Youth Science Center offers summer classes in Hacienda Heights

The Youth Science Center has pulled up stakes and moved down the road to Bixby Elementary in Hacienda Heights this summer. But the science circus is still offering three rings of fun.

The summer session began June 9, with weekly courses spread over the next five weeks. Many of the classes were already full of inquisitive kids.

“It took a couple days to move all our equipment from Wedgeworth Elementary, but we’re up and running,” said Ron Chong, chairman of the board of directors.

Chong and his wife, Judy, were busy shuttling students to their new classes. Many kids return every year to study new subjects.

This year, the science center is teaching 3D printing with its new digital printer. The cool machine builds three-dimensional objects by building up layers of plastic.

“The 3D printers used to cost thousands of dollars, but now you can buy them for $600,” explained teacher Kim Bach.

Her 25 students were using a computer assisted design program to construct their own brightly-colored name tags. Bach’s son, Steven, had just finished building a tiny little billiards table that uses BBs as billiard balls.

The Bachs say 3D printers are the wave of the future in manufacturing. “They’ll probably land up in everyone’s home so they can make their own products,” the science teacher predicted.

Next door, young sleuths were investigating chromatography in their makeshift crime lab. They were learning how to discover whodunnit before their crime scene final on Friday.

Read more in Rich Irwin’s story SCIENCE.

Los Altos High students perform transplants for final in Hacienda Heights

Forget Doogie Howser, these real-life teens were transplanting organs in preserved pigs as part of their final exam in anatomy and physiology at Los Altos High School.

The pressure was on as six surgical teams took turns performing kidney, heart and lung transplants. They only had 90 minutes to save their patients on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a second surgical team was experiencing a rapid rise in their pig’s heart rate. Once again, the young surgeons had to decide which drug to administer.

“We have a special program for their tablets that allows me to introduce emergency situations during their operations,” explained teacher Sean Kane, chairman of the science department.

The tablets simulated the EKG and other medical monitors found in a real hospital. But any mistakes the young doctors made wouldn’t be fatal.

The ROP medical academy at Los Altos High began four years ago. This year, the academy offered eight sections, serving hundreds of Hacienda La Puente Unified students.

For more, read Rich Irwin’s story TRANSPLANT.

Los Altos High teen named Dell Scholar in Hacienda Heights

Jacqueline Alas is an AVID learner. And it has paid off for the 17-year-old senior at Los Altos High School, who has been named a Dell Scholarship recipient.

The Whittier resident will receive $20,000 over the next six years for college.

The student everyone calls Jackie credits the AVID program at Los Altos for helping her pursue her dream. The petite pupil wants to become a lawyer, then work as a public prosecutor.

She became interested in law when her sister began working for a law firm.

“I want to make a real difference in people’s lives,” Alas explained. “I’ve seen how the law can protect people and keep them safe.”

 

 

The teen takes several advanced placement courses at the Los Altos, in Hacienda Heights. She has a 3.9 grade point average and is a member of the dance team.

Alas is applying to Cal Poly Pomona and UC Santa Cruz. She plans to study criminal justice, before going on to law school. But right now, she’s enjoying the well wishes of students and staff.

“We’re all very proud of Jackie and what she’s accomplished,” said Principal Cheli McReynolds. “She’s a good indicator of what students can accomplish if they work hard.”

Read more in Rich Irwin’s story DELL.

Wilson High hold arts showcase in Hacienda Heights

Wilson High School held its third annual Arts Showcase on Wednesday from 3 to 7 p.m. in Hacienda Heights.

The showcase offered performances from the band, drama department, choir and color guard. There was also a Fine Art and Photography display in the Den.

The local high school also had a dessert food truck, as well as other food vendors throughout the afternoon and into the evening.

Los Altos High seeks panels for presentations in Hacienda Heights

Los Altos High School seniors need help in Hacienda Heights. Residents are invited to participate by sitting in on a senior project panel for the Class of 2014.

This year-long process is a tradition in the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District. It is a graduation requirement that provides local seniors with an opportunity to showcase their learning. They also gain experience in presenting to a panel of experts.

The panels will meet from 1:30 to 4 p.m. on May 1 and 2. The first 30 minutes is an introduction and review of the senior project. The panel will explain how it will assess the students’ presentations.

