Mountain Views News          Saturday, October 15, 2011

8

EDUCATION & YOUTH

Mountain Views News Saturday, October 15, 2011

Aveson Charter School To Receive 

CALIFORNIA GREEN SCHOOL LEADERSHIP AWARD

SCHOOL DIRECTORY

Alverno High School

200 N. Michillinda Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

(626) 355-3463 Head of School: Ann M. Gillick 

E-mail address: agillick@alverno-hs.org

Arcadia High School

180 Campus Drive Arcadia, CA 91007

Phone: (626) 821-8370, Principal: David L. Vannasdall

Arroyo Pacific Academy

41 W. Santa Clara St. Arcadia, Ca, 

(626) 294-0661 Principal: Phil Clarke

E-mail address: pclarke@arroyopacific.org

Barnhart School

240 W. Colorado Blvd Arcadia, Ca. 91007

(626) 446-5588 Head of School: Joanne Testa Cross

Kindergarten - 8th grade

website: www.barnhartschool.com 

Bethany Christian School

93 N. Baldwin Ave. Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

(626) 355-3527 Principal: James Lugenbuehl

E-mail address: jml@bcslions.org

Carden of the Foothills School

429 Wildrose Avenue, Monrovia, CA 91016 626/358-9414 
626/358-5164 fax office@cardenofthefoothills.com

The Gooden School

192 N. Baldwin Ave. Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

(626) 355-2410 Head of School: Patty Patano

website: www.goodenschool.org

High Point Academy

1720 Kinneloa Canyon Road

Pasadena, Ca. 91107 626-798-8989

website: www.highpointacademy.org

LaSalle High School

3880 E. Sierra Madre Blvd. Pasadena, Ca. 

(626) 351-8951 

website: www.lasallehs.org

Monrovia High School

325 East Huntington Drive, Monrovia, CA 91016 

(626) 471-2000, 

Email: schools@monrovia.k12.ca.us

Norma Coombs Alternative School

2600 Paloma St. Pasadena, Ca. 91107

(626) 798-0759 Principal: Dr. Vanessa Watkins 

E-mail address: watkins12@pusd.us

Odyssey Charter School

725 W. Altadena Dr. Altadena, Ca. 91001

(626) 229-0993 Head of School: Lauren O’Neill

website: www.odysseycharterschool.org

Pasadena High School

2925 E. Sierra Madre Blvd. Pasadena, Ca. 

(626) 798-8901 Principal: Gilbert Barraza, Jr.

website: www.pasadenahigh.org

Pasadena Unified School District

351 S. Hudson Ave. Pasadena, Ca. 91109

(626) 795-6981 website: www.pusd@pusd.us

St. Rita Catholic School

322 N. Baldwin Ave. Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

(626) 355-9028 website: www.st-rita.org

Sierra Madre Elementary School

141 W. Highland Ave, Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

Phone: (626) 396-5890 - Fax: (626) 355-0388 

Principal: Esther Salinas

Sierra Madre Middle School 

160 N. Canon Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

Phone: (626) 396-5910 - Fax: (626) 836-2964

 Principal: Garrett Newsom

Walden School

74 S San Gabriel Blvd

Pasadena, CA 91107 (626) 792-6166 

www.waldenschool.net

Weizmann Day School

1434 N. Altadena Dr. Pasadena, Ca. 91107

(626) 797-0204

Lisa Feldman: Head of School

Wilson Middle School

300 S. Madre St. Pasadena, Ca. 91107

(626) 449-7390 Principal: Ruth Esseln

E-mail address: resseln@pusd.us

Aveson School of Leaders, an Altadena 
based K-5 public charter school, is the 
most recent school that has teamed up 
with Waste Less Living, Inc., a local 
environmental company specializing 
in zero waste consulting and organics 
recovery. In collaboration with Waste Less 
Living, the school’s Green Environment 
Action Team (GREAT) spearheaded by 
Debrah Lemattre, have instituted various 
initiatives around campus. Projects have 
ranged from designing and building a 
recycling center on campus known as 
the ARC, introducing monthly recycling 
drives, coordinating e-waste drives, 
switching to reusable trays and utensils for 
their hot lunch program to implementing 
Waste Less Living’s signature Organics 
Recovery Program (ORP) campus wide. 
Their recycling efforts have generated 
revenue for the school while the ORP has 
made a significant improvement in how 
they manage their waste. Students have 
reported upwards of an 88% organics 
recovery rate all destined for composting 
not landfilling.

