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Vol. 54, No. 15
“ IT “, page 6
Serving the San Gabriel Valley Since 1966
September 13, 2017
El Monte High School Begins Stadium Update
Facility to be enhanced with bleachers, snack bar and restrooms by Staff writer El Monte
El Monte High School on Aug. 31 officially marked the beginning of major renovations to its high school stadium with a celebratory groundbreaking that included dozens of students and community members who beamed with excitement as they heard plans on the athletic facility’s upgrades. The $6.6 million renovation project, expected to be complete by May 2018, is being funded by proceeds generated by the $148 million Measure D bond approved by voters in November 2008 to modernize El Monte Union’s classrooms, upgrade buildings and enhance athletic facilities. Stadium renovations include adding a snack bar, restrooms and three sets of bleachers that will seat more than 2,000 spectators. The site will also receive new fencing, landscaping, a gate entrance and ticket booth.
“El Monte High School has a proud 100-plus year history in this community, and it’s been an important focus for us to provide our students with state-of-the-art athletic facilities, as well as provide a venue that our El Monte Union families can enjoy,” El Monte Union High School District Board of Trustees President Carlos Salcedo said. “I want to thank the community and our students for their support and our administrative team for its leadership. It’s exciting to get a shovel in the ground and get this project going.” El Monte High School’s stadium bleachers will feature a home stand for 1,173 spectators, a visitor’s stand for 824 guests and a section to seat up to 114 band members and cheer leaders. Students from the school’s soccer and football teams said they are looking forward to the project’s completion and the opportunity to play home games on the enhanced site. “Nothing beats the feeling of play-
El Monte Union High School District broke ground on $6.6 million in stadium upgrades at El Monte High School on Aug. 31. Pictured are, from left, Superintendent Dr. Edward Zuniga, Board of Trustees Member Esthela Torres de Siegrist, Member Ricardo Padilla, President Carlos Salcedo, Vice President Maria Morgan and El Monte High Principal Robin Torres. Courtesy Photo.
ing at home, especially in El Monte under those Friday night lights,” football player Abel Ochoa said. Soccer player Omar Olvera said he was eager to play in the new stadium along with his teammates. “I’m looking forward to entering the field and seeing the newly built bleachers, and I’m excited to graduate with my
family and friends cheering from the bleachers,” Olvera said. Superintendent Dr. Edward Zuniga, an El Monte High School class of 1991 graduate and former football player, said the project has been a long time coming and speaks to the Stadium Update continued on page 8
An Update on the EMCSD Dual Language Program by Staff Writer El Monte
Walking into the Dual Language kindergarten classes at Durfee School, you notice that the teachers are speaking as much with their hands as they are with their voices. According to kindergarten Dual Language teachers, Angelica Gates and Yolanda Espinoza, half of the students in their classes do not speak Spanish. Consequently, both teachers supplement their Spanish words with actions. This morning the lesson in Gates’ classroom was about the concept of pequeno, mediano, and grande. (small, medium and large). Crossedlegged students paired up with their rodillas (knees) touching and in Spanish they told each other which size they preferred. Meanwhile Gates went to each pair of students and shared a visual – tres osos, tres tamaños (three bears, three sizes). She encouraged each student to speak and point to the size they preferred. Gates never used a word of English. Espinoza’s class was engaged in a total physical response lesson as she was teaching body parts cabeza, pies, espalda – (head, feet, shoulders). Everyone was standing and mimicking their teacher as they sang a song in Spanish. There is quite a bit of singing, much
like you would hear in a traditional English speaking kindergarten class, but all songs are sung in Spanish. It was interesting to hear the familiar tune The Itsy Bitsy Spider, along with hand motions, sung in Spanish. Most of the kids didn’t quite know the words, but the hand motions were there. According to their teachers the language production is not there yet, but the language reception is there. “Kids learn really fast. They encounter some frustration but that is quickly overcome. The students don’t have the fear or anxiety of learning a language like some adults do,” explained Espinoza. Gates commented that, “This program brings out different talents in the kids. Some of the more timid Spanish speakers are now looked at by the other kids as leaders. While some of the other kids who are not used to struggling are learning perseverance.” After the first day of class, one student went home and told her parents, “I like my teacher. She talks like grandma!” “Talking like grandma” is why some parents chose to enroll their students in the Dual Language program. Parents feel they missed the opportu-
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nity to learn Spanish themselves and don’t want that same loss for their children. Parents are excited as well as curious about the program. This was evident during the recent Back to School Night where both teachers noticed whole families attending to get a first-hand look of the program. Parents, grandparents, siblings, baby sitters – everyone realizing that this was going to take a group effort. Families are also using YouTube to access Spanish language lessons for themselves so they can be better equipped to help their children. Virginia Castro, EMCSD Direc-
tor of Instruction and Assessment, said, “As a district, we want to make sure that we nurture both English and Spanish learners by giving full access to both languages. This also provides a meaningful way to celebrate multiple cultures.” Research has shown that bilingualism has a wide range of benefits in children, helping their communication skills and giving them an edge over monolingual peers in their ability to focus and process information. Children are likely to have a better Dual Language continued on page 8