This past week marked the third week of the 2019 First Robotics Competition (FRC) Build Season, which is usually unofficially designated as “CAD Week” (computer-aided design).

Week Three was the CAD team’s time to shine because it was their job combine each wooden prototype into a working 3D computer model while simultaneously solving mechanical constraints.

Once the rough draft is complete, team members are able to virtually test different materials and configurations in order to find an efficient design that meets all possible constraints. After a thorough trial-and-error process, the model design is finalized, allowing mechanical team members to use the computer drawings as a blueprint. These blueprints are especially helpful because they allow for newer mechanical members to follow carefully planned instructions meant to guarantee productivity.

Although this week was primarily CAD work, Drive Team continued their rigorous practice sessions by driving without any audio cues. Programming also continued working on the minimap and vision projects in preparation for the completed robot. These two projects are meant to overcome this year’s main limitation, Sandstorm, which eliminates each team’s direct vision of the field at the beginning of the match. Meanwhile, the mechanical team prepared its materials for next week, which has been designated as manufacturing week.

Titanium Robotics is on course for a strong finish in the 2019 FRC Build Season. Remember to look out for the annual Rollout event featuring the finished 2019 robot once build season is complete. Titanium Robotics will attend the Orange County Regional during the first week of March and conclude with the Idaho Regional during the last week of March. These two regionals will each provide opportunities to earn a coveted spot to the FRC World Championships hosted in Houston in late April.

The post Robotics Team Designs Through Week Three appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

Two sets of chairs are placed on either side of the mat at most wrestling tournaments and coaches are encouraged to instruct their athletes from that vantage point.

Typically, a coach will have the privilege of occupying the perch for a match or two before relinquishing to a contemporary.

Typically.

Last Wednesday afternoon, San Marino High School wrestling Coach Eddie Aguirre spent so much time matside at the Rio Hondo League finals that he could have received mail inside Monrovia High School’s gymnasium. The first nine Titans qualified for the championship match, meaning that Aguirre spent the better part of an hour exhorting his charges. Remarkably, all nine walked off with league titles as San Marino threw a trump card on the Rio Hondo League team championship it won ten days earlier with a victory over South Pasadena.

A little math: Of the 11 wrestlers San Marino entered into the varsity bracket of the tournament, 10 qualified to move on to the CIF tournament by finishing in the top three of their respective weight class. Of those 10, nine came away as league champions, six doing so by pinning their opponent in their championship match, two doing so by technical fall, and one by a standard decision. The 10th CIF-qualifying wrestler took 3rd place by pinning his opponent to win his bronze medal match. The 11th wrestler just missed out on continuing into CIF post-season competition by finishing in 4th place. The league did not track team scores at this season’s tournament—as has been traditional on the past—but the Titans’ absolute dominance of the event was obvious.

Santino Sanchez got things started at 106 lbs., pinning his opponent at the 1:31 mark of the of third period. Koa Ruiz took just 1:28 to register a pinfall in the 113 lb. weight class. Raul Jimenez followed up in the 120 lb. weight class with a pin at 1:32 of the second period.

Devyn Che won the 126 lb. crown with a first period pin that took just a minute and a half.

Josh Trumbull took a technical fall at 132 lbs., winning the match by a final score of 17-2.

Senior Beau Perez won his fourth straight Rio Hondo League championship with another technical fall, winning 20-4 in just the first period.

Sophomore Luka Wick toyed with his opponent for more than a period, but eventually decked his man with 1:15 left in the second. Kurt Trumbull emerged victorious in the 152 lb. weight class with a pin that took just a little over a minute. Caleb Trumbull was the final champion, taking crown #9 with a 10-3 victory at 160 lbs.

Ryan Arringron punched his ticket to CIF with a third place finish in the 182 lb. weight class.

Matt Harlan continued to show improvement, finishing fourth at 195 pounds.

Full marks to the Titan junior varsity grapplers, who had solid finishes.

Ryan Zhang finished third at 126 lbs., Craig McLaren Swan did likewise at 132 pounds, while Gavin Palenik was fourth in the 160 lb. classification.

Sadly, the Titans lost to Long Beach Poly by a single point, 39-38, in the first round of the CIF Division III dual meet championships. Brackets for the CIF individual champions were not available at press time.

The post Titan Grapplers Dominate at Rio Hondo League Finals appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

Alyssa Escamilla, a senior at San Marino High School who serves as the ASB student representative to the school board, wants to major in public policy or political science when she enters college in the fall.

But she isn’t waiting to have an impact on those she serves.

Escamilla—a member of CASC, the California Association of Student Councils—spoke in Sacramento last month as part of the Student Advisory Board on Legislation, where she proposed a bill that would make it mandatory for the state’s schools “to post their sexual assault protocol in language that could be easily followed and understood by high school students.”

“We also asked them to require schools to specifically list the number of suspensions and expulsions related to sexual assault and harassment,” said Escamilla, who is also the vice president of CASC.

Escamilla was one of ten students in a group that proposed the bill and was chosen to speak on behalf of the group. The proposal was picked up and will eventually end up on the Senate floor for a vote.

“I think it is a really serious topic,” Escamilla told The Tribune. “There is so much right now being discussed about bullying, but sexual harassment and sexual assault are both very prevalent. This subject is nothing to be scared or embarrassed about and if it only helps one person, that is good enough for me.”

Another bill Escamilla championed that gives schools incentives to follow through with complete career and technical education (CTE) courses was passed in May.

The daughter of Leyda and Patrick Escamilla is currently in her second year as San Marino High School’s ASB representative to the San Marino School Board, where she attends the bi-monthly meetings, presents an update on activities at all four school sites, and has an advisory vote on all agenda items.

Alyssa’s brother, Nicholas, is a seventh grader at Huntington Middle School.

She hopes to attend Wellesley, American University or USC withb hopes of eventually becoming an attorney.

The post Already Making A Difference appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

If you had told San Marino High School head basketball Coach Mihail Papadopulos at the beginning of the season that his team would get to play two playoff games at the end of the year, he probably would have agreed right then and there. Hampered by the graduation of three of his top players from a year ago and the transfer of another, Papadopulos entered the campaign with his typical positive attitude, tempered though it was by the harsh reality of an inexperienced roster.

