January 16, 2014 Page 3 “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” ~ John Dewey Classifieds The deadline for Classified Ad submission and payment is Noon on Tuesday to appear in Thursday’s paper. Advertisements must be submitted in writing by mail, fax or email. You may pay by cash, check, or credit card (Visa or M/C over the phone). Errors: Please check your advertisements immediately. Any corrections and/or changes in an ad must be requested prior to the following Tuesday deadline in order to receive a credit. A credit will be issued for only the first time the error appears. Multiple runs will only be credited for the first time the error appears. No credit will be issued for an amount greater than the cost of the advertisement. Beware: Employment offers that suggest guaranteed out-of-state or overseas positions may be deceptive or unethical in nature. If you have any doubts about the nature of a company, contact the local office of the Better Business Bureau, (213) 251-9696. Herald Publications does not guarantee that the advertiser’s claims are true nor does it take responsibility for those claims. Garage Sale Multi family. Saturday/Sunday January 18 & 19th 8am-2pm. 146 Loma Vista St. ES. Watch for signs. Downsizing: TV, bike, furniture, clothes. House for Rent 4bd4ba Eastside executive home. Family neighborhood. All amenities. Easy freeway access. $4300/mo. Long term lease preferred. 310- 345-8013. Room for Rent ES. Fully furnished. Includes utilities, cable, wireless, laundry and kitchen facilities. Avail parking. No smoking. $750 (310) 658-8622 2 rooms, 2 baths. 114 E. Grand, El Segundo. Call (310) 322-2837. Employment Display Ad Sales Position. We need an experienced Display Ad Salesperson for Herald Publications. Territories include Torrance, El Segundo and Hawthorne. Full or part-time positions are available. 20% commission on all sales. If interested please email your resume to management@heraldpublications. com. No phone calls please. For Rent House at 1201 E. Sycamore 4 beds, 2 baths for $3500 per/month. Avail. Feb 1st Call 310-322-0000. Apartment For Rent 2BD/1BA. Upper. 7909 Alverstone, Westchester. Approx. 1250 sq. ft. $1,595/ mo. (310) 365-1481 or (310) 641-2148. Care Giver Wanted Part-Time or Full-Time Caregiver Needed: responsibilities include cooking, light housekeeping and overall assistance. Please call 310- 322-0000 for more information. El Segundo resident preferred. Child Care Wanted El Segundo family seeking live-in nanny from February to April 2014. References and background checks required. Call (850) 218-6288. Commercial Space for Lease Well located business space suitable for retail store, professional space, To appear in next week’s paper, submit your Classifed Ad by Noon on Tuesday. Wiseburn’s Preschool Looks to Improve By Dylan Little During its January 9 meeting, the Wiseburn School Board heard a presentation from Melissa Coughlin, Program Specialist at the Wiseburn Child Development Center (WCDC), on how the center is hoping to improve its program and the education of preschoolers. The WCDC is a new part of the Wiseburn School District. Getting familiar with how Wiseburn operates has been a top priority, although far from the only item on the center’s to-do list. “Our team is new faces and our first job is getting to know each other,” said Coughlin. “That said, that’s not all we’ve been doing. We’ve been working very hard. There’s a lot of heart in what we’ve been doing these part few months.” The most important task for the WCDC is to create a developmentally appropriate curriculum. To do this, Coughlin said it is looking at the California Department of Education’s preschool framework, which focuses on the areas of preacademic readiness, critical thinking and communication skills. However, these are only the building blocks for where these kids are going, so any new curriculum also has to take into account the new Common Core State Standards. By addressing these two sets of guidelines, Coughlin thinks students who come through the WCDC will be better prepared for elementary school. “One thing that’s been very important for us to remember is what are preschool students supposed to be learning. We know we need to get them ready for kindergarten, but they aren’t yet ready to learn kindergarten skills,” said Coughlin. “We want our kids ready for kindergarten and looking at these two pieces, that’s how we;re going to get them there.” Another project the WCDC has undertaken has been forming at Teacher Assistance Team to implement intervention and monitor the progress of children struggling to make the transition to school. “We know that there are students out there—there’s going to be a certain percentage of students--who require more intensive intervention. They require something that’s a little above and beyond,” said Coughlin. “This is going to be our tool to provide intervention and document what the need is, what’s the intervention, how we’re implementing it and what the progress is.” Coughlin said the ultimate goal of the Teacher Assistance Team is to give students the extra attention they might require before it’s too late. “We need to be cognizant that there are children out there that are going to fall into that bracket and we need to make sure we’re supporting them,” said Coughlin. “We want to make sure we catch them early.” The staff at WCDC is also now benefiting from regular professional development, consisting of five days of training on topics like behavior support, classroom management and abilities awareness. This is paired with coaching and feedback from site managers. Coughlin noted that staff at the WCDC has been happy to receive the additional training. “They’ve been thrilled that there have been these professional developments,” said Coughlin. “Their response has been, ‘This is what teachers get.’ They are really excited.” Another goal for the WCDC staff has been to modify the handbook given to parents describing the program. The chief concern has been to make sure it addresses what the community wants for its children, as well as to be in line with the philosophies of the Wiseburn School District. “We’ve taken a look at the handbook and we think there’s some refinement that would be beneficial,” said Coughlin. One of the toughest areas to refine has been the subject of discipline. Due to the young age of the students served by the WCDC, handling behavioral issues is harder than in kindergarten and beyond. To address this area, Coughlin said both guidance from the Teacher Assistance Team and open communication with the child’s parents have been key, although nothing can prevent the occasional issue. “We know that with little ones, sometimes you have behavior issues,” said Couglin. The last goal Coughlin addressed was the desire for the WCDC to work closely with the elementary schools in Wiseburn. She would like to increase communication between the two entities to provide feedback on how changes to the WCDC curriculum is affecting student learning. Coughlin said the common goal of bringing the best education possible to the community’s students has brought together the staff on both sides. “I’m a firm believer that you have to breathe in the environment to actually understand it,” said Coughlin. “We’re really trying to merge the worlds and they really are a lot closer than we thought they would be.” Overall, the Board seemed pleased with the direction in which the center is moving. Board member Nelson Martinez said he expects this program to fare better than its predecessor Rainbow River, where his children attended preschool, because of the close support the District is providing. “This is exactly what I want to see. Parents have an idea of what to expect from the very onset and then have continuous meetings so by the end of the year... the expectation is met,” said Martinez. “We’re lucky Rainbow River had an establishment, but I want to see continuous improvement. With Wiseburn managing it, we can do much better.” • Hawthorne Happenings News for the ‘City of Good Neighbors’ From City Clerk Norb Huber A Good Place to Hang Out The Hawthorne Museum has become much more than a place to come to view historical photos. It has become a great place to sit and talk about the “good ol’ days” of the City of Good Neighbors. On any Tuesday or Saturday, you can wonder in and enjoy talking with the “regulars”. You may help yourself to a cup of coffee and maybe some cookies. If you have lived in the city for any amount of time, it’s fun to talk about how things were and recall the people and events that made history. The Museum is located at 12622 S. Grevillea Ave and is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.each Tuesday and Saturday. Save the Date State of the City Luncheon to be hosted by Chamber of Commerce Friday, March 28 has been selected as the date for the annual State of the City Luncheon to be held at the Memorial Center. Mayor Chris Brown will give his initial State of the City speech to a large gathering of business and civic leaders. Luncheon tickets are $50 per person and can be purchased from the Chamber. California Drought We need rain. This dry, warm weather is nice to enjoy during the winter, but it will have a dramatic effect on us this summer and for many months to come. I share with you a portion of an article I read from Paul Rogers, a reporter for the San Jose Mercury News dated January 13, 2014: As California struggles through a run of historically dry weather, most residents are looking at falling reservoir levels, dusty air and thirsty lawns. But meteorologists have fixed their attention on the scientific phenomenon they say is to blame for the emerging drought: a vast zone of high pressure in the atmosphere off the West Coast, nearly four miles high and 2,000 miles long, so stubborn that one researcher has dubbed it the "Ridiculously Resilient Ridge. "Like a brick wall, the mass of high pressure air has been blocking Pacific winter storms from coming ashore in California, deflecting them up into Alaska and British Columbia, even delivering rain and cold weather to the East Coast. Similar high-pressure zones pop up all the time during most winters, but they usually break down, allowing rain to get through to California. This one, ominously, has anchored itself for 13 months, since December 2012, making it unprecedented in modern weather records and leaving researchers scratching their heads. "It's like the Sierra -- a mountain range just sitting off the West Coast -- only bigger," said Bob Benjamin, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Monterey. "This ridge is sort of a mountain in the atmosphere. In most years, it comes and goes. This year it came and didn't go." Hawthorne in the News Again this past week we found Hawthorne to be in the news. First a resident decided to run over his dog and is caught on video intentionally speeding car up his vehicle to run over his pet. The second incident involved a robbery on Imperial Highway where a gunman accidentally fired a shot and struck a store clerk. Finally the last incident involved a young man who had recently moved to Hawthorne and was sitting on a bus bench on El Segundo Blvd and was struck by a swearing car. The man was critically injured. In a city of over 85,000 residents and thousands of commuters traveling through it, there are accidents that will happen and bad behavior that will take place. 99% of our citizens are hard working, law abiding neighbors who only want a peaceful place in which to live and work. We again are thankful for our great police and fire departments that respond to all of these tragic events in a timely and protective manner. Upcoming Events • Monday, January 20: Dr. Martin Luther King Day Holiday – City Hall closed • Tuesday, January 28: Regular Meeting of City Council – 6 p.m. • Follow Us on Twitter @heraldpub
Lawndale 01_16_14
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