Valley View

GLENDALE ELKS HAVE HOOP SHOOT COMPETITION The 35th annual Elks Hoop Shoot Free Throw Competition was held recently at the Glendale High School gym with only Dunsmore, Fremont, Glenoaks, Holy Family, Marshall, Monte Vista, Valley View elementary schools and Wilson Middle School participating. The competition, which is open to all kids ages 8 through 13, had the smallest turnout in years, said John Jolly , chairman for the past eight years. ?Only 44 students competed in the Hoop Shoot this year,?

It was a warm cloudless day last Friday afternoon, March 13 when 10 Tiger Cubs from Pack 360, Den 6 visited the offices of the Valley Sun newspapers. The Scouts attend different Crescenta Valley elementary schools including Dunsmore, Valley View, Fremont and Mountain Avenue. Visiting the office was a requirement for the Den to acquire their Tiger badge. For visiting the Valley Suns, they will get their “Go See It” bead, which is black in color. “I’m having a good time at the newspaper,” said John Moore, 6, of Dunsmore.

Claudia Peschiutta GLENDALE -- These kids have been very busy. In seven months, students at Dunsmore, Monte Vista, Muir, Valley View and R.D. White elementary schools read nearly 8 million pages. Their ravenous reading placed them within the top 400 public schools in Gov. Gray Davis' Reading Award Program, for which they will be awarded $5,000. The competition was held from Oct. 15 to April 15 and included more than 400,000 elementary school students from 51 counties throughout the state.

Fall was ushered in at campuses across Crescenta Valley as schools had their traditional fall and harvest festivals. Fremont, Mountain Avenue, Monte Vista, St. James, Valley View and Verdugo Woodland elementary schools all had carnivals around Halloween time that offered rock climbing, face painting and lots of great food. “This was a great turn out,” said Fremont sixth grade teacher, Laura Thornbury. “We see a lot of old students come and visit, and so far it’s been a lot of fun.” Over at Valley View, a rousing game of ghostly golf was followed by a delicious Korean barbeque lunch.

What started as a clay lesson turned into the large statue of the eagle now resting in front of the auditorium at Valley View Elementary School in La Crescenta. Made entirely of clay secured to the frame, the eagle was presented to the school as a gift by the sixth-grade class of 2002. The students spent all year working on the statue, each making one of the clay tiles placed on the base. The tiles are personalized with poetry, messages and drawings written by each of the students.

In the spirit of the Glendale Unified School District-wide program Focus on Writing, the Valley Sun has invited all students to write about any school-related subject, anything from school trips to what they like about their school to what it is like to enter middle and high school. The stories may be edited and pictures are welcomed. Send to Mary.Okeefe@latimes.com.   The trip to Catalina was both invigorating and surreal. I was with my friends, and we were doing activities that were not only awesomely fun but educationally fun, too. We did many things: snorkeling, hiking, kayaking, rock-wall climbing, gardening and composting, and tide-pool investigations.

Elementary students in the Crescenta Valley area, including Dunsmore and Valley View, joined other children across the nation and around the world to celebrate Walk to School Day on Wednesday, Oct. 4. The idea for the day began in England in response to concerns about childhood obesity. Having children walk to school with their parents was a way to call attention to the problem and a healthy way for children to exercise. By 2002, the concept had spread to America with all 50 states participating in Walk To School Day, and an entire week has since been dedicated to bring awareness of the value of exercise for both students and parents.

Janine Marnien Strangers up to no good had better watch out for these Valley View Elementary School students -- mess with them and you might get a swift knee in the stomach, or a quick jab to the head. About 20 students learned those self-defense moves Tuesday at CLASS -- Children Learning Awareness Safety and Self-Defense -- an after-school program funded by a grant secured by the Crescenta Valley Town Council and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Glendale). Shouting "No!"