 For their efforts, they have been selected 
by the California Green Schools Summit 
Advisory Board to receive the Green 
School Leadership Award in the category of 
Green Campus to be presented onMonday, 
October 17th from 4:00pm-6:00pm at the 
Pasadena Convention Center. The summit 
is scheduled from October 17th from 
10:00am - 4:00pm to October 18th from 
10:00am - 1:30pm. Several dignitaries are 
expected to attend including Senator Fran 
Pavely and CalEPA Secretary Matthew 
Rodriguez. For more information on this 
event, visit: http://www.green-technology.
org/gcschools/ 

“Aveson is a great example of school-
wide, community wide sustainability 
efforts and creating a green culture,” said 
Racquel Palmese, Managing Editor of 
Green Technology, the producers of the 
conference.

The ‘green’ programs are intended to 
respond to an ever increasing concern 
over trash and landfills and their direct 
impact on the environment. Parent of 
Aveson and founder of Waste Less Living, 
Ms. Christine Lenches-Hinkel, said 
“the purpose of the recycling center and 
composting program is to put in place a 
working and daily solution to our waste 
problem and to offer an opportunity for 
engagement and environmental action 
by both the students and parents. Both 
programs are strategically aligned with the 
school’s teaching philosophy as they foster 
student involvement and participation as 
well as real life learning experiences that 
are solution driven.”

“The Aveson Recycling Center and 
Waste Less Living Program are excellent 
examples of what can happen when schools 
involve parents through their passions 
and strengths. Debrah and Christine are 
leading the Aveson vision of healthy living 
by engaging and educating students and 
families in our campaign to take care of the 
Earth”, said Kate Bean, Executive Director 
of Aveson Charter Schools.

Waste Less Living will be an exhibitor 
at the California Green School’s Summit 
in Pasadena this coming October 17-18th. 
For more information on Aveson School of 
Leaders GREAT, contact: Debrah Lemattre 
at 626-797-1451/323-428-8379 or debrah@
me.com

For more information on the Organics 
Recovery Program and the products and 
services Waste Less Living provides, contact: 
Christine Lenches-Hinkel, Founder/CEO at 
626-786-5947 orwastelessliving@gmail.com


A HARD DAYS WORK AT THE 
PUMPKIN PATCH


Looking Into The Life Of A Teenager

 By Meaghan Allen

Time

 When I began school in August, all my teachers said that the 
school year was going to blow right on by. I remember thinking, 
“Yeah right. We have college applications.” Now, here I am in 
the middle of October with two of my most important college 
applications due in roughly two weeks and I have yet to write a 
stellar personal statement. Or that the fall play (Shakespeare’s 
Twelfth Night), which I felt we only started yesterday, is beginning 
at the end of this month. But it’s not only the looming application 
deadlines and opening night, but the fact that it is OCTOBER.

 Next month will be November, and no, I am not mocking 
Rebecca Black. What I am trying to get at is that despite my denial 
to the year moving quickly, it is; but I still feel like I have all this 
time that I really don’t. 

 And after our little tease of fall last week, the weather is not 
helping the approaching holidays seem any closer. A 100o heat 
wave makes me feel as though it is still summer, not pumpkin 
carving, house decorating season, cookie baking season. 
Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte can’t even help me fight against 
the time crunch, no matter how delicious they are. So I guess 
that what I am really trying to say is that Fall is here, it came on 
September 23, and that time is going to move quickly. I just have 
to try my best to keep up and not get lost in time. 

