Science And Technology

Darleene Barrientos A science and technology scholarship will likely be named after a longtime Glendale and La Crescenta math and physics teacher who died recently. Dennis Henderson, who taught most recently at Clark Magnet High and taught at Hoover High for a year prior to that, died in his sleep Dec. 1. He was 57. Henderson was a Hacienda Heights resident and is survived by his wife, Kathy; his son, Bart; and daughter, Laurie. Clark Magnet's student government awards three scholarships each year for leadership, community service and science and technology.

The brunch meeting of the American Assn. of University Women (AAUW) opened with pizazz as six young women, all beneficiaries of scholarships to Tech Trek, were introduced. Tech Trek is a one-week immersion into science and technology for girls from Wilson and Toll middle schools. The program is sponsored and, in part, financed by AAUW, Glendale Chapter. Members of the Glendale Soroptimists also contribute funds. On Saturday (Oct. 13) at the Oakmont Country Club, some 60 members and guests were treated to the young women's remarks.

Photos and story by mary o?keefe valley sun Crescenta Valley High School and Clark Magnet High School robotic teams continue to work out the engineering kinks of their designs as the clock ticks toward the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) regional competition in March. Left top, Clark freshmen Ruben Avoian and Vincent Van Hoek look over their design for their robot before presenting it to the team. Below, from left, Megan O’Dean and Laura Widholm stand in their newly attained robotics workroom.

After securing a highly competitive fellowship, Hoover High School science teacher Zovig Minassian will head to Washington, D.C. this fall, where she will spend 11 months honing her professional development skills at the U.S. Department of Energy. She is among just 27 educators who won the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship, hosted by the Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology. More than 200 teachers competed for the appointment during a rigorous application process.

DEANS OF ATTENDANCE Deans of attendance from Crescenta Valley, Glendale and Hoover high schools presented their first update to the board since their positions were created this school year. A dean of attendance position was created at the district's three comprehensive high schools to track student attendance and encourage increased attendance. Clark Magnet High School is a specialized high school for science and technology. Daily High School is a continuation school for disengaged and at-risk youth.

After six weeks of construction and wiring, it all came down to three days of intense competition for students in the robotics teams from Crescenta Valley and Clark Magnet high schools. The atmosphere at the Great Western Forum was so tense you could cut it with wire cutters. The pressure so intense, competitors couldn't remember simple things like the gravitational pull of the moon. This was not the time to forget your basic calculus skills. This was competition. This is what all the hard work came down to - the regional robotics competition sponsored by For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, or FIRST.

Alecia Foster LA CRESCENTA -- "To boldly go where no one has gone before" -- a fitting motto for the students of Clark Magnet High School. Three years ago, a group of students did just that when they entered the school district's first science and technology magnet as sophomores. On Tuesday evening, those students --128 of them -- became the first class to graduate from Clark. "We all took a gamble in coming here," valedictorian Samantha Lawler said in her commencement address.

Robotic teams at Clark Magnet and Crescenta Valley high schools are brainstorming over the new robotic competition challenge from FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). For the last several years the schools have entered the competition; last year Clark Magnet’s team advanced from Los Angeles Regional to the National Competition. FIRST was founded in 1989 by inventor Dean Kamen and is part of the NASA’s Robotic Alliance Project. The program brings science and engineering into a competitive arena.

The Newport-Mesa Unified School District has launched a project to expand science and technology teaching at Eastbluff Elementary and help boost enrollment at the underpopulated Newport Beach school. By next spring, the school plans to have a new portable classroom reserved entirely for science. It also hopes to provide laptops for all fourth- and fifth-grade students. The school board approved the plan last month to help encourage intradistrict transfers to the school.

After securing a highly competitive fellowship, Hoover High School science teacher Zovig Minassian will head to Washington, D.C. this fall, where she will spend 11 months honing her professional development skills at the U.S. Department of Energy. She is among just 27 educators who won the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship, hosted by the Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology. More than 200 teachers competed for the appointment during a rigorous application process.

The brunch meeting of the American Assn. of University Women (AAUW) opened with pizazz as six young women, all beneficiaries of scholarships to Tech Trek, were introduced. Tech Trek is a one-week immersion into science and technology for girls from Wilson and Toll middle schools. The program is sponsored and, in part, financed by AAUW, Glendale Chapter. Members of the Glendale Soroptimists also contribute funds. On Saturday (Oct. 13) at the Oakmont Country Club, some 60 members and guests were treated to the young women's remarks.

Photos and story by mary o?keefe valley sun Crescenta Valley High School and Clark Magnet High School robotic teams continue to work out the engineering kinks of their designs as the clock ticks toward the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) regional competition in March. Left top, Clark freshmen Ruben Avoian and Vincent Van Hoek look over their design for their robot before presenting it to the team. Below, from left, Megan O’Dean and Laura Widholm stand in their newly attained robotics workroom.

Robotic teams at Clark Magnet and Crescenta Valley high schools are brainstorming over the new robotic competition challenge from FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). For the last several years the schools have entered the competition; last year Clark Magnet’s team advanced from Los Angeles Regional to the National Competition. FIRST was founded in 1989 by inventor Dean Kamen and is part of the NASA’s Robotic Alliance Project. The program brings science and engineering into a competitive arena.

Local wildfires, the highly anticipated completion of the Americana on Brand and the La Cañada Town Center and a murder at the interchange of the Glendale (2) and Foothill (210) freeways were just some of the notable moments that made up 2008 and were reported in the pages of the Crescenta Valley Sun. Not surprising were the ongoing budget battles regarding funding for public schools, an issue that will most likely not be put to rest in ’09. Proposed development along Foothill Boulevard and the demolition of one of the oldest homes in Montrose caused concern if not downright uproar by local residents.

Some seniors wore clues to their future plans on their caps during Clark Magnet High School?s graduation ceremony on Thursday evening. A handful of students had personalized the caps with the initials or nicknames of the colleges they would be attending. Brian Seo, 18, painted ?Cal? in yellow on the top of his cap. He is heading to UC Berkeley in the fall, where he plans to study philosophy as a precursor to law school. While Seo is excited about his next step, he knows it also means that he and his classmates will be going their separate ways.

Nine boys, eight from Monte Vista Elementary and one from Verdugo Woodland Elementary, have combined their love of Legos and robots to become a strong robotic force. “It’s fun. We work as a team and work on robots,” said Patrick Yeh. “Legos are fun and robots are awesome,” said Kevin Backes. “Legos and robots what could be better,” said Alexander Trimis. The boys have formed a robotic team called CV Bots and have been competing the FIRST [For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology]

Several myths are being shattered by local Girl Scouts as they prove that girls are great at science, math and engineering. Girls Scouts, made up of several troops in Crescenta Valley, formed a robotic team and competed in the FIRST [For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology] Lego League. The league is a robotics program for children nine to 14 which challenges them to explore the world of engineering. Each year a challenge is devised based on current, real-world situations like global warming and energy consumption.

DEANS OF ATTENDANCE Deans of attendance from Crescenta Valley, Glendale and Hoover high schools presented their first update to the board since their positions were created this school year. A dean of attendance position was created at the district's three comprehensive high schools to track student attendance and encourage increased attendance. Clark Magnet High School is a specialized high school for science and technology. Daily High School is a continuation school for disengaged and at-risk youth.