Arcadia’s First Avenue Middle School student-actors are out of this world. The school’s Production class of 2019 has been preparing the entire fall semester for its upcoming play “Out of This World,” to be performed December 6 and 7 in the First Avenue auditorium. The theater teacher is Susi Reck. The theater program at First Avenue has four different levels.
First Avenue Middle School welcomes new principal Semeen Issa. Dr. Issa had been assistant principal at the school for the past 6 years and this will be her 17th year at First Avenue Middle School.
First Avenue Middle School program "Exploratory Wheel" allows students to rotate through four electives--art, drama, industrial technology and home economics--to discover their interests and strengths, in 6th grade.
Arcadia Unified School District's First Avenue Middle School music teacher Michael Danielson is one of only 16 teachers to be recognized as a 2019-2020 Teacher of the Year.
The Arcadia Board of Education will study the environmental impact of new uses and the addition of lights at Dana and First Avenue Middle schools and the Arcadia High School softball field.
A tour bus with 53 Arcadia school children from First Avenue Middle School was involved in a five-vehicle wreck on the San Bernardino (10) Freeway. They were coming back to school from a science camp.
First Avenue Middle School celebrated the 26th birthday and life of teacher Jennifer Castillo with a ceremony and the release of over 900 balloons. She taught 6th grade Algebra and introductory Spanish. She died February 8 of heart failure.
Arcadia Unified 'lip-dubs spirit of its middle schools. Some 2,200 Arcadia Unified School District middle school students and adults are featured in a four minute YouTube video featuring Jason Derulo's "Undefeated," to show their school spirit and pride. A lip-dub video is music played over a lip-sync video, filmed in one continuous shot.
The Arcadia Unified School District is participating in the Fulbright Teacher exchange Program for the first time. The program is responsible for First Avenue Middle School teacher Michelle Shaw exchanging places with Leena Heinila, a teacher from Helsinki, Finland.
Arcadia Unified teachers share what learning looks like in a pandemic. Karalee Nakatsuka, 8th grade history teacher at First Avenue Middle School, discusses remote learning during COVID-19.
Arcadia Unified School District revives middle school athletics. In 1995, the middle school sports program was dismantled when the district transitioned junior high to the middle school model (6th-8th grades), then the focus veered heavily toward academics. On December 3, 2015, First Avenue Middle School faced off with Dana Middle School for the first time in two decades.
Television show “Trading Spaces” transforms teachers’ lounges at First Avenue Middle School and Holly Avenue Elementary School. Shown in photo “Trading Spaces” host Paige Davis and Arcadia Unified School District educators Karalee Nakatsuka, Megan Forbes, Regina Ringo and Teresa Oakland. The show airs on the TLC network.
Arcadia gets top marks in county API scores. Arcadia Unified School District has three of the top four highest scoring middle schools on the Academic Performance Index. Foothills Middle School ranked first, tied with Huntington Middle School in San Marino. First Avenue Middle School and Dana Middle School also ranked in the top four in Los Angeles County.
First Avenue Junior High was one of 3 area schools to receive the state Dept. of Education's Distinguished High School and Middle School Awards. Arcadia's Foothill Jr. High received the award in 1988. The other winners included San Marino High School and the L. A. County High School for the Arts at Cal State Los Angeles.
Rubik's Cube craze culminates in the U. S. Rubik's Cube Championship competition at Caltech. Local middle school student Shotaro "Macky" Makisumi clocked the fastest time but could not claim top prize because he was born in Japan. Local Frank Chang also competed.
In the Regional Odyssey of the Mind competition, three teams from Foothills Middle School have won first place trophies and invitations to advance to the state tournament.