Wilson Middle School

Wilson Middle School students on Tuesday broke rank with their traditional social circles, mingling with a diverse range of schoolmates as part of the national anti-bullying event Mix It Up Day. Launched by the Southern Poverty Law Center and spearheaded at Wilson by English teacher Jolie Augustine, Mix It Up Day is designed to build tolerance on school campuses by facilitating interactions between students who typically wouldn't interact....

LA CA—ADA FLINTRIDGE ? Anais Wenn started as a teacher's aid 16 years ago. Soon, she will be running her own school. The La Cañada Unified School District board unanimously named Wenn the new principal of Palm Crest Elementary School on Tuesday. She will officially start her new job Aug. 3. "I'm very excited to have been selected," Wenn said. "I felt I was ready for a principalship, it is in my neighborhood and I love that community. They have a high success rate and academic success."

GLENDALE — The hallways at Wilson Middle School have always been loud, students say, but they’ve never been this full. “It’s like the mall,” said 13-year-old Allina Urumieh, an eighth-grader at Wilson, which has added almost 300 sixth-graders to its population since she entered the school two years ago. “It’s so crowded.” The more than five-fold jump in sixth-graders, from 66 in 2006 to 356 this year, was part of a school reconfiguration involving Wilson along with Marshall and White elementary schools.

Joyce Rudolph PASADENA -- Local musicians will play in the Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestra during a free concert at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Wilson Middle School in Pasadena. Residents performing are Avis Bohlen and Joseph Lee of Glendale; Claudia Paz, Miranda Yoo and Rhett Anderson, of La Canada Flintridge; and Ryan Chang and Hanna Kim of La Crescenta. Conducting the group is Richard Meyer. Joining the group will be the Prelude Strings, sponsored by the Pasadena Symphony.

Judy Seckler WILSON MIDDLE SCHOOL -- The bulletin board full of masks at Wilson Middle School said more than words about summer school art classes. The project was part of Wilson art teacher Valerie Moos' summer program. Moos, a 10-year veteran, taught her students to work with papier-mache and a variety of materials. They learned how to build a 3-D form and go beyond pop culture icons and tap into their own creativity. Students may come in wearing the same teenage clothing, but, once they get started, their own individuality emerges, she said.

Judy Seckler DOWNTOWN -- An enthusiastic pack of Wilson Middle School students donated a live Christmas tree and 40 handmade Christmas ornaments to the YWCA Domestic Violence Project, which has three shelters for battered women and their children. The 7-foot tree and gifts were delivered Friday afternoon by 12 students, Wilson teacher specialist Martha Wilson and three other advisors. The project came about when a notice was placed in the school bulletin, Wilson said.

Gary Moskowitz WILSON MIDDLE SCHOOL -- Five eighth-graders decided a year ago that individual differences should unify people, not alienate them from each other. Students, faculty, members of the PTA and Kiss FM DJ "Joe Joe" met at Wilson Middle School Friday to take part in the second annual "Unity Walk," to honor the teachings of Martin Luther King Jr. Wilson's Unity Committee was founded by the five students who, after an alleged hate-crime incident occurred in September 1999 at their school, decided something had to be done for and by the student body.

Gary Moskowitz GLENDALE -- Lisa Gladstone's students have been learning how to protect a free-falling egg with basic supplies like paper and straws. Gladstone, a physical science teacher at Wilson Middle School, will take 15 of her seventh- and eighth-grade students to a state Science Olympiad competition Saturday at Cal StateLong Beach. Gladstone's students will have to show proficiency and knowledge of things like small rockets, "battery buggies," small airplanes, bridges, tectonic plates, water pollutants and volcanic activity.

The Crescenta Valley boys' varsity soccer team defeated host Glendale, 4-1, in a Pacific League match on Tuesday at Wilson Middle School. The Falcons' overall record improved to 8-13-1 and their league mark to 2-6-1. CV will host Arcadia today (Friday) in a 2:30 p.m. league match at the Glendale Sports Complex. Single goals were scored by Falcons Alex Gruenberg, Rigo Cardenas, John Kim and Yahtza Velasquez in the Glendale victory. Host Pasadena shut out CV 1-0 in a league match on Feb. 2. The Bulldogs scored their goal in the second half of play.

