We Have Been Busy!

• Back To School Night:  GMS held a pre-Back To School Night event on August 29th with parents, students, and staff to inform everyone of student expectations and www.schoology.com on-line access in increase parent involvement.  We also had volunteers help parents register their children for the new GMS Magnet.

• Banquet Event:  Senior awards banquet and lunch for approximately 100 GMS students during periods 3 and 4 on April 30th.  In addition to providing and serving lunch, the students from TIME Club and Club Connections organized activities and gave out awards for numerous teachers, staff, and students.

• Board of Advisors: Held two Board meetings and added new members to help with professional and technical training for our students by industry professionals.

• Buddy Meeting:  Held a get-to-know-you meeting on September 21st to start connecting our GMS seniors and freshmen for a Senior/Freshmen Buddy and Mentorship program in the Multi-Purpose Room.  Next year, we are planning on having the seniors present their Senior Portfolio Defense to the freshmen so the 9th graders can start planning early and know what to expect in their senior year.

• CTE Student Showcase:  On Saturday, May 18th, our CTE teachers took six students to the Los Angeles Trade Technical College for an all-day student showcase.  Our KCAV student crew demonstrated our live student broadcasting programming and weekly television news broadcast to other students, community members, and industry partners attending the trade and career fair.   

• ECCCO (Exploring College, Career, and Community Options) workbooks: We continued utilizing the workbooks in our GAIMS elective classes for college and career preparation and awareness.

• Experience Day:  Organized and hosted an all-day “Experience” for 8th graders on Saturday, October 6th,to come to the Media Center and make short films with other young people from across the Valley.  The students also got the chance to work with equipment, learn from industry professionals, and meet staff, current GMS students and alumni.  We also provided lunch and then had a screening of the films they made.  

• Field Trips (seven excursions):

• All Grades – Dr. Phil taping at Paramount studios for the AP Psychology class in Hollywood on October 1st with 40 students.

• CSUN field trip on February 12th for 40 of our 10th graders who were able to conduct research for their narrative film project after receiving training on how to conduct academic research in Oviatt Library.  Students were then given a guided tour of CSUN’s Cinema and Television Arts (CTVA) Department which Variety magazine listed this year as one of the top 30 film programs in the world.

• Nickelodeon field trip on February 22th for 45 Animation students who were able to work with mentors on character design.

• LA Valley College Orientation and Studio tour for GMS students, grades 9-12, to create a short film, learn what LA Valley College offers, and tour their Communication studios.

• NFL Network with 15 students on April 4th to tour the national football television broadcasting studio in Culver City.

• Warner Bros. Entertainment “Creative Career Day” with seven students on Warner Bros. lot who participated in interactive presentations, conversations with mentors, and a tour of the lot.

• Warner Bros. Entertainment field trip on May 28th with 12 students for winning the film project in the “Film Noir” contest.  The film was also screened with student interviews.

• Film and Cultural Festival (Fall) – on December 4th, over 300 students and parents attended our Cultural Food Fest that was from 4-6pm with student’s cultural food booths.  From 6-8pm, we had live student groups performing cultural songs and dances and then film presentations. Several of our Advisory Board (industry professional) members were present and the evening ended with a raffle drawing for $100.

• Guest Speakers (five presentations): 

• -- Lou Pepe, director and cinematographer (“The Bad Kids”, “Lost in La Mancha”) spoke about his work and discussed careers in the film industry.

• -- Babar Ali, Pakistani filmmaker, IYMS Board member and winner of a UN Plural+ Award - presented his short film “Bakshu” to the Media classes.  He had Q&A sessions with each class, then invited faculty and selected students to join in a Pakistani luncheon that he had prepared. 

• -- Michelle Shahryar, IYMS participant and former Cleveland student, spoke to the AP Psychology class regarding mental health issues and then presented her Health public service announcement (PSA) from the 2017 IYMS Summit in Sweden.

• -- Michael Mazzola, independent filmmaker, spoke to several GAIMS film classes on his approach to documentary filmmaking, and showed them clips from the documentary he directed and edited, “Unacknowledged” about evidence of beings from other planets visiting our earth. 

• -- Tim Lovestedt is a graduate of Cleveland High School and currently works as an independent film and television writer (“Megan Leavey”, “LEGO Batman”, “Last Man on Earth”).  He spoke to GMS students about elements of story structure as well as tips for a career in the film and television industry.

• International Youth Media Summit (IYMS): After the 13th successful IYMS Summit in Sydney, Australia, staff and the TIME club continued working, organizing, and fundraising for the 14th IYMS in Pokhara, Nepal July 26 – August 10, 2019.   Four current or former Cleveland students and five staff members attended the Summit. Several of the participants traveled to Nepal early to either help One Youth set-up a computer lab and library for needy students in the Himalayan mountain village of Dhading, or worked on a film project being produced by IYMS Films.

