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Bell Gardens Intermediate
Montebello Unied School District
Mr. Myers - Principal, 5841 Live Oak St. Bell Gardens CA, 90201 562 927-1319 www.bgi.montebello.k12.ca.us
Mr. Myers
By Cynthia Laguna and
Maritza Hernandez
If you want to know about our new principal,Mr. Myers, we have background informationthat will help you get to know him. Mr. Myerswas born and raised in Polk, Nebraska, which isa small city with a population of only about 510people. Our principal has two siblings, a brotherand a sister. He has been married for 12 yearsand has four children. His children graduatedfrom Bell Gardens schools. Mr. Myers attendedseveral universities. He attended NebraskaWesleyan and Cal. State Long Beach. Mr. Myersis a retired naval ofcer.Mr. Myers has been a principal for over 30years. Before becoming a principal, he was ateacher for eight years and taught grades 6-12.He not only taught for eight years, but he taughtmany different subjects of such as physics,science, chemistry, social studies, and math.He was inspired to become a principal becausewhen he was a teacher one of his friends wasan assistant principal and told him he woulddo a great job if he ever decided to become aprincipal.He came to our school to ll in for anotherprincipal and make changes. He said he willbe in our school until June 30 of this year thenthey will appoint a new principal. He hasseveral plans for our school. This a quote fromMr. Myers, “The school is planning to go on atraditional school calendar and is planning onadding science, social studies, and electives.”He also said our school is improving in someareas. He wants teachers to work with studentson their oral language. He thinks students don’thave enough vocabulary and they don’t reachtheir potential in writing.We are very happy to have Mr. Myers at ourschool this year. He has a lot of experiencein education and we think he can make manypositive changes. We hope these positivechanges will improve our test scores!
TeleParent Calls Home
By: Cynthia Laguna and
Maritza Hernandez
A new telephone system being used byour school is a called TeleParent. Thisnew system helps teachers communicatewith student’s parents electronically andit informs parents about the student’sproblems, accomplishments, or just tokeep them updated on their grades. Thissystem can translate into nine differentlanguages. The system sends a messageto the student’s house phone. Allmessages or calls made by the systemare made between the hours of 6 p.m. to9 p.m. When the message is received theparents will hear the teacher’s message.This system saves time and teachers justhave to type in the message. Parentsnow can nd out what their childrenare doing and be more informed aboutmeetings they could attend.
School Choir 
By Jeanette Hernandez
Many of us have heard of the choir that is forming under the leadership of Ms.Ramirez, of course. But what is a choir, you ask? A choir is a group of singers or an
ensembl 
e according to Ms. Ramirez. She was interviewed about her plans for the group aswell as plans for next year’s cluster of voices.Ms. Ramirez was born and raised in East Los Angeles, living with a very musicalfamily. She attended Eastmont Intermediate and eventually Schurr High School. Ms.Ramirez later went to Cal State Los Angeles and received a Bachelor’s Degree in music andvoice and a Master’s Degree in Music Instruction. Today, she has a part time job at Cal StateLA teaching Psychology of Music. Ms Ramirez believes that music is an important part of a well-rounded education and feels strongly about this.Her plans for the choir are to rst introduce the group to the basics of choir andeventually to singing in unison. From there, she hopes to transition them into singing inrounds. The choir will then sing part harmony with Mrs. Adriano’s band and orchestra aswell as some solos and duets preformed by certain students. According to Ms. Ramirez, sheplans for the choir to perform a few songs at the end of the year concert. As for next year,Ms. Ramirez wants to bring in some students from last year. She also hopes to bring theperforming arts program back to the school.
Sacramento Trip
By Jeanette HernandezAs we very well know, this year’sSacramento trip is coming up. At the beginningof the year, students had write an essay aboutwhat they know about Sacramento and what theyhope to learn about it if they are chosen. Today,exactly fty students have been chosen to attendB.G.I,’s traditional excursion.Those attending will be visiting severallocations such as Cal State Fresno, and UCDavis. Students will also be going to seemany historical sites of Sacramento such as theState Capitol building, Old Town Sacramento,Sutter’s Fort, and Sutter’s Gold Mine. Otheractivities include going to the Jelly Belly factory,the Hard Rock Café, and the IMAX Theatre towatch an educational movie. Those attending aschaperones will be Mr. Miller, Mrs. Arreola, Ms.Basso, Ms. Sandoval, and Mr. Perez.The Sacramento trip has been aroundfor many years. Every year seems to be moreexciting and successful than the last. Hopefullythis year will be just as extraordinary.A Rock N Roll Hall of Fame artist was once inthe BGI Choir. Eddie Cochran in 1953.
 
