February 2009 Archives

Jesus Fernando Liera Cruz, a junior at Sierra Vista High School in Baldwin Park, is being honored today by the California Association for Bilingual Education.

Cruz won the statewide essay contest, earning him a $1,000 scholarship. He will address the association convention at a luncheon in Long Beach.

Read excerpts from his essay in the Highlander Newspapers.

Incorporated in 1976, the nonprofit group in Covina promotes bilingual education throughout California. The association has 5,000 members in more than 60 chapters.

The California Federation of Teachers is very upset by the new state budget. Here's a statement recently emailed by Federation President Marty Hittelman.

Educators across the state are appalled that once again the Legislature and Governor have approved a horrible budget for public schools and important social services.

Enormous reductions in programs serving the people of California will result from the budget cuts.  Educators will be deeply affected in our ability to deliver a quality education to millions of students. 

We are also disappointed that the entire revenue portion of the agreement is so regressive.  Sales taxes and an across-the-board per cent increase in the income tax are revenue options that disproportionately ask middle class, working class, and poor people to shoulder the financial responsibility for our state's future.  The same amount of revenue could have been raised by closing corporate tax loopholes and returning the top income tax brackets on the wealthiest individuals to the rates that they paid ten years ago.  This would have helped working families stressed by the national recession, and asked those who would be hurt the least to help the most.

In addition, the proposed single sales factor tax provision is a corporate tax loophole worth over $750 million per year.  Its only purpose is to help corporations avoid paying their fair share of taxes. 

We are dismayed with the process by which our elected representatives arrived at the budget agreement.  It was designed to exclude the public from any input intothe process.  It is all too clear that the Legislative leadership is not interested in full public policy discussions. 

We are distressed that the members of the Legislature seem unwilling to exercise their right to fully review and discuss the budget items before them.  They have a responsibility to participate in the development of policy, rather than put a rubber stamp on what their leaders bring them. 

Because of the closed-door nature of the budget proceedings, CFT has not had an opportunity to analyze and determine whether we will support or oppose the measures that will come before the voters on May 19 in the special election.

For more information please visit www.cft.org.

Volunteers from the Azusa Unified School District, Azusa Pacific University and the Azusa/Glendora Soroptimists have teamed up to put on the second annual Sister's Closet, which provides free prom gowns to teens from area high schools.

Sister's Closet will host the no-cost boutique on Saturday, March 7, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Azusa Pacific University's east campus, 901 E. Alosta Ave., in the Los Angeles Pacific College Banquet Room.

Students from any San Gabriel Valley-area school district are invited to attend.

Project coordinator Silvana A. Cavazos with Azusa Unified said the program aims to help teen girls participate in all the activities that are hallmarks of the high-school experience, without the financial stress of having to buy an expensive dress.

"I want the girls to feel that this is something they are sharing with a sister," she said.

Click here for the full story on Sister's Closet that ran Monday on the Tribune Student Life page.

Pictured: Stephanie Orona, an intern with the Department of Social Work at Azusa Pacific University, arranges the dressing room area for last year's Sister's Closet event.

About 60 Vejar Elementary students in Walnut put their spelling to the test during a Spelling Bee earlier this month. Thyroidectomy, bradycardia and gravigrade were just a few examples of words that the students had to spelled. 

 

Kids prepared by studying more than 100 words from an official list from Scripps National Spelling Bee. Some studied the different roots of the words - Greek, Latin, etc. Understanding how words are formed gave the spellers a boost.

 

The 12-round competition was sponsored by the Community Club, which provided  lapel pins and certificates.

 

"The kids really enjoyed it and the little ones were so cute!" said coordinator Kay Hoard, a fourth-grade teacher .

 

Congratulations to winner Samantha Yu, a fifth grader.   Runners up were  second grader William Widjaja, third grader Sean Song and fourth grader Eva Ma. 

