Baldwin Park High School’s quad was aglow from strings of Christmas lights, students and families laughing over hot pozole and music from the Braves orchestra during the school’s Multicultural Winter Festival on Dec. 8. Open to the public, the BPHS quad was filled with community members enjoying the evening festivities, including photos with Santa Claus and special student and club performances.
Lynwood Unified held a “Health for the Holidays” Community Wellness Fair on Dec. 7 and provided students and families with a variety of resources, health services and complimentary meals. Attendees had the opportunity to receive free flu and COVID-19 vaccines, health exams, eye exams and glasses, as well as other essential health services during the event. They also enjoyed free snacks, meals and giveaways. State Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction Steve Zimmer also attended the community event.
Río Hondo College has received a $3 million Title V grant to create an invention education and social entrepreneurship program, which aims to encourage students’ social, emotional, academic and career development. The grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Education to create a program known as Communities Uniting to Model and Build Regional Entrepreneurial Success (CUMBRES). CUMBRES will create a new degree pathway at Río Hondo College to inspire anyone regardless of age, race, geography, and professional status to be an inventor and/or social entrepreneur with a focus on LatinX students and adult learners.
Buena Park Middle School’s band and choir students filled the halls of Thanksgiving Church and thrilled family and community members with the sounds of classical music standards and holiday favorites during its “Let it Snow” Winter Concert on Dec. 8. The concert was directed by Buena Park Middle School band and choir Director Dylan Locke with help from California State University, Long Beach student-teachers Alix Aber and Kelsey Lih, who served as co-conductors for the evening. Some 250 guests were in attendance for the event.
Bonita Unified School District welcomed one new and two returning Board of Education members during its Dec. 14 Board meeting, ushering in a new era on a night that also saw longtime Board member Chuck Coyne retire after serving 17 years on the Board. Returning Board members Derek Bahmanou and Jim Elliot joined newly elected member Chris Ann Horsley to take the oath of office; Horsley was also selected to serve as Board clerk. Bahmanou and Elliot were elected to four-year terms, while Horsley was elected to serve a two-year term. Board president Glenn Creiman, who was elected in 2003 and Board vice president Greg Palatto, elected in 2020, complete the Board of Education.
El Monte Union hosted a swearing-in ceremony for its newly elected Board member Qui Nguyen and re-elected Board members Florencio Briones and Ricardo Padilla, as well as a farewell recognition for outgoing Board member David Diaz, during its Dec. 14 Board meeting. During the ceremony, Nguyen, Briones and Padilla recited the Oath of Office, giving their word to accomplish their duties as a Board member and to uphold the values of the District throughout the next four years.
A new era for the Whittier Union Board of Trustees was ushered in during its Dec. 13 Board meeting, with the Whittier Union community welcoming two newly elected Board of Trustee members, Irma Rodríguez Moisa and Gary Mendez, as well as returning member, Dr. Russell Castañeda Calleros. Rodríguez Moisa and Mendez were officially seated as Board members after taking the Oath of Office during a celebratory ceremony where they were joined by family, friends and community supporters. This is the first time in the Board’s more than 100-year history that it has seated an all Latino/a Board. The Board reorganization meeting, which followed the ceremony, saw Trustee Jaime Lopez step into his new role as president. The Board also selected Dr. Ralph Pacheco to serve as vice president and Mendez to serve as clerk, with outgoing Board president Dr. Castañeda Calleros and Rodríguez Moisa rounding out the Board.
Jurupa Hills High School seniors Danielle Turner, Kaitlin Cervantes and Daniela Garcia were selected to feature their art in the City of Fontana’s High School Artist Showcase, recognizing their creative talent, technique and conceptual skills. The exhibition at the Art Depot Gallery – which runs through Sunday, Jan. 8 – features more than 50 artworks of high school students throughout the city. Turner won the Best in Show award for her piece “Black Identity,” a mixed medium self portrait, symbolizing both the positive and negative history of Black people in America and highlighting elements of Black culture. Cervantes’ self portrait, “In All Directions,” won the Discipline and Innovation award for her representation of how anxiety feels. The Art Depot Gallery is located at 16822 Spring St., Fontana.
Jurupa Hills High School seniors Danielle Turner, Kaitlin Cervantes and Daniela Garcia were selected to feature their art in the City of Fontana’s High School Artist Showcase, recognizing their creative talent, technique and conceptual skills. The students were selected for the showcase – which runs through Sunday, Jan. 8 – by Aubry Grosso, who teaches International Baccalaureate (IB) Art at Jurupa Hills High School. The exhibition features more than 50 artworks of high school students throughout the city.
Hacienda La Puente Unified’s new Board of Education members, Gino Kwok and Nancy Loera, as well as returning Board member Jeffrey De La Torre, took the Oath of Office during the Board meeting on Dec. 13. State Senator Bob Archuleta swore in Kwok and Loera, while De La Torre was sworn in by daughter Anna Maria De La Torre, mother Maria De La Torre and wife Elena De La Torre. During the meeting, the Board reorganized for one-year terms, electing Christine H. Salazar as Board president, Stephanie Serrano as vice president and Jeffrey De La Torre as clerk, with Leora and Kwok serving the community as Board members.