• International Youth Media Day:  On Saturday, March 9th, GMS held its first annual celebration on Cleveland’s campus and connected 21 different countries around the globe to show the power of youth, media and the arts to communicate, inspire and entertain.  There were student performances from four schools, live music, photography training by Cannon USA, film training, art exhibits, and international food for sale.  Over 300 students, parents, and community members came to the celebration.  

• International Youth Media Day project received an LAUSD award on May 14th from School Board Member Schmerelson to acknowledge students who coordinated Human Relations activities among various clubs (TIME and Club Connections) and the International Youth Media Day to engage students, parents, and local businesses in local school social issues.

• Israeli Student Delegation:  Organized and hosted a student exchange for nearly two-dozen students from an arts school in Israel on October 4th.

• LA Satellite Summit (July 9-13):  The event was hosted at Cleveland High School with 30 young people making movies together about urgent social issues. 

• Mentor Program:  Cindy Sardo (for on-air broadcasting) visited the television broadcast class (KCAV) weekly; as well as coaching the 12th graders for their senior portfolio projects.  

• Mock Job Interviews: Conducted mock interviews on February 28th for 50 of our 11th graders who were interviewed by 8 volunteers.  Our 11th grade class teachers helped prepare the students by conducting resume and interview training before the event to prepare them for summer internships.

• One Youth Fundraiser:  On Sep 7th, TIME Club and Club Connections held a fundraiser for One Youth, an organization in Nepal that sets-up computer and learning labs for needy children.  We screened One Youth’s documentary of their work in Nepal and the PSAs from IYMS 2018 in Sydney. TIME also assisted in organizing a private evening fundraiser on September 29th.    We reached our goal of raising enough money to have the US delegates team up with One Youth and fund a new computer lab for disadvantaged youths in Nepal before the IYMS 2019 Summit began in Pokhara, Nepal. 

• Open House:  Held a pre-Open House meeting with parents before the Open House on March 28th.  During the Open House, we presented the GMS program and discussed student expectations with parents and students before showcasing some of the student’s video projects.

• Potlucks:  GMS students held a potluck at the end of each semester to celebrate our successes and enjoy some great food after school. 

• Safe School Summit at USC:  We organized to send two students to be on the panel for the USC National Safe Schools Digital Summit on Oct 24th.  The students were on the panel with a survivor of the Parkland High School shooting in Florida.  We also sent a camera crew to film the Summit that was sponsored by the L.A. Mayor's Office of Public Safety and the Director of the Safe Communities Institute at USC.

• Senior Portfolio and Defense:  Continued planning and organizing for the Seniors to begin their Portfolio Defense next year.  On May 29th, we had two current seniors showcase the Portfolio Defense during 3rd period for the seniors next year so they know what to expect. 

• Staff Professional Development (PD): In addition to the weekly grade-level meetings held throughout the year for staff PD, curriculum design, and collaborative planning, GMS held a PD retreat on Saturday, June 8.  We conducted planning for the upcoming year, collaborated on interdisciplinary projects and field trips, industry-related training and discussed Weebly (digital portfolio) accounts. These accounts will allow students to store their academic work, films, etc. on-line for later use during their Senior Portfolio Defense.

• Summer Bridge program (June 24-July 8): Incoming GMS Magnet freshmen students participated in the two-week program to introduce them to our program and expectations in high school.  In addition to collaborative projects and two field trips, they also received video training and produced a short film as their culminating project. An additional four days for training on short films overlapped with the LA Satellite Summit.  

• Alumni Accomplishments: 

   - Mae Catt is a staff writer for Hasbro, working on the “Transformer” series.  

   - Rebecca Tesarfreund is a Director of Current Programming at NBC Universal.  

   - Mike Manning is a producer, director and special effects supervisor.  He has his own production company, BME Films, and this year directed the short “Nano”, which has screened in various film festivals around the world.

   - Michael Mazzola is a writer and producer, and his documentary “Unacknowledged” was the #1 documentary on iTunes in 2017.

   - Ben Mitnick is an independent editor working on both scripted and reality-based television shows.  

   - Sonny Menga became Head of Editorial for Rodeo EFX in Montreal and Quebec.

   - Angelina French works at Lightstorm Entertainment, James Cameron’s Production Company.

   - Antonio Manriquez, former technical assistant for the Media Academy, now works for Apple Education.

   - Billimarie Robinson works for the Message Agency, creating websites.  She co-founded a nonprofit, CLASP, dedicated to prisoners’ rights.

   - Paul Pendarvis works as an editor, online magazine producer and assistant producer.

   - Emily Greene works as an editor for FX Networks.

   - Jose Bucio works as an editor for the Nerd Mastery YouTube channel.

   - Blake Bogosian works as an editor in San Francisco, and is also producing his independent film series, “100% Human”.  

   - Spencer Thompson works as a post-production assistant on “Better Call Saul”.  

   - Brenda Hernandez and Kevin Somoza produced a short, “Harold”.  Brenda also works as a graphics and webdesigner for Van Nuys Airport, and Kevin works for a popular YouTube channel.

   - Melissa Perez works as a production assistant for reality TV shows, including, “Big Brothers” and “American Ninja Warrior” and Buzzfeed, the online news and entertainment channel.

