The Event News Enterprise sents heartfelt congratulations to every member of the Los Alamitos High School Class of 2022. Go Griffins and best of luck in the future.

Abacherli, Ryan
Abusham, Amelia
Acosta, Reyna
Aguilar, Nathan
Alarcon, Cailin
Albers, Kathleen
Alcantara, Gavynne
Aldegarie, Marissa
Allen, John
Allen, Summer
Amaya, Devin
Amaya Padilla, Rosa
Amer, Amal
Amescua, Alexandria
Anderson, Andrew
Anderson, Sophia
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Anson, Taylor
Arai, Alexander
Arellano, Caitlin
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Barcinas Dixon, Meilani
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If there is a possible equivalent in high school chemistry to running an Ironman race, The American Chemical Society’s exam competition could be it.

“It’s brutal,” said Timothy Jones, the Advanced Placement Chemistry teacher at Los Alamitos High School in a recent Zoom interview. Packed with 60 multiple choice questions covering a range of chemistry concepts, Jones said the average score for a student this year was 33.

This year four of his AP Chemistry students performed the best the school has ever done, earning 5th place in the local competition against teams from 26 other Orange County high schools. That’s better than a 6th-place finish earned by an LAHS team in 2019. 

Juan Carrion, Gabriel Mee, Zachary Zonni and Katelyn Ngo, who will be juniors at LAHS next school year, were honored for their achievement at the Orange County ACS High School Chemistry Awards Banquet in Irvine on May 17.

What’s remarkable is that the four students chose to pursue this challenge. Early in the school year, Jones tells students about the ACS exam. Interested kids are encouraged to study and participate in a test over a weekend. The students with the top four scores make the team.

Jones remarked that just showing an interest in taking the test reveals a lot about the type of student who is up for this challenge.

“Any kid that’s willing to show up on a Saturday morning to take a nasty chemistry exam is already pretty prepared,” Jones said.

And according to the students, they were excited about it.

In a Zoom interview last week, Gabriel, Zachary and Katelyn shared their thoughts on taking part in the exam and all of them said they enjoyed the experience.

“Chemistry is really fun to me and I wanted to challenge myself,” said Katelyn. “I find it thrilling.”

When asked about placing 5^th in the competition, the students all said they were surprised.

“It was pretty shocking that we were the first ones to place this high,” Gabriel said.

Excelling on the exam earns students recognition and could help them stand out when applying to colleges like CalTech, UC Berkeley or MIT. “This is the kind of thing that really helps you look that much better” to universities, Jones said.

And there’s another benefit to taking the ACS exam. It’s given before the AP exam and, according to Jones, it makes the AP Chemistry test seem easier. “It totally changes their perspective.”

Jones wants the community to know that in addition to all the achievements among student athletes and student artists at LAHS, his students are also celebrating successes.

“If the kids do well, they should get some credit for that,” Jones said. “It shows a lot of dedication on their part.”

Zachary said he spent twenty hours alone taking practice tests.

“It’s a very rewarding experience,” said Zachary.

The students say their message to others is to challenge yourself when you can.

“I hope others would be motivated by it and push themselves,” Katelyn said.

Gabriel said he would want to do it again, but also encouraged others to try.

“I thought this was really fun but if someone else would want the opportunity, then I would encourage them.”

For more local education news, sign up for the weekly Spotlight Schools email newsletter at SpotlightSchools.com.

The Los Alamitos Unified School District this week announced new principals for two elementary schools, J. H. McGaugh and Hopkinson Elementary Schools.

District administrators began a search following the sudden resignation of Dr. Issaic Gates at McGaugh and after Hopkinson Elementary principal Evelyn Garcia announced she would replace the retiring Erin Kominsky as principal at Oak Middle School.

Los Al Unified officials announced in a press release that it has selected Wendy Wood to serve at the next principal of McGaugh Elementary and Jason Farvour to serve as the next principal of Hopkinson Elementary.

District officials said that the decision came only “after a thorough and rigorous process that included input from various stakeholders, including certificated and classified staff, families, Board of Education Members, and administration.”

“Having each been part of our Los Al USD family for decades, both Wendy and Jason bring an exceptional wealth of experience in education to their new roles,” said Superintendent Dr. Andrew Pulver. “They truly understand the value of relationships, collaboration, and building community and I am confident they will excel in their new positions.”

Wendy Wood
Wood has served Los Alamitos USD for the past 33 years in positions both inside and outside of the classroom as well as various leadership roles. Her vast experience includes three years as our McGaugh Assistant Principal, District Teacher on Special Assignment supporting Education Services, Site Administrative Designee, Instructional Coach, Mentor Teacher, and 27 years as an educator at Lee Elementary School where she taught kindergarten, first, second, third and fourth grade.

“I am humbled and beyond excited to continue to serve and build relationships with the Sea Lion community who has so graciously welcomed me with open arms,” said Wood.

Jason Farvour
Serving the district for the past 20 years, Mr. Farvour is no stranger to Los Al USD. For the past five years, he’s held the title of Assistant Principal at Los Alamitos High School over both Student Services and Curriculum and Instruction.
He spent the early part of his career as a history teacher and activities director at Los Alamitos High School and then went on to serve the district as a Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA). During his time as a TOSA, he also had the opportunity to serve our younger learners as a summer school administrator, supporting students, staff and families.

“Having begun my own parenting journey at Hopkinson, I am thrilled to return to this community and to work with and support all Huskies, their families, and the amazing staff,” said Farvour.

According to the district, both Wood and Farvour will assume their new principal roles on Jul 1, 2022. The Los Al Unified School District also announced it has also began the recruitment process to fill the open assistant principal positions at both McGaugh Elementary and Los Alamitos High School.