Guess who’s back? Students visit Cunha to get class assignments

Victoria Ortiz is an eighth-grade student at Cunha.

Yes, it’s that time of year again: back to school. The only thing more fun than actually going back to school, is finding out which teachers you have, and what classes. Today, many students entering the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade classes got their schedules at Cunha Middle School. Things are a little different this year though, so surprises are not just for 6th graders anymore. Cunha is getting new teachers, old ones are leaving, new classes will begin, and some will stop.

I spent the morning interviewing teachers, parents, students, and one pesky gopher, and here’s what you need to know:

Q: Will there be anything different about Cunha this year?

A: Yes. The new 6th graders at school will be going through a skills study program for the first few weeks of school.  We’ve created this program to help new students transition to the culture and expectations of middle school.  The program will last for the first 3 weeks of school and will include study skills, using schoolloop (http://www.cunha.schoolloop.com) and one-on-one meetings with teachers, staff and counselors.  We are very excited about this new program and I’m looking forward to meeting all our new 6th graders. (For a more detailed list of topics that will be covered in the study skills program, click the "read more" link at the bottom of this story and see the end of this story.)

Q:  What did you do over the summer?

A: My family went to a lot of softball games with my daughter.  Her team qualified for regionals in Las Vegas, and then went on to the nationals in Washington.  It was all very exciting.

Q: What are you looking forward to about this year?

A: I am mostly looking forward to meeting the new 6th graders and seeing old faces. Also, I am looking forward to meeting the new teachers. One of the things I like about working at Cunha is that all the teachers and staff are very close. This year we had to say goodbye to Mr. Tretner, Ms. Phillips, Mrs. Zabo and Mr. Pittenger, however, we are all excited about the new teachers and look forward to working with them this year.  They are:

Raj Bechar: 6th grade math, algebra 1-A, and sheltered math.
Craig Bryant: Band
Carlos Iraheta: Special Education
Ken Murray: 6th and 7th grade science
Gerald Schwartz: 6th and 8th grade science.

Q: Will there be any changes at Cunha this year?

A: Yes. One change will be to the English immersion program.  In the past ESL (English as a second language) students had two classes daily, a morning before school class and then an afternoon reading/language arts period.  Nearly 40% of Cunha’s students speak Spanish, so this year, they will continue the before school class and then integrate with the rest of the school body during the day.

Click the "read more" link for more interviews and lots of pictures.

Cheri Parr

Mr. Ward

Q: Are there any new things that you are excited about at Cunha?

A: Well, I’ll be very happy to see everyone back from last year, and it’s always great meeting the new students.  As for changes, for the first time, wheel is replacing Spanish with a class in Music Appreciation, which everyone is very excited about.  (Mr. Ward also talked about the new Study Skills class as did Mr. Nasar and Mrs. Weber.  All the teachers seem excited about this new introduction for the 6th graders.)

I also got to talk to a couple of the students who are going to start at Cunha in a couple of days.  I asked them all if they were happy with their schedule and who is their favorite teacher.  Here are some of their replies:

Cheri Parr

Laura Acton, 7th grader, “I really like my schedule this year, and my favorite teacher is Mr. Ward.  I had a great time this summer hanging out with my friends and surfing.

Cheri Parr

Liana Felde, 7th grader:  “Overall, I like my schedule, but if I could change one thing, I wouldn’t want P.E first period. Its too cold in the morning and usually by afternoon the sun is out.”

Cheri Parr

Ethan and Scott, 7th graders: Ethan said, “My schedule is o.k., but if I could change something I would want Mr. Kastelic for science.”  Scott added, “I would want to trade my classes so I could have home ec with Mrs. Cresson instead of art.

Cheri Parr

Alyssa Bretz and Eric Barton, 8th graders – Both Alyssa and Eric said they would change all their classes to they could be together.  Right now, they don’t have any together!  Alyssa’s favorite teacher is Mr. Morris and Eric’s is Mr. Schwartz.

Cheri Parr

Trish McGrath

What would back to school be without parents?  We were able to catch Trish McGrath (Eric’s mom) on her way to pick up her kids and get her take on back to school.  “I’m happy that Ethan is going to Cunha and he is very excited to be going back.  We’re lucky to have such great teachers here, and to have a number of after school activities at the school and in the community.”  I asked Mrs. McGrath her opinion about where the new middle school should be located; at Wavecrest or by the High School.  Her answer was the same as 4 other parents I spoke to. “Rather than building a new school, the funds should be used to re-furbish Cunha.  Wavecrest is too far away and would be a traffic nightmare.  The high school location would not be much better.  I feel safe and comfortable with the Cunha location and like the fact that the library and other after school activities are nearby.  Our dentist is here in town, and the kids have a number of places they can go and still be safe.  I like the fact that we are a close knit community, and having the middle school as part of that community is the right choice in my opinion.”  I couldn’t agree more!  Most of the kids I know love Cunha the way it is, but that’s another article for later.

Cheri Parr

Little Jimmy

And in closing, I got an – up close look at “little Jimmy” the school Gopher!  As you’ll see from the many holes all around the school, Jimmy and his friends have had a busy summer. Hopefully, we will only use the track for running from now on.

So there you go. Everyone is clearly excited about going back and being with friends. Having a fresh start is always a good thing, and to have it once a year is even better. New teachers, new students, and new classes. It’s a whole new year to look forward to.

Cheri Parr

Our class schedules

Cheri Parr

Our correspondent interviews Mr. Nasar.

Day one: Mechanics of Cunha – Campus layout, The Cub Agenda, Rules, expectations, questions and concerns.

Day two: Getting organized At home – backpack, binder, home study area, Preparing and finishing homework

At school – During class guidelines, using cub agenda, Homework club, Elli club, boys & girls club, library

Day three: School loop – Logging students on, parent information, how to contact teachers, how to use the loop

Day four: How to memorize – RCRC (Read, Cover, Recite, Check) method, how to memorize lists, test preparation and use of acronyms

Day five: Taking Notes – in class and at home during study preparation

Day six: Test Taking Strategies – short answer tests, multiple choice tests, true-false tests, essay tests

Day seven: Pictographs – How to read them, comparing information, types of charts: bar, pie, and line graphs

Day eight: Journal set up – Use for study skills and beyond, quick writes on daily topics

Day nine: Reading Direction – in text books, on assignments, on test

Days 10 – 15 Presenter Days and continuation of lesions to include:

Administrators and Staff – Principal, Assistant Principal, Office & Support staff, Job descriptions/personal connections ` Counselors – Introductions, issues they handle

Sexual Harassment and Conflict Resolution – presentation by district staff, student conflict resolution presentation

For help with homework:

1) http://www.schoolloop.com

2) http://school.discovery.com/homeworkhelp/bjpinchbeck/bjmath.html

3) http://school.discovery.com/homeworkhelp/bjpinchbeck/bjmath.html

4) The American Heritage Dictionary

Have a good link to share?  Add it to the comments section of this story.