Page 4 May 5, 2016 Hawthorne Gets Big Win over Santa Monica “Our performance depends on which team shows up,” Hawthorne coach Felipe Diaz said. “We handed Santa Monica its first loss in over 10 years. We have three more games before CIF.” The Cougars host first place El Segundo today at 3:15 p.m. Hawthorne closes league at Lawndale next Wednesday at the same time. The Cardinals, who have just 10 players on their roster, suffered losses to Lincoln 11-1 and South Gate 10-2 in the Lincoln Spring Fling last Saturday. Lawndale visits Beverly Hills today at 3:15 p.m. The Cardinals, then, travel to El Segundo next Monday and close out at home against Hawthorne next Wednesday. By Joe Snyder Hawthorne High’s softball team did what no other Ocean League squad did in 11 seasons. That is winning at Santa Monica. The Cougars outlasted the league power Vikings 8-7 last Thursday. The Cougars, who improved to 3-3 in league, was led by Natalie Rocha who had two hits in four at bats with three runs batted in. Vanessa Perez hit a two-run home run. Esperanza Villafan drove in two runs. Alyssa Casillas was the winning pitcher. At Hawthorne on April 26, the Cougars needed just five innings and one hour and 10 minutes to finish off Ocean rival Lawndale 11- 1. Winning pitcher Alyssa Casillas pitched a one-hitter with nine strikeouts. She also drove in four runs that included a two-run double and a two-run single. Perez went three-for-three with three runs batted in. Abigail Rodriguez was two-for-two with one RBI and one run. For the Cardinals, who are winless in six games after being shut out at home 11-0 by Culver City last Thursday, Kim Mendez had their only hit and drove in their only run that was preceded by two walks. The Cougars finished off the highly competitive El Segundo Tournament with losses to West Torrance (11-1) and San Pedro (8-2) last Saturday. Against the Warriors at El Segundo Middle School, Hawthorne took an early 1-0 lead when Villafan scored an unearned run on an error in the bottom of the first inning. West dominated the rest of the game scoring 11 unanswered runs in a four-inning mercy rule contest. In the game, the Cougars had just one hit by Elizabeth Cortez, also in the first. After that inning, Hawthorne had just one base runner. West had four different players in Mia Wyatt, Mialee Newman, Jamie Lee and Mara Moore each drive in two runs. Newman was also the winning pitcher with a four-inning one-hitter. Leuzinger Rolls over Centennial Leuzinger High’s softball team captured its first Pioneer League win by routing host Centennial 12-1 on April 27 in Compton. The Olympians, who are 9-9-1 overall after a 14-0 loss to host West Torrance last Friday, scored all of their runs in the first three innings, including seven in the first, two in the second and three in the third. It was a five-inning mercy rule game. Winning pitcher Clarissa Melendez went five innings, allowing one run on two hits. She struck out five batters and walked three. With the bat, Melendez went two-for-three and scored two runs. Maria Gonzalez added a two-run single. The Olympians have a brutal week. After hosting North Torrance last Monday, Leuzinger visited front running Torrance, the top ranked team in the CIF-Southern Section Division IV and defending CIF champion, on Wednesday. The Olympians visit South Torrance Friday at 3:15 p.m. before closing out Pioneer action at home against Centennial next Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. Inglewood Crushes Morningside Inglewood High’s softball team won its first Bay League game by rolling over cross town rival Morningside 22-2 on April 27 at Inglewood. After seeing the Monarchs score two runs in the top of the first and still lead the Sentinels 2-1 after one inning, the Sentinels took the lead for good with two runs in the bottom of the second inning. Inglewood, then, took off with nine runs in the third and 10 in the fourth that resulted into a five-inning mercy rule contest. The Sents, who are 1-10 overall and 1-5 in league, after getting shut out by host Redondo 13-0 last Friday, were led by Melissa Ramos. Ramos pitched five innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on just one hit. She struck out 12 batters and walked six. Ramos also went two-for-four with three RBI’s and two runs. Jade Nichols was three-for-three with four RBI’s and four runs. After visiting first place Palos Verdes Wednesday, Inglewood is at home against Mira Costa Friday at 3:15 p.m. The Sentinels, then, host Peninsula next Monday and finish at Morningside on Tuesday; also both league games at 3:15 p.m. Morningside will visit Palos Verdes Friday and Mira Costa next Monday in 3:15 p.m. Bay contests before their final league rivalry at home against Inglewood next Tuesday at the same time. • Hawthorne pitcher Natalie Rocha prepares to throw to a West Torrance High batter in last Saturday’s El Segundo Softball Tournament action. The Cougars lost to the Warriors, 11-1. Photo by Joe Snyder By Haleemon Anderson The Wiseburn School Board Trustees met last week to take action on a host of items regarding ongoing construction at the new Wiseburn High School site. Preceding the regular meeting, the board met in a one-hour closed session to deal with matters of faculty, personnel and potential litigation. Director of Facilities Planning Vince Madson was on hand to update the board on more than 20 change orders at the Wiseburn site. The campus, at 201 North Douglas Street, is set to open in 2017. The board granted authority to Madsen and District Superintendent Tom Johnstone to approve