Mountain Views News          Saturday, September 1, 2012

8

EDUCATION & YOUTH

 Mountain Views News Saturday, September 1, 2012 


SCHOOL DIRECTORY

ALVERNO’S CLASS OF 2016 
ARRIVES! 

Alverno welcomes new freshmen to 
campus

Tuesday, August 21 was the first day of school at Alverno High 
School and the start of a new journey for Alverno’s Class of 
2016. The new freshmen come from 31 different elementary 
and middle schools, 21 different cities—including Hong 
Kong and Peng Lai City, China. 

While many of the freshmen got to know one another during 
the Alverno Summer Institute, Monday, August 20 was the 
first time that the class was together as a whole. On Monday, 
they arrived on campus for Freshmen Orientation, ready to 
learn about one another and what to expect from their years 
at Alverno. 

After playing several icebreakers to get to know one another 
better, the Alverno Student Union set the freshmen loose 
on a scavenger hunt, which required them to find different 
locations on campus using cryptic clues. This not only 
helped the freshmen become familiar with Alverno’s 13-acre 
campus, but also helped acquaint students with the Alverno staff. 
At the end of the icebreaker, they sat down to complete a survey 
about themselves that will be placed into the Class of 2016 Time 
Capsule. Every year, new freshmen at Alverno create a time capsule 
that will be given back to them at their Senior Retreat. The capsules 
are meant to symbolize the great growth the girls will go through as 
individuals and as a class during their time at Alverno. 

Orientation concluded with a family prayer service led by Alverno’s 
Campus Ministry class. The current students read different blessings 
over the freshmen class and provided a strand of yarn to every 
parent in the audience. The strings provided to the parents were 
meant to symbolize the unity between all of them as their daughters 
began this exciting new journey in their lives. Their daughters had 
received a yarn bracelet earlier in the day to symbolize their unity 
as a class and their commitment to one another. The prayer service 
was a perfect ending to a fun-filled day and a wonderful way to 
prepare everyone for the excitement of the first day of school. 

The next morning, the freshmen were officially Alverno’s newest 
students and when the bell rang at 7:55 a.m. they were off to their 
first class. For many of them, this was the first time they moved 
from class to class and stored books in lockers but did great with 
the support from many of the older students. 

On Wednesday, after much anticipation, the freshmen were finally 
able to meet their big sisters. Every freshmen is assigned to a senior 
who acts as a friend, guide, and support system during their first 
year of high school. Big and little sisters grow extremely close over 
the course of the year and there are often lots of tears when it comes 
time for the big sisters to leave Alverno—they are truly bonds made 
for life. 

“Alverno High School is so thrilled to welcome another group of 
incredible young women to campus,” said Ann Gillick, Head of 
School. “As freshmen they are still young but they have already 
accomplished so much that we can be proud of and already are the 
epitome of Alverno girls. I am grateful that we will get to see them 
grow and thrive over the next four years as Alverno empowers each 
of them to be exactly the person she wants to be.”

About Alverno High School

Alverno High School is a Catholic, private, college preparatory school 
for young women dedicated to preparing them to function in a society as 
informed, knowledgeable persons, who have the requisite skills to make and 
implement mature decisions about complex problems. Enlivened by the spirit 
of its Immaculate Heart Community sponsors, and mindful of the Franciscan 
roots of its founders, Alverno’s program—academic, spiritual, aesthetic, 
social, and physical—is shaped by the staff, trustees, and students in light of 
the world for which the students are being educated. Alverno’s mission is to 
empower each young woman to be exactly the person she wants to be and 
since 1960, Alverno has empowered more than 4,100 women to meet that 
goal. For more information about Alverno High School, please call 626-355-
3463 or visit www.alverno-hs.org. 

