Beverly Vista Students Attend The OAKE Conference Of 2011

By Dupé Aleru|March 31, 2011|7:31 a.m.

Eight Beverly Vista Students were selected to perform with the National Children’s and Youth Choir at the 2011 OAKE (Organization of American Kodály Educators) National Conference held in March. 

The OAKE mission is to “enrich the quality of life of the people of the USA through music education by promoting the philosophy of Zoltán Kodály.”

Beverly Vista students had the opportunity to perform at the Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, Minnesota this month. The youth choir is constructed of students from 27 states around the nation, each student going through a rigorous audition process and numerous hours of rehearsal in order to participate.

“I would like to give a big thank you to the Beverly Vista PTA and BHEA for funding this program,” said Vocal Musical Specialist Judith Chan.

Congratulations to Beverly Vista students: Rebecca Adler (8th Grade),  Barbara Assouline (5th Grade), Ashlynn Chong (4th Grade), Amelia Deshmukh (4th Grade), Eric Fram (8th Grade), Lisa Park (5th Grade), Megan Saghian (5th Grade) and Scott Senior (7th Grade). 

BHHS Performing Arts Department Presents ‘Fiddler On The Roof’

By Dupe Aleru|March 30, 2011|8:07 a.m.

One of the world’s most beloved musicals returns to Beverly Hills High School as the BHHS Performing Arts Department presents Fiddler on the Roof. This Tony award winner for Best Musical, Book, Score, Direction and Choreography, makes a triumphant return to the Beverly stage as this year’s spring musical on Apr. 6 at 2:00 p.m., and Apr. 7 through Apr. 9 at 7:30 p.m. 

BHHS has a proud heritage of large-scale, classic stage productions, and Fiddler continues this tradition with an extraordinary company of over 100, including a fifty-member cast, and a large, virtually all-student orchestra.

Based on Sholem Aleichem’s Tevye and his Daughters, Fiddler on the Roof, by Sheldon Harnick and Joseph Stein, is a passionate, touching, and very human window on life in a small Russian village. It features some of the most recognized music of the genre, has had 4 Broadway revivals, and has been preformed over 4,500 times on Broadway. This is Beverly’s fourth production of Fiddler, continuing Beverly’s rich historic tradition of high quality, family friendly shows.

Ticket prices are $6.00 for all seats at the Wednesday matinee. For all other performances, pricing will be $15.00 for adults, $10.00 for students, and $25.00 for “VIP” seats in the first eight rows. Seating will be determined on a first-come, first-served basis.

Tickets may be purchased on-line at http://tinyurl.com/BHHSFiddlerTix. For more information, contact Josh Butchart at 310-551-5100 ext. 8459.

Torah Science Fair Held For Middle School Students At Hillel

Rabbi Sufrin and Hillel students at the Science Fair

By Dupé Aleru|March 29, 2011|12:39 p.m.    

Last Wednesday, Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy’s middle school students presented their Science and Torah Projects to its parents, teachers and administrators of Hillel.

For the Science Fair, each student was responsible in constructing his/her own scientific question in correlation with its experimental procedure in order to scientifically answer the question.

“Students spent six weeks researching on their idea, designing and conducting their experiment, and reaching a conclusion based on the data they collected. There were over 150 projects on display and the areas of content ranged far and wide, from whether a magnifying glass could increase the output of a solar cell, through which fruits have the most D.N.A., to whether multitasking can really increase a person’s efficiency,” said Admissions Director Wendy Kellner.

                 

The true uniqueness of each project was due to the individualized scientific topic for each student in relation to something relevant to them in their Torah studies. It’s amazing to see the links that students manage to forge between their Science and Torah learning. Experiences like these give the students the opportunity to see that both subjects are interwoven and not treated as two separate entities.

                

At the end, parents expressed their delight on how involved all the students were with their projects. Congratulations to all the students for their enthusiasm and hard work that made for such a terrific evening for the family and staff at Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy.

Page Private School’s Field Trip Extravaganzas

Page's 1st and 2nd Graders

By Dupé Aleru|March 28, 2011|8:34 a.m.

