Diamond Bar High enters Vans Custom Culture contest

DBHS Vans

Five Diamond Bar High students are currently ranked top 10 in the Vans Custom Culture contest. They are looking for your votes to push them to the top.

 The national high school competition invites students to show off their creativity. Vans sent four pairs of blank white shoes to the first 3,000 schools that registered for the contest.

 “All my graphic design students participated in the design process,” explained teacher Jon Haprov.“The class then voted on their favorites to be made into shoes.”

The designs of Sophia Arnold – junior, William Chen – junior, Star Vasquez – senior, Mary Zhuo – freshman, and Connie Mach – junior, made the cut.

 “I love teamwork and being creative with a group,” Vasquez said about the design project.

 Students customized the popular kicks around the themes Art, Music, Action Sports, and Local Flavor. “Some students have different strengths and they pooled those talents together in the final stages of the process,” Haprov added.

Check out the DBHS designs and cast your vote at http://sites.vans.com/customculture/vote/. Voting ends on May 11.

“If everyone in Diamond Bar and Walnut cast one vote with their phone and one with their computer, that would be a lot of votes!” added Haprov.

The top five finalists will be flown to the finals, where a grand prize winner will be announced. The lucky winner will receive $50,000 for their high school art program and a chance for their designs to be sold in Vans’ retail stores. Runners up receive $4,000 towards their schools.

Diamond Bar High goes “Into the Woods” for musical production

2015-04-15 18.04.23

By Walnut Valley Unified

The Diamond Bar High School Theater Arts Department will be performing “Into the Woods” on April 23, 24, 25, 30 and May 1 and 2. All shows begin at 7 p.m.

“Into the Woods,” a musical with book by James Lapine and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, takes a grown up twist on several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, including Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, and Rapunzel, intertwining the plots of several stories with the original story about a baker and his wife, their wish to begin a family and their interaction with the witch who has put a curse on them.  The plot depicts consequences of the characters’ wishes and actions.

“My favorite part of the production is definitely the musical score. The music is so fun and catchy, and I’m having a lot of fun working with the cast to perfect it,” said DBHS student Will Nazareno, who not only plays the role of Rapunzel’s Prince but is also Assistant Music Director.

As is the practice in the DBHS theater program, students involved with the musical, take a production class and work as a company on every element of production including production management, acting, stage-craft, set design, makeup design, publicity, fundraising, house management, box office, concessions and music.  The musical features live music played by DBHS’ Grammy Award winning orchestra conducted by Steve Acciani.

The visually stunning set was designed through collaboration between staff and DBHS Theatre Performing Arts Academy students.  The idea of using books to represent each story came from a set design project by senior Marissa Kummerman and the basic lay out and idea to use trees for all the structural set elements came from a design by senior Emily Beard who also designed and built Milky White, the prominently feature cow in the show.

“The aim of the program is to give students real world experiences and skills that will give them a really strong base for college and career,” said Beatrice Casagran, DBHS Theatre Arts teacher.

“I’m very excited to be a part of this production. We’ve been putting in a lot of work to make it great, and I can’t wait to put it on for an audience,” said Amelia Anijielo, who is playing the Witch.

Though only a freshman, Anijielo has been wowing those who experience her strong, warm mezzo voice and magnetic stage presence.  She recently won an award for her acting at the Fullerton High School Theater Festival as part of the DBHS team.

Tickets may be purchased online at www.seatyourself.biz/dbhsdrama or at the door. Ticket prices vary depending on seating section, starting at $12 for students and $15 for adults.  The Diamond Bar High School Theater is on 21400 E. Pathfinder Road in Diamond Bar, CA.

Diamond Bar singer to perform with LA Opera

Sophomore Madison Landi will be performing with the LA Opera in their production of Noah’s Flood. She earned the role of “Gossip 2”. The performances will be March 6 and March 7 at 7:30pm. 

CLICK HERE for the website of “Noah’s Flood”.

Other highlights of Madison’s young singing career include performing at the House of Blues in Anaheim and at The Grove of Anaheim with her band “Matsune”. She has also worked at Disneyland as a singer. In addition to her singing, she is in Diamond Bar High School’s Advanced Drama class.


For the past seven seasons, LA Opera has been honored to work with the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Downtown Los Angeles to present free, large-scale community performances that have included Jonah and the Whale, Noah’s Flood, Judas Maccabaeus and The Festival Play of Daniel, all under the baton of James Conlon.