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

Foothill Oaks Academy

822 Bradbourne Ave., Duarte, CA 91010

(626) 301-9809 

info@foothilloaksacademy.org 

preschool@foothilloaksacademy.org

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: Dr. Derick Evans

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

(626) 355-1428 Principal: Gayle Bluemel

E-mail address:gbluemel220@pusd.us

Sierra Madre Middle School 

160 N. Canon Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

(626) 836-2947 Principal: Gayle Bluemel

Contact person: Garrett Newsom, Asst. Principal

E-mail address: gbluemel220@pusd.us

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

Pasadena Unified School District

351 S. Hudson Ave., Pasadena, Ca. 91109

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

READERS WANTED! 

The Pasadena Unified School District’s prekindergarten and kindergarten classrooms are looking for 
volunteers to read aloud students. Children who are exposed to reading during their early years are 
more likely to read at or above grade level and being read to stimulates language and cognitive skills 
and increases vocabulary. A training for interested volunteers is scheduled Friday, September 7, 2012 
from 9 a.m. – 10:30 a.m in the Elbie J. Hickabottam Board Room, 351 S. Hudson Ave., Pasadena. Call 
(626) 396-3600 x88340. Refreshments will be provided by New Hope Christian Fellowship. 

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 
MCDONALD’S® RING 
IN THE SCHOOL YEAR 
WITH FREE BREAKFAST 
FOR STUDENTS IN 
KINDERGARTEN 
THROUGH EIGHTH 
GRADE ON SEPTEMBER 4 
6 TO 9 A.M.

To help students start the 
new school year off right, 
participating McDonald’s® 
restaurants in Los Angeles, 
Orange, Riverside, San 
Bernardino and Ventura 
counties will offer one free 
full-size Fruit & Maple 
Oatmeal to students in 
kindergarten through 
eighth grade that come to a 
restaurant accompanied by an 
adult on Tuesday, September 
4. 

Made with 100 percent natural 
whole grain oats, McDonald’s 
Fruit & Maple Oatmeal is 
freshly prepared and topped 
with about a half cup of real 
fruit including, fresh diced 
red and green apples, tangy 
dried cranberries, and two 
types of sweet plump raisins. 
At only 290 calories, it is rich 
in dietary fiber and Vitamin 
C, providing an excellent 
source of nutrients and 
offering warm smiles with 
every spoonful.

For more information on the 
Fruit & Maple Oatmeal and 
McDonald’s “Commitments 
to Offer Improved Nutrition 
Choices”, visit www.
McDonalds.com/changing. 


Do you have to many books at home? Wondering 
what to do with them? Come to The Book Rack and 
trade them in for a book you have not read.
We have 1000's used and New books for 
your reading pleasure.
204 S. First AveArcadiawebsite: bookrackarcadia.comPhone 626-446-2525
THE REEL DEAL: by Ben Show

Movie Reviews Especially for Teens & ‘Tweens

PARANORMAN

Ben Show is local Monrovian going into the eighth grade. He loves to read, write, and 
watch movies. He can be reached at benshow@earthlink.net

 ‘Paranorman’ is a mix of courage, 
acceptance, and zombies put together with 
stunning stop-motion animation (like The 
Nightmare Before Christmas an Coraline) and 
amazing CGI. Plainly, it’s an amazing family film.

 Norman (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is the joke 
of his family and the outcast at school. He’s not 
your usual kid to say the least, but he has one 
amazing skill: he can interact with ghosts. On the 
day of his town’s 300th anniversary, he meets his 
crazy uncle (John Goodman), who warns him of 
a witches curse. Norman must read from a book 
at the witch’s grave before sunset or else the dead 
will rise. He fails to do this, which catapults the 
town into chaos, and raises questions, like why is 
the witch doing this? This is the creepy, funny, and 
somewhat disturbing journey Norman must take 
to save his town.

 I found the story to be very solid, yet still 
dark, for a kids movie. Usually movies like this 
have huge gaps left because the screenwriters fail to 
think of explanations that fit. That did not happen 
in this movie; it felt enjoyable and satisfying. Other 
than John Goodman, I had never heard of any of the other actors in the movie.

 With a great screenplay (Chris Butler), good directing (Chris Butler, Sam Fell), and 
good albeit not well known actors, ‘Paranorman’ is a good addition to children’s horror 
films.