​

 2017-2018 School Year

• Back To School Night:  GAIMS held a pre-Back To School Night event with over 25 parents, students, and staff to inform everyone of student expectations and www.schoology.com on-line access in increase parent involvement.■  

• Banquet Event:  Senior awards banquet and lunch for over 100 of the GAIMS students during periods 3 and 4 on April 24.  In addition to providing and serving lunch, the students from Club Connections organized activities and gave out awards for numerous teachers, staff, and students.Board of Advisors: Continued to add members to help with professional and technical training for our students by industry professionals.

• Buddy Meeting:  Held a get-to-know-you meeting on October 3 to start connecting 150 GAIMS seniors and freshmen for a Senior/Freshmen Buddy and Mentorship program in the Multi-Purpose Room.  Next year, we are planning on having the seniors present their Senior Portfolio Defense to the freshmen so the 9th graders can start planning early and know what to expect in their senior year.

• Career in Film Summit:  Organized nine GAIMS students to attend the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences 3rd Annual Summit on October 14 to learn about careers in the film and arts industries.

• Collaborative Assignments:  In addition to several smaller interdisciplinary assignments, we completed a total of 8 PBL (Project Based Learning) interdisciplinary and collaborative projects for GAIMS students:

• 9th Grade –     Semester A = The Driving Question was “How do environmental forces contribute to change?  Students looked at the different meaning and perspectives of “environment factors” in their collaborative classes.  In their English class, they wrote an essay about the characters adapt to change after reading either Animal Farm or A Raisin in the Sun.  In their Environmental Studies class, they watched An Inconvenient Truth that explores the changes due to Global Warming and the need to adapt to its effects such as rising sea levels, stronger hurricanes, etc.  Students in the Video class write a script where the main character has to adapt to adapt to a change in his/her life.     After they finished writing their script, they began working on the film. 

• Semester B = The Driving Question was “What it means to be an epic hero?  After reading The Odyssey, compare and contrast The Odyssey and Penelopiad in their English class.  In their Video class, students wrote a script where the main character goes on a quest to get home and has to overcome three obstacles.  After they finished writing their script, they began shooting the film.

• 10th Grade –     Semester A = Where our families come from influences where we live, what we do, and how we see the world.  Our ancestry influences us today in different ways that may or may not be obvious.  Because of that, each family has its own dynamics in how it lives, works, communicates, and loves.  For the Fall Semester collaborative assignment, students will create an “I Am From” project, researching their own family history and communicate it via a multimedia presentation.  In History class they will research their family’s history, background, and experiences.  In English class, students utilized this research to write their “I Am From” poem about their family’s history and experiences.  The “I Am From” script was used for development of a multi-media project in their Video Production class.  Afterwards, students wrote a reflection essay on their experiences and what they learned from the collaborative project. Semester B = The Driving Question for the collaborative project was “How can my documentary project change people’s perceptions of a particular issue, and effect positive change in society?”  The “Fighting for Justice” documentary video project was on a current issue where students utilized the CHS Library several times for research through their World History class, outline the proposal and topic in their English class, then produced either a documentary in their Video class or a photo-journalism project in their Photo class.  Students also got professional guidance during the video production phase and feedback post-production.  All students then wrote a reflection essay for their World History class on what they learned during the whole process.

• 11th Grade –     Semester A = The Driving Question was “What are the most effective tools for establishing and preserving freedom?”  Students practiced their research skills in their American History class while researching their Amendment for the poster portion of the assignment.  As the students simultaneously read either the Scarlet Letter or The Crucible in their English classes, they worked on the poster on their selected Constitutional Amendment.  The issues and concepts of freedom, equal rights, individuality, and oppression will be connected through the English and U.S. History classes.  Students used this information and background knowledge to either write a script on ‘being accused of something they did not do’ in their Video class, or create and draw a character that represents these issues in the Art class. 

• Semester B = The Driving Question for the second semester collaborative project asks: Is the American Dream still alive?  In the GAIMS English class students read Gatsby and write an essay on Fitzgerald’s interpretation on the American Dream.  In their U.S. History class they create a Brochure (non-Honors) or Magazine (Honors) on the Harlem Renaissance.  While in their Video class, groups create a 3 to 5 minute original piece video on your vision and interpretation of the American Dream.  If they’re in Art class instead of Video, students create a five second and 60-drawing animation piece that includes three generations of musical roots: The first modern artist / musician, and one artist / musician that inspired them, and one artist / musician that inspired them for a total of three people. 

• 12th Grade –     Semester A = The Driving Question was “What is Formalism and how is it illustrated in art, literature, and government?”  The GAIMS 12th Grade interdisciplinary Formalism Essay had students write an essay in their English class that defined formalism and explained how this concept applies in literature, film, art, and government using examples discussed in class, as well as Cleanth Brooks’ essay, “The Formalist Critics,” to clarify your introduction.  They needed to cite at least two examples from each work on Formalism they read in class to support their analysis.  From their Government class, students were able to identify examples of formalism in government that help to advance our democracy and were incorporated into the essay.  If the student was in Media class, they choose four crew positions and explained how they work together to help create a film as an example of Formalism.  If they were in the Art class, they studying how a painting is composed of its basic elements, or “the formal elements of art,” and how they pertain to formalism or formalist art theory to connect to the subject.

