Fontana Unified’s Adult School Opens Enrollment for January Courses
Fontana Adult School will open enrollment for its January courses at 8 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 6, providing adult learners with opportunities to pursue new educational and professional pathways in the new year. Fontana Unified’s adult school provides students the opportunity to expand their education with an array of free and affordable courses aimed at developing new skills, earning high school diplomas and career technical education certificates, and more. Upcoming courses include post-pandemic assistance – such as a computer skills program to help students apply for jobs online and attend virtual interviews – and are accessible via in-person instruction as well as online and hybrid options. To register, visit the Fontana Adult School campus, located at 10755 Oleander Ave., Fontana.
Buena Park School District kindergartners are learning about compassion and togetherness through the District’s Kinder Kindness program, which recently awarded students medals for creating artwork that reflected the theme of being kind to one another. Some 335 kindergarten students received medals and cheers of praise from classmates, teachers and administrators for creating colorful depictions of goodwill during a series of award ceremonies across District elementary schools on Nov. 30.
The California High School music program is receiving accolades throughout California and beyond, with four Cal High choir members being recognized for their exceptional singing talents and being named to prestigious state and regional honor choirs. Cal High senior Calvin Monsivais has been named to the Southern California Vocal Association High School Honor Choir, while seniors Randall Pineda and Deanne Fonseca, along with sophomore Roxie Navarro, have been named to the American Choral Directors Association Western Region Honor Choir.
Buena Park School District’s Pendleton Elementary School has been named a candidate school for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme, which creates a foundation to nurture and develop young students into lifelong scholars. The IB Primary Years Programme offers an inquiry-based, transdisciplinary curriculum framework that promotes advanced learning opportunities in students ages three to 12. Pendleton School began its candidacy period on Nov. 16, and is pursuing authorization as an IB World School, offering challenging academic curriculum that will develop students' conceptual understanding, agency, and international mindedness.
Truman Middle School eighth-graders Iris Tovar and Keila Molina Hernandez have been recognized 2021 Houghton Mifflin Houghton (HMH) 180 Award winners – an honor given to just 30 students across the country – for their perseverance in overcoming past struggles with math and displaying academic progress. Tovar and Molina Hernandez were lauded for exhibiting engagement, consistency, and perseverance in class, where Truman Middle School math intervention teacher Sahar Yahya uses the HMH Math 180 curriculum to help students learn and grow through a digital framework that provides daily goals and instant assessments.
Pioneer High School senior Samantha Araujo was a freshman when she was summoned to her counselor’s office and told her father – the man who inspired her to be a scholar – had just died. Araujo spent weeks grieving, lacking the motivation to get out of bed. One day, Araujo began rereading her father’s encouraging text messages and returned to school with renewed enthusiasm. Araujo found an extended family in the Pioneer High Spirit and Dance team and a mentor in Dance Team Director Christine Avila. Araujo, who was honored as Pioneer High’s 2021-22 standout student, was recognized by the Whittier Union Board of Trustees with an Award of Merit during its Nov. 9 board meeting, honoring her resilience and determination in the face of adversity.
Fontana Adult School will open enrollment for its January courses at 8 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 6, providing adult learners with opportunities to pursue new educational and professional pathways in the new year. As part of the Fontana Unified School District, Fontana Adult School provides adult students at all stages of life the opportunity to expand their education with an array of free and affordable courses aimed at developing new skills, earning high school diplomas and career technical education certificates and more.
Proudly waving certificates and beaming with pride, 11 Whittier Union parents enrolled in the District’s Path to College Success Parent Mentors program celebrated the completion of their three-month parent mentor program, designed to increase parent engagement and support parents of English learners, during a virtual ceremony held Oct. 27. The goal of the Parent Mentor program is to train parent volunteers to promote a Road to College Success mentality for their children, while learning basic technology like accessing Zoom and sending emails. Upon completion of the program, parents serve as ambassadors throughout the District, sharing their knowledge with other parents. The parent graduates were the second cohort to complete the program, joining 12 parents who graduated in October 2020. During the ceremony, parents shared clips of a final video project demonstrating their understanding of a topic they studied, such as the benefits of being bilingual or how to apply for financial aid.
Fernando R. Ledesma High School has received a $5,000 grant from the Barona Band of Mission Indians to develop student literacy and promote a love of reading among underrepresented students. The high school began the application process for the Barona Education Grant after interviewing their Trinity Youth Services students. The feedback received expressed a high student interest in wanting to read more books that resonated with them.
Nearly 70 Buena Park School District students worked with snakes and bugs while learning about water conservation, recycling and plants during the District’s Super Saturday GATE event, a day of learning focused on science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM). The District’s long-standing Super Saturday events are held on a bi-annual basis, with one event in the fall and another in spring. Traditionally, Super Saturdays are engineering competitions – giving Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) students the chance to build objects such as rockets or miniature bridges. This year’s Super Saturday, held Nov. 13, focused on building environmental literacy through collaborative learning for water conservation, wildlife, plant life and recycling.
