Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016 Vol. 15 No. 29 NEWS NEWS NEWS HEALTH Latest Soroptimist Sprouts opening Have you heard Crime Report donation in Cerritos of TMAO? SEE PAGE 10 SEE PAGE 2 SEE PAGE 4 SEE PAGE 7 Downey’s Dia de los Muertos Festival returns Sunday to Downey Theatre DOWNEY – Thousands of New at the festival this year is catrinas, six foot tall gaily dressed DIA DE LOS MUERTOS ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULE people are expected to attend a costume contest with multiple paper mache skeletons, are the Friday MAIN STAGE Weekend77˚ the fourth annual Downey Dia de categories and prizes. The judges highlights of “Urban Art Alley.” Los Muertos Art Festival, to be seek originality, presentation and The popular trunk altars” are also 11 a.m.: Grupo Folklorico Mexcaltitan at a held this Sunday, Oct. 30, from makeup. returning. Glance 11:30: Tradicion Dance Company 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Downey 12: Grandeza Mexicana Saturday 78˚⁰ Also new this year is a For the fourth year, Aurora 68 Theatre. 12:30: Resurreccion Mexican Folk Friday community stage, the festival’s Chavez, a papel picado master 1: “Macario” film screening The festival opens with third entertainment location artisan, who studied with the 3: Grandeza Mexicana a welcome by Downey civic along with the intimate Zocalo famed L.A. native and grande 3:30: Resurreccion Mexican Folk Sunday 69˚70⁰ leaders, immediately followed by Stage, with its live music, and dame of Mexican folk art, Olga 4: “Book of Life” film screening Saturday a performance of Aztec dancers the 738-seat theater, which hosts Furginson, will demonstrate 6: Mixteco East L.A. that weave throughout the continuous, professional ballet traditional, hand cut tissue paper; 6:30: Tradicion Dance Company venue. folklorico performances all day. nearby sisters Helen Nieto, 7: Mixteco East L.A. 69˚ Barbara Valenzuela-Almaraz and 7:30: Ballet CoCo The entertainment lineup Film screenings include the Frances Valenzuela will oversee includes film, ballet folklorico, traditional noon showing of the calaveras decorations . These music (romantica, mariachi, “Macario”, an Academy Award women worked closely with COMMUNITY STAGE: THINGS TO DO cumbia, latin jazz, mambo and nominee for best foreign film Angela Villalba, the doyenne of more), urban art, fine art, “make from the golden age of Mexican the American calaveras industry. 11 a.m.: Danza Azteca Tonatiuh and take” calaveras (sugar skulls) cinema. Also showing is “Book 12: Paso de Oro and papel picado (tissue paper of Life,” the 2014 imaginative Grounds entertainment 1: Steps of Gold Dance Studio cut outs), costume contest, animated and charming Day include face painters, a 1:30: Resurreccion Mexican Folk face painting, plus food trucks, of the Dead modern day fable. community mural, balloon artist, 2: Ballet Folklorico Xochipitzahuatl shopping, altar displays and It received a Golden Globe and other surprises. 2:30: Art Dance Academy more. nomination for Best Animated 3: Costume Contest Food trucks offer a wide Feature Film. 4: BF Fuego En La Sangre de California Dia de Los Muertos, literally variety of cuisine, from Dia de los Muertos 4:30: Grandeza Mexicana “Day of the Dead,” is an annual Also in the theatre, in the main Argentinian to Mexican to 5: ZaZa Dancers Sunday - Downey Theatre, Mexican tradition that honors lobby, are displays of decorative American waffles and pizza with 11 am to 8 pm 5:30: Tlalliyolo and celebrates deceased family altars, made by ASPIRE students. nearby tables with umbrellas for 6: Spotlight Dance Studio Live performances, vendors, food and friends. A combination of ASPIRE is an afterschool picnicking. trucks, costume contest, film 6:30: Ballet CoCo screenings and more. Aztec and Catholic customs, Dia enrichment program funded by a 7: Paramount Dance Company de los Muertos is both festive state grant and administered by There’s a shopping corridor and solemn. the City of Downey and Downey with over 30 vendors selling IN THE ZOCALO: Unified School District. Dia de Los Muertos themed Common symbols of this merchandise, and a “commercial 11 a.m.: Tonatiuh Danza Azteca tradition are skeletons in The balcony lobby’s fine art zone” with a dozen small, local 12: Mariachi Sensazion de Mexico outlandish dress and decorated exhibit includes painting, collage, businesses presenting their 3: Conganas sugar skulls. In cemeteries and and mixed media coordinated by wares. 6: Pachuco Jose y los Diamantes in private homes, altars/ofrendas Carolina Del Toro of the Downey are created for the deceased: Arts Coalition. The festival is a presentation Friday Night Laughs of the City of Downey and the photos, favorite foods, pictures OUTSIDE THE LIBRARY: Friday - Godtti Nightclub in Downey, of things they liked to do, A new sculpture by Martin Downey Theatre. 