The Glendale Youth Orchestra, conducted by Brad Keimach, presents the second concert of its 26th season on Sunday, March 8 at 7 p.m. at the historic Alex Theatre in Glendale. The program includes: Mozart – Overture to "La Clemenza di Tito," Grieg – "Piano Concerto in A minor, movements 2 and 3" performed by Sherry Tang, piano and Beethoven – Symphony No. 6 "Pastorale."

Four concerto competition winners, two cellos, one violinist and one flautist from the orchestra will perform at the annual Concerto Competition Winners concert on May 17. The May concert is the culminating concert of the 26th season at the Alex Theatre.

The GYO is a premier L.A. Phil Youth Orchestra Mentorship Program, and is funded in part by a grant from L.A. County Arts Commission.

Tickets are $12.50 and may be purchased from the Alex Theatre box office. Groups of 15 or more get 15% off. Students, children and seniors may purchase tickets for $10 each.

The Alex Theatre is located at 216 N. Brand Blvd. in Glendale. For more information, call 818-243-ALEX, or visit www.alextheatre.org.

Even though there aren’t many current events, the CV Youth Town Council has been busy behind the scenes. The Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow event is nearing its debut! Kids from seventh grade to 12th grade are welcome to come and sell their handcrafted items. This event stresses the importance of business, and gives our kids a chance to taste the workforce of tomorrow. Students can still sign up to be a part of the fun on Sunday, Feb. 22. It’s from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Montrose Travel parking lot. Look on our Facebook page for upcoming information!

On Friday, Feb. 6, our CVYTC met the La Cañada Youth Town Council. This event helped our neighboring communities grow closer, and a joint event may be planned in the future.

Well, that’s all for the CVYTC today. Our members are bustling to plan, advertise and arrange for our big event, the Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow! Please come to support our community’s kids, and see what they have spent so much time creating.

By Isiah REYES

hey came from far and wide, drawn to the cube – the Rubik’s Cube.

St. Francis High School held the Rubik’s Cube Winter Open 2015 Competition hosting more than 100 competitors on Sunday, Feb. 1. Though this was the first time St. Francis held the competition it was undoubtedly an inspiring event – one competitor set a new world’s record.

The competition included rounds of 2x2, 3x3, 4x4, 3x3 one-handed, Pyraminx, Skewb and Square-1 rounds. Nathan Soria set a Skewb world record of 1.71 seconds. The previous record was held by Jonathan Klosko who set the record of 1.81 seconds during the Santa Claus Cube Race 2014 in Poland.

The event was organized by St. Francis student Christian Martin, who said he didn’t think there would be as many people registering for the competition because it was on the same day as the Super Bowl. He said he would have been happy with just 70 or 80 people showing up.

"I am impressed as to how things went, and even more impressed that my crew did all that work," said Martin. "The world record was a nice bonus as well. Overall, I hope I can do this again in the fall."

SpeedCubeShop sponsored the event and was on hand to sell merchandise such as shirts, bags and, of course, a multitude of Rubik’s Cubes in a variety of styles.

For each round of competition, every participant was given five attempts to solve their respective puzzle. The winner was the one who had the best average time among their five attempts.

The winner for the 2x2 cube was Everett Kelly, whose average time for solving the cube was 2.76 seconds during his five attempts. Second place was Isaac Langer and third was Shane Grogan. The 2x2 cube, or Pocket Cube, is the equivalent of a Rubik’s Cube but consists of only eight pieces made up of all corners.

For the 3x3 (regular style Rubik’s Cube), the winner was James Hamory with an average of 9.66 seconds for his five attempts at solving the cube during the final round (top 16). Second place was Nathan Soria and third was Shane Grogan. The 4x4 winner was Nathan Soria with an average best of 38.52 seconds. Shane Grogan was second place and third was Samuel Chiu.

The Pyraminx winner was Jungwoo Kim with an average best of 5.94 seconds. A Pyraminx is a Rubik’s Cube style puzzle in the shape of a pyramid. Second place was Everett Kelly and third place was Isaac Langer.

The winner of the Skewb round was Nathan Soria who won with an average time of 4.51 seconds. It was during his third attempt that he clocked in his world record of 1.71 seconds. A Skewb is shaped like a normal Rubik’s Cube but its axis of rotation passes through the corners of the cube unlike a regular 3x3. Second place of the Skewb round was Isaac Langer and third place was Jungwoo Kim.

