Mountain Views News          Saturday, April 11, 2015

10

EDUCATION & YOUTH


Mountain Views-News Saturday, April 11, 2015 

MORE THAN 12,000 EXPECTED AT ARCADIA INVITATIONAL

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

Frostig School

971 N. Altadena Drive Pasadena, CA 91107

(626) 791-1255

Head of School: Chris Schnieders, PhD

Email: Jackykn@frostig.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) 396-5880 Principal: Gilbert Barraza

website: http://phs.pusd.us

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) 396-3600 Website: www.pusd@pusd.us

rcadia 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

ARCADIA-- The 48th Annual Arcadia Invitational Track and Field 
meet, slated for Friday and Saturday, April 10 and 11, will once again 
bring together the best high school athletes from across the country 
and around the globe. The event will also feature appearances by 
NFL star De’Anthony Thomas and Olympic gold medalist Dawn 
Harper-Nelson. 

 The prestigious meet will showcase athletes from 28 different states 
and from Brazil, Canada and New Zealand. The Arcadia Invitational 
has played host to an impressive 24 national high school records over 
the years while a staggering 152 meet alumni have since gone on to 
represent Team USA in the Olympic Games. 

 With close to 550 schools and more than 4,000 athletes 
participating, the Arcadia Invitational is annually the largest high 
school-hosted sporting event in the nation in any sport. Between 
spectators and participants, more than 12,000 people will turn out 
at Arcadia High School for the event over the course of two days, 
with the meet also being streamed live on the internet at www.
ArcadiaInvitational.org. Additionally, more than 40 credentialed 
members of the media (print, web, photo and video) annually turn 
out for the extravaganza, which is the top rated high school track and 
field meet in the nation each year.

 The two-day meet is first headlined by the “Burnin’ Batons” 
relays session on Friday evening as participants compete in seeded 
heats of six different relay events as well as select field events. The 
meet continues on Saturday with the “Open” session during the 
day as athletes battle in various heats in 17 different individual and 
relay events. Then comes the featured portion of the weekend as 
leading athletes and programs take center stage for the prestigious 
“Invitational” session, scheduled for Saturday evening before a 
standing-room-only crowd.

 Presenting sponsor Nike will once again be hosting its popular 
“Athlete Zone” experience for attendees. The “Athlete Zone” will 
feature NFL running back De’Anthony Thomas who will be signing 
autographs on Saturday. Thomas who is a running back for the 
Kansas City Chiefs is also an Arcadia Invitational alum. He was a 
track star at the University of Oregon and Crenshaw High School 
before being selected in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. 
Dawn Harper-Nelson, a UCLA graduate who won a gold medal in 
the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and a silver medal in 2012 London 
Olympic Games for the Unites States in the 100-meter hurdles, will 
also be on hand with Thomas to sign autographs. 

 Spectators will have great sight lines to watch the different events 
from throughout Salter Stadium, with a mega-sized “JumboTron” 
(courtesy of Nike) being placed on the west end of the stadium to 
display the action being captured from multiple camera angles. 

“Arcadia weekend” actually kicks off on Thursday (April 9th) as 
more than 40 leading decathletes and heptathletes from around the 
nation will partake in the eighth annual Arcadia Multis competition, 
which is contested under a USA Track and Field sanction approval. 
In its first seven years, the Arcadia Multis has grown considerably 
in prestige to attract leading talent, with the meet producing two 
national records in its short history.

This year’s Arcadia Multis has secured entry from six of America’s 
top seven returnees in the decathlon (a 10-event challenge for males 
contested over two days) as well as an ultra-deep field of talent in the 
heptathlon (events in seven disciplines over two days for females), 
where 19 of the nation’s top 40 returnees will compete.

 Tickets can only be purchased at the gate on the day of the event. 
For a complete schedule of events and more information, you can 
visit www.ArcadiaInvitational.org. 

On the Marquee: Notes from the Sierra MadrePlayhouse

ODD COUPLE AT LAST! By Artistic Director, Christian Lebano 

I had never seen Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple onstage until 
I caught the closing performance of Laguna Playhouse’s 
production at the end of March. I grew up watching the 
original series on television, and I had seen the classic movie 
with Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon, and I know there is a 
new updated version, but I’d never seen the play. And now that 
I have, I can say quite honestly that SMP patrons are going to 
love this show.

For those who don’t know it, it’s the story of what happens 
when two recently single men – one an uptight neat freak, the 
other an unapologetic slob - move in together. That simple 
premise is one that is ripe with opportunities for laughs – and 
Neil Simon mines it for all it’s worth, but what makes this one 
of the most popular shows in theater history is that it’s about so 
much more – friendship, loyalty, and the genuine, albeit most 
often unexpressed, love that men have for their buddies. And 
did I mention that it is hilarious?

