Monrovia High Junior Natalia Guevara and Senior Eeana Torres led the school’s symbolic class walkout after the Parkland, Florida shootings in February, helping to provide a space to honor the lives lost and for their peers to voice their thoughts and feelings without leaving campus.
Abbott Elementary School will expand its arts curriculum to include a 45-minute art lesson per week for all K-6 students and add harmonica classes for third-grade students as part of a partnership with Turnaround Arts: California, which will provide up to $10,000 in annual financial support to help ensure arts education for every Abbott student.
Four Summit High School career technical education (CTE) students will advance to the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in June after earning gold medals during the California SkillsUSA finals, leading an effort that saw 13 Summit competitors win gold, silver, or bronze medals. During the state finals, held virtually in April, Summit juniors Vincent Caudillo and Christian Magana took gold medals in Cybersecurity, an event that saw Summit teams sweep the top four positions. Summit juniors Harsh Patel and Elijah Walker took gold in Robotics and Automation Technology. The winning teams were forged from two of Summit’s signature CTE pathways, Mechatronics and Ethical Hacking.
Baldwin Park Unified and Kaiser Permanente Baldwin Park Medical Center will hold a year-end celebration at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 10 for their award-winning Nutrition in the Garden partnership, which teaches elementary students the value of healthy eating. The program received a 2017 Golden Bell from the California School Boards Association. More than 160 fourth-graders took part in the program, planting seeds in the Baldwin Park Community Garden, tending them throughout the year, harvesting the produce and creating meals to share with their families. About 80 students along with instructors, parents, school and Kaiser Permanente officials will attend the event, which will feature a meal made and served by students from garden produce. The event will be at the community garden, 13067 Bess Ave., Baldwin Park.
More than 500 Lynwood Unified K-8 students put on their track shoes and school colors to compete in the District’s Track and Field Championships on April 21 at Lynwood High School.
Classical and contemporary melodies filled Monrovia High School’s Taylor Performing Arts Center as more than 600 Monrovia Unified instrumental and vocal music students dazzled in the seventh annual Superstars of Music Showcase. Students from grades two through 12 serenaded parents, educators and community members on May 10 with pieces ranging from Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” to pop-culture favorites like Howard Shore’s “The Lord of the Rings” score.
The El Monte Union High School District Board of Trustees recently honored six parents who dedicate their time to volunteering for the benefit of students, teachers, staff and the school communities they serve. Also recognized was the 2018-19 District Parent Volunteer of the Year: Jenny Cardenas from Fernando R. Ledesma High School.
Bassett High School Class of 2007 graduate William Herrera was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy at birth but that has not deterred him from pursuing a college education and becoming a graphic designer. Herrera has returned to Bassett High as a youth leader for community outreach provider THINK Together, giving back to the Bassett Unified community that supported him and inspiring a new generation of students.
Holland Middle School’s robotics team, which won the Teamwork Award at the VEX Robotics World Championships in Kentucky in April, was honored by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on May 1. The team is in its first year of competing and secured a spot at the World Championships with a come-from-behind second-place finish in the California finals. Photos are available. Photos are available.
Whittier Union High School District students took their first steps toward the next chapter of their academic futures during College Signing Day Ceremonies and Decision Day celebrations hosted by each comprehensive high school. Students signed “I’m Going to College” posters, decorated emblems and took celebratory group photos.