For almost two hours last Thursday, one woman held a gymnasium full of middle school students transfixed with the unbelievable tale of how a group of teenagers changed their lives with the simple power of the written word.
During two assemblies at El Roble Intermediate School, Erin Gruwell related how, as a first-year English teacher in one of the Southland’s lowest performing high schools, she used determination and a belief in the ability of one person to make a difference to turn 150 of the school’s worst students into college graduates and individuals who want to change the world.
The Claremont High School Theatre Department will present its annual Student Directed One Act Play Festival on Friday and Saturday, May 9 and 10, at 7:30 p.m.
Themed “Tricks of the Mind,” the show will feature two productions. The first of these is “The Actor’s Nightmare,” a short comedic play by Christopher Durang. CHS students Annika Ellwanger-Chavez and Emerson Dauwalder will direct it. The second is the short drama “Bang Bang You’re Dead” by William Mastrosimone, which will be directed by Lizzie Aguirre
After a special meeting in which new officers were elected, the Class of 2017 boosters are ready to move forward, continuing with their efforts to raise money for their kids’ upcoming graduation night.
Some hard feelings and a lot of questions remain, however.
The move to nominate and approve a new slate of officers comes after the removal of some of the volunteer group’s previous officers by the Claremont Parent Faculty Association (CPFA).
Pomona College is one of only 22 colleges and universities selected for the Green Honor Roll in The Princeton Review’s Guide to 332 Green Colleges: 2014 Edition.
Released on April 18, the publication profiles schools that demonstrate exemplary commitments to sustainability in their academics, campus infrastructure, activities and career preparation. California made a great showing, with Golden State institutions—including California State Chico, Stanford University, UC Irvine, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara and UC Santa Cruz—capturing seven of the 22 spots.
Winter in the United States and Canada marks the migration of the beautiful Monarch butterfly to Mexico. March signals the return of the swallows to Capistrano. Locally, May will bring the stunning sixth annual Art Showcase of Claremont High School advanced art students to the Village of Claremont.
This year’s showcase will open with an artists’ reception next Friday, May 2, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Claremont Community Foundation (CCF), located at 205 Yale Ave.
COURIER photo/Steven Felschundneff
A well-known Claremont couple is splitting up. On Monday, April 21, the Claremont School of Theology sent out a press release announcing it is ending its relationship with Claremont Lincoln University.
Trustees of the Claremont School of Theology “ask all who care for the seminary to hold both schools in prayer as they move forward on separate paths.”
The release is not a bombshell, according to Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Kuan, the 7th president at Claremont School of Theology. Instead, he says it is simply making public a parting of ways that is already underway.
San Antonio High School is hosting its 4th annual Seed-to-Table fundraiser on Sunday, April 27. Seats at the event, which helps support the school’s Plant Justice program, will still available the day of the event on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Plant Justice program not only involves high school students enrolled in the course. It also includes students from Oakmont and El Roble who are enrolled in the after-school program offered by San Antonio, with activities ranging from gardening to nutrition literacy.
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.” Check out our complete story.
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.
