It is the end of the first trimester in the first year of Common Core implementation. Report cards went out on Friday, gauging how students are mastering the new standards and how schools are doing at imparting them.
The Claremont Unified School District is having some growing pains when it comes to this next stage of the transition to the Common Core. Some teachers say the nearly two-page report cards pose a challenge for instructors to complete and parents to decipher.
Having guided Claremont schools through one of the most transformative periods in curriculum in recent history, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services Bonnie Bell is on to an even more challenging role.
After four -and-a-half years with the Claremont Unified School District, she will be helming the Lowell Joint School District (LJSD) in the Whittier/La Habra Heights area. Becoming a school superintendent may sound like a daunting proposition, but Ms. Bell takes loads of preparation to her new job.
On Monday, Devin Bradley did something incredibly brave. She stood before her peers and recounted the toughest experience of her life.
A little more than a year ago, her father Matthew Bradley took his own life. It was a shattering experience, and there are still some really tough days.
Devin shared her story during a Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention assembly at the high school, and one held earlier at El Roble, in the hopes it would be cathartic.
Wolfpack music students marched to their own drumbeat at the Edison Invitational Competition held in Huntington Beach on November 1, and they were rewarded for their efforts. The Claremont High School Marching Band took first place, with additional individual first-place honors going to CHS Percussion and Color Guard.
Kudos go to the dedicated students whose countless hours of practice paid off, as well as to tireless music director Melanie Riley Gonzales, who helms the orchestras and marching bands at both CHS and El Roble as well as the CHS Jazz Ensemble. COURIER photo/Steven Felschundneff
The Claremont High School Theatre Department will present their annual Friends of Our Theatre (FOOT) Auction on Tuesday, November 18 and Wednesday, November 19 at 7 p.m. at the Candlelight Pavilion, 455 W. Foothill Blvd. in Claremont.
Students from the musical theatre class will perform selections from the musical “Matilda” in an evening of music, dancing and unique auction items. This event will serve as the start of the Theatre Department’s 2014-2015 theatre season.
Sixth grade student Jack Tatar answers a question from student teacher Maxine Tu during a Chinese language class on Wednesday at Chaparral Elementary School. The Chaparral students were learning the seasons in Chinese in a lesson taught by two Scripps College sophomores. Scripps students have been teaching languages at Chaparral for 18 years in a program run by professor Thierry Boucquey. COURIER photo/Steven Felschundneff
Michaela Christiansen, top left, and her father Dale react as she is named homecoming Queen on Friday during halftime of the homecoming game at Claremont High School. The homecoming king honors went to Chandler Boldig, who escorted Ms. Christiansen from the stage. Claremont defeated Diamond Bar 25-0 bringing their record this year to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in league play. More in our next edition. COURIER photo/Steven Felschundneff
Senior Donovan Robinson gives freshman Tommy Viat
a lift as they decorate the 9th grade homecoming float
recently at Claremont High School.
It’s homecoming weekend at Claremont
High School. Our Wolfpack will kick things
off at Memorial Park on Friday, October 16 at 3p.m. with the crowning of
the king, followed by the homecoming float parade.
The game starts at 7 p.m. at CHS, where the Pack
will battle Diamond Bar. A special half-time show
will include performances by the band and a fireworks
show to announce the homecoming queen.
CHS alumni and community members are welcome
to attend. Go Pack! COURIER photo/Steven Felschundneff
UPDATED: Members of the Claremont High School band play Jupiter from The Planets by Gustav Holst on Wednesday at CHS. The band is preparing for their upcoming show, Under the Lights: CHS Second Annual Community Concert, on Saturday at 6:30 at the CHS stadium. The concert is free but the public is encouraged to support the music program through food purchases or with a contribution through the Take a Note fundraiser.
At their Thursday, September 4 gathering, members of the Claremont Unified School District Board of Education voted to approve an addendum to the contracts of Superintendent Jim Elsasser and four key district staffers.
Mr. Elsasser was first hired a little more than two years ago, with his contract extending from June 1, 2012 to June 30, 2016. Thanks to a unanimous vote by the board, the superintendent’s contract has been extended for an additional year, with his tenure as head of the district going through June 30, 2017.
Natalie Taylor stepped in as Mountain View’s interim principal last February after the school’s former head, Clara Dehmer, moved on to a post as assistant principal of student services at Claremont High School.
This year, it’s official.
As Ms. Taylor becomes Mountain View’s permanent principal, she will likely have less of an adjustment period than most new administrators. It’s not just because she had several months last year to get her feet wet. Ms. Taylor’s previous post was a decade-long stint as a classroom teacher at Oakmont Elementary School.
Last month, Princeton Review put out Best 379 Colleges for 2015, its annual publication ranking institutions in categories ranging from academic rigor to the richness of their extracurricular offerings.
Schools across the nation vie for recognition in the Princeton Review listings, which are based on surveys of 130,000 college students, because they are hugely influential in the college selection process.
The Claremont Unified School District is pleased to welcome Lisa Yamashita as the new principal of Chaparral Elementary School.
Ms. Yamashita spent the last school year as an adjunct faculty member at Cal State Northridge, teaching English Language Development standards and supervising multiple subject student teachers. Previously, she spent five years as an elementary school teacher in Oregon.
Before that, Ms. Yamashita—who graduated from USC and earned her master’s degree in reading and language arts from Cal State Los Angeles.
