Burbank High School

A popular Burbank High School football player took his own life at his home in Shadow Hills Tuesday night, shocking his teammates and student body. The student was identified by Los Angeles County coroner's officials as 17-year-old Matthew Smyser. Officials on Thursday confirmed the cause of death as suicide following an autopsy. Burbank Unified officials were notified of the death Wednesday morning by the Los Angeles Mayor's Crisis Response Team, Supt. Stan Carrizosa said.

A ni Vertanous and Sabina Agazarian said they've been friends since middle school, but walking up the hill to the Starlight Bowl for their Burbank High School commencement Friday, they started yelling. They weren't going to be sitting next to one another for the ceremony, but they said that didn't take away from their sense of accomplishment, relief and joy. "It feels amazing," Vertanous said. "It's the end, and I accomplished everything." The two will be going to Pasadena City College next year, representing two stories among the almost 670 graduating seniors who became alumni Friday night.

Thousands of camera-clutching family members and friends flocked to the Starlight Bowl Friday evening to watch the roughly 700 Burbank High School graduates rearrange the tassels on their mortarboards. It was a bittersweet evening for many graduates, who while ready to tackle the next stage of their lives, were emotional about the friends and memories they were leaving behind. PHOTOS: Burbank High School graduation   "I feel like I might cry," said graduate Angel Guerrero, 17. "Because this family is really close.

Irma Lemus MEDIA DISTRICT NORTH -- Burbank High School Principal John Hutak is leaving after one year as principal. Hutak, who resigned Monday, decided to leave the district, said Burbank Unified Assistant Supt. Gregory Bowman. Hutak, an Antelope Valley resident, has worked for district since 1998. "There was no disagreement with the district. He just wanted to work closer to home. The commute was too much for him," Bowman said. Bowman said Hutak has been offered employment closer to where he lives, but he could not say where.

HILLSIDE DISTRICT -- Tension between Burbank High School students has prompted administrators to begin videotaping and breaking up groups of more than four students meeting "in a disruptive manner," the school's principal said. On Dec. 8, up to 75 students from different ethnic groups were involved in altercations that caused the school to step up security and request police enforcement on the campus, said principal John Hutak. While school officials were silent on the makeup of the two groups, students said the tensions were largely between white and Armenian students.

Irma Lemus MEDIA DISTRICT NORTH -- The sound of holiday music promises to delight audiences at tonight's Burbank High School instrumental music department winter concert. The concert will be at 7:30 in the school auditorium, 902 N. 3rd St. Favorite holiday selections ranging from Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker" to Handel's "Joy to the World" will be performed by the concert band, wind ensemble, orchestra and symphony. The Burbank High School band and orchestra will feature a special audience sing-along during the Christmas finale.

Dear Parents: The Burbank Police Department and Burbank High School have collaborated to provide you the following information: During spring break, on Saturday, April 21, 2001, Burbank Police arrested two male adults for conspiracy to use a destructive device at Burbank High School. One suspect is a student at Burbank High, and the other is a resident of Van Nuys. Both suspects are being held on $1 million bail and are being arraigned today. The police responded on information from a responsible parent.

Ryan Carter and Gary Moskowitz BAHAMAS -- Douglas Kratz, 28, a 1991 graduate of Burbank High School, died Saturday with eight others when a private plane, also carrying R&B singer Aaliyah Haughton, 22, crashed on the way back to the United States from the Bahamas. Kratz had just finished the production of Haughton's video for the song "Rock da Boat" and was heading home with the group when the twin-engine Cessna 402 crashed, said Ray Cooper, co-president of Virgin Records America, Inc. Known by her fans as Aaliyah, Haughton had gained notoriety as a teenager with the 1994 album "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number."

Hilda Akopyan on Thursday night sat down to do her homework, when she came to a realization. “I’ll never have homework for Burbank High again,” she said. “I’m so used to everything being the same, and now I am about to embark on a big change.” Akopyan, who plans to attend Pasadena City College in the fall, was one of 617 seniors who graduated on Friday night from Burbank High. Parents, grandparents as well as other family members and friends gathered at the Starlight Bowl to honor the graduates.

