Vol. 52, No.07
Serving the San Gabriel Valley Since 1966
February 19, 2014
Special Section
Local Events
Classifieds
Sports
Entertainment
Temple City, San Gabriel, & ROSEMEAD PAGE 5
page 2, 3 Visit Car Culture at http://www.midvalleynews.com/
page 12
page 7, 8
page 3
Visit Us Online at www.midvalleynews.com for more Highlights of Local Schools and Events from the San Gabriel Valley Area. Coming Soon “ The Mid”
Southern California Edison’s Annual Black History Month Celebration by Xavier Higgs Pasadena
Thirteen-year old Jaylin Miller was invited to speak at the Southern California Edison’s 12th Annual Black History Month Celebration on February 7. She stepped onto the stage with the confidence not often seen by seasoned public speakers. Jaylin Miller, 13, was calm and convincing. She had the undivided attention of the 500 people in attendance representing business, clergy, and com-
For the pulse of the San Gabriel Valley, local news, special events, and school events check us out.
www.midvalleynews.com
or Current Resident
https://www.facebook. com/midvalleynews
munity leaders from the Greater Los Angeles area. It did not matter. Nor was she concerned that the program was running long. Jaylin was determined to deliver. She followed two dynamic speakers, Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey (Keynote Speaker), and Faye Washington, President CEO, YWCA. Her speech, entitled “Thank You,” was written with the help by her mother, Charlotte Butler. “I stand here today as a young African American girl, living in the greatest nation on earth,” recites Jaylin. Her five-minute speech was interrupted because of applause. Jaylin is a student at Marshall Fundamental School in Pasadena. She is also
involved with the YWCA outreach and the Tech Girls Program. Her goal is to go to college, graduate, and become an OB-GYN physician. Her perspective on life is beyond her years. She concluded by saying, “So many people before me struggled for the freedom I enjoy today.” Jackie Lacey, the first woman and first AfricanAmerican to serve as Los Angeles County district attorney, urged the audience to keep Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream moving forward by encouraging future generations of AfricanAmericans to pursue careers in public service. “I have one of the most rewarding jobs in the
Twin Lakes Students Learn about Mount Rushmore from Local Author Tina Nichols Coury by Michele Earle El Monte
Well-known author, Tina Nichols Coury recently visited Twin Lakes Elementary School in the Mountain View School District to present an assembly about Mount Rushmore and share her experiences as an author with the kindergarten through sixth grade students. Coury grew up in El Monte and is the author of “Hanging Off Jefferson’s Nose: Growing Up on Mount Rushmore” an award winning non-fiction book that brings to life the story of Lincoln Borglum, the boy who helped build Mount Rushmore. The book reveals the untold story of the strug-
world,” she said at SCE’s sible is merely different.” Energy Education Center in “We must do everything Irwindale. “I have my dream we possibly can to encourjob, my dream did come age and mentor more young true. I tell people just take African-Americans to purthat first step and there will sue public service careers in be so many people out there the justice system.” to help you along the way. She credited SCE and its Sometimes what seems like parent company, Edison the impos- SCE Black History Celebration continued on page 9
Twin Lakes students learned about Mount Rushmore from author Tina Nichols Coury.
gles and triumphs involved in the building of America’s greatest monument. Prior to Coury’s visit, students read the book in class and conducted research on Mount Rushmore. Twin Lakes’ teachers used the author’s Common Core curriculum and developed their own constructed response templates to engage students in discussions and activities on America’s history. After reading the book and participating in the lessons, students were able to identify the four presidents on Mount Rushmore in South Dakota and know the history of the monument. Addi-
tionally, they took part in a students who enjoyed dresswriting and illustration coning up as the four presidents test where they picked who on Mount Rushmore, as they should be the fifth person learned about the achieveon Mount Rushmore. Some ments of Thomas Jefferson, of the nominations included George Washington, TheoRosa Parks, Albert Einstein, dore Roosevelt and AbraHelen Keller, Martin Luham Lincoln. Coury shared ther King and Twin Lakes’ how she found the story idea principal, Helen Heller. for her book and showed the Coury awarded one student students her first drafts and from each class a prize for fascinating historical photos. their essay. Students in each She encouraged them to grade level with the highest work hard and always try Accelerated Reader (AR) their best, and emphasized points received a signed the importance of persiscopy of the book, and were tence when learning a new treated to lunch with the skill or following a dream. author. “We were thrilled to have The interactive assembly Local Author continued on page 5 provided a fun time for