More than 300 students in kindergarten through third grade at El Monte City School District’s Potrero School received new pairs of athletic shoes during a Shoes That Fit event on Jan. 23 funded by Kaiser Permanente Medical Center Baldwin Park. Shoes That Fit is a Claremont-based nonprofit that battles poverty by giving children new pairs of shoes with help from the community.
Erick Jiminez, a senior at Inglewood Unified’s City Honors Preparatory Academy, took a step closer to his dream of a career in aerospace when he earned acceptance to the California Institute of Technology as a four-year QuestBridge Scholar, which will cover his tuition, room and board, books and travel expenses. Class valedictorian with a 4.36 GPA, Jiminez scored in the top 3 percent in the nation on the PSAT and earned a 1460 on his SAT. He plans to major in math or engineering.
More than 50 students from San Dimas High School’s drama club and from Bonita Unified’s elementary and middle schools will stage the Broadway musical “Big Fish” at the Bonita Center of the Arts, 822 W. Covina Blvd., San Dimas. Performances will run at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 30 and Thursday, Jan. 31, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 1 and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2. Tickets are $5 for students, $15 for the presale and $20 at the door.
San Gabriel Unified’s Gabrielino High School will hold its latest parent seminar, “Ask a Counselor,” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20. Parents will have the opportunity to meet with Gabrielino’s school counselors and discuss high school education and college-prep topics during the forum. Gabrielino High is at 1327 S. San Gabriel Blvd., San Gabriel.
Lynwood Unified will hold a family engagement workshop from 9 to 11 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 29 at the Lindbergh Elementary School Parent Center to help parents inspire and connect with their children. The session will tackle how to teach children and young adults to appreciate themselves and others. Light refreshments, childcare and Spanish translation will be provided. The center is at 3300 Agnes St., Lynwood.
The Inglewood Unified community will celebrate the start of renovations for the new Woodworth-Monroe TK-8 Academy with a groundbreaking ceremony at 2:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 28 at 10711 S. 10th Ave., Inglewood. The projects will include a new modular classroom building and overall improvements. The academy will open in fall, combining Clyde Woodworth Elementary and Monroe Magnet Middle School into one campus.
Inglewood Unified will help families prepare and enroll for the 2019-20 school year during its districtwide Enrollment Fair from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Jan. 26. The event will unfold at all IUSD school campuses to showcase the district’s programs, including dual-language immersion, college and career pathways, STEM and transitional kindergarten, which is available at all elementary schools.
El Monte City School District’s Mariachi Academy, launched at Potrero School in October 2018, is inspiring students to fill their lives with rhythm by teaching them the trumpet, guitar, vihuelas, violin and guitarrón. The after-school program, led by instructors from the Jose Hernandez Mariachi Academy, aims to foster a love of music and culture.
The National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) has named Rio Hondo College Vice President of Student Services Henry Gee as one of two recipients of the 2019 Fred Turner Award for Outstanding Service to NASPA. The lifetime achievement award honors a NASPA member who has served in leadership roles at the state, regional, national or international levels of NASPA, and who has been a member for at least 10 years. Gee has served in higher education for 40 years. He has served in his current position for 15 years, in addition to recently taking on the task of interim executive director for the Rio Hondo College Foundation. He will receive the honor at NASPA’s 100th anniversary conference on March 12 in Los Angeles.
At just 5 years old, Plymouth Elementary kindergarten student Addison Iylah MacLellan has inspired her family, friends, and doctors with her remarkable resilience and bravery through more than 20 surgeries, and recently celebrated with a family trip to Disneyland sponsored by the Make-A-Wish Foundation. At birth, Addison was diagnosed with a number of illnesses including hydrocephalus, caudal regression syndrome, hydronephrosis, seizures, tethered cord, mild autism, and more. Her parents were told she would be in a vegetative state for life, but Addison repeatedly surprised her doctors by keeping a positive mindset and quickly adapting after procedures. Addison was presented with her wish during an instructional day at school. It came as a surprise to her and her classmates, who cheered her on.
