SAN PEDRO HIGH SCHOOL DRAMA TRAIN CHUGS UP AGAIN WITH HIRING OF TAMI MARINO, A POPULAR AND “HILARIOUS” ARTS THEATER INSTRUCTOR FROM DANA MIDDLE SCHOOL

 AFTER 18 YEARS OF BUILDING A FAMILY AND FRIENDSHIPS WITH STUDENTS AT HER FORMER CAMPUS,  THE THEATRICAL TEACHER AGONIZED OVER THE DECISION BUT THEN REALIZED SAN PEDRO HIGH SCHOOL,WITH A NOW-DEFUNCT DRAMA PROGRAM, NEEDS HER EXPERTISE;

DRAMA STARTS THIS FALL, BUT AUDITIONS START NOW; 16 STUDENTS OVER THE SUMMER ALREADY SHOWED UP FOR MONOLOGUES AND MORE AUDITIONS ARE EXPECTED AUG. 17.

“Performing is part of my life and not doing it after a year killed me.  Now I’m ready to shine and be back in the spotlight once more.” – 17-year-old Shawn Evans

By Diana L. Chapman

Tami Marino had an excruciating decision to make. For the past 18 years, she had taught English at Dana Middle School, handled the drama courses, encouraged students to perform who had never done so in their lives and built a family on campus she  thought she might never leave

 Until…

San Pedro High School’s performing arts program began to sputter, suddenly seizing abruptly a year ago, leaving  students in the lurch.

That disturbed her immensely.  And then, San Pedro High principal Jeanette Stevens offered her a job to teach English and drama.

That’s when the angst started and the excitement began.

While she was bothered that the high school students -- who more than ever need to be prepped for potential drama careers were losing out -- she was troubled about leaving Dana.  “A  bug that had been planted in my ear” years ago, made her seriously consider the proposal. Former San Pedro High drama teacher, Ellen Pomello, consistently told her she belonged there.

“It was really difficult,” explained Tami, 51,  who still has a lot of heartache about leaving Dana. “I had a difficult decision to make, but I’m excited. I couldn’t believe San Pedro High didn’t have a drama program and I believe my path is now here.”

Students couldn’t agree more. Sixteen students showed up for July auditions, several who had the instructor at Dana and others who couldn’t wait for the program to start again. Another audition will be held 10 a.m. Aug. 17 in Room 253. Interested students can email her at tmari2@lausd.net

During auditions she was surrounded by students, mostly seniors, who were in their glory not only that drama had returned, but that Tami became the new teacher.

“Ms. Marino’s” strengths, her former students said, were getting students on stage who were shy, coaxing the emotional side of characters out of them and making them perform to their best ability.

They all complained that the lack of drama at the school was discouraging and they couldn’t wait for the July auditions.

Russell Gielsih, 17, a senior, stepped on the stage and spoke his monologue with few hitches during the July auditions. When he heard Tami was coming to the school, he didn’t believe it. While at Dana, he said: “Ms. Marino did an amazing job with production. I heard about (her coming) from my friends and thought they were teasing me. We didn’t have drama for a whole year.”

Said his friend, Sarah Moreno, 17, also a senior, that she was with Marino when she had her first lead part at Dana: “I just love her. She’s hilarious.”

Students reading monologues didn’t seem too nervous during the July auditions in front of a panel of three – which included Tami, Dana teacher Elise De La Cruz and Cathy Subric, also a teacher, who specializes in making costumes. Both volunteered to help.

Pleased that during the summer, so many students showed up for auditions and that the word of mouth is getting out there, Tami said it will take her several months to develop the students to do performances. With enough students, she hopes to put together at least two shows, one in the fall and one in the spring and more whenever possible.

She has ready teamed up with dance teacher, Cherry Booth, and she plans to hook onto several of the dance events and perhaps put together a musical.

“We want to do lunch time performances,” Tami explained. “We want to get the kids out there. Some of these kids have never been on stage.”

Other students, who had never had the instructor before, couldn’t believe their good fortune that in their senior year they were going to have a chance to perform  again. Many of them said they were entering college for dance or drama.