Page Private School students explored two museums during its March fieldtrips—The Natural History Museum and the California African American History.

The Natural History Museum, located in Los Angeles, protects over 35 million specimens dating back 4.5 million years. Hillel teachers used this valuable resource to teach its students about the planet and its natural and cultural world. The students also explored the museum and had a special presentation in the dinosaur exhibit. 

In addition, students attended the California African American Museum—a 44,000 square feet facility that includes three full-size exhibition galleries, a theater, a 14,000 square foot Sculpture Court, a conference center event room, an active research library and  an exhibit and artifact storage area, to learn about and celebrate African American history. During the guided tour, students were able to view exhibits about the contributions of surf and skate boarders from the African American community, the African American settlement of the West and much more.

All in all, Page students had the opportunity to not only appreciate American history, but to also see how far our country has come thousands of years to the present day.

UCLA Took Aggressive To Video Attacking Asian Students

By Rick Rojas|Los Angeles Times|March 27, 2011|10:07 a.m.

The Web never stops and it never forgets.

On a recent Friday night, a UCLA student posted a video onYouTube. The young woman made the video, in which she complained about and mocked Asian students at UCLA, the day after the Japan earthquake. She took down the clip within hours of posting it. She was too late. By then it was being reposted and remixed, taking on a life of its own.

By that Sunday, it had come full circle. UCLA officials watching the situation unfold noticed considerable surges in traffic on the university's Facebook and YouTube profiles, said Phil Hampton, a UCLA spokesman. People inside and outside the campus community were urging the university to do something.

The incident this month — and the way the university responded — illustrates the challenge that universities face now that the kinds of comments once scrawled on bathroom walls or passed around in class can be blasted out online, instantaneously, for the world to see.

Larry D. Roper, vice provost for student affairs at Oregon State University, said the long reach of social media has turned issues that university officials would once have handled face to face into something broader and more difficult to manage.

"It's not something we can control," Roper said. "It's a world unto itself."

As a result, he said, "the reaction is no longer a local one. You act locally and influence globally."

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social media outlets have been embraced by higher education partly because they help create a feeling of connection across a far-flung university community. But the ability to connect so easily also indulges impulsiveness.

Since the advent of social media — and email before that — there have been numerous cases of questionable videos or inappropriate posts causing a stir at colleges, said Greg Lukianoff, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a group that advocates for freedom of expression on college campuses.


To view full article, visit L.A. Now.

Sylvan Learning Center Named Cameron Coles As Its Student Of The Month

Cameron Coles

 By Dupé Aleru|March 26, 2011|9:34 a.m.

Sylvan Learning Center was pleased to announce the recipient of its March Student of the Month award was given to 11^th grade student, Cameron Coles.

“We use the monthly award to recognize the achievements, hard work and enthusiasm that some of our finest students demonstrate throughout our program. Cameron embodies all of these qualities and is a wonderful example for our younger students,” said Director of Education Maria Layon.

“Cameron came to Sylvan Learning to develop his reading, math and study skills and then continued on with homework support and SAT prep. He continues to grow academically and as a fine, upstanding young man.”

“Cameron loves to learn and consistently shows us how motivated he is through his incredible focus, wonderful progress and appreciation for the staff and teachers here at Sylvan,” continues Layon.

For more information about the academic opportunities at your local Beverly Hills Sylvan Learning Center, please call Maria Layon, Director of Education at 310-843-0111.

Get 50% Off Animals In Action eBook Today

By Dupe Aleru|March 25, 2011|11:06 p.m.

Promotional coupon code is available for family, friends and fans! Animals in Action A-Z is now available on Amazon Kindle, iPhone (Stanza) and more! Visit Smash Words.com to redeem your coupon code before April 25!

Original Price: $2.99

Promotional Price: $1.50 (50% off)

Enter the coupon code below before check out to receive discount:

Coupon Code: PP33J

Fostering Resilience In Your Child

By Nathalie Kunin|March 25, 2011|9:49 a.m.

