Director Lenora “Ponie” Mojado made a video about important schoolwide instructions that was shown after teachers shared their individualized presentations at 3:15 and 4:15 to accommodate everyone’s schedule. “I appreciate your dedication to your child and their academics,” she said. “My door is always open.”

Visitors were greeted with school-related inflatables outside the front doors and welcomed by Mojado and Administrative Assistant Maria Hernandez upon entering the lobby where bulletin boards featured an introductory message from each teacher and aide as well as their class schedule and lesson plans.

Julissa Garcia is the preschool teacher for a class of 16 three-year-olds. The mother of a three-year-old herself said she is excited to have been at the school for more than eight years. She considers herself a lifelong learner at heart and looks forward to growing with her students this year.

The classroom is filled with lots of signage in the Luiseño language including a billboard with the children’s faces in a craft they completed, titled “wólaancha” which translates to “let’s grow.”

This is teacher’s aide Jess Thompson’s third year in the preschool classroom. Working in childhood education has been a passion of hers since she was a child herself. She strives to create a safe, loving, and secure environment for each child to ensure that their preschool experience is nothing but the best.

During the first month, Garcia and Thompson are working towards familiarizing students with the daily schedule and routines and mastering self-help skills. With this being the child’s first school experience, their main priority is to ensure that the children feel safe and supported in the classroom. They are committed to creating a nurturing environment where each child feels welcomed and valued. Plenty of opportunities to build strong, trusting relationships with the children while encouraging friendships with their classmates will be provided.

With assistance from the Soboba Cultural Department, the teachers will continue to implement more Luiseño language lessons for the children. They made some changes to the classroom layout they feel will be more conducive to learning. They are not going to be using the Smartboard all the time as they want lessons to be more interactive and not reliant on technology.

Garcia said for the few hours they have the children, they will be doing the same lessons but in more creative ways that the students will respond to more. She said they added a little listening area to their library center at the end of last year and it has been very successful. The audio books and recordings include songs in Luiseño. Five of the children attended summer school.

Sunnie Razon said her daughter Millian watched her older sister Khloe attend the preschool every day, so she was excited to start school herself. “She loves to count by playing hide and seek and she loves (refrigerator magnet) letters,” she said.

Teachers Ana Garcia and Amanda Juarez are sharing their vast experience with 14 pre-kindergarten students as they help them “go from caterpillars to butterflies” this school year. Their focus will be based on the abundant and creative stories written by children’s book author Eric Carle. They worked together to hand draw and paint the classroom wall’s oversized décor reflecting “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” “Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?” and other book titles. Their collaborative goal is to create a safe, joyful space where the children will love to learn.

Garcia has more than 25 years’ experience in the early childhood field and said teaching preschool has always been her passion. She has worked in various school settings throughout her career but said that Soboba Tribal Preschool has been her home for the past eight years. She loves watching the children’s growth and development.

“This class is definitely on top of it; they are already gravitating towards writing,” Garcia said. “They came in being able to identify their names. All but two attended our summer school and 13 of them were in the preschool class here last year.”

Juarez began working in early childhood education more than 20 years ago. She brings her love of crafting to the classroom through colorful art and fun projects. Because there are less students than last year, the teachers welcome the opportunity to have more time to work one-on-one with the kids.

They eagerly shared with parents that everything they do in class is done with a purpose and is a learning experience. Purposeful play, letting the students play as they are learning, has received a lot of positive feedback and has been working well for the pre-k class.

Tekla Diaz said her son Levi Fuentes attended summer school and really liked it, so she enrolled him in the pre-k class. “He’s always talking about the food,” she said. Students are served breakfast in the morning during the 30-minute drop off period and lunch in the afternoon during pickup time.

Betsy Post is starting her first full year as a kindergarten teacher at the preschool, working closely with intern Jasmine Basquez. With a classroom theme of growth from “tiny seeds to mighty trees,” they are eager to bring new experiences to the 17 students that will be spending their school days with them. Post taught grades K-4 for 12 years with her first position being in a kindergarten classroom. She is happy to be teaching this grade level once again.