“I was like: “We are going to have play productions!” exclaimed 16-year-old Hailey Garrett, who also has performed Hawaiian dancing since the age of five. “The kids here have just been basically out of luck.  “It’s a great opportunity.”

Said her friend, Jessenia Galvan-Lloyd, also a 16-year-old senior who performs jazz, belly, African and Modern dance, she was thrilled to hear about the new teacher after having her at Dana.

“Being on stage is like an adrenaline rush,” Jessenia said. “I was so excited to get such a great teacher. She does all these exercises to help you with your character. I played my characters and spoke my lines, but she made me become the person I was playing. She gets the full potential out of you.”

Tybris Green, who has never performed in his life, nervously showed up for.  But under the teacher’s watch, he relaxed, and explained he wanted to add drama to his tool kit.

“I didn’t do as good as I wanted,” he said.

But the instructor disagreed, telling all the students they “all did a really good job.” She was proud, she confided later, that they had the guts to show up.

 “Everyone”  should take theater,” Tami said,  because it teaches confidence, empathy and how to collaborate .

To gear herself up for the high school job, Tami did something she had never done before. She went back to a high school a reunion at Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach walked the halls,  visited the football field, met former school mates and “re-experienced the feelings” she had in high school.

“My main thing is I’m not as much about them going out and becoming professional actors, but in theater you can learn so much about yourself,” she said. “Any profession you are going to choose in life, theater can only help you with that profession.”

While students were excited about the instructor coming aboard, the principal couldn’t wait to add her especially due to all the changes at the school, including a new house called Creative Expressions which includes drama. Tami’s daughter, Samantha, will arrive in the fall from Dodson Middle School at the same time as her mother.

 “San Pedro High School lacked an experienced theater teacher,” Stevens said. “With the numerous talents that exist within our diverse student population, it is important to me that we continue to provide courses that are of high interest to students.  Tami Marino is a talented and experienced educator that has a strong repertoire of skills that were lacking at SPHS.

“With high recommendations from the community and her former principal, we were extremely pleased to bring theatre back to SPHS with Ms. Marino leading the charge!”

John Zavalney, who runs the center, feeds Peaches, a 32-year-old Shetland pony.

THREE YEARS AGO, THE SAN PEDRO SCIENCE CENTER WAS DOOMED TO CLOSE DUE TO INTENSE LAUSD BUDGET CUTS; BUT THANKS TO PARTNERING WITH A NON-PROFIT TO ENHANCE THE SITE, A SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER COMMITTED TO THE PROGRAM AND THE DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND POWER AGREEING TO PAY THE OVERSEER’S SALARY ,THE PLACE IS THRIVING WITH ANIMALS,  GARDENERS, BLOOMS AND VEGGIES 

 THE LIKES OF LUCY, THE IGUANA, A GOAT NAMED BUTTERCUP AND PEACHES, THE SHETLAND PONY, ARE JUST WAITING FOR THE PUBLIC TO VISIT; IT’S FREE!

Alma Bruhnke, 6,  leads Buttercup.  

Jacob Gutierrez, the chairman of Keepers of Indigenous Ways, explains that the Tongva people will partner with the center by taking over and nurturing its native vegetation and will tend to a Micronesian canoe in the middle of the Tongva prayer circle. The public is invited to find their own sacred  stones to add to the circle, but are asked to upkeep the area where their stones are placed.

 By Diana L. Chapman 

The odds that Lucy, the iguana would be safe at home in the San Pedro Science Center looked about as slim as her tail  -- just three years ago.

Same with her friends -- a laundry list of rescued, injured or confiscated animals  – that had come to reside at the center before its threatened demise. It was one of the first places targeted for closure during ugly budget cut battles still ongoing in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Gone would be the days of goats like Buttercup, Ophelia, the 500 pound sow, and Peaches, the 32-year-old Shetland pony, some of which graced the site and blessed thousands of students with a rare glimpse of something few urbanites see anymore  – farm animals.

But thanks to many partnerships,  LAUSD school board member Richard Vladovic and the many neighbors who rallied to save it, vegetables are flourishing, animals are eating and wildlife officials still have an agricultural oasis to bring animals taken illegally from the wild – including two albino squirrels.