A third place finish in the Rio Hondo League earned the Titans a wild card game against Poly last Wednesday night, and earned the many fans who traveled across the border a solid evening’s entertainment as San Marino prevailed by a final score of 43-40.

Ethan Deng led the way with 18 points, followed by Sean O’Brien (nine), Lemuel Li (seven) and Eric Fu, who scored six important points as the Titans came back to cage the Panthers. Though he didn’t score, senior Michael Baldocchi contributed with ten rebounds as the Titans advanced.

“I am just super proud of our boys and our Titan supporters,” said Papadopulos. “It was like a home game for us, it was awesome! That’s what playoff basketball is all about, it’s exciting and intense and somehow you just have to survive and advance.”

Poly led 22-19 at the half, but Deng finally loosened up and hit three 3-pointers that inspired the visitors. The Titans were able to nurse a four-point lead, and made key free throes down the stretch to preserve the win and improve to 15-12 overall.

“I thought our young group prepared well,” said Papadopulos, who brought up three extra sophomores for the post season in Quintin Hollomand, Trond Grizzell and Joey Fuerst. “We defended hard and sacrificed individuality for the benefit of our team. This was just a great team win and a great program experience. There is nothing like the intensity of a playoff game.”

But the Titans met their match two nights later, dropping a 73-58 decision in Hacienda Heights to Wilson High School, who entered the CIF Division 4AA playoffs with the #5 ranking and a 21-7 record.

The Wildcats jumped out to an 18-2 advantage midway through the first quarter and it took a Herculean effort by San Marino to keep it interesting. In fact, the Titans whittled the Wilson lead down to just 14 points before the hosts went on another of what seemed like an endless string of scoring runs.

O’Brien was able to stave off the constant pressure applied by the Wildcats to lead the team with 17 points. Lemuel Li added 11 with Deng (nine), Fu (seven points and six rebounds), Christian Mata (four) and Baldocchi (two points and nine rebounds) also contributing to the effort.

But the lingering memory of the contest might have been provided by Fuerst, who nailed two three-pointers and another hoop to finish with eight points in less than two minutes of action at the end of the contest.

“That was definitely not the start we were looking for,” said Papadopulos, with an extra helping of understatement. “They were hot and we unfortunately just started the game too timid. When you play a team like Wilson which just plays really hard, execution, taking care of the ball and shot selections are so crucial to staying connected. We tried to give them different looks but they are very good and they just kept playing hard.”

Surprisingly, San Marino outscored Wilson in the second half, but it wasn’t enough and the Titans closed up shop with a 15-13 mark.

“I am proud of our boys and the grit they showed all season long,” Papadopuklos concluded. “This season, our boys showed that they could accomplish a tremendous amount together, despite being young in varsity experience, and found success through their toughness and relentless efforts. Their togetherness was fun and I am thankful to our seniors who reinforced our culture and the importance of chemistry. I am proud that our boys accomplished another 15-win season, finished as a top-three team in league and won another playoff game. The future is bright and I am excited to see what happens to this next generation.”

The post Titans End Hoop Season With CIF Victory, Defeat appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

San Marino High School will send three wrestlers to the CIF State Championship match this weekend at the Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield after ten grapplers qualified for the last weekend’s Masters Meet, which was held at Cerritos College in Norwalk. Koa Ruiz (9th place, 113 lbs.), Beau Perez (3rd place, 138 lbs.) and Luka Wick (2nd place, 145 lbs.) all advanced and have a shot at a state championship after finishing in the requisite final nine of each weight class. 160 pounder Josh Trumbull was defeated by 11th ranked Collin Nicholson of Trabuco Hills by a final score of 6-5, dropping Trumbull into tenth place and out of the State competition.

Wick, who is ranked #3 in the state, suffered his only loss to 2nd ranked Cael Valencia of St. John Bosco by a final score of 5-3 in what could have been a preview of this weekend’s championship match.

In the CIF Southern Section Girls individual finals, Ally Arrington and Tilly Garcia fought hard but were unable to advance to this weekend’s State Championships.

Ten Titans qualified for Masters on the strength of their performances in the CIF Southern Section North Region individual finals at Brea Olinda High School.

Champions included Ally Arrington (girls’), Koa Ruiz, Luka Wick, and brothers Caleb and Kurt Trumbull. Beau Perez finished second, Raul Jimenez placed third, Tilly Garcia (girls’) and Josh Trumbull each claimed 4th place and Devyn Che came in fifth, all qualifying for the next level of competition.

In the boys’ team competition, the Titans garnered 212 points to finished second in the region behind Villa Park, who won the title with 256-1/2.

The post Three Titans Advance to CIF State Mat Meet appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

We are halfway through one of the better rivalries in the regional wresting, and San Marino High School’s Luka Wick can’t wait to get started.

Wick is a sophomore, but then again, so is Cael Valencia of St. John Bosco. Both most recently competed in the 145-pound weight class, and Valencia—for the second consecutive year—got the better of his counterpart.

Wick rolled through the competition in winning Rio Hondo League and CIF championships, but Valencia won the title match at CIF Masters and, last weekend, edged Wick in the CIF State meet, where Wick eventually finished fifth.

But the future is still bright for the son of Milena and Bill Wick. Luka is currently ranked #16 in the country for his weight class and is also #34 in the nation for the entire high school graduating class of 2021, regardless of weight class.

If the name sounds familiar, it should. His older brothers, twins Evan and Zander, won just about every trophy, belt or hat while at San Marino High School before graduating in 2015. They now compete at the highest collegiate level as members of the Wisconsin wrestling team.

A member of San Marino’s Titan Mercury Wrestling Club, Luka finished second in the prestigious Battle for the Belt tournament and placed in the Carter Classic. He also placed on the Super 32, which brings together the nations finest wrestlers.

Though the high school wrestling season is now complete, Luka still has the 2019 nationals and what Bob Wick calls “a never-ending string of competitions.”

The post Wick Finishes 5th In State Wrestling Tournament appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

A San Marino High School senior was arrested Monday morning after a text the student sent to a group of friends threatening extreme physical harm to one of the recipients was discovered by the FBI, causing a lockdown of San Marino High School.