• Semester B = The Driving Question was “How does self-image and knowing yourself contribute to the quality of life?”  Students wrote an interdisciplinary Portfolio Autobiography on who they are, their history, their motivations, and their dreams for the future.  From their Economics class, they studied the concept of the “self” and asked how our scarce resources in society should be allocated.  If they were in the Art class, they picked three aspects of who they are as a person to draw in a five second animation.   If they were in Media class, they analyzed The Graduate and Whiplash where the characters are on a quest to define themselves.  Students incorporated this analysis with at least two examples from each movie into their Autobiography for comparisons.

• ECCCO (Exploring College, Career, and Community Options) workbooks: Continued utilizing the workbooks in our GAIMS elective classes for college and career preparation and awareness.

• Field Trips (8 excursions):

• 10th Grade –  Getty Center on September 8 with 42 students.

• All Grades –  Dr. Phil taping at Paramount studios for the AP Psychology class in Hollywood on October 18 with 44 students and three chaperones.

• “Girls Build Leadership” event with 9 females from GAIMS attending to hear Hillary Clinton on December 15.

• Riot Games Studio tour on January 25th for 25 students. 

• Nickelodeon field trip on March 16 for 40 Animation students.

• LA Valley College Orientation and Studio tour on March 21 for 54 GAIMS students, grades 9-12, to create a short film, learn what LA Valley College offers, and tour their Communication studios.

• Los Angeles Mayor’s Getty House field trip for his Environmental Sustainability initiative on April 23 in honor of Earth Day.  We took 39 students to the event and one of the presenters was a GAIMS student.

• Warner Bros. Entertainment “Creative Career Day” on April 26 with 15 students on Warner Bros. lot who participated in interactive presentations, conversations with mentors, and a tour of the lot.

• Film Fests:  Organized and held two Film Festivals showcasing student work 

• Film and Cultural Festival (Fall) – on January 17 (rescheduled from Dec 5 due to LA fires), the Cultural Food Fest was from 4-6pm with student’s cultural food booths and then the Student Showcase where students presented their semester projects.  The Film Fest was from 6-8pm that included live cultural student group performances and the Film Festival included several “I Am From” and academic student films.  A “Best Video” award was chosen and then a raffle drawing (for $100) with several Advisory Board (industry professional) members and approximately 300 people attending.

• Spring Film Fest – on May 3 from 6-8pm with approximately 250 people attending to showcase 12 student films, animation selections from more than 50 students, and five Photo Essay films.  We ended the night with a $100 prize for the “Best Video,” a “Best Photo Essay” award, and a $100 raffle prize.  We later presented award certificates to the “Best Video” and “Best Photo Essay” winners.

• Global Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Week:  In conjunction with Cleveland’s KCAV student TV, IYMS and GAIMS joined the United Nation / UNESCO global MIL activities and participated in the screening of seven Public Service Announcements (PSAs) on October 26.  Approximately 50 students enjoyed popcorn and watched the PSA screenings that were created and produced by youth delegates last summer during the IYMS 2017 Summit in Falkenberg, Sweden.  

• Grants / donations:  CTEIG Grant, Linked Learning, Hi-Tech, Nickelodeon, and a private donation.

• Guest Speakers (8 presentations): 

   -- Lou Pepe on November 17 discussed careers in the film industries.

   -- Jack Davis of CryptTV on December 5 spoke about careers in Hollywood.

   -- Michelle Shahryar, IYMS participant and former Cleveland student, spoke to the AP Psychology class on March 9 regarding mental health issues and then presented her Health public service announcement (PSA) from the 2017 IYMS Summit in Sweden.

   -- Michael Mazzola, independent filmmaker, spoke to 5th period GAIMS classes on April 3rd and showed them clips from the documentary he directed and edited, “Unacknowledged” about evidence of beings from other planets visiting our earth. 

   -- Bryan Ruiz from Mitu Networks, a Latino lifestyle network, spoke to the students about marketing and branding.   He works as an account executive, and also spoke about his career in entertainment.

   -- Nichan Kulukian spoke with the 10th grade GAIMS students about the Armenian Genocide documentary that he narrates, and his life and reflections on the Genocide.  

   -- Tim Lovestedt is a graduate of Cleveland High School and currently works as an independent film and television writer (“Megan Leavey”, “LEGO Batman”, “Last Man on Earth”).  He  spoke to GAIMS students on May 10 about elements of story structure as well as tips for a career in the film and television industry.

   -- Dan Evans II, Vice President of Creative Affairs at DC Entertainment, collaborates with key Warner Bros. divisional partners by reviewing creative materials for all DC media in production.  He spoke with the students about his work with DC Entertainment in all areas:  Animation, TV, consumer products and video games.  

