Field Trips

KATHERINE YAMADA One of the most popular field trips for Glendale students in the 1950s and '60s was to Jessup Farms at San Fernando Road and Doran Street. The students toured the dairy, had a picnic on the grass and, if they were lucky, saw a calf being born. "Kids came in school buses from all over," said Rich Jessup, grandson of Roger Jessup, the dairy's founder. They walked through the milking barn, saw the calves (their favorite part) and watched the milk-bottling process through a window.

Though summer is winding down for many in Glendale, the city’s YMCA day camp is still bustling with activity. The annual camp fills up with about 75 students each week and offers a wide array of activities at its Isabel Street campus and field trips in Southern California. On Monday afternoon, the center buzzed with commotion as 6- to 14-year-olds from around the region shot small black disks along a carom board, played animated games of foosball and swung wooden paddles at white plastic balls across a netless ping-pong table.

The Glendale News-Press visited the YWCA summer camp at Fremont Park asked: What's your favorite thing to do at the camp? "I like going to the park. The whole camp gets together and we get to have fun." MINJOO HO, 8 "I like the field trips we take because they're so much fun and we go to exciting places. Last week we went to the El Capitan Theatre." MAYA MARTIROSSYAN, 9 "You get to go to field trips and stuff and you get to go to parks and play."

Alexa Capeloto GLENDALE -- The after-school program at Grandview Presbyterian Church has proven so successful that a community organization has offered support to help keep it going. The church recently received an $8,300 grant from the Glendale Community Foundation, to go toward the computer lab, library and field trips involved in its Club JAM (Jesus and Me) youth program. "This is a big blessing," said Eugenia Cortez-Servin, youth director at Grandview Presbyterian.

Fourth-graders from Carol Young's class went on a tasteful field trip last Thursday to Los Gingos Rapido on the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and Foothill Boulevard. Divided into three sections, the students got to take a tour of the kitchen and make their own tortilla, design their own dream Mexican dish and learn the proper method for washing hands before handling food. The third group learned how to wash their hands. It may seem like fourth graders should already know how to wash their hands, but Kim Chatham, director of operations for the Los Gringos Rapido company, teaches students the birthday method.

The Glendale News-Press visited the Glendale YMCA’s Summer Day Camp this week. We asked, “What is your favorite thing to do at summer camp?”         “A lot friends come here. It’s fun here. You go to the gym, and swim. We have a lot of activities to do.” MICHAEL KAGRAMANIAN, 11 St. Robert Bellarmine School Glendale             “Swimming.

Robert Chacon After deciding to place two funding measures on the March ballot, La Canada Unified School District officials are worried that paying for those, as well as students' distant field trips, might be too much of a financial burden for parents. So the school board is considering cutting back on student trips to destinations such as New York City, Paris, Eastern Europe and an Amazon rainforest. The board has signed off on these trips in the past, but members were concerned this week that trips across the globe might be too excessive in tough budget times like these, even though students and their families pay for the trips through fund-raisers.

Verdugo Woodlands Elementary School students participated in an annual Walk-a-Thon on Friday to raise funds for library books and field trips. More than 600 students helped raise about $15,000 by asking family, friends and community members to make pledges for the Walk-a-Thon, said Judy Barnes, a sixth-grade teacher at the school. Students, divided into groups by grade level, took turns walking for about 30 minutes at a time in the school's upper playground.

Judy Seckler GLENDALE COMMUNITY COLLEGE -- Glendale Community College will hold its first Investors Club meeting at 4 p.m. today on campus in library room LB 200. College faculty advisor Phillip Kazanjian will speak on stock tips and investment scams. The club is designed to give the public information to become more financially informed. Topics to be covered during the year include: College funds for your children. General investing.

The city has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed on behalf of an 11-year-old who suffered a roughly 5-inch gash on her forearm while on a school field trip at Verdugo Park nearly two years ago. Anahit Allakhverdian was pushing a younger student on a swing when a broken metal strap jabbed into her forearm, causing the injury, according to court records. After Armenouhi Ghourgoian, Anahit's mother, sued the city over the June 2010 incident, last week the city finalized a $28,000-settlement with the Sun Valley family.

The Glendale Community College Concert Singers, led by Director Peter Green, will perform at 4 p.m. Dec. 13 at First Lutheran Church, 1300 E. Colorado St. The program features a variety of choral music pieces including some holiday favorites. General admission is $10 and $7 for students and seniors. Tickets may be purchased at the door. The Concert Singers group is the advanced choral group at the college. Performers must audition to be a member. Annual Faculty/Alumni Dance Opens Friday The annual GCC Faculty/Alumni Dance Production, now in its 15th year, will be held over three days with four shows in the auditorium.

The Glendale News-Press visited the Glendale YMCA’s Summer Day Camp this week. We asked, “What is your favorite thing to do at summer camp?”         “A lot friends come here. It’s fun here. You go to the gym, and swim. We have a lot of activities to do.” MICHAEL KAGRAMANIAN, 11 St. Robert Bellarmine School Glendale             “Swimming.

LA CRESCENTA — The Bridge Program that began last year at Crescenta Valley High School will most likely continue this fall, but with slightly less funding and personnel. The goal of the program is to help ninth- and 10th-grade boys who may have had a difficult transition from Rosemont Middle School, said Crescenta Valley Sheriff Deputy Scott Shinagawa. “It is really a program for kids who felt disconnected from school,” Shinagawa said. “They don’t join any clubs or sports and they can get lost in the system.

GLENDALE — Residents and community leaders walked the streets Saturday and examined local city intersections to determine whether they are safe for pedestrians. The stroll was a walkability assessment as part of the Community Pedestrian Safety Training seminar that the UC Berkeley Traffic Safety Center and California Walks put on for the city. Saturday’s seminar was the first of 12 that the center will conduct this year, said Jill Cooper, the center’s assistant director.

CENTRAL GLENDALE — Salvation Army Glendale, which has had to grapple with a precipitous increase in demand for services over the past two years, got some support of its own Wednesday after a group of community leaders donated thousands of food items and about $7,000. Since 2007, Salvation Army Glendale has seen a 200% increase in the number of people seeking help, Capt. Rio Ray said. At the same time, donations to the center have slumped with the battered economy, creating a crunch for resources, he added.

The evening of Friday, Sept. 19 was full of activities for families at Valley View Elementary. The Fall Family Picnic reigned over the school on Friday night as the playground bustled with students and parents. People lined the fence and even the sidewalk, waiting patiently for a plate of the barbecue dinner. Booths with food, drinks, desserts, PTA sign-ups and even Cub Scouts were scattered across the blacktop. Parents crowded a booth selling Valley View sweatshirts and T-shirts, as they grabbed the latest spirit gear.

Though summer is winding down for many in Glendale, the city’s YMCA day camp is still bustling with activity. The annual camp fills up with about 75 students each week and offers a wide array of activities at its Isabel Street campus and field trips in Southern California. On Monday afternoon, the center buzzed with commotion as 6- to 14-year-olds from around the region shot small black disks along a carom board, played animated games of foosball and swung wooden paddles at white plastic balls across a netless ping-pong table.

Local children are honing their acting, singing and script-writing skills this week and next as they develop a musical show about cats that includes familiar feline characters such as Garfield, the AristoCats and the record-setting musical “Cats.” The young thespians are participating in a summer theater camp that’s being offered by the city of Glendale for the first time this year. The city’s Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department decided to launch the theater camp because residents had indicated their interest in an acting-oriented summer activity for children, said Patty Betancourt, a community services specialist with the city.