Resilience might best be described as the capacity to cope. We find this capacity in adults (Americans’ resilience in the face of the recession), in governing bodies (Haiti’s resilience in the aftermath of the earthquake), and even in Marvel comic book protagonists (Our resilient hero took on his twelve captors single-handedly!). But how often do we find, and foster, this capacity in our children?

An estimated two million teenager’s battle depression each year. What at first appears to be an outrageous figure seems quite plausible when we consider the adversity that our children face on a daily basis: pressure from their parents, their teachers and their peers; hours of homework and test preparation; entrance exams, interviews and applications; and all things outside of school. Resilience teaches children to stand up to that adversity, learn from it, and ultimately become stronger because of it.

Following are three simple concepts that parents can practice at home to foster resilience: Stay Positive-Try to keep things positive at home—both in your words and your actions. Promote Independence-Encourage self-direction in children. Teach those good habits— like beginning their homework without having to ask them to do so. Get Out of the House-A key component to resilience is the willingness to adapt to an ever-changing environment. So change the environment. The more willing you are to leave your comfort zone, the more willing they’ll be to adjust to their surroundings.

Try these simple changes in your household. You will be giving your child the tools he or she needs to build resilience and face challenges with a positive attitude.

Nathalie Kunin is the owner of Team Tutors (www.teamtutors.com) and an educational consultant in Los Angeles. Contact Nathalie at 323-356-6160.

Ed Enterprise Reaches 2,000 Views

By Dupe Aleru|March 25, 2011|9:33 a.m.

I would like to take this time to thank all my subscribers, followers and fans on Ed Enterprise. Yesterday we reached the 2,000 viewer mark and I'm very excited for what's to come.

My goal is to provide viewers with current educational news for the West Los Angeles and South Bay area. Though most of my news contains information about Beverly Hills and Long Beach schools, I would love to cover a wide variety. If you have any news, events or a story you'd like for me to cover, feel free to email me at daleru18@yahoo.com.

Thanks again :)

Former O.C. High School Student Convicted Of Breaking Into Campus, Changing Of Records For College

By Robert J. Lopez|Los Angeles Times|March 21, 2011|6:12 p.m.


A former Orange County high school student was convicted Monday of breaking into his school to steal Advanced Placement tests and alter his official college-transcript grades. 

Omar Shahid Khan, 21, who lives in Coto de Caza, was charged with entering classrooms and administrative offices at Tesoro High School on several occasions late at night and on weekends between January and May 2008, the Orange County district attorney's office said.

Khan stole AP course tests and used the password and user name of his physics instructor to sign on to a school computer to change his transcript grades, prosecutors said. He had obtained the password and user name after installing spyware on several school computers.

Khan was also charged with changing transcript grades of other students.

To view full article, visit L.A. Now

Former Ventura College Coach Found Guilty of Stealing School Funds

By Steve Chawkins|Los Angeles Times|March 23, 2011|2:57 p.m.

A jury has found a former Ventura College coach and athletic director guilty of stealing money intended for the school's basketball program.

Greg Winslow was accused of channeling donations into a secret fund from which he paid for some of his players' rent as well as a week's vacation rental for his family, a repair to his boat and other personal expenses. During his trial in Ventura County Superior Court, he told jurors that whatever money he may have taken was less than the money he doled out personally for team expenses.

"I think it's pretty obvious I wasn't the best bookkeeper in the world," he said.

After an investigation was launched in 2008, Winslow emptied the secret account and kept about $20,000 in cash in a fanny pack hidden first in his closet and then in his mother's house. He turned it in to prosecutors two months ago, saying he had intended it for the basketball coach who succeeded him.

To view full article, visit L.A Now

Beverly Vista To Rock Out During Its Spring Carnival On April 10

By Dupé Aleru|March 23, 2011|9:14 a.m.

Beverly Vista will host its “Beverly Vista Rocks Carnival” on Sunday Apr. 10 from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on the Beverly Vista Playground.

