John Muir

They are the future track and field standouts for the local high school programs. Proving that many are ready to make the leap, nearly 300 area athletes took part in Saturday’s annual Burbank All-City Middle Schools Track Meet at Burbank High. Boys and girls’ from the three local middle schools — Jordan, John Muir and Luther — took to the track and infield at the venue to see who is the city’s best in various running and field events. Muir eighth-grader Destiny Dutton had a hand in four victories, as she won the girls’ 200 and 400 and helped her 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams gain wins.

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Finding out who's the best in the city There will be a large group of youngsters running and jumping around at Burroughs High on Saturday. But the boys and girls will be scampering about for a purpose -- to find out who are the best middle school track and field athletes in the city Athletes will be taking in the annual All-City Track Meet from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. between the three local schools, John Muir, Jordan and Luther Burbank. The meet used to be a local tradition until it fell on hard times and was not run for almost 15 years.

MEMORIAL FIELD — Local athletes found the themselves in the heat of competition Saturday at the annual Burbank All-City Meet. Boys and girls’ from the three local middle schools — Jordan, John Muir and Luther — took to the track and infield at Memorial Field for the friendly event. Nearly 300 athletes took part in the meet. “We didn’t have a lot of records set, but we had some great results from the athletes,” said one of the meet’s organizers, Kenny Knoop, of Jordan.

Mark R. Madler Burbank Unified School board members have rejected a suggestion from an area lawyer to rename John Burroughs High School after former President Ronald Reagan. Thomas Cotrel, a 1977 Burroughs graduate, suggested the school be renamed after Reagan, who died last month. "He was a significant enough player on the world stage to justify the renaming of the school," Cotrel told school board members Thursday. If the district decided to go ahead with the renaming, private donations could be sought to pay for new signs and stationery, Cotrel said.

Deborah Greene Nguyen, a 1994 graduate of Crescenta Valley High School, received her doctorate in pharmacology from the School of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Her research in the field of HIV reproduction has been published in the European Journal of Immunology. She earned her bachelor's degree in biochemistry from Cal State L.A. Deborah was married to Dzung H. Nguyen of Pennsylvania, who also received his doctorate in pharmacology, in April 2001 at the Church of the Lighted Window in La Canada-Flintridge.

MILLS Amber L. Beardsley and Steve M. Mills were married on the sand surrounded by 60 family members and friends at the Radisson Beach Resort in Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii. The service was officiated by the Rev. Don Schutt, the bride's uncle, and the Rev. Carolyn Miura. The matron of honor was Kelly D. Beardsley-Gutierrez. The bridesmaids were Michele Rumfola, Anne Heaphy, Melissa Zaldivar, Whitney Scott and Nicole Wilson. The flower girls were Jessica and Brittany Schutt.

Jordan wins boys' basketball title There was some fine play on display Feb. 16 when the annual Burbank Middle School Eighth Grade Basketball Tournament was held at Jordan Middle School. There were five rounds of competition and three rounds of playoffs. The boys' final pitted host Jordan against John Muir. Enjoying home-court advantage, it was the Cougars winning the championship, 27-22. Jordan made it a clean sweep by winning the girls' championship against Luther, 21-15.

Burbank Unified School District principals returned to work on Monday to get ready for the new school year, which begins Sept. 1. Among them were Anita Schackmann, the new principal at Luther Middle School, and Heather Haug, the new assistant principal of discipline at Burbank High School. "I'm kind of old, but new," said Haug, who previously taught science to Burroughs High School students. "The district is familiar with me, I've worked with a lot of people, but Burbank High School is brand new. Meeting the staff and the new students will be the best part of the job."

Neala Yde Sullivan Looking back on my teaching career, all 38 years spent at John Muir Middle School, my reflections are memorable ones that I take with me as I retire this month. I could write a book about all of the changes in curriculum, personnel and students at Muir since I started teaching in 1962. For 20 years, I taught home economics, which has virtually disappeared in its original form. My last 18 years have been spent teaching math and algebra in grades 6 to 9. When I started at Muir, then called a junior high school, I taught grades 7 to 9. In the early years, seventh-grade girls were required to take one semester of Foods and their measure of success was how well their "Eggs a la Goldenrod" turned out. Boys in the same grade had to complete one semester of shop, wood or drafting.

