Claremont Graduate University has selected Afaa Michael Weaver as the winner of the $100,000 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award for his book “The Government of Nature.” The celebrated poet and academic is also a true success story coming from a poor family and working in blue-collar jobs while building his writing career. The Kate Tufts Discovery Award winner for 2014 is Yona Harvey and her book “Hemming the Water.” COURIER photo/Steven Felschundneff
Members of the Claremont Unified School District drew a round of applause from staff and faculty at Thursday’s school board meeting when they spent several minutes discussing how they might avoid giving pink slips to classified employees.
It began when the board was asked to take action on a human resources item, voting on whether or not to approve Resolution #11-2014: Reduction in Force-Classified Services. The resolution would grant the district permission to notify classified employees at various elementary school sites that they may be subject to a Reduction in Force (RIF).
Javier Galvez demonstrates how to blow the concha major on Wednesday during the 39th annual International Day at Sycamore Elementary School. Mr. Galvez also taught the children how to count in Mayan numbers as room 17 explored the history and culture of Mexico. The students went from room to room learning about new countries in three sessions that were about 40 minutes each. Check out our complete story and slideshow. COURIER photo/Steven Felschundneff
Technology is “dragging us, kicking and screaming, into a brave new world order,” punk legend Exene Cervenca told students and community members at Pitzer College’s Benson Auditorium last Tuesday.
Ms. Cervenka painted a bleak picture of the present, in which the earth has been spoiled by man-made ecological disasters, toddlers play with iPads instead of blocks and a cocktail will set you back $20.
Her vision of the future is even bleaker.
Technology is being weaponized, she warned. Humanity is being replaced by artificial intelligence and genetic manipulation. And she was just starting out. COURIER photo/Steven Felschundneff
A very real danger just got more real for Claremont High School students.
Last week, the local teens got a lesson in the importance of sober driving when they were exposed to a simulated crash and its grim aftermath. The event was part of Every 15 Minutes, a program aimed at preventing young people around the world from driving drunk or while texting.
On Wednesday, March 26, juniors and seniors at CHS gathered on bleachers on Indian Hill to view a shocking scene: Two totaled vehicles and several students who were supposedly dead or injured.
The Youth Activity Center (YAC) will be closed next week, April 7-11 in correspondence with the Claremont Unified School District’s spring break. The center will reopen on Monday, April 14 and resume the regular operating hours of 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, call the YAC at (909) 399-5360. Teens are invited to jump back in on Wednesday, April 16 for the Teen Committee meeting, held at 3:15 p.m. on the third Wednesday of every month. Each meeting is open to the public and the youth of the community are encouraged to attend and share any thoughts or concerns.
How does your garden grow? In the case of schools in the Claremont Unified School District, the answer is beautifully.
District Garden Coordinator Dessa D’Aquila has been able to put in more hours this year than in the past—anywhere from 30 to 36 hours a week when school is in session—thanks to a combination of district funding and grant money, namely some awarded to San Antonio High School’s Food Justice program. Sustainable Claremont also contributed $2,000 towards the position.
A CUSD parent took a moment at the Thursday, March 20 school board meeting to address his concerns about the handling of last week’s gun scare at Claremont High School.
The day before the meeting, graffiti was found scrawled in a boys bathroom in the 800 quad of the CHS campus, indicating that a student intended to bring a gun to school the next day. Brad Umansky thought long and hard about whether to bring his two daughters, both CHS students, to the high school on Thursday. One girl had hip-hop practice at 6 a.m. and then would be leaving by bus for a field trip.
The third annual Art Reach Show, held Friday, March 7 with the theme “The Art of Pop Culture,” included a wide selection of drawings, paintings, photography, digital media, ceramics and sculptures from more than 60 Claremont High School students, many of whom were juried into the show and several of whom won awards. The exhibition is held at the Millard Sheets Center for the Arts the Pomona Fairplex.
CHS winners include photography students in Missy Wonacott’s class
Steven Llanusa may be president of the local school board and an active volunteer in an array of community organizations, including the Kiwanis Club of Claremont. He is, however, foremost a teacher, currently helming a 5th grade class at a magnet school in Bloomington.
So it makes sense that, when the COURIER sat down with him to discuss what he’s been reading lately, the first book he named was a children’s title.
Claremont Graduate University has announced Afaa Michael Weaver as the winner of the 2014 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award.
The $100,000 award, presented each year to a mid-career poet, is one of the largest poetry prizes in the nation. It is hoped that the money allows a writer to “continue working towards the pinnacle of their craft.”
Mr. Weaver is the author of 12 books of poetry, the most recent of which is The Government of Nature.
The grounds of Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden served as a living classroom for 68 Oakmont Elementary School upper graders on Monday, who visited the campus as part of the Claremont Museum of Art’s expanding ARTstART program.
ARTstART, launched in the fall of 2011, trains college and Claremont High School students in the realm of arts appreciation. These newly-minted mentors then share the wealth, setting up arts education programs for the budding artists of local elementary schools. “It’s important not just because of Claremont’s cultural heritage,” said Rich Deely, director of the ARTstART program. COURIER photo/Steven Felschundneff
The Claremont High School Theatre Department will present its annual children’s musical on Friday and Saturday, March 21 and March 22.
This year’s production is 101 Dalmatians, a short, high-energy adaptation of the classic Disney movie. It centers on the efforts of evil fashionista Cruella de Vil to get her hands on a litter of spotted pups to make the perfect fur coat. Luckily, the coveted canines prove to be pretty resourceful. Filled with plenty of action and tuneful songs, this show is recommended for the entire family.
Oakmont students Lyndsay Wiedefeld, Cyrus Guerra and Isaac Perez draw pictures of flowers on Monday during an ARTstART field trip to Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. The event, sponsored by the Claremont Museum of Art, partnered High School and elementary students in an art learning program designed by the older students. COURIER photo/Steven Felschundneff
