Cerritos Elementary School

Judy Seckler The last trace of Cerritos Elementary School was carted away Monday to make room for the new construction. The demolition took place in two stages, said district administrator Dick White, of planning, development and facilities. Hazardous material took approximately one week to remove. Asbestos from the roof, interior piping and lead painted windows and door frames were taken to a special dump site. Next, the bulldozers went right through the buildings "like a hot knife to butter," White said.

We are members of Positive and Well-rounded Students at Cerritos Elementary School in south Glendale. The PAWS program tries to make our community a better place by joining the city's Adopt-a-Block program, participating in the Graffiti Paint Out and helping out wherever we can. We are saddened that Raul Aguirre lost his life helping a friend in need. And we would like to send a message to the young people of Glendale. We believe that all of us need to be respectful and tolerant of all the different cultures in Glendale.

Jackson Bell Before enrolling in a parenting program at Cerritos Elementary School, Aleida Blas said she would waste much of her day watching soap operas -- time that would have been better spent with her son. But those days are long gone. "I learned a lot from the program," Blas said through a Spanish interpreter. "The other day, I was watching TV, and my child came up to me. Before I would have continued watching the show. But now I give my attention to my child."

Measure K "Building for Excellence" projects are ongoing throughout the school district this summer, with new phases of development planned for fall 2002. Installation of replacement modular classrooms has begun at Franklin, La Crescenta and Lincoln elementary schools. Phase 3 of long-term projects at those schools will begin in September and November 2002 and will include restroom renovation, tile floor replacement and office and entrance modifications.

The Glendale News-Press visited Cerritos Elementary School and asked students: “What do you like about Fine Arts Day?”   “It’s when you learn how to draw and you get experience of what it’s like to be an artist. I like to learn the way my grandpa draws. He likes peaceful drawings.” KRISTIAN LOPEZ, 10 Glendale     “That you get to learn new things, like how to draw and paint.” EDGARDO SANCHEZ, 12 Glendale           “It’s fun that you get to experience what other teachers from the school want to teach us. I love to draw.

Two men were in critical condition Monday after their cars collided about 3:09 p.m. near the intersection of Glendale and Cerritos avenues, as parents began to pick up their children from nearby Cerritos Elementary School. Glendale firefighters cut a 20-year-old Glendale man out of his blue Volkswagen with the Jaws of Life, prying off the driver's side door, and sent him to County-USC Medical Center. The 31-year-old Glendale man driving the other car, a silver BMW sedan, was also sent to County-USC.

Judy Seckler CERRITOS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL -- The air crackled with electricity as 600 Cerritos Elementary School students were treated to a few surprise visitors at its Nestle USA National Adopt-A-School Day. Students were told to dress in sports attire for the day and that they would be visited by some professional athletes but identities were not revealed until the start of the event Tuesday morning, Cerritos Principal ...

Darleene Barrientos Construction at Cerritos Elementary School is finished, but because of delays, the district withheld $1 million from contractors and the project has not been completed. Glendale Unified School District officials were happy to announce at last week's school board meeting that Cerritos Elementary School was declared finished in May, with the exception of some playground equipment that must be replaced before children can use it. But the district owes Gardena-based Amelco Construction, and its bond company Traveler's Insurance, about $1 million because of a 2 1/2-year delay to finish the $15-million modernization project.

Students at Cerritos Elementary School celebrated the recent completion of their grass playground with a field day Friday. Students in grades one, two and three competed in relay races, volleyball and basketball games during the event, which was organized by Christin Walley, the physical education teacher at Cerritos. Upper-grade students participated in a similar event last week. "It's like a mini-Olympic feeling," Principal Janice Hanada said. "Now that we have a playground that is huge, there is plenty of space for events like this.