Nine principals from Glendale, La Cañada and Burbank Unified school districts shared in the glory Monday when their campuses were honored with a California Distinguished School award. Franklin, Edison, Jefferson and Valley View elementary schools in Glendale Unified; Providencia, Stevenson and Disney elementary schools in Burbank; and La Cañada and Palm Crest elementary schools in La Cañada were among the 484 California public elementary schools named 2010 California Distinguished Schools by the California Department of Education.

Melanie Abzun Eliza Arslanian Jenny Baek Kenny Barrera Robert Benson Samantha Berthold Nishanth Bhaskara Asa Capra Jason Chang Kim Chernich Ju Won Cho Sophia Chon Danny Chung Sherry Cormier Olivia Cover Ani Davityan Danielle De Leon Jason Feeney Sean Gedorio Derek Gharibi Mike Grunke Bhavana Gupta Ha Kyoung Hong Elizabeth Hwang ...

On June 8, students at Valley View Elementary School met with authors and illustrators from Clark Magnet High School. The high school students individually or with a partner came to the elementary school to share books that they had created. They read their stories to classes from kindergarten to sixth grade. The authors discussed a variety of concepts including how they developed their ideas and story line, and explaining the background concepts pertaining to their book. The Clark authors and illustrators answered questions by the Valley View students who were interested in learning about the creative process, among other things.

Fourth grade students at Valley View Elementary School celebrated Gold Rush Day earlier this month, reenacting a day in the life of an early California miner/settler. The activities included journaling for several days beforehand, as if the student were a miner or settler, heading toward California’s Gold Rush. Students arrived the day of the event in Gold Rush attire. They dressed as a miner (jeans, flannel shirt, and an old hat), prepared beef stew in the auditorium, and even worked in “mining camps” rotating through simulated experiences and games related to the Gold Rush.

Valley View fifth-grade student Matthew Worden was crowned King for the Day last Friday, May 29 at the school after joining the 1,000 point Accelerated Reader club. Students participating in the club receive points for each book read. A book can be worth up to 40 points; the more challenging books are worth more points. To earn points one must get a score of 85% or better. If the student gets 100% on the test they get the full points. The points earned are lower as the percentage drops.

Valley View Elementary Foundation wanted to bring a strong message to its 442 students on the importance of making good choices in their lives, but wanted to showcase the message with high energy entertainment to create an end of the year celebration. To help them do this, the Foundation hosted a school wide assembly last Friday, calling on the professional BMX riders with Wheels of Freestyle, Inc. The southern California-based company features stunt athletes, bike performers who stress goal setting, working toward them and making good life choices along the way. They reminded students to say no to drugs, alcohol, and tobacco while performing a variety of stunts on their bikes.

It looked like springtime gone crazy Wednesday morning at Valley View Elementary School as many beautiful bouquets were delivered to the main office by school PTA members and parents. The floral arrangements were for administrative staff Karen Wilton and Maria Sanchez in honor of national Administrative Professionals Week, said Molly Hwang, PTA president. The deliveries came as a bit of a shock for Wilton, who has worked as administrative secretary at the school for the past 11 years.

It was a warm cloudless day last Friday afternoon, March 13 when 10 Tiger Cubs from Pack 360, Den 6 visited the offices of the Valley Sun newspapers. The Scouts attend different Crescenta Valley elementary schools including Dunsmore, Valley View, Fremont and Mountain Avenue. Visiting the office was a requirement for the Den to acquire their Tiger badge. For visiting the Valley Suns, they will get their “Go See It” bead, which is black in color. “I’m having a good time at the newspaper,” said John Moore, 6, of Dunsmore.

England may have the first Queen Elizabeth, but Valley View Elementary School in La Crescenta last Friday morning crowned its own Queen Elizabeth — Elizabeth Hwang, a sixth grader at the school. For the honor, Elizabeth was treated to a red carpet entrance to the school. She was decked out in royal cape and crown and helped lead and present awards at the school’s award ceremony, and also received a trophy. And, in addition to other classroom privileges, she was treated to lunch with Valley View Principal Carla Walker and Elizabeth’s best friend at the school, Samantha Berthold.