LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Visits LAUSD Schools
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RFK AMBASSADOR GLOBAL LEADERSHIP AT
THE SAN DIEGO MAYOR’S CUP
GRANADA HILLS CHARTER HS IS THE
NATIONAL 2015 ACADECA CHAMPION
LA84 FOUNDATION MS DISTRICT-WIDE
SOFTBALL
BEYOND THE BELL
Three lucky schools received a much an3cipated visit by Kareem Abdul-‐Jabbar. The former UCLA Bruin and NBA’s All-‐Time leading scorer was there to promote his 8th book, Stealing the Game. In addi3on to being a basketball legend, Kareem is a dis3nguished author and historian. Packed gyms and auditoriums enthusias3cally awaited the opportunity to hear his message, inspiring children to pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) careers, and mo3va3ng youth to find their educa3onal calling.
Woodlawn Elementary in the city of Bell was the first stop on the tour. While students were not born when he was the captain of the “show-‐3me Lakers,” and may not have known his significance to LA basketball, parents and teachers knew and made sure the students were informed. The introductory video highligh3ng his UCLA and Laker career wowed everyone before he came out to loud cheers. This scene was echoed at 9th Street Elementary near downtown Los Angeles and Kingsley Elementary in Hollywood.
Abdul-Jabbar answering questions from students.
LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
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IN THIS ISSUE
All three schools par3cipated in the STEM based environmental educa3on program Camp Skyhook at Clear Creek Outdoor Educa3on Center. The collabora3on between the Beyond the Bell Branch and Kareem’s Skyhook Founda3on is dedicated to providing students access to high quality STEM programs that engage children in the scien3fic inquiry process while providing a natural landscape in the Los Angeles Na3onal Forest that serves as an outdoor laboratory.
The Kingsley students asked insighWul ques3ons. “What’s your inspira7on for being an author?”,“What advice would you give someone who wants to publish?”,“What obstacles did you face and how did you overcome them in school?” At this last visit, the school made sure to have a basketball hoop in the auditorium. Kareem asked, “Would anyone like to learn how to shoot a Skyhook?” The loud cheers led to three students being selected. As balls went in the hoop, you could see that everyone felt the inspira3on.
AYer each assembly, Kareem had a small round table session with Camp Skyhook par3cipants. At 9th Street ES, four students pointed out how their experience at camp made math and science meaningful. Photos were taken. Souvenirs, basketballs and pictures were signed. At all three schools, hope and mo3va3on was abundant.
The Beyond the Bell family wishes Mr. Abdul-Jabbar a speedy recovery.
Camp Skyhook 1
San Diego Mayor’s Cup 3
Los Angeles Kings 4Elementary School Unit
MS Softball Tournament 5LA84 Foundation/BTB
Drumline 6Music and Entertainment
Science Fair 7Migrant Education Program
Decathlon 2015 7Granada Hills Charter HS
Health FairReady, Set, Go! 8
Heroic Efforts 8Elementary School Unit
Robotic Program 9BTB/EduCare Afterschool
Civic Center 10
LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
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On March 28 two CyberPatriot teams from RFK Ambassador Global Leadership (RFK), one middle school and one high school, traveled to San Diego to take part in the final compe33on of the San Diego Mayor’s Cyber Cup. The Mayor’s Cyber Cup is the oldest computer compe33on in California. To qualify for a berth in this pres3gious compe33on the two teams par3cipated in three previous rounds of compe33on.
The compe33on is open to all San Diego High Schools, but the LAUSD did so well that they were invited to play at the Mayor’s Cyber Cup finals. This is the first 3me teams from Los Angeles were invited to par3cipate and perhaps most important, the Sapphire team from RFK was the first middle school team ever to win a place at the finals. Team members Geonhwi Kim, Min Kim, Isaq Kim, Grecia Melgar, and Chris3nah Kim have bright futures ahead of them.