In Remembrance of Mr. Paul Hight
By Janette Villa and Alexis OrtegaMr. Paul Hight was a teacher that passed away years ago. We wanted to write abouthim because last quarter one of his former students, Mr. Mendoza and his dance team,dedicated a dance to him. Students asked who Mr. Paul Height was, so we wanted tolet them know a little something about this wonderful teacher.Mr. Paul Hight taught U.S. History to 7
th
and 8
th
graders and he later taught 7
th
and
8
th
grade math. Mr. Hight taught about 25 to 30 years at Bell Gardens Intermediatebefore he passed away. Mr. Hight loved seeing Jeopardy every night without fail.Mr. Hight was a very humorous person. He was a kind and generous man who tendedto get upset easily, but was also very easy to get along with. Mr. Hight was verypunctual, was always here early, and was always well groomed. By this we mean healways wore slacks, a nice dress shirt, and his hair was always combed. Mr. Hightloved going out to see movies and he liked talking about international news. Mr. PaulHight had different opinions which he expressed but accepted other people’s opinionsas well. One thing Mr. Hight never did was intimidate his students.Ms. Gribble and Mr. Hight were good friends and also carpooled to work together.While driving to school, Mr. Hight always asked her the nal Jeopardy question andtimed her on it. He used to sing the Jeopardy song while he was waiting for herresponse. Ms. Gribble really had trust in Mr. Hight and asked him for advice onteaching. Mr. Hight had a big impact on Ms. Gribble’s life. She says, “I really misshim and he died too young.”We interviewed Mr. Mendoza who was one of Mr. Hight’s students. Mr. Hight wasa big help to Mr. Mendoza, he always made sure Mr. Mendoza understood the lessonand made math so easy for him. Mr. Mendoza said he remembers how Mr. Hightwould try to talk Spanish. He said it was hilarious! Mr. Mendoza really misses himand said that Mr. Hight had a big impact on his life.Mr. Hight was a wood worker and loved to build things for teachers. Mr. Hightparticipated in the school’s activities such as the students vs. staff basketball games.He left behind a wife and three children who are now all in college. Overall Mr. PaulHight was a very nice gentleman and everybody loved him with all their heart.
Fire: A Bell Gardens Tragedy
 
By Sharon Corrales, Alexis Ortega, & Karla NajeraSmoke! Flames! Helicopters! Ambulances! What could this possibly lead to? No one everexpected this tragedy to happen. On the 29
th
day of January four families awakened to a neighboryelling “Fire!!! Get out!!” This incident happened in a trailer park where ve families lost theirhomes and personal belongings. The re started at 7:49 a.m. at 5600 Gotham St. As reghtersarrived they gured out how this re started. The re was caused by a stove being used as a heater,which caused four people to be injured, and one to suffer smoke inhalation. The ambulance tookseveral people to different hospitals to be checked for smoke inhalation. Policemen believed oneperson was dead, but they later found out that person was severely burned. A family dog wasreturned to its owner after missing for about ten days; but later died. One family had minor damagesto their home, so they were able to move back in.The family who lost the most was the Ramos-Villa family of which one of the members goesto this school. BGI was generous enough to offer support for this fallen family by raising over $1,200and collecting much needed household items. Mr. Miller placed a donation box in the front ofcewhere students or staff members could donate any amount of money they desired. One teacher wasgenerous enough to write a check for $100 for the family. Our own ASB donated $400 to help thisfamily who lost everything. The Bell Gardenscity council collected donations for the familiesto stay in The Ramada Inn. The families stayedat the hotel for about 3 to 4 weeks. The Ramos-Villa family have now found a new apartmentto live in and are recovering from this terribleincident.Bell Gardens Intermediate is a wonderfulschool. The staff and students really reached outto support the people affected by this tragedy.Ms. Villa wants to really thank everyone here atB.G.I. for all the help and support she received.
Enforcing the Rules OnCell Phones and iPods
By Janet Leos and Janette Villa
 
We all know we are not supposed to bring iPodsor cell phones to school. However, not manystudents are respecting that policy; thereforethe school has decided that they will not allowcell phones or iPods anymore. If you bring youriPod or cell phone it is your responsibility andthe school will not spend anymore time lookingfor the culprit.When we interviewed Mr. Ruiz about theschool policy and how they will be enforcing therule he said, “We are only enforcing the rules thathave been established by the superintendent of the Montebello Unied School District. Due to ahigh violation of students violating the cell phonerule, it was necessary to step up the enforcementof the rule.” One of the problems that have arisenare that students are being suspended for theft of these items. Cell phones and iPods are causinga lot of problems between teachers vs. studentsand students vs. students, the staff has spent anenormous amount of valuable time investigatingthefts and dealing with upset students andparents. The valuable time that they have spentcannot be recuperated.There are way too many students who violatethe rule, so it has been difcult for the staff toconscate all iPods and cell phones and therearen’t enough people enforcing the rule. Byenforcing the rule it will alleviate the problemsthat we are experiencing. Teachers will not haveto stop their instructional time to tell a studentto put it away or it will be taken away. Teacherswill be able to give students the education theyneed instead of taking away priceless time thatthey need. Bringing iPods or cell phones causesproblems and takes people away from theiroccupation.If students continue to bring iPods or cellphones the deans are considering withholdingthe device until the end of the year. That willonly be applied to frequent violators. I suggestnot bringing cell phones or iPods or you willhave to deal with the consequences.
Safety Tips
 