Post said it is already evident that her students all love hands-on science lessons. “We also have a lot of crafty, artistic kids this year,” she said. All but one attended the preschool last year so they are familiar with the overall routine and layout.

Current academic goals for her students include identifying letters and sounds and writing alphabet letters and numbers clearly. By the end of the year, she expects all students to be able to read 40 sight/high frequency words, know all short and long vowels, be able to do small addition and subtraction problems, have the ability to sound out unfamiliar words, and retell a story.

Post shared some ways parents can help when their children are at home. Reading together daily, encouraging independence, asking the child about their day, maintaining a bedtime routine and making sure they are on time for school will all help foster a stronger performance in the classroom.

During the back-to-school event, kids were given a four-item scavenger hunt that allowed them to give their parents a mini tour of the classroom while searching for each item.

Parents were also invited to share a motivational note to their child that will be kept in their desk to refer to throughout the day. Comments such as “have an amazing day” to “be nice to your friends” were written on the “memo” that will be laminated to withstand daily wear and tear.

There was also a short questionnaire to help the teachers understand the children better. Parents wrote three words that best describe their child, two things teachers should know (such as strengths and weaknesses) and one wish they have for their child this year. Most are looking forward to having them be able to read more on their own.

After classroom visits, families were invited to visit with vendors in the multipurpose room and enjoy homemade soup for dinner, if they chose to do so. Tribal Family Partners, Sylvan Learning, Daughter of Soboba Committee, and members of Soboba Fire, Department of Public Safety, Tribal Family Services and Soboba Cultural Department were among those offering information and fun freebies for the kids and their families.

Taryn and Anthony Grant were attending the event with their pre-k daughter Talla. Her three older siblings attended the preschool in the past and some shared what they liked about it.

“I learned about connecting more with my culture,” said Anaya, who is now a fourth grader at San Jacinto Valley Academy. Her brother Liam is in second grade at SJVA and said the experience helped him give a presentation on his culture. Both agreed having cousins attending at the same time was an added bonus.

For more information, please visit https://preschool.soboba-nsn.gov.

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Because “reading colors our world,” children were asked to wear their favorite color on Monday. Since “reading is crazy fun,” wearing their silliest socks or rocking a crazy hairstyle was Tuesday’s theme. Wednesday saw the students dressed as their favorite superhero or wearing a superhero shirt to remind them that “reading gives you superpowers.” Because “books bring out your wild side,” kids were encouraged to wear animal print clothing or a shirt with a favorite animal on it during Thursday classes. The week ended with an invitation for everyone to wear their pajamas to school to remind them to “cozy up with a good book.”

Pre-kindergarten teacher Ana Garcia took things a step further and chose R as the letter of week. Not only is it the beginning letter of reading but the children made rainbow bracelets as one of their many daily activities, which reinforced their color recognition skills.

Preschool Director Lenora “Ponie” Mojado enjoys the Book Fair because parents get to purchase books for their children to enjoy at home. Additionally, the preschool benefits directly from Book Fair sales through Scholastic Dollars, which teachers can use to purchase books, classroom materials, and educational items.

This year’s book fair was very successful, earning almost $1,700, some of which goes back to the school. “This provides teachers with valuable resources for their classrooms,” Mojado said.

Book Fair Consultant Jessica Cameron has worked at Scholastic for three years and served as the preschool’s consultant this year. Her role is to help to organize book fairs and talk to book fair hosts to help with planning events. She serves a large area and helps more than 650 schools in Riverside County, with about 100 of them being preschools.

She said every school that hosts a fair gets a percentage of the profits earned back in Scholastic Dollars that can be used to purchase books off of future fairs or to shop the Scholastic Dollars Catalog online that has many fun items from books, to book vending machines, digital products, outdoor toys, classroom resources, and more. They also offer 10 percent extra in Scholastic Dollars for schools that run more than one fair.

“We have been working with Soboba Tribal Preschool since 2016, there was a break during COVID (2020-2023) and we started back in 2024,” Cameron said.  “It’s been my pleasure to work with Soboba Tribal Preschool.”

