Schools
NLMUSD NEWS: Top Students, Valedictorians to be Honored at Board Meeting
Norwalk~The top students from each of the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District’s high schools and adult school will be recognized before the Board of Education meeting on Monday, June 9 at the District Office beginning at 5 p.m.
The valedictorians for Norwalk, John Glenn and La Mirada high schools, Southeast Academy and Norwalk-La Mirada Unified Adult School will also be announced.
Brooks Returns to Classroom; No Word Yet If He Will Return as Coach
La Mirada~Long time baseball coach Kim Brooks returned to his La Mirada High classroom today pending a further internal investigation into an incident involving him recently, Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District Assistant Superintendent Wayne Shannon told the La Mirada Blog.
Brooks was placed on administrative leave by the district over two weeks ago when a recording of a profanity-laced tirade directed at his players surfaced.
Shannon told the La Mirada Blog the district "anticipates completing its investigation by the end of next week."
Shannon said, “They have received preliminary findings that indicate it is appropriate to return Mr. Brooks to the classroom at this time. As such, Mr. Brooks has been taken off paid leave and returned to his teaching assignment.”
Shannon said because the investigation is ongoing, the district cannot comment further at this time.
La Mirada Blog fan Angela Umeres (@angieumerus), one of his students tweeted, "Class felt so great with him back."
At this time, it is still pending if Brooks will be reinstated as head baseball coach or as the Athletic Director for the school.
La Mirada lost 8-0 to Aliso Niguel in the CIF-SS Division 2 Semifinal this past Tuesday with Jim Zurn coaching the team.
copyright La Mirada Blog 2014 | This story first appeared on our Tumblr feed earlier this morning here.
Dulles Elementary K-Kids Host 1st Annual Family Fitness Night & Lupus Awareness Fundraiser
La Mirada~The Dulles Elementary K-Kids Club is hosting a Family Fitness Night & Lupus Awareness fundraiser Tuesday June 3rd from 5:00-8:00 p.m. at the school site located at 12726 Meadow Green Road in La Mirada.
This will be the clubs grand finale event of the year and guest speakers include Leo Santa Cruz, WBC World Bantam Weight Champion, Robert Santa Cruz former boxer, now fighting Lupus, & Laurie Gray, from the Lupus Foundation of America.
Leo and Robert will be honoring the K-Kids with their certificates of completion as a surprise at the end of the presentation.
The K-Kids will MC the event and engage the audiences with music, cheer, and dance. There will be food, games, booths, and additional speakers from Cerritos College and the Norwalk/La Mirada School District. There will also belive training demonstrations from Team Santa Cruz and Jitsu studio.
NLMUSD Schools Dominate at Orange County Pentathlon
Norwalk/La Mirada~Students in the sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade represented Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District and brought home several medals and placed in their divisions at the annual Orange County Academic Pentathlon, where students throughout the region were tested in their essay, language arts, science and math skills.
Corvallis Middle School eighth-graders placed second in their division with Benton and Hutchinson teams taking the third- through-sixth-place spots. Teams from Los Alisos, Los Coyotes and Waite also placed in their divisions.
Skilled NLMUSD Students Head to State Competition
SkillsUSA regional winners advance to leadership conference
San Diego~Showcasing the vast array of skills acquired at Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District high schools, nearly 90 students will represent the district at the SkillsUSA 47th Annual State Leadership and Skill Conference this weekend, Thursday April 24th through Sunday April 27th.
SkillsUSA, a partnership of students, teachers and industry partners working together to ensure the United States has an accomplished workforce, will test the students’ expertise in a wide variety of career- and technical-education skills that range from automotive technology and welding to broadcast news production and nursing.
Students from La Mirada, John Glenn and Norwalk high schools and Southeast Academy advanced to the state competition after winning in the SkillsUSA Regional Competition that included students from Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles and Orange counties.
This year, the La Mirada High SkillsUSA team expanded to include students in the ACE business academy and APPLE education academy Career Pathways programs, said LMHS Principal Bill Seals. In the past, the SkillsUSA team consisted of only welding students.
“Both first-time competitors and seasoned veterans performed very well,” Seals said. “The competition at the regional level was fierce, but our students showed very well. I’m confident they will pull out all the stops at the state level.”
Students From La Mirada High Will Compete at SkillsUSA 47th Annual State Leadership and Skill Conference
La Mirada~Eleven La Mirada High School students will go on to compete in the SkillsUSA statewide competition from April 24-27 in San Diego.
SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure the United States has a skilled workforce.
Students competed at the regional level in the areas of Criminal Justice, Speech, Job Interviews, Health Occupations, Entrepreneurship, Web Design, Early Childhood Development, Community Service, Human Services, T-Shirt Design, Manufacturing, Marketing and Welding.
