February 2008 Archives

I attended a play Thursday at the San Gabriel Mission. When I first read the invitation to attend this special performance put on by the East L.A. Classic Theatre Group (http://www.eastlaclassic.org) and the City of San Gabriel for students in local districts here in the valley, I was very intrigued and knew I had to go.

The theatre group performs classics such as Shakespeare's"Much Ado About Nothing" and "Romeo and Juliet", but adds a unique twist to each of them. As Tony Plana, artistic director and star of TV's 'Ugly Betty', explained it to me, they like to integrate different cultures and ethnicities into their plays and adapt them to themes and locations that are more familiar to the students and local community.

Thursday's play was an adaptation of "Much Ado About Nothing" - Mariachi Style. The classic story was set in 1862 in the city of Puebla just after the Battle of Puebla, or Cinco De Mayo as most people know it by. The play had the basics of the story - interracial relationships and marriage, gossip - but a little updated and featured Mariachi music songs and with Anglo gold miners and Mexican soldiers as the lead characters.

This definitely made the play more fun and interesting to watch and as far as I could tell, the students were not bored by it at all. The actors portrayed their characters so well and were able to get the students very engaged and involved in the storyline and the message of the story, making it a more memorable and fun experience for them. And for me too.

I love live theatre and think it's something great that everyone should experience at least once. That's why it was great for me to hear about this group and what they are trying to do to bring theatre to the students and even sometimes engage them in performing themselves. I think it helps them with their language skills, public speaking and self-confidence and esteem, even if they don't follow a career in the performing arts

I thank everyone at the mission and the theatre for inviting me to a wonderful event. It was such a pleasure meeting Tony Plana, I've admired his work for a long time, and I love what he and the theatre group stand for.

The theatre group held the performances for students Thursday and today, Friday, coming from San Gabriel schools and a San Gabriel senior group as well as schools from El Monte, Montebello and more. 

But they are also offering a free community performance Saturday evening at 8 p.m. that is open to everyone. If you have the time, I would suggest trying to make this special performance. Check the theatre group's website above for more information about the group and call (213) 300-5871 to reserve a seat.

On Thursday night at 7 p.m., Mt. Sierra College will welcome guest speaker Michael Gilmartin of Blizzard Entertainment.

As global quality assurance director for Blizzard, Gilmartin is the man behind such games as World of Warcraft, Diablo II, Starcraft and more.

Gilmartin has been involved with numerous franchises such as World of Warcraft, and others like Unreal Tournament, Neverwinter Nights, Tomb Raider, and Sid Meier’s Civilization.

Working nearly 15 years in the gaming industry, Gilmartin has worked with companies like SEGA of America, Inc., Eidos Inc., Maxis Software, Inc., and Atari, Inc. and more.

Mt. Sierra College is located at 101 E. Huntington Dr., Monrovia. For information and to RSVP, call Angie at (626) 873-2166 or Kellee at (626) 873-2100.

You can really count on these guys!

Congratulations to the Alvarado Mathcounts team at Alvarado Middle School in Rowland Heights for winning second place in  Saturday's regional competition at Cal Poly Pomona. They missed first place by only one point.

 

The Alvarado students came in second out of 13 teams and will advance to the state competition at UC Irvine on March 15.

 

Kyle Miho, second from left, won first place in the competition, beating out 88 other students. He missed only one problem in the whole contest. Miho is the first student in school history to get a perfect score in the Mathcounts Sprint round answering 30 problems correctly.

 

Math Department Chair Mike Mills, left, headed the team with co-advisor Linda Kim. With Mills are Wesley Ru (7th place), Jason Chen (14th), Yohan Jeon (12th), and Otto Sit.out of all 89 students in our region. (Photo courtesy of Rowland Unified School District) 

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Hundreds of Bassett High School freshmen and sophomores participated in the school's annual Career Fair on Monday, Feb. 25.

Dozens of career representatives from the surrounding community were on hand to counsel students on career choices and options for their future. Representatives from the L.A. County Sheriff's and Fire Departments were on hand, as well as the county coroner's office, the California Highway Patrol, military branches, technical schools and more.

