When the Claremont High School Marching Band lost its winning ways, Band director Melanie Riley-Gonzalez knew she had to act.
The band had grown just enough to edge the Wolfpack last year from the small-band group in its past competition circuit into the category for larger bands. Faced off against much larger schools—many with funding allowing for props ranging from dozens of $50 flags to large wooden ramps to an oversized model of a pyramid—CHS didn’t place at all in competition last year.
COURIER photo/Steven Felschundneff
The progress of 2 local elementary schools toward their respective academic goals and the initial moves towards faculty contract negotiation were among agenda items at the Thursday meeting of the Claremont Unified School District.
After reports on district doings by the student board members representing CHS and San Antonio High School, Principal Amy Stanger and her team from Sycamore School took center stage, delivering their Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA).
There was cause for jubilation on Friday, November 9 at Oakmont Elementary School during a morning Celebration of Success.
Not only did the school make a startling 86-point gain in its 2011 Academic Performance Index score (API), one of the largest leaps in the state of California. After a lot of hard work, Oakmont students got a chance to thumb their nose at authority for a bit, soaking their teachers and Principal Stacey Stewart in a dunk tank.
An API score is a single number representing a school’s improvement in state testing.
The annual Claremont Educational Foundation (CEF) fall kick-off reception “Stars in Education” will be held at the home of Beth and Ivan Misner (located at 3752 Hollins Ave., Claremont) on Friday, November 16 from 6 to 9 p.m.
This annual event will include the Misner’s challenge to the community to match their annual $10,000 contribution with gifts pledged or given that evening.
Sumner librarian Marleene Bazela is keenly aware of the magic of books, and she runs her library accordingly.
Her reading nook is a wonderland of literary love, where kids stop by for the books and stay for the ambience. There are posters singing the praises of the written word, tables and stools where kids can hunker down, and a cozy couch strewn with teddy bear pillows where Ms. Bazela presides during read-aloud presentations.
Her headquarters has been further enlivened with seasonal decor: candy corn-colored fairy lights, autumnal knick-knacks, and a burning candle filling the room with a pumpkin scent.
El Roble students got the holiday season, and their hearts, started this Wednesday with their annual Turkey Trot run.
It is the fourth year the local middle-schoolers hit the track to raise money for the physical education department. The event was created by physical education teacher Deborah Foster, who was looking for a way around the bleak fact there is no funding for the upkeep of their fitness center and for new P.E. equipment.
“The fitness center is such a beautiful facility, I can’t believe that they didn’t give me the resources to maintain it,” she said. COURIER photo/Steven Felschundneff
There are a few days and events that parents and students of the Claremont Unified School District will want to keep in mind in the coming weeks.
There will be no school on Monday, November 12 in observance of Veteran’s Day. As usual, the city of Claremont will host a Veteran’s Day Ceremony the previous day, on Sunday, November 11 at 11 a.m., at Memorial Park, located at 810 N. Indian Hill Blvd.
School will be closed just a week later for Thanksgiving break, with no classes held on Monday, November 19 through Friday, November 23.
Leo Cervantes felt apprehensive as he stood in front of 31 Sycamore Elementary School peers, expounding on the Day of the Dead.
The sugar skulls and remembrances of the dead, gracing the commemorative altars set up in his great-aunt’s Eleventh Street home, didn’t unnerve him. What worried him was speaking in public.
“This is my first time. I was so scared,” 11-year-old Leo said.
The Day of the Dead, which roughly corresponds to the Catholic holidays of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, is a Hispanic observance dating back to the days of the Aztecs.
The November 2 meeting of the Claremont Unified School District Board of Education was marked by accolades.
Among other feel-good acknowledgements, the November 2 gathering included the announcement of the winner of the Spotlight on Excellence award, a discussion of the recent academic successes of Chaparral and Vista del Valle elementary schools, and the presentation of a district-wide Energy Star recognition for significant gains in energy efficiency.
The review and potential acceptance by the school board of the Claremont Unified School District Sunshining to the Claremont Faculty Association Contract 2012-2013 will take place at the next school board meeting on Thursday, November 1.
Sunshining, required by state law, is a process where, in anticipation of contract negotiations, a disctrict and its faculty decide which items will be on the table. The public is then given the chance to comment on proposed areas of negotiation.
The Theatre Renovation Committee wants you to take a seat. Literally.
The group—which supports the ongoing upgrade of Claremont High School’s 40-year-old theater—is asking community members to help provide chairs for the Don F. Fruechte Theatre for Performing Arts, which opens this spring.
A $325 contribution covers the purchase of a cushioned, flip-up seat and its installation plus an engraved plaque to be placed on the armrest in honor of the chair’s sponsor, whether it is an individual or a business.
The Claremont Educational Foundation presented the Claremont Unified School District with a whopping $210,000 for the 2012-2013 school year at Thursday’s school board meeting. The money will be used to fund art and music education in grades K-6 and technology at El Roble and Claremont High.
Presented by new CEF president Ken Corhan, the contribution from the nonprofit dedicated to supporting public schools in Claremont was just one of many positive notes in a meeting marked by a full house and full agenda.
Cameron Munter, was the former US Ambassador to both Pakistan and Serbia, will join the Pomona College faculty as a visiting professor of international relations for a 3-year term, beginning in January 2013. This spring, he will teach the course, “Managing International Crisis.”
A retired career diplomat, Mr. Munter served as America’s ambassador to Pakistan from October 2010 until July 2012, leading a 2000-employee embassy while guiding US-Pakistan relations through a period of severe crisis, including the capture of Osama bin Laden and the latest phase of the Afghan war.
El Roble Intermediate School students looking for an after-school hangout have found refuge in the play yard of the Claremont Presbyterian Children’s Center. For the past few years, the local church has offered a venue for the students, regardless of congregational membership.
“It’s mostly about community building,” said Reverend Rocky Supinger. “It’s a place where they can just come hang out in a stress-free environment.”
A new collaboration between the church and renowned photographer Ramak Fazel seeks to give the program a new edge while continuing to forge community ties.
