Students at Noli Indian School on the Soboba Reservation returned to campus on Aug. 3 and their families got to visit and meet their teachers during back-to-school night, Aug. 20. The school is continuing its four-day school week that began last year. Yet with only 12 days of attendance under their belts, students had much to share with their family members during the evening visit.
Principal Donovan Post said they are off to a strong start with 94 students in grades 6-12; 14 of them being seniors. Aside from preparing them for college, if they desire, he is hoping to increase the CTE pathway by having union leaders from different trades come by and speak with the students.
Teachers were eager to share their expectations for the new school year and answer any questions about their classroom policies and procedures during the two-hour event. Science teacher Sabrina Smith covers a gamut of science classes for middle and high school students. She encouraged her students to demonstrate some of the projects they are working on so their parents could witness the hands-on lessons firsthand.
Smith explained her grading system is based on 50% classwork, 30% participation, and 20% assessments made through labs, quizzes, tests, and projects. Individual and group projects are expected each quarter.
Sixth-grader Wendy Cazessus showed her father, Julio Ordonez, a couple of the kinetic energy experiments her class has been doing. Wendy, 11, said all her siblings have attended Noli so she was happy to be there. She is also enrolled in the pre-AVID class that Smith co-coordinates with high school Spanish teacher Andrea Duran.
Duran has several field trips planned for her students. In October, they will go to the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert for the “Colors and Sounds of Mexico” presented by the Pacifico Dance Company. This is the first offering of the theater’s Field Trip Series for the 2026-2027 school year. Reserved school groups may attend performances at no cost, thanks to generous support from individuals, businesses, foundations, and municipalities. The program is designed to inspire, energize and educate.
Jon Ruiz stays busy teaching math to sixth- and seventh-grade students and PE to all of them. He also oversees the yearbook and video classes. He provides a strong math foundation so students will be prepared when they move into higher levels of math with teacher Kekai Bryant.
Ruiz has been at Noli for more than 20 years and looks forward to coaching flag football this year, along with the early morning PE classes. However, there will not be a football team this year.
Sonia Modesto has special education and intervention classes, with the goal of mainstreaming students into their proper grade level.
“Noli has a really unique special education program,” she said. “We encourage students to speak up. Self-advocacy is super big in this classroom. They learn to get what they need if they are not afraid to ask for it. Doors are going to open for them if they get that confidence to put themselves out there. Students get a lot of peer support around here, which I love to see.”
Modesto is excited about having her students invited to participate in the Indigenous Innovation program through Apple. Additionally, five Noli students will be attending the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) conference in Portland in October. She and other teachers are working to identify the students with a strong interest in STEM that will benefit the most from going.
History teacher Justin Thillens is working with one of the new Education Technicians that joined the Noli staff this year. Sasha Alvarez has a bachelor’s degree in history and a double minor in geography and communication, giving her the variety of educational experience that will be valuable there.
As a way to help students get acquainted with each other, Thillens started the first week with a World History Monuments group project with two to three people per team. They were asked to research a monument and then construct a desk-top size replica using available recycled materials. There was a Golden Gate Bridge, a Parthenon, the Liberty Bell and a Coliseum, among others.
The teamwork challenge had them work together to build the rough replica of their assigned historic site, write a short summary covering the five Ws, list a few interesting facts about the site, and present the work to class in a quick one-minute presentation. Before getting started each student was asked to name two things they could do to be a great group mate. One student wrote “be productive and communicate.”
Thillens explained that each grade level covers a different aspect of history from ancient civilizations for sixth graders through modern world times with civics and economics at the high school level. In his second year at Noli, he said he learned a lot last year and expects this year to go well.
New this year is the “curiosity classroom” where middle school students can go during sixth period to do just about anything they want, from art and physical education activities to getting ahead on classwork assignments. Sheldon Subith oversees the class and had spent the week discussing Native American athletes with the students who read their biographies and drew pictures of them.
“This is a class where they can come and unwind at the end of their day; there is no pressure,” Subith said.
There is already a full slate of activities planned for the school year. Spirit Week will take place Aug. 31-Sept. 3 with each day offering a different theme for students to embrace.
Noli is Luiseño for the word envision. The Soboba Tribe envisions a new future through the educational opportunities provided by Noli Indian School.
