Villa Park students host inaugural Serve-A-Thon

Spartan Serve-A-Thon
“Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve.”
– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Inspired by King’s commitment to service, students at Villa Park High School decided to honor his legacy by creating the VPHS Serve-A-Thon.
Villa Park High School student Ellie Wilson, left, and Preslee Burke, right, enjoyed visiting and making fleece blankets with seniors at the Kirkwood Assisted Living home in Orange during the Serve-A-Thon organized to give back to the community in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy. (Courtesy of VPHS)VPHS Spartans Jacob Vlasin, Olivia Martian, Joanna Enriquez, Alexis Schulenz, Aliana Huerta, Jackie Vu, Grace Koussa, Stacy Arriaga, Charolette Bengry and Aaron Duyan collected and organized more than 100 bags of clothing for the Salvation Army, as part of the VPHS Serve-A-Thon. (Courtesy of VPHS)Villa Park High School students Natalie Venegas, Benji Martinez, Giovanni Camponovo, Gladys Garcia, Alexis Aguilar, Evianna Elizarranas and Jason Ravalo gave back to their community and honored Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by serving food at Mary’s Kitchen during the Serve-A-Thon. (Courtesy of VPHS)VPHS students participated in the school’s first Serve-A-Thon by cleaning at the Orange Ronald McDonald House. From left, are Brenda Reyes, Daisy Dominguez, Arturo Ochoa, Elizabeth Cortez, Andrew Carrera, Sophia Galindo, Alex Luna and Eduardo Vasquez. (Courtesy of VPHS)Melanie Neller, an eighth grade student at El Rancho Charter Middle School, en route to weekend practice to perform with the SCSBOA. (Courtesy of Lisa Neller)Melanie Neller, shown here at the Musco Center for the Arts before her performance, is an eighth grade student at El Rancho Charter Middle School. She auditioned and won first chair for cello at the performance of the Southern California School band and Orchestra Association. (Courtesy of Lisa Neller)Cub Schout Troop 850 Webelos Ben Brown, Charles Schroeder, David Razon, Sean Halperin, Brodie Davis, and Gavin Cevallos visited with Trustee Andrea Yamasaki in the Orange Unified School District board Room to learn about community involvement. (Courtesy of Jodi Halperin)Show Caption of Expand
On Jan.  15, King’s birthday and a school and national holiday, dozens of VPHS Spartans from Link Crew, National Honor Society, Operation Package Club, plus the Cerro Villa Middle School WEB class gave up their day off to go out into the community to serve others.
Serve-A-Thon students assisted five local community organizations.
At Mary’s Kitchen, an all-volunteer group in Orange that provides that breakfast, lunch and showers for disadvantaged individuals six days per week, the students prepped and served more than 200 meals and 200 sack lunches. The students collected and organize more than 100 bags of clothing that were donated to the local Salvation Army.
At the Ronald McDonald House of Orange County, a temporary home for parents and families of critically ill children undergoing treatment at CHOC, the Spartans cleaned the house and all of the toys. At Kirkwood Assisted Living and Memory Care, Villa Park High students spent time with the senior citizens, enjoying “amazing conversations” while making fleece blankets. For the Friendly Center in Orange, which serves low-income families, the Spartans created more than 100 hygiene bags to give out.
Student leaders spent months contacting community leaders and organizations, preparing and coordinating before the first Serve-A-Thon. Principal Kenneth Miller commended the students for choosing to make a difference in the lives of others by participating and giving back to their community.

El Rancho celloist earns first chair
Eighth-grade El Rancho Charter Middle School student Melanie Neller was selected to play with the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association (SCSBOA) in the Middle School Honors String Orchestra at the Musco Center for the Arts at Chapman University.
Neller, who is first chair cello in the El Rancho orchestra, auditioned and competed against hundreds of other applicants from throughout Southern California to earn First Chair Cello for the SCSBOA orchestra.
Neller started playing the cello only two years ago, during sixth grade. Her love of the instrument and music have inspired her to take private lessons, as well as to practice to achieve this level of expertise.
Film screening will address teens in digital age
The El Modena High PTSA will sponsor a free showing of the movie “Screenagers,” focusing on teens’ use of smartphones, tablets and computers for everything from classwork to gaming to social media. The one-hour movie will begin at 6:45 p.m. on Feb. 22 in the El Modena Cafeteria, 3920 Spring St.
The movie was created by a physician, and will offer information and strategies for parents to deal with device use today as students grow up in the digital age. A brief panel discussion will follow the screening. The event is free and open to the community.
CHS Grad Night
There’s no need to cook today, Feb. 7, when you can dine with family and friends, or get to-go orders, from BJ’s, and support the Canyon High School Grad Night. Between noon and 9 p.m., the CHS Grad Night Committee, striving for a safe celebration for all Canyon 2018 grads, will receive 20 percent of the sales. BJ’s is at 8188 E. Santa Ana Canyon Road in Anaheim Hills; phone 714-787-3580 for take-out orders.
El Rancho open enrollment
Students and families considering middle school at El Rancho Charter Middle School may tour the campus at 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 14, or 3:30 p.m. on March 6. Phone the office, 714-997-6238, for a reservation. Open enrollment for the 2018-19 school year will begin on March 5 and close at 5 p.m. on March 16.
 
Send your photos and school news to Andrea Mills at OCSchoolNews@aol.com.
Source: Oc Register