects. What great benefit in catching them early! Virginia Peterson Elementary 5th grade students in Mrs. Harris’s class have been studying Earth Science. Recently they worked in partners to measure the angles of their shadows. Through the investigation, they gathered data that helped them to construct explanations about the Earth’s rotation. Mrs. Poppen’s 2nd grade students at Kermit King Elementary worked with Legos to construct a blueprint model of the Earth. The students experience a high-level of engagement and learn problem-solving strategies as well as critical thinking. In addition, they are combining the activity with a writing assignment that integrates language arts with the engineering.

And students in Mr. Ward's robotics class at Lewis Middle School are loving the Sphero course!

Technology for Every Student We are proud to offer technology for every student in every grade level in our schools. We want to ensure that they are ready for college, career, and community! Pictured here are students at Virginia Peterson Elementary who are learning how to sign in and out of Google.

PRYDE It’s been a wonderful beginning to our school year at PRYDE! Students at Kermit King PRYDE spend a few minutes on Tuesdays and Thursdays journaling. They may write or draw in response to a staff prompt written on the board. With a theme of All about Me, this day’s prompt was to share three of their favorite things about where they live.

Pat Butler has begun an apple curriculum theme in their TK-1st grade room and the 2nd -5th graders are enjoying the start of after-school sports and the use of the computer lab. Homework is a very important part of the day in the 2nd - 5th grade room at this PRYDE location.

Bearcat Athletic Hall of Fame Paso Robles High School will be inducting three new members into its Athletic Hall of Fame this Friday night, September 15, during the halftime of the varsity football game. John Waskowicz (Athletic Trainer, 1962-1977): A tireless supporter of Bearcat athletes, John was the first athletic trainer in the central coast and was highly respected for his professionalism and integrity. He received no compensation for his services except for a yearly trip to the athletic trainers’ convention. John’s trademark was to always wear freshly-bleached and starched crisp, white pants to Friday night games and to always provide freshly-sliced lemons and oranges to the teams. Upon John’s death in 1977, the Bearcat football team wore a black stripe on their helmets in his memory and dedicated their season to “Dr. John and the qualities that best represented him: Love for his fellow man, unselfishness, and perfection.” Jerome Thomas (class of 1995): Jerome Thomas was a two-year varsity letter winner in football, All-Los Padres Athletic League

(LPAL) twice, and All-CIF in 1994 on a league champion and CIF finals Bearcat team. He was also chosen Varsity Offensive Player of the Year in 1994. Jerome was a two-year varsity letter winner in basketball and was voted Defensive Player of the Year for the LPAL in 1995. He was also a varsity letter winner in baseball. Jerome received a Division I scholarship from the University of Idaho where he was a four-year letterman. He started at tailback for two years and had a 96-yard kickoff return in the 1999 Humanitarian Bowl victory over Southern Mississippi University, ESPN’s “Play of the Day.” Kevin Hill (class of 1995): Kevin Hill was a two-year varsity letter winner in football, an All-LPAL selection in 1993 and 1994, and team MVP in 1994 on a league champion and CIF finals Bearcat team. He was the LPAL champion in wrestling twice. In track, Kevin was a four-year letterman on 3 LPAL champion teams. He was a 3-time league champion and CIF finalist, winning the CIF championship in the 400 meters in 1995. He still holds the PRHS record in that event. Kevin received a Division I scholarship from the University of Idaho where he ran track for two years and was a four-year letterman in football. He was a two-year starter at strong safety and caused a key fumble in the Humanitarian Bowl victory over Southern Mississippi in 1999. In addition to celebrating the inductees, there will also be special recognition of the 1995 CIF Champion women’s volleyball team.

Paso Robles Half Marathon Registration Now Open! Discounted registration fees for PRJUSD staff and students! The 4A Foundation for Paso Robles Schools is pleased to announce the new Pacific Premier Bank Paso Robles Half Marathon. The new and improved "Paso Half" is a combination of the original Harvest Half Marathon and family-friendly Heritage Oaks Bank Fun Run. The new Paso Half will begin and end at the Downtown City Park and will feature activities for all ages including a half marathon, 5K race, family mile, kids' dash, diaper dash, and festival with live music and famous Paso wine and craft beer! The Paso Half is being organized by the 4A Foundation for Paso Robles Schools in conjunction with Race SLO. Pacific Premier Bank is the title sponsor. All proceeds will benefit the students in Paso Robles. This is a family-friendly weekend and runners of all ages and abilities are welcome to participate. One hundred percent of race proceeds benefit the 4A Foundation for Paso Robles Schools, a non-profit supporting academics, arts, athletics, and agriculture programs in Paso Robles Joint Unified School District. Whether you are running in a race, cheering on runners, or are looking for something to do with your family, the Paso Half is the place to be. The weekend begins on Saturday, November 11, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Downtown City Park, with packet pick-up, race registration, vendor booths, and free activities for kids. Race day is Sunday, November 12, with all races starting and finishing at the Downtown City Park. The half marathon begins at 7:00 a.m. and features a new course that makes its way east through the city of Paso Robles and utilizes many existing running paths. All participants receive a t-shirt and finisher’s medal while winners in each age group go home with a bottle of Paso Robles wine. The Paso Half is also the home of the new San Luis Obispo County Elementary Cross Country Championships. Children ages six to eleven who are running the family mile will automatically be entered into the championships for a chance to be crowned fastest in the county. Children who place in the top three will receive a unique SLO County champion award. This race begins at 9:30 a.m.

On race day, the Downtown City Park will be home to the race festival from 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The festival will feature live music, free activities for kids, hot breakfast, beer and wine, and various vendor booths. For more information about the Pacific Premier Bank Paso Robles Half Marathon, sponsorship opportunities, or to register, please visit the website at www.pasohalf.com or email Rich Clayton at rsclayton@pasoschools.org.