(l to r) Briana Mendoza, Jimena Cortes, and Aurora Aguilar with Mrs. Catalano listen and sing to “This Land Is Your Land.”
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Piru students listen to guest speakers.
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Serviceman Val Pillado speaks to Piru students.
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Story and Photographs courtesy Luanne Schaper, Teacher, Piru School.

September 11, began with a celebration of “Patriot’s Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance” at Piru Elementary School. Students, staff, and community members gathered at the school’s flagpole to honor and recognize the dedication of community members in the military and all those who contribute to preserve the freedoms students and all people have in the United States.

Principal Leticia Ramos welcomed those gathered and offered a salute to our soldiers and local heroes, the police men and women and firefighters, who keep our communities safe. On behalf of the school she thanked and remembered all the men and women who gave their lives so that all of those attending can continue to enjoy the freedoms they have. Students sang “This Land Is Your Land.” Then school employee Tom Rodriquez raised the flag to the gathering’s chorus of “You’re a Grand Old Flag.” Following the Pledge of Allegiance, Ms Ramos introduced community members Reggie Ruiz and Val Pillado who are servicemen and school employees Sam Cardona and Frank Hernandez who are veterans. Guests spoke briefly to those attending. Students were reminded that they too can aid our country by taking part in community service. Teacher Claudia Cornejo, then encouraged students and parents to join her on Saturday, September 19 for a beach clean up in Ventura. The ceremony ended with the singing of the “Star Spangled Banner” and a procession past the flag pole where students placed flowers and notes to those who have served.

Piru Elementary staff and students take pride in their school.

Piru Elementary School is proud to announce that next year it will be offering a full curriculum to students in grades kindergarten though sixth grade. For a limited time we will be accepting 6th grade students from Fillmore. Bus transportation from Fillmore will be provided. Call the school office now and complete an enrollment packet.
Located just 7 miles from Fillmore, Piru Elementary is a small, dynamic elementary school that supports a vision based on "Educating the Whole Child." Piru was established more than 120 years ago and provides a strong academic program. In fact, over the last two years API scores have gone up more than 40 points! Great things are happening at Piru. Our campus farm is growing, we are looking at green school alternatives, we will be offering outstanding student extra-curricular experiences such as a camping trip to Rancho Allegre, an overnight to Fort Tejon, whale watching, La Brea Tar Pits, as well as a fine arts outreach to a variety of music and dance performances. Piru Elementary has both a music and art teacher. This year Piru Elementary began a college outreach program with students spending the day at either Moorpark College, California State University at Channel Islands, or the University of California at Santa Barbara. Now our students want to attend college when they grow up!
If you are interested in providing a unique learning opportunity for your child in a small rural setting, please come see Piru, where students can experience the best of the past and the future!

Six buses, three destinations, 300 permission slips and lots of phone calls later, Piru students all attended college on Monday, March 30th. The visit was part of Piru’s Reaching Higher in ’09 Academic Achievement Focus.
Kindergarten and first grade students went to Moorpark College and thanks to support group Friends of Piru, were able to add an Exotic Animal Show to their College Tour.

Second and third grade students journeyed further to Cal State Channel Islands where they were guided by former student Jim Schaper around one of the newest California campuses!

Fourth and fifth graders were awed by the highpoints of the University of California at Santa Barbara, including: lecture halls, the dorms, the recreation center, the Thunderdome, and of course, the lagoon and beach. All students agreed college looks like lots of fun!

Many thanks from Piru are sent to Fillmore High School Mentors, Elizabeth Fernandez and Samuel Cruz; UCSB Outreach Coordinator, Olivia Palacio; UCSB Guides, Robert Barrera and Stan Levine; Miss Breanna Christie from Cal State Channel Islands; and Mr. Khutug from Moopark College. Special thanks are offered to Mrs. Lynn Edmonds, former principal of Piru Elementary, who wrote the CDBG grant which paid for the buses, and Police Chief Tim Hagel who is constantly looking for ways to support students and facilitate life changing experiences for kids.

Piru students are back in elementary classes today, but with a different outlook and level of motivation. Piru students are going to college!

Fillmore Unified School District

The unique country atmosphere of Piru Elementary has been upset this past week with the demotion of popular principal Richard Durborow, to a teaching position.

