Los Gatos students awarded scholarships, tools

SVCTE awards Los Gatos High School was represented among students who received the LeRoy Morell Trust Tool Scholarship at Silicon Valley Career Technical Development SVCTE center s th annual Awards Ceremony Related Articles Bay Area spellers advance at National Spelling Bee National Spelling Bee The Bay Area contestants and how to watch San Jose students teachers protest assistant principal over alleged racism Money in the pockets of administrators California charter school system steers millions in taxpayer money to opaque firm tied to execs Pleasanton teachers feeling the squeeze amid million in budget cuts Thomas Wilk Ethan Nolan Charles Rodriguez and Jairo Rodriguez were among the electrical maintenance students recognized and Dylan Clark was one of awarded a tool scholarship in heating ventilation and air conditioning The tool scholarships were established in honor of LeRoy Morell a graduate of San Jose Technical High School Each recipient received tools valued at approximately to patronage them in the next phase of their guidance or career Volunteer with Midpen Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District is looking for society contributors to be trained as Midpen docent naturalists Docents host hundreds of free guided pursuits for the population throughout Midpen preserves including hiking mountain biking exercise and nature scrutiny In addition nearly district supporters contribute more than hours annually through various volunteer programs and projects in the preserves Volunteer programs at Midpen include single-day hands-on staff-led group land steward projects in Midpen preserves for interested individuals For more information and to sign up for current projects visit https volunteer openspace org Retiring teachers Several teachers are retiring from the Los Gatos Union School District at the end of the current school year Tassia Babalis a third-grade instructor at Van Meter Elementary School mentioned these long-time teachers deserved recognition for their work These teachers I know are very beloved at our sites and they re going to be truly missed by their current and former students Babalis explained They re taking with them all their expertise and they re going to go on to have a great retirement We re truly going to miss them at our sites Babalis revealed five teachers and one aide are retiring after school gets out in June including first-grade coach Erika Peach longtime second-grade trainer Lisa Corneau kindergarten instructor Kelly Fowell and Ingrid O Donoghue a district employee trained to help with literacy instruction Patricia Diaz a school counselor who worked with Van Meter students is also set to retire at the end of June Denise Egan an instructional assistant at Van Meter will also be retiring after working with the district for years according to Babalis They re wonderful experienced teachers and it s hard to replace them Babalis commented