Bassett's counseling staff, high school elective teachers, and upper level students were also on hand to assist 9th -and 10th- graders in making decisions on selecting a career path to pursue while still in high school.


At left:
Career counselor Erika Machado, coordinator of the event, said it was the first time the high school's Career Fair was used to help ninth and 10th grade students focus on career options before making curriculum decisions for next year during registration in March.

Bassett High School is part of the Bassett Unified School District.

I am currently working on a story coming out of the Montebello Unified School District.

The district rehired David Miranda - a former employee with four drunken driving convictions - as an employment specialist for the district on Thursday.

Miranda is the nephew of Montebello Councilmember Rosie Vasquez.

The school board approved the re-hire which is a bit unusual for them to vote on a non-certificated position. They typically vote on certified positions such as teachers and administrators. This leaves some to believe that the re-hiring of Miranda might not be welcomed by everyone at the district.

Miranda is currently serving a four year probation which includes having his driver’s license suspended for two years, serving 15 days in county jail, and serving 18 months in an alcohol rehabilitation program.

Character counts! That why our schools do much more than teach the ABCs.

In this case, California Elementary School is teaching the ABC’s of Character at a special assembly in the West Cafeteria at 10:15 a.m. Tuesday.

An ABC’s of Character meeting will be held for parents at 6 p.m. in the West Cafeteria of the La Puente school.

Glad to see the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District is teaching the whole child.

     Arcadia High School offered students a chance to tour various Ivy League and other Northeastern universities this Spring (see article), then discovered that they couldn't round up enough students to make the trip happen.  
    College Counselor Laurie McQuaid complied some interesting stats about which colleges the students apply to, where they're accepted and where they ultimately attend.
    The most applied-to and most-attended colleges were UC Irvine and UC San Diego.  

But what was even more interesting to ponder the acceptance and attendance rates at some of the elite schools.
    Sixteen students applied to Caltech and both of the students accepted there wound up attending. None of the 13 who applied to rival MIT got in.
    Similarly, 16 applied to Yale. Two were accepted, but none went there. At Princeton, one of the 11 students who applied got in, but that student didn't attend.
    Other students were accepted to Brown, Dartmouth, Columbia, Georgetown and Boston College, but wound up not going there.
    It makes me curious along with McQuaid, who said, ""Did they not realize that it snows (there)? Did the school not offer their major? Was there a better school that they got into? Was it too expensive? Did they not get the financial aid they wanted?"
   
   

With the help of movies like 'Akeelah and the Bee' and the televised broadcast of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, the Spelling Bee phenomenon is growing and everyone wants to take a part in it.

I attended Mountain View School District's second annual District Spelling Bee Thursday afternoon at Madrid Middle School in El Monte.

And even though it's been over 20 years, it brought back memories of when I was in a district spelling bee in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Back then, it wasn't as big of a deal as it is now. But I'm glad it has grown since, it's fun and a way for students to participate in something exciting and educational. I'm glad I was able to take part in something like that at a young age.

Alot of my memories are fuzzy, but I remember winning a spelling bee in my grade level, moving on to the schoolwide contest and then moving on to the next level, which meant I was going to visit another school for the next competition.

I remember feeling excited about something outside of my school, it felt like it was something bigger than me, bigger than the school.

When I saw the students at the competition on Thursday - sitting up there, confused, nervous and anxious, I empathized with them.

I actually did know what they were feeling at that moment.

I remember the butterflies in my tummy when I know my turn was coming up and I'm trying to focus but the hundreds of words I practiced beforehand are getting all mixed up in my brain.

Stepping up to the microphone, trying to drown out the fuzzy noise in my head, as I try to listen to every syllable in the word that is given to me.

Then repeating the word over and over in my head, while at the same time telling myself 'Don't mess up. Don't mess up!'

Then trying not to trip over my dry tongue as I repeat the word without thinking, and attempting to spell it as I keep repeating it in my head, syllable by syllable, to make sure I didn't miss anything.

And the relief I felt when I didn't hear 'incorrect', so I could keep going to the next round and closer to the grand prize.

But of course, I got my 15 minutes of fame in the spelling bee world, and was eliminated after the fourth or fifth round.