Samantha will compete in the Inland Valley Regional Spelling Bee on March 7 at  Diamond Bar High School. The written and oral competition is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Diamond Bar Library. Top spellers will be invited to participate in the National Scripps Spelling Bee.

 

Thanks to "pronouncers" - Francie Stepp-Bolling (and husband Rick), judges - Jen DeAnda and Simone Sevilla, and crowd control/ set-up - Jim Brandenburgh and Lora Wilson.

Eight students from Suzanne Middle School competed in the MATHCOUNTS regional tournament on Feb. 14 at the California Baptist Church in Riverside. .

Team members included Kevin Fong, Joseph Lin, Kevin Zhang, and Larry Zhang; individual competitors were Jessie Chan, Max Hsu, Daniel Suryakusuma, and Charli Worth. 

 

the students were coached by math teacher Nikki Elizade and Din-Kow Sun.

 

Suzanne students won First Place in the Team competition and will advance to the State competition next month.

 

In the Countdown Round, Suzanne students won three of the top four top awards. First place Kevin Zhang, Second Place Larry Zhang, and Third Place Kevin Fong. 

 

These three students also won top awards in the Individual competitions. 

 

The national MATHCOUNTS program is designed to challenge and stimulate interest in math and science for middle school students.

It is administered by the MATHCOUNTS Foundation and sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE), NASA, and several corporations. 

Cal Poly will host a Family Night at Grandview Middle School in Valinda from 5:30-7:00 p.m. Monday.

Earlier in the day, Los Molinos Elementary in Hacienda Heights will hold its Student-of-the-Month Assembly.

 And Palm Elmentary will hold its STAR Award's Assembly and Rally in the cafeteria at 1:15 p.m.

The Hacienda La Puente Unified School District will hold its Second Annual District Wide Art Show from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

The big art show will be held in the auditorium at Fairgrove Academy in La Puente.

A reception and awards ceremony will be held at noon. Come out and enjoy the students' art work. 

History came alive today for students at Westhoff Elementary School in Walnut.

Fifth graders enjoyed a Colonial Faire today with many exciting activities.

The students dressed in costumes from the colonial period while they learned about that early era in our country's history.

Parents helped out by manning activity centers, where students made candles and flapjacks. During recess, they even played games that colonial kids enjoyed. 

Suzanne Middle School students in Walnut participated in a simultaneous reading of the Gettysburg Address on Feb. 12, marking Abraham Lincoln's 200^th Birthday. 

Lincoln fans and students from across the nation read the Gettysburg Address simultaneously to honor America's 16^th president. 

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the record for most people reading aloud simultaneously is 223,363 participants.

Students sang the "Star Spangled Banner" followed by a brief narrative about Lincoln and the significance of the Gettysburg Address.

Then promptly at 8:30 a.m. students in Al Haskvitz' class helped make history setting a new Guinness World Record!

Nogales academic decathalon team included, top row, Christina Lopez, Carlos Gomez, Tayyaba Mosavi; middle row, Larissa Roman, Christina Carreon, Katlin Villar; bottom row, coach Vanessa Cao, Matt Nicolas, Stephanie Reynoso, Jorge Amar, and co-coach Kimberly Louie
.
On Feb. 12, the Academic Decathlon results were announced by the Los Angeles County Department of Education. Nogales High School placed second in Division III and 29th out of the 66 teams. Rowland High came in 17th.  
 
Several Nogales students received individual medals. Tayyaba Mosavi had the highest score for the high school. She won a gold medal in music and a silver medal in essay in the honors division.
 
 Christina Carreon got a gold medal in music, a silver in art and a bronze medal in interview in the scholastic division.
 
 In the varsity division, Matt Nicolas won bronze medals in art and interview. Stephanie Reynoso got a silver medal in interview.

The third annual Mathapalooza included 292 participants and more than 90 volunteers. The students came from Torrance, San Marino, Chino Hills, West Covina, Rowland Heights, La Puente and Hacienda Heights.

