Hart Regiment Earns Eighth Championship
Hart High School’s Marching Regiment captured its eighth consecutive championship in Division 4A sponsored by the Southern California School Band & Orchestra Association. The Regiment’s color guard also won sweepstakes in its class, and the Regiment earned the highest scores of any band in the championships, in all size divisions. Two other Hart District schools also earned medals in the championships. West Ranch placed second in Division 5A, and the color guard brought home a bronze third place medal. The Saugus Marching Band took third place in Division 2A. Canyon, Valencia and Golden Valley high schools also qualified to compete in the championships, based on winning performances during the marching band season.
Drama Club Performs at Literacy Festival
Members of the Drama Club at Placerita Junior High filled the main stage of the SCV Literacy & Arts Festival with songs and dance from their upcoming production of “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” Students in costume also roamed the festival grounds entertaining hundreds of local children who gathered for the community activity sponsored by the City of Santa Clarita and the SCV Education Foundation. Proceeds from vendor booths at the event will help fund classroom grants and scholarships offered by the Foundation.
Balancing Rocks Is Artistic Exercise
Students from Sequoia Charter School drew a crowd of curious onlookers with their performance, “Art of Rock Balancing,” at the recent SC Literacy & Arts Festival. Junior high school teacher Fidel Garcia brought the art concept to Sequoia as part of his art class. Essentially, the art involves placing a combination of rocks or stones in arrangements which require patience and sensitivity, and which appear to be physically impossible, while actually being only highly improbable. The students continued to develop their skills outside of the art class, and Garcia registered them to demonstrate their skills at the festival. A number of festival visitors observed the performance art, while others actively participated with their own stone sculptures.
Valencia Team Wins VIA STAR Competition
A team from Valencia High School comprised of sophomores Kevin Sogata, Gabriel Sunga and Elijah Valentine, was selected as the winning team of the sixth annual VIA STAR competition through the Valley Industrial Association. The Valencia students entered the competition with their DECA advisor, Dennis Mifflin. The students created a prototype of a free Apple application for Six Flags Magic Mountain that could be used by visitors to the theme park to make their visit to Magic Mountain more enjoyable. The app would direct visitors to the rides with the shortest lines, provide an interactive map of the park, identify safe rides for young children, promote a clean park to visitors and provide promotional space for park vendors. The students met with Jay Thomas of Six Flags Magic Mountain and have presented their concept to others in the organization. VIA holds the VIA STAR competition each year to provide a bridge between textbook knowledge and the real world for students and to bring schools and businesses closer together.
Club Fills Christmas Boxes for Needy Children
The Forward Motion club at Saugus High School filled 18 decorated shoeboxes with $30 worth of toys, school supplies and personal hygiene articles, to be delivered to children, parents and young adults around the world in time for Christmas. The gift boxes were part of Operation Christmas Child, which has helped literally millions of needy families in various countries, with each year’s destination depending on the need. Dan Nickels is the club advisor for Forward Motion.
Rio Norte Eighth Grader Wins Bookmark Contest
Sharon Lee, an eighth grade student at Rio Norte Junior High School, recently won first place in the Grades 6 through 8 category of the County of Los Angeles Public Library 2009 Children’s Bookmark Contest. The contest theme was “Books and Beyond..!” Students created their own bookmark designs about books or reading, working in black ink. Local winners were announced Nov. 10, and Grand Prize winners will be announced in February 2010.
Saugus Choir Selected for Disney Concert
The Saugus High School Concert Choir was among the outstanding choirs selected by audition to join the Disneyland Candlelight Concert. They participated in four concerts on Dec. 5 and 6 following several weeks of rehearsal with the Disney choir and orchestra. Actor Jon Voight was the guest narrator. This is Saugus’ fifth year in the Candlelight Christmas Concert.
Canyon Launches Helping Our Teens Club
A new club, dedicated to helping homeless and less fortunate students in the Hart District, has been formed at Canyon High School by senior Penny Lopez. In the club’s short existence, members have raised funds with a Food Day event, planned a fundraiser at Don Cuco’s thanks to the restaurant’s generous support, and have been featured in both The Signal and KHTS Radio. All profits go to helping needy students purchase items such as prom tickets and yearbooks, both of which contribute to high school milestones all students deserve to experience. Advisor is Ashley Jones.
Hart Athletes Picked for College Teams
Three athletes from Hart High School have signed letters of intent to play their respective sports at the collegiate level next year. Konrad Antoniuk will swim for CalPoly San Luis Obispo next year, and swimmer Maggie Hanson will be competing for Oregon State. Patrick Valaika will be playing baseball at UCLA.
