Gilbert Sun News; August 2015 - Youth

Golden Gates providing funding to Gilbert schools

BY ALISON STANTON

Thanks to Golden Gates of America, Gilbert Public Schools is receiving muchneed funding.

The nonprofit organization is devoted to helping schools, educators and learning challenged students throughout Arizona. For more information, visit http:// goldengatesofamerica.com.

Art Cecala, founder and chairman of Golden Gates of America, said his Mesabased charity recently sent $5,000 to South Valley Junior High School for classroom

equipment including computers. About $40,000 more will be donated to the school.

Cecala said he was inspired to launch Golden Gates of America about 12 years ago, after being diagnosed with dyslexia and ADD in his early 60s.

“When I thought about my own maladies, I thought, ‘My God, look at the percentage of kids with learning challenges who fail. Somebody had to step up and help.’”

Although Cecala said he does well as a marketer and salesman, he said his dyslexia

and ADD make the day-to-day operations of the charity challenging.

“Then I met Curtis Palmer and David Montano and they take care of all of the administration,” he said.

Palmer is the director of school programs and Montano is a board member and executive administrator.

“We have had big problems getting into schools relative to athletics and Curtis is

helping with that,” Cecala said.

“We try to target some programs that have been cut to help out with $500 here and $500 there,” Palmer said.

To date, Cecala said Golden Gates of America has given between $250,000 and $300,000 to schools throughout Arizona.

The charity raises money in large part through donations from businesses.

Houston’s Harden set to host basketball ProCamp

Houston All-Star Guard and former ASU All-American James Harden is set to host his inaugural Phoenix-area youth basketball ProCamp later this month.

The two-day James Harden Basketball ProCamp will be held from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22, and Sunday, Aug. 23, at Inspire Courts in Gilbert. Limited spots remain at www.HardenCamp.com.

Participants will learn fundamental basketball skills and have the opportunity to meet and interact with the guard. Each

camper will receive an autograph from Harden as well as a team photo with him.

Harden will be on-site to direct the event and will be joined by a selection of prep and college coaches from the area.

The camp is open to boys and girls of all skill levels in first through 12th grades. Cost of the camp is $149.

Media partners include Hot 97.5/103.9.

Additional camp partners include Everlast, Pronto Print, Welch’s Fruit Snacks, and Body Armor Super Drink.

BY ALISON STANTON

Katrina Wells did plenty of research before her oldest daughter, Elizabeth, headed to preschool.

One visit to Prep School Preschool in Gilbert was all it took to convince Katrina that Carolyn Mowery’s in-home facility was perfect for Elizabeth.

“Carolyn’s preschool clearly stood out from the rest,” Katrina said.

She was impressed by the way Mowery transformed the first floor of her home into the school.

Elizabeth graduated from Prep School Preschool in 2012. Her sister, Amelia, 3, now attends the school.

Mowery was inspired to open Prep School Preschool after an unsatisfactory search for in-home day care for her son.

“I was looking for a small, personal environment with a teacher who had professional training,” she said.

“I also wanted more personal care with a few children so my son could learn to be social and make friends, and I wanted the same exposure to state-of-the-art equipment the commercial preschools have.”

When Mowery couldn’t find everything

she was looking for in one preschool setting, she decided to create her own. In 2006, Mowery started buying equipment and began to transform the

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Seven more players join BenU for school’s first basketball season

Seven players signed letters of intent to play basketball at Benedictine University at Mesa at ceremonies on July 10, in the Community Room of Gillett Hall at 225 E. Main St. The seven joined 14 other players who already signed letters to play for the program’s inaugural season in 2015-2016.

Among the students is 6-foot-8, 220-pound junior Melvin Orji, who attended Campo Verde High School. He comes to BenU at Mesa via ChandlerGilbert Community College, where he played in 26 games off the bench in 2013-2014. Orji spent his freshman year at Benedictine University at Springfield, Illinois. He sat out the 2014-2015 season and will have two years of eligibility remaining.

The Benedictine Redhawks are members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the California Pacific Conference (CAL PAC) and will be eligible to compete for conference and national titles beginning with the 2016-2017 season.

“This is a very exciting time for our athletics program as we enter our inaugural season of men’s basketball and for competing as members of the NAIA and CAL PAC,” said Steve Schafer, associate athletic director and head men’s basketball coach. “We have a great group

of young men and we are excited to welcome them to our Benedictine family.”

