Rosedale: The Northwest Voice

Beloved Rosedale Union School District employee set to retire!

Please join us in celebrating

Judie Worthen…..

who will be retiring from 27 years of dedicated service to Rosedale Union School District. From Rosedale North to Almondale to Patriot Elementary, Miss Judie is finally going to slow down and enjoy her life to the fullest.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

4:30-6:30 Informal Celebration Reception

Patriot Elementary Library

4410 Old Farm Road, Bakersfield

If you would like to contribute towards a gift or send a card…feel free. Any questions, contact:

Karen Campbell, Patriot Elementary (588-6065x117)

4410 Old Farm Road

Bakersfield, CA 93312

Middle school choir does more than perform concert

If there was a time I needed some Christmas spirit, the night of Freedom Junior High choral's holiday production was it. Up to that point, I was a great candidate for coal in my stocking.

Freedom Junior High, I learned by looking at the holly green program, boasts 226 members from both 7th and 8th grades, who spend 2nd or 4th period each day perfecting their voices and learning songs. I can’t sing in the shower without breaking glass or mortifying my children, while these kids must belt out solos before their peers at an age known typically for awkwardness and embarrassment.

There is a treble choir, whose only pre-requisites to membership seem to be being a female—and possessing a voice that makes angels envious. Freedom also has what they call a select choir that I learned is comprised of yet more angelic females and a strong contingent of robust sounding, vest-wearing male singers.

The concert came along at a good time. My niece was performing, so it was shrewd familial business to attend; I could rack up Good Auntie points. It isn’t that I don’t adore my nieces, but with home and work and kids of my own, it’s difficult at times to show how much I love them. But there was more. I needed some Christmas spirit that I wasn’t aware I had lost.

The newly built Frontier High School was generous enough to allow Freedom to host its choir concert in their auditorium. I found my seat in the “nosebleeds” and realized too late that I was too far to get decent pictures. It would be a problem easily fixed; looking at the program, I noticed that my niece was in the select choir that performed second. Surely during the first performance I could pinpoint a closer chair.

With thoughts going through my head about dinner and family, last-minute Christmas gifts, finding a better seat, and a recently misplaced SD memory card full of irreplaceable pictures, I was not prepared for the sound that started filtering from center stage. When the lights dimmed, a sea of red dresses melded together and delivered harmonies I never expected from the mouths of typically rambunctious and ill-mannered junior high students (as a substitute teacher, I am qualified to judge).

Singing a traditional spiritual song, the sweet female voices of the treble choir filled the auditorium so much with the spirit of Christmas that I doubt I would have noticed if snow began to fall from the incandescent bulbs overhead. I was touched by the earnest expressions on their young faces, as if they were far more wise about the meaning of Christmas than many of the adults silencing their cell phones or walking in late (or sitting there jonesing for a better seat). I thought to myself that if angels really do sing in Heaven, this is how they must sound.

I am not Jewish, which is important only because when the choir performed “Hanukkah’s Child,” I felt tears sting my eyes as it stirred something inside of me; the irony that a Jewish holiday song summoned my unusually absent Christmas spirit did not escape me. I began to feel like Ebenezer Scrooge during his final visit with the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come; if I didn’t snap out of this Christmas funk soon, I would miss out on all that is right with the season.

I did find a seat, front and center, beside the dads entrusted with helping the young ladies from the stage. When my niece’s voice rose clear and confident above the rest, and I could isolate her tone, my heart swelled with love as the select choir sang both traditional Christmas carols, a Hanukkah song called “Light the Candles of Freedom,” and a fun number called “Marshmallow World.” Adding male voices to the choir was like putting hot fudge on ice cream; it was good at first, but then it became great.

Freedom Junior High’s chorus feels like a family. The director, Mrs. Panelli (who stands and plays the piano for every number) pauses during the concert to introduce and thank her parents, who I learned travel to California each year to watch their daughter conduct the holiday program. She thanked them for listening to her practice years ago, giving her lessons, going on field trips and sharing their love of music. She also invited any Freedom Junior High alumni to join this year’s choir in singing their final number, “Peace, Peace,” and afterwards was showered with gifts from her adoring pupils.

When my niece asked me last month to attend her choir concert, I said yes because I knew it would make her feel good to know that I support her in anything she does. When I left the Frontier auditorium the night of the concert, however, I realized that she wasn’t the only one of us feeling good. I had found my Christmas spirit again.