On Saturday, October 1st, Girl Scout Cadette Troop 
1242-1, from Sierra Madre School, hosted and managed 
a Pumpkin Patch Festival for the community. There were 
over 30 booths run by fellow Girl Scout troops offering 
food, games and crafts. The event raised money for the 
individual Girl Scout troops running the various booths, 
and the Service Unit that oversees all Girl Scout troops 
throughout Altadena, Pasadena, and Sierra Madre. 
Eight months of planning, working and public speaking 
went into making the event possible. 

The Pumpkin Patch 2011 was the final project towards 
earning their Silver Award, the highest award a Cadette 
Girl Scout can achieve. 

www.mtniewnews.com


Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) 
Superintendent Jon R. Gundry announced the 
appointment of Brian McDonald, Ed.D., as 
Chief Academic Officer, filling a key leadership 
position essential to implementing strategies 
that consistently raise student achievement. An 
experienced elementary and secondary school 
principal, Dr. McDonald joins PUSD from the 
Houston Independent School District, where he 
was the School Improvement Officer.

PUSD, in partnership with Pasadena’s Armory 
Center for the Arts, the Pasadena Educational 
Foundation (PEF), and UCLA, has been awarded 
a three-year $1 million U.S. Department of 
Education grant to fund a program that connects 
arts education with math. PUSD’s grant is one 
of only 13 federal Professional Development for 
Arts Educators (PDAE) grants awarded across 
the country this year. 

As announced last month, Amin Oria was 
appointed principal of Jefferson Elementary 
School. She was formerly principal of two 
elementary schools in the South Whittier School 
District. James A. Albanese was appointed 
principal of Focus Point Academy, the structured 
special educational program for students in grades 
1-12 diagnosed with emotional disturbances and 
learning disabilities. Mr. Albanese is a former 
assistant principal and was most recently with 
the L. A. County Office of Education. 

Hundreds of PUSD students, families and staff 
participated in International Walk to School 
Week October 3-7 at five campuses to promote 
physical activity and pedestrian safety. 

PUSD is investigating an incident at Muir High 
School involving a staff member and a student. 
Superintendent Gundry will issue a statement 
once the investigation is complete. 

McKinley K-8 School received the 2011 
performing arts grant from the Pasadena 
Showcase House for the Arts, the five-week jazz 
program that culminated with a performance on 
October 5.

In October, high school seniors complete 
college applications, take SATs, and finalize plans 
for their future. A number of college awareness 
activities are planned in and around PUSD for 
students of all ages. This month, high school 
students take the PSAT, the preliminary SAT test 
that can qualify students for the National Merit 
Scholarships.

October is Energy Awareness Month, and 
PUSD’s Energy Education program is working 
with school staff to turn off lights, save water and 
take other conservation measures to both save 
money and stay “green.” 

The PUSD Districting Task Force has 
submitted proposed charter reform language to 
the Board of Education for action on Tuesday, 
October 11. The Task Force is charged with review 
of the 1999-2000 City Charter Amendment 
proposal (Measure BB) for sub-geographic 
district elections of PUSD Board Members to 
determine what changes are necessary to forward 
to the voters and, through the use of 2010 Census 
data and community input, to also determine the 
geographic regions for the seven PUSD Board 
of Education seats, ensuring compliance with 
State and Federal Voting Rights Act provisions. 
To learn more, visit www.districting-task-force.
pasadenausd.org

The San Gabriel Valley Literacy Council, 
which serves adult English language learners 
in the Pasadena area, offers English as a 
Second Language (ESL) tutoring classes at La 
Casita, Villa Parke Community Center, and the 
Pasadena Senior Center, among others. For more 
information, call (626) 795-7987 or visit www.
sgvlc.org

 PUSD News This Week