This is a carnival you will not want to miss. Exciting events will be happening throughout the day that includes rides from Jammin’ & Scramblin, the deluxe swing from the King of Swing, a petting zoo by Party Animals, a climbing rock wall, laser tag, a giant slide and to top it off the ultimate “game truck” from Get Your Game On.

The carnival games include: bumper car, coin pitch, dip bowling, duck races, Kentucky derby, mini basketball, ping pond game, plingo and six ball roll down.

 In addition to all the games and rides, a silent auction will be held for all in attendance. There is something for everyone as the silent auction categories include: bakeries, beauty and spas, bikes, books, collectibles and arts, entertainment, fashion, golf, hotels, jewelry, movies, museums, party packages, restaurants, sporting events, summer camps which include Beverly Hills Sports Camp and Tumbleweed, tours and much more.

As if that’s not enough, hosted parties and food will also be included at the event.

For more information, contact Laurie Maybaum at lauriemaybaum@sbcglobal.net or visit www.bvrockscarnival.com to view the in depth list of events.

CA Standards Are Increasing, But Are The Students Actually Learning?

By Dupe Aleru|March 22, 2011|10:37 a.m.

I remember growing up in the early 80's and attending kindergarten with my teacher Mrs. Sara and Mrs. Smith. I looked forward to the days of painting, playing with the blocks, having snack time and nap time. I loved playing with my friends on the playground, playing chase or other "make believe" games normals 5-year-olds play during the years of social development. During class time we would always have a fun activity to accompany a learning point. I also remember all the read alouds of the many books that were in our classroom library. The field trips were something I always looked forward to. They were very educational and fun as our parents were allowed to come along, take pictures and be apart of the memorable experience. The field trip to the pumpkin patch was my favorite. We each got to pick a pumpkin to to carve and later take home.

What happened to those fun days in school? The standards have surely risen, time has changed and education is just not the same today. You surely don't see any "nap time" anymore in kindergarten classrooms. Sure, children receive their lunch breaks and recess time, but the good days with movies, naps and snack time isn't built into the curriculum or daily schedule. You'll be lucky to see "painting and arts and crafts time".

I taught kindergarten for two years and I truly loved it. Myself and many of my colleagues made sure to include the arts and crafts as the schools I worked for were really "high standard schools" who taught to every child's intelligences, so variety was a MUST.  Though I was lucky to include many fun activities, it's still sad to know that in order to do crafts there needed to "be a reason" which MUST be linked to the STANDARDS. Some might think and agree that it makes perfect sense to do so, especially due to every holiday, one can find a perfect educational activity to go with it, but what if you just wanted to do some "plain old painting and fun times"? What is there was no "real reason" behind the activity, other than to just have fun? Well, there just isn't enough time in a given teaching day to have fun when the students have many concepts to learn...too much "teaching to the test" and pushing the students to know things that were once considered to be grades ahead of there capabilities.

Which makes me wonder...are the students even learning? Are the standards above their developmental abilities? Sure for some no, but how about the slower learners etc? Are we demanding too much for our kids? How about homework? What's considered too much? And why are the students in the United States are considered low achieving in math and reading compared to other countries?

Feel free to leave comments below

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Day Two At The Cal Relays Deemed Victorious Once Again For BHHS

Girls F/S DMR Team Placed 3rd 

By Dupe Aleru|March 21, 2011|9:20 a.m.

Day two at the Cal Relays was another victorious day as Brianna Simmons took second in the 1600m Invite—the invites races consist of the top competitors as opposed to the regular Varsity races. Simmons time of 5:09.02 is the #3 time at Beverly and ranks her among the top 1600m runners in CIF.  

As for the Boys Varsity 800m Invite, Beverly had its dynamic sophomore-duo of Alex Rohani and Chanan Batra as they placed 3rd and 4th respectively with times of 1:58.47 and 1:59.76, both making the “Varsity All Time List” at Beverly. 