Each panel will evaluate students as they present a PowerPoint and portfolio. Students will then answer questions about their senior project.

This interaction provides real life experience for the students complete with feedback. Los Altos welcomes alumni, community members and businessmen to sit on the panels.

Interested residents should call 626-934-5418 and speak to Tina Banes or email cbanes@hlpusd.k12.ca.us or nmeylor@hlpusd.k12.ca.us.

Help Los Altos Elementary get a community garden grant in Hacienda Heights

Los Altos Elementary wants everyone to vote for them in the Seeds of Change competition on-line at www.seedsofchangegrant.com.

The organic seed company based in Rancho Dominguez donates 1 percent of its net sales toward sustainable organic farming initiatives worldwide. This year, it is awarding $190,000 in grants to community or school gardens.

In its grant application, the Hacienda Heights school said it would like to hold community events in the garden, where it would teach kids and families about healthy eating.

In addition, the school wants to show kids students what sustainability means. They’d show kids how to help the environment by composting and recycling.

The school has started a small garden club. It would like to do even more by adding an outside gate so community members can access the garden. They would add an area for residents to garden during the summer.

To vote for Los Altos Elementary, go to www.seedsofchangegrant.com. The voting period ends on April 21 and you may vote once a day.

Los Molinos students walk for autism awareness

Autism walks. It talks. It feels. Lessons learned by the kids at Los Molinos Elementary during Autism Awareness Week. A week that ended with a better understanding of a disorder that affects 1 in 88 children, including 1 in 54 boys.

From left, Brandon Bravo, 11, Elijah Hernandez, 9, and Alexia Cota-Montoya, 10, and their classmates at Los Molinos Elementary School in Hacienda Heights complete their autism awareness week with a walk for autism on Friday. (Staff Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz)

The students even staged their own autism walk Friday, marching in the bright noon day sun. The line of 300 students curved around the athletic field like so many soldiers marching into battle in Hacienda Heights.

In this case, they were raising money to battle a disorder characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors.

They were coaxed on by JACK FM, a radio station supporting the cause by lighting it up “blue” for Autism Awareness Month. Many students and parents took the time to sign up for the LA Autism Walk on April 20 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

Read more in Rich Irwin’s story AUTISM.

Ben Franklin visits St. Marks Lutheran School in Hacienda Heights

Alexis Chernin, 11, left, and Lucas Valero, 10, assist Benjamin Franklin with his “Electrostatic Generator,” during Ben Franklin’s Colonial Assembly: A Museum On Wheels, at St. Marks Lutheran School, in Hacienda Heights. (Correspondent Photo by James Carbone)

Ben Franklin was very frank with the students at St. Mark’s Lutheran School. Electrostatic charges can kill. Just ask Franklin’s colleague, who tried to duplicate the famous inventor’s kite experiment.

Fortunately, none of the kids were hurt by Ben’s electrostatic generator, part of a mobile museum from the International Printing Museum of Carson. But their program on this famous American did spark the imagination of students and staff at the Hacienda Heights campus.

“We study Benjamin Franklin in the fifth grade and I think this program really brings history alive,” said teacher Jenn Estrada, who took her turn holding a fluorescent tube out toward the generator to illuminate the subject.

Read more in Rich Irwin’s story FRANKLIN. 

Fairy tales come true at St. Mark’s in Hacienda Heights

Students rehearses “Into The Woods, Junior” at St. Mark’s Lutheran School in Hacienda Heights.

Fairy tales do come true. At least at St. Mark’s Lutheran School, which is performing “Into the Woods, Junior” for its spring musical.

The Tony Award winning play opens tonight at 7 p.m. And as usual, the Hacienda Heights school has gone to great lengths to prepare an enjoyable experience.
“It’s one of my favorite musicals, but it’s challenging because it has a large cast and each has a solo. I thought we had the singers to do it this year,” said Drama Director Julie Evangelista.

So if you enjoyed “Jack and the Bean Stalk” playing in the local movie theater, or watch “Once Upon a Time” on Sundays, then this is a chance to see your favorite fairy tale characters come to life on stage.

The storybook creatures are all there, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack, Rapunzel and Cinderella. Follow the “Into the Woods” as they explore the stories from several tales told by the Brothers Grimm.

Read more in Rich Irwin’s story GRIMM.