Almondale Carnival returns!

It's back!

There's no need to scream, there's no need to cry, there's no need to run away and hide.

It's back, bigger and better.

It's the annual Almondale Carnival.

You will not want to miss out on this year's event.

Love Ice Cream? We got Cold Stone.

Want to test your observation skills? Try to catch the secrets of the magician's tricks.

Want to experience the Fall season? Indulge in some authentic Kettle Corn.

Think you can outwit, outsmart and outplay a friend? Challenge them to 10 minutes in the Water Gun Maze. Who will be lost and who will end up all wet?

Don't forget the raffle; you can win the $200 money tree, two tickets to major theme parks or a free Cold Stone Birthday Party, all for only $1.

Whatever you do, do not miss this year's Almondale Carnival. Mark your calendars now for October 20 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Almondale Elementary is located at 10510 Chippewa Ave. here in the great Northwest.

Freedom cheerleaders performances

Freedom Middle School cheerleaders at Pep and Pageantry Arts Association of Central California (PPAACC) finals and other competitions for the 2007 season. Great job, girls!!

Rosedale Middle School, cheerleading champs!

Both Rosedale and Freedom Middle Schools had excellent performances this year, each taking turns at winning at various local Pep and Pageantry Arts Association of Central California (PPAACC) competitions. Congratulations girls and coaches!

Rosedale claims finals cheer championship

The Rosedale Middle School cheer squad capped an impressive competitive cheer season with a first-place finish in the Pep and Pageantry Arts Association of Central California (PPAACC) Junior Division Finals Saturday April 21^st at Stockdale High School by outscoring talented squads from Freedom Middle and Heritage Schools.

Rosedale Cheer needed their second highest point total of the year to edge out Freedom Middle School for the gold medal. The Bulldogs appeared a little cleaner in their spacing, timing and dance routines than the talented Freedom squad which scored well with some impressive stunts and tumbling routines.

Members of the PPAACC Junior Division champion Rosedale Middle School cheer squad included eighth graders Coral Harper, Chandler Simpson, Taylor Ulrich, Audrey Wilcox, Julianne Younger and seventh graders Kaylee Bond, Alexis Carpenter, Kendyl Chavez, Cassie Ferreira, Lauren Fringer, Ciera Griffen, Erica Lee, Sandra Rodriguez, Hannah Todd, Alyssa Tolliver, Ryahn Trimm, Samantha Vaughn, and Kristen Waite.

Rosedale was coached by Jenny Powell whose squad finished the 2007 cheer season with four first-place finishes, including the Junior High California Cheerleading Championships held in February at Six Flags Magic Mountain, and a second-place finish in their first competition of the year.

Ready? OK! Go Rosedale!

Rosedale Middle School cheerleaders performed at the Pep and Pageantry Arts Association of Central California (PPAACC) competition.

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Rosedale Middle cheerleaders take top honors at state competition

Over 150 cheer squads from up and down the state of California converged on Six Flags Magic Mountain to compete in the two-day 28th Annual Junior High California Cheerleading Championships February 25th in Valencia California

When all was said and done the squad from Rosedale Middle School walked away with the first-place large-division hardware.

Seventeen girls— five eighth graders and 12 seventh graders — dazzled the panel of judges and the standing-room only crowd with a near flawless routine to take home top honors in the large group division which included 17 other squads.

“This squad has been through a lot this year, and yet they continue to put in hours and hours of hard work and extreme dedication,” cheer advisor Tracy Carpenter said. “With no doubt they have earned the bragging rights of being number one in the state of California.”

The cheerleaders, who have been practicing at least twice a week since May, outscored the second-place team by three points. Rosedale finished with high marks in overall presentation, tumbling, stunts and jumps.

In addition to the first-place trophy in the large division, the RMS squad received a check for $250.00 and each member of the team received a season pass to Six Flags Magic Mountain.

"I was really proud of all of the girls they've been working really hard for this," second-year coach Jenny Powell said. "This was our best finish here - we finished third last year."

RMS members who competed were eighth graders Coral Harper, Chandler Simpson, Taylor Ulrich, Audrey Wilcox and Julianne Younger, as well as seventh graders Kaylee Bond, Alexis Carpenter, Kendyl Chavez, Cassie Ferreira, Ciera Griffen, Erica Lee, Sandra Rodriguez, Hannah Todd, Alyssa Tolliver, Ryahn Trimm, Samantha Vaughn and Kristen Waite.