The student, who is a minor, was released at 5:00 p.m. Monday evening, according to a family member. The threat was reportedly intended as a prank among friends, but mentioned the shooting of one of the recipients by the subject. In an apparent effort to disguise the source of the threat, the subject outlined a plan to “[come] to your school [Monday]” to follow through with the threat, apparently lending further credibility. One source told The Tribune the text message was sent through an application that can disguise the identity of the sender.

San Marino Police Chief John Incontro told The Tribune that the FBI in Washington, D.C. received an anonymous tip about the text message on Sunday. By Monday morning, the FBI determined the source and recipient of the text message and informed the West Covina branch of the FBI, who this morning at 6:20 placed a call to Incontro. Incontro initiated a conference call that included San Marino High School Principal Dr. Issaic Gates, Superintendent Loren Kleinrock and Assistant Superintendent Linda de la Torre. At 6:45 a.m., it was agreed that the campus should be locked down.

Detectives from the San Marino Police Dept. were dispatched to interview the recipient and the apparent source of the threats. Officers also arrived at San Marino High School to search and secure the campus, which was occupied by students attending classes and activities during “zero hour,” a class period that runs from 7:00–7:54 a.m.

The subject—who is a juvenile—was arrested shortly after 9:00 a.m. for making criminal threats and was taken to a local juvenile detention facility.

“Apparently, someone at the FBI believed it was serious enough to get involved,” Incontro added.

School Board President Lisa Link was contacted early in the morning and went immediately to the SMHS campus.

“The first and immediate goal was to secure the campus and confirm that all students, faculty and staff who were already on campus were in safe locations with access to food, water, and restrooms,” Link said. “Once there was a police presence protecting the various entry points on the campus, the next priority was communicating with faculty and staff who were on their way to work, and then with parents and students who were not yet on campus. While any inconvenience to parents’ and students’ schedules is not desirable, we appreciate the community’s understanding that the safety of our students who were already on campus was the overriding priority.”

Link was grateful for the police response.

“On behalf of the Board of Education, I thank Chief John Incontro, Commander Aaron Blondé, the San Marino Police Department and other local police departments for all of their outstanding efforts to provide a safe and secure environment on the San Marino High School campus this morning,” Link said on Monday afternoon. “Our gratitude extends as well to Principal Gates, District administrators, and the teachers and staff who were on campus during the lockdown. It is obviously very distressing to hear about threats of violence against our students and to have to lock down a school campus, but it is reassuring to know that the SMPD and the District effectively worked together to follow established protocols to ensure our students’ safety.”

Incontro said that a total of eleven officers from the Pasadena, San Gabriel, Alhambra and South Pasadena Police Departments were dispatched to the campus and that the SMPD this morning held over its four officers from the overnight shift and called in another five officers and a sergeant to respond to the threat and police the community.

“Once we secured the campus, we focused on the investigative leads,” Incontro told The Tribune. “Once we spoke to the victim and the subject, there was nothing to lead us to believe there was another threat at San Marino High School or any of the District’s other campuses.”

Incontro also said that the subject was “very cooperative” when contacted by police.

The post BREAKING NEWS: SMHS Student Arrested After Text Threat Forces Campus Lockdown appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

A San Marino High School (SMHS) senior was arrested Monday morning after a text message the student sent to a group of friends threatening extreme physical harm to one of the recipients was discovered by the FBI, causing a lockdown of San Marino High School.

The student, who is a minor, was released at 5 p.m. Monday, according to a family member, and is awaiting a court date.

The threat was reportedly intended as a prank among friends but mentioned the shooting of one of the recipients. In an apparent effort to disguise the source of the threat, the subject outlined a plan to “[come] to your school [Monday]” to follow through with the threat, apparently lending further credibility to the claim. The text message was sent through an application that can disguise the identity of the sender.

One of the seven recipients of the text message contacted the anonymous WeTip hotline and reported the threat. San Marino Police Department (SMPD) Chief of Police John Incontro told The Tribune that the FBI in Washington, D.C. received the tip Sunday.

“Apparently, someone at the FBI believed it was serious enough to get involved,” Incontro told The Tribune.

When accessing the WeTip website, the first prompt asks a user wanting to submit a tip “Is this a School Incident?”

By Monday morning, the FBI determined the source and recipient of the threatening text message and informed the West Covina branch of the FBI, who placed a call to Incontro Monday morning at 6:20. Incontro initiated a conference call that included San Marino High School Principal Dr. Issaic Gates, Superintendent Loren Kleinrock and Assistant Superintendent Linda de la Torre. At 6:45 a.m., it was decided that the campus should be locked down.

Detectives from the SMPD were dispatched to interview the recipient and the apparent source of the threats. Officers also arrived at San Marino High School to search and secure the campus, which was occupied by students attending classes and activities during “zero hour,” a class period that runs from 7:00–7:54 a.m.

The subject—who is a juvenile—was arrested at his San Marino home shortly after 9 a.m. for making criminal threats and was taken to Alhambra Jail, where he was processed and fingerprinted. He was then taken to the SMPD, where he stayed until he was released to his parents at 5 p.m. An earlier report said the young man was taken from the Alhambra Jail to a juvenile detention facility in Pasadena, but that turned out to be incorrect.

The lockdown was lifted shortly after 10 a.m. and students were asked to return to campus for fourth period classes, which begin at 11:10 a.m. on a standard school schedule.

School Board President Lisa Link was contacted early in the morning and went immediately to the SMHS campus.

“The first and immediate goal was to secure the campus and confirm that all students, faculty and staff who were already on campus were in safe locations with access to food, water and restrooms,” Link said. “Once there was a police presence protecting the various entry points on the campus, the next priority was communicating with faculty and staff who were on their way to work, and then with parents and students who were not yet on campus. While any inconvenience to parents’ and students’ schedules is not desirable, we appreciate the community’s understanding that the safety of our students who were already on campus was the overriding priority.”

Link was grateful for the police response.

“On behalf of the Board of Education, I thank Chief John Incontro, Commander Aaron Blondé, the San Marino Police Department and other local police departments for all of their outstanding efforts to provide a safe and secure environment on the San Marino High School campus this morning,” Link said Monday afternoon. “Our gratitude extends as well to Principal Gates, district administrators, and the teachers and staff who were on campus during the lockdown. It is obviously very distressing to hear about threats of violence against our students and to have to lock down a school campus, but it is reassuring to know that the SMPD and the district effectively worked together to follow established protocols to ensure our students’ safety.”

