Makenna Wills, 11, a 5th-grade student at the Santa Ana Student Center, is the December 2020 Student Artist of the Month. The Santa Ana resident likes to draw people, animals, fairies, and mermaids using markers, crayons and colored pencils. In addition to art, she likes theater, soccer, and biking.
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Leanah Garcia and Presley Cruz are the October and November 2020 Student Artists of the Month. Leanah’s artwork is entitled “Online Superheroes”; Presley’s is “I Depend on You,” a photograph of her father.
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Springs sites participated in the annual Great California ShakeOUT! earthquake drill in October, with some students participating virtually from home, reported Sydelle Allington, Safety & Risk Management Technician. The drill reminds staff and students of ways to stay safe during an earthquake.
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Springs’ Renaissance Valley Academy (RVA) science teachers Jim Ardalan, Lynnette Munoz, Jonathan Kunz and Tyrone Berry are formalizing a science department, reported Vice Principal Brian Bailey. Its purpose is to increase student interest in science and to encourage more students to participate in a virtual science fair in January. One RVA student who is doing amazing things in science at the school is junior Guillermo Rubio Beltran (pictured), who created a video highlighting his study of centripetal force in Mr. Ardalan’s physics class.
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Declan Kallberg, 13, an 8th grade student at Springs iShine Student Center, participated in The Living Room Play Workshop, an online offering by The Old Globe Arts Engagement that allows participants to write, direct and produce a play without leaving their homes. He created a play called “Ding Dong” in which his attempts at learning to play the piano are foiled by a barrage of would-be visitors knocking at the door. The first play he wrote, “Dub Thee Fear.”
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Sergio Jandell Tapia-Rodriguez, 7, a 2nd grade student with Springs’ Magnolia Student Center, was introduced to the game of golf through PLAY (Police Leading Active Youth), a free program offered by the Riverside Police Foundation and the Riverside Community Parks Association. Sergio’s mother, Delia Rodriguez, said, “This event is a fun way for kids to try out different sports and get to interact with the police department.”
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Springs senior Madison Hall, 17, has been named a Murrieta Chamber of Commerce High School Student of the Month. Madison was honored for her academic success, which she balances with an acting and music career. She is also the daughter of a U.S. Army veteran, and chose Springs’ Venture Online program because and it has allowed her to remain in a single school when her military family has had to relocate.
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Charlotte Saltz, a 9th grade student in Springs’ Venture Online program, is an up-and-coming tennis star. She trains 20 hours a week, and has begun competing in tournaments again as pandemic restrictions ease. Most recently, she took first in a Newport Beach tournament, and is ranked #67 in the Southern California Tennis Association Junior Girls 14 and under.
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The following commentary is adapted from a speech Kathleen Hermsmeyer delivered at the end of September:
Over the past seven months, the landscape of education has changed dramatically. You could say that we’ve all jumped from the education superhighway to the road less traveled. Many innovative educational ideas have been implemented in a hurry out of necessity. It’s been said that real change takes place in deep crisis. The question at this point is: what’s going to stick around in public education after the pandemic is over?
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Darla Ruiz was recognized as Springs’ Palm Academy Artist of the Month for September for her drawing of a real-life hero at the school’s monthly Palm Pechanga event, reported Principal Shawna Lewis. Additionally, Levi Jove, Kai Jove, Genesis Zazueta and Leland Hodges were named as the Palm Academy Desert Foxes of the Month for exhibiting Springs Graduate Learner Outcomes.
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