Mable Barron School

Our 8th Graders demonstrate two valuable Pioneer traits: resilience and grit! We celebrated the Promoting Class of 2024 yesterday with academic awards and some powerful words from our student speakers. It's been an honor to prepare these caring and committed students for their high school journey!

We'd like to thank all the families who celebrated start of summer with us! Over 200 Pioneers were here for our Family Picnic Day. This has been a year full of fun memories, and we look forward to making more when students return in the fall!

Kerry Klocke has been a proud member of the Mable Barron community as a parent, a PTSA leader, and as a teacher. Now, after 15 years of teaching our 2nd Graders, she will retire at the end of the school year.

As soon as she moved to our neighborhood in 1988, Mrs. Klocke realized Lincoln Unified School District was a welcoming and beneficial place for students, one that prioritized the role of parents in their children’s education. In 1990, her son enrolled in our kindergarten class. Then, in the years that followed, Mrs. Klocke enjoyed planning Mable Barron’s Family Fun Night, and as PTSA co-president with her husband, Mike.

Mrs. Klocke and her husband moved to Florida in 1993. Though she graduated college as an advertising and marketing major, Mrs. Klocke enjoyed working as a part-time preschool aide through her local church. After moving back to Stockton in 1996, she taught 1st Grade at St. George Parish School before pursuing a public school teacher’s credential in 2001. Mrs. Klocke taught 1st Grade at Stockton Unified School District for seven years before returning to Mable Barron in 2008.

When Mrs. Klocke began teaching our 2nd Graders, it felt like she’d never left Mable Barron. Mrs. Klocke loves “a-ha moments” when children are excited about realizing they’ve learned new information, and she has seen many such moments while overseeing the Experts Project. For this assignment, students read articles and gather facts to write essays and presentations about a topic of their own choosing. Mrs. Klocke believes the Experts Project is effective because children turn in better work when they’re interested in their field of study.

In addition to the Experts Project, Mrs. Klocke also loves teaching students to enjoy reading. She will miss these tasks when she retires, but looks forward to spending more time with her husband, children and grandchildren. Mrs. Klocke intends to do things she didn’t have time for as an educator, including travel.

Mrs. Klocke has this message for families: “Find those things that your student finds joy in and foster that joy.” We wish Mrs. Klocke many joyful moments in retirement, and will miss having her on campus!

Jim Peck wasn’t always planning to become a teacher, but he’s glad he did. Having taught at Mable Barron for 37 years, he considers it home in his career. After decades of teaching multiple grades and subjects, Mr. Peck will retire from our district at the end of the school year.

In 1985, Mr. Peck moved to Stockton with his wife, a Lincoln High School graduate. Mr. Peck wanted to play professional baseball, and also considered a career in culinary arts, but he soon found himself receiving a multiple subject teacher’s credential before overseeing Mable Barron’s summer school computer lab in 1988. Mr. Peck then taught 5th and 6th Grade for over a decade before structural changes led to him becoming a full-time physical education teacher for 7th and 8th Graders.

Mr. Peck loves teaching physical education because he believes students can achieve anything, and PE is a chance for them to prove that. Mr. Peck’s past experience as a baseball player gives him a unique perspective for overseeing athletics, as well as our Jump Rope for Heart program, which he helped to organize for many years. He also greatly enjoyed teaching 5th Grade English, and even wrote books alongside his students while they were taking part in the Student Author Book Fair.

Mr. Peck enjoys being an active participant in his students’ education and activities. One of his favorite parts of being a teacher is seeing former students come back to visit him. Mr. Peck also values having a personal connection with his fellow staff members. He appreciates his many opportunities to have fun and meaningful conversations with other Mable Barron teachers, some of whom he’s known for around 20 years.

Mr. Peck says he may initially be taken aback when he doesn’t return to Mable Barron this August, but he is excited to travel, spend more time with his family, and continue coaching golf for First Tee. Mr. Peck also says he will be happy to visit our school down the line to visit his former colleagues.

Mr. Peck says of the students he’s taught, “It is good to see that they go on to do great things.” We want to thank Mr. Peck for his decades of commitment to helping Pioneers achieve greatness!

Today was a great start to our last Spirit Week of the school year! The Mable Barron Lunch Bunch impressed everyone with their special shades for Sunglasses Day!

