As the Kaiser High School Catamount Pride Band and Color Guard marched down Colorado Boulevard during their inaugural Tournament of Roses performance on New Year’s Day, they were cheered on by scores of supporters shouting, “Kaiser is Number One!” Kaiser High hopes its appearance as the Premier Band in the 2019 parade – a historic first for the school and the district – marks the beginning of a long relationship with the organization.
Rio Hondo College has launched a free tutoring program for area public schools in its Adopt-A-School program, providing college students who are studying child development and related fields to assist K-12 students during and after school. The program was piloted in spring at Scott Avenue Elementary in East Whittier City School District and is now offered there and at Dean Shively Middle School in Valle Lindo Elementary School District. It is expanding to encompass others in the College’s Adopt-A-School program, which has linked the campus to area schools for several years.
Baldwin Park Unified held an Oath of Office Ceremony on Dec. 10. for returning Board of Education member Betsabel Lara and newly elected members Deanna Coronado Robles and Robert Guzman Varela. During the organizational meeting, Board of Education member Christina Lucero was nominated as board president and Lara was selected to serve as vice president and clerk.
At El Monte City School District’s new Kindergarten Parent Academy, parents are learning fun and engaging ways to teach children about the alphabet with word-matching games, the importance of jumping and skipping to stay physically active and how to read print books in a technology-filled world. The Kindergarten Parent Academy, which started in November, teaches parents how to guide their children in mastering motor skills, English language arts, math and social and emotional development in a series of four workshops throughout the school year. Each District school hosts its own workshops for parents with children in transitional kindergarten and kindergarten.
San Gabriel Unified School District’s Governing Board selected Cheryl Shellhart as its new president, Dr. Gary Thomas Scott as vice president and Rochelle Kate Haas as clerk during a reorganization meeting on Dec. 11. Newly elected member Haas and re-elected members Dr. Scott and Cristina Alvarado also took the oath of office during the meeting.
Fontana Unified Honors School Police Officers for Life-saving Efforts
Fontana School Police Chief Martin Sissac and Fontana Unified School District honored school police officers during the Dec.12 Board of Education meeting for life-saving measures they took to help a local resident. Board members commended the school police department for their work in serving the school community as well as the city of Fontana.
Bonita Unified School District boosted performance in multiple areas on the updated California School Dashboard. Released on Dec. 6, the updated Dashboard includes two new metrics for evaluating school and District performance and a user-friendly interface that makes complex data easy to understand. Bonita Unified students continue to perform strongly on the state’s English language arts and math proficiency tests. The District also boasts strong graduation rates and exceptional college and career programs.
Baldwin Park High School senior Karmen Lance and her two partners scanned the computer network of a small company for cyber-attacks while maintaining critical services on Dec. 8 as they competed in a virtual computer competition. Lance and her team were acting as IT professionals in the CyberPatriot National Youth Cyber Defense Competition, created by the Air Force Association to inspire students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics
Baldwin Park Unified Vocal Ensemble to Perform during Toy Drive
Vocal ensemble students from Sierra Vista High School’s choral music department will deliver a foot-tapping holiday performance for the California Highway Patrol’s annual CHiPs for Kids Toy Drive. The event will be broadcast on CBS 2 and KCAL 9 at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 19 at the West Covina Mall. The mall is at Plaza West Covina, 428 Plaza Drive, West Covina.
Bonita Unified Elementary Choirs to Celebrate Holidays with Winter Concerts
Bonita Unified’s elementary school choirs will ring in the holiday season with four performances on Monday, Dec. 17 and Tuesday, Dec. 18. Oak Mesa and Shull elementary students in the Allegro Honor Choir will perform at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 17 at the Bonita Center for the Arts (BCA). Grace Miller and La Verne Heights elementary students in the Allegro Honor Choir will showcase their skills at 7 p.m. Dec. 17 at the BCA. Gladstone and Ekstrand’s Allegro Honor Choir students will perform at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 18, followed by Allen Avenue and Roynon Allegro Honor Choir students at 7 p.m. at the BCA.