On the day of the compe33on the two teams had to get up at the crack of dawn and get on a bus for San Diego. Many people consider CyberPatriot like a sport, and just like a soccer or basketball team going to a tournament, the two teams had to get up very early to travel down south. The final compe33on was held at the San Diego Supercompu3ng Center on the campus of University of California in San Diego. It was an impressive venue and the ten teams were ready to play.
It was a long and hard compe33on, slightly different from the CyberPatriot rounds in the Air Force Associa3on compe33on. This was a challenge for the teams, but at the end of the day our middle school team had won 4th place – bea3ng most of the high school teams there. It was a great triumph. This is a team that will go on to compete in the high school compe33on, which shows promise to one day go to the CyberPatriot finals. They are a na3onal champion in the making, and our hopes go with them, for they are the future.
San Diego Mayor’s Cyber CupBeyond the Bell/RFK Ambassador Global Leadership Team
LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
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On April 16, 2015, Beyond the Bell’s Elementary Unit, in partnership with the L.A. Kings Chariot, hosted a street hockey tournament for sixteen elementary schools. The majority of the schools have been a part of the Kings' community outreach partnership for the past three years. This single elimina3on tournament was played amidst the ambiance of L.A. Live’s Center Plaza, which provided a magnificent backdrop for the tournament.
The Kings Chariot and Ice Crew worked with BTB’s Elementary School Unit to ensure the students enjoyed every second of this experience. There were two rinks set up and both rinks provided nonstop ac3on. Even the Kings' mascot, Bailey, took part in the fes3vi3es. Bailey’s presence was a delighWul surprise for all of the students. He arrived and immediately joined one game aYer another. Bailey also took 3me to pose for a few photos with students.
AYer receiving visits from the Beyond the Bell Elementary Unit’s hockey traveling program and prac3cing on their own, this culmina3ng event allowed the students to have a forum to represent their schools and challenge teams from other school sites. AYer a couple of hours of heated compe33on, Sheridan Elementary School won and became Beyond the Bell’s 2015 Hockey Invita3onal Champions.
Congratula3ons to each of the schools that par3cipated in this tournament: 2nd St. ES, 28th St. ES, Albion ES, Arlington Heights ES, Bridge ES, Dr. Sammy Lee ES, Frank Del Olmo ES, Hobart ES, Hoover ES, Leo Poli3 ES, Los Angeles ES, Norwood ES, Plasencia ES, Rosemont ES, Sheridan ES, and Trinity ES.
The Los Angeles Kings And the Elementary School Unit at LA Live
LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
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Boys’/Co-Ed Division Girls’ Division
1st Place-Porter MS 1st Place-Nightingale MS 2nd Place-Burroughs MS 2nd Place- White MS 3rd Place-Dodson MS 3rd Place-Byrd MS
4th Place-Nightingale MS 4th Place-Burroughs MS
Most Outstanding Player Awards
Girls’ Division: Desiree Ramirez –
White MS
Boys’/Co-Ed Division: Michael Harrington -
Porter MS
LA 84 Foundation/Beyond the Bell Middle School Softball Tournament
This year’s annual Beyond the Bell Branch/LA84 Founda3on Middle School District-‐wide SoYball Tournament was held on Saturday, April 11 at Webster Middle School. This event was the culmina3on of the soYball season and each team’s skills were definitely on display. From February through April, teams from all 95 middle schools competed in on site and Saturday regional play tournaments. Teams then advanced with the hopes of compe3ng in the District-‐wide Championship. During the event, four Boys’/Co-‐Ed and four Girls’ teams competed in tournament play in order to be crowned this year’s champions.
This year, in addi3on to team awards, two individual “Most Outstanding Player” award recipients were selected. These were awarded to players whose outstanding sportsmanship, leadership, and overall performance were on display during the championship event.
