Feb. 2013
Nov. 7, 2012
Fire Academy Cadets Celebrate Graduation
Fifteen students were honored by graduation ceremonies for the Fire Fighting Academy program sponsored by the Hart District’s Regional Occupational Program. The students represent both beginning and advanced programs, which offer a certificate of completion when the full year is completed. Students who received special recognition at the ceremony included Garrett Adamiak, Scott Bachrach, Joshua Brown, Corbin Fleming, Nicholas Jewell, Brandon Manibog, Eric Mitsch, Cruz Montes, Jonathan Barrett and Jon Boscarino, all saluted for perfect attendance. Cadet Cruz Montes was singled out for his outstanding notebook, based on class assignments. The graduation ceremony included demonstrations of fire-fighting techniques the students learned in the program. Upon completion of the ROP program, they are eligible to attend an Explorer Academy and, once they reach age 18, begin trying for actual fire department positions.
Bowman Starts Roadtrip Nation Journey
Bowman High School students will start on a 16-week program of self-discovery Jan. 15 when the school launches the Roadtrip Nation Experience. The program’s signature Big Green Bus is expected to arrive at Bowman High School Feb. 5 to take part in a school-wide assembly which will promote the RTN experience for the school’s students. Bowman students will participate in Roadtrip Nation activities every Friday for 16 weeks in homeroom period. Students will be organized in teams of four to conduct interviews and film sessions reflecting the theme, “define your own road in life.” Bowman is one of only three continuation schools in the state chosen to pilot the Roadtrip Nation Educational Program, based on an odyssey by three newly graduated college students which evolved into a PBS television series, three books, an online community and a student movement.
Dance Team Doubles Holiday Donation
Hart High Dance Team doubled their donation to Help the Children this year by presenting the charity’s director, Wendi Yancy, with a check for $1,000 from their second annual performing arts benefit showcase, Hart of the Holidays. The donation was used to purchase hams and turkeys for the many needy families in the Santa Clarita Valley. In addition, the team was able to provide non-perishable food items, which were generously donated by the audience in attendance on the night of the event.
Yes I Can Students Volunteer at Carousel Ranch
The Yes I Can class at Saugus High School teaches interested students with and without disabilities to work together to ensure that young people with disabilities are included in recreational and social activities within the community. Students participating in the program recently volunteered at Carousel Ranch, a facility that offers therapeutic horseback riding for physically and mentally disabled children and adults. After a tour of the ranch, students helped with cleaning the stalls and grooming the horses. The class is taught by Joel Stehle and Marcia Davis.
Engineering, Automotive Students Explore Careers
Students in the Exploring Engineering Technology and Automotive classes offered at Canyon High School by the Hart District’s Regional Occupational Program journeyed to the Pomona Fairplex to attend Career Day, geared to their special interests. The day, presented by the National Hot Rod Association and U.S. Army, offered speakers, displays and activities designed to expose students to professionals and technologies related to career opportunities. After lunch, the students were treated to several drag races featuring some of the vehicles they had an opportunity to view close-up during the morning. More than 40 different schools, colleges, auto manufacturers and other employers had exhibits and interactive booths that gave students information about the various programs offered at their institutions. The Army had exhibits and challenges that the students competed in to assess their physical fitness and dexterity.
Hart Show Choir Presents Cabaret Pops Concert
The award winning Hart High School Show Choir will present its annual Cabaret Pops Concert 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Jan. 21-22, in Hart Auditorium. The show is conceived, directed, choreographed and performed entirely by students and will showcase all four of Hart’s show choir groups: Sound Vibrations, Hartbreakers, Hart ‘n Soul and Sweetharts. The program will preview the groups’ upcoming spring competition sets and also will showcase the unique song and dance talents of students in small groups and individual acts. Tickets will be available at the door. Further information is available from Director Gail Hart at ghart@hartdistrict.org.
Successful Students Return to Saugus High
Six former Saugus High School students returned to their alma mater first semester to share career related information and their own personal inspirational stories. Scott Wilk, Jr. is now a district representative for State Senator Tony Strickland, Tammy Marashlian is a staff writer for The Signal, Monique Monge is an admissions counselor for The Master’s College, Dr. Nick Berry is a pharmacist and owner of Mobile Knowledge Tutoring, Matthew Stromberg is a published author, and Jessica Bleifer is currently a counseling intern completing her master’s degree. All six applauded Saugus High for preparing them for the rigors of college and the demands of the working world.
School Supplies, Letters on Way to Nicaragua
Students and staff at five Hart District schools have donated more than 300 pounds of school supplies which are heading to Nicaragua this month, where they will be distributed to impoverished students in four Nicaraguan schools. In addition to the school supplies, the local delegation will be carrying hundreds of letters written in Spanish by students in Spanish foreign language classes, native Spanish speakers, or translated by volunteers. In the letters, local students talk about their favorite and least favorite school subjects, their favorite out-of-school activities and why they like to live in Santa Clarita. Postage-paid envelopes will be provided to encourage Nicaraguan students to write back to their local pen pals. Participating sites include Placerita and Rio Norte junior high schools, Canyon, Valencia and West Ranch high schools and the Hart district office. This is the second time that local schools have sent school supplies to Nicaragua, where students must provide their own uniforms and school supplies if they wish to attend public school.