These community opera performances include singers, actors and orchestra members from the community, performing alongside professional soloists and orchestra members from LA Opera. 

For the 2014/15 season, LA Opera is reviving its successful production of Benjamin Britten’s Noah’s Flood (Noye’s Fludde). Conducted by James Conlon, LA Opera’s Richard Seaver Music Director, Noah’s Flood will be performed at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on Friday, March 6 and Saturday, March 7, 2015 at 7:30pm.

 

Walnut Valley to refund athletic fees at Diamond Bar High

By Richard Irwin, Staff Writer

Walnut Valley Unified has agreed to refund some athletic fees charged to students and families at Diamond Bar High School. The action comes after a formal complaint was filed by Kevin and Beth House with the California Department of Education.

The department agreed with the Diamond Bar family that fees charged in the football, wrestling and baseball programs were impermissible under state law.

In its rulings, the CDE notes that participation on a high school football team is an educational activity that must be free. If participation in a summer football camp is a condition of participation on the school’s football team during the regular school year, then the summer camp must also be free.

It disagreed with the district’s conclusion that the summer camp was recreational rather than educational.

The district also claimed the $100 payment for the camp and the $135 required for camp clothing and accessories were voluntary donations. But, the state found that while the 2014 summer camp form changed the word “fee” to “donation,” the camp was nevertheless described as “mandatory” and students were informed that in order to receive their uniform for camp, they must show proof of payment.

“A reasonable parent would believe that paying for and participating in the summer camp was a condition of participation on the team during the school year,” the CDE concluded.

But the CDE found that since the summer wrestling camp was not a condition of participation on the wrestling team during the regular school year, that fee was permissible.

The House complaint also addressed “spirit packs” bought by students. Walnut Valley said the spirit packs weren’t required purchases. It said it provides all necessary uniforms for football, wrestling and baseball, whether a uniform package was purchased or not.

The CDE determined that the evidence showed that in order to receive their football, wrestling and baseball uniforms, students were instructed to show proof of payment in violation of the Education Code. It noted that the availability of a fee waiver does not make the fee permissible.

Football’s summer spirit pack totaled $155, while the season’s spirit pack cost $222 for varsity players and $195 for other players. Wrestling spirit packs cost $100, $250 for new players.

The Houses also paid $125 for a baseball package.

The CDE ordered the district to refund money paid for football, wrestling and baseball spirit packs from May 15, 2013 through May 15, 2014.

The House complaint also asked for a ruling on working bingos to raise money for the athletic teams. Football parents are asked to work bingo or donate $50 to “opt out.” The wrestling team asked for a opt out fee of $100, while the baseball team requested $100 to opt out each night or $200 total.

Walnut Valley said teams are allowed to solicit voluntary donations and that bingo participation is strongly urged but voluntary.

The Department of Education decided the evidence shows that parents were required to work bingo or pay an opt out fee as a condition for a student to participate on the football, wrestling and baseball teams. Therefore, participation in bingo fundraising was not voluntary in violation of the education code and any opt out fees were impermissible.

It ordered Walnut Valley to refund any bingo opt out fees from May 15, 2013 to May 15, 2014.

When the ruling was made at the end of September, Walnut Valley was given until Nov. 30 to remedy the situation, but the district decided to seek “clarification” first.

“It was important that we clarified this issue with the California Dept. of Education (CDE) because this is an important policy question facing most school districts in California and we wanted to make sure that we were appropriately and effectively implementing the law,” said Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Michelle Harold.

“With this guidance from CDE, we are taking several affirmative steps to change our policies, our practices, and our personnel’s approach to implementing the fee issues,” Harold explained.

On Dec. 12, Superintendent Robert Taylor sent out a letter to parents to offer refunds. He said the district will fully reimburse parents and students for the refunds ordered by the state.

Families must submit the refund form provided by the district by Jan. 23. Parents must also submit proof of payment, either a cancelled check or other evidence of payment.

If Walnut Valley doesn’t receive a form by Jan. 23, it will consider any payments to be a voluntary donation to the athletic programs.

 

 

Walnut Valley honors East San Gabriel Valley ROP

Walnut Valley Unified gave East San Gabriel Valley ROP special award. Chief Financial Officer Josephine Quach, Deputy Superintendent Kim Case with WVUSD Board Members Helen Hall, and Cindy Ruiz.