The winner of the Square-1 round was Michael Young with an average best time of 14.86 seconds. Second place was Thomas Valles and third place was Everett Kelly. The winner for the one-handed Rubik’s Cube round was Samuel Chiu with an average best time of 15.24 seconds. Michael Young was second place and third was Nathan Soria.

According to the official Rubik’s website, the Rubik’s Cube was invented in 1974 by Erno Rubik; he wanted a working model to help explain three-dimensional geometry. It took him one month before he was able to solve the Cube for himself.

Over 350 million Rubik’s Cubes have been sold worldwide – making it the bestselling toy of all time.

All the profits from the St. Francis event will be given to the St. Francis Rubik’s Cube Club for sweatshirts. Martin said it was a lot of work to put the event together but he’d like to do it again next year.

Most people have heard of "Bring your child to work day," but probably few are familiar with "Bring your dad to preschool day." The families that are part of CCNS (Crescenta-Canada Cooperative Nursery School) look forward to this event every year. As part of a cooperative preschool, usually one parent participates in school activities on a regular basis while the other parent is working to support the household. So in January, CCNS welcomed the working parent to participate in a normal school day . . . on a Saturday!

"I love hosting a school day on a Saturday! Sometimes it is the only time dads can see their child on what would be a normal school day," said school teacher and director Nita Imm.

Arriving at school were dads with their Busy Bear (4-year-old) or Darling Duck (3-year- old), both beaming with pride and anticipation of the fun ahead. For many dads with busy schedules, it was nice to disconnect from everything and spend a full morning putting themselves in the shoes of their preschooler.

Dads could be found playing blocks on the floor, singing songs, doing crafts led by their child, eating snacks with everyone smiling from ear to ear. The dads in the Busy Bear  class had their feet painted by their child and made a keepsake that said "I’ll Follow You Anywhere." In the Darling Duckling class, preschoolers were helping their dads get their hands messy with ink to make handprints. Their project had the hands of both the dad and child overlapped and read, "Anyone could be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad."

To further ensure that the memory of the day would last, everyone received a printed photo to take home.

Comedy Sportz on Friday

The next performance of Comedy Sportz is tonight, Thursday, Feb. 19 at 5 p.m. at the Underground Theatre at CV High School, 2900 Community Ave. in La Crescenta.

All are invited to come out and support the Comedy Sportz team.

Scholastic Bowl Planned

The 25th annual Glendale Unified School District Scholastic Bowl will be held on Monday, March 2 at 7 p.m. at the John Wayne Performing Arts Center on the campus of Glendale High School.

The Scholastic Bowl is an academic competition for GUSD high schools. Each high school is represented by a team and answer questions on a series of academic subjects. NBC channel 4 weatherman Fritz Coleman will host the Scholastic Bowl.

High school students from Clark Magnet, Crescenta Valley, Glendale, and Hoover will compete for scholarship money donated by businesses and groups throughout Glendale. Each member of the first place team will win $500, second place will win $250, third place will win $150 and fourth place will win $100.

For questions, contact Vicki Atikian at (818) 243-1809.

By Sebastian TRIPP, Intern

Classrooms and doctor’s offices have been busy this flu and cold season with patients complaining of body aches and runny noses. Although the flu season is coming to an end, there are still precautions that should be taken by both adults and kids.

"The best way to prevent the spread of sickness is to stay home until [students and adults] are well," advised Dr. John Rodarte, a pediatrician with an office in La Cañada Flintridge.

It may seem like a logical reaction – you’re sick, so stay home; however, that is not always what happens. In a recent unscientific survey, students from Crescenta Valley High School were asked a few questions about their response to the cold and flu season.

Out of 14 randomly chosen students, 11 said they still attend school if they are sick. All of those students cited their decision to go to school was based on homework and how difficult it would be to make up the lost days. Of the three students who stated they did not go to school when sick, only one gave the reason of not wanting to spread the illness to others.

Thirteen randomly chosen students were asked if they felt school was a healthy place. Eight said no, five said yes.

And flu vaccinations are not necessarily the answer. The flu vaccinations that were administered in late 2014 and 2015 were actually for the wrong strain of flu that has been affecting people.

"It has been a busy year with influenza A," Rodarte said in a previous interview with CVW.

The flu vaccine that many received prior to flu season did not cover both strains – "A" and "B" – that spread throughout Los Angeles County and the nation.

Although the number of flu cases seems to be slowing down, Rodarte still advises everyone, both children and adults, to cover their mouths when they cough, be aware of those who are sick around you, stay home if you are sick and see a doctor if you have any concerns.

