Saturday, May 12, 2012
"Jose's Soldiers" work hard to raise money for 18-year-old Fairfax High School junior Jose Chojolan who became paralyzed from the neck down after having a block clot.
High school students are often perceived as being self-centered and cliquish. But one high school junior has got students at Fairfax High School rallying together for cause. Eighteen-year-old Jose Chojolan is shy Fairfax student who suffered an unimaginable tragedy. In January, after weeks of back pains and numbness, Jose underwent emergency surgery for a blood clot on his neck vertebrae. He survived the surgery, but is now paralyzed from the neck down. Since then, Fairfax students, dubbed “Jose’s Soldiers” by one teacher, have been working overtime to raise money for Jose. In addition to high medical expenses, Jose’s family is faced with finding an affordable, wheel-chair accessible apartment for the five-member family. So far, almost $80…
Friday, February 17, 2012
Despite hundreds of thousands of people included in District 4, Commissioner Lindsey Horvath says few West Hollywood residents have offered their feedback on the new district boundaries.
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Friday, February 17
How and where districts are drawn can shape communities' abilities to elect the representatives of their choice. Districts must be made as equal in population as possible and practicable so that communities have equal access to political representation. Every 10 years, districts are redrawn to account for population changes. A special commission made up of elected board members of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is tasked with advising the Los Angeles City Council on the creation and adoption of a redistricting plan. Fifteen people are appointed to the Commission: four by the Mayor of Los Angeles, four by the Los Angeles City Council President, and one by each of the seven LAUSD board members. I was appointed by former City…
Sunday, January 15, 2012
About 50 community participants help with landscaping, walkway repairs and painting at the the K-6th grade public school for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service.
School was out, but West Hollywood Elementary was bustling Saturday as parents, neighbors and city officials descended upon the campus with brooms, shovels and paint brushes in hand for the 2nd annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service. This year's project, put on by Friends of West Hollywood Elementary (FOWHE), with help from the Sunset Strip Businesses Association and the City of West Hollywood, saw nearly 50 volunteers painting benches, raking away trash and planting a hedge at the K-6th grade public school located at 970 N. Hammond St. off Sunset Boulevard. "We've been trying to get some curb appeal out here for a long time," said Stacy Klines, a parent at the school and former president of FOWHE. "This is exactly what I've been …
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West Hollywood Elementary School
970 Hammond St, West Hollywood, CA
/articles/photos-volunteers-makeover-weho-elementary
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Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Students' Lady Gaga portraits, displayed at Barneys, are being sold to raise funds for Larchmont Charter School.
If eyes are the windows to the soul, then the windows at Barneys New York reveal the hearts and minds of young school children. As part of the Wilshire Boulevard department store's annual charity work, 46 paintings by second-graders from the West Hollywood Larchmont Charter School are on exhibit and for sale to shoppers. "We invited the children of Larchmont Charter School-West Hollywood to paint a portrait of performer Lady Gaga [the recent recipient of Weho-based nonprofit Trevor Project's Hero Award], who has also established the anti-bullying Born This Way Foundation," said Donald Ahsue, creative director at Barneys. Since Larchmont Charter does not have regular art classes, the Beverly Hills designer apparel and accessory location …
Monday, December 26, 2011
Several hundred district students and their families volunteer to make bag lunches on Christmas Eve—an annual holiday tradition.
The Greater West Hollywood Food Coalition got some help Christmas Eve. About 300 Beverly Hills Unified School District students and their families made 1,300 lunches for the charity, said Laura Margo, head of community service for PTA at Beverly Vista School, which is where the event took place. Students assembled lunches that contained a sandwich, an apple, chips or a granola bar, a drink, a candy cane, two pieces of candy, a napkin and a handmade card. “I like helping the homeless, just like my mom does,” said Evan Baron, a first grade student at Beverly Vista, who was making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches alongside his mother, Glenna. The community came together to provide the needed items, Margo said. Each of the five schools …
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
This year marks the band’s 40th consecutive appearance in the world famous parade.
Fairfax High School musicians are joining more than 300 Los Angeles Unified School District students at Dodger Stadium Wednesday morning to preview their upcoming Rose Parade lineup for President Rick Jackson. "Jackson, a proud graduate of University High School in the LAUSD, will officially welcome the band to all of the Tournament of Roses events (the Rose Parade and Band Fest)," according to an LAUSD release. The All-District Marching Band, made up of 45 LA County high schools, will also salute 2012 Rose Parade Princess Sarah Zuna—the first student from the LAUSD to sit as a member of the coveted Rose Parade court. The band will celebrate 40 years appearing in the Tournament of Roses at the 123rd annual event on Jan. 2, 2012. Stay up to…
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
The state report concludes that the Division of the State Architect has limited authority to penalize school districts where buildings don't comply with safety law, but recommends changes.
Editor's Note: This article is a follow-up to a series of stories published in April, when Patch partnered with California Watch to report on earthquake safety in California public schools. The grades weren't high when a California State Auditor’s report found that some officials have failed to ensure the safety of school buildings if a big earthquake were to shake the West. The report, which was released last week, also found that the Division of the State Architect has limited authority to penalize school districts for not complying with the Field Act (the state's earthquake safety law for schools), according to California Watch, a group of journalists focused on investigative reporting in the state. "The [Division of the State …
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Several hundred people rally in Los Angeles to support public education, protest cuts.
A crowd of several hundred people that included parents and teachers from the Los Angeles Unified School District held a rally Tuesday at Los Angeles City Hall, then marched to LAUSD headquarters on Beaudry Avenue near downtown. "We are joining the Occupy movement, because we are the 99 percent. Our students are the 99 percent," said Marcy Winnograd, march leader and former Crenshaw High School teacher. Early Wednesday morning, officers from the Los Angeles School Police Department were trying to move protesters camped out in front of the school district headquarters to a different location nearby, City News Service reported. Follow West Hollywood Patch on Twitter and Facebook for more updates, tips and news.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
The popular flea market is a large monetary donor to the local high school.
Every Sunday, Fairfax High School's parking lot transforms into a maze of old book stalls, shabby chic furniture stands, handmade jewelry and craft booths. From 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., the lot at 7850 Melrose Ave. becomes a destination for vintage boots and fur, leather and jean jackets, t-shirts and dresses from all decades. "This is an eclectic, arty market," with over 200 vendors, said Denise Moses, manager of the Melrose Trading Post. "It has a great feel and a great vibe.” But beyond all of the great finds that draw people week after week to the market, Moses notes the real purpose is much bigger than simply selling vintage art, clothing and collectibles. The Trading Post launched in 1997 by the nonprofit Greenway Arts Alliance in tandem…
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Fairfax High School
7850 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA
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Wednesday, September 14, 2011
The resolution to proactively reduce anti-gay bullying, sponsored in part by board member Steve Zimmer, requires a district-wide LGBT inclusive curriculum.
The Los Angeles Unified School District is aiming to make schools safer for gay students. At its biweekly meeting held Tuesday afternoon, the seven-member LAUSD school board unanimously passed the “LGBT and Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Anti-Bullying Resolution,” which takes specific steps to ensure a safe environment for LGBT students. The resolution sponsored by Steve Zimmer, who represents the LAUSD 4th district that includes West Hollywood and much of Hollywood, will ensure an LGBT-inclusive curriculum. “As a teacher, I know how important it is for students and families to be included and recognized in school,” Zimmer said. “We’ve seen the cost of invisibility and rejection. Last year there was a spate of suicides across the …
Ali
5:21 pm on Monday, February 20, 2012
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