Page 11 - Reedley Exponent 5-2-19 E-edition

The Reedley Exponent PB anorama
The latest news and events in the senior community
See B2
Section | Thursday, May 2, 2019 www.reedleyexponent.com
A national spotlight on Reedley
Reedley (Fresno County) CA 93654
The View From Here
I had the pleasure of meeting Ve- ronica Diaz last week. Ve- ronica is an Early Child- hood Coordi- nator over at Washington
School.
She works
with children
through the
"Save the
Children" and
"VROOM" programs and she hap- pened to have an exciting month of April.
She was selected to be on a na- tional television news show called Despierta America. For those who don't' know, Despierta means "wake up" so it's "Wake up America."
The show is the Good Morning America of Spanish television news. It's a nationally syndicated show and as I interviewed Veronica for the story, I was reminded of just how crazy working in television news can be, and Veronica handled it all like a pro.
Initially the plan was to have some video of her interacting with her students playing while she talk- ed. This is called a voice over. So ba- sically she'd be describing what was happening as the video was playing.
She told me she had everything ready to go and was told by produc- ers last minute that they didn't have any of her video. "Here you're going to have to use this," a producer told Veronica as she handed over an iPad tablet.
Veronica told us she froze and was almost not going to do it. "I was feeling very panicked," she said.
Working in television news is fast and can change at any moment. Producers take the day to put a newscast together, every single video, interview and graphic needs to be included in the show. The tim- ing of the show needs to be correct down to the second. When writing a show, there's what's called a run down. Basically an overview of what will be on the show that day. At the bottom, there is a timer, it tells the producer and the anchor how much time they have left before a com- mercial break or before the show ends. That is the plan, however
things can change at any minute. I've anchored shows where pro- ducers are telling me in my ear "We don't have the video that goes with that story, just keep talking" or .. "we don't have your package, you're go- ing to have to describe what you're seeing." It'sallfastandextremely
unpredictable.
Veronica said she had a taste
of how chaotic a news studio can become, not to mention she was on a national show, not just a local tv news show, so if anyone happens to run into her around town, congratu- late her on a job well done!
Meetings for Camacho Park upgrades
Contributed
The public is invited to attend a series of public meetings to dis- cuss grant opportunities for im- provements to Camacho Park.
"We welcome your attendance and input for what you feel the pri- orities should be," said Sarah Reid, the Community Services Director for the city of Reedley.
The first meeting is scheduled for Saturday, April 27 from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. The location for the first meeting will be at Camacho Park, 950 E. North Ave. in Reedley.
The second meeting will be on Thursday, May 23, from 6 to 7 p.m., and will be held at the Reed- ley Community Center's Senior Room located at 100 N. East Ave. in Reedley.
The third meeting will be held on Saturday, June 1, from 9 to 10 a.m. That meeting will be held at Camacho Park as well.
For more information contact the City of Reedley's Community Services Department at (559) 637- 4203.
Juanita Adame
Veronica Diaz appeared on national Spanish news show, "Despierta America"
LEFT: Veronica Diaz posed for a photo on the afternoon of April 24 following her trip to Miami, Florida a few days prior.
By Juanita Adame
Juanita@midvalleypublishing.com
On most days, Veronica Diaz, the Early Childhood Coordinator at Wash- ington Elementary School, can be found tucked away in her classroom going over the day's notes, or meeting with local parents who participate in the "Save the Children" and "VROOM" programs she teaches.
On April 9 and 10 however, Diaz was nowhere near Reedley or even near California. She was across the country in Miami, Fla. ready to go on a national Spanish television news show called "Despierta America."
Despierta America is the Spanish counterpart to national morning shows like Good Morning America.
"So they [Despierta America] de- cided among Save The Children, to choose some of the top coordinators across the country," Diaz said on the afternoon of April 24.
"So our program, was chosen as one of the best, and we're right here in Reedley."
Diaz said she and two other coor- dinators, one from Kentucky and an- other from San Diego were the three who were picked.
