More than 200 fifth and sixth grade students from across the Merced City School District showed their skills and sportsmanship during the second annual March Madness basketball tournament.
A total of 28 teams competed at the district's four middle schools during the week of March 8th. The winners of each bracket went on to the Final Four on March 13th before Muir Elementary and Rivera Elementary faced off in the final on March 14th. It was a great game, but in the end Muir emerged victorious with a final score of 35-32.
Thank you to all of the teachers, teachers on special assignment, administrators, support staff, volunteers, and parents who helped make this tournament possible!
Muir Elementary basketball team
Rivera Elementary basketball team
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The Merced City School District has embarked upon a special pilot project to support student health and provide a convenient option for parents. The district is partnering with the Merced County Department of Public Health to bring Tdap (pertussis) vaccination clinics to all 13 elementary school sites that have 6th graders enrolled. These clinics are being held on various days during the month of March.
Students who are entering 7th grade during the 2017-2018 school year must show proof of having received one dose of pertussis containing vaccine (given in the form of Tdap, which is tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis) after the age of seven. Many students in this age group have not yet received this vaccine.
The district provides outreach to parents with information about the need for this vaccination starting in December, but in years past there was often a “mad dash” in the two weeks before the new school year, as parents tried to schedule appointments for their children. Due to limitations in the ability of primary care providers to get students in on short notice, the Health Department often faced an overload of families during that time.
The district hopes the clinics this month will help to reduce the burden on families, school sites, and the Health Department. The vaccinations are being provided free of charge to students. Parents/guardians are only required to complete and return a consent form. Students will be seen at school, monitored for any vaccine reactions, and returned to class, with little time missed.
Consent forms have already been sent home to all families in the district with students currently in 6th grade. Anyone with questions about this program can contact their child’s school site.
Students at Franklin Elementary School made some new four-legged friends this week. New Beginnings for Merced County Animals brought three tiny puppies and one sweet dog to meet the students as a way to say thank you for their fundraising efforts.
The children in Mrs. Silva's transitional kindergarten class and Mrs. Christiansen's kindergarten class spent months selling small school supply items during recess to help support the non-profit animal rescue group. On Monday, they presented a check for $1300 to the volunteers who rely on donations to facilitate foster care for abandoned animals and provide transportation to help find them homes. Then the students spent some time petting the cute canines, which were all rescued. It was a chance for the children to see the true impact of all their hard work.
New Beginnings Founder Sharon Lohman said, “What an amazing group of children. They were great and so enthusiastic. We appreciate all of their hard work, and their donation will help many animals find homes.”
To prepare for the check presentation ceremony, the students practiced writing, reading, and public speaking. They also learned how to properly care for animals and treat them with kindness. Those lessons support the district’s mission to ensure that every student excels academically, builds character, and is a productive member of our community.
Dozens of students from across the Merced City School District presented impressive projects during a districtwide science fair on March 1. The event took place at the MCSD Professional Development Center, located on Brookdale Avenue. Each of the district’s 14 elementary schools had the opportunity to display three projects, and each of the four middle schools could select up to six student projects.
The entries included everything from wind power experiments to a test of drinking water quality to a video game for the blind. The students behind those projects shared their work with eight judges from a variety of sectors throughout our community, including representatives from UC Merced, the Merced County Office of Education, the Grassland Environmental Education Center and other professionals with backgrounds in science and engineering.
The judges selected the top 20 projects to move on to the countywide STEM Fair on March 22. That event will take place at the Merced County Fairgrounds and is organized by the Merced County Office of Education. The judges also named a first, second, and third place winner for each grade level from fifth through eighth. They are:
5th grade:
1st place – Dana Saeteurn, “A Video Game for the Blind”
2nd place – Claire Chuang and Sophie Zhu, “Potato Chips”
3rd place – Ryan Costa & Diezzel Munoz, "Can We Create a Safe & Easy Way to Pick up Glass?"
6th grade:
1st place – Kayla Alvarado, Julian Ponce & Lesly Navarro: “Paper Robotic Hands”
2nd place – Maria Ramos, Jacqueline Reyes & Julian Soriano: “We Got the Power”
3rd place – Donovan Magana: “Art Bot”
7th grade:
1st place – Jonathan Lopez: “Magnets Charge”
2nd place – Marina Aguilar & Nathan Helms: “Hydroelectric Light”
3rd place – Aidan Mondo: “Can Certain Materials Block Wi-Fi Signals?”
8th grade:
1st place – Anthony Garcia, Alex Hinastrosa & Abigail Deleon: “How Long Will it Take to Crack Your Password?”
2nd place – Cristal Esquivel-Salas, Aaliyah Martinez & Joslin Diaz, “Is the Bottled Water We Drink Actually Healthy?”
3rd place – Allen Arganda & Jesus Zaragoza, “Comparison of Dissolving Times of Alka-Seltzer in Water, Coca-Cola, and Gatorade”
Rivera Elementary
Students at Rivera Elementary participated in the school's first annual science fair on February 22. The projects included everything from investigating the role of gravity and angular momentum on the "water bottle flip challenge" to a test of which popcorn brands pop the best. Principal Puckett says it was a great event with a wonderful parent turnout as well.
Students at Givens Elementary participated in their school science fair on February 27. The event featured a total of 10 projects by 5th and 6th grade students, including volcano experiments, a way to make clean water, and a video game designed for the blind. A UC Merced researcher and two doctoral students served as the judges.
Some of these students will now take part in the districtwide science fair at the Professional Development Center (1730 E. Brookdale Drive) on Wednesday, March 1. Student work will be on display and judged throughout the day, and the public viewing and awards ceremony will take place from 4-6 p.m.
Givens Elementary
Givens Elementary
Givens Elementary
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Givens Elementary
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Rivera Elementary