Other highlights include Lily Ting who placed 2nd overall in the Girls Varisity 800m in 2:25.64. The Boys Varsity 1600m runner Nick Harper ran 4:40.85. In the Boys Varsity 400m, Mario Conti ran 51.90. In the Girls FS 400m, Allison Wolff ran 63:49 and Chelsea Simmons ran 63.62. Vanessa Torres for the Girls Varsiy's 200m ran 27.26 while the Girls FS DMR team of Jessica Robert, Carmen Perez, Marissa Rothman and Sydney Segal ran in 13:40.43, taking 3rd place. 

Last, but not least the Girls FS 4x800m of Sydney Segal, Marissa Rothman, Jessica Robert and DeEun Lee ran 10:42.55 taking 5th place overall.. Then the Girls FS 4X800m of Sydney Segal 2:35.20, Marissa Rothman 2:46.05, Jessica Robert 2:34.82 and DeEun Lee 2:46.78 ran 10:42.85 to take 5th place. In addition, Andrew Redston ran 2:09.18 for his 800m leg in the 4X800m Boys Varsity race as well as a 53.0+ 400m leg on the Boys Varsity 4X400m relay. Joel Steinberg ran the Boys Varsity 200m in 23.91 andWillie Green high jumped 5-10.  

To View highlights and more information about the BHHS Track Team, visit wwww.bhhstrack.com. 

Stories are written by Simon Langer

BHHS Track Team Competed At The Cal Relays This Weekend

By Dupe Aleru|March 20, 2011|11:08 a.m.

What does it feel like to be #6 in the state? Just ask the boys DMR team of BHHS! 

During the first day, Friday March 18 at the Cal Relays-held at Cerritos College in Norwalk CA, the Distance Medley Relay (DMR) boys from Dana Hills topped the charts holding the fastest time in the United States. Coming in for the girls DMR was Palos Verdes record with the fastest time in the United States.

Where does that leave the Beverly Hills? Well, the boys DMR team of Chanan Batra 1200m in 3:17.04; Cameron Countryman 400m in 51.05; Alex Rohani 800m in 1:58.90; and Josh Galen 1600m in 4:30.96 happened to run a 10:37.65 that day, putting the team in the #3 all time spot at Beverly, #6 in State and #10 in the U.S.! Now that's something to be proud of!

The girls closed the deal. With the DMR team of Lily Ting 1200 in 4:06.31; Allison Wolff 400m in 63.39; Sydney Gray 800m in 2:27.18; and Brianna Simmons 1600m in 5:13.65 ran a 12:51.14, they placed in the #2 all time spot at Beverly which is #18 in State and #25 in the U.S.! 

Stay tune for day two (Saturday March 19) of the Cal Relays. 

St Timothy Catholic School Decathlon Team Takes Top Honors

By Dupé Aleru|March 19, 2011|12:50 p.m.

St. Timothy Catholic School’s Academic Jr. High Decathlon Team, under the coaching of Mirian Avalos, placed 20^th overall out of the 104 schools who participated in the annual meet this month.

The Academic Junior High Decathlon is a competition for students in grades 6-8. Within the ten events at the competition, two are a collaborative team effort—a logic quiz with 20 rigorous thinking problems, and a super quiz with 50 multiple choice questions on five broad academic themes. The remaining eight events test individual knowledge of the Roman Catholic doctrine: English, Literature, Science, Mathematics, Current Events, Social Studies, and Fine Arts (Art and Music).

This year’s team included Rachel Lim, Andrew Martinez, Sara Matta, Monique Sheps, Douglas Wickham and alternate Joshua Lesaca, who made a true commitment to the team.
 

Decathlon awards are given to individual and team performances, and the winning school team from each geographic diocese competes in a state championship the first Saturday of May each year.
 
Individual winners included: Zack Castorina - 5th in Science, Jade Cook - 9th in Math, Grant Fajardo - 10th in English, Katherine Irajpanah - 1st in Social Studies and Karenina Juarez - 3rd in Literature.
 
For more information about the Decathlon, visit http://www.ajhd.org/.

