Presidio trip – a Peace Pole and more in Petaluma School District – Petaluma – California-USA

May 1, 2024

Here is the latest update from around the Petaluma schools community.

May peace prevail: San Antonio High School and Valley Oaks became one of 221 schools in Sonoma County to install a Peace Pole on their shared campus on May 1. The Peace Pole is engraved with the message, “May Peace Prevail On Earth” in eight languages.

During the installation ceremony, Fred Ptucha from Veterans for Peace spoke about the importance of kindness, Mayor Kevin McDonnell unveiled the Peace Pole, and Eliza Bell, a Valley Oaks student, sang “Imagine” by John Lennon. Valley Oaks teacher Karen Kesseru managed the project for the two schools.

Lessons on the Holocaust: On May 2, speakers from the Alliance for the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide, which is affiliated with Sonoma State University, came to Mrs. Lounibos’s three World History classes at Petaluma High School.

For years now, Rena Victor, accompanied by her daughter, retired SSU professor Susan Victor, has presented Rena’s survival story to classes when they learn about totalitarianism, World War II, and the Holocaust. Rena survived the Holocaust as a young girl living and hiding in Germany with her mother and sisters. The mother-daughter team even made a video and presented it via Zoom during the COVID distance-learning years of school.

This year, Rabbi Shalom Bochner of Petaluma’s B’nai Israel Jewish Center joined the presentation and shared the story of his stepfather’s and father’s survival, according to Lounibos. Both families lost many loved ones in the Holocaust. “Having Holocaust speakers visit our schools helps to reinforce our positive, shared community values. I feel lucky to have had these amazing speakers visit my classes,” Lounibos said.

Outdoor reading area: In March, Petaluma Valley Rotary Club started work on renovating the outdoor reading area at Loma Vista Dual Immersion Academy. By the time the volunteer group is done with this project, the weeds will be gone, the planter boxes will be turned into work tables, and there will be bark put down to prevent the weeds from growing again.

Stage one of the project was removing metal edging and converting the boxes to tables. Stage two took place last week as the service club members sanded and repaired benches and other items in preparation for the unveiling of this exciting project to nurture a love for reading, benefiting the students at Loma Vista.