Mansfield Among ‘Top 40 Under 40′
Congratulations to Mike Mansfield, who teaches English at Bowman High School. He is one of the “Top 40 Under 40″ young community leaders named in an annual program sponsored by JCI Santa Clarita Valley and the SCV Business Journal. The program honors 40 members of the local business community, under the age of 40, who are active in the community. The 40 were nominated over a course of weeks by such organizations as the SCV Chamber of Commerce, Valley Industrial Association and other trade groups. The final 40 will be honored at a reception Sept. 23 at Robinson Ranch Golf Club.
Piano Donated to Placerita Drama Club
The timing was just right when parent Laura Cash offered to donate her time this fall providing vocal training for the Drama Club at Placerita Junior High. Less than 24 hours later, the Hart District office received a phone call from a family moving out the area who wanted to donate their piano to a community organization. Ironically, both the donor parents and their children had once attended Placerita and the school just seemed like a right place for their vintage piano to be. The piano was built around 1920 and has been in the family for a long time. Now it will begin a new “life,” accompanying the voices of children, according to Vicki Kennedy, Drama Club director.
Local Students Selected for Junior Statesmen Program
Nine Hart District students were among 165 students from across the nation and around the world selected to take part in the intense and demanding Junior Statesmen of America summer session at Stanford University. The prestigious program is offered to students with an outstanding academic record and potential for leadership. They also must be very active in the community and have an interest in making the world a better place. The local students, many of whom attended on a full-ride scholarship, included Michael Ayoubkhan, Robert Block, Akhil Cherukupally, Lauren Garcia, Myles Killpatrick, Andrew Manalang, Christopher Russell, Evan Tikka and Brandon White.
Social Studies Teacher Takes Historic Vacation
Robert Tilles is a social studies teacher at Hart High School, and when he took his family on a summer road trip, he didn’t leave his job far behind. Just reading about U.S. landmarks, history and geology isn’t enough for Tilles and his family. They traveled 7500 miles in seven weeks, studying geology at such sites as Yellowstone and Mount St. Helens and history in a Civil War re-creation and along the Colombia River Gorge where the Lewis and Clark Expedition passed on their historic journey to the Pacific. The Western U.S. experience is just part of an ongoing educational experience, which last year saw the family visiting the Eastern U.S., including a tour of the White House and the site of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination.
Bowman Students Support Youth Grove
Students at Bowman High School not only turned out for the annual Evening of Remembrance at the City of Santa Clarita’s Youth Grove, they supported it with $200 raised in campus fund-raisers. The Youth Grove memorializes local young people who have lost their lives in traffic related collisions and helps raise awareness about the importance of safe and responsible driving. The Evening of Remembrance was especially poignant for Bowman students this year, since they were honoring one of their classmates who died in a recent car accident. A marker and banner of recognition in his honor helped the students relate to the Grove on a personal level. Bowman students also passed out key rings provided by Safe Rides at the school’s open house with the message, “Know More. No More.”
Students Tour Career Educational Facility
Twenty-five Saugus High School Career Visions students recently toured the North Valley Occupational and Aviation Center in Mission Hills. The center offers educational opportunities that help students become career ready, technically skilled and educationally prepared. The class visited landscaping, computer, child care, auto and even sign language classes. “It’s a friendly environment for post-secondary training with a staff that treats the students exceptionally well,” said Career Visions Transition Advisor Louise Willard, who arranged for the field trip. Within the last few years, more than 15 students from the Saugus High have attended the North Valley Center.
New SignWelcomes Golden Oak Students
Golden Oak Adult School, nestled into the corner of Placerita Junior High School, will welcome students back for the fall semester with a new marquee sign–the first in recent memory. The sign, at the corner of Newhall Avenue and Dalbey Drive, was formerly used by Placerita, which received a new electronic sign as part of the recent campus modernization. The new Golden Oak insert was designed and installed by Signs and Designs from Canyon Country and denotes the location of the Golden Oak office. The adult school offers classes in a number of campuses across the valley. Walk-in registration starts Aug. 23 and most classes start in September. More information, including a schedule of fall classes, is available at www.goldenoakadultschool.com.
