Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, May 11, 2019

EDUCATION & YOUTH

8

Mountain Views-News Saturday, May 11, 2019 

ALEXIA SAIGH TAKES 1ST PLACE IN THE 2019 ARTISTIC 

DISCOVERY CONGRESSIONAL ART COMPETITION

Congresswoman Judy Chu recently 
announced Altadena resident Alexia 
Saigh as the first place winner of this 
prestigious award for young artists. 

Said Chu at the presentation, "This 
young artist will receive a paid trip for 
two to Washington D.C. to attend the 
National Artistic Discovery unveiling 
ceremony. The artwork will be displayed 
for an

entire year in the halls of our nation’s 
capitol building, and they will also receive 
a $1000

scholarship.

 This young artist’s photo was unexpectedly 
captured on a recent visit to 
her great aunt in New York. Seeing the 
tattoo on her great aunt’s arm, she was 
fascinated by the story and history behind 
this elderly woman; an immigrant 
from Jordan who only speaks Arabic. 
This sense of fascination is conveyed by 
using a black and white color scheme 
that focuses attention on the tattoo. 
The focus on the tattoo forces the audience 
to ask, what does this mark mean? 
Given the person’s age we also begin 
to wonder about the history of the individual. 
What has she gone through? 
Why does she have this tattoo?

Well, with the help from her dad, the artist was able to identify that tattoo was a symbol marked 
by the Jordanian government to identify her great aunt as a Christian in a predominantly Muslim 
country. Her great aunt remembers having this tattoo imprinted on her at a young age as a way for 
the government to track her and her religious activities.

Having grown up mainly interacting with her Greek relatives, the artist was only familiar with her 
Greek culture. However the conversation and photo of her great aunt opened her eyes to a whole 
new world and a side of her heritage that she was not aware of. It also reaffirmed her belief that 
marks like the one imprinted on her great aunt have no place in our world and that no government 
has the right to mar a woman’s body.

The desire to tell stories is what drives the artist’s passion in art. Her interests began at the age of 
three, having the opportunity to dabble with different mediums like paint, drawing, and recently, 
experimenting with multi-medium projects. However, her love lies with photography because 
it allows her to experiment with different genres while having the ability to tell human stories 
through the candidness of each piece. She strives to oneday work for Disney as an Imagineer so 
that she can combine arts with the sciences, and develop a career in the art world."

SCHOOL DIRECTORY


Alverno Heights Academy

200 N. Michillinda Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

(626) 355-3463 Head of School: Julia V. Fanara

E-mail address: jfanara@alvernoheights.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 

Preschool-TK-8th Grade

Principal: Dr. William Walner

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 E. Bradbourne Ave., Duarte, CA 91010

(626) 301-9809

Principal: Nancy Lopez

www.foothilloaksacademy.org

office@foothilloaksacademy.org

Frostig School

971 N. Altadena Drive Pasadena, CA 91107

(626) 791-1255

Head of School: Jenny Janetzke

Email: jenny@frostig.org

The Gooden School

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

(626) 355-2410 

Head of School, Jo-Anne Woolner

website: www.goodenschool.org

High Point Academy

1720 Kinneloa Canyon Road 

Pasadena, Ca. 91107 

Head of School: Gary Stern 626-798-8989

website: www.highpointacademy.org

La Salle High School

3880 E. Sierra Madre Blvd. Pasadena, Ca. 

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

Principal Mrs. Courtney Kassakhian

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: Roberto Hernandez

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: Lindsay Lewis

E-mail address: lewis.lindsay@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

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

Arcadia Christian School

1900 S. Santa Anita Avenue Arcadia, CA 91006

Preschool - and TK - 8th Grade

626-574-8229/626-574-0805

Email: inquiry@acslions.com

Principal: Cindy Harmon

website: www.acslions.com

Mayfield Senior High School student Alexia Saigh 
with her piece titled ‘Marred’

All Things By Jeff Brown

Scott Kiloby, Reflections Of The One Life: Daily Pointers To Enlightment 

“What you take to be a “you” totally separate from the rest of life is really just awareness contracting 
or focusing on (i.e., identifying with) phenomena arising in awareness. The phenomena are the 
body, thoughts, beliefs, ideas, positions, opinions, emotions, sensations, experiences, states and all 
other temporary forms. As phenomena arise in awareness, there is identification. This identification 
creates a false center known as “me.” 