• International Youth Media Summit (IYMS): For the 13th annual summit, GAIMS staff and the TIME club worked on organizing and fundraising for the 2018 IYMS in Sydney, Australia this summer.   Five current or former Cleveland students and five current or former staff members will be attending the Summit from July 24 to August 9.  

• Israeli Student Delegation:  Organized and hosted a student exchange for a dozen students from an arts school in Israel on October 11.

• LA Satellite Summit (July 9-13):  The event will be hosted at Cleveland High School and in conjunction with IVCLA which will allow up to 30 young people the chance to make movies together about urgent social issues.  The local event will also be coordinated and connect with the 13th International Youth Media Summit in Sydney, Australia. 

• Linked Learning:  Continued working and collaborating with the Linked Learning Coaches for GAIMS: Jana Schmieding, Educational Specialist from the Center for Powerful Public Schools, and Jordan Kornzweig, CTE advisor for LAUSD.

      1.    Action Plan
      2.    Advisory classes for college and career preparation
      3.    ECCCO (college and career exploration) for our advisory elective classes 
      4.    Linked Learning staff visited classrooms for observations and progress evaluations on August 29, February 28, and  May 

​

• Logo Contest:  Conducted a student logo contest through several art classes to design a logo for a new GAIMS t-shirt.

• Magnet Application:  Held another community update meeting on January 24 and then was approved by the LAUSD School Board meeting on June 12.  The Global Media Studies (GMS) magnet at Cleveland Charter High School will begin in the 2019-2010 school year.

• Mentor Program:  Cindy Sardo (for on-air broadcasting) visited the television broadcast class (KCAV) weekly; as well as coaching the 12th graders for their senior portfolio projects.  

• MISIS: Created both Linked Learning and Hi-Tech High MISIS (My Integrated School Information System) groups by grade level for easier student reporting and tracking student progress on grades, etc.

• Mock Job Interviews: Conducted a full day of mock interviews on January 25 for approximately 100 of our 11th graders who were interviewed by 12 volunteers.  Our 11th grade class teachers and Jordan Kornzweig of Linked Learning helped prepare the students by conducting resume and interview training before the day-long event to prepare them for summer internships.

• Nickelodeon donated 10 iMac desktop computers and 10 desktop animation graphics tablets to be used for our Animation classes.  In addition, they donated three complete room sets for our studio (bedroom, office and living room.)  

• Open House:  Held a pre-Open House meeting with parents before the Open House on March 22.  During the Open House, we presented the GAIMS program and discussed student expectations with parents and students before showcasing some of the student’s video projects.

• PQR meetings:  Met with Linked Learning representatives and conducted classroom visits on August 29, February 28, and May 9.  

• Senior Portfolio and Defense:  Continued planning and organizing for the Seniors to begin their Portfolio Defense next year.

• Staff Professional Development (PD): In addition to the weekly grade-level meetings held throughout the year for staff PD, curriculum design, and collaborative planning, GAIMS held a PD on Saturday, May 26.  We conducted planning for the upcoming year, industry-related training, and also had Weebly training with Jana Schmieding of Linked Learning so we can teach our students on creating a Weebly (digital portfolio) account.  This will allow them to store their academic work, films, etc. on-line for later use during their Senior Portfolio Defense.

• Student Television Network (STN) National Convention in Tennessee from March 15-18: eight of our student filmmakers were chaperoned by two teachers from Cleveland HS to join 3,000 other student filmmakers and participate for the first time to support, promote, and recognize excellence in scholastic broadcast journalism, creative video filmmaking, and media coverage.  At the heart of the event are competitions that challenge students in every aspect of broadcast journalism and filmmaking.  The competitions are strictly timed and judged by industry experts.  The students also had the opportunity to choose from over 70 professional training sessions and meet with college representatives and equipment vendors.

• Student Tours:  Organized and led 5 different parent & student tours of the GAIMS program and Cleveland campus for potential new students. 

• Summer Bridge program (June 18-29): For the incoming GAIMS freshmen students will participate in the two-week program to introduce them to our program and expectations in high school.  In addition to collaborative projects and two field trips, they will also receive video training and produce a short film as their culminating project.  An additional four days are for training on short films that will overlap and be coordinated with the LA Satellite summit.  

• Summer Internships: We placed a total of 9 students in paid summer internships.

   -- Jahir Acosta 

   -- Kenneth Lyng

   -- Tristan Kendall - LA Summit

   -- Milan Kinnenmore received an internship with Ghetto Film School.  

   -- Joe Catt interned at Crypt TV. 

   -- Isabel Morales summer paid internships through TIP at Tribe, a new start up entertainment company. 

   -- Summer Bridge - 3 interns.

• United Nation’s PLURAL + 2017 Award:  Two current GAIMS staff members and a former Cleveland counselor attended the United Nations AOC (Alliance of Civilizations) Award Ceremony and Film Festival in New York City to see the two co-directors from Pakistan and the USA receive the “True Impact” Award on the prevention of xenophobia.  The two IYMS youth delegates from Pakistan and USA received the award at the United Nations Headquarters and the film festival was then held at the Paley Center for Media on November 9 and 10.   

