Congratulations to 9th grader Ava Milus who has decided to do and has already started to do regular, weekly community service! She is working with the North Bay Children's Center, every Tuesday for 3 hours. This non-profit serves low income and disadvantaged children. She had to get a TB test and do a training but now is part of the volunteer team. Unfortunately because of the Shelter-in-Place law, her continuing work is on hold but she is very enthusiastic about this new opportunity which she has squeezed into her very busy life (she is a dancer and spends nearly 10 hours a week at dance classes). She is assisting teachers, playing with kids, making lunches, and helping to keep everything clean. Ava loves children and it was her mother that gave her the idea because her mom used to volunteer at NBCC too.

In addition to fulfiling her 5 hours of required community service for the semester, Ava will be earning elective credit.

Senior Robert Terry has likewise been working with young children - 4th graders - as an assistant baseball coach. He just turned in his Verification Form for his 5 hours of community service - but he spent far more than 5 hours! Robert loves baseball and has been playing all his life. His neighbor and friend is the coach for Petaluma Valley Little League and so Robert naturally found himself helping out. He said he loved it! Thanks, Robert!

Sophomore Nicholas Baraas was unanimously chosen by all staff members to be our February/March Bright News! student. Nicholas was given a candy lei and his photo is now hanging on our Bright News! wall in building #1. All staff created a Bright News! letter that was mailed to his family. We are proud of you, Nicholas! Congratulations!!! All students who have demonstrated academic excellence in the past month are discussed at staff meetings and one is chosen to be honored. He was also given a "Student of the Month" pin and seal. Our Bright News! form letter is posted on our school website.

Senior Meredith Patchett is a role model for all teenagers everywhere. She has had to face and learn to manage severe anxiety - a huge physical and mental challenge in her young life. Meredith says that at her old school she would approach many teachers to try to explain her anxiety but they would not accept the seriousness of it. Although severe anxiety is a crippling/paralyzing medical condition, Meredith now manages it in part with sophisticated Buddhist meditation practices. It was her theater teacher 3 years ago, at her old school that first introduced her to it as a "pre-show grounding exercise". Meredith went on to take classes at the Buddhist Sanctuary in Fairfax. Mentioning terms like Sangha, sukha, Siddhi and chakra, it is clear that Meredith knows a lot. She uses an app called Insight Time that she recommends. Meredith will graduate soon and we are very proud of her! Likewise, two other VOS students regularly use meditation practices: 8th grader Elias Leventhal, and senior Jade Polaski. Elias did a 6 week teen-only course at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in southwest Novato. He learned that meditation develops the pre-frontal cortex of the brain which is used for self-discipline and self-control. Elias highly recommends the book Wide Awake (for teens) by Diana Winston. Daily between 3-4pm, Jade says she faithfully practices 20 minutes of Mindfulness Meditation, and highly recommends it!

Pictured here, swinging the bat, is 9th grade athlete, Raime Dayton. He just finished his New Student Assignment and shared that "the NSA has been challenging!" and"it was kind of a slap-in-the-face" in that although it was fairly easy, not being in the classroom allowed him to slide into procrastination. He said he "felt all this freedom, but then it was so much work!" The hardest thing for him was "adjusting to the change in pace - where life seems slower making it easier to procrastinate." He had to really scramble at the end. Raime has been playing baseball since a very early age. Last year, his 8th grade year, was at a baseball sports academy boarding school in Florida where all his time was scheduled for baseball weights/gym/practice and academics! He spends 18 hours a week now doing baseball for the PHS JV team (coaches had him skip the Frosh Team), for which he is the catcher, shortstop, or 2nd base (sometimes 3rd base) player. What he likes about VOS is the flex time for baseball, being able to sleep in, and being able to focus on his health. He also wisely said that he feels "being a VOS student matures you" and "it prepares you for being on your own more". We staff could not agree more with you, Raime!

(In case you're unfamiliar, this old game is called Battleship... and it's pretty fun!)

There are so many entertaining board games to play with people in your house around a table (in addition to virtually with people far away).