CHRISTOPHER Nyerges

OLD HUSBANDS TALES

Jeff’s Book Pics By Jeff Brown


[Nyerges is the author of “How 
to Survive Anywhere,” and other 
books. He has led outdoor 
field trips since 1974, and can 
be reached at www.SchoolofSelf-
Reliance.com]

Some are false, some have 
truth buried inside

Every aspect of life is filled 
with axioms and truisms. 
Some are worth living your 
life by, and others are less reliable. And the 
thing is, the less-reliable axioms usually have a 
kernel of truth buried inside. Here are some of 
the outdoor-related sayings that we hear all the 
time. We hear some of these so often that we 
tend to think they must be true. But, most of 
these are not true, despite the kernel of truth often 
buried inside. Let’s separate myth from fact.

All rivers lead to civilizations.

If you’re lost, follow the river downstream. 
We’ve heard it so often and we’ve seen it in movies. 
However, it’s simply not so! The reason you 
hear it repeated so often is that sometimes the 
river will get you to a village or a town. 

The north star is the brightest star in the sky.

If you’re lost, you can find the north if you can 
find the north star, which is the brightest star in 
the sky, right? If you find the brightest star in 
the sky, you’ve found Sirius, not the North Star. 
The north star is actually the 48th brightest star 
in the sky, and if you don’t know how to find it, 
you should consult a star chart.

Moss always grows on the north sides of trees.

When I was first studying survival in high 
school, one of my teachers was Abbie Keith, 
who was head of the Sierra Madre Search and 
Rescue team at the time. He would ask us if 
moss grows on the north side of trees, and most 
of us said yes. He’d laugh and say, yes it does, 
but it also grows on the east side, the west side, 
and the south sides of trees. Moss needs shade 
and moisture and it will grow there the shade 
and moisture is greatest. Often, this is the north 
side of a tree, or a rock, or a barn, but not often 
and precise enough for this to be a good tool for 
navigation.

You can fill your canteen with water from a 
cactus.

I’ve actually seen a picture of someone shoving 
a spigot onto a barrel cactus and turning it on to 
fill their canteen. Of course, that’s mythology. 
There is water in cacti, for sure, but it’s stored in 
the flesh of the cactus. You can eat your water, 
and it’s often very slimy and gooey, but it isn’t 
in a form where you can just fill your canteen.

 You can taste-test unknown wild plants by 
chewing on a little and taking note of your 
reaction.

 The so-called Universal Plant Test has been 
widely published, even in military handbooks. 
The only reason that more people don’t die from 
practicing this “test” is that there are not that 
many plants that will outright kill you! In other 
words, it only works accidentally, not because 
it is a valid test. All blue and black berries are 
edible.

In general, this is accurate, but it’s not worth 
memorizing because there are exceptions. You 
still need to learn to recognize the identity of 
berries (and other plants) before you eat them.

All white berries are poisonous.

This is a correct general statement, but again, 
there are many exceptions, such as mulberries, 
white strawberries, and others. Only eat 
those edible wild plants that you have positively 
identified.

Hot dry weather is earthquake weather.

False. There is no such thing as “earthquake 
weather.” If you study the weather conditions 
of earthquakes, you will see that their occurrence 
doesn’t coincide with any particular sort 
of weather.

People go crazy and commit more crimes during 
a full moon.

Well, is that an old wives tale, or an old husband’s 
tale? We’ve heard it a lot. Some studies 
debunk this idea, saying that there is no clear 
correlation between the full moon and crimes, 
except that there is more light to commit crimes 
during that time. 

