Mountain Views News          Saturday, December 1, 2012

9

EDUCATION & YOUTH

 Mountain Views News Saturday, December 1, 2012 


PRESCHOOLERS 
AND PARENTS 
ATTEND ST. RITA’S 
KINDERGARTEN 
PLAY DAY

 More than 50 parents and 
their prospective St. Rita 
students enjoyed an afternoon 
at the school on Thursday at 
the Kindergarten Play Day. The 
parents of preschoolers had the 
opportunity to meet the faculty 
and learn about St. Rita’s high-
quality education, while their 
children played and mingled in 
the classrooms.

After a brief welcome by 
Principal Joanne Harabedian, 
St. Rita parents Annie Blea 
and Ellen Radle spoke to 
the group, which reflected a 
wide representation of the 
religious and culturally diverse 
community, about the new-
family mentoring program 
and their personal experiences 
with the welcoming spirit of the 
teaching staff. 

“The afternoon was very 
informative and it was nice to have the whole faculty there,” said 
Dennis Slavin, father of a prospective new kindergartner. “We 
definitely felt a warm, comfortable feeling with the speakers and 
were impressed with the up-to-date technology in the classrooms.”

Faculty members were introduced to the parents, such as Art 
Instructor Moira Love, who touched on the importance St. Rita 
places on the arts in education, which was evidenced by a beautiful 
display of student artwork adorning the hall. Coach Randy Davies 
also shared his experiences on the school’s award-winning CYO 
sports program.

Harabedian said she was thrilled with the high attendance at the 
event, which was advertised at local preschools, but said many were 
referred by word-of-mouth. She liked that many of the parents 
expressed interest in their after-school enrichment program 
(L.E.A.P.S.), which includes 13-week courses in such areas as chess, 
skateboarding and Irish dance.

“Because we’re a faith-based community, we place a lot of focus on 
each individual student’s moral, as well as academic, development,” 
she said. “Teaching collaborations build from year to year to ensure 
that each student’s individual learning style and interests are 
fostered.”

New student enrollment is now open at St. Rita and interviews will 
be held in January. Junior Kindergarten, like Kindergarten, is a full-
day program available to 4 and 5-year olds. For a tour of the school 
or to receive a registration packet, contact the school office at (626) 
355-6114.

St. Rita School, located at 322 N. Baldwin Ave. in Sierra Madre, is a 
Catholic parish school, ranked fourth in the Los Angeles Diocese, with 
a focus on faith, stewardship and academic excellence. 

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: Brent Forsee

bforsee@ausd.net

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: Ethan Williamson

Kindergarten - 8th grade

website: www.barnhartschool.org

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 

Co-Principals Nancy Lopez and Diane Kieffaber

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 

Headmaster John Higgins

626-798-8989

website: www.highpointacademy.org

LaSalle High School

3880 E. Sierra Madre Blvd. Pasadena, Ca. 

(626) 351-8951 website: www.lasallehs.org

Principal Bro. Christopher Brady, FSC

Monrovia High School

325 East Huntington Drive, Monrovia, CA 91016 

(626) 471-2800 Principal Darvin Jackson

Email: schools@monrovia.k12.ca.us

Norma Coombs Alternative School

2600 Paloma St. Pasadena, Ca. 91107

(626) 798-0759 

Principal: Marcatta Williams

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

website: www.pasadenahigh.org

St. Rita Catholic School

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

Principal Joan Harabedian

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

Sierra Madre Elementary School

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

(626) 355-1428 Principal: Esther Salinas

E-mail address: salinas.esther@pusd.us

Sierra Madre Middle School 

160 N. Canon Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

(626) 836-2947 Principal: Garrett Newsom

E-mail address: newsom.garrett@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

ARCADIA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

234 Campus Dr., Arcadia, Ca. 91007

(626) 821-8300 Website: www.ausd.net

MONROVIA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

325 E. Huntington Dr., Monrovia, Ca. 91016

(626) 471-2000 Website: www.monroviaschools.net

DUARTE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

1620 Huntington Dr., Duarte, Ca. 91010

(626)599-5000 Website: www.duarte.k12.ca.us

Children explore activities in the Junior Kindergarten classroom.

ALVERNO WELCOMES GRANDPARENTS AND SPECIAL FRIENDS TO CAMPUS

Alverno students and grandparents enjoyed Thanksgiving Liturgy and Mass together

On Tuesday, November 20 Alverno welcomed more than 90 
grandparents and special friends to campus to participate in 
Alverno’s annual Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day. 

Grandparents and special friends were treated to a morning 
reception in the Alverno library before joining the rest of the 
student body for Thanksgiving Mass. The Mass, officiated by 
Father Dennis of St. Philip the Apostle, not only celebrated 
Thanksgiving but also called on students to be thankful for 
all of the wonderful lessons and memories they shared with 
their grandparents and special friends. 