8th grader Giabella Perrone says she came to VOS to simply get a fresh start at a new school and get away from the social drama at her old school. The best thing about being at Valley Oaks so far is "getting to do her assignments at her own pace". She also says "the teachers are really nice". The most challenging part about VOS? - she says it is hard for her "to get all her work done for the week" and she is "adjusting to a new routine of doing her hours every day". Bella grew up in Greenbrae until 2nd grade and has been a Petaluma girl since then. At age 5, she took an interest in becoming a pilot and in part because she would like a career where she gets to "travel the world". In December she was able to do a few hours of pilot lessons with a 3D plane, and on past air-travel trips, she has been able to sit and talk with the pilots. She said that she also might go into nursing like her mother. Bella's other primary interest is animals - she loves animals! Recently she and her family rescued a litter of 7 puppies from the back of a dumpster in Oakland. "Cookie", one of these puppies, came for a welcome visit recently - thanks, Bella!!!

Assistant Principal Mr. Smith, in front of campus, was delivering essential art supplies from art teacher Ms. Garcia, and books from other teachers to students and families by placing the items in the trunks of cars that drove up.

Principal Ms. Lofton is working from her desk at school during our Shelter-in-Place and she shared this with staff members recently:

"School is NOT closed for the year. The building is. If you listen closely you can hear the hum of hard working teachers, administrators, and support staff preparing to save the day in ways and means never seen before."

Thanks, Ms. Lofton!!!

English teacher, Ms. Kesseru, is keeping her routine of working from her desk at school during this time.

These 3 photos are courtesy of secretary Susan Cook - thanks, Susan! Susan has been coming to campus to help teachers and students stay on track.

Sophomore Sofia Doolittle is pictured on the right and her friend Emma is on the left. Last year she was on the cross-country team and this year she decided to try lacrosse. Her position on the JV team is Attack. The most difficult thing for Sofia so far, is "learning all the rules". (Lacrosse was invented by Native Americans and is therefore the oldest sport in America). Sofia's favorite thing so far? - "her friends on the team." Lacrosse players do lots of fitness conditioning, wear skirts, and their sticks are thoroughly inspected by the game referee before starting. Pictured here is their first game against San Marin. Sofia is also one of our A-G College Prep students. We are proud of you, Sophia, for choosing the discipline of being on a sports team! And like so many students around the world, Sofia is dealing with the disappointment of not playing right now. Hang in there, Sofia!

In early March, 8th grader Minna Stess already had 2 Olympics pre-qualifying competitions in China canceled due to Coronavirus, but she was still very excited about having her 14th birthday on a trip to Peru in April for a competition. On March 11th, Japan said they had boosted containment efforts, but a week later we all got the news that the Tokyo Olympics are now postponed. Minna is on the U.S. Olympics team of six competitors for Park Skateboarding (there are two disciplines: park and street). Only three will get to go (no alternates) and the decision will be based on the remaining qualifying competitions before the games. We are so proud of Minna's extraordinary focus and determination and personal sacrifice! When you see her again or if you notice her, please be sure to encourage her as this is probably a very disappointing time. Ideally, Minna will give the VOS community some positive news soon about how her chances of qualifying may be increased now that there is another year to prepare.

Note: Students in sports (or dance) get an abbreviated (easier) PE course with Ms. Parker.

Sophomore Callan Sheldon, the Number 1 ranked player on the Petaluma High School Varsity Badminton Team, is pictured on the left here with his teammate, Paul. Congratulations, Callan, on your hard work and exceptional hand-eye coordination that makes you #1! Callan's amazing co-ordination and reaction time is likely in part due to his regular pastime of competing in a frisbee/soccer-in-zero-gravity Virtual Reality game for which he currently holds national rankings. Callan says that playing his VR game makes him sweat 10x more than playing badminton. Last year, as a freshman, Callan also made the varsity badminton team. Callan is one of our A-G College Prep students. We are proud of you, Callan. Unfortunately, Callan's team is in limbo awaiting the end of the COVID-19 lock down. Like so many others, Callan is having to deal with this disappointment. Hang in there, Callan!

Senior Nozomi Hallberg is following the footsteps of her other family members and starting at Sonoma State University in the fall. She plans to study psychology. She has a passion for being able to understand people and this is most likely from her very diverse exposure to people from around the world. Nozomi speaks Japanese and grew up traveling to Japan regularly to be with family. In addition, Nozomi learned to speak German by co-enrolling in SRJC courses and she spent her entire sophomore year in Duren, Germany. Hopefully, Nozomi says, she will become a clinical psychologist where she can enjoy the one-on-one interaction with patients. She is working very hard right now to complete Ms. Abelli-Amen's Math 3, - her "hardest subject". Good Luck, Nozomi! You can do it! Nozomi's major extracurricular activity is Judo classes and competitions - for her own mental and physical health - a great way to balance the pressure of studying Math 3. Unfortunately, she, like so many of us, is having to cope with missing-out on one of her favorite activities.

