Schools
Student Update From Washington DC
DAY 1 -Friday, April 22, 2011
The time is 9:15 EST. Today was a very cold and wet day. Even though the temperature dropped to 43 degrees Fahrenheit, we all still had an awesome time.
Last night we left LAX at 11:00 PM from American Airlines flight 74. Almost none of us were able to sleep on the flight called the red-eye (I know why it is now called the red-eye!). For those of us who did sleep, we only got 30 minutes to an hour long nap. Our hearts were pounding with excitement and we just couldn’t doze off.
We arrived at Dulles International airport at 6:25 AM. Then the lack of sleep hit us, and hit us hard. We began to walk slowly towards the bus and personally, my feet were aching because the lack of movement of my feet. Our tired bodies walked to get our luggage and we felt the cool spring morning once we exited the airport.
Student From Los Coyotes to Provide DC Trip Updates
La Mirada~Christian Covarrubias, 8th grader at Los Coyotes Middle School in La MIrada, and many of his classmates, embarked on this year's American Heritage Trip. Follow his progress right here on the La Mirada Blog. First entry to come shortly.
Thursday, April 21, 2011 4:48 PM PT
The Departure
I am so incredibly excited. At 11:00 tonight, Los Coyotes and Hutchinson Middle School's will be boarding American Airlines Flight 74 to Washington DC. I am taking an overnight trip called a "Red-Eye." We will be arriving at 6:55 am and we hit the ground running. I'll keep you all posted once we arrive.
Beatitiudes School to Hold its First Annual Spring Fundraiser
La Mirada~ Beatitudes of Our Lord School will hold its first annual spring fundraiser event called BLISS on April 9th, 2011 at the Knott's Berry Farm Resort Hotel. BLISS stands for Beatitudes Leading Its Successful Students. The event will include cocktails, dinner, dancing and silent and live auctions.
"The Beatitudes of Our Lord School BLISS Gala is nearly sold out and it is with great joy that we announce that the Most Reverend Oscar Solis, San Pedro Regional Bishop, will be our special guest of honor that evening." said Jim Young, BLISS Co-Chair. "We are also very thankful for all the Beatitudes families and La Mirada businesses like Gondola Pizza who have contributed their support to help make our event a success."
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La Mirada~The La Mirada Kiwanis community service club recently announced its recipients for its teacher-of-the-year program, picking a "winner" at ten different schools in La Mirada
"The service club project looks for ways to give back to the schools in a way that directly impacts students, said Debbie Scheibel, past President of La Mirada Kiwanis and currently Lt. Governor for Kiwanis International-Division 30.
Each recepient, chosen by their peers, received a gift bag containing ream of paper, notebook, and other classroom supplies for immediate use, and a $200 Staples voucher.
At La Mirada High School the recipient was Andrea Wood, "Teachers like Ms. Wood make a difference", said La Mirada Kiwanian Richard Trujillo, who along with former Norwalk-La Mirada Superintendent Ginger Shattuck, now a La Mirada Kiwanian, delivered the package. Trujillo is pictured, right, with La Mirada High Principal Bill Seals and Ms. Wood.
Special thanks go out to Extra Hands Advertising and project Chairpersons Scheibel and Adrienne Medrano, who also put together the gift bags.
Here is a list of the rest of the recipients:
|
Victoria Pflanzer |
Dulles Elementary |
|
Kimberly M. Emmons |
Eastwood Elementary |
|
Jennifer Liivoja |
Escalona Elementary |
|
Jason C. Hudson |
Foster Road Elementary |
|
Julie Wright |
Gardenhill Elementary |
|
Jessica Yoon |
La Pluma Elementary |
|
Kathy Brais |
Benton Middle School |
|
Catherine A. Black |
Hutchinson Middle School |
|
Janet Ramont |
Los Coyotes Middle School |
|
Andrea Wood |
La Mirada High School |
Kiwanis Gives Out its Teachers of the Year Awards at La Mirada Schools
La Mirada~The La Mirada Kiwanis community service club recently announced its recipients for its teacher-of-the-year program, picking a "winner" at ten different schools in La Mirada
"Our project looks for ways to give back to the schools in a way that directly impacts students, said Debbie Scheibel, past President of La Mirada Kiwanis and currently Lt. Governor for Kiwanis International-Division 30.
Each recepient, chosen by their peers, received a gift bag containing a ream of paper, notebook, and other classroom supplies for immediate use, and a $200 Staples voucher.
At La Mirada High School the recipient was Andrea Wood, "Teachers like Ms. Wood make a difference", said La Mirada Kiwanian Richard Trujillo, who along with former Norwalk-La Mirada Superintendent Ginger Shattuck, now a La Mirada Kiwanian, delivered the package. Trujillo is pictured, at right, with La Mirada High Principal Bill Seals and Ms. Wood.
See complete list of awardees.
Kiwanis Gives Out its Teachers of the Year Awards at La Mirada Schools
La Mirada~The La Mirada Kiwanis community service club recently announced its recipients for its teacher-of-the-year program, picking a "winner" at ten different schools in La Mirada
"The service club project looks for ways to give back to the schools in a way that directly impacts students, said Debbie Scheibel, past President of La Mirada Kiwanis and currently Lt. Governor for Kiwanis International-Division 30.