While there, Diaz was asked to present some of the material she cov- ers when she meets with her students and their parents. It was going to be part of the shows health segment.
She said producers for the show had traveled to Reedley a few weeks prior to take video of her in action and
that video would be used during her live interview.
"I was nervous, even if someone has a lot of experience, there's still a bit of an adrenaline rush," she said. "When I was there, I felt like I was ready for it, I know what I'm doing and I'm ready."
Things didn't go according to plan and last minute changes had to be made. Diaz was informed seconds be- fore the show was to air.
"I was suppose to explain some of our five steps in the video," she said. "Once I arrived though, the video had been used already and part of the vid- eo was missing."
Diaz said she began to feel a sense of panic.
"Ok I need Veronica, we are going
Photo by Juanita Adame / The Exponent
to fix her hair," she said producers told her. "We're going to put makeup on her, and things went so fast and we didn't even have the video ready, and that's when I started building the anxiety."
She took a deep breath, re- grouped and remembered why she was there.
"I just told myself, well I'll do my best," she said.
She went on to do the live segment and said she felt extremely proud af- terward.
Accordingtotheirwebsite, Save the Children is an international pro- gram dedicated to focus on children's health, education, protection and disas-
See TEACHER page B2
ABOVE: Veronica Diaz (center) stands with the staff of Despierta America and the
Dr. Juan segment.
Photo Contributed
Children's Day celebrated at Jefferson School
Photo Contributed
ABOVE: KCUSD Educational Programs Administrator Jose Guzman looks on as students from Alta Elementary School were honored during the Reclassified Flu-
ent English Proficient or RFEP ceremony. his/her name as they crossed the stage.
Contributed
It was a special day for nearly 400 Kings Canyon Unified School District students as many of them celebrated a special promotion on the afternoon of April 25 during the districts annual Children's Day event held at Jefferson School.
The event recognized the achieve- ments of all English learners in the district, while the special ceremony specifically highlighted those stu- dents who have met the requirements to become Reclassified Fluent English Proficient or RFEP.
More than 1,000 people attended the event that included international crafts, games, community resource booths, refreshments and entertain- ment, provided by a variety of per-
Each student received a medal and said
formers from throughout the school district.
Joe Valero, lead program special- ist for English language development and migrant programs, explained that students recognized as English learners take English language de- velopment classes in addition to their normal course load.
To achieve the RFEP designation the students have to demonstrate pro- ficiency on the State language test and meet other required measures. Valero said, “We are very proud of our students for their extra work to meet this important goal. We also recognize the work of our parents and KCUSD staff members who directly impact our students’ success.”
Photos Contributed
ABOVE: ZehraSubedar,astudentfromT.L.ReedperformedaBollywoodstyledance during the Children's Day celebration.
BELOW: Students from the Orange Cove MECHA program make an international craft, worry dolls, with young event attendees.
Pets and Storybook parade will take place downtown on May 4
Contributed
The Reedley YMCA will be host- ing their annual Pets and Storybook parade on Saturday, May 4, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The parade will be open for all ages. There will be one week of community camp and one week of YMCA camp. Organizers are en- couraging participants to be cre- ative with their entries. The parade
route will be on 13 th and F Streets in Reedley.
There will be a total of 10 cat- egories. Entry categories will be as follows: First will be costumes for 6 years and younger, second for cos- tumes for 7 years and older; third for tricycles and small bicycles; fourth will be small animals, pup- pies, birds, hamsters.
Fifth will be dogs. Sixth will be the small floats and wagons catego-
ry. Seventh will be stuffed animals and dolls. The eighth will be large bicycles, skateboards and scooters followed by comic book characters, and finally large animals (horses, goats, etc.)
There will be food vendors, and entry for the parade is free. Cash and prizes will be awarded, for more information contact the YMCA at (559) 637-7191.
ABOVE: Participants posed for a photo during the 2017 Pet Parade. Exponent File Photo