• Our 9th graders participated in a project with Ghetto Film School and Warner Brothers Film studio.  Teacher James Gleason was given two days of instructions in curriculum development using the iPad, and then his 9th grade students were given 10 iPads to use for their theme-based projects.  The best of the projects, written, filmed and edited on the iPad, were shown at Warner Bros. at a special screening in May, 2018.  In addition, Mr. Gleason and the students were filmed as part of a “behind-the-scenes” look at the project.

• For her work with GAIMS international projects over the past few years, teacher Evelyn Seubert was honored by the My Hero Film Festival as the 2017 Global Peacemaker; by the Armenian National Committee of America/Western Region with the Armenian Genocide Education Award and by the International Visitors Council of Los Angeles as the 2018 Outstanding Citizen Diplomat.  

• Alumni Accomplishments:  

   o    Mae Catt is a staff writer for Hasbro, working on the “Transformer” series.  

   o    Rebecca Tesarfreund is a Director of Current Programming at NBC Universal.  

   o    Mike Manning is a producer, director and special effects supervisor.  He has his own production company, BME Films, and this year directed the short “Nano”, which has screened in various film festivals around the world.

   o    Michael Mazzola is a write and producer, and in the past year his documentary “Unacknowledged” which was the #1 documentary on iTunes in 2017.

   o    Ben Mitnick is an independent  editor working on both scripted and reality-based television shows.  

   o    Sonny Menga became Head of Editorial for Rodeo EFX in Montreal and Quebec.

   o    Angelina French works at Lightstorm Entertainment, James Cameron’s Production Company.

   o    Antonio Manriquez, former technical assistant for the Media Academy, now works for Apple Education.

   o    Billimarie Robinson works for the Message Agency, creating websites.  She co-founded a nonprofit, CLASP, dedicated to prisoners’ rights.

   o    Paul Pendarvis works as an editor, online magazine producer and assistant producer.

   o    Emily Greene works as an editor for FX Networks.

   o    Jose Bucio works as an editor for the Nerd Mastery YouTube channel.

   o    Blake Bogosian works as an editor in San Francisco, and is also producing his independent film series, “100% Human”.  

   o    Spencer Thompson works as a post-production assistant on “Better Call Saul”.  

   o    Brenda Hernandez and Kevin Somoza produced a short, “Harold”.  Brenda also works as a graphics and webdesigner for Van Nuys Airport, and Kevin works for a popular YouTube channel.

   o    Melissa Perez works as a production assistant for reality TV shows, including, “Big Brothers” and “American Ninja Warrior” and Buzzfeed, the online news and entertainment channel.

 

2016-17 School Year

•  ‘Academic Achievement’ Awards:  Gave out 30 certificates to GAIMS students for academic success.

• Banquet Event:  Senior awards banquet and dinner for nearly 70 students, parents, and GAIMS staff on April 25.

• Board of Advisors: Alan Perper is now the head of our advisory board for professional mentors and curriculum development.  We continued organizing and expanding our Board members to 11 industry professionals.

• Collaborative Assignments:  Total of 16 interdisciplinary and collaborative assignments for GAIMS students.

    9th Grade – “Dystopian” essay through three collaborative classes /

perspectives.

    “Odyssey” multi-media project with library research, story boards, and writing the script about a character who leaves home on a quest and then turned into a video.

    10th Grade – “I Am From” family research, poem, and video collaborative

project through three classes.

   “I Am The Future” video project.

   “Fighting for Justice” documentary collaborative video project on a current issue. Students utilize both CHS and CSUN Libraries for research through their World History class, outline the proposal and topic in their English class, received script writing advice from Andrea Kobliner and then produce the documentary in their Video class. Students also got professional guidance during the production phase and feedback post-production. They then wrote a reflection essay for their World History class on what they learned during the whole process.

   11th Grade – “Crucible” book, write essay, and create a modern-day video

on ‘good people doing bad things.’

   “Zine Project” on Transcendentalism project from three

collaborative classes / perspectives.

   “Greed” assignment from three collaborative classes /

perspectives.

   "Racial Identity & Equality” assignment from three collaborative classes / perspectives.

   “Cold War & Consumerism” assignment from three collaborative classes / perspectives.

   “The American Dream” video project on their personal American Dream through their English and Video

classes.

12th Grade – “Formalism” essay from three collaborative classes /

perspectives.

   “Realism” essay from three collaborative classes /

perspectives.

   “One incident, two perspectives” video project.

   “The self, the hero, or the other” video or art and essay project.

   “Autobiography” project.

• ECCCO (Exploring College, Career, and Community Options) workbooks: Provided by Linked Learning for all 481 GAIMS students for college awareness and career planning through our elective classes.