Other players who signed their letters of intent on July 10 include Troy Conley, a 6-foot junior guard from Phoenix Community College, who ranked second in the nation in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) with 111 made 3-point field goals last season. He attended Chaparral High School in Scottsdale.

Also signing is 6-5 senior forward Kyle Tomlinson from Dobson High School. He’s a transfer from NCAA Division II University of Alaska Fairbanks. Tomlinson appeared in 26 games and made 18 starts for Alaska Fairbanks, averaging 4.9 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. He began his playing career at Mesa Community College, where he helped the Thunderbirds go 26-5 in 2013-2014.

Monnard Brown, a 6-5, 250-pound junior, joins the Redhawks from South Mountain Community College where he was named First Team All-Region and Second Team All-Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC) as a sophomore, averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds per game. Brown graduated from Inderkum High School in Sacramento, California.

Brown’s South Mountain teammate,

6-0 sophomore guard Nathan Worley, a graduate of Cesar Chavez High School in Phoenix, appeared in nine games as a freshman for South Mountain averaging 2.6 points and shooting 45 percent from 3-point range while dishing out six assists as a reserve guard.

Jalen Jenkins, a 6-5, 200-pound freshman guard from Red Mountain High School, averaged nine points, six rebounds and four assists per game as a senior for the Cougars. Jenkins helped lead Red Mountain to a 17-11 record and was voted first team all-conference.

Also signing is Jashawn Brown, a 6-3 freshman guard from Tempe High School. The all-conference selection averaged 11.7 points, six rebounds and two assists per game as a senior and helped lead the Buffaloes to a 20-9 record. As a junior, Brown averaged 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists per game.

The 14 players who have already signed letters of intent to play at Benedictine include current students Anthony Vareia and Jorge Cano. Vareia is a 6-1 redshirt freshman from Marcos de Niza High School in Tempe, and Cano is a 6-7 redshirt freshman from Maryvale High School in Phoenix.

The other 12 players who will suit up for Benedictine next season are:

“David is developing relationships with businesses in the community and asking them to contribute,” Cecala said.

In turn, Golden Gates of America provides donors with free advertising on its website, in emails sent to parents and teachers and in printed fliers.

Over the years, the money has been used in a variety of ways, including scholarships for worthy students, to help impoverished children on a reservation and funding school programs that have been eliminated.

Cecala said he, Montano and Palmer approached the Gilbert Public Schools after reading about teaching positions and programs being eliminated due to budget

6-6 senior Reggie Kindle (Riverside Community College, Long Beach, California); 6-8 junior Casey Lenz (Desert Ridge High School, Mesa, South Mountain Community College); and 6-1 junior Charles Wardell (Northwest Secondary, Milwaukee, Mesa Community College).

Also, 6-4 junior Gus Leon (Trevor Browne High School, Scottsdale Community College); 6-3 junior Trevor Tellin (Grapevine High School, Grapevine, Texas, North Iowa Area Community College); 6-0 sophomore Anthony Bryant (Gilbert High School, South Mountain Community College); and 6-2 freshman Richie Thornton Jr. (Bishop Gorman High School, Las Vegas).

The roster also features 6-3 freshman Levi Thomas (Columbia High School, Decatur, Georgia); 6-2 freshman Abdoul Mika (John D. O’Bryant High School, Dorchester, Massachusetts.); 6-2 freshman Nik Thomas (Seton Catholic High School, Chandler); 6-3 freshman Jon Rivera (St. Mary’s High School in Phoenix); and 5-8 freshman Trevon Smith (Ida B. Wells Middle College, Seattle).

Rounding out the team are 6-3 freshman Nate Anaya (St. Mary’s High School, Phoenix) and 6-0 freshman Garret Rozell (Corona Del Sol High School, Tempe).

issues.

“We met with the assistant superintendant, who gave us a list of schools where they wanted us to start,” Cecala said.

“Right now our main focus is on Gilbert. If we do our program and everything goes as planned we can probably bail the city out and provide funds for every single child,” he said.

Cecala said it has been extremely gratifying to help schools and students get the funding that they need to succeed.

