What's “News” in Alvord? - Alvord Unified School District

Octob er 2011
Volume 5, Iss ue 4
Board of Education:
Carolyn Wilson
President
José Luis Pérez
Vice President
Art Kaspereen
Clerk
Greg Kraft
Member
Ben Johnson II
Member
Superintendent of Schools:
Nicolas D. Ferguson Ed.D.
In this Issue:
Splash Into Cash Winners
� Jonathan Hernandez
demands
� Crystal Boceta
Suzanne Martin (DiRocco)
Norte Vista Students Win!
2011 Citrus Classic Ride
Congratulations
� Loma Vista
� Health Services
Honorees
� Luis Villela
� Pat Hopkins-Valverde
� Sheri Martine
� Linda Kennedy
What’s “News” in Alvord?
A Newsletter for the parents and employees of the Alvord Unified School District
Alvord Students Take Top Honors!
Prepar ed by the Superint enden t’ s Of fice
Two Alvord students took the top prizes in the 2011 Splash Into Cash bottled
water label art contest run by the City of Riverside Public Utilities Department.
Jonathan Hernandez, a sophomore at La Sierra High School,
won the Citrus Heritage Category.
Crystal Boceta, a senior at Norte Vista High School,
won the General Art Category.
Each student won $250, a copy of their label artwork and bottled water featuring
their artwork. Their teachers, Bill Miller from La Sierra and Carole Lopez from
Norte Vista were awarded $50 gift certificates to a local art supply store.
Gone too Soon:
Suzanne Martin (DiRocco) passed away Sunday,
September 25 in her sleep. Suzanne had battled
diabetes all of her life. Suzanne was hired on July
2, 1990 to teach at McAuliffe and over the years,
taught every grade except Kindergarten. She was
also instrumental in creating and running the Drama
Club at McAuliffe. In one way or another, Suzanne
touched the lives of every student who attended
McAuliffe. Our condolences go out to Suzanne’s
family, including her mother Nancy Hoey, a Speech
Specialist in Alvord. Suzanne will truly be missed!

District Newsletter Alvord is Well Represented in the Community
Norte Vista Students Win at Southern California Fair
Page 2 of 5
Six Norte Vista students received awards for their artwork at the recent Southern California Fair held October 8-16
at the Lake Perris Fairgrounds.
Sarah Logan – 1 st Place
Painting
Isabella Beltran – 2 nd Place
Drawing
2011 Citrus Classic Ride
Evelyn Bellman – 3 rd Place
Pointillism
Kyra Lopez – 2 nd place
Watercolor & Drawing
1 st Place – Succulents
4 th Place - Shomanship
Alvord Unified School District was proud to participate in
the 2011 Riverside Citrus Classic on Sunday, October 9.
The Citrus Classic is a fun bike ride which includes
various ride options from a Kiddie Ride to a 100 Mile
Ride. The proceeds from this event benefit the Alvord
Educational Foundation (AEF) and the Riverside
Educational Enrichment Foundation (REEF).
Superintendent of Schools
Dr. Nicolas Ferguson and
AEF President Grey Frandsen
Nick Carrillo – 2 nd Place
Painting
Eliza Arcos – 3 rd Place
Collage

District Newsletter Board Recognitions
Loma Vista Middle School
State Winner
“The Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and
Sports Middle School of the Year”
At the October 6 Board Meeting, the
Board and Superintendent
recognized Loma Vista Middle
School’s Physical Education
Department for being selected as the
State winner of The Governor’s
Council on Physical Fitness and
Sports Middle School of the Year
award.
Health Services Ensures Alvord’s 100% Compliant!
At the October 6 Board Meeting, the Board
and Superintendent recognized and thanked
Health Services staff for their efforts to
ensure that 7 th through 12 th grade students
met the new State requirement for the Tdap
(Pertussis) vaccination. Through their
combined efforts Alvord is 100% compliant!
Left to Right:
Kim Strebel, R.N.
Wyona Lagomarsino, R.N.
Cheryl Naguit, R.N.
Donna Perricone, R.N.
Linda Brandt, Secretary II
Barbara Spaulding, R.N.
Irma Mendez, Health Assistant
Sheri Landrum, Director
Carolyn M. Wilson, Board President
Page 3 of 5

District Newsletter Board Recognitions
Page 4 of 5
Student of the Month:
Collett Elementary School is proud to recognize
Pat Hopkins-Valverde as the Alvord Unified
School District Certificated Employee of the
Month for October 2011.
Pat Hopkins has been a valued employee of the
Alvord Unified School District for twenty-five
years. For many years she worked tirelessly
with the Student Study Team and has also been
one of the administrative designees for Collett.
Ms. Hopkins can always be counted on to get
the job done, and has demonstrated this ability
year and after year. Ms. Hopkins began the year
as a 5 th grade teacher and again she went “above
and beyond” by moving to kindergarten to
alleviate overcrowding. Her students have not
missed a beat!
Collett Elementary School is proud to
recognize Luis Villela as the Alvord
Unified School District Student of the
Month for October 2011.
Luis Villela is an outstanding student leader
in the Collett Student Council. Luis
demonstrates his academic ability on a daily
basis, having earned excellent grades and
Collett Student of the Month every year. His
strong detail oriented work ethic has carried
over to his performance on the California
Standards and Reporting Tests last spring,
when he scored Advanced in both English
Language Arts and Mathematics.
It is a great pleasure to honor Luis Villela as
the Alvord Unified School District Student
of the Month for October 2011.
Certificated Employee of the Month:
It is a great pleasure to honor Pat Hopkins-Valverde as the Alvord Unified School District Certificated Employee
of the Month for October 2011.

District Newsletter
Classified Employee of the Month:
School Board Honorees (cont’d)
School Board Honorees
Page 5 of 5
Collett Elementary School is proud to
recognize Sheri Martine as the Alvord
Unified School District Classified
Employee of the Month for October
2011.
Sheri Martine has been a valued
employee of the Alvord Unified School
District for eleven years. During this
period of time Sheri has been recognized
as the Collett Classified Employee of the
Year three times, most recently in 2011,
and previously in 2002 and 2007. Sheri
has developed strong positive
relationships with staff, students and
parents. It is these relationships built over
the years along with Sheri’s very strong
work ethic and job understanding that
have been instrumental in the smooth
operation of the front office at Collett.
It is a great pleasure to honor Sheri Martine as the Alvord Unified School District Classified Employee of the
Month for October 2011.
Collett Elementary School is proud to recognize
Linda Kennedy as the Alvord Unified School
District Volunteer of the Month for October 2011.
Linda Kennedy is a classified employee at Collett
Elementary School; however, she is also an
extraordinary volunteer as well. Linda volunteers
her time in order to make a difference in the
health and welfare of both Collett students and the
planet. Influenced by her love of running, Linda
and teacher Pye Cornejo started the 100 Mile
Club at Collett. The club started on September 1 st
and already there are 146 student members. The
club meets twice a week before school and they
log laps in their quest for completing 100 miles
this school year. For the planet, Linda organized
Collett’s third E-Waste Roundup event which
keeps electronic devices out of landfills and raises
much needed funds for Collett Elementary
School.
Board Recognitions
Volunteer of the Month:
It is a great pleasure to honor Linda Kennedy as the Alvord Unified School District Volunteer of the Month for
October 2011.