Cameron has always had a love for reading. “I love the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins,” she said. “My little sister and I read the books together in middle school/high school and won tickets from a radio contest to be able to go see the first movie at a local theater when it premiered. I’ve loved that Collins has continued the series with new additions as well.”

Mojado appreciates the work Scholastic does to curate the selection of books based on the age group served.

“For future fairs, we plan to order additional items such as pencils, erasers, and small novelty items that families enjoy,” she said. “We also consider what parents typically like to purchase, and Scholastic sends a variety of high interest children’s books. They also include a $5 table with chapter books for older elementary students. The $5 chapter book collections are especially popular with families who have older children, and parents often pick up books for siblings as well.”

Before releasing her students from rug time, Garcia asked each student if they had a favorite book. Many of them replied with the popular title, “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Rainbow” by Lucille Colandro. This is one that was read aloud to the class as part of their rainbow theme on March 12. Garcia commended the students for sharing and said all their titles were good choices.

“Our most popular books for sale this year have been princess-themed stories, Spider-Man books, and monster truck books, which the children are especially excited about,” Mojado said.

For more information, please visit https://education.scholastic.com/content/fairs/home.html.

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Kindergarten teacher Cindy Lee said the classes are taking all of them to the point of learning the language in a conversational way that can be adapted into the school’s curriculum.

“We’ve always done vocabulary words in both English and Luiseño, but this is going to give us a chance to greet students and ask simple questions in their native language and have them learn how to respond,” Lee said.

Alfred (Charlie) Arviso Jr. serves as the instructor for 10 teachers that attend weekly classes that last from two to two and one-half hours. The lessons are a combination of worksheets and lessons from the “Introduction to Luiseño” textbook. He gives the teachers a chapter to study so they will be prepared for each meeting, where it is reviewed and discussed. He calls throughout the week to see if there are any questions.

“It has been a great investment in our youth to have this language program,” King said. “The classes have been extremely motivating for the teachers. They have incorporated the language in the classroom décor, circle time activities and songs. The classroom toys are labeled in English/Luiseño as much as possible (if there is an English word available).”

Lee said she enjoys the extensive reviews, ensuring that the teachers who are now students thoroughly understand each lesson before moving on. She has learned that many words don’t translate verbatim from the English to Luiseño, helping her understand why some things need to be worded a little differently.

“We are learning about the grammar and how to put it together and use it properly,” Lee said. “We can ask (our students) questions now, such as, ‘Good morning, how are you?’ and they will be able to answer us.”

Soboba Tribal Preschool teacher Ana Garcia said she has taken language classes through the TANF program but said these more intimate classes allows her to ask more questions, which is extremely helpful.

“I’m excited to be able to teach this language to our native children,” Garcia said.

Melissa Arviso is also a teacher at the preschool and said that having more native language incorporated into the curriculum is something she has always wanted to see at the preschool.

With the advent of this academic school year being held via distance learning for the foreseeable future, King said having new Luiseño language lessons included in the take-home packets will give parents the opportunity to learn alongside their child.

“I’m excited for the parents who get to see and hear their children learning their native language,” Melissa Arviso said. “Sending homework home with the children will give parents a chance to be learning with their kids.”

She said she is proud of her own children who are very culture oriented due to the strong influence of their grandparents and great-grandparents.

“They are proud of who they are and where they came from and have followed a Native path,” she added.

Kindergarten teacher and Soboba Tribal Member Antonia Venegas said she enjoys the classes but said it is not easy learning the language.

“A lot of the things we do ceremonial wise incorporate the Luiseño language, so that’s helping me,” she said, adding that her son has been learning enough as a student at Noli Indian School to be able to give blessings in their native language.

King said many Tribal members in the community have already expressed an interest in wanting to learn as well and they are searching for other grant opportunities to have classes for Tribal members of all ages.

The Luiseño language classes for preschool staff started June 29 and are expected to be held through the end of the year. Future goals include having language exposure increase at each grade level so that by the end of kindergarten, students will be able to easily converse with others in their native language.

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