January Update from Monrovia School Superintendent

It has been a very productive start to the new year, and it was a delight to witness our students return to school after the holiday break, eager to get back to learning.

We started the month celebrating Monrovia High School’s academic pathways and campus life during the annual Open House Showcase. Our high school students shared their excitement about their classes and activities while our future Wildcats and parents learned all about what Monrovia High has to offer.

During the showcase, club life, elective classes, student leadership, and extracurricular activities were well represented, and our students and faculty did a wonderful job detailing a diverse array of campus aspects.

At the middle school level, our Clifton Middle School Hippie Bots robotics team jumped into the spotlight after it was asked to compete in a robotics competition in Vic, Spain. The Hippie Bots will be the sole representative of the U.S. in next month’s contest. It is truly impressive to see the Hippie Bots advance to this level and we wish them luck in the competition, which includes some high school teams.

At Santa Fe Computer Science Magnet School, the District’s college-going culture is being emphasized with the opening of a Paxton Patterson Lab, which will offer our students a hands-on instruction connected with career technical education (CTE) pathways. The lab will help students build skills in problem solving, teamwork, creativity, and responsibility.

At Bradoaks Elementary School, students are diving into a strong science curriculum. On Jan. 24, the school hosted its first-ever Science Day. Parents were invited to take part in science-related activities with their children and learn more about the importance of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education.

On Jan. 28, Monrovia Unified celebrated 100 days of school. At Monroe Elementary, students, teachers, and staff dressed up as if they were 100 years old and our students’ grandparents were invited to visit classrooms and participate in a special 100 days of learning activity.

Monroe Elementary students enjoyed stashing away mementos into a time capsule that will be placed in the library until it is opened in 2030.

Sincerely,
Dr. Katherine Thorossian, Superintendent