Charlene Liebau Gives Advice For Wait List Applicants On How To ‘Opt In’

By Charlene Liebau|March 18, 2011|1:30 p.m.

College Admissions Editor

In this column two weeks ago I discussed the types of responses colleges are sending out to applicants: admit, deny, and wait list. In a recent message to college counselors the University of California has sent out information about its use of the wait list which I wish to share with you.

We are all aware of the budget woes facing the State of California and its impact on public education, including higher education and the University of California. At present, the university system enrolls more than 11,570 students for whom it receives no state funding. In order to maintain standards of excellence, the goal now is to manage the enrollment at each of the nine undergraduate campuses. In light of the number of students enrolled who are not being funded makes current and future admission decisions more critical.

In order to more effectively manage the number of students enrolling in the University of California, a wait list is being employed at all campuses except UCLA and Merced.

If you (or your student) receive a letter placing you on a wait list the following may prove to be helpful information:

·        Students may receive a wait list decision from more than one campus

·        If offered a place on a wait list, the student must “opt in” in order to qualify for further admission consideration. 

·        If on a wait list and opted in, freshman applicants will be notified of their status (admitted or not) no later than June 1.

·        If a student decides to “opt in” on the wait list at a UC campus, or at any other college (public or private), it is important to recognize that decisions on the wait list may not be made until June–well after the May 1 “student decision date.” In this case, if the student later accepts an offer of admission from a wait listed college, they will forfeit their deposit at the first campus.

·        UC campuses will consider appeals for admission. This, however, requires the student to present compelling new admission information–new since filing the original application. 

Last fall all campuses except UCLA and Merced went to the wait list in making final admission decisions. Of the other campuses UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara used the wait list extensively.

The lesson here is: if you receive a wait list decision from a UC campus and wish to be considered again for admission–follow the directions to “opt in.” Also, May 1 is the date by which you must secure a place in a freshman class and commit to one of the colleges to which you have been admitted. Unfortunately, being on the wait list is not a promise of eventual admission–it does mean you may receive further consideration–space permitting. And, it is the question of “available space” that brings us back to the need to manage enrollments given California’s budgetary constraints.

Charlene Liebau is the former director of admissions for CalTech and Occidental College. She is also a finalist judge of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

           

Animals In Action A-Z Now Available On The iPhone, Kindle, Nook, And More!

For all the iPhones, Androids, iPads, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo, Diesel, Nooks and Kindle users, my newly published children's book, Animals In Action A-Z is now available for purchase for $2.99. For iPhone users, download the application called "Stanza" (free) and proceed to click on "Smashwords" , "Smashwords Authors" and then "Recent Smashwords Authors". My picture will then pop up and proceed to purchase. 


Android users may download the free application called "Aldiko" to purchase my book.


Animals In Action A-Z is availiable in all formats including HTML, PDF, Plain Text, PDB, LRF, Javascript and most importantly EPUB!


Let me know if you have any questions and thanks for the support! :)

Normans Performances Shine At The Culver Invite Ranking Eighth In The State

By Dupé Aleru|March 17, 2011|9:32 a.m. 

What do you get when you have senior Nick Harper, junior Josh Galen, and the Normans super-sophomore duo of Chanan Batra and Alex Rohani? That’s right, you get the “Boys Varsity Quartet”, who happened to be the stars at the Culver Invite, as they pulled a victory in the 4x1600m relay in a time of 18:34.24—crushing the old school record of 19:33.60 set in 2008. 

In addition to taking the number 8 spot in the state, the quartet’s then ran the 4x800m relay taking second to Venice H.S. in a time of 8:21.97 to Beverly’s 8:23.59 (#2 all time at Beverly). The breakdown of each runner’s split time was: Harper 2:11.69, Galen 2:06.23, Rohani 2:03.10 and Batra 2:02.59.  

