Safe-Driving Video Wins Two Awards in National Competition, Students Will Receive $12,500 and Behind-the-Scenes Trip to Velocity Network Show Taping

Silver Spring, Md. (May 11, 2015) – Toyota and Discovery Education announced today that  Jordan Bjorklund, Daniel Harte, Joseph Salazar and Karina Vazquez – students at Antioch Unified School District’s Deer Valley High School– triumphed over 1,000 entrants from across the country to be named winners in the annual Toyota TeenDrive365 Video Challenge. The four teens from Antioch created a video on the importance of driving safety which has won both third place and the People’s Choice Award in this national competition.

Now in its fourth year, the Toyota TeenDrive365 Video Challenge, a key component of an ongoing partnership between Toyota and Discovery Education, invited teens across the country to create short videos to inspire their friends to drive more safely and avoid risky behavior behind the wheel.

The team from Antioch was chosen as third place winners by a panel of judges at Toyota and Discovery Education, netting them a prize of $7,500. In addition, the students’ video was named the ‘People’s Choice Winner’ through an online public vote, garnering them an additional $5,000 cash prize and a behind-the-scenes trip to a taping of a Velocity network show. You can view their winning video here.

“We loved how this PSA addressed driving safety with creativity and a clear-eyed view of the distractions that face drivers of all ages,” said Michael Rouse, president of the Toyota USA Foundation. “We offer the team our heartfelt congratulations and are proud to help share their vision for encouraging other teens to drive more safely.”

“The TeenDrive365 initiative addresses the need to keep students safe on the road by providing engaging digital resources and experiences that encourage smart choices behind the wheel,” said Bill Goodwyn, President and CEO, Discovery Education. “We are honored to stand alongside Toyota in congratulating Jordan, Daniel, Joseph and Karina and the rest of this year’s winners for their creativity, innovative thinking, and dedication to positively influencing the behavior of their peers.”

The Toyota TeenDrive365 Video Challenge, which was recently named a winner in the annual Communitas Awards, is one component of Toyota and Discovery Education’s TeenDrive365: In School initiative, a comprehensive program offering a range of tools designed specifically for school educators and teens.

The program is part of TeenDrive365 (www.teendrive365.com), Toyota’s comprehensive initiative to help parents model safer driving behaviors for their children. Building on the programs and resources Toyota has offered for more than a decade, the program offers a collection of online tools, events, expert advice and tips as well as social media elements.

About Toyota

Toyota, the world’s top automaker and creator of the Prius, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through its Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands.  Over the past 50 years, Toyota has built more than 25 million cars and trucks in North America, where it operates 14 manufacturing plants and directly employs more than 40,000 people.  The company’s 1,800 North American dealerships sold more than 2.67 million cars and trucks in 2014 – and about 80 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 20 years are still on the road today.  Toyota partners with philanthropic organizations across the country, with a focus on education, safety and the environment. To date, Toyota has contributed more than $700 million to American nonprofit groups. For more information about Toyota, visit Toyota.com/USA.

About Discovery Education

Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-based digital content and professional development for K-12, transforming teaching and learning with award-winning digital textbooks, multimedia content that supports the implementation of Common Core, professional development, assessment tools, and the largest professional learning community of its kind.  Available in over half of all U.S. schools and primary schools in England, community colleges and in 50 countries around the world, Discovery Education partners with districts, states and like-minded organizations to captivate students, empower teachers, and transform classrooms with customized solutions that accelerate academic achievement. Discovery Education is powered by Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the number one nonfiction media company in the world. Explore the future of education at www.discoveryeducation.com.

Contra Costa County Supervisor Federal Glover’s Youth Summit is this Saturday, May 9th at Pittsburg High School in Pittsburg from 8-4.

Join KMEL Lady Ray and our keynote Speaker Shaun Derik for an amazing day. Workshops will be offered to help the youth find jobs, improving relationships, CPR, leadership, making a difference, having a healthier lifestyle, and video/photography skills are also available. Free breakfast and lunch will be provided, along with airbrush tattoos and manicures. Come see the latest Dance Offs as all Middle through high school students are welcome. You may qualify to receive an All summer Tri DeltaTransit bus pass by just showing up. Again, It’s all FREE. Visit D5YouthSummit.com for more information!

Glover represents District 5 on the Board of Supervisors, which includes a portion of Antioch.

Katia Williams

By John Crowder

Katia Williams, a 17-year-old senior at Deer Valley High School, who is an Advanced Placement (AP) scholar and ranks in the top 1% of her class, was recently named as a recipient of a National Achievement Scholarship.

