Mountain Views News          Saturday, May 9, 2015

10

EDUCATION & YOUTH

Mountain Views-News Saturday, May 9, 2015 

SCHOOL DIRECTORY

ALVERNO HIGH SCHOOL SOPHOMORES RECEIVE CLASS RINGS

CLASS OF 2017 ENJOYS TIME-HONORED TRADITION 


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

Sierra Madre, CA (April 29, 2015) – On Tuesday, April 28 Alverno 
High School’s Class of 2017 received their class rings during their Ring 
Ceremony. 

 The time honored tradition of Ring Ceremony at Alverno High School 
took place on the terrace of the historic Villa del Sol d’Oro and provides the 
class with the opportunity to look back at their first two years at Alverno 
while looking forward to their last two. 

 After listening to speeches from their classmates who addressed the 
Alverno community, parents, and the Class of 2017 they were presented 
with their rings by Julia V. Fanara, Head of School. Each young woman 
received a ring that she had personally designed herself, which included 
aspects of her personality as well as her life at Alverno. 

 “Ring Ceremony is such a wonderful part of the tradition at Alverno 
High School,” said Julia V. Fanara, Head of School. “In two short years, 
these young women have grown into exceptional leaders and scholars 
who have found an empowered voice at Alverno. We congratulate as they 
transition as to a new part of their student life here. We cannot wait to see 
what they accomplish over the next two years and the incredible women 
they become.” 

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 
4,200 women to meet that goal. 

For more information about Alverno High School, please call 626-355-3463 
or visit www.alverno-hs.org. 

Selma Galdamez, Jillian Kislow, Alicia Lindheimer, and Cristina Webster

THREE NEW PASADENA UNIFIED BOARD MEMBERS TAKE OFFICE; 
DR. ELIZABETH POMEROY ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE 

PASADENA UNIFIED BOARD OF EDUCATION


PASADENA, CA – Roy Boulghourjian, Patrick Cahalan and Larry 
Torres were sworn into office Monday as new members of the Pasadena 
Unified School District (PUSD) Board of Education at the board’s annual 
organizational meeting Monday. All three board members were elected 
to office March 10, 2015. Also at the meeting, Dr. Elizabeth Pomeroy was 
unanimously elected president of the PUSD Board of Education by a vote 
of 6-0.

 “I am truly honored to be in this role as board president and will give it 
my very best,” said Board President Pomeroy. “I plan on following the words 
of former Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard to ‘first listen’ and I hope to carry on 
in that same vein.” Dr. Pomeroy was originally elected to the board in 2009 
and currently represents District 5.

 Following the election of Dr. Pomeroy as board president, Kim Kenne 
was re-elected as board vice president and Roy Boulghourjian was elected 
board clerk.

 Roy Boulghourjian has been a resident of Pasadena for over 30 years. He has 
spent over 20 years as an educator teaching high school math and economics 
including serving as a vice-principal for four years. Currently he is a college 
professor and department chair at Mt. Sierra College in Monrovia. He has 
served as a board member of both the Pasadena Educational Foundation 
and the Measure TT Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee. Before becoming 
an educator, Boulghourjian worked in the construction field and later in the 
diamond wholesale business. Roy has a passion for languages and speaks 
Armenian, French, Arabic and Turkish in addition to English. He lives with 
his wife Ema and their two daughters, Sharon and Meg. Roy loves staying 
active by playing basketball as often as he can.

 Patrick Cahalan has a long career in educational technology, beginning 
in the mid-1990s at Loyola High School in downtown Los Angeles. His 
current position is manager of technical operations for the Computational 
and Mathematical Sciences (CMS) Department at Caltech, where he has 
worked since 2002. Pat has a master’s degree in information systems 
and technology, and is a Ph.D. candidate in information systems and 
technology at Claremont Graduate University (CGU), with a research 
focus on designing information systems for regional.wide disasters such 
as earthquakes and hurricanes. His two minor programs are in CGU’s 
schools of politics and economics as well as organizational science.

 Prior to his election to the PUSD School Board, Cahalan served on 
the District Advisory Council of PUSD, most recently as vice chairman, 
and the School Site Council at Longfellow Elementary, most recently as 
chairman. His wife Kitty Cahalan is president of the PTA Council of 
PUSD and the former president and current treasurer of the Longfellow 
Elementary PTA. Pat and Kitty have two children attending PUSD 
schools.

