From the Desk of Dave Linzey....
Small Eagle Logo 
Linzey

 
The Voyage of the Eagle

I would like to wish you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving season! This is the time of the year when l look back at the many blessings my family and I have received and acknowledge those wonderful people whom I am grateful for who have added joy and meaning to my life personally and to my family's lives. I have so many to thank for going the extra mile to make CVCHS a better school and so many organizations and community groups that make our local community a caring one.

 

High school campuses usually have many forms of communication. If you were to walk onto our campus as I write this, you would see a lot of signs and posters. There is an announcement for girl's soccer tryouts. There are a couple of posters for a campus clean-up day, one to sign up for Powder Puff, and there are always signs of support for our sports teams.

 

But what you would also see are signs announcing the annual Red Cross blood drive. For us, this one is a bit personal. Right around this time last year, one of our teachers became seriously ill and required life-saving emergency surgery. In a little more than a week's time, he received twenty units of whole blood and plasma and would not have survived without the blood provided by community donors like our students and staff. Over the course of two days this year, 97 students and staff - the maximum capacity the blood drive truck could handle - signed up, gave blood, and, like the example of one of our teachers, literally saved lives.

 

You would also see signs for "Cookie for a Can", a student-run project to support the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano where students and staff bring canned goods for the hungry in exchange for a cookie. You would also see signs promoting the California Scholarship Federation Coat Drive, asking students and staff to drop off warm winter coats for those needing extra protection in what the experts say will be an extra cold winter. We work with the Clayton Business & Community Association to provide backpacks filled with school supplies for those in need. We raise money to fight breast cancer, and the list goes on and on.

 

This is the season we give thanks for the blessings in our lives. For family, health, home, and food we are indeed grateful. However, there are some within the CVCHS family that may be struggling at any one time and we want to help. Clayton Valley Cares, a volunteer-led effort, endorsed and administered by our Guidance Department, is a program designed to help our students and their families in need. Hardship can hit a family without warning, and we want to help. Students who may have a need for a warm coat, a gift card for necessities/food or maybe a bus/BART ticket can receive help by speaking first to their Guidance Counselor who will, in turn, reach out to Clayton Valley Cares for the help that they need. All services and inquiries are strictly confidential.

 

Our Clayton Valley community reinforces this "compassion ethic" all the time! I see it everywhere I look. And it is especially evident during the holidays. It is simply a part of who we truly are. The vision and mission of CVCHS is "to prepare our students to become first class citizens with a world class education." We are educating our students to demonstrate compassion year-round.  

 

For more information on how you can help, please see our website at www.claytonvalley.org or call our office at 682-7474. Clayton Valley Cares and we know you do, too. I am thankful for each one of you who contribute to our compassionate community. You make a difference!

 

 

In Your Service,

 

Dave Linzey