I remember thinking I would never forget that word I misspelled that fateful day years ago.

But I guess it was just too much for me at the time, and things got fuzzy after that, that til this day, I still can't, for the life of me, remember what the evil word was!

Yes, at the time it was an evil word for me. Just like 'flippant' will forever haunt the second place contestant in Thursday's spelling bee.

The winner will move on to the County Spelling Bee and who knows? Maybe we'll see Isabella Coita, 10, in the next National Spelling Bee.

As for me, I'll settle for being a Scrabble queen!

Mt. SAC’s Financial Aid Department will once again offer free one-on-one financial aid assistance to high school seniors and their parents during its Cash for College workshop on Saturday, Feb. 23, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the Student Life Center, Building 9C. 

Cash for College provides one-on-one assistance for college-bound students and their parents to complete and file Federal Student Aid and Cal Grant financial aid forms for the 2008-09 academic year. The event also helps students maximize their financial aid prospects by meeting the early financial aid deadlines. The state financial aid deadline is March 2.

Parents and students must bring a copy of students’ Social Security cards or permanent resident cards, and a 2007 federal 1040 tax return and W-2. If 2007 information is not available, a 2006 tax return may be used. The workshop information and assistance can be used to apply to any community college, not just Mt. SAC.

Information and application forms will also be available for Admissions, Extend Opportunity and Programs Services and Mt. SAC’s Summer Bridge Program for first-time college students. 

A free continental breakfast and lunch will be provided, and reservations are necessary for one-on-one appointments. Participants will also be eligible for a $1,000 scholarship sponsored through the California Student Aid Commission and The Education Financing Foundation of California.

To make a reservation or for more information, call the Mt. SAC Financial Aid Office at (909) 594-5611, ext. 4458 or 5972.

This just in from Azusa:

The Board of Education of the Azusa Unified School District has passed a resolution opposing the Governor’s 2008 budget.  The Board and the District’s four employee associations including the Azusa Educators Association, Azusa Chapter 299 of the California Classified Employees Association, Azusa Management Association and the Azusa Federation of Adult Educators signed the joint resolution.

The resolution points out that under Governor Schwarzenegger’s budget Azusa Unified schools would lose $340,000 in the current fiscal year due to mid year cuts and $6.4 million in 2008-09 due to the suspension of Proposition 98.

In recent years, Azusa Unified has cut more than $3.5 million, which has affected the purchase of textbooks, teacher training, and class size.  The Board noted that California spends $1,900 less per student than the national average.

The resolution points out that the budget reductions are inconsistent with the state’s goal to improve student achievement, at a time when our students are making progress meeting rigorous state and federal education standards.

The CDE (California Department of Education) sent a press release out about how districts should destroy ground beef from Hallmark/Westland. The release also includes a preliminary list of which districts received the meat and the number of units. Only three local districts were included in the list.

Los Angeles	La Canada Unified	35
Los Angeles	Little Lake City Elementary	60
Los Angeles	Los Nietos	50

The highlights:

• A person of authority (i.e. food service director) must witness the destruction
• Some costs can be reimbursed, such as transportation to the disposal facility and destruction costs
• Other costs cannot be reimbused: employee overtime, long-distance phone calls, food used in place of recalled beef

Mountain View School District will hold their second annual district Spelling Bee on Thursday.

Fifth- and sixth-grade spelling bee champions from the district's schools will compete for the title of District Spelling Bee Champion and represent the district in the Los Angeles County Spelling Bee in mid-March.

The spelling bee will begin at 2:45 p.m. in the cafeteria of Madrid Middle School at 3300 Gilman Road in El Monte.

Come show your support for our local Bees!

Thanks to all our friends at Wedgeworth Elementary School in Hacienda Heights for greeting us with a big smile during the "Give Kids a Smile" event on Wednesday morning.

The San Gabriel Valley Foundation for Dental Health screened all the first graders and many of the kindergartners. The excited students also received dental kits, which included not only new toothbrushes but handy charts and stickers to keep track of their brushing and flossing.

Hopefully, the kids will be able to keep their brilliant smiles for many more years to come. See our story and photos in an upcoming story in the Hacienda Heights Highlander.  

