Vol. 51, No.9
Serving the San Gabriel Valley Since 1966
Feburary 27, 2013
Special Section
Local Events
Chambers
Sports
Student's Corner
Temple City, San Gabriel, & ROSEMEAD PAGE 8
page 2, 15 Visit Car Culture at http://www.midvalleynews.com/
page 6,7
page 9,10,13
page 3
Cleminson Student Wins District Spelling BEE by Shirley Burkhardt
Derek Lam, a sixth grader in Melissa Macias’s class at Cleminson School won the El Monte City School District annual sixth grade spelling bee. Jessica Lucky Liu from Rio Hondo School was the runner up. Other students that participated as representatives of their schools were: Ivy Huynh, Cherrylee; Grencewincel Garing, Columbia; Alena Perez, Cortada; Michele Tong, Durfee; David Ho, Gidley; Veronica Castro, Le Gore; An Le, New Lexington; Kristy Ngo, Potrero; Carlos Lopez, Rio Vista; Tabitha Hernandez, Wilkerson; and Vy Le, Wright If you would like the
Mid Valley News delivered to your business Call 626-443-1753. YOUR CUSTOMERS
El Monte, CA Permit No. 64
U.S. Postage Paid
Presorted Standard
WILL LOVE IT!!!
Visit Us Online at www.midvalleynews.com for more Highlights of Local Schools and Events from the San Gabriel Valley Area.
Video Game Addicts Getting Hooked on Piano For any parent struggling with a child addicted to video games, a new app is under development that can transform “gamers” into piano virtuosos. Piano teacher Andy Fling has struck a chord with kids who love video games, and
also love banging away on a piano or electric keyboard. For kids, the thought of learning piano can conjure up image of tedious hours with a stern piano teacher. But when these same kids are able to combine learning piano with
by Andrew Fling
their natural tendency to play video games, a whole new world opens up for them. “I’ve taught thousands of kids to play piano over the last twenty years, and learned a long time ago that kids learn best when they’re having Video Game continued to pg 8
Kaiser Permanente’s Educational Theatre Promotes Reading
El Monte,
by Michele Earle
Students at Voorhis Elementary School in the Mountain View School District took a reading adventure on the Zig Zag Sea as Kaiser Permanente’s Educational Theatre presented the play Jay and E and the Zig Zag Sea. The students were captivated by the humorous performance which followed the adventures of a boy named Jay whose biggest fear is reading. As part of Kaiser’s Literacy Promotion Program, the educational theatre is designed to inspire and encourage students to read. The key concepts for the program are to tackle new words one sound at a time, listen and respond appropriately to verbal instructions and that reading is fun and an important skill to build. The kindergarten through third grade students engaged in the interactive play and helped Jay sound out words on his journey across the Zig Zag Sea as he realized he shouldn’t be afraid to read. In addition to the musical play, the performers presented a Bookshare in the classrooms, sharing a book and activity to encourage students to
Best
read and explore new words at school and at home. “This program is absolutely fantastic!” said Carolina Galaviz, Voorhis principal. “The performers are great and the entire program really motivates our students to read. We appreciate Kaiser’s educational outreach which is so beneficial to students and schools.” At the conclusion of the Bookshare, the actor/educators presented each student with a new book. The kindergartners and first graders were excited to receive “Duck on a Bike” and the second and third graders were happy to get “The Magic School Bus – Sunset of the Sabor Tooth.” Georgina Gonzalez, second grade teacher, was greatly impressed with the Educational Theatre presentation and appreciated the great inspiration it provided for reading. “This was awesome!” She said. “The interaction with the students and having them read words and sentences were great. I know my students will talk about this for a long time.” As the final part of the
Literacy Promotion Program, a parent workshop, titled “World of Words” will be held where facilitators will provide updated facts on how literacy impacts children’s health and well-being. They
will also lead a discussion of how families can easily and inexpensively incorporate a print rich environment into everyday life and make a huge, positive impact on their child’s reading skills.
year around weekend coed basketball classes in the San Gabriel Valley..... Saturdays, Temple City & Alhambra, Sundays, San Gabriel
coachmarquis@gmail.com www.playsmarterbasketball.com
Play Smarter Basketball Classes
(626) 482-8267