Incontro said that 11 officers from the Pasadena, San Gabriel, Alhambra and South Pasadena Police Departments were dispatched to the campus and that the SMPD this morning held over its four officers from the overnight shift and called in another five officers and a sergeant to respond to the threat and police the community.

“Once we secured the campus, we focused on the investigative leads,” Incontro told The Tribune. “Once we spoke to the victim and the subject, there was nothing to lead us to believe there was another threat at San Marino High School or any of the district’s other campuses.”

Incontro also said that the subject was “very cooperative” when contacted by police.

When contacted Wednesday morning, Incontro said that everything “went well.”

“We have prepared for this kind of thing, we have had trainings and discussions when [former Superintendent] Dr. Cherniss was here, and it worked,” Incontro said.

He called the school district personnel with whom he interfaced “great partners.”

“[School Board President] Lisa Link was tremendous,” Incontro said. “It is nice to have primary decision-makers on scene. Thankfully it wasn’t as serious as it could have been.”

He called the FBI’s ability to take an anonymous tip and find the subjects across the country “amazing.”

“The things they can do these days with technology is incredible,” he added.

Incontro said that he hopes to work on better communication with the community, and mentioned that a system which is intended to inform the community’s private schools did not materialize.

“We will work on that,” he said. “Parents want information and as a parent myself I understand that. We try to put it out as soon as we can, but we were investigating a crime and one that includes a minor and a school and a school and we have to take that very seriously. People have to understand that sometimes you cannot get immediate information. We are not CNN. We are not a news agency.”

Incontro also credited the young man who filed the WeTip report.

“He should be praised for that,” Incontro said. “He thought there was a credible threat and he reported it. We always talk about ‘see something, say something’ and he did. I appreciate that.”

He feels the entire incident was “a hoax that went way out of control” and also praised the young man and his parents for their responses.

“They are very responsible parents,” Incontro said. “This turned out the right way.”

The post SMHS Student Arrested After Text Threat Forces Campus Lockdown appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

Separately, Justin Nelson and Victoria Fuqua received acknowledgment from their classmates at Huntington Middle School in 1998 for “Best Personality.” Since then, they have done little apart. The couple began dating as sophomores, graduated from San Marino High School in 2002 and were married in Malibu three years later.

The Nelsons welcomed a daughter, Moriah, who was born with a rare syndrome called CHARGE, and lived 7 short, but beautiful years.

But, imagine if everywhere you went, people stared at you. This was a daily occurrence for Moriah. Born with a heart defect, Moriah had a gastrostomy tube, a tracheostomy, was in a wheelchair, and used other medical equipment. In order to break the awkward tension of stares whenever Moriah went out, Victoria would tell Moriah to “just wave and say ‘hi,’” “That usually allowed people to engage with her rather than just stare at her,” Victoria said.  While the Nelsons experienced so much goodness through their time with Moriah, Victoria saw that there was still room to grow as a society in the way people with special needs are seen and valued. She saw, firsthand, how Moriah was often ignored because she was different. In order to create awareness surrounding the different medical challenges some children face, and also to promote inclusion when meeting a new friend with different abilities, Victoria created the book Hiya Moriah.

“Everyone deserves to be seen, loved, and accepted, and we can each do our part by waving and saying, ‘Hiya!” Victoria said.

She also hopes to bring comfort and encouragement to all Moriah’s friends in the world, allowing them to identify with the different challenges depicted in the book, and to help them know they aren’t alone.

Philippe S. Friedlich, M.D. Director of the Fetal and Neonatal Institute at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, said that “Real superheroes live in hearts of children fighting big battles. Victoria Nelson is a superhero and mother who’s beautiful book provides a mean for parents and their children to learn about complex medical conditions. With such understanding, hope, help and love, young and old can provide a brighter future for all children.”

The Nelsons live in Arcadia and have two children who attend elementary school.

The launch party for the book—which is a #1 new release on Amazon—will be held on Sunday, March 10 at Chirp Karaoke Cafe in Pasadena, between 2-4:00 p.m. The event will be hosted by family friend and child actor Reuben Dodd, who also has CHARGE Syndrome and was Moriah’s first friend in the NICU at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

If you would like more information, please contact Victoria at victoria@victorianelsonbooks.com

The post SMHS Grad Pens Top-Selling Book That Promotes Inclusion appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

It’s fascinating to consider what wagering odds one could have gotten a decade or two ago on San Marino High School’s track team sweeping Temple City at all three contested levels.

The Rams were once so dominant that the Rio Hondo League finals were more of a coronation and the squad needed at least three buses to transport them to away meets.

Well, cash that ticket if you have it because the tide has turned, and it’s blue. The Titans defeated the Rams last Thursday, opening league dual meet action with a flurry as the girls’ varsity claimed a 91-34 victory, the boys’ varsity won 74-52 and the boys’ frosh-soph prevailed by a final score of 74-48.

Junior Puja Balaji paced the Lady Titans with three individual victories while contributing to a fourth. Bulaji won the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 meter runs and ran a leg for the winning 4 x 400-meter relay team, accumulating almost four miles of victory. Senior Olivia Ruiz won the 400-meter dash, finished second in the 800 meter run and also had a hand in the winning 4 x 400-meter relay effort.

Sophomore Jonathan Karkafi won the 1,600 and 800 meter runs for the varsity boys and also took a lap for the boys’ 4 x 400-meter relay squad. Luke Jain also doubled in the 200 and 400 meter dashes and ran a leg of the 4 x 400 meter relay.

Junior Skyler Pak won the 200 meter dash and finished second in the 100 meter dash, which was won by teammate Mackenzie Dawes. Annie Derrick took second in the 200 and third in the 100 while adding to the winning relay efforts.

Freshman Madison Spitzer won the girls’ long jump with a 14’ 3” effort.

The teams are back in action on Thursday, March 28 when La Cañada comes calling at 3:15 p.m. in another Rio Hondo League showdown.

The post San Marino Runs Temple City Off Track In Opener appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

More than a week after an apparent hoax forced a lockdown at its high school, the San Marino School Board heard a report at Tuesday evening’s meeting from Chief Technology Officer Stephen Choi regarding proposed changes and improvements to a communication system that, in the minds of some, was slow in getting information to students, parents, teachers and community members.

