John Muir

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."

JEFF TULLY A group of athletes made a statement last weekend at Memorial Field. Just by their participation in the Burbank Middle Schools' Track Meet, the young boys and girls are extolling all that is good with today's youngsters. Instead of sitting at home spending hours absorbed in mind-numbing PlayStation games, or hanging out at the mall, those athletes from John Muir, Jordan and Luther were hard at work, engulfed in competition, at the event.

Jeff Tully A group of anxious youth track and field athletes were poised and ready to compete in the annual Burbank Middle Schools' Track Meet. However, rain washed out the originally scheduled competition March 19 at Memorial Field, forcing the athletes to wait. Although it was a week late, the athletes got their chance to shine Saturday at a rescheduled meet that featured boys and girls from John Muir, Jordan and Luther middle schools. The meet was held in boys' and girls' divisions and broken down in grades six, seven and eight.

-- 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Change from 2000 to 2004 ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS Bret Harte 731 762 761 790 807 76 George 708 709 717 735 717 9 Washington Joaquin Miller 698 709 741 778 791 93 Providencia 670 715 748 747 764 94 R.L. Stevenson 741 768 779 795 796 55 Ralph Emerson 742 753 746 805 823 81 Theodore 765 796 780 826 843 78 Roosevelt Thomas Edison 721 757 772 780 792 71 ...

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.

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.

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.

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.

TODAY The students of American Lutheran Elementary School, in an effort to raise funds for the school, are jogging laps around the Burroughs High School track from 8 a.m. to noon. The high school is at 1920 W. Clark Ave. For more information, call 846-0295. A Los Angeles County household hazardous-waste roundup is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Glendale Water and Power Yard, 800 Air Way, Glendale. Materials accepted include paints, turpentine, acid and lye-based cleansers, household and car batteries, automobile fluids, pesticides, herbicides, computer items and TV sets.

Jeff Tully LUTHER BURBANK MIDDLE SCHOOL -- Back in the 1980s, the local middle school track and field athletes got a chance to show their skills at an annual meet held just for them. But over time, the meet died out and the young athletes had to wait until they were in high school to experience competition against other schools. However Saturday, with the help of come concerned individuals, the event is back, as the Tri-School All-City Meet was held at Luther Burbank Middle School.