Back in April, the Santa Clara Unified School District recognized outstanding volunteers within the district at its 36th Public School Week Awards held at Santa Clara High School. Student and adult volunteers from each district school were selected for this honor.
Alexis Vaile, 10, is finishing up fifth grade at Braly Elementary School. Vaile has served as a fifth-grade buddy, volunteered in the school’s safety patrol and student council, and was a participant in the Math Olympiad.
“My friend and I noticed there’s a lot of trash around school so we decided to pick it up,” Vaile said. “We pick up wrappers, pieces of plastic, tissues, paper towels, strings and pretty much everything unless it seems unsafe to touch…In the fall, I’m going to Peterson Middle School. I plan to pick up trash if I see it at Peterson.”
Speaking of Peterson, seventh-grader Mason Barker, 12, believes his sixth-grade teacher at this school, Ms. Wendy Harris, nominated him for his award.
“I created some clubs at the school, such as a Dungeons and Dragons club and a Comic Club,” Barker said. “I went to the office to fill out forms to create the clubs and I needed a faculty adviser. Ms. Harris was the faculty adviser. The Comic Club didn’t last long, but the D & D club has been going on for awhile. I also tutored others in a couple of my sixth grade classes. I tutored mainly math. Also, this year, I’ve been doing a lot of work in the school’s nature area, the Bryan Osborne Nature Center. I’m in the process of making a field guide for this nature area. I really like making things.”
Roxanne Calvillo, parent at Pomeroy Elementary School, was the adult honoree for the school. Calvillo had two children graduate from Pomeroy. Currently, she has a child in fourth grade here.
“I was on the PTA board for several years and I headed the school’s walk-a-thon and multicultural festival,” Calvillo said. “I chaperone field trips. I feel that it’s important that parents are present when the kids are at school.”