Pioneers are doing extensive research on their favorite subjects! Mrs. Klocke's 2nd Graders welcomed students and staff to the library today for a look at this year's Experts Projects. Our 2nd Graders shared fun facts about their favorite animals, sports, and even rare diamonds!

English or Spanish, fiction or nonfiction, novels or graphic novels; whatever students are looking for, they're welcome at our library! We have many new books available to check out this spring, so every Pioneer can find something that speaks to them.

Jeff Fleak has been at Mable Barron for just two weeks, but he is already enthusiastic about our school's generous staff and friendly students. We are happy to have him as our new principal!

More than a decade ago, after working in the food business industry, Mr. Fleak pivoted to a career in education. His first educational role was at Chico State University, where he taught political science. Before accepting his first administrative position, Mr. Fleak later became a Career Technical Education teacher for Lodi Unified School District. He achieved his administrative credential at Claudia Landeen School before becoming its assistant principal for the 2022-23 school year.

Mr. Fleak now leads Mable Barron in his first experience as a school principal. He enjoys being a leader since no two days are the same, and he enjoys figuring out how every student’s and staff member’s needs can be accounted for. Mr. Fleak also appreciates all his teachers and fellow administrators who have stepped in to make his transition into this role more manageable.

Outside of his office, Mr. Fleak actively engages with parents and guardians during drop-off and pickup hours in our front parking lot. He sees his job as a collective effort, and he deeply appreciates the support he has received from families so far.

Let’s continue to give Mr. Fleak a warm welcome to Mable Barron!

At their meeting this week, the Lincoln Unified Board of Trustees recognized the students who took part in this year's Science Olympiad! The following Pioneers were honored for their hard work and determination in this competition:

Rosa Bonilla
Karter Ellison
Jayce Ryder Garcia
Abigail Hovey
Aleena Nolasco
Penny Ward
Richard Tabarez
Shayne Crocker
Evalie Hill
Hudson Ritchie
Autumn Tabarez
Sophia King
Christian Ramirez
Maximiliano Rivera
Jedidiah Hovey
Marley Ward
Jovon Pierce
Prince Norton
Aria Njoroge
Rylan Takahashi
Ashleigh Lau
Jordan Leandro
Natalie Gutierrez
Emanuel Peraza Guizar
Tyler Allala
Natalia Velasquez-Ngo
Armando Jimenez
Lilo Paul Festersen
Khloe Nolasco
Alina Zarate
Lindsay Hanlon

We're so proud of our students for their teamwork and mastery of STEM skills!

How do you catch a leprechaun? Our 2nd Graders got creative with the leprechaun trap projects they brought to class today. These students were excited to show how they're making sure no one will steal their gold this St. Patrick's Day weekend!

Our Bingo for Books events are great for young readers and Pioneer parents! Last Friday, our families played bingo in the Multi-Use Room to win books for all grade levels. We appreciate all the hard work from our PTSA to make this evening possible!

You can help us provide the best educational experience for your child! The YouthTruth family survey is an opportunity to share honest and anonymous feedback about our school. We encourage families to fill out this year’s survey, which takes about 10 - 15 minutes to complete.

You may take the survey using this link: https://cep.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_doDO6HVWuWLsIXc?DEIFamily=1&gender=1&Q_JFE=qdg

There are so many ways to make a difference in our community! At our annual Career Day last week, Pioneers met with professionals from our region to learn about a wide variety of career paths. Students enjoyed speaking with medical officials, construction workers, school counselors, and many more individuals who make our city a better place!

8th Grade families are invited to Lincoln High School this Thursday! From 6 to 8 pm, students, parents and guardians can learn about the academics, athletics and clubs available at LHS. College requirements and career preparation resources will also be discussed at Open House.

Students learn about agriculture, nutrition and our community through the AgVenture program! Last Wednesday, 3rd Graders got to pet a goat and sit in the driver's seat of a San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office vehicle. We'd like to thank everyone at the county fairgrounds for giving us a warm welcome!

With just one piece of paper, you can create a boomerang, a stealth dart, and many more types of aircraft! John Collins, The Paper Airplane Guy, stopped by our Multi-Use Room on Friday to show ASES students how to make their very own paper planes. Our Pioneers had so much fun seeing aerodynamics and turbulence in action!

We hope you are all having a wonderful Winter Break! Earlier this month, Pioneers visited our "Lil' Shopper's Shoppe" to buy thoughtful gifts for important people in their lives. These are some of the many items our PTSA provided!

