silverwood.mdusd.orgHome - Silverwood Elementary School

Staff Teachers Office Staff Our School Bell Schedule Programs Attendance About Parents PTA Handbook Parent Resources Afterschool Care Inquire Visit District Enroll Calendar Directory Schools School Finder MDUSD Schools District Enroll Calendar Directory Open Search SearchOpen Menu Silverwood Elementary School Mt. Diablo Unified School District Staff Teachers Office Staff Our School Bell Schedule Programs Attendance About Parents PTA Handbook Parent Resources Afterschool Care In This Section Staff Our School Parents Home Home pause play Inquire Visit Silverwood Skyhawks OUR STAFF read more OUR SCHOOL read more OUR PARENTS read more NewsAnnouncements Concord HS student discusses autism, patience, empathy and kindness as guest speaker at Valle Verde Elementary Valle Verde Elementary students were treated to a special guest speaker at our their character trait assembly on April 30th - Concord HS student Conor Miranda, who is the son of Valle Verde Secretary Tracy Miranda and attends the Autism Magnet Program at CHS. He spoke to the students about his experiences living with autism and highlighted the character trait of patience when dealing with friends who think a little differently, reminding the students that leading with kindness is always the right thing to do. "The students were engaged, and respectful, and it was a great way to end Neurodiversity Awareness Month," the school posted on Instagram. "Neurodiversity is just a popular term used to describe the differences in how some people's brains work," Tracy said. "People perceive and respond to the world differently, and we should be empathetic and understanding of those who think in a different way than we do. We did explain to the students in the assembly that neurodiversity includes autism, ADHD, dyslexia, sensory processing disorder, dyspraxia, and more, but that Conor was going to speak about his experience living with autism." Conor's message is so powerful that we are including it here in the hopes that the wider MDUSD community can learn from him: "Hi everyone, my name is Conor. As you already heard, I attended this school, and when I was 10 and in 4th grade I gave a speech about autism. Now I’m 16 and in 10th grade, and I wanted to come and share some information with you. First, I have a question. How many of you play video games, raise your hand? How many of you play on an X-Box? How many of you play on Play Station? How many of you play on a Nintendo Switch? Well, some may argue that whichever system they play is better than the others, but that’s not true. They just work differently. Brains are kind of the same. For me, and other people with autism, we have brains that work differently than yours. Some things are super easy for me, and I could amaze you with the things I can memorize, or how fast I can do mental math. However, there are things that you may think are easy that might be harder for me. Some things that people with autism struggle with are noise sensitivity, anxiety, focusing on one subject, and trouble with social situations. I can hear things right now that most of you can’t. It’s very hard for me to focus in a classroom with lots of students because I can hear lights humming, or things clicking, and someone playing with a zipper behind me. My brain is thinking about many things at once, so if it’s a subject I don’t really care about, I can often drift off. Autistics also struggle in social situations. Many people with autism can’t always detect sarcasm for example. I’m lucky that I don’t struggle with that, because, as many of you know, my mom is often sarcastic, and taught me well. Another thing autistic people struggle with is we think very literally. Sometimes it’s hard to know when people are joking, or what a teacher is asking me to do, because I’m interpreting the information differently than my peers. As I have gotten older, I have learned to advocate for myself and tell my teachers that Ineed it explained in a different way. For anyone here who may be neurodivergent, I want you to know when I attended school here people picked on me all the time. It wasn’t fun. I would like to say that things got better, but if I’m being honest, even now at my school, I still get picked on a lot. People sometimes are just mean to me for no reason. I am hoping that maybe I can inspire some of you who don’t face some of the challenges others do, to be more patient, and accepting, and learn to not pick on people who are different. Instead of teasing your peers, or laughing at them, maybe you could be patient and empathetic. Everyone wants friends, and nobody likes to feel isolated. I want you all to know that there are always going to be some people that are jerks. You just need to find people that accept you for who you are. I like to say, don’t put counterfeit bills in your wallet to make it look like you have more money.” What I mean by that is, don’t be friends with people just to say you have more friends. Choose the ones who are kind, accepting, and who choose you back. Thank you for listening and for having me here today. I hope that I can inspire some of you who struggle with things to be happy with who you are. There’s nobody else on earth like you, and that’s what makes you special. If you’re having a hard time now, hang in there. Eventually you will find your people. Anyone who doesn’t want to accept you for you, doesn’t deserve your friendship anyway. I hope that when you leave here today you will make it your mission to be more patient and kind to those who are different from you. One of my favorite quotes that I want to leave you with is, Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.” Everyone here, including the teachers, all struggle with things. You never know when a kind word could change someone’s whole day. So, give compliments, talk less, smile more, and be kind always. Thank you." Concord HS student Conor Miranda (center) speaks to Valle Verde Elementary students about living with autism, stressing the importance of character traits including patience, empathy and kindness. Read More about Concord HS student discusses autism, patience, empathy and kindness as guest speaker at Valle Verde Elementary High School Career Pathways students shine in Career Technical Education Showcase Students from all five MDUSD comprehensive high schools participated in the 2024 MDUSD Career Pathways Showcase on May 2 at John Muir Health in Concord, displaying photos and samples of their work and speaking to visitors about what they are learning. After the showcase, five students participated in a panel discussion about the value of the career pathways programs. The participating programs included: ArtDigital Media at College Park HS; ArtDigital Media, Engineering, and Transportation at Concord HS; ArtDigital Media, Engineering, Information Computer Technology, and Patient Care at Mt. Diablo HS; ArtDigital Media at Northgate HS; and Education, Engineering, and Patient Care at Ygnacio Valley HS. MDHS Patient Care Pathway student Yanellie Martinez, a senior, said she wants to be a nurse practitioner and plans to attend Los Medanos College after graduation, then transfer to a four-year college to get her RN, and later a master's degree. The pathway is helping to prepare her with courses including medical terminology and hands-on experiences including internships, she said. CPHS ArtDigital Media students Emma Gil, Naomi Wong and Evan Yi said their graphic design courses help them express their creativity and learn to use digital tools that will help them after they graduate. MDHS ArtDigital Media student Alejandra Martinez said she enjoys using her creative skills to design websites and logos, and has also worked in a photo booth. She plans to attend UC Davis and wants to show her Shore Acres Elementary, Riverview MS and MDHS...