 Larry Torres first started teaching in the Los Angeles Unified School 
District in 1986. Hired as a junior high school social studies teacher in El 
Sereno, he was a pioneer in the middle school movement in Los Angeles. In 
1993 he moved to City of Angels School, an alternative K-12 program that 
works with students who need a non-traditional educational experience. 
He grew up in nearby Eagle Rock before moving east to attend college. 
Mr. Torres graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut 
with a double major in history and political science. He attended the 
Harvard Graduate School of Education where he earned a master’s degree 
in teaching, curriculum and learning environments. He also received a 
certificate of advanced study from Harvard for completing a year of study 
past his master’s degree. Torres also received an Ed.M. from the UCLA 
Graduate School of Education and Information Studies in educational 
administration. He is a National Board Certified Teacher, an honor fewer 
than 3% of teachers earn.

 Mr. Torres has served on school site councils at Sierra Madre Elementary 
School, Sierra Madre Middle School and Pasadena High School since 1999. 
He lives in Sierra Madre with his wife and two daughters. His older daughter 
is a former PUSD student who is now at Cal Poly Pomona and his younger 
daughter attends Pasadena High School.

 There is currently one vacant seat on the board with the election of 
Tyron Hampton to the Pasadena City Council. The board is scheduled to 
determine the process of filling the vacant seat for District 3 at a special 
meeting May 7th. 

New PUSD Board President 

Elizabeth Pomeroy

New PUSD Board Members Larry Torres, 
Roy Boulghourjian and Patrick Cahalan

LAUP NAMES LA COUNTY PRESCHOOL TEACHERS 

OF THE YEAR THE NON PROFIT WILL ALSO HONOR 

CALIFORNIA ENDOWMENT’S DR. ROBERT ROSS

 LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles Universal Preschool (LAUP) has 
announced this year’s “Preschool Teacher of the Year” recipients as well 
as the recipient of the Beth Lowe Child Advocacy Award.

 This year marks the 8th Annual LAUP Preschool Teacher of the Year 
Awards. The countywide preschool teacher recognition acknowledges 
the quality, creativity and hard work of those who teach children 
during a time when, according to researchers, rapid brain development 
can be leveraged toward long-term academic achievement. 

 Winners hail from each of Los Angeles County’s five supervisorial 
districts and have gone “above and beyond” to provide excellent 
learning environments and classroom experiences for preschool 
children. For the selection process, LAUP uses an external committee 
comprised of county officials and early education experts.

 “As is the case each year, the caliber of preschool teachers was 
high. However, these five teachers rose to the top,” said LAUP’s CEO, 
Dr. Celia C. Ayala. “It is common knowledge by now that the most 
critical developmental years are between the ages of zero to five. It is 
LAUP’s priority to recognize the value of the talented professionals 
who spend their days nurturing and teaching our children during this 
very important stage. LAUP is proud to lift up these five teachers who 
represent the best of early learning in Los Angeles County.”

 This year’s Preschool Teachers of the Year are:

 Ana Sosa of the Magnolia Center at the Los Angeles Children’s 
Bureau: “I have been a child development teacher for about nine years. 
I knew that being a teacher is what I wanted to do as a career since I was 
a child.” 

 Darla L. Pulliam of Culver City Unified School District, Office of 
Child Development: “It is important to me to instill in each child a 
strong sense of self, because when you believe in yourself, you approach 
challenges with confidence.” 

 Dorie L. Meek of Pine Street Preschool in Santa Monica: “I set the 
bar high for all children and ensure that they grab hold, pull up, and 
peak over the top to view their next dream. Their epiphanies are my 
greatest accomplishments.” 

 Diana Melina Echeverria of Cerritos College Child Development 
Center: “I eat, live, and breathe what I do daily. What gets me through 
tough times is the sense of accomplishment a child shares when they 
master something that they have been working towards.” 

 Dina G. Pérez of Pasadena Unified School District’s Burbank Early 
Childhood Center: “Teaching was a natural instinct. Working with 
children has been a rewarding experience, and seeing the results has 
fueled my passion.” 

 The recipients will be recognized at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of 
Administration with a luncheon and awards ceremony hosted by 
LAUP and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in late 
May.

 Also honored during this event will be Dr. Robert Ross, who will 
receive the Beth Lowe Child Advocacy Award for his visionary work 
to help build successful child health outcomes through program 
support from The California Endowment. Dr. Ross follows the 
previous recipient of this award, Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky.