“The district said it’s not viable,” said John Zavalney, an environmental educator, who oversees the entire six-acre plot with five employees and a crew of volunteers. His job includes collaborating with organizations to help the program thrive and survive.  “All the neighbors came to our aid to save it.

Now, “it’s impressive,” Zavalney added about the changes, who has numerous awards for his interest in instructing environmental studies and is involved in many organizations, including Jane Goodall’s Roots and Shoots program.

Life has burst out loudly again at the site, tucked squarely in the heart of a middle class neighborhood in the northern area of San Pedro and next door to Cooper Continuation High School.  

Instead of dirt and weeds, turkeys trot across the lawn. Geese cackle out screeches and honks. Stray cats slink around having found a safe haven there. The goats bray. And large turtles dip in and out of ponds.

Monthly Tongva languages classes now take place to keep the native American language alive and the Indians are now a large part of the site’s future – tending to a prayer circle and all the Native plants on the site.

Polynesian style planting of zucchini and other squash.

Pastor Etepati Panama (middle) of First Samoan Christian Church of Harbor City with Ernie P.Enesi, left and Malotumau Leiato planting tarot. 

Elizabeth Rodriguez, 17, of the Port of Los Angeles High School with a friend from Dodson Middle School

Angel Rodriguez, 14, left, Christian Rodriguez 15, of South High School, plant tomatoes to be sold to a restaurant to help sustain the center.

                                
 The center’s savior:  collaboration.

“The San Pedro Science Center lost its mission for many years facing drastic budget cuts and enormous pressure to cut back services,” Vladovic said. “Only through these budget cuts were we able to see the Science Center through a collaborative lens and seek partners in the community to renew and reengergize the facility.”

Partnerships, did in fact,  bring life back to the dying site. 
The Department of Water and Power agreed to pay  Zavalney’s salary 
through the district. Plots of land were opened to schools and other groups to use and grow vegetables (Plots are still available.) 

Then there’s the goats.

Barbara Salinda, who keeps her 14-year-old daughter Lynette’s goats at the center,  said she volunteers to care for the roughly ten goats in return to pen Buttercup and Pearl. Finding a home for the creatures, she said, would have  cost her a fortune so the match is perfect. In addition, the volunteer added, she believes it’s imperative that all children should be exposed to ranch life, including her daughter.

“I grew up in a farm in Montana and I was near farm animals,” she said. “It’s so difficult to find any of this in this urban setting.”

Another collaboration landed a refreshing change to

some of the center’s dreary buildings. The interiors went from a drab, chipped and dirty beige to a colorful array of murals done by volunteers, including artists.

Silkworms used as reptile food.

A confiscated chameleon that was taken illegally from wild.

A center employee holds Shadow like a baby after she was rescued by staff.  Kitten looking for new home also a center rescue.

If it hadn't been for partnering Lucy, the iguana, would have lost her home.

Haik, a Vladovic aide. The non-profit brought in about seventy volunteers in May to repaint interior walls to blues and greens, sandy beiges and earth browns that depict animals such as a snowy owl, bearded dragons and boa snakes.

One of the murals done through ShareFest, a non-profit organization.

Kitten the staff rescued and needs a home.

Money also was a necessity to nurture the once-wilting center.

 Vladovic provided about $65,000 for  upgrades such as installing brand new tables and chairs, upgrade the outdated electrical where the reptiles live and add a “smart” board which allows work from a computer to be reflected on a board, similar to a whiteboard, and vice-versa.

Between this facility and LAUSD’s Center for Marine Studies (at the Marine Mammal Care Center), school officials are hoping to spark an interest in science and the environment among its thousands of students and to get their minds “to flourish,” Vladovic explained.

The community is expected to become a “day destination” for thousands of LAUSD students, said David Kooper, Vladovic’s chief of staff, because it will use bus transportation more efficiently and give students another doorway to the  sciences that would have been lost if facility had closed.

 “We have a master plan and the center is reinventing itself,” Kooper  explained.