Build season for FIRST – For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology – robotics team 696 from Clark Magnet High School has drawn to a close. The robot had to be finished, bagged and ready to go by Tuesday, meaning that students would not be allowed to work on the robot or make any changes.

During the six-week build season, the team attended two science fairs at Lincoln and Mountain Avenue elementary schools. They demonstrated last year’s robot, Snapdragon, to the group of excited kids who eagerly interacted with the robot.

Team 696, the FIRST robotics team at Clark Magnet High School, involves hard working and enthusiastic students who are devoted to creating robots for the purpose of spreading awareness of science and technology-based education and competes in FIRST robotics competitions.

This year’s game is called Recycle Rush, in which teams must build robots that can pick up boxes and green recycling containers, stack them, and place a swimming pool noodle inside the recycling bin. Team 696, The Circuit Breakers, have been spending many late nights working tirelessly to meet all the deadlines they have set for themselves, as well as the ultimate deadline: bag day. They will be attending two regional competitions this season: Los Angeles Regional on March 11- 14 and the Ventura Regional on March 26-29. Team 696 is looking forward to a successful season.

Contributed by Anna PARSAMYAN

The Boy Scouts of Troop 317 went camping and hiking at picturesque Death Valley National Park Jan. 30 – Feb. 1. Although the troop was met with a surprising rain shower on their arrival at the campsite on Friday, the scouts adapted and enjoyed what nature offered.

Led by Scout Master David Januzik, Steve Norkus and Adrian Ponce, the Boy Scouts who attended were Sean Salazar, Allister Quizon, Dylan Sibal, Colin Carr, Eagle Scout Nick Zamora, Joshua Ponce, Sean Metz, David Januzik, Adam Sibal, Eagle Scout Chris Carr, Anthony Norkus, Ryan Januzik and Ethan Arellano.

The troop meets every Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Holy Redeemer Healy Hall, 2411 Montrose Ave. in Montrose.

Submitted by Roly QUIZON

Long known for one of the best gymnastics programs in Southern California, the YMCA of Glendale girls’ gymnastics team dominated the 2015 San Diego Rhythm Invitational on Jan. 10-11, bringing home an impressive 35 awards.

The 16 competitors – who all hail from Glendale – competed in six categories (all around, ball, clubs, floor, hoop and rope) in five of the 10 age-levels. Held at San Diego City College, a top facility for gymnastic and rhythmic competitions in Southern California, the winners were: Eva Amirkanian, 9, second place, all around; Tamara Chinivizyan, 11, first place, all around, ball, rope, clubs and second place, floor; Acasia Fong, 8, first place, all around; Hayarpi Ghadimian, 10, first place, ball; Ekaterina Likhvareva, 7, first place, rope; Jodie Mendoza, 13, first place, all around, rope, hoop, floor, clubs; Ani Muradyan, 13, first place, hoop, second place, floor, all around and third place ball, clubs; Hana Nguyen, 11, third place, floor, ball; Carla Ohanian, 11, first place, all around, floor, rope, ball, clubs; Sofia Panoosian, 7, first place, floor, ball; Anastisia Papadeas, 11, third place, floor, clubs; Ariana Saenz, 7, first place, ball; Leila Sears, 7, second place, ball; Michelle Shvedov, 13, first place, ball and second place, rope, clubs; Emily Sulian, 11, first place, rope; and Eugenia Zhenikova, 6, first place, floor.

"We are extremely proud of the Glendale YMCA gymnastics team, which ranked as the number one team in 2010 and 2013," said Arpi Avetyan, head gymnastics instructor at the Glendale Y. "Our girls have worked very hard to reach this level of achievement and many of them have aspirations to participate in the 2015 Junior Olympics this summer. I look forward to cheering them on."

Rhythmic gymnastics is an activity in which individuals or teams of five manipulate one or two pieces of apparatus in five categories: ball, clubs, hoop, ribbon, rope and free (no apparatus). An individual athlete manipulates only one apparatus at a time. When multiple gymnasts are performing a routine together, a maximum of two types of apparatus may be distributed through the group. An athlete can exchange apparatus with a team member at any time during the routine. Therefore, an athlete can manipulate up to two different pieces of apparatus through the duration of the routine.