The Story of Choc O. Lat

Choc O. Lat was a kindly lil’ elf.
Oh! Choc was late, what a forgetful self,
To help Santa make toys for girls and boys.
Santa told Choc never, ever play with toys.
Toys are what Choc enjoys.
At that moment Choc arose.
Then fought Santa nose to nose.
Choc was beating Santa well-ly
When Choc dove at his belly
And got caught in Santa’s rolls.
That’s where Choc grows!
From that moment Santa got fatter
And kept on getting fatter and fatter!
He wanted to move to the Caribbean
Where he hoped nobody would see him.
Then his wife said, “Kris,
You know you will cause a solar eclipse!”
He replied, “Do you think it really will matter
Why I’m always getting fatter!”
Wife said, “I’d like to sell you light-ness,
But your body creates fright-ness!”
He replied, “I wish God could let me fly away!
I don’t have wings and I don’t fit in the sleigh!”
After that remark with a belch, burp, and sneeze,
His wife said, “I forgot you were allergic to cheese!”
Out of his belly Choc flew like a plane!
Out of the sky, Choc came down like rain!
Now Choc O. Lat grows on trees.
And he still spreads his disease;
In your belly, Choc O. Lat grows.
That’s how the story of Choc O. Lat goes!

— Phil Kemp, 13, is an eight grader at Rosedale Middle School.

Walk about Rosedale Union School District enlightening

They say you cannot really understand a man (or a woman) until you’ve walked a mile in his (or her) shoes. So began my quest to educate myself about the Rosedale Union School District. The journey began with a little history lesson.

The district was established in 1890 by pioneer farming families living in the Rosedale area, and grew from one school with 18 students to seven elementary schools and two middle schools with more than 5,000 students by 2006.

My first stop was at the top with a visit to the monthly board of trustees meeting. A small collegial group, primarily composed of persons interested in the agenda, gathered before the meeting began. The most entertaining of the group were representatives of classified employees awaiting hearing (and hopefully approval) of a new contract.

“Classified” has a James Bond connotation, so when the board said they were also going to address contract approval for confidential classified employees, I had serious doubts about my security clearance.

As it turns out, classified employees are non-certified employees (pretty much all the non-teachers) who do all the work behind the scenes to keep the schools running. Confidential classified employees are the staff working out of the district office with access to top secret, personal, and private stuff that the rest of the mortals aren’t supposed to know.

Surprisingly, the meeting was quite informative. It was conducted by the five current board members, Ken Mettler, John Auckland, Lisa King, Gary Moor, and Diane Spalding, accompanied by district superintendent Jamie Henderson, assistant superintendent of business John Mendiburu, and assistant superintendent of curriculum Deana Rhoades. The proceeding began with a patriotic pledge of allegiance and included a presentation on school test scores and another presentation regarding technology issues in the district.

In regards to test scores, the district did well overall, but there are areas in need of improvement. New data is just being evaluated to target specific issues on a school-by-school and grade-by-grade basis. In regards to technology, I learned that not all schools are equally equipped with computer and technology support. Recognizing this and future technology challenges guaranteed with growth in the district, the board and Mr. Henderson made technology a regular agenda item in order to track progress.

Near the end of the agenda, the “secret agents” (classified and confidential classified) got their contract approval and fled the building gleefully. The next day, I made phone calls to Parent Teacher Council members and presidents to get a feel for issues they perceived in the district. Those I spoke with were engaging and actively involved. Many attend board meetings frequently, and described great success in fundraising for their schools. One parent expressed concern regarding school computers and technology. Armed with the information from the board meeting, I shared what I knew.

What walk about would be complete without a visit to each campus? My daughter went to Centennial Elementary School and recently started 7th grade with the big kids at Rosedale Middle School. I really didn’t know much about the rest of the schools in the district other than what I may have read, heard from other parents, or heard from my wife when she substitute taught in the district. Like most parents, I figured I knew most of what there was to know by simply being a parent in the district. I was wrong!

