by Trever Jobinger
Minarets High School can’t say thank you enough for the generous grant donated by the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians. Almost exactly a year after the closure of Minarets due to COVID, Minarets students are hoping to return to campus to finish out the school year. It will not be the school setting that they left; instead, it will be a hybrid two-days-a-week learning model. Thankfully, due to the generosity of those at the North Fork Rancheria partnering with Minarets, the campus has been equipped with an enormous amount of safety items that will make it possible to ensure that students will be thoroughly protected as they return to the school.
“The North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians wanted to demonstrate their commitment to students in our community and help us make sure that we can do everything possible to keep the learning alive,” explained Dr. Daniel Ching, principal of Minarets. The funds provided by the North Fork Rancheria, via the Minarets Foundation, was used to purchase new tools and resources for Minarets students and staff.
The list of purchases made included but were not limited to:
Additional technology for teachers to provide distance learning
A Fitness Center classroom to provide additional space for PE classes and athletics to better ensure social distancing
Additional touchless drinking fountains for students to get water in a sanitized manner
Mobile standing desks so students can distance and position themselves in the classroom appropriately
Additional protective equipment for students and staff
Online resources to conduct project-based learning through distance learning such as licenses to Adobe Photoshop for art and media courses
Purchases made with the grant money are being made with the assumption that students are still set to return in late March, a possibility that both students and staff are sincerely hoping for.