South El Monte High School students, families and staff mixed with dignitaries and community members for a lively ribbon-cutting ceremony on Aug. 24, celebrating the completion of the school’s quad renovation project. The ceremony, highlighted by the South El Monte choir singing the national anthem, included speeches, certificates of recognitions from City Council members and local elected officials, and a special birthday greeting for the school, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary on Sept. 2.
El Monte High School students interested in Japanese language and culture are saying “konnichiwa” to the school’s new Japanese 101 dual enrollment college course. The afterschool class, which debuted in January, allows students to earn 4.5 units of transferable college credit through a partnership with Río Hondo College, which provides instruction at the high school. Sixteen El Monte High students were enrolled in the class this spring, which stresses oral and written proficiency of the Japanese language. Students learn the basics of Hiragana and Katakana script and are introduced to Kanji characters, while studying Japanese history, culture and civilization. Students will need to complete at least 27 hours of intensive individualized oral-aural practice to earn full credit.
El Monte High School has received the 2021 AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award from the College Board, recognizing the school for expanding women’s access to Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science classes. El Monte High received the award for fostering equal gender representation in AP Computer Science Principles during the 2020-21 school year and is among 1,200 high schools across the United States honored by the College Board.
Mountain View High School VISTA Academy students wowed the judges at the Streets, Art, SAFE Film Competition, earning five trophies for their safe driving public service announcements (PSA) – including the Best PSA Gold Award for “Missing My Butterfly,” which also won awards for Best Script and Best Texting and Driving PSA. Additionally, VISTA Academy videos were honored with Best Acting and Best Safe Driving PSA awards. Created by the non-profit organization Streets Are For Everyone (SAFE), the competition, held in May, challenges teams to create PSAs about the importance of safe driving.
In front of adoring crowds of parents, families, teachers, staff and community members, El Monte Union High School District celebrated more than 1,850 Class of 2022 graduates from Arroyo, El Monte, Mountain View, South El Monte, Rosemead and Fernando R. Ledesma high schools, who proudly accepted their diplomas during commencement ceremonies held on June 2. The ceremonies featured choir, orchestra and band performances, profound speeches and streamer cannons. El Monte Union graduates will go on to four-year universities such as Cornell, Georgetown, Stanford and UCLA in the fall.
El Monte Union High School District will host commencement ceremonies for the District’s five comprehensive high schools, alternative high school, adult school and transition center. The ceremony schedules are as follows: Granada Adult Transition Center at 10 a.m. Thursday, June 2 at the Adult Transition Center; Fernando R. Ledesma High School at 5 p.m. Thursday, June 2 at Fernando R. Ledesma High School; Arroyo High School at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 2 at Bergstrom Stadium; Mountain View High School at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 2 at Viking Stadium; El Monte High School at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 2 at Lion Stadium; South El Monte High School at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 2 at Eagle Stadium; and Rosemead High School at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 2 at Panther Field.
South El Monte High School honored its first cohort of Early College Academy Graduates with a lively dinner/social hour, awards and presentations and remarks from District administrators during a special Gala and Awards Night on May 17. The evening celebrated the successful participation of 82 members of the Early College Academy Class of 2022 in the dual enrollment program with Río Hondo Community College. A number of students completed more than 18 units, taking courses such as American Sign Language, Chicano Studies and Sociology.
Students from Mountain View and Arroyo High School were awarded top prizes in the annual Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) Los Angeles – College Scholarship Cooking Competition at Mission Tech College in Long Beach, concluding their studies in El Monte Union’s career technical education program on a high note. Arroyo High School senior Carolina Bon was awarded a $34,775 scholarship to the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE), which has campuses in both Los Angeles and New York City. Mountain View High School senior Denise Heredia won a $33,389 scholarship to the Baking and Pastry program at ICE. In addition, Arroyo High School junior Galilea Orozco won top Junior in her group and was awarded a $400 scholarship to attend the summer boot camp at the Culinary Institute of New York at Monroe College.
El Monte Union to Celebrate Graduates with Commencement Ceremonies
El Monte Union High School District will host commencement ceremonies for the District’s five comprehensive high schools, alternative high school, adult school and transition center. The ceremony schedules are as follows: Granada Adult Transition Center at 10 a.m. Thursday, June 2 at the Adult Transition Center; Fernando R. Ledesma High School at 5 p.m. Thursday, June 2 at Fernando R. Ledesma High School; Arroyo High School at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 2 at Bergstrom Stadium; Mountain View High School at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 2 at Viking Stadium; El Monte High School at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 2 at Lion Stadium; South El Monte High School at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 2 at Eagle Stadium; and Rosemead High School at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 2 at Panther Field.
Rosemead High School Senior Kaila Wong has wanted to pursue medicine since she was in middle school, and with the help of $34,000 in support through the University of California’s Blue and Gold Opportunity program, she will begin making this dream a reality when she steps onto the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, this fall. The Blue and Gold Opportunity program fills in any gaps in funding between the grants and scholarships a student receives and their calculated financial need, ensuring that college is affordable for California residents.