Sierra Vista Receives Golden Bell
George Velarde, the PE Department chair from Sierra Vista Junior High School, and Principal Mark Crawford journeyed to San Diego in December to accept the prestigious Golden Bell Award from the California School Boards Association. The award was based on Sierra Vista’s “new PE” program, which emphasizes overall fitness and a healthy lifestyle in place of the traditional sports skills. The program also was featured in a recent issue of “California Schools Magazine,” the CSBA’s official publication. The article called the Sierra Vista program a “fitness revolution” and emphasized the overall positive effect of the program on students and their fitness.
Alumni Return for Hart Show Choir Program
Students in the show choir program at Hart High School remain loyal to the program even after graduation. Twenty alumni from recent years back to the 80s proved their ongoing interest by returning to produce the school’s second annual alumni show recently. The second half of the show featured the Yale men’s a cappella group, “The Spizzwinks (?),” including Alec Torres, a 2009 Hart Show Choir alumnus. The Spizzwinks (?) is one of America’s oldest male choirs, founded in 1914 as a satirical response to the Yale Whiffenpoofs. The group completed a world tour last May that included South Africa, Egypt, Costa Rica and England.
Placerita Dancers Perform in San Diego
Seventeen girls from Placerita Junior High School’s Advanced Dance class traveled to San Diego to perform in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl half-time show at Qualcomm Stadium in front of a sold out crowd of over 60,000 football fans. They were also the opening group in San Diego’s nationally televised Big Bay Balloon Parade. The group worked with famed choreographer Mandy Moore, from the reality series “So You Think You Can Dance,” who created the seven minute dance routine and sent the instructional DVD to participating dance directors. The girls began fund raising in the fall and learning their choreography in November. The Placerita dancers joined a group of 300 dancers and 700 piece marching band for the program.
“The Fantasticks” Coming to Saugus High School
Saugus High School’s production of the beloved musical, “The Fantasticks,” recreates the original show in every details, thanks to the participation of three professional musical directors who have been rehearsing intensely with students since early September. The Saugus production plays two weekends–Jan. 21 to 23 and Jan. 29-30–with a curtain time of 8 p.m. on Saturdays and 7:30 p.m. on weekdays. The show features Saugus student and Broadway veteran Sara Niemietz as Luisa. Other accomplished Saugus cast members include Daniel Stewart, Jacob Thomson, Cameron Rose, Matt Thorpe, Lexi Laundy and Joe Veliz. Tickets or information are available by contacting director Leslia Carson at lcarson@hartdistrict.org.
Team Training Moves Up to Half Marathons
Fifteen students from Golden Valley High School and Academy of the Canyons marked a high point in their marathon training program by completing the inaugural 13.1 mile Los Angeles Half Marathon. The team’s next qualifying event will be the Surf City Half on Super Bowl Sunday. The students are members of the Students Off and Running (SOAR) program supported by the Santa Clarita Track Club and coordinated by Kevin Sarkissian, from the Hart District’s Career Visions center. The team will complete a 22-week, 350-mile training season by running in the 2010 Los Angeles Marathon.
SHS Icebreakers for the Beginning of Second Semester
Because so many new students enrolled in Saugus High School’s Yes I Can class, teacher Joel Stehle and assistant Marcia Davis used two unique ice breakers for the students to get to know each other - Best Friends Forever and Human Knot, a team building activity designed by James Neill. Best Friends Forever gave students two minutes to introduce themselves, ask questions and connect with each other before changing seats. In the Human Knot activity students stood in a circle, reached across and shook hands with a different person. The group then unraveled the “human knot” by unthreading their bodies without letting go of each other’s hands, focusing on communication, leadership, teamwork and persistence. Both activities help students break down the barriers intrinsic in meeting new people.
District Artists to Show Work in COC Exhibit
Hart District art teachers and their top students will have some of their best work on display in a joint show, “Inspiration,” which opens Tuesday, Jan. 19, with a reception in the Art Gallery at College of the Canyons. Instructors Sally Rush, Tammy Kornfeld, Dawn Grider, Shannon Burgess, Teri Garcia, Dan Nickels, Cindy Pharis, Mary Gaskin, Phil Shaheen, Brendan McCann, Susan Hart, Phillip Lopez and PJ Vernon are all instructors from the various campuses throughout the district that are braving the walls next to their finest students. Approximately 40 pieces of two-dimensional works as well as ceramics will be on view. The show will remain open to visitors Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., through Jan. 29.
