Summertime Enrichment at UC Merced

A summer learning program on the UC Merced Campus is helping children and providing career insight for UC students.

UC Student Florence presents a lesson on careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) at the Summer Enrichment Program.  Photo by Steve Newvine

For Florence, it all clicked into place when she saw a student’s eyes light up after grasping a concept in the classroom.

“I never worked with children,” she said.  “So when I could tell they really got it, it was a real sense of achievement.”

Florence, a UC Merced Sociology major, is one of the intern presenters at an enrichment program taking place on the campus this summer.

On the surface, this summer school class looks like any other enrichment program.  Children from kindergarten through fifth grade are getting help with social skills, learning strategies, and fun activities through the curriculum. 

But with a closer look, it’s apparent the elementary and middle school students are not the only ones learning.

This is the Summer Enrichment Program of the Harvest Park Educational Center sponsored by the Valley Harvest Church. 

The Center is partnering with UC Merced to offer the program for young learners.  This program includes internship opportunities for UC Merced students like Florence and her two colleagues Rose and Diana.

Harvest Park Education Center Managing Director Gloria Morris emphasizes a point to students and internees in the Summer Enrichment Program.  Photo by Steve Newvine

“They are educators, not credentialed teachers” said Harvest Park Managing Director Gloria Morris when talking about the UC Merced students. 

“They present some of the sessions, serve as classroom facilitators, and help keep the classes moving.”

The program is running for five weeks during the summer for three days each week. 

Classes begin after eight in the morning, and the class is dismissed shortly after noon. 

 For the other UC Merced students serving as interns in the program, this is one of the first exposures they have working directly with children. 

UC Merced interns Rose and Diana are learning from one another as well as learning from their students in the Summer Enrichment Program of the Harvest Park Educational Center.  Photo by Steve Newvine

Rose, a psychology major, presented sessions on English Language Arts (ELA) and found the summer enrichment program to be an eye-opening experience. 

“The hands-on work with the students has been helpful,” she said.  “Students learn in different ways so we work a strategy to explain concepts at their level.”

Diana is a sociology major with a minor in psychology. 

She presented sessions on the human brain.  That topic may seem a little heavy for this age group, but Diana worked with Director Gloria to tailor the program for the specific audience.

“When I explained something to the whole class, I was worried I might not be reaching them,” Diana said.  “But we moved into small groups based on their ages, and working with their interns and internees, we were able to connect the material to them.”

The Summer Enrichment Program of Harvest Park Education Center is providing learning opportunities on two levels- the grade school children participating in the five-week sessions, and the UC Merced interns who are gaining experience working with children.  Photo by Steve Newvine

With the help of a classroom assistant known as Ms. V, videos are selected to illustrate lessons on improving learning outcomes. 

On the day I visited, a video explaining a five-step problem-solving process was shown to the class.  The video was followed with a hands-on application of the process.   

The video’s five steps are: 

• Identify the problem
• Strategize on how to solve
• Set-up a way to solve
• Solve the problem
• Check the work. 

Ms. V provides other program support such as nutrition identification and working directly with the students.

The program embodies the vision of Gloria, a professional psychologist who has authored a book on Principle-Based Lifestyle Training.  The expected result from successful Principle-Based Lifestyle Training is the preservation and development of human capital.

“The primary outcome is closing gaps in the academic achievement of our students,” Gloria said.  “We do this through the learning going on thanks to our UC Merced interns, and through our focus on helping the children better understand their emotional behavior.”

The Summer Enrichment Program meets three days a week for five weeks during the summer. Students attend for a morning session that runs for about four hours. Photo by Steve Newvine)

The enrichment program has been a great opportunity for the UC Merced interns and internees who are trying out new potential career paths.  They may become educators, or they may use the experience to help them in whatever line of work they choose after graduation.

For this column, I visited the class on the day of a presentation on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).  

I was given a seat at the front of the room. From the front of the room, I could see the anxious hands raise up as the young people took advantage of the opportunity to participate.  

I could see those faces of children as they responded to questions. I saw eyes brighten as they connected the lesson plan with their own thoughts and ideas.

The real winners from this special summertime experience are the children.  

For a few hours a day, a few days each week this summer, they have been immersed in an educational environment that recognizes emotional well-being is just as important as embracing successful learning skills.  

The expected results are best expressed with the mission statement found on the website for Principle-Based Lifestyle Training  (www.pblt.org): 

All students on the Honor roll!

Steve Newvine lives in Merced.  

His latest book, California Back Roads, is available at Lulu.com

A Three-Dollar Tour at the Mission at San Juan Bautista

Being relatively new to the state, it did not take long to learn about the Spanish Missions that mark California along the historic route known as Camino Real.  

One of those stops Camino Real is San Juan Bautista in San Benito County bordering Merced County.

The bell in front of San Juan Bautista along Camino Real, translated as Royal Highway.  Photo by Steve Newvine

The history of California’s Spanish Missions begins in the late 1700s when a Spanish Franciscan Catholic priest was dispatched to the region to convert the people of the area.  

This Mission continues to serve the area with weekend Masses, and daily services.

