Looks like California

In the "not new, but new to me" category is this Native Plant Garden and Murals, created by the Art Club and Environmental Club at Warren High School, back around 2012. (I'm not sure if the "Tree People" on the sign refers to members of the club, or is perhaps the name of the mural behind the sign.)

The garden is filled with blooming native plants, to be enjoyed by people and insects alike. Monarch butterflies flitted from bush to bush (although they seemed to delight in avoiding my camera). Bees were doing a lot of flitting, too, but with them the avoidance was on my side.

"Native plants give us a sense of where we are in this great land of ours. I want Texas to look like Texas and Vermont to look like Vermont."
~ Lady Bird Johnson

Make it happen

"Think it." "Prove it." "Do it." These encouraging words are the first thing that students and staff see when they arrive at the front parking lot at Warren High School. Think something up, find a way to show that it works, and then—make it happen!

Beep beep!

A while back, I noticed that the fence that surrounds Rio Hondo Elementary School had some new decorations. It serves a couple of purposes, I guess. First, it makes it harder for passers-by to see the kids when they're playing on the playground. And second, I now know that the school mascot is the roadrunner!

"Dear Warner Bros: Now that I'm an adult, I feel I'm old enough to hear what the "beep beep" is hiding when Road Runner talks to Wile E. Coyote."

The meadow in the heart of town

It's been quite a few years since I've stopped by the Harris Meadow and Pond at Warren High School. For what is really just a glorified drainage ditch (restoring rain water to the water supply instead of letting it drain to the ocean), the area is really quite a pleasant place to walk or sit, especially at the end of the day when the light turns golden.

The sounds of fall

October is the first full month of fall and one of the ubiquitous activities of fall is a marching band performing at halftime at a football game. I used to play in band in high school and I know you need to put in lots of hours practice to pull off a great performance. These Downey High band members are putting in those extra hours to be the best they can be and entertain the fans this Saturday. You should buy a ticket and see them perform.

They still have flag twirlers too.

Honor and Halloween

Pumpkins, scarecrows, spiders and skeletons—all bring attention to the main attraction at this home, that an honor student lives here.

Seeing reflections

I am always looking for interesting pictures. This is the Downey High School fence that runs along Brookshire Avenue. I liked how the the edges of the fence picked up so much reflection from all the street lights.


"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see." 
~ Henry David Thoreau

Community

I like that Downey Adult School is using a community-based program to support learning English. It makes sense to use classrooms at Rio Hondo Elementary outside of school hours too. I can't imagine living somewhere, trying to work and make a contribution without being able to speak or understand the language.

"The capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn is a choice."  
~ Brian Herbert

Humans of Downey - Louis

"I like playing soccer because we get to run around the field and we get to have lots of team work during the entire match. I also enjoy the competition of like-minded players.

"I had to try really hard to get on this team, the Downey High School team. Every day, before school and after school, I would come out to do training with the team to show the coaches that I was dedicated and wanted to be part of the team. It paid off because now I'm part of the team. I play left defender, which means I stay on my goal's side of the field to defend against attackers of the other team. I like being a defender because of the importance of that position. If there were no defenders then the goalie would have no one to help him out when the attackers came. It is a team sport.

"I would like to make it into a college level team of even higher. It will take a lot more dedication, hard work, putting in more effort to being more of a team player. Then I will need to show the coaches how much I want to be on their team. I need to show them that I want it more than other players. I don't think I have the physical abilities to play on that level now, but that is why I'm on this team, to build myself into that level of player. My coaches are helping me and training me to become better as a player."
~ Louis

This interview took place after the first league match between Downey HIgh School and Lynwood High School where Downey won 2-0.

Pardon our dust!

Rio Hondo Elementary School is becoming less green. The grassy parkway that used to surround the school is now becoming concrete.

It is one more step that our city is taking toward limiting water use. Less green, less water use.

A tisket a tasket

Today is May Day, and I got to be home when the kindergartners from Rio Hondo made their annual delivery of May Day bouquets. (You can read more here at May Day.)

Both sides of the street were filled with kids excited to be passing out the baskets that they had worked so hard on. Two boys knocked on my door, handed me this basket, and the whole group yelled "Happy May Day!"

Thanks, kids, for brightening up my day.

Gym class

The two main high schools in Downey, Downey High and Warren High, are about an equal distance from Furman Park. So it's not unusual to see groups of students from either school running to the park on a school morning.

At this point in their run, these students from Downey High have come a little over a mile. The students at the head of the group look pretty cheerful and are setting a brisk pace. The students at the end of the group, not yet in sight, are a different matter.

