Uni News | UHEF

22

May, 2017

Uni to be honored as one of top-20 schools in U.S.!

By: Rich-Perelman | Tags: Motif Awards | Comments: 0

[Posted May 22, 2017] Uni principal Eric Davidson received this message on Tuesday, May 9: “The International Education Bureau of the nationally recognized Walt Disney Motif Awards has ranked University High School as one of the top twenty schools in the country to exceptionally expose students to high levels of life-changing instruction. “Because of your push to generate positive productive citizens within our nation; the Walt Disney Motif Awards International Selections Committee has elected to honor the University High School during the 2017 Walt Disney Motif Awards Ceremony, ‘The Nation’s […]

15

May, 2017

Coach and teacher Duane LaRue passes at 81

By: Rich-Perelman | Tags: Duane LaRue | Comments: 9

[Posted May 15, 2017] Longtime Uni teacher, coach and legend Duane LaRue passed away on May 8, based on information gathered today. Pictured above: Duane LaRue on the right, congratulating Uni coach Dick Kampmann on the City track & field title in 1970. Born in Los Angeles in 1935, he graduated from Washington High School and went to Pepperdine College – as it was known then – on a football scholarship. He came to Uni for the 1962-63 school year as a physical education teacher and the co-coach for football […]

12

May, 2017

Uni library donations up to 169; won’t you join in?

By: Rich-Perelman | Tags: Tascha Folsoi, Uni Library | Comments: 0

[Posted May 12, 2017] “I can’t overstate how great an impact these donations have on making the library relevant for students and in making the collection more valuable and worthy of protection in a time when library closures are afoot. Thank you so much to our devoted alumni!” That’s Uni librarian Tascha Folsoi ‘86 on the continuing flood of new books into the Uni library, which has now reached 169, with a new donor – Carl Hagge S ‘53 – joining the club of those who have helped out. He […]

5

May, 2017

Uni trio win ACME Network Story Pitch awards

By: Rich-Perelman | Tags: Danna Coonen-Lee, Story Pitch Awards | Comments: 0

[Posted May 5, 2017] Continuing Uni’s long history of excellence in and around the entertainment, motion picture and television industry, three Uni students were recognized for excellence in a regional animation competition. Under the direction of animation teacher Danna Coonen-Lee, these students took top prizes in the ACME Network Story Pitch Competition Award event where they competed against hundreds of other students throughout LAUSD, Orange County, Glendale, San Diego School District, and other school districts. According to Coonen-Lee, “Students had to design and develop a TV animated series and […]

24

Apr, 2017

Marvelous turn-out for Uni’s “Shrek the Musical”

By: Rich-Perelman | Tags: Ronnie Sperling, Shrek the Musical | Comments: 0

[Posted April 24, 2017] Audiences filled the Stivelman Theater last week for the four performances of “Shrek the Musical.” Starring one of the largest casts in Uni history, the special Student program last Wednesday opened to a full house and folks who came on each of the next three days were treated to a rousing show, produced under the direction of Uni alum Ronnie Sperling ‘76. “‘Shrek’ did really well,” said Sperling afterwards. “Every since I came aboard, we’ve been raising the bar every show. We had fabulous costumes and […]

17

Apr, 2017

Alum David Nwaba completes first season with the Lakers

By: Rich-Perelman | Tags: David Nwaba | Comments: 0

[Posted April 17, 2017] Uni’s first alumnus to play in the National Basketball Association, David Nwaba ‘11, concluded the 2016-17 NBA with the Lakers, who signed him for this season, with a team option for the 2017-18 season. Although “signed” for next season, Nwaba really has to start over and make the Lakers team again as the club can decide to keep him or terminate the agreement. But he made it to The Show. For the season, he averaged 19.9 minutes, 6.0 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, with a […]

10

Apr, 2017

Remembering another great Uni coach: Jim Pursell

By: Rich-Perelman | Tags: Mel Patton, Jim Pursell, Larry Booth | Comments: 0

We’ve written a lot about the late Uni coach Dick Kampmann, who passed away earlier this year at age 92. But Kampmann always talked about the man he followed at Uni – Jim Pursell – as the inspiration for his great success. A marvelous comment about Pursell was received on the UHEF.org Web site from Ray Sanchez ‘58: “Jim Pursell was our track coach, but he was so much more. Mr. Pursell was a ‘life’ coach. He touched my life very deeply. One of my friends, John Giba, matched Mel […]

5

Apr, 2017

Can you help five Uni students compete in a State championship?

By: Rich-Perelman | Tags: Danna Coonen-Lee, Skills USA | Comments: 0

Through a national leadership program called SkillsUSA, students learn skills that can help them advance their careers beyond the classroom. Uni teacher Danna Coonen-Lee teaches Animation and Web Design and urged her students to compete in the Southern California competition and here’s their story: “Our students competed this year in the Web Design category using HTML coding and Pin Design/T-Shirt Design category, placing in both! We are trying to send the two teams that placed in Web Design and one other student that competed by himself in the Pin/T-Shirt Design […]

4

Apr, 2017

Uni Health & Fitness Fair coming April 27: You are invited!

By: Rich-Perelman | Tags: Kerri Eich, Uni Health & Fitness Fair | Comments: 0

[Posted Apr. 4, 2017] Uni’s unique health and international foods program will be showcased during the school’s Open House on Thursday, April 27 with its ninth annual Health & Fitness Fair. Organized by irrepressible teacher Kerri Eich, the showcase will be open from 5-7 p.m. on campus. “In my class, we rotate students through 14 different jobs that support our weekly healthy meal preparation. Every student manages their own garden plot where they cultivate food and learn about nutrition and the health benefits of food. Every year our class organizes […]

1

Apr, 2017

Uni earns mixed marks in first “Equity Report”

By: Rich-Perelman | Tags: California Dashboard | Comments: 0

[Posted Apr. 1, 2017] In the new “California Dashboard” report on school performance, Uni earned mixed marks in the first release for Spring 2017. This first “Equity Report” showed Uni doing well on graduation rates, excellent on keeping suspensions down, but poor on the progress of its English learners. A summary of the findings: Uni reported 1,671 students total in grades 9-12, of which 9% are “English learners” Of the total student body, 73% are considered “socioeconomically disadvantaged” Graduation rate: Medium ~ 87.8% (up 3.3% from 2016) Suspension rate: Low […]

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