San Gabriel Unified School District’s Governing Board selected Cheryl Shellhart as its new president, Dr. Gary Thomas Scott as vice president and Rochelle Kate Haas as clerk during a reorganization meeting on Dec. 11. Newly elected member Haas and re-elected members Dr. Scott and Cristina Alvarado also took the oath of office during the meeting.
Jefferson Middle School’s concert choir will bring holiday cheer to cancer patients from 10 to 11:15 a.m. Friday, Dec. 21 at City of Hope, 1500 E. Duarte Road, Duarte. Students will sing carols in the Helford lobby before caroling through the halls of the children’s ward. In the afternoon, the choir will stage a concert from 1 to 2:10 p.m. at Royal Vista Center, 901 W. Santa Anita St., San Gabriel.
Roosevelt Elementary students improved their performance on California’s English language arts (ELA) and mathematics tests in 2018, continuing a three-year upward trend attributed in part to the school’s Music Immersion Experience (MIE) program. Formed in 2015, the MIE program enhances student learning and achievement through music education. San Gabriel Unified launched the program after bring inspired by El Sistema programs throughout the country, as well as recent Northwestern University research that discovered a positive link between music education and lifelong academic success.
Jefferson Middle School students captured first, third and fourth-place trophies at the second Southern California Junior Forensic League tournament of the year, held Nov. 30 at Walter Reed Middle School. Daphne Nea took first place in Dramatic Interpretation, while Garrison Chan and Joseph Pheng won third in Original Duo and Mollee Angley placed fourth in Speeches to Entertain.
San Gabriel Fire Department will visit McKinley Elementary School with Santa Claus in tow to collect donations for the Spark of Love toy drive at 9 a.m. Friday, Dec. 21. The annual toy drive has collected millions of toys for children in need across Southern California over the last 26 years. McKinley Elementary is at 1425 Manley Drive, San Gabriel.
San Gabriel Unified’s Gabrielino High School students will enjoy a lecture via Skype with “The Hate U Give” author Angie Thomas on Monday, Dec. 10 as part of this year’s One City, One Book, One Read (OCOBOR) activities. The OCOBOR kicked off Dec. 3 with a visit from San Gabriel Police Chief Eugene Harris, who led students in small group discussions on how policing and race are dealt with in the novel. Gabrielino High is at 1327 S. San Gabriel Blvd., San Gabriel.
San Gabriel Unified School District will hold a presentation for middle school and high school parents on drug education and prevention from 7 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 18 at Gabrielino High School, 1327 S. San Gabriel Blvd., San Gabriel. Families will learn about vaping, substance abuse and mental health resources for students.
Gabrielino High School students hand-painted 24 Christmas ornaments to decorate a tree in the 2018 National Christmas Tree experience – the only California school selected and one of just 56 across the country. Gabrielino High was chosen to represent California in the display, in which the 6-foot trees surround the 48-foot National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse in President’s Park in Washington D.C.
Roosevelt Elementary fourth-graders honed their business skills during a Start-Up Summit, in which students applied for business licenses and designed, created and sold products to their peers, parents and community members. Students donated all funds raised to a Roosevelt fifth-grader who is battling cancer.
San Gabriel Unified’s Gabrielino High School held its second Mental Health Awareness Day of the year on Nov. 15, educating students and staff about anxiety and stress management. Students engaged in mindfulness activities and viewed “Angst,” a film and virtual reality experience exploring the causes of anxiety and highlighting options for handling the condition.