• Experience Day:  From 9am to 2pm on Saturday, October 15th, 18 middle school students came to Cleveland and worked with 19 current GAIMS students to make 5 short films.  The aim was to give middle school students a look into what life in GAIMS would be like and to recruit new GAIMS students.  After providing lunch, we gave a presentation to 25 parents on the GAIMS program and what we offer and then screened the 5 student films to almost 70 people.

• Field Trips (10 excursions):

 9th Grade -- LA Valley College Orientation on April 26 for 50 9th graders.

10th Grade – Getty Center on September 27th for 100 students.

    -- CSUN field trip for documentary research at the Oviatt Library or the Urban Archives Center and a guided tour of CSUN’s Arts, Media, and Communications department, and a campus tour – 100 students on March 13.

All Grades – Dr. Phil taping at Paramount studios in Hollywood on Jan 18

with the AP Psychology class with 36 students.

      – AFI (American Film Institute) field trip on Dec. 6th for 30

students.

• Riot Games Creative Writing Field Trip with lunch included on Feb 24 for 25 students.

• Riot Games Studio tour for 25 students (this was a separate Riot Games tour with different kids).

• Disney Studio tour on March 7 for 32 students.

• Paramount Studio tour on April 5 for 30 students.

• SIGGRAPH field trip for 22 students and 2 chaperones were given free one-day passes to this exciting international conference of computer graphics, animation and interactive techniques

• Film Fests:  Organized and held two Film Festivals showcasing student work

     - Film and Cultural Festival (Fall) – on November 30th, the Cultural Food Fest was from 4-6pm with six cultural food booths.Then, the Film Fest was from 6-8pm where nine “I Am From” student films were screened, eight live cultural student group performances, a fashion show with 12 students and faculty members, a “Best Video” award and two raffle drawings (for $100 each) for approximately 400 people attending.

     - “We Are The Future” Film Fest (Spring) – on April 20th from 6-8pm with nearly 200 attending to showcase 15 student films, animation selections from nearly 40 students, five “I Am The Future” student video segments, and three International Youth Media Summit videos.We ended the night with three alumni speakers who now work in the industry, a $100 prize for the “Best Video,” and a $100 raffle prize.We later presented award certificates to the “Best Video” and “Best Cinematography” video winners.

• GAIMS class schedule and recruiting flyer showing program information and all of the GAIMS classes

• GAIMS Poster: Designed and printed a GAIMS poster for posting in all of the GAIMS classrooms.

• Grants / donations:  CTEIG Grant, Linked Learning, Hi-Tech, and a private donation.

• Guest Speaker (6 presentations):

  -- Mohamed Sidibay, a former child soldier, speech and presentation    to three 10th grade GAIMS classes and other academies in the MPR on Feb 27.        

  -- Nichan Kulukian – Inspirational speaker who was presented a VIC

(Video In the Classroom) Award after watching his video on the Armenian Genocide with nearly 100 students in 10th grade GAIMS classes on Jan 20.

  -- Teddi Shattuck – industry professional mentor addressed 45 10th

graders.

  -- Tad Atkinso – industry professional mentor spoke to 30 11th graders and 30 12th graders.

  -- Donovan Jacobs, a screenwriter, spoke with the 5th period film class

about his career as a screenwriter and script doctor, then evaluated three student screenplays, giving notes for rewrites.

  -- TL Thousand, a documentary film producer, screened her

documentary film about the conflict in Northern Ireland for the 4th and 6th period film classes.

• International Visitors Council, Los Angeles (IVC LA): Six GAIMS staff and advisors attended an IVC LA gala on May 25 to further develop a partnership with the IVC LA who are partnering with GAIMS and TIME on the LA Satellite Summit.

• International Youth Media Summit (IYMS): For the 12th annual summit, GAIMS staff and the TIME club worked on organizing and fundraising for the 2017 IYMS in Falkenberg, Sweden this summer.   Four current or former Cleveland students and five current or former staff members will be attending the Summit from July 27 to August 9.

• LA Satellite Summit (July 27-30):  The event will be hosted at Cleveland High School and in conjunction with IVC LA which will allow up to 50 young people the chance to make movies together about urgent social issues.  The local event will also be coordinated and connect with the 12th International Youth Media Summit in Sweden.  Sergio Cuellar and Brandon P Louie will be attending from UC Davis Center for Regional Change to give a workshop in their maps and data program, which facilitate social change, and they'll also be serving as issue experts.

• LAUSD Film Festival at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences:  One of our video students screened his film "Mind or Matter" in the 2016 Tower of Youth Film Festival.  Two other students were chosen to be filmmakers for red carpet arrivals at the LAUSD Film Festival at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.  They worked with professional filmmakers for the event.

• Linked Learning:  Began working with the Linked Learning Coaches for GAIMS: Jana Schmieding, Educational Specialist from the Center for Powerful Public Schools, and Jordan Kornzweig, CTE advisor for LAUSD.

