Mayfield students make Iraq connection
Throughout the recent school year, first grade students at Mayfield Junior School exchanged correspondence and even gifts with a pen pal who dutifully wrote back personalized letters to each child.
Recently, the class finally met their pen pal face-to-face when Captain Michael "Ike" Turner came to the Pasadena school to visit his literary friends and talk about his experiences as a Marine stationed in Iraq.
The 27-year-old San Diego resident was a family friend of teacher Kimberly Evanilla who originally thought her class would make a nice simple connection to a person serving his country --- but that simple connection turned into a real life friendship.
"Before he left in August, I asked 'Can my kids write to you?'" recalls Evanilla who was amazed that "Captain Ike" -- as the students knew him --- took it upon himself to write individual letters back to each child.
In December, students and their parents gathered up gifts --- such as handmade items, cookies, blankets and socks --- so Captain Ike would have something to open at Christmas.
Throughout the school year, service man and children exchanged letters and when Captain Ike realized he would be back in the States, he wrote and asked each child to give them the name of their favorite book. "We never asked him to do this," reiterated Evanilla. "He really was touched by these kids and wanted to give something back to them."
When the students welcomed Captain Ike into their classroom, Evanilla said the kids were thrilled with their personalized books, but were more impressed with his kindness.
"The kids were asking all kinds of questions and everyone got to try on his helmet," she said adding that when Captain Ike read aloud messages that the children had put together in a book for him, "there were lots of tears. It was very sweet."
"Overall, my goal was to make the reality of what is going on in our country real to the children," she continues. "But the best part was that we could pray for someone that became our friend. I don't think there was a day that went by where we didn't pray for Captain Ike."
Sport-minded students at Resurrection celebrate banner year
Determination along with plenty of parental and school support summed up the school year for the students at Resurrection School who celebrated their best-ever athletic school year.
At the annual sports banquet, students, faculty and family gathered to honor the champion achievements in volleyball, basketball and softball, including league champs of the pilot Pee-Wee Co-ed basketball team comprised of second and third graders.
"Our students are motivated to keep up their grades to be a part of the teams," says principal Angelica Figueroa. "We try to educate our children as a whole and fitness studies have shown that kids who are involved in sports do better in school."
Under athletic director George Castillo and coaching staff, student teams at the East Los Angeles school took first place honors in the Big East League: Varsity Girls Volleyball (undefeated), J.V. Girls Volleyball, Varsity Boys Volleyball (undefeated), J.V. Girls Basketball (undefeated), Varsity Boys Basketball, Varsity Girls Softball (undefeated).
In addition, the school's Varsity Girls basketball team members were champs at the Salesian Christmas tournament and youngsters playing in the Pee-Wee Co-Ed Basketball team brought back top prize honors.
Figueroa added that the school --- which last year won the Governor's Fitness Challenge program --- has had a special emphasis throughout the year on fitness, both in physical education classes and after school sports. "Physical fitness needs to be a part of a student's education," she says.
St. Philip recycling champion first graders plant tree in local park
In an effort to green their Pasadena campus and home life, St. Philip the Apostle School students recently participated in a recycling contest to see which class could bring in the most plastic bottles and aluminum cans in a month.
Each week during the Reuse, Reduce and Recycle competition, students hauled in collected materials, which were then brought to a recycling center by parent volunteers. Della Gonzales' first graders led the school with the most recycling, with their reward the honor of planting a tree at nearby Grant Park, frequently used by the students for parties and outings.
"When I told my students about competition, they immediately began to tell me what they were already doing at home," says Gonzales. "Many of my students told their neighbors about the competition and asked if they could take their recycling items to school. My students continue to make sure that we recycle plastic or paper in the class."
The competition kicks off a newly-created Reuse, Reduce and Recycle Committee at St. Philip's which hopes to continue educating and raising awareness of how citizens, young and old, can make an environmental difference.
"The contest turned out to have so much more of an impact on the students, faculty and parents than I had expected," says committee chair Lara Serventi. "As a result I have parents coming to me saying that they hadn't really recycled before and how much more aware they are about how and what to recycle and about how much waste they really have."
Damien debate coach receives national forensic honors
Debate coach Chuck Ballingall of Damien High School has been inducted into the National Forensic League Hall of Fame.
The prestigious national honor requires recipients to have devoted at least 25 years of service to the National Forensic League (NFL) or be retired from the league. Since the inception of the Hall of Fame in 1978, only 144 members have been inducted.
Ballingall, along with three other inductees, will be honored for outstanding contributions to forensic education. |