Shortly after returning to the Tournament of Roses Parade following a 30-year hiatus, Bonita Unified band director Kelly Leyva will march in another iconic holiday parade when she joins the Band Directors Marching Band in New York to perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade® on Thursday, Nov. 23. With a theme of “America’s band directors, we teach music, we teach life,” the Band Directors Marching Band follows up its inaugural appearance in the 2022 Tournament of Roses Parade with an expanded lineup that includes 400 band directors from across the country, representing every state in the union. Leyva will once again play mellophone with the band, as she did in the Tournament of Roses Parade. Now in her 15th year at Bonita Unified, Leyva serves as band director at Lone Hill Middle School and teaches introductory band at four elementary schools.
Continuing what has become an annual tradition for the District’s top vocal talent, 10 Bonita Unified students have been selected to perform with the prestigious Southern California Vocal Association (SCVA) Honor Choirs, with multiple performers chosen from both Bonita and San Dimas high schools. San Dimas High School senior Steve Moreno, junior Soft Washburn and freshman Leanne Flores joined Bonita High School seniors Eric Romero, Audrey Granger, Gage Dowdle and Nathan Kwan, juniors Christian Weber and Ksenia Freeborn, and sophomore Valeria Geren to be among the 270 top choir members from Southern California selected to perform Saturday, Nov. 18 at the University of Redlands.
The La Verne/San Dimas Educational Foundation (LVSDEF) continued its annual tradition of supporting education in the classroom as it announced its 2023-24 Teacher Mini-Grant award recipients during the Bonita Unified Board of Education meeting on Nov. 1. LVSDEF President Anthony Porter and LVSDEF member Michelle Riddell presented more than $14,000 in mini-grants to teachers from 11 Bonita Unified schools, money that will help fund a variety of small classroom projects. The grants, which range from $100 to $500, are provided to teachers to encourage projects that benefit students and address a classroom need. The Foundation received 78 applications this year and was able to award 35 mini-grants, which will support projects focused on mental health and wellness, the arts, field trips and more.
Roynon Elementary School students crowded around the garden bed with rakes, shovels and hoes, breaking up dirt clods, pulling up weeds and roots, and expelling invasive species like grubs. Meeting every Tuesday after school, the students are proudly upholding a grand tradition at the school: the ongoing and successful Roynon Beautification Project. With nine garden beds to work with, Roynon student volunteers – nearly always accompanied by peers from Oak Mesa and La Verne Heights elementary schools, as well as Ramona Middle School – tend to crops such as tomatoes, zucchini, strawberries, peppers, sage, oregano and green beans. When ripe, the produce is distributed to students, staff and local residents.
Lone Hill Middle School students are learning the joy of developing their craft skills in wood shop, an elective class that allows them the freedom to create intricate works of art and discover that woodworking is a pursuit that can bring the whole family together. In his 27 years as Lone Hill’s wood shop teacher, Mitch Jacobs has seen modern technology transform the class by making the wood-cutting process safer for students, who are fashioning projects well beyond the bookshelves and bird feeders of wood shops past. The elective has also experienced an influx of female students; the inclusivity is evident in the scope of projects created by students, which range from simple wood carvings of animals to elaborately designed and etched plaques.
Bonita High School senior Nathan Kwan approached his Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles (AP CSP) exam with every bit of confidence needed to get a top score of “5.” What Kwan never dreamed of doing was recording a perfect score. Kwan is the second Bonita High student in three years to earn a perfect score on their AP CSP exam, an accomplishment so rare that less than 1% of AP CSP exam takers achieve this result. Bonita High Class of 2022 graduate Ashley Padres also received a perfect score on her AP CSP exam.
Bonita Unified students achieved record-setting scores on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) in 2022-23, reflecting its success in overcoming the learning loss that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to CAASPP results for spring 2023, released by the state on Oct. 18, 72 percent of Bonita Unified students met or exceeded standards in English language arts (ELA) – an all-time high for the District – and 58 percent met or exceeded standards in math, achieving the District’s second-highest math scores of all time. The 2022-23 results also indicate a four-point growth in both ELA and math from the 2021-22 school year.
San Dimas High School freshman Jacqueline Chen first displayed her diving prowess at nine years old during a trip to Cancun, Mexico with her family. Standing atop a cliff more than 15 feet above the water, Chen showed no fear when she suddenly leapt off, performing a perfect dive. Now Chen is preparing to make another huge leap – from high school student to Olympic athlete. After years of participating and medaling in USA Diving Junior Olympic competitions, Chen will travel to the Philippines for the Asian Age Group Championship, to be held from Dec. 3 to 6, trying to stamp her ticket to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. At San Dimas High School, Chen plays clarinet in the marching band and enjoys art class, juggling campus activities with Honors classes and her rigorous diving practice schedule. Chen will also represent San Dimas High in CIF meets when diving season begins in spring 2024.
Bonita Unified to Host Skilled Trades Fair for High School Students
Bonita Unified School District will host a Skilled Trades Fair from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 6, providing students from Bonita, Chaparral-Vista and San Dimas high schools the opportunity to network with professionals from a variety of industries, learn about industry needs and trends for future employment, and receive insight into training opportunities. Bonita Unified is seeking to expand its work-based learning and career technical education in 2023-24, providing students with a greater understanding of the professional and educational opportunities that await after high school. The fair will be held at Bonita High School, 3102 D St., La Verne.
Bonita Unified Board Appoints New San Dimas High School Principal
The Bonita Unified Board of Education appointed Omar Mayen as the new principal of San Dimas High School during its Oct. 4 meeting. Mayen is an experienced high school educator; prior to coming to San Dimas High, he spent six years as an assistant principal and an additional 12 years as a high school special education teacher in Corona-Norco Unified School District. He also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Redlands, teaching inclusive practices to credential and master’s degree candidates.
