West Covina High School’s band and color guard will perform at the West Covina Mall tree lighting ceremony at 6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 24. The band will lead the countdown to the tree lighting and delight attendees with musical entertainment as they meet Santa and enjoy activities like face painting. The ceremony will take place outside the mall near Best Buy, 1800 Plaza Drive, West Covina.
A senior in Edgewood High School’s International Baccalaureate (IB) program, inspired to seek new academic and professional challenges, has won a coveted award that will help her launch the startup company SafeDetect. EHS senior Vanessa Li – working with a team of two UC Berkeley bioengineering students and a data scientist – co-created a simple, discreet and efficient way to test for HIV during the MIT San Francisco Grand Hack event held this fall. Their efforts captured third place in their track and secured a UC San Francisco Rosenman Institute Prize, which provides resources to help winners patent their products, pitch to investors and launch startups.
Fontana Unified, Fontana School Police Department and community members kicked off the holiday season with the first toy donations in the 22nd annual Fontana Santas Toy Drive, which aims to bring holiday cheer to families in need. Fontana School Police Officer Cindy Evaro and district employee Lydia Wibert began Fontana Santas 22 years ago when they learned a Fontana boy ran away from home after Christmas because he did not receive any presents. Evaro, Wibert and Fontana School Police collected toys and donations from local organizations and delivered them to students during the holidays.
Baldwin Park Unified, in collaboration with the City of Baldwin Park and community partners, is seeking donations for the 23rd annual Santa Clothes Project, which will provide 350 students in need with a shopping trip to buy new winter clothes and shoes. The project will match Baldwin Park Unified students across all levels of instruction with volunteer shoppers, including Superintendent Dr. Froilan N. Mendoza, to help find their perfect set of winter clothes.
Paramount High School West Campus welcomed eighth-graders from Leona Jackson and Alondra middle schools on Nov. 12 when they hosted the young students for an orientation event. The PHS band and dancers performed for the middle school students, who also visited classrooms and connected with high school students.
Seventeen Fontana Unified schools were recognized at the fourth annual Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Showcase, held Nov. 14 in San Bernardino. The showcase highlighted schools that have effectively used PBIS strategies to foster a positive school climate and increase student engagement, netting platinum, gold, silver and bronze awards.
Fifty Orangewood Elementary School students received new shoes thanks to a collaboration between Nordstrom and Shoes that Fit, an organization that ensures families in need can equip their students with shoes.
Jada McFarlin, a student at Inglewood Unified’s Crozier Middle School, has been named the winner of the districtwide “Every Student Every Day” Attendance Art Contest. McFarlin sketched a colorful work that reflected unity and student potential. The contest required students to create artwork that reflected the theme of the District’s attendance campaign. McFarlin’s art will be featured on future attendance materials.
Football players at Inglewood Unified’s Woodworth-Monroe K-8 Academy received new jerseys, shorts, cleats and sunglasses from the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 13 through a partnership between Inglewood Unified, the City of Inglewood and the Rams. Inglewood Mayor James Butts and the Rams mascot visited the school campus for a celebration of community and partnership.
Buena Park School District will honor seven Emery School students for exemplifying superb core ethical values and fostering a friendly campus atmosphere during a Board of Education meeting at 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 16. Emery School administrators will also give a presentation to the Board of Education about its focus on science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM). The meeting is at the district office, 6885 Orangethorpe Ave., Buena Park.