"Slow runners make fast runners look good. Thank you."

Just a little flash

Assignment: Use your flash to take a picture of someone against a bright sky. Adjust your camera and flash settings so that the sky isn't washed out and the person's face isn't in shadow.

So, how did I do? (Hint: I still need to tone down that flash a little more, so that it looks more natural.)

This is the first week of  Intermediate Photography, a four-week class taught by photographer Joan Day (above, center) at the Downey Adult School. We're learning to use flash effectively. I rarely use my flash, and therefore, I've never really learned to use it well. So I'm learning a lot and having fun in the process.

This week's class covered theory and some hands-on practice at the school, where we take turns being photographer and model. The rest of the weeks will be field trips, where we can practice in fun locations.

The boys of summer

Okay, so it's still the middle of winter. But these guys will be out of school by the time summer rolls around so they need to get their practice in now.

The Warren High School freshmen baseball team practices at the ballparks next to the Columbia Space museum. Seeing them makes me think back on my days of all the practice before getting to play in a game. I knew I would never be a Willie Mays, but I sure loved playing the game.



Getting to wear the cap meant you were part of the team.

Samples Gate

Even though we are already back in our hometown of Downey, I confess I didn't have a picture for my post today. So, I will share a couple more pictures from our visit to Bloomington, Indiana; specifically the University of Indiana.

It was late in the day, almost time for sunset by the time we made it to the university for a walk through "the woods." We entered by Samples Gate, named in honor of Edson Sample, who provided the funds for the building of the gates. It is the entrance to the oldest part of the campus, known as the Old Crescent. Like much of the old campus, the gates are constructed of Indiana limestone.

Looking out from Samples Gate, there is a view of downtown Bloomington. It is a fun, eclectic city that I hope I will be able to explore more next time we visit.

Williams Elementary

A few years back (I won't say how many), I attended Spencer V. Williams Elementary School. A few things have changed since then.

The name. Even though the full name is still visible here, the main sign out front shows the current shortened name: Williams Elementary School. The school was named for Spencer Valentine Williams. From the little information I could find, he was a local resident, a graduate of Downey High School  a coach, a principal, a member of the Board of Education, and a much-loved neighbor.

The fences. As is true for most schools now, Williams is a closed campus, and the gates are closed and locked when school is not in session. But back in the day, there were no gates here, and my friends and I spent a lot of hours skateboarding in these hallways.

The grades. Williams teaches students from kindergarten through third grade. I went here for seven years, from kindergarten through sixth grade. (From here, we went to junior high, 7th-9th, rather than middle school.)

The posters. Character wasn't a special program, it was just part of a regular school day.

Shadows

Shadows are always fun. So when I saw these shadows the other day on the newly constructed school rooms at Downey High School, I had to stop for a photo op.

Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see.
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Missao para Juventude, Mozambique

We are currently in Mozambique at an orphanage that also has a private community school. The orphanage is green and quite beautiful and the children here will steal your hearts. The official name is Missao Para Juventude, but it is really home to 61 orphans. It is supported through an organization in the US that was set up by some friends of ours. The organization is called CFO Mozambique (Caring for Orphans, Mozambique).

Here you see a class of toddlers with their teacher, along with Erin (our friend from the States who has made this place her home for many years now).

Below is Barbara with her class of preschoolers. Everyday they come outside to sing and dance. Barbara leads them and they sing back to her shouting loudly with their little voices.

The school has drawn in many community students and is up to 187 who attend school here.

Since the building we are staying in is connected to the class room, every morning we are treated to hear them chanting their lessons....A, E, I, O, U...among other things.

Change that serves

There used to be three high schools in the Downey Unified School District, Downey High School, Warren High School, and Columbus High School. But three was too many, so Columbus was converted to a continuation school and now houses Downey Adult School (DAS). One program at DAS allows people who never graduated from high school to train and take the General Educational Development tests. Once they pass these tests they receive their high school equivalency certificate.

This is Minerva. She has been helping students pass the GED test for a long time at DAS. She is a pillar of the program.



The rest of Columbus is dedicated to helping adults be trained in a career. Massage therapy, dental assistance, pharmacy technician, and make-up academy are a few of the programs they offer. Check out these and many more here.

Change that honors IV

The last in my series of middle schools in Downey is Griffiths Middle School, which was originally named North Middle School. I've been looking for websites with information about the name change but couldn't find anything. The school's web site is here.



As you can see from the marquee above, school is out for the summer. The bleachers are empty.