Walnut Valley Unified gave East San Gabriel Valley ROP special award. Chief Financial Officer Josephine Quach, Deputy Superintendent Kim Case with WVUSD Board Members Helen Hall, and Cindy Ruiz.

By Walnut Valley Unified

The Walnut Valley Unified School District presented the East San Gabriel Valley Regional Occupation Program and Technical Center with an Award of Special Recognition during the December Board Meeting.

“We’re very fortunate to work very closely with the East San Gabriel Valley ROP. Our students and community benefit a great deal from this partnership,” said Superintendent Dr. Robert Taylor.

ROP recently won two worldwide awards: Global Best in North America for 2014 and Overall Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Program.

This summer, Board Member Helen Hall flew to Brussels, Belgium to attend the awards ceremony with ROP Superintendent Dr. Laurel Adler.

“We’re very grateful for the time and energy Helen spends representing us,” said Board President Cindy Ruiz.

They met people from the other countries that were nominated including Africa, India, Finland, Scotland, Germany, South Africa, and Canada.

“We all spent several days exchanging information from our very different programs. And we didn’t know who would win until the awards night,” Hall said.

Deputy Superintendent Kim Case and Chief Financial Officer Josephine Quach were on hand to accept the award during the WVUSD Board Meeting.

“Thank you for your passion for all students and the programs that you create,” Hall said.

“The key is to keeping kids in school. ROP has a 13th Year Program for students who are not sure when they finish high school. They can go to ROP, take classes, get focused, and really move in the right track. It’s an amazing program and I’m glad our students benefit from this,” she stated. Hall also serves as a Board Member for the ESGVROP.

The highlight of the Brussels trip was meeting a young lady from NASA who worked on the Orion spacecraft, Hall explained.

“She offered our District the opportunity to send eight students and a teacher to NASA for a week. And they will pay for the trip to encourage more students into the space program.”

And WVUSD is very excited to participate!

Diamond Bar High’s Acciani in finals for a Grammy

Diamond Bar High School Instrumental Music Director Steve Acciani

Diamond Bar High School Instrumental Music Director Steve Acciani

By Walnut Valley Unified

Diamond Bar High School Instrumental Music Director Steve Acciani has been named a finalist for the Grammy Music Educator Award. Ten teachers were selected from over 7,000 nominations around the country for their significant contributions to music education. Each finalist will receive $1,000 honorarium.

“We are extremely proud of the recognition that Mr. Acciani has earned from the Grammy Foundation. He is an inspirational music teacher and an integral part of who we are as a community. We are so happy for him!” said Principal Catherine Real.

This is Acciani’s 26th year teaching in the Walnut Valley Unified School District.

“I feel so fortunate to live and work in a community that recognizes the importance of the arts for our students. The school district and community continues to provide fantastic support for our programs, allowing us to do some pretty amazing things,” Acciani said.

While the Grammy ceremony is held to present artists with the recording industry’s most prestigious award, the Grammy Foundation and Recording Company will also honor one local hero. The winner will be announced during the 57th Annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 8.

For the second year, the Grammy Music Educator Award will pay tribute to a special teacher for his/her remarkable impact on students. The winner will be flown to Los Angeles to accept the award, attend the Grammy Awards ceremony, and receive a $10,000 honorarium.

On Nov. 11, Grammy honorary chairman and “American Idol” host Ryan Seacrest visited Diamond Bar High to congratulate Acciani on being named one of the 25 semifinalists for the award.

Diamond Bar High was named the 2014 National Grammy Signature School becoming the first high school in California to receive the prestigious award.

Diamond Bar golfers sign with Pepperdine, UC Irvine

Two Brahma golfers, Sahith Theegala and Jefferson Kao, who have signed national letters of intent. Shown with Coach Ty Watkins and Principal Catherine Real.

Two Brahma golfers, Sahith Theegala and Jefferson Kao, who have signed national letters of intent. Shown with Coach Ty Watkins and Principal Catherine Real.

Two Diamond Bar High School varsity boys golfers have signed national college letters of intent. Seniors Sahith Theegala will attend Pepperdine University and Jefferson Kao will attend University of California, Irvine in the fall.

“It’s exciting and kind of unbelievable,” Kao said about the receiving the athletic scholarship. Kao and Jefferson have been varsity players since their freshman year.

“Entering the Brahma team, we already knew all the players. It was like a big family because we played completive junior golf,” Kao explained. “Our goal was to help each other improve, improve as a team, and to play our best.”