The sport combines elements of ballet, dance, gymnastics and apparatus manipulation. The victor is the participant who earns the most points, determined by a panel of judges, for leaps, balances, pirouettes (pivots), apparatus handling and execution. The choreography must cover the entire floor and contain a balance of jumps, leaps, pivots, balances and flexibility movements. Each movement involves a high degree of athletic skill. Physical abilities needed by a rhythmic gymnast include strength, power, flexibility, agility, dexterity, endurance and hand-eye coordination.

By Samantha SLAYBACK

Sixteen high school juniors, including Rachel Harvey of Crescenta Valley High School, will be flying to Korea in April as part of Project Bridge, a year-long program that immerses students in the nuances of Korean culture, while encouraging the development of leadership skills and cultural understanding.

Developed by the nonprofit Pacific Century Institute, the program annually selects 16 students as youth ambassadors and, over the course of the year, the ambassadors are introduced to various aspects of Korean culture, history and government and the experience of Koreans in America.

Harvey’s interest in Korean culture began in the fourth grade when she befriended a Korean exchange student named Divina. Though Divina eventually moved back to Korea, Harvey and Divina still maintain contact, a friendship that sparked a continuing enthusiasm for the Korean language and culture.

Now in her second year of Korean language classes at CVHS, Harvey was introduced to Project Bridge through her teacher, Tina Song. To Harvey, the program sounded like "a once in a lifetime opportunity."

In order to trim 135 applicants to just 16 (eight from the Los Angeles region, eight from the New York region), Harvey and the other students underwent an application process that was akin to applying for college, including an interview, multiple essay prompts, letters of recommendation and a reviewing of transcripts. Fifty-one applicants made it to the interview phase.

According to Judy Choi of the Pacific Century Institute, "A review committee chose 16 of the most promising candidates, weighing their leadership capacity, commitment to the program, personal motivation and goals for participating in the program."

The youth ambassadors had their first orientation in Koreatown in December and have begun meeting regularly several times a month, attending educational seminars to expand upon their knowledge of Korean society and, of course, brush up on their Korean language skills.

Those skills will be put to the test when the students fly to Korea in April for a study tour, which will have the youth ambassadors visiting several notable sites and experiencing Korean culture firsthand during a stay with a host family. Among the locations the youth ambassadors will visit are Korean high schools and universities, historical landmarks, cultural landmarks such as the Seonunsa Buddhist Temple, various businesses and industrial sites, government buildings, the U.S. Embassy, and the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea. From April 1 to April 12, the students will plunge headlong into Korean life, something Harvey has looked forward to for much of her life.

""I have always wanted to go to Korea," said Harvey. "I am so excited. We’re going to get to see a lot of things that regular tourists don’t get to see and completely immerse ourselves in the culture."

Scholastic Bowl Planned

The 25th annual Glendale Unified School District Scholastic Bowl will be held on Monday, March 2 at 7 p.m. at the John Wayne Performing Arts Center on the campus of Glendale High School.

The Scholastic Bowl is an academic competition for GUSD high schools. Each high school is represented by a team and answer questions on a series of academic subjects. NBC channel 4 weatherman Fritz Coleman will host the Scholastic Bowl.

High school students from Clark Magnet, Crescenta Valley, Glendale, and Hoover will compete for scholarship money donated by businesses and groups throughout Glendale. Each member of the first place team will win $500, second place will win $250, third place will win $150 and fourth place will win $100.

For questions, contact Vicki Atikian at (818) 243-1809.

Scholarship Social Planned

Glendale Area Alumnae Panhellenic is hosting scholarship social for high school senior girls on Wednesday, March 11 at 7 p.m. at La Cañada Presbyterian Church. Attendees will learn about college sororities and about scholarship opportunities. Alumnae members will answer questions about college life and what sororities contribute to a student’s college experience. Applications for high school girls will only be available at this event. Anyone interested must pre-register to attend; RSVP attendance to gapascholarship@gmail.com. Parents are welcome.

For complete information, visit www.glendalepanhellenic.org.

La Cañada Presbyterian Church, Burcham Hall, 626 Foothill Blvd., La Cañada Flintridge.

Teens MOVE Event Next Week

The YMCA of the Foothills and the CVHS PTSA is hosting the annual Teens MOVE – Many Opportunities for Volunteering and Employment – event on March 5 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on the school campus. At the event, local businesses and organizations will introduce their programs and job opportunities to local teens. For questions, call (818) 583-4756 ext. 289 and ask for Chelsea.

CVHS is located at 2900 Community Ave. in La Crescenta.

