Nick is famous…..

Nick was very excited to have his picture in the Press Enterprise, our newspaper Friday. His class recently visited the Hemet Museum and because Hemet is celebrating it’s Centennial the paper ran an article on what school are doing to celebrate. 

 

Hemet schools mark city's centennial in different ways

As Hemet turns 100 years old this month, some of its schools are squeezing information about the centennial into their lessons.

The state curriculum requires third-graders to learn local history. Hemet Unified School District schools have been encouraged, but not required, to discuss the city's centennial, said Mary Wulfsberg, deputy superintendent of educational services.

Wulfsberg printed out information on the centennial from the city's Web site, presented it to principals last week and asked them to return a survey listing any special lessons or activities.

"It's too good a subject not to utilize in the classes," said Betty Smith, a docent at the Hemet Museum, which third-graders visit every year.

At Whittier Elementary, named for Hemet co-founder William F. Whittier, third-graders were told "that this is the 100th year," teacher Sandra Carranza said. "We are focusing on it as a big birthday party for Hemet."

"We want the kids to be excited about it," said fellow third-grade teacher Ann Lind.

Hemet Museum docent Rosemary Sears shows Bautista Elementary School third-graders a card that they will use on what she called a treasure hunt in the museum.

Principal Marc Horton said the school is not planning any activities other than the museum trip.

"It's that fine line of balancing standards," Horton said, referring to language arts, math, history and science that students are expected to know for the California State Test.

Valle Vista Elementary invited Marc Searl, whose family has been in the Hemet area for six generations, to speak Wednesday.

At Harmony Elementary, students are doing a food-tasting party and making collages of Whittier and co-founder Edward L. Mayberry.

Students who visit the museum in the old train depot on Florida Avenue see relics related to Indians, Spaniards, trains, pioneers and agriculture. They get to clean clothes on a washboard, sit in a saddle and weigh themselves on a freight scale.

Bautista Creek's third-graders this month went on a scavenger hunt at the museum, where 10 volunteer docents awaited their arrival. The students were given cards with pictures of exhibits and were asked to relate them to modern items.

Two of teacher Mike Van Zee's students, Jared Schlenker (Smith's great grandson) and Nick Thornburg, held a card showing an old adding machine, and they were asked to mark on it whether it was more closely related to a Game Boy, calculator or computer. They chose calculator.

Jared liked "all of the old things you never see. It's awesome."

The docents make sure the lessons, including vocabulary, complemented the curriculum.

"It's a great presentation and it's in line with what we teach," Van Zee said.

No school got into the spirit more than Diamond Valley Middle School.

Brandy Lane, who runs the afterschool programs, purchased the book "Hemet Then and Now: 1893-1930" and persuaded the author, Bill Adams, to speak to 120 students Tuesday. Cesaria Hernandez, who has played the role of Ramona in the play by the same name the past four years, also attended.

The students then held a "Happy Birthday Hemet" barbecue on Thursday.

The students dined on hot dogs, chips and cookies before watching a slide show of photos from Adams' book. They then sang a rousing if disjointed happy birthday to Hemet and ate a cake with "Happy 100th Anniversary Hemet" written in icing.