EYE ON EDUCATION A Publication of the Paramount Unified School District
15110 CALIFORNIA AVE., PARAMOUNT, CA 90723 • TEL: 562-602-6000 • FAX: 562-634-6029
FEBRUARY 2010
Youth Empowerment Conference In early December, 58 students from Paramount High attended the Youth Empowerment Conference at the University of Southern California. The conference is organized by the Chicanos for Progressive Education organization at USC, bringing students from local high schools for a day of pre-college advising, Q&A sessions, and tours of the USC campus. The conference opened with a high-energy presentation by its keynote speaker, Marqueece Harris-Dawson, the director of Community Coalition South Los Angeles. According to PHS student Brittany Early, Harris-Dawson’s message of pursuing higher education to not only help yourself, but to also help one’s community was very motivating. Students also attended a series of small group meetings in which they were able to ask questions about dorm life, writing personal statement letters, and financial aid. The
information on financial aid was especially useful, according to student Jocelyn Pinto. “I wasn’t really aware of the many ways available to help finance attending a private school like USC.” She added that besides applying to UCI and UCLA,
she has also decided to apply at USC as a result of this trip. The conference also included a campus tour. “Seeing the trophy room was pretty awesome,” said Brittany Early. “It really bought USC’s sports history to life.” Brittany also
added the small group meetings were especially helpful, and that she would recommend attending this field trip to anyone in the future. Many thanks are due to Mr. Lindshield and Ms. CaleroHill, counselors at Paramount
High, for organizing and supervising the field trip. Thanks also to the City of Paramount for providing buses to transport the students to USC for the conference. Jeff Beahn, TOSA
Fall Production Was a “Must See” Hit shorts with a whistle around her neck, played by Kathryn Florimon. Her remedy for everything was “walk it off!” To the lazy student claiming he had asthma, she replied, “Walk it off!” Another crowd favorite was as the chain-smoking cafeteria lady whom Ashley Mack brought to life. The hacking cafeteria lady wearing her bloodied butcher’s apron spouted off some of the funniest lines with her sarcasm such as “If you want to see the age of 18, I suggest you start packing your own lunch.” Senior Xaviera Magallon had the crowd going with her sympathetic innocence as the school principal. She humbly tried to explain budget cuts,
Paramount High School’s Drama Department’s fall production entertained many with the hilarious performance of “The High Schooler’s Guide to the Galaxy.” The play takes
place the night before the first day of high school. Two fairies (an author and an editor) appear on stage to offer their advice to four nervous freshmen who are dreading their first day of high
school. Many scenes brought rolling laughter from the audience. There was the old-school veteran gym teacher who wore high-waisted polyester gym
missing textbooks, and why her office was relocated to the girl’s restroom, third stall from the left. And who can forget scene five where two angry teens are documented and scrutinized as if they are animals being watched on an episode of “Animal Planet.” Gabriela Escobedo, playing the role of Editor, describes the teenagers’ actions play by play, beginning with their spewing of nonsense. Overall, this production was a big hit. With the cast’s unforgettable performances and script’s gut-busting humor, one can only say this drama certainly deserves two big thumbs up! Irane Pulido, Senior
SCHOOL BOARD MEETING DATES February 9, 2010 & February 23, 2010 Board of Education meetings are held at 6:00 p.m. in the Boardroom at the District Office, 15110 California Avenue, Paramount, and are open to the public