Follow-up Story: Baldwin Park High School celebrated Día de los Muertos with community members, music, traditional dancing, food and a display of 20 altars crafted along social justice themes by students in the school’s Dual Language program. Altars at the school’s sixth annual celebration on Oct. 28 addressed such issues as immigration, domestic violence, discrimination and breast cancer, using traditional objects such as skulls, flowers and items that honored loved ones. The high school orchestra played traditional music selections in the courtyard, community members performed ballet folklorico and students danced.
Follow-up Story: Students in the Elwin Elementary School Cornerstone program took home a first-place ribbon at the second annual East San Gabriel SELPA CAC Festival of the Arts for a poster titled “Our Future Is So Bright We Need to Wear Shades.” The students were among 150 Baldwin Park special education students to take part in the daylong celebration of the arts organized by the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) of the East San Gabriel Valley Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA), a consortium of 10 school districts and five charter schools.
High school bands from across Southern California will compete Saturday, Oct. 29 at Baldwin Park Unified’s 34th annual Sierra Vista High School Field Show Tournament, a celebration of the complex art of staging music and visual half-time performances by bands, color guards and drum lines. Competitors are judged on musical and visual performance and effect.
Parents of students who reside within the Baldwin Park Unified School District boundaries may enroll their children in any District elementary school during the annual open enrollment period, which runs through Monday, Dec. 5. The District offers a transitional kindergarten program to children who turn 5 between Sept. 1 and Dec. 2. Enrollment decisions, decided by lottery, shall be made immediately after the application period. A waiting list will indicate the order in which applicants may be accepted as more openings occur. Late applicants shall be added to the list by subsequent lotteries. Parents may pick up an open enrollment application at their child’s current school.
Students across Baldwin Park Unified will take a stand against drug use during Red Ribbon Week, which runs Oct. 23-31, through activities that range from poster contests to presentations on the dangers of drinking and using illegal substances. All 20 schools will participate in the program, founded in 1988 after the slaying of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena in Mexico. This year’s theme is “YOLO. Be Drug Free,” and uses the hashtag #youonlyliveonce. Schools encourage students to stand up against drugs using different daily activities, such as wearing crazy socks to “sock it to drugs,” wearing red, or donning a cap to “put a cap on drugs.”
Holland Middle School students will raise funds for activities designed to promote a positive school environment during their first-ever “Blaze of Color” color run from 1:44 to 2:35 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21. About 170 students – joined by a handful of teachers – are expected run or walk a one-mile course while teachers, parents and other members of the school community “throw color,” dusting them in a rainbow hue of cornstarch. At the end of the run, participants will celebrate with a “color explosion” by tossing their own special color packets. Proceeds from the run, organized by the Associated Student Body, will go for items and activities that encourage a positive school environment, such as academic incentives, brunch activities or Holland’s end-of-year fun day. Holland Middle School is at 4733 Landis Ave., Baldwin Park.
Follow-up Story: Baldwin Park Unified Superintendent Froilan N. Mendoza on Oct. 13 shared the District’s vision for student achievement, goals for securing its vision and recent program expansions with members of the Baldwin Park Business Association. The breakfast gathering, held at the Baldwin Park Unified District Office, drew representatives of Kaiser Permanente Baldwin Park Medical Center, SCE First Federal Credit Union, Wells Fargo, the Boys & Girls Club, the City of Baldwin Park, Baldwin Park Historical Society and the American Cancer Society. Mendoza stressed the importance of partnerships as a key element of the District’s focus on helping students achieve their greatest potential, an effort that requires a combination of academic and social/emotional support.
Twenty-three high school bands will compete at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15 at Baldwin Park High's 30th annual Field Show Tournament, a celebration of the complex art of staging music and visual half-time performances by bands, color guards and drum lines. Competitors are judged on musical and visual performance and effect.
Follow-up Story: Margaret Heath Elementary School will hold its annual Margaret Heath Day to celebrate the school's namesake, a noted principal who launched a student scholarship in 1945, at 8:15 a.m. Friday, Oct. 7. Heath students, who traditionally amass scholarship funds by donating pennies, will bring flowers to campus for a ceremony commemorating Heath's legacy. Margaret Heath was born in 1860 in Pennsylvania. In 1913, she became principal of Central Elementary. When Heath retired at age 70, the District named a school in her honor. Heath volunteered at the school and, at her 85th birthday celebration, suggested the District create a scholarship for school alumni funded by pennies donated by current students. Margaret Heath Elementary School is at 14321 School St., Baldwin Park.
Baldwin Park Unified's Santa Fe School will celebrate its 25th anniversary with a party for students, parents, staff, alumni and community members at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23. The event will include food, games, music and a photo booth. Santa Fe offers a unique configuration in Baldwin Park Unified, serving students in grades three to eight with a special focus on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) topics. Middle school students take courses in robotics and engineering and, this year, the school expanded its STEM program to include fourth-grade classes on energy, computer systems and the human brain; and fifth-grade classes on robotics, infection detection and infectious disease simulations. Parents and students sign commitment statements pledging their dedication to study, support and ethics. Santa Fe School is at 4650 Baldwin Park Blvd.