By its own admission, the San Marino Unified School District (SMUSD) was able to send its first message at 7:40 a.m., almost a full hour after a decision was made at 6:45 a.m. to lockdown the school due to the discovery of a text message that threatened one of its students. With students on campus attending zero period classes and activities, a decision was made to keep students on campus who had already shown up at the school while turning away any who arrived.

In a conversation Tuesday afternoon, Choi told The Tribune that the 7:40 a.m. message was sent through the Blackboard Mass Notification System, which is transmitted via email and the district’s mobile application. Choi said the system has 3,002 recipients and is populated from the SMUSD’s student information system.

Choi said that he prepared the message from his desktop computer at home, where he had been put on alert. Choi said that 94 percent of the messages sent on the 7:40 a.m. email were opened. He acknowledged that there is often a 10-minute system delay in sending the messages from the time it is sent.

At the behest of Interim Superintendent Loren Kleinrock, Choi sent a follow-up message that was received at approximately 8:40 a.m. to dispel rumors of an active shooter and threats against other schools in the district. Choi said he sent that message from the traffic circle at Valentine Elementary School to a master list of 8,468 recipients throughout the district.

Choi also said that all administrators have the ability to send out mass notifications from their cell phones.

Some in the community have told The Tribune that they rely on the SMUSD’s mobile application. Choi said that the mobile app has been downloaded on 6,000 devices. The San Marino Unified School District has approximately 3,000 students. Choi said that Monday’s lockdown probably increased awareness among students, parents and staff members.

“There have been 597 downloads of the mobile app this week alone,” Choi said.

At Tuesday evening’s board meeting, Choi said that the district is considering implementation of what is known as the Catapult Emergency Management System. Choi explained that the system, which is web-based, will allow for two-way communication in the event of an emergency.

“For example, if there is an incident in a classroom, Catapult will provide a GPS location of the incident, staff can take photos and communicate with administrators.”

Choi said that SMUSD representatives will receive training on Catapult next month.

In a telephone conversation Tuesday afternoon, San Marino Police Department (SMPD) Chief John Incontro told The Tribune that his department communicates through NIXLE, a text-based messaging system that can also receive tips from community members. He said the SMPD currently has 1,700 subscribers on NIXLE.

At 10:34 on the morning of the lockdown, the SMPD sent a message through its CLEARS program, what Incontro described as “one-way email messages.”

“We are constantly trying to update our systems,” Incontro said. “It is a good method that is used throughout the country with different police agencies and city governments. But we are trying to find the right system and what we can afford.”

Perhaps the most thoughtful opinion on the subject came from Alyssa Escamilla, San Marino High School’s ASB school board representative. At Tuesday’s board meeting, Escamilla, a senior, was asked if she had any comments on the matter.

“I feel I have to be honest in order to do my job here,” Escamilla said. “I was dissatisfied with the communication. I saw five different Snapchats from my friends who connected with me at 7 a.m. I found more information through text messages from my friends than I did through any district communication. There is nothing worse than having an active shooter on campus. I didn’t know what was going on. It is something that was very concerning to me.”

The post District Researching Ways To Improve Communication appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

A first round of applications and interviews failed to result in uncovering a successor for San Marino High School head football Coach Mike Hobbie, who in late January announced his retirement. A search committee interviewed three finalists, but SMHS Athletic Director David Irie confirmed this week that the job has been re-posted on EDJOIN—a job posting site specializing in positions relating to the field of education—and the CIF website. Principal Dr. Issaic Gates told The Tribune late last week that the district will also contact local colleges and universities in the effort to replace Hobbie, who returned the Titans to prominence during his eight seasons at the helm.


One candidate, Thomas Camerano, told The Tribune that he was withdrawing his name from consideration. Camerano served as an assistant coach under Hobbie and was Hobbie’s preferred replacement. He was one of three finalists who was interviewed for the job but was not offered the position. Camerano told this reporter he will likely join the staff at Temple City High School, the school from which he graduated.

The San Marino job was, however, offered to former Cathedral High School head Coach Kevin Pearson, according to sources, but he turned down the position for financial reasons, according to Irie. Pearson had already been in negotiations with Warren High School in the Downey Unified Scholl District for its head football coaching position, but took a shot at the San Marino job for its geographic desirability. Pearson recently accepted the Warren job, where he will join his brother, Scott, who is the Bears’ head varsity baseball coach.

This past Tuesday afternoon, the posting for Hobbie’s successor appeared on San Marino High School’s website, offering three options: head football coach with a physical education teaching opportunity, head football coach with a chemistry teaching opportunity, or a walk-on coaching position. The physical education position is Hobbie’s and the chemistry job is currently held by his wife, Suzanne, who is also retiring.

The post SMHS Still Looking For Football Coach appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

Seven students from San Marino High School recently performed with over 400 singers in one of four choirs in the California Choral Directors Association, All-State High School Honor Choir in San Jose. 

Singers were chosen based on music theory and vocal evaluation, and took the stage with other students from around the state of California under the direction of nationally and internationally known conductors. 

Students had the opportunity to audition in September and were chosen based on their vocal quality and technique, music theory, tonal memory and sight singing. Twelve from SMHS were chosen, and performed at the University of Redlands in November. Of those twelve, seven were chosen to attend the All-State Honor Choir based on their audition scores at San Jose State University from March 14-16. The three days culminated with performances on Saturday, March 16 at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in San Jose. 

The seven San Marino High School students chosen for the Honor Choir are Justin Chen, Michelle Zhang, Jennifer Zhang, Stanley Wong, Joe Hindle, Hunter Modean and Holden Kenney. Modean and Wong are members of the school’s Concert Choir and the others are members of the Chamber Choir.

The post Seven From San Marino Named to Honor Choir appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

Give Jacob Chon full marks for having a healthy sense of cynicism. 

Chon, a junior at San Marino High School, received an assignment in his Honors United States History class and wasn’t satisfied with the results of his research. 

“It was to write a report on Henry Huntington,” said Chon of the man who could be considered San Marino’s founding father. Chon sank his teeth into the research he was able to access and, well, didn’t really care for the taste. 