Wedgeworth students can flash their new smiles during a big oratorical contest on Friday at 8:30 a.m. May the best speaker win.

No they're not vampires! California Elementary School will collect blood on Thursday for the American Red Cross.

With regional blood banks fighting for a constant supply, the La Puente school is doing its part to restock the life's blood of hospitals and medical centers.

The blood drive will be held in the West Cafeteria from 1 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. 

Wedgeworth Elementary School in Hacienda Heights will "Give Kids a Smile" Wednesday morning.

The program will be presented by the San Gabriel Valley Foundation for Dental Health in the Multipurpose Room, from 8:30-11:00 a.m

The foundation is all about helping kids. The nonprofit group is dedicated to serving the children from economically disadvantaged families who have no dental or Medi-Cal insurance.

Founded in July 1996, the foundation has grown to its present ability serving more than 500 San Gabriel Valley children every year.

Who needs American Idol?!

Check out some real raw local talent at Baldwin Park High School's 2008 Talent Show.

The show begins at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 22 in the school gymnasium. Cost is $5 pre-sale and $7 at the door.

Baldwin Park High School is located at 3900 N. Puente Ave., (626) 960-5431.

For 18-year-old Danny Noriega, school is the last thing on his mind.

The Azusa resident, who planned to start college this past fall, has pushed back his plans in order for a chance at fame. I recently interviewed the Sierra High School student over the telephone,  who of course had his trusty PR guru on the line to make sure he didn't answer any pressing questions. One subject he couldn't go into detail on was rehearsals, or of course, what song he would be performing during this Tuesday's American Idol show.

But I did ask him what he liked to do for fun, besides singing. He loves to dance, and often goes out to clubs with his friends. What club you ask? Well, for some reason Noriega didn't want to answer that either.

On Fox's American Idol website, the long-haired contestant claims to love artists Britney Spears, Ashlee Simpson and Chris Brown.

This is the second season Noriega has competed to be named American Idol, which is in its seventh season. Last season, he said he was trying to maintain a look that he thought the judges wanted (shorter hair). Unfortunately, he wasn't what the panel was looking for. So this season, he came back as himself, he says, and made it through to the top 24.

She's a poet, don't you know it.

Alright, we'll leave the poetry to Nogales High School student Ashlyn Atkins.  The Vice President of The Poetry Club has qualified to be on the Inland Empire National Youth Poetry Slam Team. 

The top 6 qualify with two alternates.  Atkins came in second.  This summer, the Noble sophomore will travel to Washington DC, where her team will compete against teams from all over the country.

The name of the event is called BRAVE NEW VOICES.  Atkins is a student in the Hip Hop Rhyme and Poetry class at Nogales.

With Governor Schwarzenneger's proposed budget cuts looming over school districts throughout the state, talks of preparing for them have begun in many local valley districts. One of them is Bassett Unified School District which serves a large unincorporated area in Los Angeles County with portions of the City of Industry, La Puente and Whittier.

Though the district is doing well now, if the proposed 10 percent budget cuts go through legislature, the district is expected to be at a deficit within the next two to three years. A public meeting is scheduled next month to discuss options and possibilites if they are faced with these cuts that are expected to continue over the next few years.

The following is from a press release sent on Feb. 8 by Jeff Schenkel, South Coast Media Services, (626) 339-8824, jeffschenkel@verizon.net:

USA Today recently named twenty students to its 19th annual All-USA College Academic Team, honoring them for outstanding intellectual achievement and leadership. The students will receive a $2,500 cash award.

Among the named is Shuai (Steve) Xu, of Diamond Bar who is currently attending Rice University.

The team was selected by a panel of judges from almost 500 students nominated by colleges and universities across the United States. Judges considered grades, leadership, activities and, most importantly, how students extend their intellectual talents beyond the classroom.

The Basketball and Baseball Parent Boosters of Don Bosco High School, along with Latino Comedian Ernie G and his “Comedy Fiesta!” proudly present the 1st annual “Valentine’s Dinner Dance and Comedy Fiesta,” event at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 15 inside Tech Hall at Don Bosco, 1151 San Gabriel Blvd., Rosemead.

