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
An item on the agenda for Thursday night’s school board meeting drew significant concern from Dave Chamberlain, president of the Claremont Faculty Association.
The board was presented with a recommendation to approve a resolution for “the reduction or elimination of certain certificated services.” According to the recommendation, drafted by Kevin Ward, assistant superintendent of human resources, the potential movement of a Claremont Unified School District administrator to a position as a classroom teacher could result in “overstaffing.”
Books were the order of the day on Monday at Mountain View, when the local elementary school commemorated the National Education Association’s Read Across America Day.
The nationwide reading extravaganza is celebrated each year in conjunction with the March 2 birthday of acclaimed children’s author Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss.
COURIER photo/Steven Felschundneff
Put a little spring in your student’s step.
Flowers won’t be the only thing blooming this spring. With an array of educational and fun events for the children of Claremont to participate in, the love of learning will be planted early on in the season.
With almost two months gone from the school year’s second semester, now is the time to start thinking about what students will be doing for the district’s upcoming spring break.
Nancy Sample might only have one biological son, but her profession has blessed her with hundreds of surrogate daughters. Ballet instructor and mother are interchangeable terms for the doting dance teacher who has guided multitudes of budding ballerinas, some of whom have gone on to perform with companies like the Inland Pacific Ballet.
Dance and teaching the art of movement are as natural as breathing for Ms. Sample, who has been instructing young girls to jete and rond de jambe for about 40 years.
It’s possible momentous decisions were made during the closed session that followed the February 20 school board meeting, in which district officials conferred with a negotiator and legal counsel regarding the disposition of the former La Puerta property.
The preceding gathering, however, was short and sweet.
It began with applause as Mindy Hansen of San Antonio High School was sworn in as the Claremont Unified School District Board of Education’s newest student representative.