“It’s really been phenomenal. Everything we do is a win-win situation and everyone profits. We just want to see kids in Arizona get help.”

B of A funds summer internship

BY TRACY HOUSE

Emma Wetherell’s summer was

whirlwind. The senior at Campo Verde High School interned at the Gilbert branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley for 35 hours a week and prepped for a trip to Washington, D.C.

Emma was one of five high school students in the Valley who was awarded an eight-week paid internship through the Bank of America Charitable Foundation.

“One of my mom’s friends said I should apply. So I did,” she said.

The 17 year old kept busy at the Boys & Girls Clubs, where she said more than 100 kids, ages 5 to 12 years old, attend each day. Some of her duties included keeping track of the kids, working in the front office, interacting with the kids and creating projects, and shadowing the management at the club.

Michelle Duenas, grants manager with the Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley, said her organization has offered the internship program for several years.

“We do more than just work with the kids, although that’s a big part of it,” she said. “Working in the clubs is the on-thejob training part of that, in addition to that we do several other things. We start with a thorough orientation of Boys & Girls

Club and nonprofit work, and then they get to see the different departments and how the organization works. They choose, based on their interests and future career plans, a department or specific staff person to shadow.”

Based on the intern’s interests, Duenas said the students work together to plan a program or special event to present to the kids.

“When they work we make sure they get a balanced experience, so they’re not stuck in the same job or program area. They’re rotating weekly to different areas and jobs. We do move them around so they’re not doing the same thing the whole summer.”

Duenas explained the program looks for students who have an interest in nonprofit, service and volunteer work, and ambition to go on to college.

“It’s such a good experience, they’ve all reported back that they’ve learned a lot and it’s a good experience. If nothing else the experience of working with people, kids. I always tell them there’s no experience wasted, everything that you learn from the hands-on stuff all the way to the interview skills and dress for success is just going to help them in their college years and future endeavors,

See INTERNSHIP oN page 38

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entire bottom floor of her 4,450-squarefoot home into a preschool.

“I created a computer center and different centers for children to explore like a block area, a library, a dramatic play kitchen and all the environments that children use in preschools and kindergartens around the country in commercial care environments,” she said.

“I then went back to school and received more professional development training and opened my doors in 2006.”

Prep School Preschool has three

teachers on staff, and serves children ages 3 to 5. Mowery said the preschool hours are from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays or Tuesdays and Thursdays, and she also offers after care from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.

Prep School Preschool is a state licensed facility, Mowery said, and she is a STEM-trained teacher who obtained her professional development training from the Arizona Science Center.

She also goes through numerous hours of training every year to keep current in

early childhood development.

The preschool also offers a low ratio of 1 teacher to 5 students, which Mowery said is much lower than commercial preschools.

Mowery said the school’s latest STEM program has the students working in small groups predicting, observing and learning through hands-on science experiments.

“We also recently installed a natural playground, which is very important for young children to reconnect with nature and work with tools that do not have any predetermined use,” Mowery said.

“This allows children to make cars out of boards and wheels made from rocks and it also allows for a whole new world of using their imagination and engineering new concept vehicles and many other creations.”

Local professionals come in weekly for additional learning opportunities, Mowery said, including music and yoga.

In addition to Mowery’s curriculum, Katrina said she is especially impressed with her warm and caring approach with the children and her knowledge of the latest developments in teaching and proven successful preschool environments

“Carolyn is always reinventing her school and making sure she has the best products, tools, teachers, activities,

and environment to make children comfortable and receptive to the curriculum,” Katrina said.

Mowery said her passion for early childhood education and quality childcare help define Prep School Preschool.

“Child care needs to be your passion first, and having teachers who love teaching and have the freedom to be creative is crucial,” she said, adding that she is also proud to own a community preschool where parents are invited to come in, spend time and even teach a class.

“We strive to be a preschool that focuses on the developmental needs of all children. Our program and environments were created with respect for each child’s particular style of learning.”

Most of all, Mowery said she truly loves spending time with young children.

“I care for my students as if they were my own. I love them and hug them and truly want what’s best for them. Every year at graduation I get a little sad and misty eyed seeing how much they have learned and progressed; it is very hard to say goodbye after you have had such a bond over the years.”

For more information about Prep School Preschool, call (480) 840-3155 or visit www.prepschoolpreschool.com.

whatever careers they get into. I think they get a lot out of it.”

