May 25, 2004

Seagate/Sharks Foundation presents leadership awards
Two Evergreen students win

Karina Barragan of Chaboya Middle School and Marcus Lewis of Quimby Oak Middle School are both recipients of the 2004 Seagate/Sharks Foundation Eighth Grade Leadership Award.

All award winners were honored at a special awards dinner at the HP Pavilion, where they received a plaque in recognition of this honor, an autographed puck from Sharks player Scott Thornton and four tickets to a Sharks game before the play-offs.

The Seagate/Sharks Foundation Eighth Grade Leadership Award, presented in conjunction with the Office of Education in both Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties, is given to one eighth grade student at each participating school who has demonstrated excellence in academic and social achievement, as well as leadership among his or her peers. In all, 70 students were honored with this prestigious award.

“If there’s one student I had to ask anything of, it’s Marcus,” said Quimby Oak Principal Phil Bond. “He’s highly regarded by his teachers and peers, and I’d trust him with anything.”

Chaboya’s Alan Ventura said of Karina, “She’s been an invaluable, responsible, focused young lady, a major piece of the backbone of our school.”

Chaboya’s concert band racks up honors

Under the direction of music teacher Karen Kolber, concert band students from Chaboya Middle School received first place and a rating of “Superior” for their performance at Music in the Parks Band Festival at Peterson Middle School in Sunnyvale.

Two weeks later, at 5:15 a.m., the band boarded a bus for Pittsburgh, Calif. to perform at the California Music Educators Association (CMEA) Band Festival at Pittsburgh High School. There they received a rating of “Excellent” for performance and “Superior” for sight-reading. 

These honors are a bittersweet reminder that many of these students began their band training in fifth and sixth grade music classes offered in the Evergreen Elementary School District. Due to serious budget cuts, band in fifth and sixth grade has been cut for next year.

If you are interested in coordinating, planning and attending meetings to discuss fundraising, grant proposals or other options to keep music in the district, contact Chaboya parent Antoinette Battiste at (408) 270-1992 or battist@pacbell.net.

San Jose Earthquakes visit Laurelwood Elementary School

A few members of the San Jose Earthquakes professional soccer team recently took time out of their busy schedule to congratulate the students of Laurelwood Elementary School who have been busy participating in the schoolwide reading contest. The players also honored the top readers in each grade.

Earthquakes defender Craig Waibel, midfielder Ian Russell and forward Jamil Walker as well as the Quakes new mascot “Q” were on hand for an assembly that left students, teachers and parents smiling.

“In this day of multimillion dollar sports salaries and paid autographs, it is great that the Earthquakes take time to reach out to the youth in our community,” said Jann Noto, the mother of fifth-grader Nicolete Noto and Mackenzi Noto, a first-grader at Laurelwood.

The players and “Q” spoke about the importance of education and reading in everyone’s lives, a fact that was not lost on the students in attendance. They then passed out the awards to the school’s top readers before challenging children and teachers to a soccer skills demonstration.

“Everyone at Laurelwood has been great,” Waibel said. “We really enjoy coming out to see the kids there, and I believe that it is an important part of our job as professional athletes to be an active member of this community and to try and make a difference in whatever way that we can.”

“I thought they were great,” Katelyn Inouye, a third-grader said. “My favorite part was when they gave out the awards.”

“The Earthquakes did a phenomenal job of coming in and giving praise to our young readers,” said fifth-grade teacher Kaylee Hoard. “They also emphasized the importance of education and how even professional athletes wouldn’t be anywhere without it.”

Other Laurelwood teachers agreed that the Earthquakes appearance was a hit at the school.

“I appreciate the Earthquakes coming to our school,” second-grade teacher Sherry Drabin said. “Their focus on reading and learning impresses the students greatly.”

The winners of the Laurelwood Elementary School reading contest were:

- Sixth Grade: Nicholas Berg, Room #21 – 249.5 points;

- Fifth Grade: Sara Schubert, Room #18 – 373.8 points;

- Fourth Grade: Amanda Tun, Room #15 – 143.9;

- Third Grade: May Ngo, Room #11 – 78.7 points;

- Second Grade: Nikhil Badrinath, Room #9; 74.7 points;

- First Grade: Ranetta Givens, Room #6 – 4.8 points;

- Kindergarten: Jenesis Merriman – Mrs. McGee.

“My daughters play soccer; so do many of the students here,” said Noto. “These celebrities are very positive role models. Even the kids who don’t play soccer are excited and ask their parents to take them to a game.”

Celebrating diversity at Cadwallader

Cadwallader Elementary School showcased a cornucopia of cultures at its annual multicultural fashion show and dinner. Boys and girls, grades K – six, proudly modeled intriguing fashions that represented their African, Mexican, Filipino, Indian, Vietnamese, Native American, Scottish, Scandinavian, Tahitian and Japanese cultures.

The students worked diligently to learn the techniques and modeling etiquette for runway modeling under the direction of their principal, Denise Williams.

“Another amazing aspect of this event is that students have the opportunity to extend their learning curves by researching their culture and including the history and fascinating highlights in their descriptions for the audience to enjoy,” said Williams. “Many of the outfits were handmade by family members, and some were also passed down from previous generations.”

The event transformed Cougar Café into a gallery of art, projects and reflections of students’ families and heritages.

Parents graciously provided delectable dishes such as lumpia, curry, Chinese rice, sushi, quesadillas and pho to exemplify their cultures. The cultural music was synchronized with the specific scene to be reflective of the attire. A highlight of the evening was a special Filipino folkdance performed by Melvin Dalit.

“This event is such a community builder and provides another opportunity for our students to appreciate and respect cultural diversity,” added Williams.