Sammi Carr's The Jaguars' Spot column for Wed., Oct. 01, 2008

Welcome to the 21st century!

This week I sat down with Principal Ron McCowan and learned that VCHS is one of very few schools statewide to have won a $250,000 21st Century Community Learning Center grant. “The purpose of the grant,” McCowan said, “is to help schools develop before and after school courses to provide students with extra enrichment and remediation.”

Jags, what this means is that there will be classes available before school, after school and on some Saturdays that can help you in math, science or English, but they won’t just be core classes but extracurricular classes as well. Teachers have been putting in requests for classes they’d like to teach, along with getting suggestions from the students. Some of the more popular suggestions are dance classes, science lab days, writers’ workshop, and video production.

VCHS will receive $250,000 each year for the first five years to help build the programs, buy supplies and gain interest. Along with that, because Valley Center is so spread out and rural, we’ve also been given $25,000 for bus transports. When the five years are up, we’ll have the opportunity to reapply for the grant.

McCowan expanded on his goals for the program: “We want to increase student learning and involvement by creating a fun and accessible environment for them to grow. We also want to offer remediation classes, but put emphasis on enrichment classes to give our students more exposure to different things.”

The program won’t be in full swing until next year, but there will be trial classes throughout the year starting on Oct 3. So if you have any recommendations be sure to let your teachers know!

Eager to donate:

One of the things VCHS is most proud of is how often our Future Farmers of America (FFA) club organizes several Red Cross Blood Drives throughout our school. Our first one for this year is coming up on October 7. Students must be at least 16 years old and weigh a minimum of 110 pounds to become a donor. It’s a great way to give back to the community and save lives!

Here’s something I betcha didn’t know:

This year’s football team is proving to be as strong as ever. Although it’s still early in the season, there’s a good chance we could make it to CIF again. An extra incentive: this year’s game will take place in the big leagues at Qualcomm Stadium! So Jags, be sure to come out and support our athletes!

Know something I don’t know? Catch me on campus or send me an e-mail at sammi@carrfamily.com.

See ya. Sam.