Diamond Bar High offers Wheel Food Fest

Bring your appetite on Saturday, February 11, to Diamond Bar High School’s first Wheel Food Fest! The event will take place from 11 am to 3 pm in the school’s parking lot.

Gourmet food trucks will include Don Chow’s Taco’s, the NomNom Truck, Sweet E’s Bake Shop, the Jogasaki Sushi Burrito Truck, and more.

The admission donation is $2 for adults, $1 for students, and children under 5 years old are admitted free. No outside food or beverages are permitted. For more information follow the event on twitter @DBHSFoodFest. 

More students taking advanced placement courses

In the midst of economic woes that have
public universities cutting enrollment and many institutions upping
their standards, students are finding ways to make themselves more
marketable to college admissions officials.

One of the ways they are getting a leg up on their competition
is taking rigorous Advanced Placement courses, which also prepare
students for college coursework and earn college credit.

According to the eighth annual Advanced Placement Report to
the Nation, nationally more than 540,000 seniors in the class of 2011
successfully completed AP classes, representing a 1percent increase over
the previous year and nearly doubling the number of students who
successfully completed the classes compared with a decade ago.


Read more in Maritza Velasquez’s story TESTS.

Hacienda La Puente parent’s appeal rejected by county office of education

Parents fighting the Hacienda La Puente Unified
School District’s early start had a setback last week when an appeal
was rejected by a county education agency.

The Los Angeles County Office
of Education turned down their request to review the school board’s
recent decision to start the 2012-13 school year on Aug. 8, three weeks
earlier, and end in May instead of June.

“It is our conclusion that the county office has
no legitimate rationale to intervene,” wrote Arturo Delgado,
superintendent of the county office in a Jan. 27 letter addressed to
Concerned Parents of Hacienda La Puente USD.

Read more in Steve Scauzillo’s story REJECTED.

St. Mark’s Lutheran School cleans up in Clorox contest

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St. Mark’s Lutheran School cleaned up in Clorox’s
Power a Bright Future contest. The Hacienda Heights students won
$25,000 in the create division.

“We won for our weekly news show with students producing video
segments announcing the events taking place on campus,” explained
teacher Julie Evangelista, who co-produces the show with teacher Mala
Williams.

The students couldn’t have won without the support of their parents
and families. By the end of the contest, 88,686 people had voted for St.
Marks between Oct. 24 and Dec. 9.

“It was a close contest with another school in Missouri. One day we
were ahead in votes, then the next day they would push ahead of us,”
Evangelista noted

Read more in Rich Irwin’s story CLOROX.

Diamond Ranch players sign with Ivy League, Navy and Oregon

Diamond Ranch saw four members of its football team sign on Feb. 1 and their destinations were quite impressive. Receiver Andrew Fischer (Harvard) and linebacker Jacob Ardron (Columbia) will play in the Ivy League.

Offensive tackle Blake Benjamin will play for the Navy and aim for medical school. Defensive back Chris Miller will make it easy for local fans to follow his career by playing in the Pac-12 at Oregon State.

“It’s a college town and everybody in the town is friendly,” Miller said of Corvallis, Ore. where Oregon State is located. “Being in the PAC-12, that’s a competitive conference. Any school that would’ve given me an offer, I would’ve taken it. Oregon State gave me the offer and I hopped on it.”

Mt. SAC may ban smoking on campus in Walnut

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As part of an effort to improve the health of
its students, Mt. San Antonio College may soon outlaw smoking on campus
except in certain designated areas.

The stricter smoking policy is being developed by a special
task force and the President’s Advisory Committee. It could come to the
board of trustees for approval sometime this year. If the board approves
the new policy, it could take effect as early as June, school president
Bill Scroggins said.

Students, staff or faculty caught violating the policy would
be subject to a $35 fine for the first offense and $70 for a second
offense, according to the committee meeting minutes of Dec. 7.

Read more in Steve Scauzillo’s story SMOKING.

Rowland’s Nick Rivera signs with Texas Tech

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Athletics Vice
Principal Bob Withers and Principal Mitch Brunyer congratulate Rowland High’s Nick Rivera after getting a scholarship to Texas Tech.

Yesterday
was National Signing Day and Rowland High School
students, staff and the family of senior Nick Rivera gathered to celebrate with a
signing ceremony of their own. Rivera received a scholarship in track and field from Texas Tech University.

Athletics Vice
Principal Bob Withers said, “Getting a scholarship is an
extremely difficult process – not everyone gets one and a lot goes into it.
You have to work hard, get good grades, a good SAT score, be athletically
gifted and more important, good character. Nick represents all of these traits.” 

Rivera made a heartwarming speech to the crowd, thanking in length his family and his coaches.

“I
want to thank the coaches – Coach Luna has helped me so much with the recruiting
process.  Even though he’s tough – at the end of the day, he is
a really good guy, a good teacher and good coach and I’m glad I had him,”
said Rivera.

 “I also want to give a shout out to my team mates – the
cross country team – the journey has been even better with them. I want
to thank all of you and the teachers for keeping me in check and making sure I
am doing what I am supposed to do and helping me every day. Everyone at Rowland High School – the support you have
shown me, I’ll never forget it.”