Page 9 - Reedley Exponent 9-6-18 E-edition

The Reedley Exponent PB anorama
Section | Thursday, September 06, 2018 www.reedleyexponent.com
More Parent Night pictures from Reedley High game See B8
Reedley (Fresno County) CA 93654
Pirate band celebrates Parent Night
The View From Here
There was a lot hap- pening this past week in the city of
Reedley.
I stopped
by the school
board meet-
ing on Aug.
31 and was
able to hear a
presentation
by two tal-
ented young
ladies; Alexandria Moncada who is a senior at Reedley High, and Deisy Valenciano Valdivia. Deisy is a senior at Orange Cove High.
The girls are the new student representatives for the Kings Canyon Unified School Board and both girls seem very driven and accomplished.
I will admit, having to stand and speak before any type of council or board in a dais setting is definitely intimidating in my opinion.
I've covered council meet- ings and board meetings and have watched public portions where individuals get up to talk and im- mediately become nervous.
This was not the case for ei- ther of these young ladies, they were poised, personable and in- telligent, great job ladies, keep up the great work!
Also this week, I witnessed first hand the spirit of the Reed- ley High football game.
My daughter and I attended the game for some interviews and pictures during the second annual "Parent's Night" with the Pirate's band.
I began to think of the concept of Parent Night and realized, what a great idea. To have parents go onto the field with their kids is not only a way to get the parent to experience that halftime show energy with their child from a different vantage point, but also bond with their kids in the pro- cess.
Watching a live football game from the stands versus watching it on the field is so different.
There's a different vibe to it, a different energy. The stadium lights are pretty bright when one is in the stands, but extremely bright you're standing directly underneath them on the football field.
Congrats to the band for their great performance. I will also mention, thank you to everyone who watched our live video of a portion of the halftime show on Facebook.
The three minute video ac- cumulated four thousand views, more than 200 likes and a number of comments from viewers.
We are happy the video had such an impact, it just shows how much this community cares for each other, and how much they continue to support each other even those who are no longer liv- ing in Reedley, so thank you!
We will continue to post live videos when we are at events, don't forget to "like" our Facebook page, The Reedley Exponent.
Lastly, I finished the week by spendingsometimewith several Deputies from the Fresno County Sheriff's Office during the Labor Day holiday. See page A1 for the full story.
Thank you to Deputies; Chad Stokes, Erik Unruh, Uriel Mejia, and Nick Buffaloe. Nick happens to be a Reedley High graduate by the way.
These young men are part of the boating unit with the depart- ment, so if you ever found your- self stuck on a raft while floating down the Kings River and needed help, these would be the guys who would come and pull you to safety.
Two key points Deputy Stokes mentioned to me that stood out; the number of people who still get in the water without a life jacket and the number of people who still get in the water yet don't know how to swim.
He said they see it all the time, panicked floaters stuck in thick brush and almost paralyzed with
See COLUMN page B2
The Reedley High Pirate's marching band held their second annual Par- ent Night on Aug. 31, the stadium was full as the Pirates took on Dinu- ba High school. Band members said the event was received really well and they anticipate it will become a yearly tradition.
FAR RIGHT: Band members take the field during the Aug. 31 game against Dinuba.
RIGHT: Students and parents chat with band director Sam Gipson be- fore taking the field for the halftime show.
BELOW: Parents begin to march onto the field for the halftime show dur- ing the second annual Parent Night at Reedley High.
Photo by Juanita Adame / The Exponent
By Juanita Adame
Juanita@midvalleypublishing.com
The excitement was felt throughout the Sal Gonzalez field on Aug. 31 as parents of the Reed- ley High band members joined their kids on the field for the second annual Parent's Night.
"Its my last and final time to do it," said Jennifer Callahan. "This is the second year that they've done this so last year was the first year and it was received really well, so we're doing it again this year, all the parents are really excited about it."
The idea came about during the beginning of the 2017 football sea- son. Several band directors asked parents if they'd be interested in
Juanita Adame
Photo by Juanita Adame / The Exponent
ABOVE: The new KCUSD student representatives, sat on the dais with board mem- bers during the Aug. 28 meeting.
By Juanita Adame
Juanita@midvalleypublishing.com
There were a couple new faces sitting on the dais during the Aug. 28 Kings Canyon Unified School board meeting. Reedley High senior Alexandria "Allie" Moncada and Orange Cove High senior, Deisy Valenciano Valdivia.
The girls are the new student representatives for the district and took some time to give board mem- bers a little bit of background infor- mation about themselves.
"I did not attend any KCUSD Schools until I was in the ninth grade," said Moncada. "I am a proud Catholic and went to St. La Salle Schools."
Moncada currently serves as the ASB VIce President for Reedley High as well as Entre Nous Presi- dent and is a member of the Aca- demic Decathlon team. During the
presentation, Moncada told board members she plans to become an at- torney and wants to study Political Science at either UC Santa Barbara or UC Berkley.
Deisy Valenciano Valdivia said she was born in Newton, Missouri then moved to Mexico where she spend the majority of her child- hood.
She and her family then moved to Orange Cove where she began at- tending Orange Cove High School during her sophomore year.
She currently has a 4.1 GPA, and serves as the ASB Vice Presi- dent for the school as well as Family Careers and Community Leaders of America or FCCLA Vice President, the MEChA secretary. She also works as a yearbook copywriter and plays several sports including tennis, soccer and wrestling.
joining their kids on the field to see what their kids see during games.
At the time band director, Sam Gipson said it would be great to show parents and have them expe- rience what their kids do while out on the field in front of the stadium's bright lights.
Callahan's daughter, Rhianen Callahan is a senior at Reedley High. Rhianen plays the alto saxo- phone.
"What we do is we march out with the band and we walk out with them when they're on coming from the green and white side," said Jen- nifer. "We meet in the middle, they do their for-
mations, it's
all very ex- See BAND page B8
School board introduces new student members
Choice books to present author Kathi Lipp
LEFT: Kathi Lipp, author of 17 books will be this years fea- tured speaker at the Choice Books Ministry Fundraiser on Sep. 27
Photo Contributed
Contributed
The featured speaker at the 12th annual Choice Books Ministries Fundraiser on Thursday, Sept. 27 will be acclaimed author Kathi Lipp, who has written 17 books that offer humor, wisdom and Biblical insight.
The west coast division of Choice Books is headquartered in Reedley, 856 S. Reed Ave.
At the fund raiser, Lipp will share stories from her latest book called "Overwhelmed" about get- ting organized both physically and spiritually. The book explains "how to calm the chaos in our lives and restore the sanity," according to the front cover. Lipp co-authored the book with Cheri Gregory. Those who attend the fund raiser will take home a free copy of “Over- whelmed.”
“Overwhelmed” offers advice for simplifying a busy life. Ac- cording to the book's website,
"Overwhelmed" gives tips for how to "trade the to-do list that controls you for a calendar that allows space in your life, decide whose feedback to forget and whose input to invite, and replace fear of the future with peace in the present."
In addition to writing, Lipp has participated in a number of speaking engagements around the country. She was named “Best of Broadcast” twice on Focus on the Family, a worldwide Christian ministry organization. During ra- dio broadcasts, Lipp typically tells funny stories about something that happened to her or gives daily, prac- tical advice.
"Kathi is an amazing lady to lis- ten to,” said Maryann Wall-Buhler, Choice Books volunteer. “She’s re- ally great. We always have very good and unique authors that speak at our fund
raisers ev-
ery year.”
w See AUTHOR page B8