Hi everyone. I hope you are all doing really well. Today I would like to tell you about a most special night. Thursday evening, May 8, I had the great pleasure of attending the 57th annual senior scholarship awards night at our Oakdale High School. What a special evening it was. It was amazing to see and hear the love that our Oakdale High School staff has for each of our students. Each student received a huge round of applause as they accepted their scholarships and awards. A very special part of the evening was the presence of Mr. and Mrs. Bordona. The Bordonas have worked so hard to make sure scholarship night will always continue. During the evening 195 students received scholarships for a total of $383,900.

Our Valley Home School Parent Teacher Club awarded scholarships to several students who attended and graduated from Valley Home. Those students will now graduate from Oakdale High School. Every scholarship given was equally important in our young people’s lives. Our students deeply appreciated each scholarship and every award they received. For us here in Valley Home the Mark Dickens baseball and math scholarships bring back very fond memories of this great man. Mark was raised in Valley Home along with his brothers Brian, Keith and Kevin. The four Dickens boys were born to hard-working and highly respected parents in Valley Home, Kathy and Marcel Dickens. Mark was the beloved husband of Mila Dickens and the beloved dad to Soren and Eriksen Dickens. The Dickens family have made sure that Mark’s memory is forever honored at Oakdale High School. The Mark Dickens scholarships are highly sought after and deeply cherished by those receiving them. We would like to send a huge “Thank You” to every person who made this amazing night a reality. The Mustang spirit is alive and well in Oakdale.

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This past week has been a busy one in Valley Home. Our eighth graders took a trip to the ocean. They had a blast on the boardwalk in Santa Cruz! A special “Thank You” to our Parent Teacher Club. The eighth graders left Valley Home very, very early and did not return until very, very late … what fun they had.

Friday evening, May 9 our older Valley Home classes were invited to dress up Hollywood style for the final dance of the year. They looked absolutely amazing. It was a special night with even a few tears. For some they will not be going on to Oakdale High; they will go to Escalon or other high schools. This was truly a special night.

On Saturday, May 10 our community came together for Love Valley Home. It was a great day with wonderful results. The Texas Avenue campus had a big surprise for our students when they arrived Monday morning. Thank you to each of you who came out and worked so hard. You made a huge difference. We offer a special “Thank You” to our County Supervisor Buck Condit who made sure we had two huge dumpsters for our community’s use on Saturday.

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As always you may reach me by email at winniemullins51@gmail.com or by telephone at 209-985-5233.

Until next time, “Happy Trails to All!”