“I was looking for information so I could give a balanced perspective on what kind of an industrial business leader he was,” Chon explained. “I was unable to find any negative information surrounding him.” 

Jacob informed his teacher, Peter Paccone, about what he suspected was one-sided reporting and the wheels began to spin. An intermediary arranged a meeting at the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens and this past Monday afternoon, Jacob sat down with Randy Shulman, the institution’s vice president for advancement, in the Munger Research Center for a little history lesson. 

Shulman, who graduated from San Marino High School, spent about 45 minutes explaining what he knows of Huntington, most of which centered around Huntington’s later years. He photocopied excerpts from books on Huntington that he felt would assist Chon in presenting a balanced report. Shulman said that Huntington is believed to have been a kind, personable individual who was much loved by those he interacted with on a daily basis. 

“When he walked onto the floor at his railroad yard, he greeted his employees by name,” Shulman explained. He also mentioned that Huntington and his wife, Arabella, made substantial financial donations to each of the country’s traditionally black colleges.

“There are no letters explaining why, it was just very important to them,” Shulman said. 

Chon was also somewhat surprised when Shulman mentioned that Huntington intended on leaving his estate as a museum from the time it was built. Shulman explained many design features of what is now the Main Art Gallery which indicate it was constructed to accommodate large crowds.

“The hallways are so wide and the rooms are so large that it appears it was designed to be more than a residence,” he said. 

When asked directly if Huntington lived a life above reproach, Shulman mentioned that Huntington married his aunt.

“It was not a blood relation, but that is about all there is as far as anything controversial,” he said.

Arabella Huntington was the widow of Henry’s uncle, Collis Huntington. Several years after Collis passed a way, Henry and Arabella—who were the same age—began a letter-writing correspondence and later wed.  

“It was a different time,” Chon said of the union. “And that is nowhere near as scandalous as many of the other business leaders of the Gilded Age.”

Afterwards, Chon said he was “satisfied” by the wisdom Shulman had imparted. 

“It’s obvious he knows a lot about Henry Huntington,” Chon said. “It was mostly about the latter part of his life, but it still makes up a huge majority of what Huntington was as a business leader and a patron of the arts.”

All that remains to be seen is how Jacob describes the meeting in the paper’s appendix. 

Jacob is the son of John and Jane Chon. He has a twin brother, Thomas, and two younger sisters, Jillian and Jodie.

The post To the Heart Of the Matter appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

Next week, Raye Cheng will acknowledge a very important anniversary in his life, but it’s doubtful he will be cutting cake or opening gifts on Tuesday, April 2. Under ordinary circumstances, April 2 would be among the more important dates in the life of Cheng. But these circumstances are everything but normal for the 2018 graduate of San Marino High School, who a year ago committed to the United States Military Academy at West Point. 

Cheng was one of just 1,200 from an applicant pool of over 12,300 who received the prestigious acceptance letters. 

What followed was three months of celebration. Cheng gave a memorable address as a keynote speaker at San Marino’s acknowledgement of Memorial Day in Lacy Park. A loud roar went up from the crowd in Titan Stadium when he graduated on June 1. Later that evening, he received further kudos from his classmates at Grad Night. After spending much of his youth trailing behind his peers in physical height—Cheng entered his sophomore year at SMHS standing less than five feet tall—things were looking up for the son of Charlene and Ted Cheng. 

For West Point’s incoming class of 2022, Monday, July 2 was what is known as Reception Day, where parents and family members spent their final few minutes with the plebes before the regiment of physical training begins. Cheng said his traditional goodbyes and headed towards what he expected to be the next nine years of his life. But his experience in the United States Army didn’t even last five hours.

Between his initial medical clearance and the time he showed up at West Point for admission, Cheng had visited a hospital emergency room as the result of an allergic reaction. 

“One of the stipulations of our admission was that we were required to report any hospital visits or changes in our medical condition to our regional commander,” Cheng said recently, reflecting on the fateful day. The day after he visited the emergency room in Ontario following a soccer game, Cheng reached out to the Far West Regional Commander and told him what had happened. Weeks later, as he approached the final screening area, he was pulled aside.

“They were waiting for me,” Cheng said, in a tone of acceptance that is still unexpected. 

He was sent directly to a designated medical area, where a team of doctors reviewed his file. Cheng was placed on medical hold while their suggestions were forwarded to the admissions team. 

“I was taken out of the room and told by the admissions director ‘sorry, we can’t admit you,’” Cheng said. “My mom, brother and another family member came back to get me. I was at West Point for a total of about five hours.”

This nation’s military academies have a zero tolerance approach to physical ailments, according to a source with knowledge of the system, closing the door on Cheng’s career before it was really even opened.

Cheng immediately went from a young man who had every single second planned for him to one of the most unstructured souls on the planet. Two of his high school friends, classmates and volleyball teammates—Brandon Wong and Billy Tsai—were playing in a tournament in Arizona.

“I took the most spontaneous flight of my life,” Cheng said. “I even played a point.”

That experience provided a temporary highlight, but when Cheng returned to San Marino, his world was clouded in doubt. 

“It was really rough,” he said in retrospect. “Going from having at least the next nine years of my life figured out to having nothing figured out. It was quite the flip. It was tough to get my bearings. I was lost and confused. I went into a funk.”

Cheng had heard of a previous San Marino High School graduate who experienced a similar situation and had decided to immediately take an EMT course. Cheng followed suit.

“I didn’t know what I was doing and I had to do something,” Cheng said. 

Though his thoughts often became dark, Cheng quickly looked for the positive, as he had for several years as a member of San Marino High School’s soccer and volleyball teams. 

“I could have held a grudge, but that would have been a waste of energy,” he said. “Everyone has lows, but it’s a matter of picking yourself up and continually moving forward.”

San Marino High School Athletic Director David Irie told Raye there was an opening for an assistant volleyball coach.

“I figured I would just apply and see what happens,” Cheng said. To nobody’s surprise, he is now Tony Chou’s assistant and takes special pleasure in helping out with the junior varsity squad. 

He has repeated the college application process and is waiting on decisions—again. 

“It’s a lot worse the second time,” Cheng said with a laugh. “This is a horrendous process and I had to do it all over again.”