Alecia Foster Students from Wilson Middle School and Crescenta Valley High were recognized Monday evening as being among the outstanding student performing arts groups from the 27th Congressional District. Performances by students from the two schools were highlighted as part of the nationwide Congressional Arts Competition. Wilson's Chamber Orchestra and Crescenta Valley's Charismatics singing group joined five other groups at the event at The Alex Theatre.

At a bullying assembly at Wilson Middle School on Monday, Glendale Police Officer Joe Allen recalled how he was harassed by fellow students after he moved from Kentucky to California at age 10. “I had a thick, country drawl,” he said. “I wore the wrong clothing. I had cut off jeans and colored socks, and I didn't fit in. I got called lots of names.” The assembly was intended for those who may bully, for those who are victims of bullying and for the greater number of kids who can step in to report bullies to adults.

Winter Recess begins in the Glendale Unified School District on Thursday and runs through Jan. 6 with students returning to classes Monday, Jan. 9. Though hallways may be quiet, staff and PTA volunteers are busy planning activities that will resume in January. Glendale High School Glendale High students can attend the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) Interpretation Jan. 11 from 7 to 8 p.m. in the school library. This is a free event for parents and students. Scores will be available upon arrival and the discussion will help in understanding how students performed and how they can improve on future standardized tests.

Longtime Wilson Middle School music teacher Sarah Gianos died Thursday due to an undisclosed illness, according to Glendale Unified officials. She was 40. The location and cause of death were not immediately available on Monday. “She was a very good teacher, a wonderful part of our staff [and] was loved by her students,” Wilson Principal Rich Lucas said in a statement. “She was quiet, reserved and respected.” Gianos started her career with Glendale Unified in 2000 at Wilson Middle School, where she taught instrumental music to nearly 250 students each year.

In a tribute to the sacrifices of an earlier generation, Wilson Middle School students welcomed three U.S. military veterans to campus Thursday as part of their annual Veterans Day Assembly. The guests included World War II veterans Joseph Pietroforte and Joe Govea, and Korean War veteran Maury Starr. A fourth, World War II veteran Peter Howenstein, was honored in absentia. Veterans Day is officially celebrated on Nov. 11. The Wilson Middle School Veterans Day Assembly has become one of its most anticipated events of the year, creating a link between the history that students study in class and the personal experiences of the veterans, organizers said.

Armed with shovels, rakes, picks, trash bags and gloves, 600 volunteers dispersed across Glendale to help beautify the city Saturday. Residents from Glendale and neighboring communities painted out graffiti, cleaned up dilapidated lawns and even made a school teacher’s dream for a school garden come true. A part of the city’s 23rd annual Great American Cleanup event, before participants even got their hands dirty, Glendale was already doing its part to minimize the waste produced by the event.

With hundreds of eyes trained on her, Mia Hamm stood on one foot at the front of the Woodrow Wilson Middle School auditorium Tuesday. Balanced on the other foot was a soccer ball. But instead of juggling, as had been requested, she flicked it toward the audience. “I have never really been a tricks person,” Hamm said before inviting eighth-grader Christina Hacobian forward to demonstrate her own moves. It was a characteristic moment for Hamm who, seven years after her retirement from professional soccer, has redefined herself as a mother and an advocate for youth athletics.

In Tuesday’s State of the Union address, President Obama gave several examples of achievements across several industries. But his example of excellence in education hit close to home for Millie and Sam Engel of Burbank. Their daughter, Kristin Waters, was recognized by the president for her exemplary work in Denver’s public school system. “Take a school like Bruce Randolph in Denver. Three years ago, it was rated one of the worst schools in Colorado, located on turf between two rival gangs.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — Wilson Middle School students Wednesday named types of quadrilaterals and proved Pythagorean’s theorem in some of the lessons in Paula Jackson’s seventh-grade math class, one of 12 stops for teachers from Toll, Rosemont and Roosevelt middle schools. Every year for almost a decade, teachers have observed, inspected, recorded and shared everything they see in their peers’ classrooms as part of an instruction and curriculum improvement program.

Glendale High School?s annual Unconcert lets choral talent express themselves in nontraditional ways. ?UnConcert: This is It!? is a tribute to Michael Jackson with performances at 7 p.m. Feb. 18 and 19 in the auditorium. Pre-sale tickets are $8 per person; $10 at the door. The PTSA meets at 6 p.m. March 1 in the remodeled school library. Everyone is welcome. The program celebrates Founders Day and includes elections for 2010-11 officers, said PTSA President Sydney Swainston.