MEDIA DISTRICT NORTH — At Burbank High School on Thursday morning, a shrill alarm suddenly sounded throughout the campus and an entire student body ducked beneath their desks to take cover. The exercise was part of a districtwide emergency- preparedness drill test that put the schools to the test, conducting a simulated response to a hypothetical, large-scale emergency. The operation at Burbank High began with an emergency alarm, and then the students were told to evacuate their classrooms and head for the football field, the designated emergency location site.

Seniors, parents and staff at Monterey High School celebrated 51 high school graduates Friday evening. For many of the graduates, earning a high school diploma had been an out of reach dream because of adversity endured by many of them during their high school years. PHOTOS: Monterey High School commencement and graduation ceremony   Samuel Regalado began attending Monterey - Burbank Unified's alternative school - after his grades dropped when he was a sophomore at Burbank High School.

Thousands of camera-clutching family members and friends flocked to the Starlight Bowl Friday evening to watch the roughly 700 Burbank High School graduates rearrange the tassels on their mortarboards. It was a bittersweet evening for many graduates, who while ready to tackle the next stage of their lives, were emotional about the friends and memories they were leaving behind. PHOTOS: Burbank High School graduation   "I feel like I might cry," said graduate Angel Guerrero, 17. "Because this family is really close.

Nickelodeon Animation Studios has formed a partnership with Muir Middle School to help get its media program running, said Carson Smith, human resources manager. Nickelodeon's media technology services team, under Director Boris Beaubien, worked with Muir's Principal Greg Miller to develop a three-session, one-hour class that serves as an introduction to the role of the computer in the animation process. The media technology team brought computers into the classroom and instructed the students on how to safely install hardware and trouble-shoot potential issues during the first class.

Ceramic artists are making a statement with their pottery pieces while raising funds to help homeless families. The third annual Empty Bowl fundraiser benefits Family Promise of the East San Fernando Valley. The event is from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. June 2 at the First United Methodist Church of Glendale, 134 N. Kenwood St., Glendale. Proceeds provide safe shelter, meals and support to homeless families. Area artists are creating one-of-a-kind bowls and donating them to the fundraiser.

Glendale High Associate Principal Mike Bertram will leave the Nitros this summer to become Burbank High School's new principal. One of 20 people who applied for the position, Bertram replaces current principal Hani Youssef, who was recently appointed as director of student services for Burbank Unified. Bertram comes with 25 years of experience as an educator, having also worked for South Pasadena and La Canada school districts. He isn't new to Burbank Unified either. From 2001 through 2008, Bertram worked as a high school assistant principal.

After spending 10 years at Burbank High School, Principal Hani Youssef will leave his post to become director of safety and student services for Burbank Unified. But leaving the school to work at the district's headquarters is bittersweet for Youssef. "It's very hard for me to leave Burbank High," Youssef said. "You really feel like you're leaving a very special place where you have this bond with students. " "The good thing is, I get to continue to work with Burbank students," he added.

As voters go to the polls, they should remember two qualities that are equally important as they decide who will be sitting on the Burbank Unified school board the next four years - experience and passion. We endorse Larry Applebaum and Steve Ferguson. Incumbent Applebaum has been on the board since 2005. He brings a great deal of institutional memory to the position. Since no one can know whether the board's other incumbents will run for reelection in two years, his knowledge of the district could provide invaluable.

Nickelodeon recently donated more than 60 “gently used” computers and 40 monitors to the Burbank Unified School District Arts For All program. A number of the machines donated by the Burbank animation studio were used in the production of computer-generated shows, said Carson Smith, Nickelodeon Human Resources manager. The company made the donation for two reasons. “We at Nickelodeon think it is extremely important to partner with the community, and since our motto has always been 'Kids First,' we thought it was fitting that the machines would benefit children in the area,” Smith said.

Someone once told me the best thing about being a journalist was that I got a first-row seat to history. What I didn't know then - and what I'm only beginning to understand now - is how one defines “history.” For example, last February I watched Burbank High School graduate Sevada Armen compete in the S.Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition. He brought every culinary skill he could muster to a time-limited, pressure-filled cook-off between top students from up and down the West Coast.

Approximately eight years ago Burbank residents approved a $112-million school bond measure. The money was used to build a new Burbank High School and remodel and build new class rooms at Burroughs High School. I supported this bond measure because it was obvious these structures were in poor condition. The Burbank Unified School District is now asking voters to approve another bond measure in the amount of $110 million. The district claims the money is needed to repair roofs, air conditioning and plumbing.