All cowboys, cowgirls, parents, families and friends are invited to the La Cañada Flintridge Community Center Preschool 22nd annual Western Round-Up on Saturday, March 7 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This western-themed fundraiser features pony rides, petting zoo, inflatable slide, carnival games and prizes, silent auction, an airbrush artist, raffle to win an iPad Mini, taco carts, a bake sale, custard ices, massages and more.

"Our staff and parent volunteers work together to put on this fun event for local families," said preschool Director Danielle Caputo. "The proceeds are applied directly to student enrichment opportunities and allow us to keep tuition rates down."

The Community Center is located at 4469 Chevy Chase Drive, La Cañada Flintridge. Game tickets and meals will be available for purchase at the school on the event day. Free parking will be available at Allen Lund, across the street.

Organizers of this year’s Daddy Daughter Dance at Valley View Elementary School welcomed their largest crowd yet to the highly anticipated annual event.

Guests dined on chicken marsala, chicken without sauce, baked mostaccioli, buttered penne pasta with marinara on the side, dinner salad and garlic bread.

Colorful jelly bracelets were distributed down the center of the tables and the girls had fun collecting them and wearing them home. Centerpieces were also a treasured memento of the evening and, at the end of the evening on their way out of the dance, each girl was handed a candy bracelet.

This year, organizers set out a dessert display on two outside lunch tables. The girls were overhead commenting that it was "a smorgasbord of desserts," obviously pleased with the change. The dads also appeared to like the change of location for dessert as it provided the chance for dads and daughters to sit at the lunch tables to enjoy their treats, while others decided to dance in the auditorium.

By McKenna MIDDLETON, intern

The girls of Mountain Avenue Elementary School celebrated Valentine’s Day with the men in their lives on Feb. 13 at the annual Daddy Daughter Dance. To pay homage to the holiday, the dance’s theme was hearts. From the food to the decorations, pink and red hearts added a festive ambiance to the dance.

The event was planned and arranged by Girl Scout Troop 15851. Since the girls are all sixth graders, the honor of organizing next year’s dance will go to another troop when 15851 promotes.

The girls and their dads were dressed in their finest, in dresses and suits respectively. Many daughters wore corsages that paired nicely with the paper flower boutonnieres their fathers were presented with upon arrival. The couples then had their picture taken, which would be given to them at the end of the night as a keepsake. There were even frames for decorating.

In addition to dancing to the music provided by a DJ who is the father of a Mountain Avenue Elementary School student, the couples could enjoy refreshments, decorate their frames, or even make Valentine cards for each other.

"In my experience, the daughters do most of the dancing," said sixth grader and troop 15851 Girl Scout Molly Fleischer.

However, there were plenty of dads twirling their daughters on the dance floor throughout the night.

Taking a break from dancing, attendees could take part in the annual paper airplane contest followed by a hula-hoop contest in which both fathers and daughters competed. This was followed by dancing lessons from resident ballroom dancer Kimmy Blood. For the past three years, Blood has taught the crowd of dads and daughters swing dancing with her father. This year, though, her uncle Mike stepped in as her dad was out of town. The simple swing dance lesson was a hit as usual.

The fathers and daughters spent the rest of the night enjoying each other’s company as they danced the night away to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

Salem Lutheran School announced its extension of teaching levels to include the seventh and eighth grades. The expansion is timely because Salem parents have wanted their children to continue receiving instruction on developing and practicing high moral and ethical standards. So that their concerns can be met, seventh grade will begin in September, with eighth grade classes beginning September 2016.

At Salem, education is considered complete only if it includes both top level academics together with classes stressing good citizenship, strong moral values and examples of ethical behavior in the context of Christian teachings.

"Our teachers’ goals and our parents’ goals are one and the same," said Ghada Huleis, who has been the school’s principal for 14 years. "We are here to support parents who want their children to grow into well-balanced adults who value achievement, service to others in need and compassion towards all."

Glendale’s Salem Lutheran School is an award winning National Blue Ribbon School. Huleis was honored as principal of the year by Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and was the recipient of the National Distinguished Principal Award presented by National Association of Elementary School Principals. Salem is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

For information, contact the school at (818) 243-8264 or salemschooloffice@juno.com.

Silas FitzGerald from Crescenta Valley Boy Scout Troop 317 chose as his Eagle Scout project to install signs in Crescenta Valley Park to mark a three-mile cross-country course. The project was funded from donations solicited from the community.

Visitors to the park will see the results of his project just south of the baseball field.

Contributed by Bob THOMPSON