Varsity Girls' Basketball Recognized
Players receive well-deserved praise for their work on and off the basketball court.
By Ezekiel McClintock
Players receive well-deserved praise for their work on and off the basketball court.
By Ezekiel McClintock
Although Cal-Hi Sports regularly recognizes the accomplishments and strong seasons of high school teams in the Bay Area, they recently shone their spotlight on a few hard working members of the girls' varsity basketball community here at Pioneer.
Varsity player Clara Chardos, 9, was honored with the Lexus Volunteer Award for the week of Jan. 8, which recognizes young athletes who donate their time to good work and make a positive impact within their community. In addition, chemistry teacher Laura Bald, who has a daughter on the team, was nominated for the Meriwest Credit Union "Giving Credit" award by junior player Madi Fujii.
"I feel very happy to be receiving this award because volunteering means a lot to me and I love to give back to my community," said Chardos.
Chardos traveled to Texas this past summer to volunteer with her local church. The goal was to help rebuild homes damaged by natural disasters in impoverished areas of the state that had limited access to assistance. Many students begin their volunteering journey in their sophomore year due to the requirements of the Sophomore Project, but Chardos’ initiative has given her a head start and motivation to help those in need.
"I want to continue volunteering all throughout high school and college and become the change I want to see in the world," said Chardos.
Volunteering while juggling school work, extracurricular activities and family life can be difficult, but Chardos has shown that she can manage her responsibilities.
"I like to manage my time by primarily volunteering on the weekends or during vacations so I can have a good balance of school and volunteering," said Chardos.
As a freshman, Chardos has three more years of her high school career to put to use, and already has future plans about how to continue her volunteer work.
"Over the summer I hope to take a trip to Nicaragua with a group from my church and help bring fresh water to poor villages," said Chardos.
The "Giving Credit" award which Fujii nominated Bald for encourages students to give credit to teachers who they think have made a positive impact on their school communities.
"She is a really supportive teacher who is always willing and ready to help her students," said Fujii.
According to Fujii, the class support Bald provides wholeheartedly makes up for the demand of the subject, one of the most difficult AP classes available at Pioneer.
"AP Chemistry is known for being a challenging class but Mrs. Bald makes it a fun and interesting class instead of a stressful one," said Fujii.
Bald was surprised to receive the nomination, but is honored and pleased that her students view her in such a positive light.
"We still learn chemistry but we have fun along the way," said Bald. "We get sidetracked in mini conversations sometimes (but) it adds humor to the class.”
Teachers' main jobs are to manage and monitor student learning, but Fujii agrees that sometimes a little icebreaker or a geography game is nice to spice up the class a little.
"Mrs. Bald creates a fun and comfortable learning environment in the class which, I think, isn't always the case," said Fujii.
Varsity player Clara Chardos, 9, was honored with the Lexus Volunteer Award for the week of Jan. 8, which recognizes young athletes who donate their time to good work and make a positive impact within their community. In addition, chemistry teacher Laura Bald, who has a daughter on the team, was nominated for the Meriwest Credit Union "Giving Credit" award by junior player Madi Fujii.
"I feel very happy to be receiving this award because volunteering means a lot to me and I love to give back to my community," said Chardos.
Chardos traveled to Texas this past summer to volunteer with her local church. The goal was to help rebuild homes damaged by natural disasters in impoverished areas of the state that had limited access to assistance. Many students begin their volunteering journey in their sophomore year due to the requirements of the Sophomore Project, but Chardos’ initiative has given her a head start and motivation to help those in need.
"I want to continue volunteering all throughout high school and college and become the change I want to see in the world," said Chardos.
Volunteering while juggling school work, extracurricular activities and family life can be difficult, but Chardos has shown that she can manage her responsibilities.
"I like to manage my time by primarily volunteering on the weekends or during vacations so I can have a good balance of school and volunteering," said Chardos.
As a freshman, Chardos has three more years of her high school career to put to use, and already has future plans about how to continue her volunteer work.
"Over the summer I hope to take a trip to Nicaragua with a group from my church and help bring fresh water to poor villages," said Chardos.
The "Giving Credit" award which Fujii nominated Bald for encourages students to give credit to teachers who they think have made a positive impact on their school communities.
"She is a really supportive teacher who is always willing and ready to help her students," said Fujii.
According to Fujii, the class support Bald provides wholeheartedly makes up for the demand of the subject, one of the most difficult AP classes available at Pioneer.
"AP Chemistry is known for being a challenging class but Mrs. Bald makes it a fun and interesting class instead of a stressful one," said Fujii.
Bald was surprised to receive the nomination, but is honored and pleased that her students view her in such a positive light.
"We still learn chemistry but we have fun along the way," said Bald. "We get sidetracked in mini conversations sometimes (but) it adds humor to the class.”
Teachers' main jobs are to manage and monitor student learning, but Fujii agrees that sometimes a little icebreaker or a geography game is nice to spice up the class a little.
"Mrs. Bald creates a fun and comfortable learning environment in the class which, I think, isn't always the case," said Fujii.