All proceeds from the event will benefit Don Bosco basketball and baseball programs. The event will feature comedian Ernie G who has performed his "Empowerment Comedian" show at other school events and fundraisers.

A graduate of Loyola Marymount University with a degree in Psychology and minor in Chicano Studies, Ernie has performed his own unique form of stand-up comedy he calls "Latino Edu-tainment - Educating and Entertaining with a Latin Flavor" at colleges, universities and schools throughout the country.

The fundraising event will feature Latino comedy favorites Sal Rodriguez and G. Reilly as well as the "Suburban Cowboy" Eric Schwartz with Ernie hosting. 

All ages are welcome, although parental discretion is advised for the PG-13 show. The Dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. with the comedy show starting at 8 p.m. and dancing to follow.

Tickets are $35 which includes dinner, show and dancing or $20 for the show only. For more information or for tickets, call (323) 935-4242 or the school at (626) 940-2000.

Ah love is in the air this Valentine's Day!

Los Altos High School will offer a unique look at this romantic holiday. The drama club picked "My Fatal Valentine" for its spring play.

Gosh we hope it wasn't written by a local playwright. The play will be performed Wednesday through Saturday at 7 p.m. in Room A1 of the local high school.

Maybe that's what they meant by the arrow through the heart.

Temple Elementary School in La Puente will be a busy place the next couple of days. The Hacienda La Puente Unified school will hold a Kindergarten Roundup from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. Parents can register their little ones in the school cafeteria. On Valentine's Day, the school will be jumping for joy. Well actually, they're hosting a Jump for Heart event on the school blacktop. The fundraiser for the American Heart Association begins at 9 a.m. The money is used to support lifesaving heart and stroke research. Students ask friends and family for donations. This program also promotes physical fitness and teaches the value of community service to students and their families. Come on out and support our kids.

Whittier reporter Tracy Garcia wrote a story in today's paper about layoffs at Huerta Elementary School. The school is closing at the end of the school year to save money at Norwalk-La Mirada Unified, which is going through declining enrollment.

NORWALK - The Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District approved the layoff of eight full- and part-time positions in preparation for the shutdown of Huerta Elementary School later this year.

Last spring, trustees voted to permanently close the 300-student Huerta Elementary when district enrollment declined by about 1,500 students over a three-year period. The declining enrollment cost the district about $9 million in state revenue, officials said.

Perhaps the next step is for the district to decide what they'll do with the building and property. Weeklies reporter Claudia Palma is keeping tabs of Bassett Unified, which has a school campus that isn't being used as a school. Those officials are deciding whether to keep it or sell it.

Sierra Vista Middle School in La Puente will be handing out medals tomorrow. The school will honor students who did well on the California Standards Test.

The medal ceremony is set for 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. It will take place in the school yard. 

Congratulations to these student scholars. Keep up the good work!

The Associated Student Inc. organization at California State Poly Pomona has proposed building a $90 million state-of-the-art campus Recreation Center. The center, if approved, will increase student fees by $149 per quarter in 2012 when the center opens.

After interviewing students on campus I found that there is a core group of students who are in favor of the proposal as well as a group who are opposed. Those in favor are about building a legacy and creating more opportunities for future students on campus.

Students who are opposed see the recreation center as too much money and that students and the university should be addressing other pressing needs such as possible cuts to Cal State schools by the governor's proposed state budget.

Stay tuned for my article due out later this week and the student vote that will take place March 5 and 6.

Wilson High School will be putting out the welcome mat tomorrow. The Hacienda Heights high school will welcome representatives from its sister high school in Yu Hang, China.

Ceremonies kick off at 2 p.m. in the Den. Staff and students are excited about extending the hand of friendship to our counterparts in China.

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday Glenelder. Happy birthday to you!!

Glenelder Elementary School in Hacienda Heights is celebrating its 50th birthday today. Funny it doesn't look that old.

But students and staff are all sharing birthday cake and good wishes for this great school under the leadership of our pal, Principal Ken Quon.

Hey Ken, save us a piece of cake!