Once the tournament was completed, there were a few milestones achieved by par3cipa3ng teams. We are proud to share that this is the first District-‐wide Championship for the Nigh3ngale Girls’ team, as well as the second consecu3ve championship for the Porter Boys’/Co-‐Ed team. We congratulate them and all par3cipants for their hard work and commitment throughout the en3re soYball season and look forward to next year’s event.
LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
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Beyond the Bell Music and Entertainment Educa3on has been suppor3ng middle and high school drum lines for several years. We have been working with leading manufactures in the percussion industry such as Remo, Inc. (maker of fine drum heads and percussion instruments), and Innova3ve Percussion (maker of fine s3cks and mallets). Both companies have partnered with Beyond the Bell for over 15 years and graciously donate ar3sts’ 3me to work with teachers and students; they also donate some of their products to schools. Drumlines across the District have been in full swing at various events. A majority of the drumline programs take place aYer school either indoors or outdoors depending on the event.
On Saturday April 18, 2015, drum lines from El Sereno MS and Noble MS as well as Lincoln HS, Wilson HS, Verdugo Hills HS and Granada Hills Charter HS competed at the American Drum Line Associa3on. The schools proudly represented our District among the sixty other schools that were compe3ng.
On Saturday, May 9, Beyond the Bell will also be sponsoring a Drumline and Drum Major Exhibi3on at Franklin High School. Several high schools and middle schools will be performing in front of adjudicators for comments and fun, showcasing what they have been working on this semester. Please contact Beyond the Bell for more informa3on.
We are also proud to announce that Beyond the Bell has partnered with the University of California, Los Angeles Arts and Healing to bring “Beat the Odds” Drumming Program to select students at Charles Drew Middle School. The program will consist of twenty middle school students who will prac3ce aYer-‐school with a trained instructor to deliver curriculum that will deal with the social emo3onal well being of students as well as having fun playing the drums. The students will be performing at the House of Blues on Saturday, May 9, 2015.
Drumlines Music and Entertainment Education
LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
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Migrant Education ProgramScience Project
The classes for the Migrant Educa3on Program at San Fernando Elementary School are held aYer school two days a week from 3-‐4:30 p.m. Students in grades kindergarten through fiYh grade are studying electricity. They are working together in teams on a science project that has their full anen3on. The study of electricity has mo3vated young inventors to write about their predic3ons and describe the experiment to prove their hypothesis.
Students made circuit boards and constructed electric cars with baneries, tongue depressors, and wooden wheels. There was great excitement when the 3me came to race their cars down the empty school corridors. There were screams of delight when their linle cars took off down the hallway track.
There was frustra3on when the experiment to find how many baneries it would take to light a light bulb was not successful. There was much to talk about, write about and think about before their next science session. The project is mul3disciplinary with opportuni3es for oral and wrinen language, math, and science. It is an opportunity for the students and teachers to enjoy an experience not usually offered during the regular school program.
The Academic Decathlon team from Granada Hills Charter High School won the United States Academic Decathlon Championship in Garden Grove. They competed against 45 other teams from across the U.S. as well as from China and the United Kingdom. Their score of 53,592.2 was one of the highest ever. Team members Fernando Sanchez, Jasmin Kim, and Tanthai Pongs3en, had the highest individual scores in their categories and Fernando had the highest individual score. Team members won fiYy medals. The team members are Irene Lee, Fernando Sanchez, Peter Cho, Jenean Docter, Jasmin Kim, Natalie Gonzalez, Tanthai Pongs3en, and Jorge Zepeda. The Coaches are Man Arnold and Jon Sturtevant.
Also, four individual students from Garfield High School were invited to compete, even though their team did not qualify. Alfonso Caballero, Wendy Olvera, Joseph Nabor, and Brian Rios par3cipated and won more than a dozen medals.