The National Achievement Scholarship Program, part of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, was established as an academic competition in 1964. It provides recognition for outstanding Black American high school students. Students qualify for the program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). More than 160,000 competed for the award last year, and Katia was one of only 700 students across the nation to receive one of the $2500 scholarships awarded.

The prestigious award is only one of several that Katia has garnered for her academic endeavors as far back as her fourth grade year, when she won the school spelling bee at Jack London Elementary School and went on to reach the semifinals in the Contra Costa County Spelling Bee.

Since then, her awards have extended beyond academics. Through the years she has received numerous awards at the Contra Costa County Fair for her creative writing. Katia also sings with the Deer Valley High Show Choir and dances with the high school’s Dance Crew.

More recently, Katia and her science partner, who are both taking AP Calculus AB and AP Physics this year, placed third in the Contra Costa County Science and Engineering Fair, for their project, “Simple Calculus: The Transformation of an Oxymoron into a Reality.” The project, entered in the Math and Computer Science Category, was selected to advance to the California State Science Fair. Established in 1952, the fair will be hosted this year at the California Science Center in Los Angeles on May 18 and 19. Katia will be one of over 1,000 students competing for over $50,000 in prize money at the event.

Katia does not spend all her time on academic pursuits and art competitions, however. Last August, she traveled to Honduras on a mission trip and helped build seven homes, distributed food to the poor, and assisted in a medical clinic. She is also a camp counselor for underprivileged children and children from foster care. This last Easter, she could be found at Shepherd’s Gate, a shelter for battered women and children, serving a traditional Easter meal.

Katia has applied to, and been accepted at, all four of the University of California schools to which she sent an application; no surprise given her list of accomplishments and her 2060 SAT score (which places her in approximately the 97^th percentile of all students taking the test). Her plan is to attend either UC Berkeley of UCLA in the fall, and to major in Statistics. She would like to pursue a career in Data Science.

While she may not have settled on a choice of school, one thing is certain: Katia will continue to achieve success wherever she goes, and DVHS can take pride in this soon-to-be alumna.

Dallas Ranch Middle School Boys and Girls 2015 Tournament Champion soccer teams. Photo by Michael Pohl.

By Luke Johnson

Dallas Ranch Middle School dominated in the Antioch Unified School District Soccer Tournament. In the championship matches, the girls defeated Antioch Middle 7-0, while the boys succeeded Black Diamond Middle 4-0, on Saturday, March 21st.

In five matches of the tournament (four round robin and one final), the Aviators boys and girls only allowed their opponents to score one goal each. They were led defensively by keepers Bryan Cruz (27 saves) and Juana Mendoza (22 saves). Cruz is one of the top ranked goalies in California among all 8th graders, according to coach Conrad Diaz.

Eli Orocio on his way to score one of his three goals. Photo by Michael Pohl.

Offensively the girls were boosted by Sarah Figueroa and Tatiana Elsea, who had seven goals and five assists apiece; while the boys were propelled by Elias Orocio and Gustavo Perez, who both had three goals and three assists. Figueroa performed a hat-trick by scoring four of her goals in the championship match. Overall DRMS outscored its opponents 19-1 for the girls and 12-1 for the boys.

Diaz, who coaches both teams and just won his first championship in his three-year tenure, said the biggest victory this season did not happen on the field but in the classroom. Earlier in the school year, six players had a 0.5 GPA and were ineligible. But all of them found encouragement in playing soccer and brought up their grades to over a 2.0, some over 2.5, to compete this season.

“This school was blessed with good players,” Diaz said. “They were enthusiastic about getting their grades up, and they were self-motivated… That is my success story; not the trophies. The trophies are great, and all that, but getting those six students to realize that academics are first, and that’s their future.”

Eddy Crowder outside of the County Spelling Bee.

By John Crowder

Students representing 120 schools from throughout Contra Costa County came together to compete at the 39th Annual Contra Costa County Spelling Bee sponsored by the Contra Costa Times, on Saturday, March 21, 2015. Antioch was well-represented at the event, as students from elementary and middle schools in the city, both public and private, vied for the top prize, an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. to compete at the Scripps National Spelling Bee to be held in late May.

Two of the young spellers attending Antioch schools, Eddy Crowder (this writer’s son) and Cassidy Derita, made it to the second round in the written competition. Although both were ultimately thwarted from reaching their goal of advancing to the national level, each expressed their excitement and desire to continue competing in the future.

Eddy, an 11-year-old 6th grader who attends Paideia Academy, comes from a family of spelling bee participants. One of his uncles was a second-place finisher in a state spelling bee, and other uncles and aunts had also reached the state level. This was the second year that Eddy had competed at the county level, and he placed 36th in the contest, going out on the word, facetious.

