West Covina Honors Commended Students in Nat’l Merit Scholar Program
Edgewood High School students Ethan Lee and Harris Thai have been named Commended Students in the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program. The recognition recognizes students’ exceptional academic promise, demonstrated by their outstanding performance in the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Two-thirds of the approximately 50,000 high scorers on the test from across the nation are designated as Commended Students
Baldwin Park Unified Music Teachers Guide Students with 1-on-1 Lessons
Baldwin Park Unified's music teachers from middle school to high school are putting in countless hours to support students, with virtual one-on-one lessons, class check-ins and increased support services. Sierra Vista High School's choral music director and piano studies instructor Suzanne Brookey and piano tutor Kevin Phan helped students hone their skills during distance learning, preparing them for a virtual piano recital.
El Monte Union Farm Lab Provides Template for Sustainability
Arroyo High School’s Farm Lab, developed through a partnership with EcoUrban Gardens and the City of Hope, provides a template for sustainability that can help transform urban food deserts into rich sources of nutrition and biodiversity, while opening doors for students eager to pursue careers in biology, environmental science and urban agriculture. The Farm Lab includes an organic garden, fruit orchard, eco-lab, butterfly garden, compost area, bioswale, hügelkultur and regenerative learning center. Produce picked from the garden has been made available to the Arroyo community during weekly drive-through meal services. A video showcasing the benefits on the Farm Lab is available on YouTube.
Twelve Whittier Union parents celebrated their graduation from a District mentoring program on Oct. 14 by presenting videos demonstrating how they will teach parents to find online school resources, monitor grades and strengthen children’s social-emotional well-being. The virtual graduation ceremony, held largely in Spanish to reflect the first language of many Whittier Union families, marked the District’s culmination of this fall’s Parent Mentor training. The program is committed to closing the gap for students in the English learner program and supporting Spanish-speaking parents.
Baldwin Park Unified Dual Language Program to Create Community Altar
Sierra Vista High School’s Dual Language Program is commemorating community members and loved ones who passed due to COVID-19 by creating a Día de los Muertos altar in their memory. The school reached out to the BPUSD community through online channels to collect submissions. District and school community members were asked to submit a photograph, a brief description and a few objects that best represent the individual. The altar will be in front of the school through Tuesday, Nov. 3.
El Monte Union High School District and the El Monte Promise Foundation are honoring 1,800 Class of 2020 graduates with 400 individualized banners displayed along major corridors and streets across the three cities that the District’s six high schools call home. The banners – which recognize graduates from Arroyo, El Monte, Fernando R. Ledesma, Mountain View, Rosemead and South El Monte high schools – each include up to four student photos, names and plans for college, trade school or military. The Class of 2020 donation campaign was created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that halted many graduation ceremonies across the nation. Banners are placed on streetlights within District boundaries and near each high school.
Gordon H. Beatty Middle School has chosen the mighty Bronco as its new mascot after gathering votes from the school’s parents, students and staff members and factoring in student essays detailing their preferred symbol. Principal Erik Bagger said the decision to update the former elementary school’s longtime mascot, the Colt, was to show its maturation into a middle school. Bagger said the Bronco is a great way to honor the past mascot and create a connection to Buena Park Middle school, whose mascot is the Stallion.
Lynwood Unified has launched an Independent Study Virtual Academy to provide an alternative instructional program for families who need unique support during distance learning and beyond.
Remote instruction has challenged each family differently, and the District’s Virtual Academy will allow students to study at their own pace while still receiving the full curriculum of their peers. Available to K-8 students, the academy will remain open as an option once the District returns to onsite learning.
El Monte Union Student Receives Nomination for Theater Competition
Arroyo High School student Terralyn Contresceri-Ryan pursues her passion in musical theater by actively searching for online opportunities while on distance learning. Just recently, Contresceri-Ryan was accepted as a nominee for Broadway’s Next on Stage, a high school musical theater competition. In Contresceri-Ryan’s video submission she performed “Sonya Alone” from the musical “Natashe, Pierra and the Great Comet of 1812.” Though she did not qualify for Top 30, Contresceri-Ryan’s dedication is a great example of the passion and drive El Monte Union students have.
Whittier Union Auto Shop Program Keeps Students Engaged Interactively
Whittier Union’s California High School auto shop teacher Bill Buttinelli has found a creative approach to keeping students engaged in class, even though the course relies heavily on hands-on training. Buttinelli uses video to provide students with demonstrations of the tasks and subjects they are covering. After Zoom class is completed, he re-records the tasks with a higher-quality camera that shows more details and a closer view of the work being performed. Additionally, Buttinelli created a YouTube channel that is available for his automotive students and is specifically designed to reinforce the tasks students would have performed in-person.
