EL SEGUNDO HERALD November 21, 2019 Page 5
School Spotlight
Village
LIQUOR
Sports
Fine Cigars • Craft Beer • Spirits
Happy Thanksgiving
Come by for Some
Great Holiday Bargains!
Belvedere 750 ml
Was $33.99 Now $29.99
Buffalo Trace 750 ml
Was $29.99 Now $25.99
Jim Beam 750 ml
Was $19.99 Now $15.99
Makers Mark 750 ml
Was $33.99 Now $27.99
Jack Daniels 750 ml
Was $25.99 Now $21.99
Blue Ice 750 ml
Was $24.99 Now $19.99
Santa Margarita 750 ml
Was $29.99 Now $24.99
Hornitos 750 ml
Was $29.99 Now $23.99
Absolute Vodka 750 ml
Was $24.99 Now $19.99
506 Center St., El Segundo • 310-322-2030
WUSD
Wiseburn Board Meets After the
Tragic Saugus High Shooting
By Duane Plank
Less than 12 hours after another deadly
school-site shooting, the Wiseburn School
Board members met to view special presentations
from tech guru Andy de Seriere
and Wiseburn Education Foundation (WEF)
Executive Director Melanie Mack.
Board President JoAnne Kaneda solemnly
recognized the school shooting that occurred
early that Thursday morning at Saugus High
School and resulted in the deaths of two
teenagers, as well as the gunman. Three
other Saugus High students were also injured
in the incident. Kaneda quietly offered the
Board’s condolences to all involved in the
most recent campus tragedy.
De Seriere and his group were the first
presenters. The R.H Dana Middle School
offers a Project Lead the Way (PLTW) program
that, said de Seriere, gives “students
the opportunity to engage in project-based,
real-world challenges that emphasize science,
technology, engineering and mathematics
(STEM). The Wiseburn Unified School District
PLTW program has mushroomed from 65
students who were enrolled in 2011 to the
600 enrolled in grades 6-8 this school year.
De Sierre noted that, with the District surrounded
by so many engineering jobs, the
goal is to find ways to help students consider
STEM pathways and career options. Aiding
him in the presentation was Da Vinci High
student Winston Bird, who serves as a mentor
to the Dana budding engineers and was
recently promoted to the Da Vinci robotics
team, leading the CAD department. They
detailed a recent Dana lunchtime competition
that drew 30 entrants, with the students
asked to complete a computer-assisted design
project (CAD) within the allotted timeframe.
Fifteen students made it to the finals of the
competition. The first place winner was Cassie
Vizuete. Nathan Escolero came in second,
with Crisanto Carillo third and Sheraz Fayyaz
finishing fourth. The students gave a quick
demonstration of their CAD skills to the
Board. Said de Seriere of his PLTW students,
‘I can’t wait to see what they can do.”
Next up was Mack, who delivered a
$40,000 oversized check to the Board that
will utilized for teacher grants. Prior to the
meeting, Superintendent Dr. Blake Silvers
stressed the important work that the WEF
does. “The WEF partnership is a real integral
partnership for us,” he said. “It provides
opportunities for teachers and staff members
to be able to fund innovative practices.” He
mentioned Science, Technology, Engineering,
Arts and Mathematics, citing STEAM labs
and initiatives that are often made possible
by WEF fundraising efforts. Silvers added
that WEF has done a great job on focusing
on the Arts. “WEF is a real wonderful part
of our community,” he said.
Upcoming meetings, Silvers said, are set
to focus on the District’s Long-Term Facilities
Master Plan, which he said should be
“wrapped up by March.” He emphasized
that the District and Board will then look
towards addressing Wiseburn facility needs.
During Board member reports, the main
theme was congratulating the PLTW students
and addressing school-site safety issues. Dr.
Neil Goldman noted Kaneda’s initial thoughts.
“Thank you for your opening remarks about
Saugus…Safety remains our main priority,”
he said. Clerk Roger Banuelos spoke about
District funding, how competitive it is to
get construction bond money and that the
District needs to continually revisit safety
procedures. Israel Mora noted how “Saugus
hits close to home.” He called the shooting
a “very scary event,” while urging that less
talk and more action is needed.
Kaneda mentioned how the whole Saugus
event lasted just 16 seconds, saying, “Not to
take us down a horrible path, but we need
to talk about this with our kids.” She said
there are a lot of side effects to school-site
violence. “Safety is the priority. Kaneda
stressed the need of “building awareness and
dealing with this sort of behavior. “
In his remarks, Silvers reiterated the critical
importance to secure school sites, noting
it is in the “forefront of our minds every
day,” and the need to continually advocate
to implement strategies encompassing mental
health interventions.
Next the Board participated in a discussion
centering around field and gym usage. As with
most coastal cities in the South Bay, field
We all have a lot of reasons to be thankful and grateful.
Take some time to count your blessings and share
what you’re grateful for with your community.
Email us at web@heraldpublications.com. We will publish all
your answers in our Thanksgiving issue on November 28.
Lady Eagles Look to
Repeat in Hoops
By Gregg McMullin
The high school basketball season officially
got underway this past Monday. The
El Segundo High School girls basketball
team has been preparing for its opener since
a third round CIF Southern Section loss in
February. The Lady Eagles played in spring
tournaments, summer tournaments and fall
scrimmages besides being in the weight room
on a regular basis. They won the program’s
first-ever league championship and with the
core players returning look to repeat.
Head coach John Peterson says this season’s
team is as good as or better than last year. The
Eagles set a school record for wins overall
(21) and league wins (9) and ended up 21-9
with a loss to Mayfair -- a CIF finalist.
Coach Peterson has high expectations. His
team will dictate the pace of play and force
the opposition into turnovers. “I expect our
team to compete hard in each game and that
should translate into competing for a league
title,” he said.
With a deep roster and a rotation of at
least eight players with experience, the
Reese Jones returns to lead the Eagles this season. She was the Ocean League’s MVP last season.
See Wiseburn, page 13
See Eagles, page 14