Awards Ceremony and Potluck

Everyone turned up in their finest attire last Thursday to celebrate the end of the semester and all of the students hard work and achievements. Six students will be moving on to the next level of classes- congratulations on your achievements. The rest of the class will continue their dedication and effort when we return to school on the fourth of January. To the students who were unable to attend, you were greatly missed. Please come by the classroom to pickup your certificates.
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! See you in 2010!!!

Sgt. Cucchi's Visit

Yesterday the police talked about what happened, what you should do when you are driving. He was talking about traffic law.
If you see a school bus with blinking lights you should stop. If you do not stop you get a ticket for $300.
The police officer was talking about when if a person drinks one beer they should wait 1 hour before driving. If it is 5 ounces of wine or a shot of tequila a person should wait one and one half hours. Don’t drink and drive. An accident could happen. You can get arrested. You could go to jail. The ticket is big like $1,000.
Children need seat belts and car seats. If the child is 4 years or 40 pounds, 6 years old or 60 pounds in a booster they need a special seat. A person 60 pounds and up needs a seat belt. That’s the law. The fine is $500.
If you no have insurance on your car the ticket is $1,200.
If you don’t pay your ticket on time it is more money. Sometimes you can make a payment plan and pay a little bit each month.
If you don’t have your driver’s license with you the ticket is $20. But, with the fix-it ticket you can go to the police department, show them your license and not have to pay.
If the lights are not working you have 21 days to fix the lights and pay the fine, then go to the police station and have the police check off the lights.
In a school zone you should drive slowly and carefully, 25 mph.
When you are driving your shouldn’t talk on your cell phone. Teresa was talking on the phone and the ticket was $140. Poor Teresa. Teresa was embarrassed because she knew the policeman. He gave her the ticket

What happens when you are stopped? Are the police nice or angry?

Thanksgiving

OUR FAVORITE ANIMALS

Luz Elena

My favorite animal is a dog. It is a wonderful animal. There are many different kinds of dogs, there are big and small. My favorite animal is a carnivore, it lives on the land; it has fur and it is a mammal. Some dogs help the blind to cross the street, walk in the street. The dog is a beautiful companion.


Yazmin

My favorite animal is a German shepherd dog, because it is a good dog, it looks nice, it’s intelligent. Sometimes they are in the Police Department to detect drugs. This animal is a mammal and a carnivore.
The German shepherd has a black and beige fur, big eyes, big ears and is tall. This animal is domestic. It’s good company but only lives 20 years.

Learning About GED and High School Diploma

We are learning about GED and High School Diploma. In the pictures, the Vice Principal is talking to students about GED/HSD. With the GED and HSD you can get a better job. Stacey is speaking English. The students asked questions about HSD. Stacey answered all the questions. The projector turned off two times. Heidi fixed the projector. We were paying attention to the presentation. In one picture, Doris is asking Stacey a question. In another, Noreen is standing and translating. Alba is translating into Spanish. Brenda and Doris are sitting in the chairs and listening to the presentation. They are smiling. Heidi took pictures. Heidi was sitting in the corner. (Like a naughty dog?)

Zoo Animals

Mammals
There are several characteristics that they all have in common:
• They nurse their young .
• They have hair or fur.

Birds
There are more than 9,000 species of birds alive today, all birds have one unique characteristic: feathers.

Reptiles
Reptiles are the only animals with the following combination of traits:
• Skin covered with a sheet of scales.
• They control body temperature through external means.
• They have young that look like miniature adults (most hatched from eggs, but some born live)

Amphibians
Almost all amphibians have thin, moist skin that helps them breathe. Most amphibians undergo a unique change from larvae to adults, called metamorphosis.

Fish
There are some things that all fish have in common:
• They breathe with gills.
• All fish also have fins.
• Most fish also have scales and most hatch from eggs.