The Fillmore Unified School Board took action this past week, in closed session, with 5-0 voting to end Mr. Durborow’s role as principal at Piru and move him to a classroom position.

A petition, with 118 parent signatures, has been signed in support of Durborow, and upset parents filled the board room at the March 10th meeting, protesting the demotion.

Parents are questioning the timing of this action in connection with Durborow’s support of converting Piru Elementary into a charter school. Durborow has made no secret of his support for the charter school system, stating in the Ventura County Star [March 12, 2009], “We’ve been open about the desire to go charter.” And in his support of teachers who “want to go charter,” Durborow stated, “I’m absolutely dedicated to that effort.”
Durborow released a statement to the Gazette on Wednesday, March 18, “I am very disappointed in the decision making of the Fillmore Unified School District. It is appropriate for schools to consider becoming a charter school. Piru Elementary will continue to reach higher and put children first.” CONTINUED »

Marlene Garcia, Jasmine Vasquez, Xochitl Ruiz, Yulizza Aguilar and Jovanny Figueroa lead the Kindergarteners in jumping jacks.
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Fourth grade students take turns jumping rope.
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Sheri Smith from the American Heart Association encourages students to eat healthy foods.
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Fifth grade students wait in line to see how low they can go.
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Piru School got a ‘jump start’ on March’s National Nutrition Month last week. Sheri Smith, a representative from the American Heart Association, arrived at Piru School bringing rump rope activities and enthusiasm to promote Jump Rope for Heart. Jump Rope for Heart is a national educational fund-raising program that is sponsored by the American Heart Association and the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD). Funds raised will support lifesaving heart and stroke research while teaching students the value of community service.

First, Piru students participated in a discussion on how their heart works and the value of healthy eating habits. Then the entire school participated in center rotations that included jumping rope, jumping jacks, jumping relays and the Limbo. Sheri not only got hearts pumping but challenged Piru students to eat right and skip soda and chips for the month of March.

Students who accept the challenge and succeed will have their names placed in a drawing. A Barnes and Noble gift certificate awaits the healthy winner.

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Thanks to the hard work of our family, friends and community, the 5th graders from Piru Elementary School went to The Outdoor School at Rancho Alegre this past January. After months of fundraising and waiting, we did it!

As teachers, our goal was to enrich the lives of our students by enabling them to develop their sense of the environment and community, many whom have never gone to summer camp, much less spent a night away from home. Through The Outdoor School, they were able to meet students from other Ventura county schools, go on hikes as long as 9 miles, use a bow and arrow, row a boat in a lake, sing camp fire songs, sleep in cabins, learn the ways of the Chumash, understand how fossils are formed, learn which plants are safe to eat, witness constellations, work together to solve problems, and most of all, try things they’ve never tried before.

While we were at camp, we received visits from Fillmore Police Chief Tim Hagel, some Rotary members, a school board member, as well as our principal, Richard Durborow. They were able to see our students at lunch, and even some of them volunteering to wash dishes in the kitchen!

When asked to share some thoughts about their experiences, here’s what some of the campers said: 1. “I wish I could go again.” – Jatziri R. 2. “If you go camping, it will be fun for you.” - Laura A. 3. “I think everyone needs to go to camp.” – Lupe A. 4. “Camp was exciting.” – Mirella M. 5. “I made a bunch of new friends.” Gaby A. 6. “I even made tea on our plant hike.” – Steven O. 7. “One of the activities was boating. It was really fun splashing water all over.” – Angeles E. 8. “I learned more about Science when we went on hikes. We learned about plants and animals.” – Veronica J. 9. “It’s so fun to sleep in cabins with kids from different schools.” – Kimberly V. 10. “I really liked to go camping, I really learned a lot.” – Vanessa O. 11. “We got to learn the most important thing in nature is connections.” – Keylee T. 12. “I learned how to tell what poison oak is.” – John L. 13. “Camp was fun because I got to meet new people.” – Desiree G. 14. “I was very happy to go because that was the first time I went to camp and I worked very hard to go.” – Justinne L. 15. “We had fun on our hikes.” – Cheyenne A. 16. “I liked it when I dissected a squid.” – Jose R. 17. “Camp was so meaningful to me because I made lots of friends and I had lots of fun.” – Lindsey G. 18. “I went on the nine mile hike. Once I got to the top of the mountain it was really windy but so much fun and the view was beautiful.” – Marisela C. 19. “The special activites were so awesome, I couldn’t choose.” – Curtis P. 20. “I really had fun. I did the Waterfall Hike and did something called The Polar Bear Club. It’s when you can be under the waterfall for 20 seconds.” – Julyan R. 21. “I learned a lot about Science and won the Star Camper Award.” – Jennie G. 22. “Kids should go to camp because you’ll be having fun and doing school work too.” – Adriana N. 23. “I think camp is better than regular school because you learn in a fun way.” – Juan S. 24.”It made me a better person and respect the environment more.” – Tatem F. 25. “The 5th graders thank everyone that helped us go to camp at The Outdoor School at Rancho Alegre.” – Jackie T.