He first picked up the clubs at six years old – and they were the plastic ones.  Kao, age 17, is excited about his decision to play at UC Irvine.“I’m happy with the team, I already feel like it’s a family.”

Theegala said he only needed to look at a few colleges before making his decision. “It feels awesome,” Theegala said after the signing day. “Pepperdine met all my requirements and the coaches are amazing,” the 16-year-old said. He’ll be 17 in a week.

Theegala agreed that the long-term golf relationships helped the Brahma team. “We all knew each other coming here and kind of fed off each other.  And when the golf season starts we have so much fun. It goes by too fast!”

“The Diamond Bar Golf Program has had some great success over the past few years, mostly due to the great accomplishments of Sahith Theegala and Jefferson Kao,” praised Coach Ty Watkins.

The DBHS Boys Golf Team were named 2012 League Champions, CIF Champions, 2013 League Champions, CIF Champions, and 2014 League Champions, CIF Runner-ups.

The Varsity Boys Golf team has been riding on the coat tails of these two extraordinary young men, we are hoping to make one more run at a CIF title, and maybe even a run at a CIF State championship, like the Diamond Bar Girls team.  Our team is incredibly excited for Sahith and Jefferson, and we know the Pepperdine community of Malibu and the Irvine community will benefit because these two wonderful men.”

Ryan Seacrest honors Diamond Bar teacher

American Idol host Ryan Seacrest, left, celebrates with Diamond Bar High music director Steve Acciani.

American Idol host Ryan Seacrest, left, celebrates with Diamond Bar High music director Steve Acciani.

“American Idol” star Ryan Seacrest visited Diamond Bar High on Veteran’s Day to honor Music Director Steve Acciani, a semifinalist for the Grammy Music Educator Award.

The event was hosted by KIIS FM, which kept the students and families entertained while they waited for the television star to arrive.

Seacrest is an honorary chairman for the Grammy Foundation. He took time from his hectic schedule to meet one of the 25 national semifinalists. Music Director Buddy Clements at Walnut High is also a semifinalist.

Photos: American Idol host Ryan Seacrest visits Diamond Bar High

The award recognizes outstanding music teachers who have made significant contributions to music education.

“I was surprised when they called me two weeks ago and said they wanted to come out to meet me,” Acciani said. “I think its great for them to help support our music program.”

The gregarious teacher had to fight his way through the crowds to get to the stage when Seacrest called out his name. It seemed like all 700 students in the Brahmas music program showed up for the event.

Read more in Rich Irwin’s story IDOL.

Ryan Seacrest visits Diamond Bar High for Grammy semifinalist

Please join American Idol’s Ryan Seacrest, The Grammy Foundation, KIIS FM, and the Ford Motor Company to celebrate Diamond Bar High School’ Steve Acciani being named a national semifinalist for the Grammy Music Educator Award on Tuesday, November 11.

Come and help support the Diamond Bar High School Music Program!

Diamond Bar High School will be participating in the Ford Motor Company’s Drive 4 UR School national test drive program to help raise money for the school’s outstanding music program.

GRAMMY Foundation Honorary Chair Ryan Seacrest will be on hand to join members of the Diamond Bar community who participate and support DBHS by test-driving a new Ford vehicle.

For every person over 18 who test-drives at this one-day event, Ford Motor Company and Fairway Ford will donate $20, up to $6,000, to Diamond Bar’s music education program.

The event will also feature all 700 DBHS instrumental music students performing, and be hosted by KIIS FM.

The event will take place on Tuesday, November 11, from 11:00am until 5:00pm, with Ryan Seacrest expected to join the celebration from 1pm until 3pm.

Food trucks will be on hand, so come spend some time enjoying an afternoon out with the community.

Diamond Bar High School is located at 21400 E. Pathfinder Road in Diamond Bar.

Diamond Bar High names new dance teacher

 Kari Simonson copy

Kari Simonson is the new dance teacher for Diamond Bar High’s award-winning dance program. Simonson taught dance for two years and coached dance for eight years at Woodbridge High School in Irvine. She comes to us with over 20 years of dance experience.
Simonson is a graduate of Cal State University Fullerton and Chapman University. She has danced for well-known industry professionals like Mike Esperanza (BARE Dance Company) and Leanna Aldenda.
Simonson keeps her dance skills and knowledge current as a teacher and student at Defore Dance Center in Costa Mesa. She also has experience in Pilates and Barre fitness methods.