Mountain Views News          Saturday, September 14, 2013

A8

EDUCATION & YOUTH

Mountain Views News Saturday, September 14, 2013 

SIERRA MADRE MIDDLE SCHOOL GROUNDBREAKING 

By Marina Coco La Salle Photo courtesy Chris Koerber

This past Thursday marked the day of the Sierra Madre Middle School groundbreaking. The ceremony was led by Principal Garret 
Newsom, who began with some special introductions. Starting with the individuals who worked at SMMS since the beginning, Garret 
Newsom presented previous SMMS principals, Ty Gaffney and Gayle Bluemel, as well as Helen Ponerelli, a popular former teacher. Also 
introduced were Adam Carter, the representative for Carol Liu, Alex Zuko, the representative for Assemblymember Chris Holden, Sierra 
Madre City Councilman Chris Koerber, PUSD Board Members Tom Selinske, Dr. Elizabeth Pomeroy, Gretchen Vance, and lastly the first 
speaker of the ceremony PUSD Board Member Mikala Rahn. Superintendent Jon Gundry was also present.

It has been three years since the City of Sierra Madre made the decision to entirely rebuild the Sierra Madre Middle School. This project 
brought the community together to support the upgrading of the school while continuing the focus on academic achievement. They 
proved triumphant, successfully completing the facilities project while also being the highest performing middle school in the Pasadena 
Unified School District.

This fresh start for the community would not have been possible without the help of many hard working individuals. LaRon went on 
with her portion of the ceremony thanking the parents and staff for their resilience and hard work keeping the school up and running. 
Supporting this project since the beginning was the Sierra Madre City Council. Councilmember Koerber. Speaking on behalf of the 
Council, he enthusiastically stated, “ I am proud to be the liaison for Sierra Madre Elementary School and Sierra Madre Middle School. I 
am excited to be here for this important event, the groundbreaking for what I’m sure will be a great school.” He continued by extending a 
greeting to the Chinese-speaking parents and friends of SMMS sharing his excitement for the addition of the new Mandarin Immersion 
program. Koerber ended his portion thanking Ramon Miramontez and Frasier Thompson for all of their contributions throughout these 
years. 

Next to speak was Superintendent Gundry, who let the community know how happy he was with all the progress. “I’m very pleased for 
every opportunity we can give to our kids to be in a world class learning environment. The building at Sierra Madre Middle simply closes 
the loop. The great programs we have here, the fantastic staff, I am really pleased to be here at the beginning of this and looking forward 
to the end.” He ended by thanking the voters of the school district who approved Measure TT. The plan is nearly one third of the way done 
and is running smoothly. Their votes helped to make this upgrade possible. 

Bringing her children up to stand by her side, Gretchen Bants brought the presentations to a close. “Tonight we celebrate, but this 
celebration is not just about constructing a new middle school. It is much more than that. This celebration is about parents, students, 
teachers, voters, neighbors, and community leaders coming together with determination and persistence to press on for our children and 
children to come.” 

The ceremony ended with special recognitions to Sierra Madre Middle School by both Congresswoman Judy Chu and Supervisor Michael 
Antonovich representing the County of Los Angeles. Principal Newsom proclaimed, “Your new project will enhance the students’ learning 
experience and make a lasting positive impact on the community.”

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

website: www. bcslions.org

Clairbourn School

8400 Huntington Drive

San Gabriel, CA 91775

Phone: 626-286-3108 ext. 172

FAX: 626-286-1528

E-mail: jhawes@clairbourn.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

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


PUSD STATE 
OF THE 
SCHOOLS 
ADDRESS

 

Pasadena Unified School 
District Board of Education 
President Renatta Cooper will 
deliver the annual PUSD State 
of the Schools Address Tuesday, 
September 24 at 5 p.m. at 
Jackson Elementary School. 
Cooper will discuss the new 
Common Core state learning 
standards, the district’s master 
planning effort and how California’s 
school funding reform 
affects PUSD. Superintendent 
Jon R. Gundry will also deliver 
remarks at the event.

 The evening begins with a 
reception at 5 p.m. sponsored 
by the Pasadena Educational 
Foundation and PUSD’s College 
and Career Pathways. The 
speaking program begins at 
5:30 p.m. In addition to President 
Cooper’s remarks will be 
an update from the Measure 
TT Bond Oversight Committee 
and a brief presentation for 
parents and the community on 
the new Common Core State 
Standards.

 The address and reception 
are free and open to the public 
with an RSVP by September 
20. Attendees can RSVP by 
email to communications@
pusd.us or call 626-396-3606.

 Located on the border of Altadena 
and Pasadena in the 
northwest part of the district, 
Jackson Elementary School 
has a science, technology, engineering 
and math (STEM) 
focus, hosts a Spanish dual 
language immersion program 
and collaborates with Reading 

 The event will take place in 
their recently renovated auditorium 
thanks to Measure TT, 
the $350 million school bond 
initiative approved by voters in 
2008.

 Spanish translation of the 
remarks will be provided The 
2013 State of the Schools will 
be streamed live on klrntv.org/
webcast and will be broadcast 
on KLRN-TV (Ch. 95 
on Charter and Ch. 99 on U-
Verse) the following week.


THE REEL DEAL: by Ben Show

THE GRANDMASTER

 When going into 
this movie, I knew barely 
anything about it. The only 
thing I was sure about was 
that this movie told the 
story of the life of Bruce 
Lee’s master. I was a little 
reluctant to see it, but I’m 
glad I did because what I 
discovered was an amazing 
film.

 In the 1930s, there 
were two main houses 
of kung fu: the Northern 
house and the Southern 
house. Each house trained 
in different styles of kung fu, 
creating different masters. 
However, as war threatened 
to tear the world of martial 
arts apart, the two houses 
had to put their faith in the mysterious Ip Man (Tony Leung Chiu 
Wai) to unite their styles and keep the spirit of kung fu alive.

 ‘The Grandmaster’ is not only a movie about kung fu, 
but it also shows some historical events through the eyes of Ip 
Man and his family. While this movie is not for everyone (it is in 
Chinese with English subtitles), I would recommend it to anyone 
who enjoys a kung fu or historical drama movie.