:
For Students
By Jesse FloresStudents who use the bus in a regularbasis should be more careful and take safetyprecautions seriously. School bus transportationmay be safe, nevertheless in the past yearthere have been countless incidents involvingschool buses. A recent poll has shown thatapproximately 26 students have been killed andmore than 9,000 have been injured! What maysurprise you is that these incidents didn’t occurin a crash, but as the students were getting on oroff the bus. Some tips you should keep in mind
are:
-
Have a safe place to wait for the bus,away from trafc and the street.- If you have to cross the street in frontof the bus, walk at least ten feet ahead of thebus along the side of the road, until you canturn around and see the driver.
-
Wait until the bus makes a completestop before approaching it.
-
Use the handrail to enter and exit thebus.
-
Be aware of the trafc around you.Drivers
are
required by law to takecaution when approaching schoolbuses, but most don’t.Keep these tips in mind the next time you ridea bus and remember protect yourself and watchout.Puzzles made by Mr. Hight, US map, dinosaurs
 
My Experience Visiting the Getty Center
By Alexis Ortega
As I got off the bus I thought the museum would be un
-
interesting. I started to walk up stairs and then I saw a tram,which we went on. I did not know where this tram wouldtake us but it was fun while the ride lasted. Soon we arrivedat this marvelous hilltop, where the Getty Museum was. Ithad a fantastic view and we even saw Catalina Island in thedistance. It was a beautiful, clear, sunny day.Our tour guide, Phyllis Zatcick, took us to see a focuspiece, which was a slab of rock that was hanging on thewall. She explained how this focus piece showed contrastagainst the rest of the walls at the Getty Museum. Next theguide took us to the center of the museum. I was amazedthat we were standing in the the center. In the center therewas a circle, which Phyllis kindly asked all of the studentsto stand on the center circle and I was amazed that all of us t in the circle. Next we went to one outside wall andMs. Zatcick told us to stand next to the wall and one personperfectly t in two squares. The girl was an average sizedperson and that was the whole point of the design. Next wewent to the fountain, which led to a big vase that was likea sundial that could tell us the time. Under the fountainthere was a spectacular garden. This garden is an art piecedesigned by Robert Erwin. Robert Erwin wanted to createthis as his own sense of style and his own type of theme. Asyou walk around the garden the path leads you to the Cen
-
tral Garden, which is amazing. It’s like a maze with somered color in the maze. After the garden our tour guide letsus explore the museum on our own. We went to an exhibitthe museum had and it was called “Icons From Sinai”. Thisexhibit had some very ancient pieces. One piece I remem
-
ber was an old Christian calendar.After seeing the Getty all we could see in the amountof time we had, we departed the building and we headedhome. It was a beautiful museum with many interestingthings to see both inside the buildings and outside in thegardens. I hope to visit the Getty Center soon!(It is free, NO ADMISSION cost, but parking is limited socall ahead to reserve a spot. - az)
Richard Meier - Getty’s Architect
By: Cynthia Laguna
Richard Meier, the architect is well-known for his designs and build
-
ings. Born in Newark, New Jersey on October 12, 1934, he gradu
-
ated from Cornell University in 1957. He achieved a Bachelor of Architecture degree. The Getty Museum Center, located in Los An
-
geles, is only one of his many well known projects as well as theHigh Museum in Atlanta, the Frankfurt Museum for Decorative Artsin Germany, and many more buildings all over the world such asParis, India, and Japan.He has been awarded many of the best awards in architecture.In 1997 he was given the AIA Gold Medal from the American Insti
-
tute of Architects and was also awarded the Premium Imperial fromthe Japanese Government. He has 29 National AIA Honor Awardsand 53 Regional AIA Design Awards. In 1995, he was elected Fel
-
low to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Richard Meierwas also the youngest receiver of the Pritzker Prize for Architecture,which is considered the highest honor. He was also awarded honor
-
ary degrees from the University of Naples, New Jersey Institute of Technology, The New School for Social Research, and other manyother universities.Richard Meier has also written books. He has been the sub
-
 ject of newspapers, magazines, and books. He has taught at Princ
-
eton University, Cooper Union, Yale University, UCLA and manymore. The color white has been used in many of his architecturalbuildings. Visiting the Getty Museum was a great experience forme because I never thought of learning of shapes, lines and colorsin a fun way. Richard Meier’s design and architecture at the GettyCenter is a form of art as much as the paintings and sculpture of thisfabulous museum are.
The Getty Center
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