Low barometric pressure increases the crime rate.

Barometric pressure is low when a storm is 
nearing, or present. Studies have shown that 
there is an increased feeling of restlessness and 
frustration, trouble concentrating, and quarrelsomeness 
during low barometric pressure. 
A study that was done of police records of major 
cities – including New York, Los Angeles, 
Chicago, and New Orleans – showed that there 
was an increase in violence – including suicide 
– when the barometric pressure fell below 30 
inches. So we know there is a correspondence 
between violence and low barometric pressure, 
but no one can say for certain that the low barometric 
pressure caused the violence. For example, 
those who felt particularly frustrated about 
their job during these times might consider getting 
a different job.

These are just a few Old Husbands’ tales. Can 
you think of more?

A Divided Spy: A Novel (Thomas Kell) by Charles Cumming 

In A Divided Spy, a brilliant novel of modern espionage by New York Times bestselling 
author Charles Cumming, MI6’s Thomas Kell faces off against a handsome 
and charismatic Russian double agent. Thomas Kell thought he was done with spying. 
A former MI6 officer, he devoted his life to the Service, but it has left him with 
nothing but grief and a simmering anger against the Kremlin. Then Kell is offered 
an unexpected chance at revenge. Taking the law into his own hands, he embarks 
on a mission to recruit a top Russian spy who is in possession of a terrifying secret. 
As Kell tracks his man from Moscow to London, he finds himself in a high stakes 
game of cat and mouse in which it becomes increasingly difficult to know who is 
playing whom. As the mission reaches boiling point, the threat of a catastrophic 
terrorist attack looms over Britain. Kell is faced with an impossible choice. Loyalty 
to MI6.or to his own conscience?

Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout 

by Lauren Redniss 

In 1891, 24-year-old Marie Sklodowska moved from Warsaw to Paris, where 
she found work in the laboratory of Pierre Curie, a scientist engaged in research 
on heat and magnetism. They fell in love. They took their honeymoon on bicycles. 
They expanded the periodic table, discovering two new elements with 
startling properties, radium and polonium. They recognized radioactivity as an 
atomic property, heralding the dawn of a new scientific era. They won the Nobel 
Prize. Newspapers mythologized the couple's romance, beginning articles 
on the Curies with "Once upon a time . . . " Then, in 1906, Pierre was killed in 
a freak accident. Marie continued their work alone. She won a second Nobel 
Prize in 1911, and fell in love again, this time with the married physicist Paul 
Langevin. Scandal ensued. Duels were fought. In the century since the Curies 
began their work, we've struggled with nuclear weapons proliferation, debated 
the role of radiation in medical treatment, and pondered nuclear energy as a 
solution to climate change. In Radioactive, Lauren Redniss links these contentious questions to a love 
story in 19th Century Paris. Radioactive draws on Redniss's original reporting in Asia, Europe and the 
United States, her interviews with scientists, engineers, weapons specialists, atomic bomb survivors, 
and Marie and Pierre Curie's own granddaughter. Whether young or old, scientific novice or expert, 
no one will fail to be moved by Lauren Redniss's eerie and wondrous evocation of one of history's most 
intriguing figures.

Free Fire (Joe Pickett) by C. J. Box 

Joe Pickett’s been hired to investigate one a cold-blooded killing in Wyoming . 
Attorney Clay McCann admitted to slaughtering four campers in a back-country 
corner of Yellowstone National Park—a “free-fire” zone with no residents or jurisdiction. 
In this remote fifty-square-mile stretch a man can literally get away with 
murder. Now McCann’s a free man, and Pickett’s about to discover his motive—one 
buried in Yellowstone’s rugged terrain, and as dangerous as the man who wants to 
keep it hidden.C.J.Box is a wonderful writer. The 3 reviews are from Amazon.com


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Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com