Week Eleven - Fall 2026

Two years ago, 27 Del Oro softball players took on a pretty unusual challenge: 30 days without smartphones or social media!

Del Oro parent Jen Christensen organized the project to help students explore what happens when they disconnect from their screens and spend more time connecting with the people around them.

Fast forward to this September, and Jen was invited to share the story at Wellness Together's 10th Annual Mental Health Conference in San Diego. After learning more about the project, conference organizers invited her to be a keynote speaker, giving her a full hour to share the experience with an audience of educators and mental health professionals.

The room was packed, and Jen's presentation generated some great conversations and interest from other organizations hoping to learn from the project.

Pretty cool to see something that started with a group of Del Oro softball players getting attention well beyond Loomis! 

I stopped by Mr. Powers' Woodshop 1 class this week and found students working on all kinds of projects, including stools, toolboxes, and jewelry boxes.

One thing that stood out to me was how much work goes into these projects before anyone even picks up a saw. Students start with detailed plans, create materials lists, and figure out exactly what they'll need. Then comes all the measuring, cutting, assembling, and making sure everything actually fits together!

There's a surprising amount of math involved, too. Fractions, angles, dimensions, and some pretty precise measurements. One student explained that he learned the hard way that even a little bit off can make a big difference when you're trying to fit two pieces of wood together.

It's fun to see students learning to use tools and build something with their own hands, but they're also learning to plan ahead, pay attention to details, solve problems, and have a little patience when things don't go quite right.

I was walking across campus on my way to a meeting when I noticed Mr. Fefer outside with his AP Physics class. Students gathered around, watching intently as two students stretched a large piece of fabric while Mr. Fefer crouched underneath it, pulling on the center and saying something about black holes.

I didn't have time to stay and learn, but I snapped a quick picture.

A better principal probably would have followed up with Mr. Fefer or asked a few students to explain exactly what they were learning. A principal of my caliber, however, may just assume some pretty impressive learning was taking place, likely involving the space-time continuum, gravitational fields, and a flux capacitor.

Thanks for making learning visible and fun, Mr. Fefer!

It started this summer with a simple email from Loomis Grammar School asking if some of our Del Oro woodshop or welding students might be able to build a few tables to provide more outdoor seating for their students.

Fast forward to yesterday, when 60 seventh graders walked down from Loomis Grammar to Del Oro to watch Mr. DeLapp and his welding students turn that idea into reality!

Rather than just building the tables, Mr. DeLapp turned the project into a fabrication competition, with his students working to build four beautiful tables for our neighbors down the street. The seventh graders got a chance to watch the process, learn a little about welding and fabrication, and see what high school students can accomplish with the skills they're learning.

A pretty great example of students learning, serving, and making our community a little better. Thanks to Mr. DeLapp and his students for making it happen!