Claremont School News
The Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology was recently reaccredited by the American Alliance of Museums. “We are incredibly proud to receive reaccreditation from AAM,” said Alf Director Andrew Farke in a statement. “This recognition affirms the quality of our programs, the care and significance of our fossil collections, and our commitment to education and scientific discovery. It is also a testament to the dedication of our staff and our vibrant community of student scientists.” Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo
Pitzer College biology grad Ben Sievers is very comfortable wearing a crisp white coat in the sterile environment of a lab. That’s been his M.O. for the last several years as a research fellow at the J. Craig Venter Institute in La Jolla. These days, work looks a little different for the 23-year-old.
“Picture me — I have this big blue tarp on, three layers of gloves, these white boots, and two masks. We’re at a pig slaughterhouse and there’s like a thousand pigs,” he said. “It’s blazing hot and I’m sweating through all my layers of personal protective equipment. Everyone’s watching me, chasing these pigs trying to swab their noses.”
Last season, Claremont High School’s girls varsity basketball team experienced a renaissance under first-year head coach Chilavo Anderson, going 21-9, 8-2 in league. It was a remarkable turnaround after two consecutive losing seasons.
Twelve months later the team one-upped itself, going 24-4 overall, 8-2 in league, and winning its first Palomares League title.
Girls basketball
The Pack hosted Alta Loma on February 2 and demolished the Braves, 65-8. Glendora and Bonita also picked up wins on the last day of league resulting in a three-way tie for first, each with a 8-2 league record. The girls finished the regular season 24-4 overall, earning their first ever Palomares League title.
Every year, talented local high school musicians compete in the Dan Stover Memorial Instrumental Music Competition, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Claremont. This year’s winner from the January 28 competition was CHS junior Sebastian Quadrini. Courier photo/Peter Weinberger
There is a movement afoot to collect the 99 required signatures of residents of Claremont Unified School District’s District 4 to force a special election to fill the vacant school board seat. That special election will cost CUSD $273,000. That’s right, the school district foots the bill for that special election.
Claremont High School
Boys basketball
Bonita dealt Claremont its 23rd loss of the season, 51-32, on January 27. Ayala compounded the misery Tuesday when it downed the Pack, 80-37. The team is 3-24 overall, 0-9 in league, and finished sixth in Palomares League play.
Claremont capped its season after press time Thursday against Alta Loma.
Pomona College and the labor union Unite Here Local 11 have reached a contract agreement for the college’s dining hall and catering staff.
In a joint news release the organizations said they penned a four-year collective bargaining agreement on January 18 that would bring all the college’s food service workers to a minimum $25-per-hour wage. The employees overwhelmingly ratified the agreement in a union vote.
Claremont High School’s theater department recently received a $100,000 donation.
The gift, from 2006 Claremont High School alumnus and Thespian Troupe #2129 member Jaryd Hochberger, was announced during the January 19 Claremont Unified School District Board of Education meeting.
Claremont High School
Boys basketball
Claremont continued its disappointing season January 20 with a 62-34 loss to Glendora. The Pack then played host to Colony Wednesday, and lost, 62-32. Following Wednesday’s result, the team is 3-22 overall and 0-7 in league play.
Claremont is at Bonita Friday, then at Ayala on Tuesday, January 31. Both tipoffs are set for 7 p.m.
Claremont Unified School District’s Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday to appoint former board member Hilary LaConte to fill the Trustee Area 4 seat vacated by Steven Llanusa, who resigned December 10.
There were 10 applicants for the vacant seat, including Aaron Peterson, whom Llanusa narrowly defeated in the November 8 election.
Between 1963 and 2020, just two directors have called the small corner office behind Claremont High’s Don F. Fruechte Theatre’s stage “home.” In 2021, Mohammed Mangrio became the third.
When 27-year CHS theater director Krista Elhai retired in 2021, she recommended Mangrio for the job. But with the 2021-22 theater schedule already in place, he spent most of that academic year managing a program he had no input in designing.
Claremont High School’s girls varsity soccer team snapped Vivian Webb School’s 28-game winning streak Saturday with a decisive 4-0 win at home. The Gauls’ streak was the fifth longest in California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section history. The Wolfpack scored four second half goals, two by CHS junior forward Isabella Salas, in the nonleague match. The result boosted Claremont’s overall record to 12-2-1 and gave Webb, now 7-1, its first loss of the season.
Claremont McKenna College’s float, titled “launching responsible leaders,” was featured in today’s 134th Rose Parade. The float — a first for CMC — honored the school’s 75th anniversary and featured Mt. Baldy, on left. The theme focuses on the college’s mission to graduate students who will live thoughtful, productive lives and develop responsible leadership. COURIER […]
With Claremont high school sports straddling both the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years, there is quite a bit to recap as we come to the end of 2022. The year’s winter sports programs at both CHS and Webb included title winners.
On Tuesday, December 13, Strom C. Thacker, chief academic officer at Union College in New York, was announced as Pitzer College’s seventh president and will officially take office on July 1, 2023. Thacker succeeds sixth president, Melvin L. Oliver, who retired in 2022 after a six-year tenure. Jill A. Klein is currently serving as interim president for the 2022-23 academic year.
When the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section updates its record books in 2023, the Vivian Webb School’s girls varsity soccer team will see its name appear twice: once next to its 2022 Division VI CIF-SS title, and another among the longest winning streaks of all time. Webb is in the midst of a 28-game win streak and moved into fifth place in CIF-SS history with its most recent 3-0 win over Glendora on December 15. Sixth year VWS varsity head coach Malick Mbengue said it’s a “mind boggling” stat.