Zalvaney holds turkey and stands next to David Kooper, chief of staff for LAUSD board member Vladovic

Located at 2201 Barrywood Avenue in San Pedro, the center is open 8 a.m.  to 4:30 Monday through Friday and can be visited by the public at anytime during those hours. Visitors are asked to get permission to feed the animals as many are on a restrictive diet. For more information, call (310)-832-7573.

 SAN PEDRO POP ROCK GROUP TAKES ITS FIRST CRACK AT MUSIC CAREERS BY LAUNCHING A SIX WEEK-LONG TOUR AT BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS ACROSS CALIFORNIA AND OREGON: THE SAN PEDRO BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB IS WHERE THE SEED BLOSSOMED FOR  THE GROUP CALLED “LAST DAY OFF” WHICH  WANTED TO GIVE BACK TO THE ORGANIZATION THAT HELPED CREATE IT 

THE BAND’s FIRST  VIDEO WILL BE RELEASED THIS SUMMER

Last Day Off musicians from left to right: Thaddeus Sundin, 15, Wolf Bradley, 17, Anderw Macatrao, 18, and Jonathan Barron, 20

By Diana L. Chapman

Musicians from the band Last Day Off will never forget one of their first gigs at the Pacoima Boys and Girls Clubs.

Teenagers and younger kids thrust their hands in Andrew Mocatrao’s towering, frost-blue Mohawk stacked five inches high atop his head. The kids begged for autographs, photographs, T-shirts and wanted their own sneakers and shirts signed. 

But what shocked the band  were the many children that thanked them – including teens – for letting them see their first live performance.  It sent chills up their spine that they could give back to the place where it all started.

“A lot of the kids had never even seen a band and it was  totally new to them,” said an amused Wolf Bradley, 17, the leader who plans to take off school for a year to continually go on tour.  “They were touching our guitars. They kept our picks.”

 “Once I walked in there, they thought we were all famous,” said 18-year-old Andrew, attributing it partially to his punk style. “They treated us like that. It was awesome.”

Interested locals – especially parents who want their children to see a refreshing band that says no to drugs and that life should be not just fun, but cherished -- can see the band perform at the Taste of San Pedro Aug. 6.

Their songs, like “Party” include kegs of the Mexican fruit drink horchata instead of beer and still include the heart breaker pop love songs, such as Mrs. Right.

What makes the band’s visits this summer to Boys and Girls Club all too ironic, Wolf explains, is that’s where it all began at the small teen center in San Pedro where the club had scored a major grant and was able to purchase musical equipment and a contemporary, digital music studio.

Because his mother, Cindy, and father, Patrick, own the San Pedro Ballet dance studio – and are both performers -- Wolf spent a lot of time at the San Pedro club.

Initially, he had no interest in music and was committed to a career in film making. That all changed when Boys and Girls Club staff introduced him to music.  He started on the drums then plucked at the guitar.

By 7^th grade, he recorded his first song at the club’s recording studio.

 “It was terrible,” he grinned widely. “It was supposed to be punk, but it didn’t sound punky. My voice was so high and I just couldn’t get up the grunge. It’s really funny to listen to.”

“It was terrible,” Andrew agreed during an interview before they lunched the tour. The two have become tight friends since forming the band three years ago.

Boys and Girls club officials said they are both delighted that they were able to help get Wolf’s career off the ground and that  Last Day Off is returning the favor.

“I really think the club helped the break Wolf out of his shell,” said Tony Tripp, the San 

 Pedro club’s director of operations. “ His mom had him in a lot of ballet/ theater 

type of activities and the club introduced Wolf to music and film. He also made some

 connections with other teens that he never would have been exposed to.  This is why

 I like to get kids from all walks of life.

“ Wolf was well off, has a "stable" family life yet he benefited greatly from his 

exposure at our facility.” 

Andrew and  Wolf  later added guitarist Jonathan Barron, 20, who went to Palos Verdes High School and bassist Thaddeus Sundin, 15, who moved from Oregon with his parents permission to live with the Bradleys to pursue his musical career.

When Jonathan auditioned, both Andrew and Wolf tired quickly of his soft strumming, classical style  and that he wasn’t “shredding”  his guitar, Wolf said. He didn’t have the style they were seeking.

“He was really shy and his haircut was just so random,” Wolf explained. But both musicians could see that Jonathan had possibilities. They offered him to learn several of their songs and to return.

