Vol. 51, No.50
Serving the San Gabriel Valley Since 1966
December 04, 2013
Special Section
Local Events
Entertainment
Sports
Student Corner
Temple City, San Gabriel, & ROSEMEAD PAGE 4
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page 5
page 8,9
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Fifth Grader Surprised with Indy Car Ride to School by Arlene Bury El Monte
Cleminson School fifth grader Kameron Blanks was surprised on Friday morning as he was picked up by Auto Club Speedway President Gillian Zucker in the official Auto Club Speedway Pace Car and given a ride to school. Then he switched cars and made a grand entrance to the school assembly in a real Indy show car. Kameron, along with many other students at Cleminson,
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was honored for outstanding reading achievement in the Auto Club Speedway’s “Lefty’s Reading Challenge”. “They rang the doorbell and I was speechless,” said Kameron as he spoke of the morning. Sixty-nine percent of the students at Cleminson School participated in the program, named after Auto Club Speedway mascot Lefty Turner. The program was launched in 2010 with a goal of showing the importance of reading as a foundation for future student growth. Librarian Kathy Evanilla said, “Kameron epitomizes what Lefty’s Reading Challenge is all about. He made huge strides in English/Language Arts, with his state testing scores going from Proficient to Advanced – an improvement of 46 points.” Lefty’s Reading Challenge, offered to schools in
Kameron Blanks in the Indy Show Car
San Bernardino, Riverside and Los Angeles Counties, rewards school winners with
Kameron Blanks and Auto Club Speedway President Gillian Zucker
thousands of dollars for their school libraries. For more information or to register for
the reading challenge, visit www.leftyskidsclub.com/ readingchallenge.
Miramonte School’s Family Math Night by Michele Earle El Monte
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Baker Elementary School students hit the dance floor Friday morning for two hours of dancing to raise funds for field trips and student awards. Students, staff and parents had fun participating in the high energy Dance-a-thon, showing off some great moves and rhythm. “This is a wonderful event that helps raise money for our school,” said Donelle Soto Magat, Baker principal. “The kids really love it and it’s a great way to bring us all together to help our school, have fun and get some exercise too.” Smiles and laughter were abundant as students danced to popular songs like “The Best Song Ever” and “Party in the USA.” A school-wide
Conga line moved throughout the campus and everyone had a fun time doing the “Chicken Dance.” Baker’s teacher of the year, Mario Montoya performed a techno-pop/ break dance to the delight of the students, who cheered him on like a rock star. “Mr. Montoya is a great dancer! That was awesome!” said a fifth grader,
greatly impressed with the teacher’s moves. After two hours of dancing the students were a bit tired but couldn’t stifle their excitement. “I like the dance-a-thon,”
said a first grader. “It’s fun to dance and I liked seeing our principal and teachers dancing. I wish we could do it every day.”