Arroyo High School held an open house on Dec. 17 to showcase their one-acre on-campus garden, also known as the ‘Farm Lab,’ where students grow and harvest their own produce, learn about ecology and farming science and how to conserve water to preserve the ecosystem. The urban garden provides a flourishing and sustainable food source for hungry families with a variety of crops, including fruits such as lemon, orange and papaya, medicinal and culinary herbs, root vegetables like carrots, radishes and sweet potatoes, lemon grass, sugar cane and more. While at the open house, guests had the opportunity to enjoy garden-grown basil lemonade, win raffle prizes and make party baskets full of harvested produce.
Football history was made at San Francisco’s Kezar Stadium as the Northview High School varsity football team competed in their first-ever CIF Southern California Division 4-A State Championship game on Dec. 11, 2021.
Coming into the game, the Vikings were experiencing one of Northview’s most successful seasons in years, winning the CIF Southern Section (CIF-SS) Division 10 Championship title for the first time since 1987 and the school’s first CIF-SS Division 4-A regional championship.
William Workman High School celebrated its remodeled media center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Jan. 11, unveiling new flooring, paint, updated furniture and audio-visual equipment made possible by a $100,000 donation from Class of 1990 graduate Les Callahan. Modernizations began in November 2021, bringing Callahan’s goal of an enhanced educational space to fruition in early January. The media center now serves as a hub of resources and a safe space for students to study, relax, collaborate, and host club meetings and tutoring sessions during and after school.
Baldwin Park High School Automotive Tech Program Receives Donation
Baldwin Park High School’s automotive technology program received a professional dustless sanding system from education partner and owner of DG Collision Center in Covina, Dan Hansen. Hansen, along with representatives from 3M and Martin Auto Color, hosted a workshop for students on how to use the new equipment in December.
Bonita Unified Band Director Performs in 2022 Rose Parade
In 1991, Bonita Unified band director Kelly Leyva showcased her musical talent on a world stage, marching in the Tournament of Roses Parade as a student in Los Angeles Unified School District’s All District Honor Marching Band. In a full-circle moment, Leyva returned to march the 5.5-mile parade route in the 2022 Tournament of Roses Parade on Jan. 1 – this time, as part of a 270-member marching band consisting of band directors from across the United States. As part of the Saluting America’s Band Directors project, Leyva and her fellow band directors performed in the Band Directors Marching Band and accompanied a colorful, animated float that embodied the theme “America’s Band Directors: We teach music. We teach life.”
Lynwood Unified Superintendent Selected for STEM Equity Committee
Lynwood Unified Superintendent Dr. Gudiel R. Crosthwaite has been selected as just one of 16 applicants to serve as a committee member on the Board on Science Education and the National Academy of Engineering project, which will address educational equity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in the TK-12 system. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine have been working for decades to gain expert knowledge while studying complex challenges in today’s society. Thousands of experts from across the world join study committees annually to help address weaknesses in forensic branches of study.
Hacienda La Puente Unified Seeks Community Input for By-Trustee Maps
Hacienda La Puente Unified School District will hold two community input meetings on Thursday, Jan. 6 and Tuesday, Jan. 18 to discuss the 2020 Census Evaluation and Trustee Area Boundary Adjustments. Two proposed maps have been shared with the community on the HLPUSD website and will be addressed through a series of in-person and virtual community meetings, public hearings and Board meetings. The Board will select a final map on Thursday, Feb. 10. The approved map will then be presented to the Los Angeles County Committee on School District Organization for final approval.
El Monte Union Narrows Trustee Area Maps Down to Three
The El Monte Union High School District Board of Trustees has narrowed the number of draft trustee area maps to three and will hold a final hearing to consider and select a final trustee area map and sequence of elections, at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 2, at the District Office, 3537 Johnson Ave., El Monte. The District released an updated map, NDC Green 3, for public review. This map, along with NDC Orange and NDC Yellow 2, will be considered before a final trustee area map is selected by the Board. The public is invited to participate in-person or virtually. Visit emuhsd-by-area-trustees.com to view the maps, submit comments, and for more information.
Río Hondo College professor, playwright and alumnus Josh Gallegos is bidding the College farewell after more than 50 years of memories in athletics, speech and debate, performing arts and overall excellence. Gallegos has served as an adjunct professor for Río Hondo College’s Division of Communications and Languages since 1981, but his longstanding relationship with Río Hondo College began as a student.
Fontana Unified students will receive at-home COVID-19 tests as part of the District’s continued commitment to providing safe and healthy learning environments and a statewide effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in schools. The District is working with the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools to receive and distribute the rapid COVID-19 tests, which are being provided to school districts by the California Department of Public Health, as soon as possible. Fontana Unified will continue to offer ongoing COVID-19 testing clinics, which are available to students, employees and the greater community at no cost. For testing dates, times and locations, visit https://www.fusd.net/coronavirus.