She added it gives them a different work experience than some other typical summer jobs, “We give them a lot of responsibility and trust and autonomy.”

Enjoys children

Emma said she’s always enjoyed working with children. She’s been involved in service work since she was a young girl and volunteered at her high school’s preschool.

“I loved it. I learned so much,” she said.

“I volunteered for a program called KEEN, Kids Enjoy Exercise Now. It’s an exercise program for kids with special needs. I did that for many, many years.”

Service to the public is something that Emma plans to continue. After high school, Emma is set on going to a university to study occupational therapy.

“I want to work with autistic children,” she said.

In addition to her volunteer work, Emma took American Sign Language as a second language to prepare for university.

“I was a level two last year. I like to think that I’m trying to get involved in that community. It feels right for me,” she said. “I’ve always had an interest. They taught me when I was younger, I don’t remember much, but it just stuck with me.”

The internship took up most of her summer, but when she’s not working,

Emma said, “I hang out with my friends and relax a little bit.”

In July, Emma and the other interns headed to Washington, D.C., to join more than 200 other Student Leaders from around the country for a weeklong leadership summit where they participated in skill-building workshops, a service learning project, sessions to develop better money habits and meetings with members of congress. Since 2004, this program has supported 2,200 young people nationwide.

To learn more about Bank of America’s Corporate Social Responsibility programs and practices, visit www.bankofamerica. com/about.

Campo Verde grad wins Musicfest scholarship

BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI

As a child, Ryanne McLaren curiously looked at an “ancient little piano” at her parents’ house.

“It was super out of tune,” said Ryanne, a recent Campo Verde High School graduate. “But I asked my parents for piano lessons. I started taking lessons at 5 and really loved it from there.”

So began a longtime love affair with piano as well as other musical instruments. For her efforts, Ryanne was chosen as the 2015 Arizona Musicfest Scholarship winner. The $2,500 award will support her studies at Biola University Conservatory of Music in La Miranda, California, where she has been accepted to pursue a bachelor’s degree in performance in piano and organ.

As the scholarship recipient, she is eligible to receive annual renewals for the Arizona Musicfest Scholarship with the potential to receive $10,000 during her college years.

“It’s a huge relief,” she said of the scholarship.

To apply, the Arizona Musicfest veteran had to send three recordings of herself performing—one as an organist the others as a pianist. She was also

required to write essays about why she wanted to continue music as a career.

The organization also said she must submit a list of her extracurricular activities, service records and high school transcripts.

“It was definitely extensive, but it was worth it,” Ryanne said.

She is a talented musician who is an accomplished violinist and vocalist, performing as concert mistress for Campo Verde High School symphony and was recognized with a “superior” rating as first violinist by the AMEA.

“I try to play as many things as I can,” Ryanne said.

She years to become a collaborative pianist and the more keyboard skills she has, the more marketable she will become as a professional musician.

“Being a studio artist for movie soundtracks is a dream career,” she said.

“But I really love being a collaborative pianist.”

Ryanne has worked with several musicians who have inspired her, including John Tebay of Fullerton College; her piano teacher Dr. Tehling Chiang and her former educator Carol

“Carol Webb really got me

interested in church music and other collaborative” efforts, she said. “It really has helped me with a lot. Jazz is so much easier, knowing how to read (music).”

Ryanne has also been called an “accomplished scholar and citizen.” She was a member of the National Honor Society, student council, and the Campo Verde High School Principal’s Council, and served as a volunteer for a wide range of causes from Operation Christmas Child, Paws for a Cause and Teens for Jeans.

“I started off involved in student council and orchestra,” said Ryanne, the daughter of Michael and Kristen, and the older sister to Seth. “I auditioned for choir and I switched to doing that instead of student council. I have been super involved in choir and orchestra the entire time at Campo. I also took AP courses. Between studying and rehearsing, it was a really good mix.”

Executive director Allan Naplan said in a statement to the press that Ryanne was chosen from a high level of applicants.

“From her strong academic credits to her musical passion and accomplishments, Ryanne exemplifies

the spirit of the Musicfest Scholarship program,” he said. “We are proud to add her name to the roster of Arizona Musicfest Scholarship recipients and we wish her all the best for her studies.”