He is hoping to receive an acceptance letter from a school on the East Coast. Raye’s brother, Ryan, is a junior at Yale and member of the Bulldog’s tennis team, but Raye was not accepted to join him in New Haven. 

“To be honest, I don’t really mind much where I end up because I believe I will be successful anywhere I go,” Raye said. “I know now more than ever that it’s not where I go that matters, it’s who I am and what I do.”

 Part of the essay on Raye’s college application deals with his disqualification from West Point. But that’s just the beginning of the list of lessons Raye has learned the past year. 

He called the West Point chapter of his life “a blessing I disguise.

“In society right now, we have a stigma around mental health,” Cheng said. “During this gap year I have really been able to take care of my emotional and mental health. I have never been as happy and as satisfied as I am now and I am even getting better by the day. I have been very lucky to have a loving community around me and it has helped me a lot. I am very, very young and a year in the grand scheme of things isn’t going to be that big of a deal. I had always been taking care of myself physically, but not so much emotionally and mentally. Before my gap year, I always believed in athletics and takin care of myself physically. Now I am much more conscious of taking care of myself holistically, including intellectually, physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. I now see that this gap year has helped breed this happiness I have and it has increased my confidence and desire to help others.” 

On a challenge from lone of his soccer coaches, Cheng created a YouTube channel and Instagram page to share his story. Cheng said that he has been contacted by many who want to hear his West Point story and how he has dealt with adversity. 

“I want to have a lasting effect on the world,” Cheng said. “I get to look back on my life and see what I did and I know that my experiences can also help other people. If they can learn something from my experience, that’s great.”

A young lady from Northern California reached out to Raye and he helped her with her application to West Point. 

“I just found out she got accepted,” he said with pride. 

He is also enjoying his coaching duties. 

“When I came back from West Point I realized that there was a reason I was back in my hometown,” he said.

Cheng said he was bullied during his early high school years and developed in him what he calls “an angry confidence.”

“I didn’t feel like I was enough,” he said. “This gap year has helped me explore my faith and the blessings I have been given. I feel it has changed from an angry confidence to a healthy confidence.” 

He wants to be the sort of mentor he needed as a young teenager. 

“While my brother was being recruited to play tennis at Yale, I was being bullied and playing video games,” Cheng explained. “I had some self-esteem problems, hence my drive to prove people wrong. Looking back, I had built up walls. When you are younger, the walls protect you but the walls also isolated me. It didn’t feel like anyone was there for me. Whether they were or not, that is how I felt. A mentor could have really helped and that has driven me to be a role model in this community. I have been really lucky and I want to give back. I want to be the light of hope for that kid who is like me, but just needed someone to believe in them.”

Who knew someone could learn so much at West Point and never make it past the front door.

The post Blessing In Disguise appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

The fascinating pursuit of computer coding and a nationwide effort to include more females in STEAM [science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics] education have come together at San Marino High School, where the “Girls Who Code” club has steadily grown in popularity since its inception.

Jamie Linton, who teaches Calculus, Math Analysis and Algebra 1 at SMHS, has served as the club’s facilitator the last four years and has seen the effect it has on the student body from multiple perspectives. Linton credits junior Puja Balaji, the president of Girls Who Code, with special outreach efforts which have spread the club’s influence to the four corners of the campus, and beyond.

“Girls Who Code has created some interesting opportunities this year,” Linton told The Tribune. “We toured JPL in February and have brought in some excellent guest speakers. Two mentors of Girls Who Code—Michael Starch and Lan Dang—work at JPL, and every year they arrange an opportunity for the kids to visit and take a tour. Those two have been very generous with their time. But my favorite thing that Puja has worked on is a partnership with our special education class, where our club members go and teach coding to the students. There are some very special young people here at San Marino High School and Puja is certainly among them.”

Aside from her exploits in Girls Who Code and in the classroom, Balaji is an accomplished runner, starring on San Marino High School’s cross country and track teams. In the first track meet of the season, Bulaji won the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 meter runs. Yes, all three races are held on the same day, actually within just a few minutes of one another. She is apparently as comfortable in the coding environment as she is on a long training run. 

“Girls Who Code is such an amazing and impactful club that seeks to eliminate the gender gap in technology by getting young women interested in the field early on,” Bulaji told The Tribune. “After being one of four girls in my computer science class in high school and enduring sexist comments elsewhere, I found Girls Who Code to be a great place to explore coding with a group of people who love doing the same thing.”

The post A Rising Star On the Track, Trail and In the Classroom appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

It must be something about the blue…

“Yeah, must be,” Libby Chang said with a hearty laugh. 

It’s not just the color, it’s the entire nickname as the 2018 graduate of San Marino High School has taken her tennis talents to Wellesley College, whose teams are called the Blue.

Chang has stepped right into the starting lineup at the Massachusetts school, compiling a 5-4 record in singles action and 6-6 mark in doubles play for the Blue, who are 9-5 overall and 3-0 in the New England Women’s & Men’s Athletic Conference, or NEWMAC.

Chang was a four-year varsity starter at San Marino High School, captained the Lady Titans her junior and senior years and helped the squad win four consecutive Rio Hondo League championships, guaranteeing four straight appearances in the CIF Division 1 playoffs. 

Chang became interested in Wellesley when the tennis team made a visit to Southern California on a spring break. 

“After meeting the team and then taking my own official visit to Wellesley, I could not help but apply on an early decision basis,” Chang said recently from the East Coast. “Wellesley is the quintessential mix of both academics and athletics. It is the place where I am best able to find opportunities as a student-athlete. The campus is beautiful, the student body is unbelievably incredible, and the resources are never-ending.”

The daughter of Jennifer and James Chang said she has “found a home” at Wellesley.  

“During my first semester, I was hesitant to even consider this foreign place home,” she said. “Before long, though, I was able to surround myself with friends that made me look forward to every day here. The academics are undoubtedly challenging, but I now know that San Marino has more than adequately prepared me for college. All my professors have easily exceeded my expectations of their role. But it’s the people at Wellesley who make it special. The all-girls experience has provided a priceless opportunity to grow and learn more about myself and my place in this world among outstanding women who have, are, and will do unthinkable things. Although unconventional and sometimes hard to imagine, the women’s college experience is one that I would definitely recommend to other girls. That being said, there is definitely a sense of competition at Wellesley, but it only encourages me to work harder every day.” 

