EL SEGUNDO HERALD November 14, 2019 Page 5
School Spotlight
Sports
Water Polo Season Ends
in Quarterfinals
By Gregg McMullin
The El Segundo High School boys water
polo team has a storied history. With 13 CIF
championships to the program’s credit and
countless league championships, including this
season’s Ocean League title, the Eagles were
set to make a run at another championship.
They breezed through the first two rounds
against some tough competition, but fell in the
quarterfinals to the top-seeded team.
You can bet that when El Segundo athletic
teams advance to the CIF playoffs, former
players will be there in support and it doesn’t
matter what the sport is. Jim Puffer is part of
El Segundo water polo royalty and attended
his alma mater’s playoff games. As an Eagle
he was a two-time All-American, two-time
All-CIF selection and is a member of the El
Segundo High School Hall of Fame. Dr. Puffer
attended his former team’s playoff games
and was impressed with the Eagles and their
coaching staff.
In the first round El Segundo faced Arcadia
and an up-tempo style of play. Eagle first-year
head coach Tyler Ormsby thought the energy
level of his team lacked something in the opening
moments. That led to an early score by
the Apaches and a 1-0 deficit for the Eagles.
Mason Jaeger, who scored a game-high eight
goals, found himself in front of the net, spun and
directed the ball past Arcadia goalie Chris Harrington
to even the game at 1-1. Brian Schodorf’s
goal on the next possession gave the Eagles
the lead for good on their way to a 16-8 win.
The energy level picked up on both sides of
the pool and it showed. Jaden Vanderwoude and
Paxton Fastman each scored first quarter goals
to give El Segundo a 4-1 lead. In the second
period, the Eagles took a 9-4 lead with goals
two by Jaeger and Vanderwoude and one by
Schodorf. “A one-goal deficit wasn’t a concern,
but maybe a wakeup call,” said Coach Ormsby.
The Eagles’ unselfish play continued the
second half with crisp passing. Early in the third
period, Ryan Whalen fed Jaeger for another
goal and moments later Vanderwoude took a
pass from Ethan Kelch and backed it in for
an 11-4 lead. The Eagles would go on to win
easily and advance to the second round and
face Thousand Oaks.
The Eagles played host to Thousand Oaks
in the second round and came away with a
hard-fought and physical 12-9 victory for their
Eagle goalie Caden Kastigar made 12 saves against Thousand Oaks.
See Eagles, page 15
ESUSD
Board Views State of the School
Update from El Segundo High
By Duane Plank
Tuesday evening the five-member El
Segundo School Board viewed and listened
to the State of the School presentation
from El Segundo High School Principal
Dr. Melissa Gooden and Assistant Principal
Dr. Logan Fox. The 20-minute, data-driven
presentation highlighted past successes,
as well as noting current progress plus
sharing goals and action plans for the 2019/20
schoolyear.
Gooden and Lee began their presentation
by noting the high school’s mission statement,
which reads in part that El Segundo Unified
School District “will provide students with
the necessary skills and knowledge to become
lifelong learners, effective communicators
and socially productive citizens who are
prepared for life choices and challenges in
a global society.”
The 2018/19 accomplishments included
accolades as a California Distinguished
School, the California Civic Award of Merit,
and Apple Distinguished School. Gooden
and Lee reported academic data, noting 100
percent 2018/19 graduation numbers with
97 percent of seniors accepted into either a
two- or four-year college. Other data shared
included the analytic results of the relatively
new California Dashboard, and top-notch
District SAT and ACT scores.
Next the presenters looked at 2018/19
attendance data -- portraying a very slight
increase in the cumulative enrollment, a
reduction in the number of students with
10 or more absences, and a decline in
what is termed the “chronic absentee rate.”
Discipline data showed suspensions were
trending downwards, as were the number
of days students were suspended. The only
negative with the discipline data: there were
two expulsions from school in 2018/19,
when there had been none the previous four
school years.
Student, parental and teacher survey results
reflected that 86 percent of the students felt
satisfied with school campus safety. Ninetyeight
percent of the teachers who responded
to the survey had positive feelings about
on-campus safety.
Next steps include ramping up metrics
on specified test scores and decreasing the
chronic absenteeism rate. Another major
objective is to continue refining the
District’s graduate profile and social/emotional
learning programs.
Superintendent Dr. Melissa Moore praised
the strides made at the high school, noting how
testing metrics have consistently improved.
“I am extremely proud of the faculty at El
Segundo High School. This doesn’t happen
by accident,” she said.
El Segundo Education Foundation (Ed!)
CEO Carol Pirsztuk and Student Representative
to the Board Ella Tichy also made brief
reports, with Pirsztuk thanking the supporters
who participated in the recent SKECHERS
walk and touting the upcoming Ladies’ Night
Out extravaganza. Tichy gave a shout-out to
outgoing football coach Steve Shevlin.
Post-special presentations, the members
then tackled the consent agenda items.
Among the items passed Tuesday evening:
an El Segundo Middle School field trip to
Catalina Island; an El Segundo High boys
basketball team excursion that will take place
over the Christmas holidays; an agreement
with West Ed to administer the California
Healthy Kids Survey; approval of a consultant
agreement that will provide a professional
development opportunity for K-second grade
teachers; approval of a proposal by PBK
Architects to provide design services for the
playfield project at Richmond Street School;
approval of an agreement with Pacific Coast
Entertainment to upgrade lighting elements
and improve safety rigging at the Performing
Arts Center; and an agreement with DS
Construction for the installation of a water
bottle filling station at the middle school.
The middle school’s Catalina Island Marine
Institute trip is set to begin on Friday, May
8 and culminate on May 10.. Approximately
60 students are expected to participate, with
priority given to eighth graders. Students
will have the opportunity to participate in a
variety of biology-related activities, including
snorkeling among kelp plants and interacting
with ocean touch tanks. The cost is $375
per student.
The high school boys basketball team
will participate in the West Coast Jamboree
Basketball tournament that will tip off in
Concord, CA. on Dec.26 and run through
Dec. 30.
Next on the agenda, the Board accepted
gifts, including $4,125 from the El Segundo
Kiwanis club. The members also approved
calendars for the 2020/21 and 2021/22 school
years, as well as an affiliation agreement with
Emerson College of Los Angeles that will
allow the District to provide opportunities
for graduate students in clinical fieldwork
experience in the area of speech language
pathology.
The information pending action items all
involved possible amendments to the collective
bargaining agreement between the District,
California School Employees Association
(CSEA) and El Segundo Teachers Association
(ESTA). Public hearings on those amendments
will be held at the Dec. 10 Board meeting.
Moore then highlighted upcoming District
events including the Nov. 19 screening of
the documentary LIKE that will take place
at the Performing Arts Center, and the start
of Thanksgiving break on Nov. 25.
Director of Human Resources and Facilities
Dr. Dylan Farris emailed that the District has
been conducting the first round of interviews
for the vacant positions at El Segundo Middle
School (principal) and Center Street Elementary
School (assistant principal).
During her comments, Board President
Nancy Cobb noted that this would be her
final meeting helming the group. She will pass
the leadership baton to Dr. Jeanie Nishime.
The next regularly scheduled meeting El
Segundo School Board meeting is on the
calendar for Dec. 10. •
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