|
Students play in water and mud at Miguel Hidalgo Elementary School in Brawley on Thursday. Principal Celia Santana said 665 students, kindergartners and grades four through six, participated. "We do this to celebrate and motivate students to do well in their California Standards Test," she said. (JOSELITO VILLERO PHOTO / April 5, 2012) |
BRAWLEY — In between sliding and splashing, the children at Miguel Hidalgo Elementary enjoyed a day of water activities on the playground to kick off the California Standards Test season.
The event is organized by the school every year to motivate the students and to celebrate last year’s accomplishments, said Principal Celia Santana.
The day started with a ceremony to recognize all the students for their performance. The students have three more weeks to prepare for the test.
“We talk to them every week and we get them ready for this day,” Santana said.
The test will be given to the students over six consecutive days starting May 7 and will cover reading, math and science.
The fun day is for the whole school including kindergarten. This year there were about 60 parents volunteering to help watch the children.
Fourth-grader Alissa Moreno, 10, said that the water on the playground was doubly special for her because Thursday was also her birthday.
Alissa and her friend Abby Velasquez, 10, were dripping water. They said that the thing they liked the most was the fire truck because they “got soaking wet.”
Volunteer parent Nazareth Santoyo said that since she is a stay-at-home mom she likes to volunteer any chance she gets. She said that since most parents work, the ones who don’t should try to help out as much as they can.
“Helping is a way of recognizing the work of the teachers,” she said.
Teachers and volunteers had their hands full. Substitute teacher Jeanette Manguy said that she appreciates the help, but thinks they will need more volunteers next year.
Manguy said that the play day is a great idea. She recognized the efforts the children have put into studying.
“It’s seems like a better idea than a pizza party,” Manguy said.
The event is unique to this school and because of that it makes the students feel special, Santana said.
“This has become part of the culture of our school,” Santana said.
For Santana, all her students are special. She said that in the school they don’t look at labels.
“We have big expectations for all of them,” Santana said. “We made a lot of growth last year and we want to continue to meet our goals.”
Multimedia Producer Laura Gonzalez can be reached at lgonzalez@ivpressonline.com or 760-337-3440.
Click here to comment on this story and join the discussion on Facebook!