 

 

 

KSAK 90.1 FM nabs awards

Mt. San Antonio College’s radio station, 90.1 KSAK FM, recently won four awards for reporting and use of sound at the Radio and Television News Association’s annual Golden Mike Awards ceremony held on Jan. 26 at the Universal Hilton in Hollywood.

The station won the Best Sports Reporting and Best Use of Sound Golden Mikes for the “Super Bowl and the Alumni” feature in Division B for radio stations with fewer than six full-time staff.

“Super Bowl and the Alumni” is a light-hearted observation on the West Coast’s lack of interest in Super Bowl XLI between the Indianapolis Colts and the Chicago Bears.

The piece showcased audio from the Bears defensive lineman and Mt. SAC alumnus Alfonzo Boone.

KSAK also won Golden Mikes for Best Entertainment Reporting, Division B, and Best Feature News Series Reporting, One Division, for the feature series “Silly Songs, Serious Respect” on “Weird Al” Yankovic.

The three-part biography covers Yankovic’s rise from Southern California “nerd” to music superstar. In the One Division category, large and small radio stations compete against each other.

The Radio and Television News Association of Southern California annually honors the best in radio and television, ranging from the major networks to college stations.

Mt. SAC to Stage An Evening of Short Original Plays, Under the Gun

The Mt. San Antonio College Theater Program will stage an evening of short original plays, ‘Under the Gun’, at 8 p.m. Feb. 14-16 with a matinee performance at 2 p.m. on Feb. 17 in the Mt. SAC Performing Arts Center Studio Theater.

Under the Gun is a collection of short plays by contemporary American playwrights with unique takes on how people cope with their fears when under pressure.

Tickets are $12 for general admission and $9 for seniors and students. Mt. SAC is located at 1100 N. Grand Ave., Walnut.

For tickets and information, call the Mt. SAC Performing Arts Box Office at (909) 468-4050.

Want to get teens' attention? Talk about Britney.

I participated in Career Day at Alvarado Intermediate School in Rowland Heights on Feb. 6. Aside from journalism, the professions represented were cosmetology, forensic science, acting, event planning, police, firefighting and real estate.

I tried to explain how news gets into the newspaper. Since I had to do the presentation three times, I tried to use three different examples of an event that a community paper would potentially write about. First, it was, “Let's say we got a press release from your school about the new iMacs that are in front of you right now. The reporter will call your principal and try to get some more information about the computers.” Yawn. Then in the other session, I said, “How about we write about your Career Day?” Double yawn. In the other session, which had the more outspoken students, I had a brilliant idea: “Let's say the reporter is sitting at his desk and he gets a call. The caller says, 'Hey, did you know police officers are taking Britney Spears to the mental hospital right now?'” Bingo!

I got the most interaction from the students when I talked about Britney Spears and the paparazzi. I don't blame them. Why should they ask me if I thought we were heading for an economic recession? Or who I thought would win Super Tuesday? Instead, they asked me why magazines printed rumors like Hannah Montana being pregnant.

They had different reasons for wanting to become journalists someday but the one thing they had in common was that they loved to write. They knew the difference between rumors and news, but wanted to ask why rumors get passed off as news anyway. They laughed when I told them the newspaper once printed “barbecued children” instead of “barbecued chicken.”

They wondered about how much journalists make. I laughed before I gave them an answer: “You go into journalism not for the money. But if you love what you do, if you have fun doing your job, then the money won't matter. You adjust your lifestyle so you can keep doing something that makes your life worthwhile.” *crickets in the room*

Well isn't that grand! Grandparents that is!

California Elementary School in La Puente is celebrating Grandparent's and Loved Ones Day today and tomorrow.

This morning, these special people were honored by the kids in the East Cafeteria. Hooray for them all!

Tomorrow the west campus will hug their loved ones in the West Cafeteria at 1 p.m. Group hug!!

The Hacienda La Puente Unified school is rushing to finish its Quakes Reading Challenge. The Rancho Cucamonga minor league team challenged the students to read 10 books by the end of February.

If they do, the kids gets two tickets to a Quakes baseball game this summer. Read all about this fun challenge in today's edition of the Hacienda Heights Highlander. Or check it out on the web at Highlanders at SGVN.com