Fontana High School junior David Muñoz-Padilla will serve as Fontana’s Unified’s Board of Education student representative in 2022-23, putting his passion for education and advocacy into action and providing a voice for thousands of students. Muñoz-Padilla was selected from a pool of five finalists during the April 13 Board of Education special meeting. Muñoz-Padilla has embraced Fontana High School’s variety of extracurriculars and is engaged in his community – competing in cross country and track and field, serving in in a variety of clubs, and dedicating his spare time to the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization, the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council, the Young Legislators program and more.
Fontana Unified School District will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the world’s first Bio Animakerspace, which provides students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience and skills that prepare them for success in biomedical, biomechanical and biotechnological careers. Housed at Fontana High School (FOHI) and created through a partnership with Garner Holt Education Through Imagination, the Bio Animakerspace provides an environment where students can explore how medical science, engineering, robotics, manufacturing and automation can work together to create solutions to medical and public health challenges.
Fontana High School senior Jimmy Salvador Contreras – a high-achieving student-athlete and avid volunteer – has been named a 2022 Edison Scholar, an accolade that comes with a $40,000 scholarship. Edison International awards the scholarships to 30 high school seniors each year to help them pursue higher education in science, technology, engineering or math. Salvador Contreras, who was also awarded a $20,000 Dell Scholarship for his excellence, will continue his education at UCLA and plans to study mathematics and computer science.
Almeria Middle School will have more options to pursue science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) subjects after science teacher Jean Yoo received a $5,000 Society for Science grant, which will help the school reestablish a science club and pave the way for a new science research class in the 2022-23 school year. The grant will pay for advanced technology equipment such as hydroponic kits, centrifuges and physics sensors that will give students the opportunity to conduct more in-depth STEM projects and develop a love of science. Yoo was one of only 95 teachers worldwide to be recognized with a Society of Science grant.
Less than a year after relaunching its intramural sports program, Eric Birch High School’s boys basketball team is celebrating its first championship as a member of the Inland Empire Alternative School League. The 13-member team, which includes one female player, won the title after defeating Sierra High School, 61-56, on March 16. The basketball triumph follows a third-place finish by Birch’s girls volleyball team during the fall semester. The option for credit-deficient students to participate in sports has provided a more inclusive and welcoming atmosphere on the Birch campus, increasing the students’ motivation to excel in the classroom and get back on track to graduate.
Almeria Middle School special education teachers Michelle Goodrow and Kitzia Jackson were honored with a Certificate of Recognition by State Sen. Connie Leyva for their dedication and hard work helping students with moderate or severe disabilities develop the skills they need to lead healthy, independent lives, during a ceremony held March 13 in front of family, friends and special education students. Goodrow and Jackson also received Excellence in Education certificates from Almeria Principal Felix Jones.
Fontana High School Bio Animatronic and Neuro Prosthetic students got a glimpse of what is possible when imagination meets science on March 13 after receiving a visit from a children’s author whose life changed when animatronics specialists at Garner Holt Productions created a realistic, fully functional prosthetic arm for her. June Durr, a former San Bernardino-based marketing consultant, told her story accompanied by Garner Holt, the founder of the animatronics firm, relaying how a chance visit to the studio 19 years ago netted her a new arm and a new lease on life. Holt designed the arm for Durr in 2003, using techniques that FOHI students are currently learning in their bio animatronics lab.
Fontana Unified School District will transition from an “at-large” to by-trustee area elections system for the Board of Education in November 2022, following the adoption of Resolution No. 22-05 and the selection of a final trustee map and sequence of elections during the March 9 Board meeting. The Board of Education adopted Scenario 6 – a map submitted by a group of Fontana citizens that had gained the most public support – following a series of public hearings that solicited input from the community. The Board also approved Trustee Areas 1, 2 and 5 to be included in the 2022 election and for Trustee Areas 3 and 4 to be elected in 2024.
Motivational speaker and children’s author June Durr will address Fontana High School Bio Animatronic and Neuro Prosthetics students about receiving a prosthetic arm custom-made by Garner Holt Productions studio artists. In 2015, Garner Holt created a new prosthetic arm for Durr; dubbed ‘Lefty,’ the arm is made entirely out of proprietary silicone, is layered and textured to look realistic, has a rotating wrist, flesh tones and freckles, and can lock in 11 different positions. After her talk, Durr will conduct a Q&A with FOHI students.
Two Fontana Unified scholar-athletes will take their games to the next level after signing letters of intent to play college ball with Western Athletic Conference universities. Jurupa Hills High School senior Antonio Mayes signed with Dixie State University in St. George, Utah to play football; Mayes, a two-time All-League defensive back for the Spartan football team, is fulfilling a dream he has had since he began playing football at the age of five. Summit High School senior Mikayla O’Brien signed with Cal Baptist University in Riverside to play soccer, capping a prep career that saw her achieve All-League three times and lead her team to the quarterfinals of the CIF Division VI Southern Section playoffs during 2020-21.
