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PLANET PARTY ROCKS
2,000 plus 6th graders learn about environment
MUSD PLANET PARTY DAY3 4-23-16
City of Mantecas Rexie LeStrange and Jeremy Kline, center, help lead a catalytic reaction experiment with soda and pop rocks with Brock Elliott School students in sixth grade teacher Kellie Fullmers class as part of the Manteca Unified Planet Party Day. - photo by HIME ROMERO/The Bulletin

Planet Party Day offered up some mixed blessing on Friday.

Heavy rains and some winds put a damper on some of the festivities for some 2,000 sixth-grade students of the Manteca Unified School District.

“I think the kids still had a lot of fun,” said Patty Page, who is the Director of Nutrition Education and organizer of this sixth annual event held on the MUSD complex.

Still, 36 vendors and 500 volunteers ranging from high school students to chaperons were on hand to make Planet Party Day a memorable one for youngsters.

Students learned about clean air and water, recycling and conservation, energy and green innovations.

What’s more, Planet Party Day fulfilled their Common Core standards, taking care of the environment-based science necessary for all sixth-grade students.

Prior to the wet weather, students had to tour the school farm and the MUSD be.tech Charter Academies – included here are the be.cuisine, be.industrial, be.first and be.next programs.

Organizers planned ahead for Planet Party Day.

“We’ll look at the weather beforehand,” said Page. “We’re hoping that it’s not that 110 degree heat.”

She wasn’t anticipating the rain.

“It only hit hard during the last hour and a half – besides, we need the rain,” Page said.

Fitting since the event emphasizes on water conservation and the use of natural resources.

The vendors included South San Joaquin Irrigation District, City of Lathrop, City of Manteca, to name a few.

They were again positioned underneath the solar panels – a commitment to the district on use of natural resources, according Superintendent Jason Messer – in the complex parking lot.

The Gen7 Zero Net Energy facility is another of MUSD’s commitment to green.

 

To contact reporter Vince Rembulat, e-mail vrembulat@mantecabulletin.com.