Many thanks go out to everyone that helped us get there: Friends of Piru, El Pescador Restaurant, La Verne Nursery, Fillmore Police Chief Tim Hagel, Fillmore Police Station, Cops Running for Charity, Fillmore Sunrise Rotary, Fillmore Noon-time Rotary, Piru Neighborhood Council, and Piru Parks and Recreation Council. Your belief in our goal made it all possible. The seeds we planted that week will grow in our students for many years to come.

Richard Durborow
Principal, Piru Elementary School

Piru Elementary is an extraordinary school where children come to learn and grow, a place that challenges and nurtures young scholars, and a place that awakens a thirst for knowledge and understanding. Each student receives a high level of individual attention through classes taught by knowledgeable, experienced, and caring teachers.
Our primary goal is not only to promote scholarship, but to give each student the kind of life-learning experiences that will forever shape their world view. After all, these students represent our future!
Literacy Coach Makes a Difference
The last two years we set school-wide goals that included working with a literacy coach. That’s right. We have a coach who goes into all our classrooms and helps model best instructional practices for our teaching staff. She focuses attention on the reading needs of all our students and then helps build a program that ensures student success. And guess what? Her expertise and hard work is paying off in big ways. Student learning has improved. Test scores are up. Because literacy coaches are a powerful way to improve student learning they are now being used throughout Ventura County. Thank you Susan Jolley for being our literacy coach and for all you do for us!
Lesson One Teaches Self-Control and More
Clearly, many of today’s young people are feeling isolated, out-of-control, and full of rage. Instead of doing well in school they drop out. These students need to feel connected and learn skills so their anger doesn’t lead to destruction of self and others.
Last year the staff at Piru Elementary recognized this problem and adopted a program designed to help students cope with stress and take control of their actions. This year we continue using the innovative, violence prevention program called Lesson One-The ABC’s of Life. Students at Piru start each day reading the Pledge for Success and talking about self-control and respect for diversity. As students internalize self-control our teachers spend more time teaching and students spend more time learning. Later this year our staff and students will be trained on new Lesson One skills including self-confidence and responsibility. Thanks Jon Oliver for teaching us how to improve our lives!
Aerobic Exercise Improves Student Learning
Piru students begin each morning experiencing the joy of running and making the powerful connection between aerobic exercise and the increased capacity of the brain to learn. Recent brain-activation studies show that children who are aerobically fit allocate more cognitive resources to a task and do so for longer periods of time. In other words, aerobic exercise improves student learning. In fact, aerobic exercise supercharges your mental circuits and sharpens your overall thinking, lifts your mood, and boosts your memory.
Want to boost your mental abilities? Just put on your running shoes and join us Friday mornings for a run around the school. It may just be the healthiest thing you do all week!
Happy Holidays from Piru Elementary School.

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Piru School has received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to enhance the teaching, study, and understanding of American history and culture through some of America’s greatest works of art.
Picturing America provides large laminated artwork, which will be displayed at the Piru Library, and may be used in the classroom to further understanding and motivate students on American history and culture. Currently on display is American Pottery (1100-1960), which explores several American cultures’ creation of utilitarian vessels; now regarded as works of art. Additionally, facts, pictures, and literature are also available to support the artwork. Displays will change periodically throughout the year. So come visit the Piru Library!