John Muir Middle School unveiled a mural of Yosemite Valley on Monday, which also marked the birthday of the school's namesake on April 21, 1838. The mural depicts images of Yosemite Valley once captured by legendary photographer Ansel Adams. PHOTOS: Muir Middle School unveils Yosemite mural The project was created over a span of a few weeks with help from 160 of Muir's art students, whose work was overseen by Los Angeles artist Randall Williams. It measures 5,400 square feet, making it the largest mural at any school in Burbank Unified.

Seventh graders at John Muir Middle School participated in their annual “Around the World Day” that had outside drummers and dancers bring their music and performances to the students in a daylong event on Friday. Organized by the seventh grade teachers, Muir Principal Greg Miller said there were Taiko drummers, Peruvian dancers and sword play. The day began with medieval jousting, and throughout the day, performers and dancers invited students participate in the activities.

Burbank residents wishing to share any concerns or complaints with the city's elected officials can do so at a town hall meeting next week. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at John Muir Middle School, located at 1111 N. Kenneth Road, and is an opportunity for the public to meet with the Burbank City Council in a casual setting away from City Hall. “It's healthy for us to just go out and listen,” said Mayor Emily Gabel-Luddy, adding that she hopes the meetings can continue regularly every six months.

Local athletes found the themselves in the heat of competition Saturday at the annual Burbank All-City Middle Schools Track and Field Meet. Boys and girls' in the sixth through eighth grades from the three local middle schools - Jordan, John Muir and Luther - took to the track and infield at Burbank High for the friendly event. Nearly 300 athletes took part in the meet. PHOTOS: Burbank All-City Track and Field Meet It was also a good showing as far as new meet records go, as 16 new marks were set across the divisions.

The Burroughs High track and field team has not even held a home meet at its new Memorial Field facility. Instead, a group of local youth athletes got first crack at the venue in an annual event Saturday. They were able to test out the new running track and compete on the state-of-the-art field event areas. Area athletes also found themselves in the heat of competition at the annual Burbank Middle Schools Track and Field Meet. Boys and girls from the three local middle schools - Jordan, John Muir and Luther - took to the track and infield at Memorial Field for the friendly event.

Rabbi Richard Flom stood on the bema — the raised platform at the front of the synagogue and proceeded with a crash course in conservative Judaism. Addressing 115 John Muir Middle School students, he explained the 12 tribes of Israel, the ark, the presence of the Israeli flag and the Torah. “You will notice unlike the books you are used to this goes from right to left,” Flom said. “Hebrew is written right to left. You will see the Hebrew on the right-hand side and the English translation on the left-hand side.

They are the future track and field standouts for the local high school programs. Proving that many are ready to make the leap, nearly 300 area athletes took part in Saturday’s annual Burbank All-City Middle Schools Track Meet at Burbank High. Boys and girls’ from the three local middle schools — Jordan, John Muir and Luther — took to the track and infield at the venue to see who is the city’s best in various running and field events. Muir eighth-grader Destiny Dutton had a hand in four victories, as she won the girls’ 200 and 400 and helped her 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams gain wins.

MEMORIAL FIELD — Local athletes found the themselves in the heat of competition Saturday at the annual Burbank All-City Meet. Boys and girls’ from the three local middle schools — Jordan, John Muir and Luther — took to the track and infield at Memorial Field for the friendly event. Nearly 300 athletes took part in the meet. “We didn’t have a lot of records set, but we had some great results from the athletes,” said one of the meet’s organizers, Kenny Knoop, of Jordan.

Burbank’s high school show choirs are more than used to competition. But this weekend’s Burbank Blast Show Choir Festival, where six of Southern California’s top show choir groups will sing on the same stage, is not about winning. About 500 students of different skill levels from five high schools and one Burbank middle school, John Muir, will run through their competition material and receive critiques from three nationally known judges. The festival, which precedes the choirs’ competition season, will be an opportunity for the students to hone their skills, learn new ones and get friendly with their soon-to-be rivals.

BURBANK — Administrators at John Muir Middle School jumped ahead of a few other schools this month by cementing plans to install new auditorium curtains by the end of November. Burbank Unified School District board members approved a list of purchase orders at their Oct. 18 meeting that included more than $15,000 for rigging, installation and materials for new stage drapes at Muir. The funds for the project are being taken out of the school’s share in a one-time grant from the state for physical education, art and music, per the wishes of its council and leadership teams, while other schools in the district that also need new drapes are waiting for district administrators and officials to research costs and find funding methods.