Cheerleaders

Katherine Tolford, People BURBANK -- Nikki Pettersen and her cheerleading squad flew through the air with the greatest of ease to capture two American Grand Championship titles. On Dec. 19-21, Pettersen and her 19-member squad, The California Flyers Elite, competed with eight division teams at the American Grand Cheer and Dance Championships to win best all-star performance by a small senior division squad. They were also named the overall grand champions in the senior all-star division.

Students tell story on stage Nine weeks of after-school workshops will culminate in a kindergarten through fifth-grade production of Dr. Seuss' "The Lorax" at 7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday at the Bret Harte Elementary Auditorium. Children participated in workshops teaching them how to make a story come alive onstage, learning puppetry, improvisation and writing, as well as sound effects and lighting. Jill Herbertson and Mary Cutone started the theater project, involving at least 50 parent volunteers to teach workshops.

This post has been corrected. See details below. Beginning this fall, a 30-student kindergarten class at Disney Elementary will spend 80% of their day speaking and learning in Spanish as part of a new dual-language immersion program being launched by the Burbank Unified School District. After more than a year of consideration by educators and repeated requests from parents, the program is kicking off following unanimous approval by the school board. The new program will help meet demand.

Molly Shore People flipped, literally, at the fourth annual National Gymnastics Day celebration at Golden State Gymnastics Center. "We actually had parents jumping on trampolines and doing flips," said Leandra Butos, the center's director of activities. During open gym, anyone could use the equipment with the guidance of a gym instructor. Butos said 150 to 175 people showed up Saturday for the two-hour event, with 80 of them participating in the open gym. Other events included performances by the gym's competitive team and cheerleaders, as well as an appearance by Mrs. California.

Gary Moskowitz HILLSIDE DISTRICT -- There's nothing easy about a stamina jump. In order to do one correctly, a cheerleader has to jump three consecutive times, performing a maneuver while in the air each time. Michelle Otis, cheerleading moderator at Bellarmine-Jefferson High School, said stamina jumps were just one of the challenges her cheerleading squad had to face at the National Cheerleaders Assn. summer camp this August. Eight of Otis' cheerleaders were nominated for All-American, the most prestigious award in cheerleading.

Students, administrators and dignitaries joined in a spirited celebration Wednesday to officially dedicate the new athletic field and all-weather track at Burbank High School. Visitors of all stripes said the facility would serve as a source of excitement for student athletes after decades of low-quality playing conditions. Cheerleaders performed as former City Manager Mary Alvord and former Burbank Unified Supt. Gregory Bowman joined city and school district officials in dedicating a large placard that began with the promise: “Together for a better community.

Students, administrators and dignitaries joined in a spirited celebration Wednesday to officially dedicate the new athletic field and all-weather track at Burbank High School. Visitors of all stripes said the facility would serve as a source of excitement for student athletes after decades of low-quality playing conditions. Cheerleaders performed as former City Manager Mary Alvord and former Burbank Unified Supt. Gregory Bowman joined city and school district officials in dedicating a large placard that began with the promise: “Together for a better community.

Irma Lemus MEDIA DISTRICT WEST -- Bringing awareness to the destruction caused by drugs was the goal of the eighth annual Burbank Red Ribbon Week kickoff at Johnny Carson Park. Saturday's event brought out about 1,200 people, coordinator Marissa Rosoff said. The daylong fair included free food and entertainment. But it wasn't all fun and games. Burbank Police and Fire departments and city organizations supplied information about community resources.

Emerson Elementary School had an annual community read-in Wednesday. Celebrities, city officials and Los Angeles Laker cheerleaders turned up to show students how important reading is and read to students in classrooms on Dr. Seuss' 101 birthday as a way to promote literacy. The event was part of the National Education Assn.'s eighth annual Read Across America Day, but this is the 17th year Emerson Elementary has had a community read-in. Other schools also celebrated reading.

Even with menacing rain clouds settling on the Verdugo Mountains, eager crowds lined Olive Avenue en masse on Saturday for the return of Burbank on Parade. As parade participants fine-tuned their floats, saddled their horses and adjusted their costumes in the event's staging area, the mood was festive and lively. The Woodland Hills Shrine Club's "Hillbilly Band," struck up the fiddles for a bluegrass warm-up and two feather-capped Shakespearean actors with Italian-grip foils in their belts locked arms for a spontaneous dos-a-dos.