(Photo – ColoradoBlvd.net)
News from South Pasadena Unified.
By News Desk
(L-R) SPMS students Carlos Liu, Leo Yang, Eliot Yang, Andrea Cano Prieto, and Li-heng (Emily) Chen display certificates celebrating their English language proficiency (Photo – SPUSD)
SPMS Students Achieve English Language Proficiency
On October 3, 2024, South Pasadena Middle School (SPMS) hosted an English Language Development (ELD) Night for parents and families of English learners. During the event, families enjoyed dinner together and a presentation from SPMS ELD teachers, Mrs. Atoyan and Mrs. Ryu, highlighting the ELD program and roadmap to reclassification. Students were recognized for reclassifying, which means they acquired English language proficiency and their designation has changed from English learner status to fluent English proficient status.
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Students participate in a tug-of-war contest as part of the annual SPHS Color Day Assembly(Photo – SPUSD)
2024 SPHS Color Day
The annual SPHS Color Day took place on Friday, October 4, 2024. The entire community, including students, faculty, staff, and administrators, came to school dressed in creative costumes featuring the school colors, orange and black. Color Day, the largest school spirit event of the year, encourages students to work together and participate in community-building activities.
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Monterey Hills fifth graders connect with students in Argentina (Photo – SPUSD)
Monterey Hills Fifth Graders Connect with Students in Argentina
Students in Sarah Howard’s fifth-grade Spanish dual immersion class at Monterey Hills are participating in Global Connections, a program offered by Level Up Village that promotes cultural sharing and collaboration. Howard’s class has been paired with a class in Argentina, and students from both schools will be sharing videos about local bodies of water. water use, and water conservation in their communities.
Students exchange videos asynchronously every week through a secure platform. All videos are monitored by the teachers and these guided interactions allow students to learn about a curricular topic, as well as share their culture, learn about each other’s lives, and develop intercultural communication skills through authentic interaction with their peers. Videos created in both English and Spanish will be shared between the classes over the next two months.
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SPHS student Mateo Salas identifies the invasive Tree of Heaven plant in a South Pasadena yard. (Photo – Ryan Long)
Students collect samples of invasive species in South Pasadena
SPHS Biomedical Sciences teacher Ryan Long wasn’t sure how the students would feel about the hands-on assignment he presented as part of the Ecology unit in his classes: bring in a seed or seedling of the Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima) and include a photo that you personally took with the location of the plant. Soon after, in backyards throughout South Pasadena, students dove into the research–identifying, and collecting samples of the plant that appears all over the San Gabriel Valley.
Mr. Long did not expect the students’ enthusiasm and the effects their assignment could have on the community. The Tree of Heaven plant is an invasive species that is nearly impossible to control.
The students’ findings will be published as part of a database used by the State to eradicate the plant. Plus, students will be adding their photos to Google’s Teachable Machine, which helps create a machine-learning model to see how well artificial intelligence does in identifying the plant. The students’ photos and locations also will be added to iNaturalist for public research/use.
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More than 25 SPHS students visited Blue Robotics in Torrance (Photo – SPUSD)
Day of Exploration at Blue Robotics
On a recent sunny Friday morning, more than 25 SPHS students and two teachers set off for Torrance, Calif. where they dove into the manufacturing process at Blue Robotics, a company known for creating underwater robots and marine technology.
With background and steps of the manufacturing process provided by the company’s mechanical engineers, the group was able to get a closer look at what it takes to create the company’s thrusters and ROVs (remote operational vehicles). Students agreed the highlight of the day was the opportunity to drive the underwater robots and save the submerged toy ships.
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