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.
El Monte-Rosemead Adult School Receives $15,000 for Scholarships
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
Ninety Baldwin Park Unified fifth-graders cheered wildly on March 9 as Ariana Ramirez’s glittery cat-driven car edged out Andrea Salazar’s sleek red speedster and Leslie Hernandez’s heart-festooned block of wood on wheels to win Walnut Elementary School’s first-ever Pinewood Derby. The students built and raced the cars as part of a broader lesson on the contributions of women to STEAM fields.
Coolidge Elementary fifth-grader Kyle Tang will represent San Gabriel Unified School District at the 13th annual Los Angeles County Elementary Spelling Bee on Wednesday, March 28 after taking top honors in the school spelling contest.
Keith Boyer Concert to Benefit Whittier Union Student Scholarships
Whittier Police Officer Keith Boyer’s surviving bandmates from his classic rock tribute band, Mrs. Jones’ Revenge, will perform a memorial concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17. The event will raise funds for the Keith Boyer Memorial Scholarship at La Serna High School, from which he graduated in 1981. The two-hour concert will be at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd., La Mirada.
The Baldwin Park Adult and Community Education (BPACE) Older Adult Program, in association with the City of Baldwin Park, will welcome 400 community members to a Year of the Dog celebration of the Lunar New Year from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 16. The event, held at the Performing Arts Center, 4640 N. Maine Ave., Baldwin Park, will feature a traditional lion dance and other cultural presentations. At the end of the program, dim sum, rice, green tea, oranges and fortune cookies will be served.