Following Mass, grandparents and special friends were 
invited to attend classes with their student hosts. While 
visiting classes, grandparents and special friends were 
encouraged to share stories about their own time as students, 
how the world has changed, and even how they got their 
grandparent nicknames! Grandparents and special friends 
shared how they spent their time as kids and how different it 
was then. Some classes even issued assignments encouraging 
students to live more like their grandparents and special 
friends for day by giving up technology and writing about 
their experiences. 

Following their classroom visits, students and their 
grandparents and special friends were treated to a catered lunch in the Villa del Sol d’Oro. 

“Our grandparents and special friends are not only important family members but wonderful teachers and role models,” said Ann Gillick, 
Head of School. “Each of them has played an important role in the development of the young women in their life and each has helped 
to mold them into the individuals they are. We are thankful to have their support in empowering each young woman 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. 


Joan , Katie and Gaston Taix

PUSD NEWS 

The official filing period for candidates 
for Seats 1, 3, 5 and 7 on the PUSD Board 
of Education closes December 7, 2012. Interested 
candidates can only run for the 
seat that is in the geographic subdistrict 
where they reside. PUSD board districts 
became geographic subdistricts after the 
passage of Measure A last June, replacing 
the previous at large system. Board 
members will be elected to a four year 
term for subdistricts 1, 3, 5 and 7 in 2013 
and subdistricts 2, 4 and 6 in 2015. Voters 
in Altadena, Pasadena and Sierra Madre 
will go to the polls March 5, 2013 for the 
primary nominating election and April 
16, 2013 for the general election (if necessary). 
The map of the new geographic 
subdistricts is available at www.measurea.
pasadenausd.org or www.cityofpasadena.
net/cityclerk. Information for 
candidates is available online 
at the City Clerk’s website 
or by calling the Pasadena 
City Clerk’s Office at (626) 
744-4124. 

Priority open enrollment for 
the 2013-2014 school year 
begins Tuesday, December 4 
and ends on December 18. 
Priority open enrollment is 
only for siblings of students 
already enrolled at a school 
of choice, children of current 
PUSD full time employees 
and Willard fifth grade students 
who wish to continue 
in the International Baccalaureate 
program at Blair 
Middle School. General open 
enrollment will begin on 
January 23, 2013. Please visit 
www.openenrollment.info to 
learn more about the open 
enrollment process. 

Daniel Webster Elementary School is in 
contention for a $50,000 Power a Bright 
Future grant from the Clorox Company 
for new and updated technology. The 
school with the most votes via text and/
or online will win the grand prize. Anyone 
over the age of 13 can vote online 
and via text daily (two votes a day) until 
December 19. To vote, go to https://powerabrightfuture.
clorox.com/nominees/
detail/?nid=1703 

Please join Mayor Bill Bogaard for the 
Mayor’s Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony 
on December 6 at 5:30 p.m. There will be 
craft projects from around the world presented 
by the Armory Center for the Arts 
as well as photos with Santa Claus. New 
unwrapped toys will be collected for the 
Spark of Love Toy Drive. 

Blair Culinary Arts & Hospitality Academy 
(CAHA) students prepared 144 
Turkeys for the Pasadena Union Station 
Annual Thanksgiving Dinner Event at 
Central Park held on November 22, 2012. 
CAHA also donated 50 gallons of gravy to 
the Pasadena Union Station to help provide 
a delicious hot dinner to thousands 
of individuals throughout San Gabriel 
Valley on Thanksgiving Day. In addition, 
six Blair students accepted the challenge 
this year to create a “Side Dish Recipe” to 
represent Blair High School in the Mrs. 
Cubbison’s Stuffing Recipe Contest. Staff 
and students served as tasters to identify 
the one recipe to represent Blair. Karl 
Kauhola’s innovative idea was to create 
a “Stuffed Mushroom” recipe which was 
the entry for Blair High School this year. 
Karl placed fifth among all of the high 
school Culinary Arts Programs in Los 
Angeles County. 

THE REEL DEAL: by Ben Show

Movie Reviews Especially for Teens & ‘Tweens

LIFE OF PI

 There is nothing 
better than to see a visually 
stunning, yet deeply 
powerful at the same time. 
‘Life of Pi’ is exactly that. It 
shows that movies not only 
still amaze and inspire, but 
also allow you to step into a 
whole other world.

 Pi Patel (Suraj 
Sharma) is a young boy 
growing up at a zoo in the 
French part of India, but 
when their family is on 
the edge of bankruptcy, 
they are forced to abandon 
the zoo and go to Canada, 
along with the animals. 
However, not everything 
goes perfectly and the huge 
freighter they leave on hits 
a storm and sinks. Pi ends 
up on a small lifeboat, with 
limited supplies, and a zebra, hyena, orangutan, and tiger. How 
will he survive and find his family?

 While this is an astounding movie, and a breakthrough in 
film making, it should not have been rated PG. There were some 
very disturbing moments (all including the animals). That said, 
this is a wonderful movie that will excite anyone that sees it.