DECEMBER 2019
EOPS in Petaluma gains much-needed assistance with the addition of Montellanos Diaz & Gachet
You may have already noticed that Petaluma EOPS has two new members of the team, housed in Our House Intercultural Center: Samantha Montellanos Diaz & Gabriela Gachet.
Samantha, who is a very familiar face at SRJC Petaluma, is filling the counseling role previously held by Ea Edwards (who secured a full-time counseling job at another college). Samantha has years of experience at SRJC Petaluma as student, staff, and counselor. She has met many of the Petaluma faculty and staff in recent years working with EOPS, Puente, and the Our House Learning Community. She works in the Petaluma EOPS office on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Gabriela is interning with Vince Hamilton this year, serving both EOPS and general Counseling students. She is also an SRJC graduate who is currently completing her Counseling Master’s Degree at San Francisco State University. She will be working closely with Vince this year and will be playing a supporting role in many of the counseling/EOPS meetings and activities that occur. Gabby will typically be on campus Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. You may occasionally see her working on her laptop in the conference room. Stop by and say hello.
Friends of Petaluma Campus Trust tour the campus
The Friends of Petaluma Campus Trust have been ambassadors and advocates for the Petaluma campus for over two decades now. Not only do they raise awareness of what the Petaluma campus has to offer the community, they also raise funds to support various activities and initiatives of the campus. They also host the June Building Community Breakfast held annually in the Fitness Center.
At their November meeting, participants in the Friends took a tour of the new facilities, including the newly outfitted Veterinary Tech Lab. You can find more information on the friends at the website: https://petaluma.santarosa.edu/friends-petaluma-campus-trust
November is self-care month at the Petaluma Student Success Center
The Center will be hosting many workshops to help students with self-care and dealing with stress. Success coaches help students develop the skills to push through to the end of the semester.
The Career Education Student Success Team will also be hosting workshops designed to enhance soft skills and get students ready to turn their education into a career. Check out our great lineup of workshops in the flyer to the right. Join the Success Center for this month's events in room Call 690 to strengthen your Self-Care and Career Readiness skills.
Career Education Student Success Team hosts "Developing a Problem Solving Mindset" workshop
The Career Education (CE) Student Success Team hosted a Developing a Problem Solving Mindset Workshop on Monday, October 21st from 5-6pm as part of their CE Skills Success Series. Eight (8) students participated in this workshop, including four (4) students enrolled in Work Experience courses who were fulfilling course requirements by attending. For many of the workshop participants, it was their first time on the Petaluma campus. The CE Skills Success workshop series will continue throughout the semester, helping students develop and enhance their soft skills and increase their career readiness.
Petaluma Student Success Team hosts midterm prep event
At the end of October, the Petaluma Student Success Team hosted their Midterm Prep event. 103 students met with a Student Success Coach over 2 days to check in on their semester, set goals, learn strategies for success on their midterms, and enjoy some pizza in the Student Success Center.
Petaluma Tutorial Center keeps up its increasing pace
The Tutorial Center has been bustling this semester. Students entering the Center primarily need assistance in Math, Science, and Writing. The chart below shows the students from academic areas that most utilized tutorials services during the month of September 2019.
LumaFest 2019: Culture + Education = Fun!
On October 19th, SRJC Petaluma hosted it's fifth annual LumaFest, Open House and Educational Fair. The entertainment line-up featured Petaluma's own Ballet Folklorico, Danza Azteca Ohtli Yolilztli, and a Sonoma County local Mariachi band - Clave Trebol.
Other popular activities included over 50 crafts & vendor booths, dia de los Muertos sugar skull painting, puzzle rooms, a jumpy house, and a visit from North Bay Animal Services - Cuddle Shuttle!
The new Vet Tech Lab Open House contributed a large part in the success of this year's LumaFest. Dr. Dan Famini and team held the first Vet Tech Lab open house and featured several demonstrations including: Exotic Animals by Safari Encounters, Guess the Species, A veterinary X-ray exploration and Selfie with a Sloth. This was so well attended, this will definitely be part of the program for future LumaFests!
The Chemistry Magic Show was also a big hit, and children were excited about making slime, and getting involved in other magical experiments.
SMART station at Corona Road hits roadblocks
an excerpt from the Argus Courier, November 14, 2019
A development project linked to Petaluma’s second SMART station failed to receive support from Planning Commission members Tuesday, forcing city staff and the developer to regroup and attempt to appease commissioners’ concerns next week.The 6.5-acre proposed project on the corner of Corona Road and North McDowell Boulevard sits next to the SMART rail corridor alongside the long-proposed east Petaluma station. The developer proposed to erect 110 single-family homes, both detached and attached units, and each home would include a two-car garage and small front patio area.Developer Lomas Partners entered into an agreement with the SMART rail agency to give them a 1.27-acre portion of the property for construction of a 150-space parking lot that would serve the future station. In return, Lomas Partners is to purchase and develop the D Street lot behind the downtown SMART station, a deal giving the rail agency both revenue and parking space required for the station to move forward.The result is a complex agreement tying two development projects with the future of the second station. It also forces the city to wade into a private agreement struck between the rail agency and developer.Concerns from both citizens and commissioners centered on the project’s single-family unit design, its lack of retail opportunities, safety and traffic concerns and over whether the project incentivizes vehicle-based transportation.While the project’s design elicited repeated criticism, several members also expressed frustration over feeling unable to make a determination on the project without also making a decision on the station at the same time.“Now you’re putting the proverbial gun to our head to approve this, which isn’t fair to anyone here, it’s not fair to the public that came out and sat here for three and a half hours,” said Commission Chair Scott Alonso, addressing Lomas Partners representative Todd Kurtin. “We don’t want to be held hostage.”The city has made no secret of their desire to see the east Petaluma SMART station built, incorporating the proposed station into Petaluma’s 2013 Master Plan. However, the agreement reached between the rail agency and the developer after years of negotiations resulted in a project proposal that commissioners have so far rejected, despite its promise to pave the way for the second station.“This is kind of one of those projects that doesn’t fit anyone’s desires, every part of this project has one problem with one group or the other,” said Commissioner Diana Gomez.
Student Research Conference
Friday, December 6, 2019, 10am - 12pm
Kat Lewis's Annual Holiday Craft Fait
Tuesday, December 10th, 11am - 2pm
PC 602
Stress-Free Holiday Shopping