This competition took place at Los Altos High School and was sponsored by the high school, the Chinese American Parents Advisory Council (CAPAC) and the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District (HLPUSD). Los Altos teachers Leo Lopez and Jeff Hess teamed up with CAPAC as event hosts.

Mathapalooza is a math competition in algebra and pre-algebra for middle school students. It  included a 30-minute written test for individuals and buzzer rounds for team play.

Two Hacienda Heights middle schools earned the overall Grand trophy. Newton for pre-algebra and Mesa Robles for algebra. The Team Overall Gold went to Premier Academy of San Marino for pre-algebra and Mesa Robles for algebra.

Individual gold medals in pre-algebra were earned by Nancy Li, Vanessa Chou, Kimberly Wong, Jonathan Pena, Michael Peralta, Erik Gurrola and Humberto Tavira.

Individual gold medals in algebra went to Kevin Nguyen, Daniel Cheng, Daniel Lee, Nicholas Pung, Amy Tsou and Jesus Villegas.

The schools and their team advisers are: Cedarlane, Patrick Chang; Mesa Robles, Norm Gustafson, Jean Hamabe and May Chen; Newton, Cindy Rosa and Jennifer Su; Orange Grove, Brian Mahaffey; Premier, Jeffrey Chen.

The remaining schools and their coaches are Sierra Vista, Ana Zambrano and Veronica Jefferson; Sunset Elementary, Juliet Elder; Torrance Chinese School, Matthew Ting; and Workman Elementary, Dale Reyes.

Pucker up!

Teachers at Oswalt Academy in Walnut lined up to kiss a pig for Valentine's Day.

The Rowland Unified staff were paying back students who voted $1 for their favorite teachers.
 
The elementary school decided to hold a fundraiser in an effort to offset state budget cuts.

About 40 teachers participated in an event in which the staff kissed a 3-year-old pig provided by Mt. San Antonio College's agricultural department.

Yo ! The NED Show rolled into Palm Elementary School in Hacienda Heights on Tuesday afternoon. The clever show featured a yo-yo performer, who punctuated his many tricks with a character building message for the kids.

By the way NED is an acronym for Never give up, Encourage others, and Do your best. Read our upcoming story in the Hacienda Heights Highlander.

At least, if you live in Baldwin Park.

Back in 2005, there was a big push in the state legislature to make sure healthy food was being sold in schools. SB965 is phasing out soda from campuses, while SB12 mandates that snacks for sale on campus - even for fundraisers - doesn't exceed a certain amount of sugar, fat or calories.

The push for healthier food started in the schools, but now there's a task force in Baldwin Park taking it to the corners.

Participating corner stores and liquor stores (especially those near schools) are now highlighting items for sale that meet the criteria of SB12 and SB965. Healthier snacks and beverages at these stores will sport the logo you see here that was designed by a local teen.

This is the first phase of the "Healthy Selection" campaign, according to Christina Cardenas, an advocate coordinator based in Baldwin Park with the California Center for Public Health Advocacy.

In the next phase, Cardenas said that a consultant will be working with some of these store owners to make it easier for them to keep fresh produce and other healthy fare on hand.

Participating stores include La Blanquita, Mercado del Pueblo, El Mambi, J & J Liquor, Jay's Liquor and Vallarta. Smart & Final  and 7-Eleven are also participating. I'm going to visit a few of these stores a little bit later to hear what store owners and customers have to say.

And all of this is a part of a broader campaign in Baldwin Park to battle childhood obesity as a part of the Healthy Eating Active Communities Initiative.

Look for more information about the campaign in upcoming editions of the La Puente, Baldwin Park and El Monte Highlander.

Students and staff at Hacienda La Puente Unified had Monday, but everyone's back for class on Tuesday.

Grandview Elementary in Valinda kicks off the day with an Parents' Education Class on "Internet Safety," presented by Cortez Gonzales in the Cafeteria from 8:15-9:30 a.m.