 “Bob Ross is a leader whose commitment to the youngest and most 
vulnerable in our communities has set a very high bar,” Ayala said. “It 
is one we are all inspired to meet in the hopes of making the kind of 
difference he has.”

 All of the award winners, including Dr. Ross, will receive an official 
LA County Proclamation from the Supervisors to commemorate their 
work and accomplishments.

About LAUP

LAUP is a nonprofit that funds, rates and raises the level of quality 
preschool programs throughout Los Angeles County by advancing 
teacher training and creating safe and nurturing early care and 
education environments. Since its inception 10 years ago, LAUP has 
provided quality preschool to more than 100,000 children, putting 
them on the road to success for kindergarten and beyond.

THE REEL DEAL: by Ben Show

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON REVIEW

FIRST-GENERATION 
PASADENA CITY COLLEGE STUDENT 

NAMED JACK KENT COOKE SCHOLAR

One of the central complaints that people have about action movies is that 
that is all the are: action. They never have much in the way of story, character 
development, and many do not even seem realistic. Can ‘Age of Ultron’ 
continue Marvel’s dominance over the blockbuster film or does it fall victim 
to these action movie clichés?

 The Avengers (Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johannsson, Mark 
Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, and Jeremy Renner) are seeking to destroy the 
last of the evil organization, HYDRA. With SHIELD disbanded, they find 
themselves alone, trying to take down a HYDRA fortress in Eastern Europe, 
when then discover the twins: Wanda and Pietro Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen 
and Aaron Taylor-Johnson), with their own respective superpowers. It 
becomes clear that they will not stay out of the fight and quickly influence the 
Avengers to create the new, sentient AI known as Ultron (James Spader), who 
seeks to create a perfect world. But do his plans involve humanity’s survival or 
extinction? 

 Marvel films do very well, not only nationally but internationally, because 
they do not fall victim to weak plot, little character development, and being 
completely unrealistic. The Avengers fit together perfectly as a team, and 
are the closest thing to a depiction of superheroes in real life. Each one of 
them is a fully fleshed out character, each with their own backstory. The plots 
are extremely well thought out and developed, perfectly balancing action, 
dialogue, character development, and world-building. ‘Age of Ultron’ is one 
of Marvel’s strongest entries in the series, and sets the stage for the next slew 
of Avenger films. 

Ryan Liu, a Pasadena City College summa cum laude student 
who will be delivering the valedictory address at this Friday’s 
commencement ceremony, has been named the recipient of 
the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate 
Transfer Scholarship.

 A political science major and first-.
generation college 
student, Liu is one of 90 nationwide scholars selected this year 
to receive the award. The scholarship totals up to $40,000 
annually and is intended to cover a significant share of the 
student’s educational expenses – including tuition, living 
expenses, books, and required fees – for the final two to three 
years necessary to achieve a bachelor’s degree.

 “The scholarship will give me the opportunity to continue my 
education without worrying about the costs,” said Liu, who will be 
graduating from PCC with a 4.0 GPA and an associate degree in social 
and behavioral sciences. “It opens up a lot of doors. I can now choose a 
school without having to burden my family.”

 Although still undecided on where to transfer, Liu has narrowed his 
decision to a pair of elite West-.
Coast institutions: UC Berkeley and 
UCLA.

 “All of this wouldn’t have been possible without PCC,” said 
Liu, whose goal beyond academia is to become an attorney 
and/or a civic servant. “PCC opened the door and gave me 
the opportunity to have an education. I really embraced the 
opportunity I had here.”

 While a Lancer, Liu served on the Associated Students 
Board as an elected school official. He was also involved 
in numerous campus organizations, including the Alpha 
Gamma Sigma Honor Society and the Honors Scholar 
Program. Off campus, he is an assistant high school speech 
and debate coach, and helps manage an e-.
Commerce 
business he co-. 
founded.

 “This was a well-.
deserved honor for Ryan,” said David LeClaire, 
assistant director of the PCC Office of Scholarships and Financial 
Aid. “The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation scholarship is clearly the most 
prestigious and competitive scholarship at the community college 
level.

 “Federal aid and most scholarships won’t cover a majority of a 
student’s higher-.
education costs. This type of scholarship will bridge 
that gap,” he added.