Summer 2013
We are excited for our Summer Program June 8, 15, 22, and 29. We have doubled enrollment from 15 to 30 this year, which is very exciting. The Mentees will be bussed to UC Merced to enjoy four educational Saturdays filled with fun math, science, reading, and writing lessons. They will also get to tour the Vander Woude Dairy Farm in Merced, CA. We are looking forward to having a great time on campus and on the field trip this summer!
Summer 2012
Fifteen Alicia Reyes Elementary School fourth graders had the rewarding experience of working with 20 UC Merced Trailblazers (mentors) during the first four Saturdays of their summer. The mentors developed creative lessons plans for math, science, reading and writing. Each activity was based around the California Teaching Standards to further prepare the Junior Bobcats (mentees) for their upcoming fifth grade year. The mentees also participated in scavenger hunts, made ice cream, played Jeopardy and built erupting volcanoes. The Junior Bobcats got to take an educational tour of a commercial hog farm at Generation X Farms in El Nido. The owner of the farm, Allan Rios, taught the children about the process of raising a pig from birth and how pork ends up in a grocery store. The mentees asked questions to learn more about swine science and the agriculture industry. It was a great experience for our Junior Bobcats and their UC Merced Trailblazer mentors.
Special thanks to the United Way for helping to make this dream a reality by providing the funding needed to transport, feed and instruct the mentees during the Summer Program.
Summer 2009
UC Merced's Summer Police Mentor Program hosted 33 elementary school students from local schools. Each Saturday began in the classroom with entertaining math, reading and writing games, and science that included making ice cream in plastic baggies. Curriculum was created by Trailblazers (mentors) who also taught each lesson. Junior Bobcats were taken on two tours of campus science labs and learned fascinating facts about jelly fish, lasers and were treated to a demonstration with liquid nitrogen. The summer was capped off with a field trip to Yosemite National Park led by Yosemite National Park Ranger Maynard Medefind. Junior Bobcats and chaperones gained information about conservationist John Muir and how the Yosemite Valley was formed while on a walking tour of the park valley and a hike up the beautiful Trail of Mist.
It was a great summer filled with fun and exciting education.
The Police Mentor Program would like to thank our donors and supporters who made this exceptional opportunity available to the Junior Bobcats.
Special thanks to UC Merced faculty and staff volunteers, Carrie King, Uvaldo Calderon and Ruth Fromsom. To Ranger Medefind and all the students and professors who shared their research and projects — you made a true impact on the Junior Bobcats!
Summer 2007
In parntership with UC Merced Professor Krista Venecia's and the Science and Math Initiative, Junior Bobcats learned about human anatomy and math. Professor Susan Bohrer guided Trailblazers in teaching reading comprehension and writing skills to prepare Junior Bobcats for their next school year's lessons.
Junior Bobcats and Trailblazers visited the California Caverns and panned for and identified gems using gem identification cards before taking an hour-long tour of the caverns. Junior Bobcats and Trailblazers learned the history of how the cavern was discovered and how the amazing formations inside developed.
On behalf of UC Merced's Police Chief Rita Spaur, the Police Mentor Program thanks the Merced and UC Merced communities for the support that allows the program offer summer learning experiences to Junior Bobcats and Trailblazers. Special thanks to Via Charter and Curtis Riggs for transporting the Junior Bobcats to their future in higher education.
