Five-time NBA champion Michael Cooper, who played on the Los Angeles Lakers alongside Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the 1980s, shared secrets of his success with about 100 Lynwood Unified students at Cesar Chavez Middle School on Feb. 6. Cooper put students to the test during shooting drills and imparted his five Ds of success: determination, dedication, desire, discipline and decision-making.
Jon Bernthal, star of “Marvel’s The Punisher,” shared his life story with about 75 drama students from Firebaugh High and Lynwood Middle schools on Feb. 6. Bernthal, who also had pivotal roles in “Baby Driver” and “The Walking Dead,” struggled to find direction as a high school student before discovering acting. He urged Lynwood Unified students to pursue their passions.
Longtime Bassett High cross country coach Hector Armas is credited with bringing 12 cross country athletes to compete at CIF Southern Section Championship Finals, the first time in the school’s history in which the entire boys’ varsity cross country team has competed in the state finals. Armas started as a counselor at Bassett High in 1985 and expanded his role as a coach in 1994, helping the girls cross country team win league titles three years in a row and the boys team win four consecutive league titles and ranking 10th in the state. Over the last two years, Armas has coached two runners at the CIF State Championships.
Dr. Lucy Jones, a noted seismologist for 33 years with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), will speak at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 21 at Rio Hondo College’s Wray Theater on how earthquakes, floods and other disasters have both benefited and beset civilizations throughout recorded history. Jones, who developed the Great ShakeOut, an earthquake drill that has engaged 55 million participants, also will discuss what disasters reveal about mankind’s potential for humanitarian efforts. The theater is at 3600 Workman Mill Road, Whittier.
Two Paramount Unified middle schools were honored in January at Staples Center after one won a robotics challenge and the other finished second place in the Los Angeles Clippers Read to Achieve educational program. The Paramount Park Middle School Panthers Robotics Club took first place over nine other teams in the STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) Robotics Challenge middle school division.
More than 100 students and their families attended Foster Elementary School’s inaugural STEAM night on Feb. 1. The event expanded on an annual event celebrating science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) topics by adding art. The school provided 12 project stations ranging from designing a boat and operating a gyrocopter to making slime and building a spaghetti tower.
Santa Fe High School senior Kyla Moore has a passion for the arts, communicating with her friends and family through song, dance and sign language. With an eye toward earning a degree in public relations, Moore has been accepted into Pepperdine University on a full-ride scholarship from the Posse Foundation. The foundation identifies students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential, but who may be overlooked by traditional college selection processes. Moore, who holds a weighted 4.39 GPA, ranks 10th in her class and has taken several rigorous Advanced Placement courses. She has been in choir all four years and is a community volunteer for the youth cheerleading program, SFS 49ers.
Summit High School was named a 2017-18 Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) Highly Certified Site for encouraging independent thinkers, increasing the college-going rate to four-year universities and providing students with tools for academic and professional success. In 2016-17, 59 of the 60 seniors enrolled in AVID were accepted to four-year universities. AVID works to narrow the achievement gap between the lowest- and highest-performing students and increase the number who pursue higher education.
The El Monte-Rosemead Adult School received a $15,000 donation from the Stanley W. Ekstrom Foundation for student scholarships. Ekstrom founded Cardinal Industrial Finishes in South El Monte and advocated for schools and education. The donation will be distributed to about 75 adult school students, each of whom will receive $200 to support their educational goals.
Paramount Park Middle School and Hollydale K-8 School have been named to the 2018 California Schools to Watch List for boosting student achievement, improving campus relations between students and teachers, and reducing suspensions and disciplinary meetings. Paramount Park and Hollydale are two of 22 schools to earn the distinction. The schools will accept the award in Sacramento on Saturday, March 3 and will be honored in Washington D.C. at the National Schools to Watch Conference, held June 27-30