Karen S. Kim SOUTHWEST GLENDALE -- It wasn't a sleigh with eight tiny reindeer but two Glendale Memorial Hospital vans that brought toys and goodies to the students of Cerritos Elementary School on Thursday morning. "To get something like this, this gives a family a Christmas," said Melinda Perez, community liaison for Cerritos Elementary. "There's a lot of families that don't have a Christmas here in Glendale." Eight departments at Glendale Memorial -- including the security, housekeeping and emergency departments -- adopted eight needy families whose members attend Cerritos Elementary.

The principal of Cerritos Elementary School said that despite the deadly officer-involved shooting early this morning just steps from the campus, student life has remained calm. Principal Cynthia McCarty and a psychologist visited classrooms to meet with students who may have needed any help coping with the police activity, but they were by and large understanding and expressed no major concerns. McCarty also created a script for teachers for student inquiries about the shooting, in which a man was shot and killed by Glendale police officers after engaging them in an intense gun battle early this morning.

GLENDALE — At least nine streets surrounding Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park will be closed starting at 4 a.m. Thursday for Michael Jackson’s burial, which is scheduled for 7 p.m. that day. Glendale police will close the streets for the family’s caravan and to accommodate a large media presence, Sgt. Tom Lorenz said. Media agencies from Australia, Hungary, Japan, China and Belgium will be covering the funeral, he said. Last week, Glendale police announced that media attendance was at capacity.

Groups advocate healthy eating Students at Cerritos Elementary School will get a crash course in nutrition Thursday, as a selection of health and wellness organizations will set up booths to advocate healthy eating and physical activity. ?Eat Right? is the theme of the event, where children will have a chance to visit booths from the California Dairy Council and the American Cancer Society, along with tables promoting agriculture, fruits and vegetables, and cooking. The event is a collaboration between the Glendale Unified School District?

GLENDALE — If anyone’s a fit for inspiring teens, a former street-sweeper-turned-mayor isn’t a bad choice. Rick Reyes, former Glendale mayor, city councilman, police officer and even street sweeper, has volunteered to fill a guidance position vacated because of budget cuts. He now roams the halls of Roosevelt Middle School, smiling, joking and telling stories to students in his role as school resource officer. “They know so many people that are negative,” Reyes said as students chattered around him in a hallway.

From Caribbean limbo to British rock ’n’ roll, the songs and dances performed Friday night by students at Cerritos Elementary School had an unmistakably global flair. Preschoolers sang in French while wearing homemade berets, and third-graders danced to Beatles classics such as “She Loves You.” It was the school’s International Festival, an annual celebration of cultures that has been going on for decades. Cerritos alumni and parents congregated at the school to enjoy food that was as international as the entertainment and watch the students perform.

The Glendale News-Press visited Cerritos Elementary School and asked students: “What do you like about Fine Arts Day?”   “It’s when you learn how to draw and you get experience of what it’s like to be an artist. I like to learn the way my grandpa draws. He likes peaceful drawings.” KRISTIAN LOPEZ, 10 Glendale     “That you get to learn new things, like how to draw and paint.” EDGARDO SANCHEZ, 12 Glendale           “It’s fun that you get to experience what other teachers from the school want to teach us. I love to draw.

A fifth-grade girl from Cerritos Elementary School adjusted a brand-new jumper she was wearing and assessed her appearance in a mirror at the Assistance League of Glendale on Thursday morning. After trying on variations of the blue-and-white school uniforms worn in some elementary schools in the Glendale Unified School District, the student decided she preferred the long pants to the dress or shorts. Like all the elementary school students that the Assistance League of Glendale serves through its Operation School Bell program, she would leave with three outfits, a bag of hygiene products, a gift certificate for new shoes and a new book.

As Ernestine Moore, the district director for State Sen. Jack Scott, toured Daily High School and other Glendale Unified School District schools on Thursday, she was impressed by the extent to which the school district caters to the needs of specific groups of students. She visited AdvancePath Academy, a program for students who are in danger of dropping out of high school, and Verdugo Academy, an independent study program for students who can?t attend high school during traditional daytime hours.