Lynwood Unified School District’s Equity Department completed a second successful year of inspiring students while fostering equality and participating in more than 40 events. Led by director Dr. Patricia Brent-Sanco, the Equity Department partnered with the National College Resources Foundation’s Movement Program, which employs peer advisers to improve classroom performance. All Lynwood, Firebaugh and Vista high school students in the program improved their grades. Photos are available.
More than 250 Lynwood Unified students and their families engaged in reading activities during the District’s second annual Scholastic Literacy Event on June 27. Clifford the Big Red Dog encouraged children to bolster their literacy skills during the event, held in the District Board Room. Students took home up to three free books.
Lynwood Unified’s Firebaugh High School Celebrates Commencement
More than 300 seniors from Marco Antonio Firebaugh High School’s Class of 2018 celebrated commencement on June 14, stepping into the next stage of their academic and professional lives. Valedictorian Kimberly Wenceslao, who earned a 4.56 GPA, will attend Yale University. Salutatorian Ruby Gordillo, with a 4.43 GPA, will attend UCLA.
The Lynwood Unified Class of 2018 walked the halls of the District’s elementary and middle schools dressed in their caps and gowns as part of Senior Walk, a two-day celebration honoring the soon-to-be-graduates and inspiring younger students to graduate. Nearly 750 seniors took part in this year’s Senior Walk, with students from Lynwood and Firebaugh high schools touring the District’s 12 elementary schools and three middle schools over two days, teaching younger students about what they can achieve in the future.
The Lynwood Unified Board of Education will recognize eighth-graders Zion Bennett and Jose Laguna, who have been selected to journey to Rwanda from July 3-16 to showcase their acting and writing talents as a part of the District’s Building Relationships and Inspiring Dialogue through Global Exchange (BRIDGE) Theatre Project. Bennett and Laguna were chosen from more than 500 District students who participate in the program. Bennett co-wrote an original play, “Great Minds Alike,” a story about female empowerment which will be performed at the annual Ubumuntu Arts Festival next month. In exchange, the Lynwood students will perform a play written by Rwandan students at the festival.
Lynwood Unified held graduation ceremonies in for its comprehensive high schools and alternative high school; all ceremonies were held at Lynwood High School. Vista High School held its ceremony on June 13 in the gym; Firebaugh High School held its ceremony on June 14 on the field; Lynwood High School celebrated on June 15 on the field.
Five Lynwood Unified high schoolers have been recognized for outstanding artwork, highlighting the strengths of the District’s visual and performing arts program. Lynwood High School senior Evelyn Granados earned the top prize in the 44th District Congressional Art Competition for her work, “Love is Love.” Honorable mentions for the contest went to Lynwood High seniors Emily Medrano, Miguel Sanchez and Malaysia West. Katherine Espinoza, a visual art student from Vista High School, was awarded an Otis College of Art and Design scholarship to attend the college’s Summer of Art program.
Roosevelt Elementary sixth-grader Stephanie Reyes’ eyes lit up when she described the famous alumni of Princeton University – from former First Lady Michelle Obama to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and President James Madison. Reyes joined classmates Estevan Sandoval and Kianna Jimenez as representatives of Princeton for their school’s fourth annual College Fair on May 22. Nearly 650 Roosevelt students in preschool through sixth grade were taught college options by their peers, detailing school colors, mascots and programs of more than two dozen universities.
Lynwood Unified School District students experimented with static electricity, observed models of city landscapes and reviewed book reports during the annual Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) Fair where students explored the work of their peers across the District. Each of Lynwood Unified’s 18 schools contributed projects that were publicly displayed on May 16 in the city’s Bateman Hall, where the community could take the educational tour. Elementary schools visited the showcase in shifts throughout the day, while some children brought their parents for demonstrations of engineering, science, history and world geography.
Lynwood Unified students Zion Bennett and Jose Laguna, acting as American cultural ambassadors, performed at the Ubumuntu Arts Festival, held July 13-15 in Kigali, Rwanda. Bennett and Laguna represented Lynwood, showcasing their talents as part of the District’s BRIDGE Theater Project. They collaborated with students from the Mashirika Performance Arts Company on two plays, “Great Minds Think Alike,” written by Cesar Chavez Middle School BRIDGE students, and “Arthur’s Diary,” a Rwandan student-written play that centers on two brothers orphaned during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Bennett and Laguna are the first students to travel outside the U.S. as part of the BRIDGE Project, which uses theater to build international relationships.