La Mirada High earned 28 gold medals, 23 silver medals and six bronze medals.
La Mirada Kiwanis Scholarships Available
La Mirada~The Kiwanis Club of La Mirada is now accepting applications for scholarships. Graduating high school students must be residents of the City of La Mirada and be pursuing an education at a college, university or accredited trade school. Applicants will be required to provide documentation prior to the deadline and will then participate in an interview with the Kiwanis Scholarship Committee members. Awards will be based on grades, merit, civic involvement, and financial need.
Application forms may be obtained at the high schools, on the Kiwanis website, or by emailing to info@lamiradakiwanis.org. They may also be obtained by request to Kiwanis Club of La Mirada, P.O. Box 116, La Mirada, CA, 90637. All applications must be returned to the P.O. address by Monday, April 21, 2014, or they are scanned and emailed to the address indicated above.
Interviews will be conducted on Saturday, May 3, 2014. Applicants will be contacted the week prior to schedule an interview hour. Results will be sent by mail approximately one week after the interview, and award presentations will be coordinated with the school event schedule.
NLMUSD Students to Perform with La Mirada Symphony
ARTS
Nearly 30 of the best middle school musicians within the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District will sit with professional musicians and play a concert with the La Mirada Symphony on Tuesday, Feb. 18 with performances at 10 a.m. and noon at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts.
The students, who auditioned to play with the symphony, will perform two pieces: “Voyage to the Edge of the World” and “The Courage March.”
Fifth-grade students within the District will also be in attendance at the concert, said NLMUSD Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator Karen Calhoun.
“The goal of the concert is two-fold: one, that our students who get to perform next to professional are encouraged to continue their studies with their instruments; and two, that the fifth-graders who are listening are moved to perform music when they reach middle school,” Calhoun said.
LMHS Basketball Girls Walk Out on Head Coach
SPORTS
021114 17:20 UPDATE-Girls Basketball coach Darryl Gowens has been fired by La Mirada High principal Bill Seals.
Gowens told the La Mirada Blog that after a positive morning meeting at the school he was then pulled aside by principal Seals around 4:45 p.m., moments before boarding the bus to traveling to John Glenn for a scheduled game.
La Mirada~Most of the La Mirada Girls Varsity basketball team walked out of practice this past Thursday due to an apparent dispute with head coach Darryl Gowens, resulting in a forfeiture of Friday night's scheduled contest against Cerritos High.
The issue seems to stem from some of the girls and their parents claiming the first year coach has been over-aggressive in his style.
Gowens says he has encouraged the girls all season and has Facebook posts to prove it and added, "At the end of the day it's about maturity, it's about growing up and it's about accountability".
Two of the girls parents from the programs booster club wished to remain nameless, but they did talk to us and disagreed with Gowens assessment saying he has "mentally abused" the girls with words and other actions.
It is unclear at this time how this will affect the Matadores last two games of the season tomorrow at John Glenn and the final game of the season at home against Norwalk on Thursday, which is also senior night.
Dulles Elementary K-Kids Host First Campaign & Philanthropy Conference; Elect New Officers
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| The spirit of giving and learning how to campaign for office were combined at the 1st Annual Campaign & Philanthropy Conference at Dulles Elementary School in La Mirada. The students are flanked by, l to r, Dulles K-Kids Advisor Stephanie De La Torre, L.A. County Supervisor Candidate April Saucedo, Dulles Principal Robin Padget and Olive Branch Calvary Chapel Pastor Dicky Velasquez. |
See the print version in this weekend's La Mirada Lamplighter Newspaper!
La Mirada~A group of fourth and fifth graders at Dulles Elementary in La Mirada recently hosted and participated in the school’s first annual Campaign & Philanthropy Conference.
The conference was a prelude to the recently completed election of officers for the on-campus Kiwanis K-Kids Club.
About 25 students are active in the on-campus service club which is organized by the Dulles K-Kids advisor and parent, Stephanie De La Torre.
The K-Kids is a branch of Kiwanis International that in coordination with local Kiwanis clubs takes on the responsibility of participating in community service projects at the elementary school level.
De La Torre put together the conference which was attended by Dulles principal Robin Padget and featured two special community role model guest speakers, each invited to talk about the different aspects of the conference.
The conference focused on the importance of community service and giving to others and De La Torre explained the event is also designed to give the students some of the tools they need to campaign for office, including public speaking techniques, creating a campaign platform, judging your peers and creating personal confidence.
De La Torre said the conference was modeled after many she has attended and the idea is to get kids to be independent thinkers through a conference experience, “A lot of times if you’re just leading, they’re just doing what you tell them to do. I want them to be critical thinkers and make decisions on their own.”
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