A Math Facts Assembly will follow at Lassalette in La Puente for Grades K-3 at 1 p.m. in the Cafeteria. Students will receive a certificate if they pass.

"The Ned Show," a Character Education Assembly will take centerstage at Palm Elementary in Hacienda Heights at 1:10 a.m.

Azusa Unified School District could be facing $16.8 million in budget cuts over the next three years, officials said in a statement today.

The district's Board of Education met Thursday to discuss the looming budget cuts.

"There are no easy solutions," said Brad Frick, assistant superintendent of business services for AUSD. "Under the governor's current budget proposal, Azusa Unified would be required to make draconian cuts."

Frick said the cuts would require reductions in staff, programs, services and supplies.

"When more than 80 percent of your budget goes to salaries, there is no way to balance the budget without reductions in staff," he said. "Every program and service must go under the microscope for reductions."

The longer the state Legislature stalls on the budget, the harder it will be for the district to make cuts, Frick said.

In a similar statement, the Temple City Unified School District said it is facing $4.2 million in budget cuts over the next two years. The cuts would have a drastic impact to educational programs and staffing levels, officials said.

Superintendent Chelsea Kang-Smith urged parents to voice their support for public education funding by writing to the governor's office and to local representatives in the Legislature.

"It will not be possible to make up the budget shortfall without impacting our award-winning schools," she wrote on the district's Web site.

In Azusa, the Board of Education is already reviewing layoff procedures for certificated staff. Under the California Education Code, these staff must be notified by March 15 of possible layoffs, said Assistant Superintendent Corey James. That deadline does not apply to classified employees, who have a 45-day layoff notice period.

If the state budget isn't resolved in the next two weeks, James said the district will need to send layoff notices.

AUSD Board President Rosemary Garcia also urged parents to write their legislators.

"When balancing the budget, we must insist on protecting our children and the future of our state," Garcia said.

Click here for a report by Staff Writer Caroline An on the impact of the budget crisis on local schools.

It's been a busy morning in the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District.

Principal Amy Bauman began the day by reading aloud to the students at Mesa Robles School in Hacienda Heights as part of their book fair.

Del Valle Elementary in La Puente held an awards assembly for students in grades K-4.

An Oratorical Contest kicked off at Los Altos Elementary in Hacienda Heights at 8:15 a.m. The big event was held in the cafeteria.

And the first-graders at Wing Lane in Valinda performed the play "The Mitten" in the school cafeteria.

The "Building Bridges - Closing the Gap" family breakfast workshop was a big success at Newton Middle School in Hacienda Heights on Jan. 31.
A large crowd of 160 parents and students came in at 7:30 a.m. for a free hot breakfast, followed by 45-minute workshops. The workshops were presented by the Hacienda La Puente Adult Division, as well as the District Attorney's Office and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Workshop topics included: "Useful Online Educational Tools and Support for Parents," "Drug Awareness and the Middle School Student," "Parent/Teen Communications," "Boys to Men: Your Best Image," "Tackling the Homework Dilemma," "Nutrition and Your Child," and "Internet Safety."
"The purpose of this Saturday breakfast/workshop is to bring parents and students and staff together to build successes in the 'whole child,' which is part of our school vision," said Newton's Principal Stephen Lee.
"It was great to see how many of our school parents attended the Building Bridges workshops; as well as how many staff members were there to support this event," said School Board Member Rudy Chavarria said.

Going to school is a family affair at Kwis Elementary School in Hacienda Heights. It's Bring Your Family to School Week at the local school.

Tuesday will be Grandparents' Day with many fun activities for the senior members of our families beginning at 9:30 a.m. in the cafeteria.

The action heats up on Wednesday with the annual Daddy Dodgeball Game. Will daddy dodge the ball this year. Find out on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. on the playing field.

Other family activities include Career Day and family collages that will be displayed in the Cafeteria.