Follow-up Story: Santa Fe High School senior Kyla Moore has a passion for the arts, communicating with her friends and family through song, dance and sign language. With an eye toward earning a degree in public relations, Moore has been accepted into Pepperdine University on a full-ride scholarship from the Posse Foundation. The foundation identifies students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential, but who may be overlooked by traditional college selection processes. Moore, who holds a weighted 4.39 GPA, ranks 10th in her class and has taken several rigorous Advanced Placement courses. She has been in choir all four years and is a community volunteer for the youth cheerleading program, SFS 49ers.
Keith Boyer Concert to Benefit Whittier Union Student Scholarships
Whittier Police Officer Keith Boyer’s surviving bandmates from his classic rock tribute band, Mrs. Jones’ Revenge, will perform a memorial concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17. The event will raise funds for the Keith Boyer Memorial Scholarship at La Serna High School, from which he graduated in 1981. The two-hour concert will be at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd., La Mirada.
Follow-up Story: Whittier High School social science, technology and English students will boost the success of three local businesses through creative mobile and emerging technology solutions they will develop with a $20,000 grant from the Verizon Innovative Learning STEM and entrepreneurship program. Whittier High is one of five Los Angeles-area high schools accepted into the two-year program, which provides educators a unique experience to create a design-thinking curriculum, partner with local businesses and teach students entrepreneurship and technology skills through real-world challenges. More than 150 students from Whittier High’s Cardinal Computer Academy will take part in the program, set to begin in February.
Follow-up Story: Pioneer High School senior Sabrina Hawthorne has been accepted to Cornell University, an Ivy League research university in New York where she will study industrial and labor relations, paving the way for her to become a civil rights lawyer. Hawthorne, who has a 4.2 GPA, is the first in her family to attend college and credits her mother for instilling in her the inspiration to believe in herself. She also credits the Pioneer High staff for their support in the classroom and securing financial aid. Hawthorne is captain of both the varsity swim and varsity water polo teams and a member of the volleyball team. She is also in the Pioneer High Leos Club and is founder and president of the Good Eats Health Club and Science Club.
Follow-up Story: For 17 years, Whittier Union High School District has partnered with the Hispanic Outreach Taskforce to provide students with financial, emotional and academic support, while engaging and empowering parents to support their children. The organization recently held its 17th annual Parent Education Conference, a daylong event for more than 300 parents from across seven K-12 school district partners, including Whittier Union.
Ushering in the holiday season with music ranging from uplifting classical works to fun Christmas favorites, the choirs of Whittier Union’s five comprehensive high schools will celebrate the season at the District’s annual Choral Festival on Tuesday, Dec. 5 at Whittier College, 13406 Philadelphia St., Whittier. Choral groups from California, La Serna, Pioneer, Santa Fe and Whittier high schools will perform and receive critiques from this year’s adjudicator, Bruce Rogers, an elite vocal instructor and director of choral activities at Mt. San Antonio College.
Follow-up Story: Whittier High School recently held its second annual Alumni Career Fair, connecting Cardinal graduates – now skilled and seasoned engineers, nurses, educators and police officers – with hundreds of students who are exploring college and career pathways. More than 200 juniors and seniors and their parents flooded Whittier High’s William C. Gordon Library and its classrooms on Nov. 7 to hear professionals speak about their journeys to achieve success and answer questions from curious students.
Follow-up Story: A love of art and a determination to succeed has brought Frontier High School senior Meiling Clavesilla from the brink of expulsion to the top of her class, with enough credits to graduate a year ahead of schedule. Clavesilla’s success came after a rocky freshman year, during which she transferred to three Whittier Union schools before landing at Frontier High, a model continuation school that put her on the path to success. Whittier Union High School District’s Board of Trustees has presented her with an Award of Merit. Photos are available
Twelve Whittier Union High students are perfecting their marching band and musical skills as they prepare to perform in the 129th Tournament of Roses Parade on Monday, Jan 1, 2018. Seven marching band and five color guard members will join more than 160 high school musicians from across Southern California to represent their schools in the Tournament of Roses Honor Band. Performers are: (California High) Edith Garcia, Lauren Hernandez, Jennifer Nieto and Maricruz Villalobos, color guard; and Rocio Vega, trombone; (La Serna) Avery Smith, saxophone, and John Ye Lee, baritone; (Santa Fe) Carlo Bonelli and Jose Salcedo, both on trombone; and (Whittier High) Jacob Cortes, baritone; Nina Roa, flute; and Ava Sanchez, color guard.
Follow-up Story: Four students from Whittier Union High School District won cash, ribbons and certificates at the eighth annual Harmony Center Fine Art and Craft Fair’s High School Art Contest. La Serna High senior Elizabeth Isla won first-place in the landscape and still life category. Santa Fe High senior Krishne Khan Nguyen won first-place awards in the abstract and human portrait categories. Pioneer High sophomore Ismael Mora took second place in the 3-D category. La Serna senior Jennifer Pena won third in the landscape and still life category.
