22
Larchmont Chronicle
FEBRUARY 2023
SECTION ONE
Brawerman teacher honored after being nominated by student
By Casey Russell Isai German, a teacher at Brawerman East Elementary School, was recently chosen as a Transformative Teacher. The award came with a prize of $5,000 from Honored, a national organization that strives to elevate transformative teachers. Shortly before the pandemic hit, then second-grade student Malin Scott approached German, Brawerman East’s Innovation Lab / Science Lab Specialist, with an idea to build a Little Free Library (LFL). “I’m the guy with all the tools in my classroom,” said German, when asked why he thinks Scott came to him with her idea. Scott’s interest was sparked by the little libraries she saw in her neighborhood while walking with her parents. The
ISAI GERMAN AND MALIN SCOTT with the Little Free Library they built together. Photo by Christina Edwards
Karsh Center, like Brawerman East, is located on the Wilshire Boulevard Temple campus. The Center is an outreach space that provides dental, vision, mental health and pro bono legal services, as well as
groceries and clothing vouchers to those in need. The now fifth-grade student thought a free library would be a nice addition for kids who accompanied parents to the Karsh Center.
During Scott’s lunch and snack time, she and teacher German set about making the student’s dream a reality. “Our school has a woodworking program that the kids participate in once a week. They get to dive in, handson. It’s all project-based. We teach practical skills that we hope they’ll take into the real world,” said German. The pair did just that. “We used drills, impact drivers so as not to crack the wood, clamps — we attached hinges and made the frame for the plexiglass from an old ruler.” Miniature house The library is a miniature house on a stand that holds about 20 - 30 books. It took two weeks to complete and is a beloved addition to the Karsh Center. Scott wrote to Honored to
nominate teacher German, and he was selected as January’s recipient out of all the nation’s nominees. “I’ve been a teacher at this school for six years and before that, I was on the nonprofit track teaching science and engineering. Teachers don’t go into this to get recognition and awards. “We do it for the love of our students,” said German. “I am only one part of what our school is. This award is a reflection of our school, my family… This is nice. My mom cried.” Students and parents who want to nominate a deserving teacher can visit honored.org. Each month from September through May, one teacher is selected to receive the Honored Transformative Teacher Award.
Larchmont Charter named a 2023 California Distinguished School By Casey Russell Larchmont Charter School has been selected as one of 2023’s California Distinguished Schools. Its Hollygrove elementary cam-
pus is among the nine schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District that were recognized. Elementary School awardees will hold the title
for two years. Middle and high schools are recognized in the alternating years. State Superintendent of Public Education Tony
AYSO soccer
Muller said. He also reported that the Boys 12U team finished in third place with a win over Beverly Hills. The weekend of Jan. 21-22, the All-Star teams competed in the Area 1P All-Star Tournament. The division is made of play-
ers from Larchmont Charter, St. Brendan, Third Street and other schools. While fall is the group’s primary program, the season returns in March for Spring Clinics and possibly a Spring League. Details are expected to be posted on the website in January. ayso.78.info.
(Continued from page 18) League Champions Tournament. “Our top result was our Boys 14U team finishing 2nd place in Area. Boys 14U advanced to the section tournament next month, Feb. 25-26, in Chino,”
Thurmond said the award recognizes schools whose “innovation and hard work have helped to ensure their students can heal, recover and thrive — even in the toughest times.” Schools are chosen based on their exceptional work in either closing the achievement gap or achieving extraordinary student performance. In total this year, 365 California elementary schools were recognized by the California Distinguished Schools Program, which was established by the California Department of Education in 1985. Learn more at: cde.ca.gov/ ta/sr/cs. CAMPBELL HALL SCHOOL Claire “Cal” Lesher 10th Grade
We just had a restful holiday break and are approaching the halfway mark of our school year. Our winter formal is around the corner, and our students are back in full swing with a variety of sports for girls’ basketball, soccer and boys’ basketball, soccer and baseball. Our high school robotics team has had tournaments at Harvard Westlake and Chaminade schools. The next tournament will be held at James Monroe High School. Go teams! We also just began rehearsals for our wonderful annual Gospel Choir event. In middle school, the play “Trixie the Teenage Detective” was performed at the end of January. Stay tuned until next month.
CATHEDRAL CHAPEL SCHOOL By Olivia Sherman 6th Grade Our students are refreshed and ready to take on the new year after a great holiday vacation. We are excited about the return of our annual Religion Bee which will take place on Thur., Feb. 9. We kick off Catholic Schools’ Week on Sun., Jan. 29, with the 10 a.m. Mass, Open House from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and our Scholastic Book Fair. All are welcome to attend Mass and then to attend our Open House. Our second Open House will be on Thur., Feb. 2 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. All are welcome to come and see our teachers and students in action. CCS’s Academic Junior High Decathlon (AJHD) team is diligently preparing for the Quiz Bowl on Sat., Feb. 4, as well as the upcoming AJHD Regionals in March. Our girls’ and boys’ basketball teams have resumed their practices and look forward to an exciting season. Our school is off to a great start this new year and we can’t wait to see what 2023 brings!