ALL ABOUT ANIMALS

Feed the elephants and say "Hi" to a tiger at the Sacramento Zoo!
http://www.saczoo.com/Page.aspx?pid=362

Get your pet immunized or adopt a pet at Yolo County Animal Services
http://www.yolosheriffs.com/animalser

Visit farm animals or buy fresh vegetables at Impossible Acres
http://www.impossibleacres.com


Copy and paste these addresse into your address bar to view the site!

In the Computer Lab

We are practicing English in the computer lab. Luz Elena is listening to the new vocabulary with the headphones. Pam is a good computer lab teacher. She is helping Teodoro.

We are working on inglesmundial. We are practicing listening and grammar.
Our classmates come from different countries: China, Pakistan, Korea, Mexico, Vietnam, and Nepal. We like the computer lab; it is good for practicing English vocabulary, grammar, dictation, listening, reading, typing, and learning and remembering many new things.

Back to School BBQ

The BBQ was for students coming back to class. The BBQ was Friday, September 4, 2009 at 12 o’clock. We ate salad, hot dogs, hamburgers, birria, mole, rice, watermelon, desserts, chips, cake. We drank lemonade. Richard is the high school diploma teacher. He was eating a hamburger. Roberto is Cece’s assistant. Magdelena is Roberto’s wife. She is a student at Prarie. Cece is an ESL teacher. Luz Elena and Martha were talking and laughing. They were eating and drinking water and lemonade. They are students. Mandy, Michelle and Uonsook are from Asia. They are students. They were eating watermelon and enjoying the party. The BBQ was very good. Everybody brought something to share, potluck style.

Welcome!

Letter to Our Students
August 24, 2009

Dear Students,

Welcome to the morning Beginning High Class!

Heidi and Cece are glad to have you in their class.Cece teaches you on Mondays and Fridays, and Heidi teaches you on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Please try to come to class at 8:45 in the morning, and stay until 1:00 PM. If you have family responsibilities or work that make you come late or leave early, remember that you will miss some of our teaching. If you ask us, we may be able to give you some work to do at home as makeup. Coming to school as many minutes as you can will help you learn English quickly. Remember, your children get more than 6 hours of English a day!

Bring a snack! Four hours of class is very long, and we have a break in the middle of the morning, when you can eat or drink something and sit and get to know your classmates. This will also help you learn better. By the way, don’t forget to eat breakfast; it is the most important meal of the day! It gives you energy to learn.

You should bring a pencil, a notebook, a dictionary and all the papers we have used in the last week with you everyday, organized neatly in some way so you can find them. If you attend our class for 30 hours (a week and a half), we will give you a pretty folder from Woodland Adult Education! It will be a perfect place to keep your handouts.

If you must be absent or late, please try to leave a note for your teacher the day before, or call G2 (406-5909) or the classroom (406-5912) to let us know.

We will be going to the computer lab every week. We may not have food or drink, or even gum in there, because it makes the lab dirty and can hurt the computers. Also, make sure your cell phones do not disturb our class. You should turn off the sound, or turn the phone off completely. Put it on vibrate in your pocket if you are worried about an emergency. Tell your family not to call you in the mornings except in emergency. Then, take your call outside if you get one.

We hope you will enjoy our class. We look forward to getting to know you.


Your teachers,

Heidi Weins and Cece Drissia


Holidays: Sept. 7 (Labor Day); Nov. 11 (Veteran’s Day); Nov. 21-27 (Thanksgiving Break); Dec 18-January 10 (Winter Break, Christmas and New Year’s)

Awards Ceremony

Awards Ceremony

Thursday we had a wonderful awards ceremony.Student were awarded certificates and recognized for improvement on the CASAS test and completion of both the crime and community tasks. The multi-purpose room was packed. The tables were ladden with food- traditional foods from Mexico, China, Nepal and Pakistan. Everyone was dressed in their finest with their hair done and make-up on. Although it was sad to say good-bye for the summer it was a great time of celebration and recognition of the students achievements.