Pioneers had delicious food and fun times at our first ever Holiday Posada! Mable Barron's English Learner Advisory Committee hosted this event where families could enjoy tasty tamales, games and a photo booth.

We'd like to thank our ELAC and everyone who stopped by to ring in the holidays with us! ̃a2023

What is agriculture? Pioneers learned this from the Seed Survivor program yesterday. Our visitors taught students where many essential crops grow and helped them to start raising plants of their own. There were also stations where students could dig for shark teeth and study the water cycle in action!

Thank you to Nutrien for sharing resources to help our Pioneers learn about the environment!

Mr. Herrera teaches art to our 7th and 8th Graders! His students recently finished drawing portraits of themselves, friends and family. These portraits were a way for both beginning and experienced artists to recall fond memories while practicing techniques like shadowing!

Mrs. Maravillas helps our students get the help they need to feel supported at school and at home. We thank her providing such essential services for Pioneer families!

We are thankful for our school psychologists who make sure every student is given the support they need. One of these dedicated staff members is Andrea Maravillas, a school psychologist at Don Riggio School and Mable Barron School!

Mrs. Maravillas first joined Lincoln Unified in 2014, when she became a Title I paraprofessional for our district. She pursued a graduate school degree in school psychology after realizing she wanted to work with children who have special needs such as her younger sister, who lives with Down Syndrome. After achieving her graduate school degree, Mrs. Maravillas returned to Lincoln Unified to help identify students with disabilities and inform parents about the care and resources their children may receive.

This is Mrs. Maravillas’ 7th year as a school psychologist for our district. She has spent over half a decade addressing the challenges our students face, which include behavioral and mental health related issues along with reading and math comprehension. Mrs. Maravillas works closely with families, teachers and administrators to understand each student better. After completing an evaluation of a student, Mrs. Maravillas and the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) team may recommend special education services if further intervention proves to be necessary.

Mrs. Maravillas wants families and community members to understand that special education is not a quick and easy process; it is a multi-step process that requires time and collaboration between many people. Her job requires her to engage in conversations with parents from a variety of backgrounds, to help determine the best course of action to help students succeed. Mrs. Maravillas says it is important for any psychologist to speak with multiple staff members who have worked with a student, so they can all come up with the proper solutions to address areas of need.

Though school psychologists face many challenging and complex situations in their line of work, Mrs. Maravillas says those challenges are worth it due to all the student success stories she gets to witness. She finds it fulfilling to help strengthen home, school and community relationships for families throughout our district.

This National School Psychology Week, Mrs. Maravillas is reflecting on the National Association of School Psychologists' 2023 theme: “Let’s Grow Together.” In keeping with this message, Mrs. Maravillas aims to help Lincoln Unified families celebrate each student’s uniqueness and strengths while recognizing diversity, inclusivity and growth for everyone at our schools.

Thank you for all you do, Mrs. Maravillas!

Today was a great day to be a Pioneer! Students wore colorful and creative costumes as they took part in a morning parade and classroom celebrations. Here are Mrs. Johnson's TK students enjoying activities like coloring and face painting!

was a great way to kick off the weekend for Pioneers of all ages! Our staff loved seeing so many students in creative costumes enjoying activities like Ghost Toss and rock climbing last Friday. We want to thank all the Pioneer parents who made this possible!

We're so proud of the Pioneers who won LUSD's Attendance Awareness contest! Students submitted Flip videos explaining why attending school every day matters. Congratulations to winners Ashley Lau (4th Grade) and Delilah Sandoval (7th Grade) for inspiring us with their messages!

Family Fun Night is back at Mable Barron this week! We hope to see Pioneer families this Friday, October 20.

If you'd like to volunteer, there's still time! You can use the QR code in this graphic.

Mable Barron students and staff had a fantastic Hispanic Heritage Month! Last Friday, we hosted our first ever Assembly, which included a dance by 3rd Grader Valeria Acosta Sanchez and a performance from Cesar Chavez High School SUSD's Mariachi band!

We have been celebrating success stories this Hispanic Heritage Month! Before Fall Break, art and books representing Spanish-speaking trailblazers were put on display in our hallway and library.

There's a book for everyone at our Scholastic Book Fair! Students have been browsing and purchasing picture books, chapter books, and graphic novels, along with a variety of posters and other fun items to take home.

The last day of our Book Fair is Friday, September 15. Thank you to all the Pioneers who have supported us by visiting the library and buying books this week!