The $64,000 question: How does a Southern California girl, let a lone a lifetime tennis player, adapt to that often-cruel East Coast climate?

“Where do I even begin,” Libby said with a laugh. “Before coming to Wellesley, I never played indoor tennis. Now, thanks to the weather, I’ve played in a myriad of indoor courts all across the East Coast. Off the courts, I have definitely learned to love my snow jacket, snow boots, and the concept of layering! The best part is seeing the drastic difference in seasons.  When I first came to Wellesley, the sweltering heat was worse than that of SoCal. Then it quickly cooled down and the hue of the leaves changed to an entire palette of vibrant colors. Then winter hit and the first snow felt like a real ‘winter wonderland’ experience. All in all, the weather has made me forever grateful for the weather back home.”

An Economics major, Chang said the tennis competition is similar to the Division 1 opponents San Marino High School head Coach Melwin Pereira typically lined up to prepare the Lady Titans for postseason play. 

“The tennis competition varies upon the schools we play,” Chang told The Tribune. “We have some matches against high-ranked team where the competition is very strong, but we also have matches where the competition is not very challenging. All in all, I would say it is similar to Division 1 high school tennis in SoCal.”

The tennis season has allowed Libby to better know her teammates.

“They immediately felt like my sisters,” she said. “The upperclassmen, my big sisters and role models and the three other first-year players coming in with me quickly became my closest friends. The amount of time, energy, and passion that we pour into our sport brings us together on and off the court. We just recently got back from our Spring Break trip to Orlando where we really started to bond and it felt like family, with all its ups and downs.”

It’s a safe bet there will be more of the former than the latter.

The post Still True to Royal Blue appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

Barring any impediments in the clearance process, Justin Mesa will become the next football coach at San Marino High School, according to a source.

Mesa is currently the recruiting coordinator at the University of Wyoming and has previously served in administrative and coaching roles at Dixie State, USC and Loyola High School, where he was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for three seasons from 2013-15.

Mesa will replace Mike Hobbie, who announced his retirement in late February after eight seasons, during which he won two Rio Hondo League championships and a CIF title in 2015.San Marino High School Athletic Director David Irie said he could not respond when asked for confirmation on Wednesday 

The post Justin Mesa Will Be Next Titan Head Football Coach appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

Tristan Lin, a senior at San Marino High School, broke two school records and one meet record—while barely missing another—at last weekend’s Mount San Antonio College Meet of Champions.

Lin recorded a time of 1:49.79 in the 200-meter Individual Medley, just shy of the meet record and besting Scott Farley’s SMHS-record time of 1:50.33.

Lin also broke the school record and meet record in the 100-meter Breaststroke at Friday’s preliminary heat with a time of 55.74. The previous school record was set in 1991 by Mike Mason in 1991. Tristan swam a time of 55.58 in the finals to set a new meet record as well. Both times were automatic All-American times and Lin won both events at Saturday’s finals.

The post Lin Smashes Two School Records, One Meet Mark appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

“Consistency” is an attribute one might think would benefit a golf or tennis team, but San Marino High School girls’ varsity swim Coach Mark Barr said it is that specific virtue that has helped the Lady Titans cultivate four consecutive Rio Hondo League championships, the most recent coming last week with a 128-35 win over Monrovia.

During the streak, San Marino has won 20 consecutive league dual meets and heads into the RHL finals as the favorite to win that competition as well.

Head Coach Mark Barr has been involved in the school’s swim and water polo programs since the last century, but is still impressed with his charges’ recent success.

“All four years, I honestly thought that La Cañada had a better team,” said Barr, who came to the school in 1997 and became the full-time girls’ varsity head coach ten years later. “They were deeper, but we found a way to win. Twice we swam them after their spring break and that really helped us. But this year, it was after our spring break and La Cañada is as deep as they have ever been and I thought we would have some problems. But we were able to hold them off and win.”

“Hold them off” might be an understatement, even for the famously humble and understated Barr.

At this year’s meet that was held at La Cañada, the Lady Titans charged out to a substantial lead. But the Spartans took the 100-meter breaststroke to tie the meet with just one event remaining. Fortunately, Barr was able to watch his powerhouse 4 x 100-meter freestyle relay team of Kali Villaluna, Sophia Yao, Dora Chang and Sabrina Wang work their collective magic to snag an 84-82 win and keep the streak alive. The 4 x 100-meter freestyle relay team is undefeated in 2019 and has already qualified for CIF action.

Villaluna, Yao, Chang and Wang also are undefeated in the 4 x 50-meter medley relay and the 4 x 50-meter freestyle relay team of Ellie Chen, Siouxsie Lennox, Blake Pak and Grace Emmanuelee is also undefeated and headed to CIF.

“We only have two seniors and a low number of swimmers is typically not good for a swim team,” Barr said. “But they are really consistent and we have a very deep talent pool from which to draw.”

Ellie Chen and Claire Chiu are the two seniors. Chen has excelled in the 50 and 100-meter freestyle, pretty much guaranteeing points for the Lady Titans.

“Ellie really shows up for meets,” said Barr. “I’m not saying that she doesn’t work hard in practice, but she definitely has an extra edge when we are in a meet. I admire her competitive nature.”

On the other end of the spectrum are “two great freshmen,” in Barr’s estimation. Aside from starring in the relays, Sophia Yao, and Sabrina Wang are solid in individual events, with Wang starring in the 50 and 100-meter freestyle and the 100-meter butterfly.

Villaluna has also pre-qualified for the CIF meet in the 50-meter freestyle, the 100 backstroke and the 100-meter freestyle. Chang is qualified in the 200-meter individual medley, the 100-meter butterfly and the 100-meter backstroke. Yao has qualified in the 200-meter individual medley, and the 100-meter butterfly and breaststroke. And Pak, a sophomore, can pack her bags to attend the CIF meet in the 100-meter butterfly, backstroke and breaststroke.

Emmanuelee will also be representing the Royal & White in the 500-meter freestyle and the 100-meter butterfly.

“This is a really good group, but they have continued the tradition of hard work and dedication that has been a part of this program for several years,” Barr said.

The post Lady Titans Drown RHL Foes–Again appeared first on San Marino Tribune.