San Diego Chapter Sponsors Los Penasquitos Elementary

The San Diego Alumni Chapter from the University of Oregon generously sponsored our classroom for the 2010-2011 school year. At Los Penasquitos Elementary School, located in San Diego, California, classrooms choose a college or university to represent. By representing and studying the school chosen, we introduce the concept of college to our students.

This approach allows us to accomplish our school-wide goal. That goal states that all our students will be college ready with a college bound attitude. Many of our students come from families who have never had a member of their immediate or extended family attend college. Our school community strives to instill and model the ethics of hard work, perseverance and the 6 pillars of character (responsibility, respect, good citizenship, trustworthiness, caring, and fairness).

The University of Oregon’s support gave my classroom something tangible to represent that goal. They provided our classroom with spirit materials such as banners, pins, and noisemakers; so that anyone who walked through our door knew we were Oregon Ducks. We wore Oregon Duck T-Shirts every Friday, and composed our own chant to share at Friday Flag, our school’s version of a pep rally. Brenda Gerard and the San Diego Chapter made the adoption even more personal and special by presenting us with an official adoption plaque in front of the whole school. On our school’s college career day, The San Diego Chapter once again came and represented The University of Oregon. Not many colleges are willing to do that for an elementary school, so my classroom beamed proudly throughout the day, knowing that their college was there.

The University of Oregon gave my students a reason to be successful. They wrote their goals, took their trimester assessments, and tackled state standardized tests with the attitude of making the Alumni Association from the UO proud of them. They were proud to represent the UO and they wanted the UO to be proud of their academic successes.

Finally, in order to give back to the university and to teach my class the importance of helping others attain an education, our classroom held a fundraiser. The $90.00 dollars raised will be contributed to the San Diego University of Oregon scholarship fund. As the school year ended, each child in my class honestly believed that they would one day be Oregon Ducks. I am truly thankful for the relationship shared by my classroom and The University of Oregon. As the last student left and we said our chant for the last time, one girl approached me stating that no matter what happened in her life, she would always be a Duck!!

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