PUSD Education News A Publication of the Paramount Unified School District
15110 California Ave., Paramount, CA 90723 • Tel: 562-602-6000 • Fax: 562-634-6029
October 2014
Creating Healthy Habits at Mokler Most people think of spring as the season that represents new growth. However, in education that is better reflected in the fall as the children return to school for another year of opportunities to expand their horizons and grow as healthy members of the community. In that spirit, the 20142015 school year is shaping up to be exciting as Mokler students and staff embark on an journey to living a healthy lifestyle. As a way of promoting a healthy lifestyle, the Mokler elementary staff is dedicated to a daily structured physical education program. Every afternoon, students participate in skills based lessons to improve activity levels in a variety of sports. With skills such as loco-motor movement and cardiovascular exercise, students develop coordination and strategies to participate in
sports such as basketball, soccer and relay races. Healthy living is not limited to physical activity. It also includes healthy eating. With the support Paramount Unified School District’s Student Nutrition Services, students will be taught to make healthy food choices during breakfast and lunch and throughout the school day. Each day, students are offered a selection of whole grains, lean meats, fruits and vegetables, and low-fat milk. Students’ home lives play a critical role in helping to support these initiatives. Parents can support these initiatives by sending students to school with healthy snacks, encouraging students to exercise daily outside of school and helping their children get a good night’s rest. Linh Roberts Principal
Earthwatch Research Expeditions
Student Guadalupe Quirarte studying intertidal organisms
Summer is often a time to travel, relax and spend time participating in enjoyable activities. For 3 worthy Paramount High School students, an Earthwatch Fellowship Expedition became an unforgettable journey that afforded each the opportunity to work alongside a diverse group of students and professional re-
search scientists from across the country. Guadalupe Quirarte, Diana Hernandez and Erika Zamora all endured a lengthy application process and were selected to participate in a fully funded scientific research adventure through the Earthwatch Institute. The Institute focuses on four types of expeditions
across the globe: Archaeology & Culture, Climate Change, Ocean Health, and Wildlife & Ecosystems. Senior, Diana Hernandez, spent 2 weeks studying climate change and caterpillars in Nevada. With her expedition group, she learned how to collect and care for caterpillars and
butterflies in order to study their relationships within the environment that they rely on shelter and food. Upon collecting specimens, Diana’s group discussed the effects of phenological asynchrony, which describes the lack of synchrony between the life cycle of a pest, in this case a caterpillar, with the stage of its host plant. Diana said, “It was a life changing experience! …sometimes we would find microlepidoptera, which I loved finding because they were the ones that whenever you touched their heads would move backwards.” Erika Zamora, a senior at Paramount High School, spent 2 weeks in the Gulf of Mexico studying species of birds. Her expedition team studied how species, such as the common loon, have become vulnerable in their environment after enduring over 250 million gallons of spilled oil in 2010. Zamora carefully studied the loon by analyzing their migrating patterns as they travel astonishing distances to spend their winters in
warmer environments. Their research included night boat rides to capture and tag loons and brown pelicans. They recorded each bird’s measurements and took blood and feather samples to assess the long term effects that the oil spill had on their winter environments. Senior, Guadalupe Quirarte, spent 2 weeks in the Schoodic Education and Research Center located in the Acadia National Park of Maine. This remarkable program allowed her to work in the field each day studying intertidal organisms. Her group encountered porcupines, bald eagles and several porpoises during research. Regarding her expedition, Guadaulpe states, “…I was able to research the impact ocean acification has on rocky intertidal organisms and communities, especially organisms that have calcium carbonate shells. I truly have to say that this adventure in my life enriched and enhanced my understanding of environmental issues and stimulated my curiosity in science.”
SCHOOL BOARD MEETING DATE October 8, 2014 * October 22, 2014 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