Pomona Unified projects to be scaled back

Plans for some Pomona Unified School District
projects from its latest school bond will have to be scaled back until
the value of property in the district increases, consultants told school
board members this week.

Dale Scott, the president of Dale Scott and Co., told board
members that the assessed value of property in the district has been
declining, making it necessary to delay future bond sales until the
values increase. Money to pay off the bonds comes from residents’ county
property-tax bills.

Walnut Valley students Mix It Up

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Walnut Valley students were mixing it up for
National Mix It Up Day on Oct. 18. Activities ranged from flash mobs to
lunch groups in the busy school district.

But at least the kids were mixing it up for a good cause. They
were learning to be tolerant of others, that our differences make life
exciting.

The student leaders at Suzanne Middle School in Walnut really
got into the national event by forming flash mobs throughout the busy
school day.

Between class periods, students leaders, PALS and drama class
pumped up the music and danced to a student choreographed routine.

Throughout the day, the dancers taught other students the
1-minute routine. During lunch, the school had 800 kids mixing it up.

Read more in Richard Irwin’s story Dance.

Walnut Valley accepting applications for district of choice

The Walnut Valley Unified School District will
soon begin accepting applications for a lottery program that allows
children living outside the district to enroll in its schools.

According to a news release from Walnut Valley Unified,
applications will be made available starting Tuesday at 8 a.m. at
district headquarters, 880 S. Lemon Ave., or on the district’s website
at www.wvusd.k12.ca.us.

The district will automatically mail applications to the homes
of out-of-district students already enrolled in Walnut Valley schools
as part of the “District of Choice” program.

Rowland Unified School District students are ineligible for
the program due to a court case Rowland Unified won against Walnut
Valley last year.

Diamond Bar students get iPads

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Pencil to paper may soon be a thing of the past
for students. And if that’s the case, some sixth-grade students at
Pantera Elementary School are getting a head start.

The Pomona Unified school has launched a tablet computer pilot program, giving about 50 of the school’s students an iPad.

For the rest of the school year, Ana and her peers will use
Apple’s iPad 2 to assist them in day-to-day instruction in their
classroom as well as with homework support.

And it’s already making a difference.

Read more in Pantera.

Ybarra students Mad about science in Rowland Unified

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You don’t have to be mad to be a scientist
but it helps. At least that’s the opinion of youngsters at Ybarra
Academy of the Arts and Technology in Walnut.

The students huddled in
the wind as they pondered the questions formulated by their Mad Science
instructors.

“Who remembers the difference between kinetic energy and potential energy?” asked instructor Erin Song.

A young girl’s hand shot up. Then the youngster explained her answer.

Find out her answer in Rich Irwin’s story Science. 

5 seek seats on Hacienda La Puente School Board

After enduring 16 months of spirited debate, the
glare of the national spotlight and an ill-fated recall attempt, things
have quieted down in the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District
board room, even though a school board election is just one month away.

The race among five candidates for two school board seats has not re-lit the fuse of past fireworks for several reasons.

Opponents of the two Confucius Classroom language programs, one at
Wedgeworth Elementary and the other at Cederlane Middle School, did not
obtain a single signature on a petition to recall board members Anita
Perez, Joseph Chang, Norman Hsu and Jay Chen, who all voted for the
program. The recall fizzled in June when chief opponent Rudy Obad, 74,
said, “we’d be better off … getting two people who think like us”
elected on Nov. 8.

Also diminishing the flames was Hsu’s decision to retire and not run
for re-election. Hsu, who served for 20 years on the board, supported
the Confucius Classroom program and was seen as the venerable leader of
the Chinese-American community in Hacienda Heights.

Read all about the candidates in Steve Scauzillo’s story Board.

Walnut Valley celebrates topping 900 API

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Walnut Valley Unified School District has topped the 900 mark, scoring 903 on the 2011 California Academic Performance Index (API).

On Monday, the school board recognized all 15 schools during its Oct. 3 meeting. Students, parents, teachers, staff, and administrators were a part of this celebration of academic excellence.
Walnut Valley is one of the 17 school districts in the state that have an API of 900 or above.

There are 1,050 unified school districts in California, 330 are unified (K-12) school districts.
The district is one of only seven unified schools in Los Angeles County to top a 900 API score.

Snoop Dogg’s sons transfer to Diamond Bar High

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Bow wow wow yippy yo yippy yea, hopefully CIF will let Corde play.

Corde and Cordell Broadus, sons of famous rapper Snoop Dogg, checked
into Diamond Bar High School this week after playing football at Long
Beach Poly this season.

Corde, who played some special teams this season at LB Poly, is
seeking to gain immediate eligibility from CIF. A decision on that won’t
be known until after all pertinent paperwork has been filed.

Cordell, a 6-foot-1 receiver, is already on the Brahmas freshman team
and could have a big career ahead of him, according to varsity head
coach Ryan Maine.

“Once he gets used our system, he’ll probably be the best freshman we
have based on his size,” Maine said of Cordell. “He’s really a good
respectful kid, too.

Read more in Aram Tolegian’s story Snoop.

Walnut Valley has 25 National Merit Semi-Finalists

Twenty-five Walnut Valley seniors have been named 2012 National Merit Semi-Finalists.
They are among 16,000 academically talented students in the country who will have the opportunity to continue in the competition for National Merit Scholarships worth more that $34 million offered next spring.

About 1.5 million juniors in 22,000 high schools entered the program by taking the PSAT exam. The semi-finalists have the highest scores in the state and represent less than 1 percent of the high school seniors in the country.

The Walnut High students are Nitin Agrawal, Daniel Chen, Hong Chen, Roger Chen, Jonathan Chun, Jeremy S. Hsu, Justin Kang, Andrew Koo, Peter Lee, Allan Peng, Brittany Tsou, Parth Visrodia, Wesley Wu, Stephany Yong, Yalun Zhang.

Diamond Bar High students include Michael Cheng, Siri Guntupalli, Jason Hung, Richard Koh, Laura Mo, Ian Pan, Vincent Pang, Nadia Shakfeh, Joseph Tang and Crystal Zhang.
— Walnut Valley Unified School District