San Gabriel Unified’s Gabrielino High School held its second Mental Health Awareness Day of the year on Nov. 15, educating students and staff about anxiety and stress management. Students engaged in mindfulness activities and viewed “Angst,” a film and virtual reality experience exploring the causes of anxiety and highlighting options for handling the condition.
Columbia School seventh-grader Nohelia Vega is a natural tinkerer – she likes to build things and dreams of a career in engineering because she wants to use math and science to solve the world’s problems. When Vega learned that she could study engineering and coding through El Monte City School District’s new robotics program, she saw it as a perfect pathway to her career goals. The robotics program, which is part of the District’s Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program, was launched in January by GATE lead teacher Cynthia Diaz.
Fontana Unified’s Board of Education appointed Jason O’Brien as its new president and Marcelino “Mars” Serna as vice president/clerk during its reorganization meeting on Dec. 12. Recently re-elected members Serna and Mary Sandoval, as well as newly elected member Adam Perez, were sworn in during the meeting.
Lisette Idalia Mendez and Julia Ruedas are the newest members of El Monte City School District’s Board of Education following the Nov. 6 election while incumbent Elizabeth Rivas won her bid for re-election, according to preliminary election results.
Bonita Unified School District voters on Nov. 6 re-elected current Board of Education President Charles “Chuck” Coyne and elected Derek Bahmanou to the Board of Education, according to preliminary election results.
Rio Hondo College voters on Nov. 6 re-elected Norma Edith García and elected Whittier residents Rosaelva Lomeli and Oscar Valladares to serve on the Board of Trustees, according to preliminary election results. García, who was first elected in 2009, serves Trustee Area 1, which includes the city of El Monte. Lomeli, a science teacher at Suva Intermediate School in Montebello, will serve Trustee Area 3, which includes Whittier and South El Monte. Valladares, a deputy public conservator in the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, will serve Trustee Area 5, which includes East Whittier.
El Monte Union High School District voters on Nov. 6 approved Measure HS, a $190 million facilities bond that will fund basic repairs, upgrade school safety and security, and enhance learning facilities at each high school.
Lynwood Unified’s Pathway High School unveiled three new bungalows and a basketball court during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Nov. 1. Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon joined community leaders, students, staff and parents to dedicate the new facilities. The school’s independent studies program provides an alternative to a traditional high school schedule.
San Gabriel Unified’s Jefferson Middle School will held its sixth annual College Day on Nov. 16. Students attended dozens of workshops about college and career pathways before finishing the day with a college-themed tailgate celebration.
Rio Hondo College will celebrate the graduation of its second cohort of Tesla-trained automobile technicians – 13 men and three women – in a special ceremony from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9 at the College’s state-of-the-art Automotive Shop, 3600 Workman Mill Road, Whittier. The students are among the first in the nation to complete a 12-week Tesla START program that includes more than 800 hours of training.