Garden Harvest

Teresa proudly shows off her first zucchini from the school garden.

Time to Clean the Classroom!

Boy, our classroom sure is dirty! Please put on your apron and get to work. Fill up a bucket with water and liquid cleaner. Then, mop the floor. Dust the furniture with a dust cloth. Don't forget to empty the wastebaskets. Look around. That looks much better, don't you think?

Yesterday, they had a presentation by a police man. He talked about tickets, violence, traffic, vandalism, and firearms. It was very interesting. We learned not to be afraid when the police pull us over and we get a ticket. We don't need to be afraid to go and pay the ticket or go to the court. We also learned we shouldn't drive without our licensce or insurance. A small problem, such as no signal light can become a big problm. It can cost a lot of money. (dictated by the students)

The Lawn Chair Pilot

The Lawn Chair Pilot- class story

He was thinking about flying. He wanted to be a pilot. He looked at the chair and said, “I want to fly. I want to build something to fly.” He put some balloons on the chair. Then, he sat on the chair. The chair started to fly over the houses. When he was flying, he looked down and felt scared. He saw the city. Then he took out his gun and shot some balloons. The gun fell down to the ground because the wind was blowing very strong. He decided to go down. He flew over the mountains and saw two airplanes. He felt very happy because he was flying together with the airplanes, just like he did in his dream. He went down slowly. He arrived.

Employment and Social Services

Rachael Rubio came and explained the department of employment and social services on April 30th, 2009. We learned about these programs: Medi-Cal, CalWORKS, Food Stamps, Adult Protective Services, WorkForce Investment Acts, In-Home Support Services, Child Welfare Services. It was interesting because some people don’t know about these programs, and how to get them. We were thankful that she could explain them in English and in Spanish. The job information was especially important for many of us.
She said the Medi-Cal program was only for children and pregnant women or disabled adults. She said Cal Works was only for low-income families.
She said most of the programs, including Food Stamps, were only for legal residents and citizens, but that a pregnant woman or a family with children born in the US could get services for those children. She said that all of the job services, except actually applying for a job, are open to everyone without looking at papers. She also said some of the training is available in Spanish. (dictated by the students)

The Library

The library is open Monday through Thursday, 10-8 and Friday and Saturday 10-5 pm. The library is on the corner of Court St. and First St.The library has books, movies, CDs, computers, Spanish books and an area for children. They have holiday books. They have music CDs, newspapers, and magazines . If you forget some books at home you have to pay ten cents per day per book. You can take the books and music home for three weeks, movies for one week. The application for a library card is free. You need to pay one dollar to get a new one if you loose your card. The library is quiet. It is good for reading books. The older books are seperate. You need a PIN to work on the computers. You can work for one hour. If you print, the colors are in black and white. Computer printing is ten cents a page and a copy from the machine is fifty cents. Esther gave us a tour. She was friendly and she has twenty years of experience in the library. She speaks a lot of Spanish. The library is a community service.
(Dictated by the students)

How to get rid of your garden pests

A picture of LADYBUGS- a gardeners friend!

APHIDS- a problem on tomatoes and roses
For a small spray bottle mix one bottle full of water, 1 tablespoon liquid dish soap and 2-3 cloves chopped garlic. Stir gently so it doesn’t get all foamy. Spray the aphids in the evening. The garlic may harm “good” insects as well so be careful when spraying. This should help.
Also- remember ladybugs eat aphids so be nice to ladybugs!

Yolo County Food Bank

Thank you Debbie for visiting our school. We learned a lot about the programs and services that the Food Bank offers, such as Moveable Market and the Fresh Friday produce distributions.We think growing our own fruits and vegetables is a good idea. We enjoyed hearing about the opportunities to volunteer and hope to be able to serve the community and help those in need. Thank you for your big heart and your willingness to help those in need. Sincerely, ESL Students of the Beginning High Class.