Granada Hills Charter HS Academic Decathlon National Champions
2015
LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
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The Beyond the Bell Branch Elementary School Unit would like to recognize Alexus Navarro-‐Newer for her heroic efforts on the evening of March 26, 2015 at Point Fermin Elementary. As Alexus facilitated ac3vi3es on the playground, she heard a cracking sound from one of the nearby trees. Alexus then used the emergency whistle, and gathered the students, before the tree branch came crashing down onto the playground. Due to her diligent efforts all of our students were safe, and for that we are grateful.
Heroic Efforts
On April 11, Hoover Elementary hosted its 6th Annual Hoover Street Health Fair, a community event intended to promote health and fitness. Ready-‐Set-‐Go! (RSG) was once again invited to par3cipate in this important event. “We’re happy that RSG was able to again collaborate with our school. With RSG and other partners working as a team this event once again was a huge success!” said Martha Avelar, Principal of Hoover Elementary One of the ways RSG par3cipated was with an ac3vity booth where students learned the importance of dental hygiene. Students created a large toothbrush with construc3on paper and other art supplies and then labeled them with dental terms describing how brushing helped their teeth stay healthy. Other fun ac3vi3es RSG provided were dancing and other exercises which illustrated the importance of staying ac3ve.
“As always, RSG was happy to be invited and be involved in this community event. We also feel that it’s important to inform students and parents of the importance of health and fitness,” says Jimena Toscano, RSG Area Program Supervisor.
Annual Hoover Street Health FairReady, Set, Go!
LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
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In partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) Beyond the Bell Branch (BTB), EduCare has had the privilege of providing aYer school services for LAUSD schools across the District, including daily aYer school management at fiYeen high schools and one middle school.
We are par3cularly excited to report on EduCare’s AYer School Robo3cs Program—now at eight of our fiYeen partnering high schools, which effec3vely embodies many mul3faceted learning goals. From incorpora3ng the shared principles of posi3ve student development, to providing engaging, hands-‐on STEM educa3on, to suppor3ng the linguis3c and social development of English Language Learners, the Robo3cs Program helps students realize their full poten3al on a myriad of levels.
On March 14, twelve EduCare Robo3cs teams traveled to Dorsey High School to showcase their engineering and computer science skills in the Doolinle Ins3tute’s Mini-‐Urban Challenge—a na3onal compe33on sponsored by the United States Air Force Research Laboratory. The compe33on challenges high school students to design, build, and operate a robo3c car to autonomously navigate a model city.
Each of EduCare’s teams achieved significant successes in their own way— unique to their own journey and set of challenges. For the Bell High School Eaglebots, one of our youngest robo3cs’ teams and newcomers to the compe33on, success came from building confidence in their abili3es and having an ac3ve role in shaping their learning experience. Congratula3ons to all par3cipants.
EduCare After School Robotic Teams
LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
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Beyond the Bell is a tax exempt organization that relies on limited state funding, applicable grants, and donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations for its programs. Support from organizations and individuals like you help us provide students with safe environments and engaging activities that support academic achievement, and promote social and physical development beyond the regular school day in the presence of responsible and caring adults. We cherish all contributions. When you give a donation of $50.00 or more you will receive an official BTB lapel pin as a symbol of our gratitude.
Donate Online or by Mail
You can donate by selecting one of the following methods:Online: Go to: www.btb.lausd.net.
Click on “DONATE”
All transactions are securely processed by Paypal. Donations are tax-deductible.
By Mail: Send your check made payable to Auxiliary Services Trust Fund.
Mail to: Beyond the Bell333 S. Beaudry Avenue, 29th Floor
Los Angeles, CA. 90017Attn: Donations
Upon receipt of your donation, you will receive a letter of thanks and receipt for your tax purposes.
Thank you for your support!
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requirements are met and regular school activities are not disrupted. Supervision is also provided for the
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Beyond the Bell Mission:
The mission of Beyond the Bell is to ensure that all children and youth in LAUSD have access to high quality, safe, academic, enrichment, and recreation programs that inspire learning and achievement beyond the regular school day.
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