On Jonathan’s side, he was stunned when they asked him if he smoked pot – thinking that they wanted him too – and as Christian, he knew he wouldn’t fit into a drug environment.

“I wasn’t sure if I would do it,” said-20-year-old Jonathan. “I don’t do pot.” But when he understood they didn’t either, he took the songs, learned them, and returned several times to learn how to shred with Wolf. 

“I’d come back and Wolf would teach me, “he said. Next he knew, he was in the band.

The last to join – “the final piece of the puzzle” -- was Thaddeus Sundin, 15, who Wolf 
met accidentally at a party in Oregon where his aunt lives and runs a dance studio. Wolf’s  family vacations there every summer, performing and dancing, and take Andrew along. 

Thaddeus, who was homeschooled and also danced, has just  picked up the guitar a year ago, but had not plans to join a band.

Wolf and Andrew heard him play and thought his music was decent, but didn’t even consider him for Last Day Off since he lived in Oregon. “It was just meant to be fun,” Thaddeus explained. He had no intention of a musical career.

Wolf shakes his bushy hair and laughs: “I don’t understand what happened or how I happened.”

That’s where a mom – especially a performing mom -- can come in handy.

Cindy, Wolf’s mother, had spotted Thaddeus’s talent too and pointed it out to Andrew and Wolf.  Because Thaddeus was also performing in ballet and knew the Bradley’s relatives, Cindy approached the family and asked if the 15-year-old could come and live with them and go on tour. They agreed.

 Wolf has also left school for his last year to tour.

“That was a tough decision, taking a year off school,” Cindy explained. “But the bands at a place to move forward 100 percent and I’m certain he’ll go back. It’s just risking that time. But I’m sure it will be applied somehow to his future.”

 The Bradley’s – using a van provided by Jonathan’s father – agreed to take them on the summer tour.

Mike Lansing, executive director of the Los Angeles Harbor Area Boys and Girls Clubs, said them returning to help the organization to promote their band and play for their members is a winner for everyone. 

“The reason we started and expanded our music program was to provide a growing number of youth with an opportunity to have positive experiences in music and develop their talents.,” Lansing said.  “The same for our recording studio. We continue this commitment in these difficult economic times because except for the Boys & Girls Club, no one else is providing these important artistic opportunities in our community.

“ Congratulations to Wolf and good luck in his continuing development and career.”
   Visit Last Day Off sites:

 www.myspace.com/lastdayoff or 
www.lastdayoff..com 

 WHAT’S TO COME THIS YEAR AT SAN PEDRO HIGH SCHOOL: PRINCIPAL LAYS OUT THE PLANS FOR STUDENTS AND THEIR PARENTS TO UNDERSTAND THE NEW CHANGES;  SIX NEW SMALL LEARNING COMMUNITIES, A BRAND NEW SCHEDULE   AND A GEOGRAPHIC RESTRUCTURE ARE ALL PART OF THE MIX

By Diana L. Chapman

Six small learning communities called “houses” and an entirely new schedule will welcome students this fall when they return to San Pedro High School – as part of a swath of changes the new principal hammered out with her staff.

The alterations are expected to potentially transform the beleaguered school – long layered with issues such as poor accreditation, entrenched staff, overcrowding  and low test scores – in a matter of a few years and help students forge closer relationships with their teachers and friends in their communities.

School officials also expect the changes to prep students for college and their futures.

Los Angeles School Board Member Richard Vladovic, who oversees the San Pedro 

community, said:  "I am thrilled that the San Pedro High School educational 

community came together and agreed upon a framework for student success.  

I have no doubt that great strides will be made at Pedro in the next few years.  

They have set a course for excellence and have a great Captain of the ship.”

In late spring, the school also received another year of accreditation, but will come under close scrutiny over the next several years due to its drop in test scores which prompted the Los Angeles Unified school board to place the campus under its controversial “public school choice,” opening it to being run by outside operators.

Upper LAUSD administrators have wholeheartedly endorsed the proposals pulled together by new principal Jeanette Stevens and her faculty, calling her a bright spot among school principals for her keen collaborative skills.