8 pm 3 p.m.: Israel Cabanas “El Charro Noble” candles, marigolds. Sanchez, created specifically Live comedy featuring Bill Riedmann, for Downey, and a parade of 10 Vic Diaz and Jessica Wellington. $15, two drink minimum Teenage tutors preferred over teachers at Downey High Writing Center Festival Supreme and still provide students with proposed the Downey High Visiting the Writing Center Saturday - Shrine Expo Hall, 3 pm thoughtful, personal feedback? School Writing Center. after school means entering the Music and comedy festival featuring conversation of about 10 pairs of “Weird Al” Yankovic, Mayra Rudolph, Patton Oswalt and more. Downey High School has With the support of Downey tutors and tutees—some English found one answer to this High School Principal Tom Houts, learners, some special education question; they let students do a along with other administrators, students, some honors lot of this work. they were able to hire two college students, and some fall into tutors and then sought out those in-between categories. Nearly all universities juniors and seniors enrolled in Nonetheless, the conversation utilize writing centers on their AP Literature and honors classes. can meet these students where campuses to help support With fellow teachers beginning they are in ways a teacher in a student writers through their to offer some extra credit and/or classroom of thirty-plus students Halloween Capers college years. Downey Unified participation points, they were cannot. has embraced collaboration in able to build a staff of about 17 Saturday - Uptown Whittier, 3-6 pm the classrooms, moving away tutors with each tutor serving an As they approach their eighth Family event with trick-or-treating, face from teacher-directed time hour and a half after school each semester of service, the Writing painting, kiddie rides, costume contests and more. in favor of student-directed week. Center’s staff has grown to 56 conversation, yet high school tutors including four paid college writing centers are still a rarity. In 2013, they were then able tutors, and they are now proud to open the Writing Center to to be the “model program” at However, Downey High the English 10 students when Downey High School. They ■ EDUCATION: Started in 2013, Center was proud to have School English teacher Kelly second semester began. Even have also expanded the Writing the Writing Center at Downey High completed nearly 500 writing Crespo and her English though many of the teachers Center to serve freshmen, utilizes students for personalized tutorials. Now, as the new school Department colleagues, have encourage students to come sophomores and juniors, and found out that strategic planning, tutoring. year begins, the writing center by before school, snack, lunch, also have grown the community Fall Festival has calculated the completion several willing volunteers and an after school to seek extra help, of teacher supervisors from the empty classroom after school are Saturday - Center Street Promenade of over 1,600 tutorials last year teacher authority (regardless original three to eight teachers. in Anaheim, 11 am to 5 pm DOWNEY – It’s Thursday with projections exceeding 1,700 enough to make some incredibly of their enthusiasm to help) Carnival games, food, costume contests afternoon and a line of students tutorials for this school year. valuable conversations happen. can create an unintentionally “There is something to and Halloween parade starting at 6 pm extends out of a classroom door Conversations that are capable stressful atmosphere. starting and ending my day in the at Downey High School. It was asserted at a California of helping teachers in their center; hearing my own students Association of Teachers of movements to add volume A peer, however, will likely and those that I don’t know talk About 10 of these older English (CATE) conference and rigor to curriculum and always beat teachers at being about their writing, problem- students navigate through the titled, Teaching Practices and conversations that are also young, relatable, and, therefore, solving, revising, navigating crowd to enter the classroom Instructional Strategies That individualized, allowing teachers more approachable. a prompt, doing work of real first, storing their lacrosse sticks, Position Students Closer to to differentiate for virtually every writers,” expressed Crespo. “It’s a track duffle bags, and AP Biology Reading and Writing Excellence, kind of student. Teachers at Downey High space that makes sense, we can’t School integrate the Writing textbooks to find a seat and “the only way for students to get talk to our students as often as a Legally Blonde the Musical In late 2012, Crespo and Center in various ways in their settle themselves in for an hour over their fears of writing and to team of young tutors can. Saturday - Whittier Center Theatre, and a half of writers talking with build real confidence and real fellow English teachers Josette classrooms; yet, regardless of the 2 pm and 7 pm Bean and Tina Carlson set out to way in which a teacher chooses other writers.