Each recepient, chosen by their peers, received a gift bag containing ream of paper, notebook, and other classroom supplies for immediate use, and a $200 Staples voucher.
At La Mirada High School the recipient was Andrea Wood, "Teachers like Ms. Wood make a difference", said La Mirada Kiwanian Richard Trujillo, who along with former Norwalk-La Mirada Superintendent Ginger Shattuck, now a La Mirada Kiwanian, delivered the package. Trujillo is pictured, right, with La Mirada High Principal Bill Seals and Ms. Wood.
Special thanks go out to Extra Hands Advertising and project Chairpersons Scheibel and Adrienne Medrano, who also put together the gift bags.
Here is a list of the rest of the recipients:
| Victoria Pflanzer | Dulles Elementary |
| Kimberly M. Emmons | Eastwood Elementary |
| Jennifer Liivoja | Escalona Elementary |
| Jason C. Hudson | Foster Road Elementary |
| Julie Wright | Gardenhill Elementary |
| Jessica Yoon | La Pluma Elementary |
| Kathy Brais | Benton Middle School |
| Catherine A. Black | Hutchinson Middle School |
| Janet Ramont | Los Coyotes Middle School |
| Andrea Wood | La Mirada High School |
La Mirada High Starts School Year Wtih New Principal
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW!
La Mirada~ As La Mirada High students begin classes Thursday, September 9th, a new face will be there to welcome them to the new school year.
Bill Seals took over as the new principal in July, replacing Don Jones, who was assigned to a different school in the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District, but has since taken a position in Chino.
In his first year as principal, the challenges he faces are to ensure that the upcoming evaluation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) goes smoothly and that he maintains a good relationship with staff, the students and the community.
"[WASC evaluations are] going to be one of our big undertakings over the course of the year because it's a formal process and it's a report that we write to the state as a staff and along with that is the staff getting to know and the leadership team that we have here," Seals said. "The goal is to get to know the community and get the administrative staff working with our teaching staff and make a productive working relationship and I think we do have a good administrative staff that can do that."
Another goal that Seals wants to achieve in his tenure is to maintain the improvement of Academic Performance Index score, which he gives credit to the previous administration.
"It's our goal to get our school to be an 800 API school and we're getting closer," he said. "We're getting out there and their test scores have improved this year. The staff's going to be proud that their numbers went up and we're going to continue that trend."
Superintendent Explains La Mirada High School Reassignments
La Mirada~La Mirada High School's administration was replaced because of pressing needs elsewhere in the district, Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Ruth Perez said.
The team, headed by principal Don Jones, has been assigned to other schools in the district and replaced by a new team headed by former John Glenn High School vice-principal Bill Seals.
"With regards to [former principal Jones], we needed him in more challenging situations," superintendent Dr. Ruth Perez said, who noted that Jones has accepted a position outside the district in Chino. "The administration serves at the pleasure of the school board and the superintendent. Where we're needed in the district is where we plugged them in."
She noted that this year, the school district went into program improvement because it was not performing as part of No Child Left Behind. A school district is placed into program improvement if it does not make Adequate Yearly Progress for two consecutive years. As a result, she said the district needed the expertise of La Mirada High School's administration elsewhere.
While the school district comes to grips with its troubling performance, she said that La Mirada High does a lot better in academic performance in comparison to the other high schools. She credits strong teacher and parental involvement as a factor to its performance.
"[La Mirada] has extremely supportive parental involvement, a strong teaching staff and great leadership among its teachers as well," Perez said. "I expect La Mirada to continue to do well."
Still, she said the school always has room for improvement and she hopes that the new team led by Seals will continue to improve on its accomplishments.
"Bill Seals is an excellent fit for La Mirada High School and the team has a strong background in areas that will continue to move the school forward," she said. "I expect the new team to work with the community, establish trust with the teachers as well as the community and have a strong professional learning community to allow the work to continue."
First Parent Meeting With New Administration at La Mirada High
La Mirada~A parent meeting will take place Wednesday, August 11th, at La Mirada High School from 5:00-7:00 pm.
This will be the first opportunity for parents to meet the new principal, Bill Seals, and his staff, who will share their professional backgrounds and goals for the upcoming school year at La Mirada.
Signs on campus will direct you to the location of the meeting, not yet determined. More than likely it will be held in the MPR room or gymnasium.
After the initial introduction, the staff will split up into smaller groups so parents can introduce themselves to the new administration.
Administration Replaced at La Mirada High School
Norwalk~The Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District board voted to hire a new administration for La Mirada High School Monday.
Michelle Millan, a secretary for Superintendent Dr. Ruth Perez, said the school board approved the hiring of William Seals, an assistant principal at John Glenn High School in Norwalk, as principal and out-of-district candidates Kelly Henderson and Rachel Heenan as assistant principals.
While La Mirada High will not have a third assistant principal, Michael Green, another outside hire, will become the dean of students.
Perez was not available to comment on why the school district replaced the previous administration.
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