“Jeannette Stevens is an outstanding instructional leader,” said Mike Romero,

 the local superintendent of the region and Steven’s boss.  “The professional

 development focus is on teaching and learning the California Content Standards 

every day, in every classroom. 

“The San Pedro High School faculty has had an opportunity to express

concerns and different ways to approach the work.  Ms. Stevens has

listened with an empathetic ear and has made mid-course corrections.

However, she is fearless in moving ahead with implementing contiguous

space to solidify smaller learning communities and has demonstrated the

importance of modifying bell schedule to provide enhanced interventions.”

Stevens, 41, who was plucked from John Leichty Middle School in the Pico Union area, was selected for the post after the high school suffered a stormy sea of revolving-door-leadership prior to her arrival. In the past year, she has achieved popularity in the community by attending public meetings, making herself accessible and has received accolades from many, but not all teachers.

One teacher said she was excited after Steven’s arrival because it was the first time 

in years she had spotted school administrators walking around the school.

The accreditation committee also was pleased by the improvement it witnessed

 at its last review, Romero said. The staff had improved its vision – and did 

so quickly -- after offering more consistency among its different departments

 so that “SPHS students have a better understanding of course content and access 

to learning," Romero explained. 

Beside the most stringent staff planning to pull together six new small learning communities, they will physically be placed in “contiguous spaces,” Stevens said, meaning the student houses will be geographically in the same area – a decision to help ensure  students are on their instructors’ radar and not falling through the cracks.

Along with two existing magnets – the Police Academy and Marine Magnet, the six houses include:

·        PEDRO ACTION: Dedicated to public service, such as fire fighters, lawyers, public clerks and child care; the program will be housed in the main building directly off 14^th Street.

·        CREATIVE EXPRESSIONS: Performing arts,  fine arts and visual arts, which will include drama, photography, advertising and journalism, will be located in the Industrial Arts buildings off Leland Avenue and adjacent to the auditorium.

·        COMMUNICATIONS: Devoted to film making, public relations and business relations, this learning community will be placed in the former English building in the center of the school behind the main office.

·        BUSINESS:  Studying accounting , advertising and how the world of business revolves around sociology and psychology. This community will be located in the lower floor of the Science Building near 17^th Street.

·        GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL:  Studies extensively the operations of the Port of Los Angeles and other marine-related careers using ITEP, the International Trade Education Programs that connects the marine business to schools. This house will be located on the north side of the campus in bungalows.

·        PHYSICAL FITNESS:  Embraces programs around sports, recreation and health, including nutrition, sports therapy, nursing and the scientific study of the body. This program will be in the bungalows off 14^th Street.

Both magnet programs will be located in bungalows near the Parent Center on the corner of 15^th Street and Leland Avenue.

Stevens made it clear that forming the houses into a contiguous space, while imperative for the bonding and prepping students for college and their futures – was both tedious and arduous task for her staff. The staff, however, agreed to the changes  and made preparations for moving at the end of  June to “increase and improve the learning environment for their students.”

“Moving into contiguous space was a challenging decision for our staff,” Stevens said. “Many staff members had been in their rooms over a decade. Hallway relationships had been formed, lesson plans passed along in hallways, lunch clubs established and even exercise partnerships created.

“Teachers boxed, carried, rolled, pushed, and juggled all of their belongings to their new rooms at the end of June. We already see teachers creating new connections and making use of the common spaces that are readily available for the students they will have in common this fall.”

Along with those changes, comes a block schedule. School will starts at 8:06 am Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. on Fridays. Every day, students will get out at 3:08.

Most classes will be taught in three 100 block minutes a day, ending with a 7^th period. Friday’s, however, will include all seven periods for 38 minutes.

On Monday and Wednesday, periods 1,3,5,7 will meet. On Tuesday and Thursday, 2,4,6 and 7^th period will meet.

Other changes include:

·        The ability for parents to access their children’s grades online at anytime

·        Rebuilding the defunct drama program by hiring former Dana Middle School drama teacher, Tami Marino, who will hold auditions Aug. 17 in Room 253 at  10 a.m.

·        Future meetings with parents to determine how they can help San Pedro High.