Bellarmine Jefferson High School

Irma Lemus HILLSIDE DISTRICT --After eight months of planning a benefit dinner for two children with cerebral palsy, Burbank High School Key Club members saw their hard work pay off in a big way. The high school club raised $12,000 at the fund-raising dinner held at Bellarmine-Jefferson High School on March 12, said Armen Zenjiryan, the Burbank High senior who coordinated the event. The dinner was attended by about 200 community leaders and members, he said.

Joyce Rudolph Jane "Patterson" Galloway of Lancaster died Dec. 8, 2004. She was 49. Galloway was involved in a crash Wednesday of a commuter van traveling to Jet Propulsion Laboratory that went over the side of a mountain on Angeles Crest Road. Three of the 10 people in the van died in the crash. She was a native Californian and a former Burbank resident. The family moved to Burbank from El Monte in 1963. She attended St. Robert Bellarmine School and graduated from Bellarmine-Jefferson High School in 1973.

This holiday season has shone a lot brighter for the homeless and needy because of the selfless efforts made by hundreds of community volunteers. Those who give of themselves define the true meaning of this season and deserve to be recognized and thanked. Several of these efforts, such as cash donation campaigns, toy and food drives and a community dinner, have been organized by volunteers of the Burbank Coordinating Council, Salvation Army Burbank Corps and Burbank Temporary Aid Center.

Irma Lemus HILLSIDE DISTRICT -- Bellarmine-Jefferson High School students are getting a taste of Hollywood filmmaking. With a borrowed 16 mm camera and other equipment, 50 students from the school are putting in time over the summer to produce their first film, said Bell-Jeff film teacher Michael Kane. The equipment was donated by Clairmont Camera in Hollywood and the film was given to the school by Kodak and Fuji, Kane said. Kane said he was eager to have a finished product by the time school begins in the fall so he has something to show off to students who will be in his film and video production class.

Gary Moskowitz BURBANK -- Kandie Soderstrom's Girl Scouts, like all Americans, will forever remember Sept. 11, 2001. But what is important to Soderstrom and the 600 Burbank Girl Scouts who made thank-you cards Saturday for relief workers in New York City is that they remember how they helped during a time of tragedy. "A lot of my girls are scared by all of this," said Soderstrom, a service unit manager and troop leader. "Many of us can't talk about what's happened, so drawing and writing these thank-you cards has been a way for us to express ourselves."

Mark R. Madler Like most of his nearly 100 classmates, Jerome Angeles had his own personal cheering section when he graduated Saturday morning from Bellarmine-Jefferson High School. His was just a little more, well, enthusiastic. Following the ceremony at the Hall of Liberty at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, a group of cousins held up letters spelling out Jerome's name so he could spot them easier among the several hundred people milling about, talking and taking pictures.

HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS WIN SCHOLARSHIPS Three Burbank high school seniors were honored at the Burbank University Women’s Scholarship Tea held earlier this month at the home of Marsha Baroda . The three honorees were selected for this year’s college scholarships. The students are Jane Park from Providence High School, Paula Moren from Burbank High School and Phoebe Kunitomi from Bellarmine- Jefferson High School. Jane is president of the National Honor Society, has played soccer and trained in tae kwon do, and won awards in the 3D Art Division of the Burbank Youth Art Expo.

Send DATEBOOK items to the Burbank Leader, 221 N. Brand Blvd., 2nd Floor, Glendale, CA 91203 or fax to (818) 241-1975. Submissions must be received two weeks before publication. TODAY The Colony Theatre presents the opening of "Stage Struck" at 8 p.m. tonight. Opening night tickets are $50 and include a reception. Performances are at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays until March 11. Tickets range from $37 to $42 with student, senior and group discounts available.

Mark R. Madler Students in Sergio Ballesteros' world history and geography classes at Bellarmine- Jefferson High School might want to start honing up on their current events. With the start of classes today at the private Roman Catholic school, Ballesteros plans to make sure his students know what's going on outside the borders of the United States. "The whole point of learning history is trying to prevent the same thing from happening again," said Ballesteros, a Los Angeles native.

Erik Boal Since its opening in 1944, Bellarmine-Jefferson High School has competed in only a handful of California Interscholastic Federation championship events. It wasn't until 1997 that the Guards won their first -- and only -- Southern Section title, posting a 47-45 victory against Cerritos Valley Christian in the Division IVA girls' basketball final. After a six-year hiatus, Bell-Jeff returns today to the scene of its crowning athletic achievement, the Long Beach Pyramid.