Senior Beau Miller is heading to San Francisco State University in the fall. He says he likes that he can "walk across the entire campus in like 5 minutes", and he plans to live in the dorms there and "definitely not commute" ! Beau also has plans for a month-long great adventure in Europe this summer. He has his plane ticket & Eurail Pass and has been researching youth hostels. Let's all hope that Beau will get to go. Beau has been working 40 hours a week for Market Source helping people understand and purchase appropriate electronics in Target - he is one of the "black shirt" people. Like Nozomi, Beau has to get through his Math 3 class with Ms. Abelli-Amen by May. Good Luck, Beau! You can do it! In this photo, in front of Beau is his work on a Notan piece for his Art 1 course. Art teacher, Ms. Garcia uses the Notan assignment for exploring different arrangements of light and dark elements without having the distraction of working with other elements like color, texture and finer details.

Gabe's mother and father and brother came to the short and sweet celebration.

Last month, senior Gabe Adelman rang the bell to mark the exciting and significant life-changing occasion... the end of his high school career!

Gabe is one of our rare graduates that has been with us for four or more years. We will miss his energy and friendliness and school pride so much!

All staff members try their best to schedule and attend every Bell Ringing Ceremony! This day, six of us were there to cheer and clap and enjoy the happy moments with Pomp and Circumstance. From the left: secretary Susan Cook, principal Rebecca Lofton, counselor Sheri Leigh, Gabe, teachers Ms. Halsey, Ms. Abelli-Amen, & Ms. Parker.

Sophomore Henry Wilson tests foods for the presence of different macromolecules using chemical indicators.

Junior Devin Jones stands in front of Ms. Halsey's census poster. Part of Ms. Halsey's social science courses this semester includes educating students about Census Day, April 1st, when every person living in the USA and 5 territories will be counted. Ms. Halsey shares that this is done every 10 years and the information is used by legislators for decisions about funding allocation and governmental representation in both California and Washington, D.C. Ms. Halsey teaches that the census is mandated by our Constitution in Article 1, Section 2. You can be fined for not doing it. Before 1976, you could be put in jail for 60 days!

It was a fresh day for jogging outside - not too hot and not too cold. From the left: 8th grader Bella Perrone, 10th grader Becca Koh, senior Flynn Loveless, and 10th grader Nicholas Barajas.

There is a blood shortage because of the Covid-19 shut-down. Vitalant is open.

Here is Vitalant's ad: "There is a hero inside each of us, ready to make a difference when others need our help. When you donate blood you are a hero. Think about how the people who needed those donations feel about you. You are, without a doubt, a hero to them." It could take up to 3 hours to donate your blood depending on how you want it drawn - plus time to drive to Santa Rosa.

We encourage all students to stay motivated to do community service. We understand that it is almost impossible right now to do typical community service activities.

Helping people, the environment, and animals is very fulfilling and rewarding - a great thing to do for your own personal mental health. In this photo a rescued newborn zebra imprints on the volunteer caregiver's stripes as if it were its mother's. Baby zebras, after imprinting, are able to find their mothers amidst a herd of identical-looking striped mother zebras.

Many seniors are lonely and bored and isolated right now. You could try to cheer one up by writing a letter or two to one or more of the seniors in the apartments across from Valley Oaks School. Contact Dan Linberg who is the property manager of the PEP Housing apartments at 579 Vallejo Street. You could include something in your letter, like an article or story, that you could use to help make "conversation". Time spent researching how to contact a senior counts as community service too. Go here: PEP Housing

"Trouble knocked at the door but hearing laughter, hurried away."

Humor "reduces serum cortisol (a hormone released during the stress response)" and it "increases Immunoglobulin A (an antibody that helps fight upper respiratory disease)" and it "increases tolerance to pain". - Steven Sultanoff, PhD, clinical psychologist (found at HumorMatters.com)

“The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.”