Other highlights of the Culver Invite consists of  the Girls Varsity 4x800m relay of Lily Ting (2:34.92), Ashley Bootesaz (2:34.16), Sydney Gray (2:29.91) and Brianna Simmons (2:26.61) who took second in their event to Mira Costa, in a time of 10:05.59, putting the girls in the top 15^th  spot in the state. The Boys Varsity 4x400m Relay  of Mario Conti, Cameron Countryman, Alex Rohani and Joel Steiberg also took second place to Dorsey H.S. in a time of 3:27.36. Alex Rohani ran an unofficial hand time split of 49.5 for the 400m, which only suggests that the Frosh Soph 400m school record will be broken this year.

For this week’s meet, the Normans will be competing at the California Relays at Cerritos College today from 3-6 p.m. and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

TEADS Held A School Wide Food Drive In Celebration Of The 100th Day Of School

By Dupé Aleru|March 16, 2011|2:41 p.m. 

Temple Emanuel Academy Day School’s (TEADS) Student Council commemorated the 100^th day of school by conducting a school-wide food drive to be donated to the Westside Food Bank.

Each class at TEADS was asked to collect can foods, the goal being to collect 100 cans of food during the two-week food drive prior to the 100^th day of the school. What were the results? Students collected over 500 cans of food. The food was then donated to the Westside Food Bank.

This initiative demonstrates TEADS’s commitment to the community and school values. “The student council congratulates the entire student body for this successful campaign with a special thanks to student council members Ori, Aviva, Danna, Simon, Matthew, Adina, Kia, Adi, and Rebecca.” “Your hard work and dedication paid off in a big way,” said Director of Admissions, Tanya Stawski.  

Please contact Tanya Stawski, Director of Admissions at 310-288-3737 ext.246 for tour information or questions about Temple Emanuel Academy Day School.

High Tech Experience At Astro Camp Holds True For Sixth Grade Students Of Hawthorne

6th Grade Class

By Dupé Aleru|March 15, 2011|10:04 a.m.

Sixth grade students at Hawthorne School attended Astro Camp— a mountain range east of Los Angeles in southern California—for two days last week to explore the wonders of the universe by embarking on high tech, science adventures in a mountain environment.

Located in the beautiful San Jacinto Mountains near the town of Idyllwild, Astrocamp is a 90 acre facility that offers a unique experience for children who are interested in exploring science and adventure outdoors. 


Astrocamp offers science based classes such as robotics, engineering, rocketry, astronaut training, and adventure-based classes like rock climbing and mountain biking. These hands-on activities allow children to not only have fun, but to explore science in a different way through the use of hands-on laboratory activities in state-of-the-art facilities.

Overall, Hawthorne students had a phenomenal experience studying astronomy, physical science and earth science.

The LBPost Published A Story About My Journey To Becoming An Author

I just want to thank Shaun Lumachi, Publisher of the Long Beach Post (LBPost) for publishing an article about my journey to becoming an author. 

Read full article http://www.lbpost.com/life/staffreports/11248.

New Roads School Takes First Place In California’s 2011 Green Cup Challenge

By Dupé Aleru|The Beverly Hills Courier|March 11, 2011

New Roads School took first place in California and was in the top-tier nationwide in the 2011 Green Cup Challenge—an interschool energy conservation competition hosted by the Green Schools Alliance.

The Green Cup Challenge takes place every year in the months of Jan. and Feb. in order to call attention to the peak months of energy use (winter) and to provide students with hands-on opportunities to help measure and reduce electricity consumption on their respective campuses.

“During a 4-week period that began Jan. 14, New Roads High School students implemented a variety of electricity-saving measures campus-wide, and took weekly readings of school electric meters, comparing the usage to a baseline derived from previous years’ consumption. Students posted signs next to the light switches in each classroom and office on the high school campus, reminding people to turn off the lights, and posted similar messages on computer monitors. Our digital (computer lab) classroom was modified to admit more natural light and students raised overall awareness by speaking at weekly Town Hall meetings,” said Communications Director Nancy London of New Roads School.

According to the Green Cup Challenge website, the participating schools in this year’s competition reduced electric consumption by an average of 4.5 percent, effectively cutting 1,036,816 kWh from collective electric bills and 1,396,038 lbs of CO2 from power plants providing electricity.

