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
JANUARY 2011
Parents and Teachers Working Together Make a Difference at Mokler
Mokler School’s California State Standards Test scores soared this year in math thanks to the efforts of the students, parents, and teachers of Mokler School. Partnerships between parents and teachers have helped to make a difference in our students’ success. Events such as Mokler School’s K-5 Math Night help foster cooperation and build skills that can carry over to and from school and home and have helped our students achieve success on State mathematics standards. On Wednesday, November 17th from 4:00-5:30 p.m., teachers, parents and students worked
together to participate in Math Night activities that can help support students’ mathematical learning at home. The evening included two sessions for parents and students to participate in (at the grade levels of their choice) with teachers guiding activities. Mrs. Ebacher led the kinder group in ordering and identifying numbers 1-20. First grade students played Cornucopia Countdown, an addition and subtraction game, with Mrs. Sabido. Mrs. Coronel led the second graders in Clock Charades. Third graders were taught several multiplication games by Ms. McDonald. Mrs. Whitten-
bury shared Tic-Tac-Toe, Three Products in a Row and Divide and Conquer with fourth graders and their families. The fifth grade group was led by Mrs. Nutall who shared the game, Ingrid’s Incredible Integers. Family events, such as Math
Night, at Mokler School encourage learning both at home and at school. Students respond to the enthusiasm and participation of their families in school activities, and teachers enjoy the camaraderie that these evenings produce. Working
together, the students, teachers, and parents of Mokler School can achieve success in whatever they put their minds to. Theresa M. Diaz Math Coach Mokler School
PHS Seniors Win Senate Scholarships Audrey Valdez and Jacqueline Martinez, both seniors at Paramount High, were awarded the California State Senate Certificate of Recognition Certificate on November 13, 2010. They received their awards as part of their participation in Senator Alan Lowenthal’s 4 th Annual Young Women’s Empowerment Conference at California State University, Long Beach. The conference was attended by more than 200 young women in the 11th and 12th grade, from fifteen local high schools. The purpose of the conference was to give young women the opportunity to learn more about some of the difficult issues they may confront in their future lives. The day was full of excellent and relevant workshops, led by various speakers and role models. The workshops dealt with themes such as setting and achieving goals, preparation for college, and issues of selfesteem and building positive
relationships. After a continental breakfast, California State Senator Alan Lowenthal began the conference with some opening remarks. Senator Lowenthal was followed by some words from the keynote speaker, Dr. Jeane Caveness, the Assistant Dean at Cal State Long Beach. The young women then attended two workshops, followed by lunch and performances by Cul-
ture Shock LA and the CSULB Poetry Slam Team. Lunch was followed by one more workshop and closing remarks delivered by Dr. King Alexander, President of Cal State Long Beach. The conference concluded with Senator Lowenthal presenting the Senate Certificate of Recognition awards. Audrey Valdez and Jacqueline Martinez were eligible for the awards, based on their entry essays ad-
dressing goals and their plans on achieving them. Silvia Flores, a school counselor from Paramount Park School who served as a chaperone for our students from PHS, shared that as the Senator began calling the names of students to receive their awards, “I was waiting for him to call our students from Paramount High, but at one point I was getting concerned that he hadn’t called our students.” But then the Senator announced that he would then present the three highest awards, each with a $500 scholarship. Two of the three students to achieve these awards were Paramount High’s own Audrey Valdez and Jacque-
line Martinez. Jacqueline plans on using her scholarship award for the college she attends next year. Her school of choice is the University of California, Riverside. Audrey plans on using her scholarship towards attending California State University, Fullerton, where she plans on majoring in business and finance. Congratulations are due to Audrey Valdez and Jacqueline “CoCo” Martinez for not only representing themselves so well, but Paramount High also. Jeff Beahn Testing Coordinator PHS
SCHOOL BOARD MEETING DATES January 12, 2011 – January 26, 2011 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