change orders, up to $5000. Madsen said change orders, literally, requests to alter existing plans and equipment or vendors costs, will be brought before the board at the first meeting of each month. Contracts will need to be revisited if the change is more than a three percent increase, said Madsen. After some discussion, the multiple orders were unanimously approved. Actionable items proceeded with unanimous board approval of a multi-year district arts plan; contract renewal with CSMC (Charter School Management Corporation); payment to law firm Atkinson, Adelson, et al, and approval of various purchase orders, warrants and receipts. Seven routine consent items were acted upon as one motion, with unanimous approval. Four personnel items, including an increase to the daily pay rate for substitute teachers, were passed with full board approval. The board also honored two district stand-out Wiseburn School Board students. Superintendent Johnstone presented Clayton Skaggs with the district’s certificate of achievement. Skaggs, a 6th grader from Dana Middle School, took first place in the districtwide spelling bee. Eighth-grader Katherine Taylor, also from Dana, received an achievement certificate from the superintendent for her 1st place win in the Wiseburn Geography Bee. Next, the board heard presentations from Harmony Project and the district’s special education team. Margaret Martin gave an engaging and detailed presentation on Harmony Project’s music education initiatives. The program has been featured in several research journals and boasts proven results, particularly in urban school settings, according to Martin. Board members asked for clarification on the data and brain mapping slides in the presentation. Martin said that while educators may not be reading neurological journals, these studies show in exacting detail the improvements to brain function and learning acquisition that occur when music education is fully supported within the curriculum. “I can focus better,” is what the kids are saying, said Martin, while the hard data points to across the board improvements in academics. The program amounts to a “literary intervention,” said Martin. She encouraged the board to consider the positive benefits of bringing Harmony Project to Wiseburn students. The special education department’s annual Accountability and Progress Report showcased positive outcomes of the program and goals for the future. Cathy Waller, director of psychological and child services, said that a recent survey of parents indicates they are highly satisfied with the services their children are receiving through the district. Waller said contributions from the district’s general fund are a concern, adding that nonetheless, Wiseburn’s special education budget is in line with comparable programs in the area. Executive Director Mary Ring said that one goal of her unit is to reduce dependence on the general fund by the end of the school year. Future goals include training of the general education staff and transition planning to enhance continuity as special needs students move between schools and from one grade level to another. As there were no public comments, the meeting continued with board members reports. Neil Goldman reported on a financial literacy program sponsored by Kinecta. The Bite of Reality workshop assigns participating students a simulated “occupation and salary,” debt and expenses and then guides them through financial activities like planning a budget, shopping, buying health insurance and childcare. Roger Banuelos said that after seeing students’ positive responses to a recent trip to Catalina, he was very interested in getting more field trips added to the school calendar. Banuelos was among a group who visited the Orange County School of the Arts. He said he was very impressed with the arts curriculum and overall student enthusiasm. “The student’s level of engagement is amazing,” said Banuelos. Johnstone also commended the Orange County arts program. He mentioned a financial contribution that would be coming from an elder member of the Oceangate community and an impressive student variety show he attended at Anza, that can be viewed on You Tube. Board President Israel Mora expressed future goals for the board, including increasing efforts to focus on parents and early identification of students who are not fully engaged. Vice President Joanne Kaneda, referring to the wealth of information shared at this meeting, said, “This solidifies to me, that education is changing.” Kaneda thanked Superintendent Johnstone for continuing to push the board to excel at its goal areas of enhancing education in the district. Nelson Martinez reported on a student panel he attended on career readiness and job experience. He was impressed by the poise of Wiseburn students, saying, “It confirmed to me that we’re headed in the right direction.” Deputy Superintendent Chris Jones reported on “future ready” schools, a national initiative to increase technology equipment and education. David Wilson, Chief Business Official, advised that the state is anticipating a projected budget short-fall of 1.1 billion dollars. Wilson said the full effect will most likely be unpredictable until the governor’s May revision to the budget. The Wiseburn District budget for 2016-17 will be on agenda at a special meeting, the morning of June 30. The time is yet to be announced. The next scheduled meeting of the Wiseburn Unified School District Board of Trustees will be May 12, 2016 at 5 p.m. •
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