Asked about his experience, Eddy said, “It was scary and exciting. I like spelling, because I like learning the new words.”

Eddy, whose hobbies include reading, Pokemon, and building with LEGO blocks, plans to continue studying and compete again next year. After college, he hopes to become a video game designer or a teacher (following in the footsteps of his mother and father).

Cassidy Derita, a 5^th grader from Marsh elementary, and daughter of Krishanna and Kurt Derita, also has spellers in the family.

Cassidy Derita at the County Spelling Bee.

“My older brother was in the spelling bee when he was my age,” she said. “My family gave me the confidence.” They inspired her to take up the spelling challenge.

Cassidy ultimately finished 55th in the bee, a strong showing in her first attempt at the county level. She went out on the word, rhinoceros.

When asked about her experience, Cassidy described it as, “challenging.”

“I studied with my parents and grandparents every night!” she said.

Like Eddy, Cassidy is planning to study and participate again, next year. Cassidy’s hobbies include reading, playing games, and bowling. Her near-term goal is to make it to the National Spelling Bee, and, after college, she hopes to be a veterinarian.

Given the strong work ethic these two, and many others in our local community display, Antioch will surely be represented with distinction at the County Bee next year, and in years to come.

Kapri Geenaert and family at the Warriors game, Thursday night, April 9, 2015. From L – Shawn, Kailey, Kenadie and Kapri Geenaert with family member Aiden. photo by F.D. Purcell

Attends game during NBA’s Hoops for St. Jude Week

By F.D.Purcell

Many fans show up to Golden State Warriors‘ games early, in hopes of shaking hands or getting a photo op with their favorite player and this past Thursday was no different. Except this time the roles were reversed; Warriors players shook hands and took photos with someone sitting courtside near their bench.

Kapri and family meet the Warriors’ Stephen Curry and St. Jude NBA Ambassador David Lee. Photo by F.D. Purcell

That person would be six year-old Santa Rosa resident Kapri Geernaert. Chosen to attend Thursday’s game, as a part of the NBA’s Hoops for St. Jude Week, April 3rdthrough 9th, Geernaert met with Warriors players and St. Jude Children‘s Hospital Ambassador David Lee, who visited St. Jude last month in Memphis and donated $75,000 to help support their lifesaving work.

Geernaert is one of 250 to 500 children in the U.S. daignosed yearly with a cancerous tumor called Medulloblastoma, which accounts for 20% of all childhood brain tumors in our country.

Last June, after months of battling flu-like symptoms Kapri’s illness would come to a head. While riding in the car with her mother, Becki she suffered a seizure and the Geernaerts would receive the news that no parent should ever have to hear, their five year-old daughter had a brain tumor.

“The past year has been crazy, a lot of anxiety,” said her father Shawn. Doctors would eventually find multiple tumors peppered throughout her spine and brain areas, one the size of a walnut on her brain that was removed. The others were smaller and did not require removal.

Sitting with her big sisters, 11 year-old Kenadie and nine year-old Kailey and 11 year-old cousin Aiden, the Geernaert girls describe their little sister as “funny” and “cute,” who “likes to do crazy things.” They kept Kapri’s spirit happy by giving her candy, when they visited.

While their mom stayed with Kapri in Memphis her sisters helped their dad out, by helping with laundry and dishes, at their home in Santa Rosa.

“We love St. Jude, it’s a home away from home,” said Becki who was not in attendance Thursday but face-timed with Shawn, becoming emotional when she saw Kapri’s interaction with the players.

Donning a Warriors cap and personalized jersey with her name on the back the soft-spoken first grader told Sports in the Bay she enjoys doing crafts and her favorite player was “#30,” because she “likes the way he shoots.” For those of you living under a rock this season that would be two-time all-star and MVP candidate Stephen Curry.

The Geernaerts credit their faith and church, Spring Hills Church in Santa Rosa, for providing a wealth of support over the past nine months, along with a host of family and friends who held fund raising events and offered words of prayer and encouragement.

After seven rounds of chemotherapy, five weeks of radiation and a nine-month residence in Memphis, Kapri returned home a few weeks ago and is adjusting well. She enjoys visiting her classmates daily and is excited about returning to school in the fall.

“I would encourage people to give $5 or $10, anything to St. Jude because it‘s going to a great cause,” said Becki whose husband was a long-time contributor to St. Jude before Kapri’s diagnosis.

Learn more about Kapri on her Facebook page: Kapri Geernaert.

Follow F.D. Purcell on Twitter: @sportsinthebay_ or on Facebook at: Sports in the Bay