Endangered Species Topic for Saugus Assignment
Noting that the mass extinction of species is primarily the result of human activities, Saugus High School teacher Kristi Schertz designed a unique assignment to increase her students’ awareness of the problem. Each student had to create a model of a chosen species and then provide information as to the primary and all secondary causes of its decline in population and the specific characteristics of the species that led to its decline. They also had to research any conservations efforts currently underway. Junior Michael Howard said the assignment really opened his eyes about the numerous species that are no longer capable of meeting their needs for survival.
Constitution Night Strengthens Student Knowledge
More than 100 eighth graders from Team Infinity at Rancho Pico Junior High School strengthened their knowledge of the U.S. Constitution during a recent Constitution Night in the school’s multipurpose room. Led by social studies teacher Adam Bratt, the activitywas designed to prepare his students for the upcoming Constitutional Challenge exam again the other two teams on campus–Quest and Xtreme. Students rotated between nine tables with student “experts” leading discussions on sections of the constitution–from structure of the document to citizenship. These “experts” also developed sample test questions from each of their given categories. The evening ended with a game of “Stump the Principal,” where students tried to stump Principal Michele Krantz. The former social studies teacher managed to hold her own again the onslaught of Infinity questions, with awards going to the few students who were able to baffle her.
Media Day to Focus on Film, TV Careers
West Ranch High School is inviting high school and junior high students from across the valley to attend the second annual High School Media Day Saturday, Jan. 30, in the West Ranch theater. The program will provide information and resources on the value of film and television opportunities. Professionals will present such careers as news anchoring, producing, sports anchoring/producing, director of photography, camera operator and animation. Interested students can get more information or register by contacting Jennifer Overdevest at joverde@hartdistrict.org.
Bowman Parents Go Back to School with Their Students
Bowman High School’s third observance of National Parent Involvement Day was a resounding success, with more than 40 parents choosing to spend part of the day in class with their students. The day started with parents and students sharing their experiences as a Bowman student or parent, before heading off to class. The visit allowed parents to interact with their children and their teachers, helping to build bridges between parents and school.
Saugus Woodshop Students Create Rocking Horses
Students in Leonard Friedman’s Saugus High School Beginning Woodshop class lent their talents to a special holiday project: creating rocking horses for the Child and Family Center. The project took over three months from inception to completion and required designing, planning and organizational skills. “I hope whoever gets my horse really enjoys it,” said senior Troy Anaya. Friedman hopes to make this an annual tradition.
Rancho Pico Students Eat Up Learning Diversity
Students at Rancho Pico Junior High School found that learning about diversity and tolerance can be quite delicious. Students in the PEACE class shared food from their cultures and explained why they chose to bring that particular food dish. As they enjoyed such dishes as Ecuadorian empanadas, Italian mostaccioli al forno , Filipino pan de ube, Israeli falafels, Korean turon and Mexican pan dulce, the students discovered how many cultures have similar dishes. Sarah Eisenberg, PEACE teacher, says the diversity in Rancho Pico lends itself easily for students to learn about a wide multitude of cultures.
Virtual Enterprise Team Earns Acclaim
The Virtual Enterprise company organized through the Hart District’s Regional Occupational Program returned from the International Trade Fair in Bakersfield with four awards, including a second place in Impact Marketing. There were over 110 teams from as far away as New York and Canada, and the local Acoustic Cakes and Apparel team placed in four of the eight competitions they entered. Other awards included fourth place in Most Creative Company Trade Fair Booth, top 10 semi-finalists and eighth place award in Advanced Web Design, and tenth place in Company Newsletter.
Local Educators Honored at State Banquet
Three educators from Hart District schools were honored at a recent joint banquet hosted by the California League of High Schools and the California League of Middle Schools to honor their educators of the year. Local nominees were Jeffrey Gilbert from Rio Norte Junior High, Brenda Monteleone representing Arroyo Seco Junior High and Chris Forbes from Rancho Pico Junior High. Bowman High School Principal Robin Geissler, last year’s High School Educator of the Year, was a speaker at the event.
Paper ‘Bodies’ Aid Healthcare Students
Students in the Healthcare Careers class offered by the Hart District Regional Occupational Program created life-size body outlines on paper to help them learn root words for the body and its systems, which they then labeled on their paper “bodies.” Class members have learned about many health careers, occupational safety and patient confidentiality requirements, the Chain of Infections…and the list goes on! The class also was visited by HMNM Hospital Board Member Dr. Vinod M. Assomull and traveled to the hospital to see a dialysis unit.