We have a terrific cast of actors new to the Playhouse (except for 
Brad David Reed who played Boolie in Driving Miss Daisy who 
is playing Felix), a wonderful director, Alan Brooks (who was in 
Twentieth Century a couple of seasons back), and a wonderful 
design team – all of whom have worked at the Playhouse before.

The show premiered in 1965 making this its 50th Anniversary. We are staying true to the era which creates some difficult “gets” in terms 
of props – a working period vacuum cleaner?, a “puretron” air filtration machine? Luckily for us the theater community is a small one 
and we have built some goodwill. Through a friend, I was put in touch with the producers of the Laguna Playhouse production and they 
are graciously loaning us the much-sought after period props. It really is a blast from my childhood to see some of the things we are 
using in the show. I know that audiences are going to 
be as delighted as I was to see some of this stuff again.

The show opens May 8 and runs through June 
27. Tickets are on sale now through our website 
sierramadreplayhouse.org. We offer a 20% discount 
on the purchase of 10 tickets or more, call Mary 
Baville, our Box Office Manager, at 355-4318 to 
arrange groups.

Even though Einstein is a Dummy is still running, 
and The Odd Couple hasn’t opened yet, we’ve begun 
working on Always….Patsy Cline which opens July 
31! As I’ve said in a previous essay – these shows take 
so much planning that there is never any down time. 
Look for an announcement soon about the 2015-16 
season!

As always we do all this for you – our SMP family – 
whose support and loyalty mean so much to us and for 
whom we hope we bring pleasure and joy and moving 
experiences in the theater. Please let me know how 
you think we are doing. 

Reach me at ArtisticDirector@SierraMadrePlayhouse.
org


Jack Sundmacher - Photo by Gina Long


TEA FOR TAILS/TASTE OF WESTFIELD


THE REEL DEAL: by Ben Show

HOME REVIEW

Animal lovers are invited to 
join Warren Eckstein and Garth 
Kemp for this year’s Tea for Tails/
Taste of Westfield at Westfield 
Santa Anita in support of the 
San Gabriel Valley Humane 
Society. 

 Warren Eckstein is the most 
renowned Pet Psychologist and 
Pet Humorist in the country. 
He is a pet behaviorist, animal 
trainer, animal rights activist, 
director of the Hugs & Kisses 
Animal Fund, and broadcaster 
who hosts The Pet Show, a 
syndicated radio talk show in 
the US and Canada. 

 Garth Kemp is the weather 
anchor Monday through Friday on Eyewitness News and a feature 
reporter and the co-host of Eye on L.A. He donates much of his 
spare time and effort to the cause of animal adoption. His adopt-
a-pet segment on Eyewitness News has helped many animals find 
new homes. 

 In addition to the wildly popular doggie fashion show, guests 
will sample taste treats from their 
favorite Westfield restaurants including 
California Pizza Kitchen, Benihana’s, 
Red Robin’s, Kelley’s Kookies, Caffe 
Concerto, Nothing Bundt Cakes, and 
Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. 

 Sponsored by over fifty local retailers 
and businesses, attendees will receive 
gift cards and merchandise for each 
table guest as well as coupons valued 
at $10 to $20. Each guest will also be 
automatically entered in a raffle to win 
a trip to Disneyland valued at $600. 
Guests can bid on fun-filled silent 
auction items and purchase additional 
raffle tickets.

 Enjoy a memorable afternoon in support of homeless animals 
and the work of the San Gabriel Valley Humane Society in ‘Putting 
People and Pets Together’. The event takes place on Sunday, April 
26 at 1:30 on the Promenade at Westfield Santa Anita. To reserve 
seating for a $50 donation, contact the shelter at (626) 286-1159 
for tickets. For more details, go to the shelter’s website at www: 
sgvhumane.org. 


Dreamworks has had more than a few misses at the box office lately. 
Between ‘Penguins of Madagascar’ and ‘Mr. Peabody and Sherman’, 
the studio has needed a film to succeed both critically and financially. 
‘Home’ is one of their last chances to turn their luck around, but is it 
the comeback Dreamworks needs?

 Tip (Rihanna) has been torn from her mother (Jennifer Lopez) when 
the strange alien race known as the Boov decide to make Earth their 
new home. Now she must not only find her missing mother but also 
look after the Boov fugitive Oh (Jim Parsons), who will discover the 
true nature of humans and try to change his species for the better.

 ‘Home’ is an interesting take on the alien invasion movies. Rather 
than taking over Earth for natural resources or to enslave humans, 
the Boov only need a new place to live. This film looks at the cultural 
differences between the humans, Boov, and the mysterious and 
dangerous Gorg. The lesson of this film (democratic approaches to 
meeting new people are the best) is a good one for both young children 
and older generations; it is the , visually striking, and well acted 
comeback that Dreamworks was looking for.