I visited each campus from the oldest (Rosedale Middle School and Rosedale North Elementary School) to the newest (Patriot Elementary School and American Elementary School) and found many unique qualities. For instance, some schools have little variance in ethnic diversity and have two or three languages spoken by the children (primarily English and Spanish). Some, like American Elementary School, have around 24 different languages being spoken on campus with all children processed through the education system and for the most part successfully.

Wow! I also discovered that while the district’s schools use many common approaches to inspire and motivate students and generate school pride, each school has special characteristics.

Of course Rosedale Middle School, being the oldest and having taught many generations of students, carried a feeling of history and tradition as I walked on campus. Freedom Middle School, Patriot Elementary School, and American Elementary School carried a new, clean, sleek and modern feeling. In fact, I found out American Elementary School acquired new, slick cafeteria benches that fold up and convert into comfortable chairs, which are a must for those extended parent assemblies and meetings.

Remarkably, the district also has a mother and daughter who are both principals at Independence and Almondale elementary schools respectfully. It sure does say something about community and district desirability when multiple generations choose to stay and work here.

Of course my walk about wouldn’t have been complete if I hadn’t visited staff, administrators, parents and teachers or poked my head into some classrooms. Each person I met was willing to share a lot of time educating me about his or her school, children, teachers, staff and unique needs and qualities. Interestingly, there was a common theme among the people I spoke to. Each believed his or her school was the best, as it should be.

Exhausted from my journeys, and having sufficiently worn my leather down, I stopped off at a McDonald’s restaurant. But it was no ordinary day at McDonald’s. The restaurant had been invaded by Patriot Elementary School children, parents and staff for a fundraiser affectionately referred to as “McTeacher Night.”

For three hours the parking lot overflowed, the drive-through was backed up, and at times there was standing room only. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more collegial group of staff and teachers who genuinely seemed to be having a good time joking with families and with each other. It was truly remarkable not just because of the turnout, but because of the incredibly supportive atmosphere. And it was a lot of fun!

A project that I thought would be brief meetings turned into many hours and was an extremely gratifying, informative process. I highly recommend that you set aside a few hours at least once a year to take a walk about in your own school district. It’s good for the mind, body and soul.

What a 100derful day!

By Blaine Geissel,
Community Contributor
The number “100” means a lot to kindergartners, especially when they’re celebrating their first 100 days of school.
Jan. 30 marked the 100th day of the school year for 2005-06. This was a very special day for kindergartners everywhere.
At Rosedale North Elementary, the day was filled with many activities.
In Mrs. Dumble’s class, the students made fingerprint charts to 100; constructed string necklaces with 100 Froot Loops; counted snacks to 100; and charted their own unique, “100” collections brought from home.
Some of these 100 groupings included keys, pennies, candies, and nuts and bolts.
Students also took 100 steps from the classroom, counting aloud as they walked. Anything to emphasize their milestone, 100-day achievement!
But, the absolute highlight of the big day was a visit from “Zero the Hero,” dressed like a superhero and bringing gifts, along with the knowledge of the power of zero.
The students were very happy to see their Zero since he had not visited since Day 10 of the school year.
All in all, everyone had a very “100derful day!”

Chess tournament at Independence Elementary

Independence Elementary, 2345 Old Farm Road, is hosting a chess tournament on Saturday, Jan. 28, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Bakersfield-area tournament will feature 250 children. Call 587-1173 for a chess registration form.

A parent's perspective on proposed Rosedale boundary changes

New boundaries will be needed when Rosedale Union School District's new school, American Elementary, opens in the fall. I'm writing this article not as an objective reporter, but as an impassioned parent with ulterior motives. My child will be affected by the proposed Rosedale boundary changes, and I care about how the board will vote.

Last night I attended the Rosedale Union School District board meeting, along with a room full of like-minded parents. Apparently, at the last meeting, the first boundary proposal (#1) was vehemently opposed by the parents attending. Much to their credit, the boundary committee went back to the drawing board and created a second boundary proposal (#2) which was much more palatable to the affected community.

Proposal #2 would accomplish acceptable results for the district, and was wholeheartedly acceptable to the parents attending, as well. Not one person spoke against proposal #2 (although one parent wanted some minor changes). Everyone in the room was totally against proposal #1. I'd say it's a no-brainer.

The objectionable part of the board-favored proposal (#1) would affect approximately 80 children who want to remain with their friends at Patriot Elementary. These children live in an older, well-established subdivision between Allen and Jenkins roads, from Rosedale Highway to Hageman Road.