New Roads’ plans for next year include challenging their schools families to make similarly impressive reductions at home.

Beverly High Competes At ‘The Downey Relays’

By Dupé Aleru|March 12, 2011|5:16 a.m.    

   

Following the Howard Edelman Inter-Squad Meet (a fun meet for family and friends) held on Mar. 3, the BHHS Track Team headed to Downey days later on Mar. 5 to compete in the Downey Relays.

Getting to the meet seemed to be a challenge as the bus failed to arrive on time to pick up the track team, costing the sprint medley relays their races. Fortunately, a little shake in the teams schedule did not hold them back, allowing the team to end the meet with many medals at hand, bringing the glory back to Beverly Hills.

What were the highlights of the meet? Well that must be the girls’ Frosh-Soph team running in the Varsity 4x400m relay where Chelsea Simmons, Allison Wolff, Elena Rust and Vanessa Torres took first place, with an official time of 4:24.02— which is in the all-time #3 spot at Beverly, for a Frosh-Soph team. 

In addition, Beverly High’s girls’ distance runners Brianna Simmons, Lily Ting, Ashley Bootesaz and Sydney Gray ran the sprint relay 4x200m coming in 4^th place, bringing in a time of 1:54.47. The girls’ Frosh-Soph team ran in the 4x200 Varsity race as well, taking in 6th overall with a time of 1:54.68 (unofficially). Finally, the boys Varsity team that consists of Ariel Nasib, Frank Brown, Joel Steinberg and Willie Green took 2nd in their heat (but overall did not medal) with a time of 1:34.85 (unofficially).

For more information about BHHS Track, the coaches or the TF Records, visit www.bhhstrack.com.

Stay tune for BHHS stats on today's meet in Culver City.

DON'T MISS OUT! TOMORROW'S FIRST ANNUAL WESTSIDE REGIONAL SUMMER OPPORTUNITIES FAIR

Culinary Students Advance To Regional Competition

Old News to Reuse...Upcoming Events!


By Britney Barnes|Huntington Beach Independent|Feb. 23,2011|4:21 p.m.

Orange Coast College's culinary arts students, including two from Huntington Beach, have won a state food championship for the ninth year, which advances them to a regional competition in April.

The students won the California State Hot Food Team Competition last month at the Art Institute of California in San Diego.

The event, which is sponsored by the American Culinary Federation, is a two-part competition where schools race to complete a four-course meal in 90 minutes and try to rack up points in a 80-minute timed skills phase.

View full article at http://www.hbindependent.com/news/tn-hbi-0224-culinary-20110223,0,7513566.story

Third Grade Students At Harkham Hillel Waxed Poetic Presidential History

As President Reagan

By Dupé Aleru|March 10, 2011|8:08 a.m.

Wax on or wax off? Well, third grade students at Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy decided that they wanted their “wax on” as they pretended to be wax figures of historical presidents at Hillel’s Presidential Wax Museum, held in its lower gym last week.

Thirty-nine third graders dressed as a president they were to represent for this poetic assignment. In addition to acting like wax figures, the students were to wear a sign that holds instructions on how to activate “them” for their peers and family.  

To exemplify, the 40th President, Ronald Reagan’s sign read “touch my jar of jelly beans to hear my story”.  Once a visitor (parents and students) of the museum touched the jelly bean jar, the child portrayed President Reagan by standing up and reciting a speech about Reagan’s life and presidency. When the student was done, he or she would turn back “into wax” until reactivated by another visitor of the museum.

The Presidential Wax Museum, a project that started in Feb., was the conclusion of a month-long book report for students in Mrs. Deborah Littman’s third grade class at Hillel, which focused on project-based individualized child-centered learning, as students were assigned a president to research.

All in all, the “wax figures” are to be commended. “It’s not easy for 8-9 year-olds to sit like wax figures for over 90 minutes while being viewed by their peers. It was a long, but very rewarding and successful day for all of Hillel’s presidents,” said third grade teacher Mrs. Littman.