There’s more to this history than just the establishment of a Mission, and thanks to dedicated volunteers and generous donors, parts of that history are being preserved.

The grounds of the Mission at San Juan Bautista in San Benito County in California.  Photo by Steve Newvine

The effort included an archaeological dig that uncovered remnants from the period of time when the Mission was started.  

The effort continues with a three-dollar tour of the Mission’s main building where volunteer docents help interpret this active piece of California history.

The Mission has displays of a dining room and parlor that recall what life might have been like for people living in the region in the 1800s.  

The Church at San Juan Bautista.  Photo by Steve Newvine

The Church inside the Mission functions like any other Catholic Church with regular Mass offered daily.  

Two nuns from the Franciscan Sisters of the Atonement live on site. A priest is assigned to the Church to celebrate Mass and serve the community of San Juan Bautista.  

According to a Wikipedia entry, the community of San Juan Bautista had a population of 1,862 in the 2010 US Census.

Parts of the Alfred Hitchcock movie Vertigo, starring Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak, were filmed on the grounds of the Mission at San Juan Bautista.  Photo by Steve Newvine

Scenes from the movie Vertigo directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Jimmy Stewart were filmed at the Mission.  

The movie includes many sequences filmed on location in California: including the Seventeen Mile Drive at Pebble Beach, San Francisco, and San Juan Bautista.  

The bell tower in the movie is much higher than the real tower at the Mission, but Hitchcock took care of that detail through the use of a model bell tower, and some studio re-creation of what a taller structure might look like.  

There is a small public display about the on-location filming of Vertigo at the Mission.

Courtyard at the Mission at San Juan Bautista.  Photo by Steve Newvine

There are lots of flowers and trees in the courtyard at the Mission.  Many are drought resistant and ideal for the climate.

As with most museums and similar attractions, this tour begins and ends with a gift shop.  

For this trip, I took about fifty digital photographs, purchased a refrigerator magnet, and spent three dollars on admission.  

I walked away with a greater appreciation for early California/Spanish influenced architecture.

Not bad for a three-dollar tour.

Steve Newvine lives in Merced and travels throughout the state looking for new stories to share.

 His latest book is California Back Roads- Stories from the Land of the Palm and the Pine. It is available at Lulu.com

Going Beyond Common Course Courtesy

Asking a stranger to join in a round of golf is common course courtesy.  Asking a second time is a special gift.

Brilliant red flowers frame the putting green at Stanislaus Golf Course in Modesto.  Photo by Steve Newvine

I was waiting my turn at the first tee at a Central Valley golf course.  My thoughts were centered on a solo round where I might work on some new clubs, drop an extra ball if it did not hold up play, and just be alone with my thoughts.  

When the pair in front was far enough away to assure me it was safe to tee off, my plans for a solo round were about to change.

A golfer in a motorized cart pulled up near my golf bag and pull cart.

“You can go in front of me,” I told the older golfer who sat behind the wheel of the cart.  “I’m walking.”

“Wanna play together?” he asked.

“No, that’s all right,” I said.

I really didn’t want to play with someone else.  I have a regular golf partner and get plenty of socializing when we get together for a round every few weeks.

 When I’m not playing with my regular golf buddy, I go out alone. I’ve grown accustomed to playing alone. I just wanted nine holes of solitude: me and the course.

“You sure you don’t want to play together?” he asked once more.  “I really don’t mind.”

“Okay,” I said.  I didn’t want to belabor the conversation.

“I’m Tony,” he said extending his hand.

“Steve,” I said completing the handshake.

My scorecard would show I ended several shots over par.  But as what usually happens in a story about golf, this is not about the score.

Our conversation started over where our opening drives landed.  We covered missed approaches, clutch putts, and places where we’ve played over the years.

He told me about his older brother who became a golf professional shortly after taking up the game.  Sadly, his brother had passed away a few years ago.

Then it got even more personal.

“You married Steve?”

“Yes, thirty-eight years this summer.”

I would soon learn that Tony lost his wife four years ago to cancer.  

“We would have made it to fifty-two years this July,” he told me.

He spoke about his two grown sons who live with him.  

“One of them likes to be confrontational,” he said.  His laugh told me more about why he liked to get out of the house and onto a course.  

“All the more reason to play golf,” I said to him.

We talked about why we love the game.  

“You can just come out here and forget about your bills,” he said.  “Forget your worries, forget anything and everything. Just think about hitting that ball.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that sentence,” I said.  That’s a phrase I use a lot when I hear something good.  My family is sick of hearing it, but Tony never heard it before.

Like all good things in life, a round of golf comes to a close.  We shook hands one last time. I thanked him for twice asking me to join him.

“I said no the first time, but you asked me again,” I said to him.  “And for that, I am grateful.”

“We had a good round, didn’t we?” he smiled.

“We sure did,” I said.  “Thank you.”

He adjusted his hat, put both hands on his motorized golf cart and said, “You’re welcome, my friend.”

Steve Newvine lives in Merced

He has authored California Back Roads, Stories from the Land of the Palm and the Pine.  It is available at Lulu.com