EL SEGUNDO HERALD April 30, 2015 Page 3 By Melissa Moore, Ed.D. , Superintendent of El Segundo Unified School District In December 2014, El Segundo Unified School District successfully obtained a license from the State of California for the Eagles’ Nest Preschool. The preschool program originally operated under the umbrella of a parentcooperative preschool under adult education regulations. Over time, the program gradually evolved into a regular preschool program. As part of the restructuring, Eagles’ Nest Preschool will now have a preschool director who will supervise the preschool program and be readily available to meet with parents throughout the school day. The addition of the preschool director is a welcome addition to our District program. Erin Goss, President of the Parent Teacher Organization at Eagles’ Nest shared: “the director position at Eagles’ Nest Preschool “Children should build school readiness and lifelong educational joy through play and meaningful attachments and interactions with the teachers in their programs.” is an added bonus for students and parents. While we can always receive feedback about our individual students from the wonderful teachers, Eagles’ Nest now has a unifying voice for the entire program.” The District feels fortunate to have hired a new preschool director who has vast experience and expertise working with young children. ESUSD’s new preschool director Guadalupe Grijalva was born and raised in Los Angeles. She attended and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Child Development from Mount St. Mary’s University. She has been working in the field of Early Childhood Education for over 18 years. She began her experience as the primary caregiver of infants and toddlers and worked her way up to varying supervisory and management positions throughout her career. She has worked for a corporate sponsored preschool (Mattel Child Development Center), with at risk parenting youth (St Anne’s), and low income families in the San Fernando Valley and greater Los Angeles area. In addition, she has managed the resource and referral program of one of Southern California’s 10 resource agencies (Children’s Home Society of CA). Her philosophy about children and families in preschool programs is that the preschool experience should be fun and memorable. Children should build school readiness and lifelong educational joy through play and meaningful attachments and interactions with the teachers in their programs. Guadalupe indicated, “Eagles’ Nest is a dearly loved preschool by the local families and we have a great service reputation so most of our enrollments are from family referrals. The children enjoy a beautiful campus that enhances the creative experiences provided by caring teaching professionals. Families become involved in their children’s learning by participating in Eagles’ Nest events and celebrations. The PTO group is dedicated to supporting Eagles’ Nest Preschool through their planned social events and fundraisers. We have all the ingredients needed to give preschool children in our community a strong jump into learning through play and school readiness.” Parents should feel a genuine partnership with the program and set goals and seek assistance with the knowledge that we are all working together for the success of each child as an individual. Every child has a special gift to share and it is a great privilege to support and nurture that gift. PTO President Goss stated, “Guadalupe has already been very responsive to suggestions from parents and staff, but she also Letters School Spotlight Burkley & Brandlin LLP A T T O R N E Y S A T L A W Living Trusts/Wills, Probate, Employment Law, Personal Injury Trust and Estates Litigation, Business Litigation, Civil Litiga tion 310-540-6000 Lifetime El Segundo Residents *AV Rated (Highest) Martindale - Hubbell / **Certified Specialist Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law, State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization Brian R. Brandlin • Bruce R. Brandlin • Christopher P. Brandlin Douglass M O R T U A R Y “Our Family Serving Yours Since 1954” B U R I A L - C R E M A T I O N - W O R L D W I D E T R A N S F E R P E T M E M O R I A L P R O D U C T S 500 EAST IMPERIAL AVENUE EL SEGUNDO, CALIFORNIA 90245 Telephone (310) 640-9325 • Fax (310) 640-0778 • FD658 El Segundo Host Town for the Special Olympics World Games By Cece Stewart, Sophomore at ESHS Something exciting is coming to El Segundo this summer. We are going to be a host town for the 2015 Special Olympics World Games. What does this mean? It means we will be hosting 100 athletes in our town prior to the launch of the games. We will be hosting the athletes around the clock from July 21-24, and the games officially start Saturday, July 25th at The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Special Olympics were founded in 1958 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver. The Special Olympics is a global movement to empower those with intellectual disabilities to feel accepted and valued in their communities. Eunice created the games in the 1950s and 1960s to show how unfairly people with special needs were treated. She created a summer day camp for kids with intellectual disabilities, and she observed what they could do in sports, instead of what they could not do. The first Special Olympics were held in Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. 1,000 athletes were participating at this brand new important event. The Special Olympics mission is to create a better world where acceptance is possible. People with intellectual disabilities can discover their strengths and abilities, and can reach the confidence they deserve. They can inspire people through their success. There are about 20 million people with intellectual disabilities in the world. Hopefully, through this event, the athletes can inspire everyone to feel confident and reach their goals. The Special Olympics focus on what their athletes CAN do, not what they can’t do. The people at the Special Olympics believe that sports can teach important lessons. That their athletes can train for a goal, and it will help them dream. Struggling helps lead to determination. Through support of families, coaches, volunteers, and many more, the athletes are able to reach their dreams. The purity of sports is explicit in this event. The athletes train themselves to truly give it their all. As you can tell through attending an ESHS sports event, sports help people come together. Whether it be being on a team and getting close with those on your team; or being a cheering fan, and meeting other fans; or being a parent, and crying as you see your son catch his first football, and getting close with the other crying mother next to you. This is relevant in the Special Olympics. The athletes respect each other, and there is no negativity. For those with intellectual disabilities who have been vulnerable, ignored, or neglected, the Special Olympics is a place where they can learn to love themselves, and have hope, and become part of their communities. They are able to reach the acceptance they deserve. So get ready, because the Special Olympics will be in Los Angeles this summer, and El Segundo will play a huge role in their empowerment. To become a volunteer for the Host Town activities, or to donate to the cost of the Host Town events, please contact William Yarroll at ugotkids@yahoo.com • Is It Worth It? Unless the citizens of El Segundo act quickly, the Lakes Golf Facility will be lost. The analysis made by an independent consultant, as a result of Top Golf sweetening its offer to the city after widespread community outrage over its proposal, has concluded the project will generate an additional $250k in annual revenue for the city and has gained momentum as a result. The question for El Segundo residents is: is this small increase worth the sacrifice of this jewel of a community asset for FIFTY years? Does this reflect your values and aspirations for your Parks and Rec facilities? What happens if your baseball fields attract a similar kind of offer? Do you prefer to have a bar instead of a place where kids thrive safely? The City sees an easy solution. It is not a good solution. It solves very little of the City’s woes. There are significant assumptions in the financial analysis that should be challenged that lead to its rosy conclusion. There is considerable risk in the Top Golf business model. It is a fad that will fade quickly just as Lucky Strike, a similar business model in bowling, is closing stores now that the novelty has worn off. The Citizens voted out Mr. Fisher, the lead advocate for the project. They now need to be clear, loud and unambiguous in their opposition to this bad idea. – Chuck Schreiner Fond Memories On April 7th friends, family and community gathered to remember David Paul Nordquist. The “relational magic of David” was wonderfully apparent as people laughed, hugged and shared stories of their friend. David’s family would like to once again extend a heartfelt thank you to Kevin Mortesen, Brenda Newman, Air Tahiti Nui, and the Standard Station for organizing, sponsoring and hosting this wonderful event. And to all of the special people that took time to celebrate the life of David Paul Nordquist with us, thank you for your memorials, kind words, and for sharing memories. – Laurie Cullen • Meet the Director of the Eagles’ Nest Preschool Guadalupe Grijalva, director of Eagle’s Nest Preschool See Director, page 14
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