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December Students of the Month honored at home

FALLBROOK – Fallbrook Union High School District Students of the Month were announced in early December with another caravan drive-by celebration to the four students' homes.

Administrators and teachers, community representatives, and Student of the Month Committee members all greeted the students and their families with yard signs, balloons, and short speeches, praising the students and their accomplishments.

Everyone looks forward to the traditional monthly breakfasts, when students are "normally" honored, but because large gatherings are not possible right now, the committee is still making sure the students can be recognized for their well-deserved achievements.

The December 2020 Students of the Month are Grace Bell, Vividiana Estrella and Paige Mansell – all seniors at Fallbrook Union High School – and Daniel Sanchez, a senior at Oasis High School.

Grace Bell, nominated by science teacher Marin Pinnell, said she loves attending FUHS because of its fine teachers and all that she has learned from them, the array of classes offered, and the wonderful friends she has made during the past four years.

With a current 4.5 grade point average, Bell takes Advanced Placement classes and also participates in a range of activities that include playing on the school's varsity volleyball team and taking karate for the past 12 years, earning a black belt.

Additionally, in ninth grade, Bell applied, interviewed, and was selected to be a member of the San Diego Conservation Corps of high school students, who meet with the San Diego Zoological Society; during the past year, the group has continued to meet virtually and learn about environmental conservation and how to apply their learning to our outdoor world. Through this group, she has participated in beach clean-ups, hawk watching, planting at the Safari Park and the San Diego Zoo.

With the desire to grow in her community, Bell has been active in Girl Scouts since she was a Daisy at the age of 5 and has worked hard to achieve both bronze and silver medals.

A strong competitor on Fallbrook's Academic Team all four years and now on the Academic Decathlon Team with on-line competition, Bell said her strongest academic focus is mathematics. She hopes to attend a University of California school (UCLA, UCSD, or UC-Irvine) and major in mathematics, eventually earning a doctorate degree and pursuing a career in research.

In nominating her, Pinnell commented that "Grace is a beautiful soul – outgoing, interesting, and interested in others."

Vividiana Estrella, nominated by Social Studies teacher Alana Milton, offers immense spirit to FUHS. As Public Relations and Publicity Commissioner for the school's Associated Student Body, Estrella is helping with remote and some in-person school activities that have included painting the senior parking lots.

Former ASB Director Milton said that "Vividiana is always pushing herself out of her comfort zone to better herself and her school; she leaves a positive impression on everyone." As a cheerleader for the past four years and team captain, Estrella and the team are doing their best to stay in shape by doing on-line workouts and conditioning.

She looks forward to spring semester when they, hopefully, will be able to cheer Fallbrook athletic teams in person. She said she enjoys being on the school's lacrosse team and hopes that the team will be able to reconvene in the spring.

Additionally, she has participated in Operation Smile Club and Rainbow Girls in the past. She loves dancing with Baile Folklorico, even with their weekly on-line practices.

Estrella hopes to pursue a degree in engineering, but also looks forward to pursuing her avocation of writing; her favorite subject is English. When asked what she likes most about FUHS, Estrella said she appreciates "how much is offered."

Paige Mansell, also nominated by Pinnell, is an active student, who loves learning in many areas. Having earned a 4.2 grade point average and continuing to take all Advanced Placement classes this year, Mansell said she especially loves biology, but has also pursued her writing passion as a writer for the school newspaper, the Tomahawk, and as the recipient of the National Novel Writing Month award during the past three years, writing fiction and non-fiction.

Recognized at school with the 2019 Cyber Security Student of the Year honor, an award given to students who reflect a strong work ethic, Mansell has built her own computer. She participates in Rotary's Model United Nations, as well as FUHS's Academic Team.

Having earned Junior Olympics Swim Team status when she was in middle school, Mansell swims the butterfly for Fallbrook High's varsity swim team. Determined and focused, she is working her way "up the ranks" of Mixed Marial Arts.

In describing Mansell, Pinnell said that she is "a wonderful giving member of the community." As president of the Interact Service Club and also a participant in the Fallbrook Beautification Alliance, she has continued to do service projects during the pandemic, such as clean-ups on her own at the beach and on North County roads.

Additional community service activities include knitting blankets for cats and making toys for dogs, donating all to Oceanside Humane Society's Animal Shelter. Mansell has applied to University of California schools and plans to pursue a degree in biology, eventually attending medical school. She said she appreciates her high school for "its number of opportunities and for great teachers who are flexible and available."

Daniel Sanchez, nominated by Oasis teacher Tracy Markham, started as an English language learner at Oasis when he was a freshman. With the struggles of learning the English language and culture as well as living in a grove, with limited resources, including access to technology, Sanchez has continued to work diligently to successfully graduate in four years.

Markham said that "he has never given up when the work was arduous and a big stretch for his language skills; he is one of the nicest students I have ever worked with." Having started high school as a shy student, he has gained confidence from his instructor and academic growth so that he plans and implements projects on his own, always with a positive attitude – no matter how challenging the goal is. Markham continued, "Daniel exemplifies perseverance, respectfulness, and graciousness" and, because of his personal character, he well deserves this prestigious honor.

Nominations for future candidates of this award may be submitted by community members as well as high school staff members. Contact the Student of the Month Committee at [email protected] to nominate a student who reflects achievement in character and work ethic, academics, extracurricular activities, and/or community service.

Submitted by Constance Fellios.

 

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