Most of the protesters attending the meeting have lived in their homes for the entire time. In that time, they began at Rosedale North Elementary, then were moved to Almondale Elementary, then were moved to Patriot Elementary. Now they want to move them yet again to Independence Elementary, which is south of Rosedale.

One neighbor, Carol Bender, said, "Enough is enough." Another neighbor, Veronica Amarikwa, said, "It's like reaching into the middle of the cake for a slice. It's stressful and it makes no sense."

We feel like we are in the middle of the district, and with every whim of the board we are pushed from one side to another, to another, to another. These are children, not ping pong balls. The thought of grade-school children having to cross Rosedale Highway every day to get to school is appalling. I hope the board can respect the natural border that is Rosedale Highway, and keep the north north. Expanding to the south makes much more sense for Independence Elementary and all involved.

The boundary committee came up with a solution that, while it might not be perfect, at least serves the purpose, and all sides can agree on it. It is a compromise. Life is a compromise. Good government works only when the people's needs can be met. The school board does not exist in a vacuum. Without us and our children, they wouldn't be where they are. I hope they take this into consideration.

New boundary proposals for American Elementary

1. Brimhall Road in the south, Jewetta Road and Santa Fe Way in the east, Hageman Road in the north and Jenkins Road in the west.

2. Patriot Elementary's boundaries to the north would remain the same; Brimhall Road to the south, except for a portion that would stretch south to Stockdale Highway between Allen and Jenkins roads; Allen Road in the west and Jewetta Road and Santa Fe Way in the east.

Rosedale Middle School to host musical duo

Thursday, Nov. 10, will be a special day for instrumental music students at Rosedale Middle School.

The musical duo Ebony and Ivory will present a morning mini-concert for Mrs. Biller's symphonic, concert and jazz band students.

Fred Jacobowitz (Ebony) plays clarinets and the saxophone. Andrew Gilpin (Ivory) plays piano and keyboards. With an astonishing array of instruments, including saxophone, multiple clarinets, piano and state-of-the-art Korg Triton proX and Roland AX-1 keyboards, these multi-instrumentalists create an ever-changing palette of sound.

Andrew Gilpin is a self-taught pianist, and Fred Jacobowitz received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the Juilliard School in New York City. Together, these two make extraordinary music in venues that range from a 606-seat performing arts center in Ridgecrest to Bakersfield's 3,000-seat Rabobank Theater.

Ebony and Ivory is at the forefront of a new approach to performing music -- "instrumental fusion." Every Ebony and Ivory concert is made up of a wide variety of music from various genres. An Ebony and Ivory concert runs the gamut from Scott Joplin rags and intricate arrangements of popular standards for solo piano, through Broadway, new age and smooth jazz to Benny Goodman clarinet classics and tuneful, rhythmic original pieces -- a veritable banquet of musical styles in one concert.

The Rosedale Middle School concert is funded by tax-deductible donations made to the Student Outreach Program of the Bakersfield Community Concert Association. The Student Outreach Program offers the students of Bakersfield an opportunity to attend a performance of the artists who participate in the BCCA series.

Ebony and Ivory will present a full-length evening concert for the Bakersfield Community Concert Association Thursday, Nov. 10, at 7:30 p.m. in the Rabobank Theater. For more information. go to the BCCA Web site at www.geocities.com/communityconcert/ or call 326-0838.

Rosedale North's Stampede to Read

Rosedale North Elementary School kicked off its Accelerated Reading program in style this year, with the theme "Stampede to Read."

Students and staff were dressed in their western best in honor of this hugely popular and highly motivating reading challenge.

Many families answered the call to come to school riding their horses to help us celebrate reading.

Our principal, Mrs. Lemon, rode in on a horse to the tune of "Bonanza," carrying a book that she later read aloud to the children.

Accelerated Reader is a program that enables teachers to set educational goals for each student and challenge them at their individual reading levels.

We have seen much success with this program in the past eight years.

Children work toward personal quarterly goals and even win prizes along the way!

The best rewards, though, are higher reading and comprehension levels, as well as seeing the excitement in each child as they acquire a love of reading.

Third-grader Patrick Porfiri said, "I love A.R. because you get to read books and then take tests on the computer. I even learn new words!"

We are looking forward to another amazing year at Rosedale North!