       - Action Plan

       - Advisory classes for college and career preparation

       - ECCCO (college and career exploration) for our advisory elective classes

       - Linked Learning staff visited four classrooms on April 3

• Magnet Application:  GAIMS began the process of applying to be a Communication Arts magnet program and presented the proposal to the entire CHS faculty on Jan 17, held a community meeting in MPR from 6-7pm on Jan 18, and won a vote of the CHS faculty on Jan. 19th and 20th before submitting the application to LAUSD on Jan 30th.  Although the LA School District rejected our application due to subjective and questionable reasons, we are currently pursuing funding sources that will allow students residing outside Cleveland’s boundaries, but interested in joining GAIMS, to ride the LAUSD buses on established routes to our campus.

• Mentor Program:  Alan Perper (for entertainment business management), Cindy Sardo (for on-air broadcasting), and Andrea Kobliner (for writing/script writing) come to Cleveland once a week to train our students.  In addition, Patrick Kim completed an internship to train our students on the ‘rule of thirds’ and ‘crossing the line.’

• MISIS: Created both Linked Learning and Hi-Tech High MISIS (My Integrated School Information System) groups by grade level for easier student reporting and tracking student progress on grades, etc.

• Mock Job Interviews: Our 11th graders will be conducting a mock interview in May through their Video and Drawing classes to prepare them for summer internships.

• NW Fest: Participated and staffed a booth at Cleveland High School on Mar 4.

• Open House:  Held a pre-Open House meeting with parents before the Open House on Feb 16th.  During the Open House, we presented the GAIMS program and discussed expectation with parents and students before showcasing some of the student’s video projects.

• Principal for the Day: Mr. Sergio Rosas, from the LA Chamber of Commerce, and Mr. Jack Davis, the CEO of CryptTV, toured our school and GAIMS program on Friday, Nov 4th.  Through the LA High Tech grant at LAVC and the LA Chamber of Commerce participated in the ‘Principal for a Day’ event as a "first step in building partnerships between schools and businesses with the mutual goal of creating an educated and skilled workforce."  In essence, the Chamber would love to foster partnerships for advisors, mentors, internships and future jobs.

• ‘Pain Into Pearls’ Project: The Teen International Media Exchange (TIME) club worked with a girls school in Pakistan on an art and video project that was presented at the ‘Diritti a Colori’ competition and arts festival in Suzzara, Italy on November 20th.

• Senior Portfolio and Defense:  Began planning and organizing for initiation next year.

• Staff Professional Development (PD): In addition to the weekly grade-level meetings held throughout the year for staff PD, curriculum design, and collaborative planning, GAIMS held a PD on June 12th to further plan and develop work-based learning projects for each semester in each grade level.  We also chose the following top five goals for to focus on during the 2017-2018 school year: 1) Senior Portfolio Defense, 2) creating a Weebly page for students in all grade levels, 3) have a group staff meeting once a month, 4) a Mock Interview workshop, and 5) an Interdisciplinary media event each semester in conjunction with the Film Festivals.

• Student Television Network (STN) National Convention in Anaheim (March 27-31): Thirteen of our student filmmakers were chaperoned by two teachers from Cleveland HS to join 3,000 other student filmmakers and participate for the first time to support, promote, and recognize excellence in scholastic broadcast journalism, creative video filmmaking, and media coverage.  At the heart of the event are competitions that challenge students in every aspect of broadcast journalism and filmmaking.  The competitions are strictly timed and judged by industry experts.  The students also had the opportunity to choose from over 70 professional training sessions and meet with college representatives and equipment vendors.

• Summer Bridge program (July 10-30): Up to 30 incoming GAIMS freshmen students will participate in the three-week program to introduce them to our program and expectations in high school.  In addition to collaborative projects and two field trips, they will also receive video training and produce a short film as their culminating project.  For the first time, the last Bridge programs last four days will include collaborative work and training on short films that will overlap and be coordinated with the beginning of the IYMS and LA Satellite summits. 

• Summer Internships: We placed a total of 14 students in paid summer internships (9 with the Levitt Pavilion, 4 with the Prep-for-Success program as Summer Bridge Leaders, and 1 with Councilmember Blumenfield’s office).   

• Webinar: On-line staff webinar with Sergio Cuellar of UC Davis’ Center for Regional Change on March 7 for maps & data to be used for the Summer Bridge program and LA mini-summit.

• Weebly training: Jana Schmieding of Linked Learning providing our 9th and 10th graders training on creating a Weebly (digital portfolio) account.  This will allow them to store their academic work, films, etc. on-line for later use during their Senior Portfolio Defense.

• Women’s March in Los Angeles – Three GAIMS staff chaperoned seven students to the downtown LA march on Jan 21.

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2015-16 School Year

• ‘Academic Achievement’ awards – gave out 35 awards to GAIMS students with good grades.

• Banquet Event: Senior awards banquet and dinner (Jun 1) for approximately 90 seniors, parents, volunteers, and staff.

• Board of Advisors: Started recruiting members for our Board of Advisor to assist us in curriculum development, Senior Portfolio Defense panels, and guidance with our related industries.

• Brochure: Designed and printed a new brochure for GAIMS advertising and recruiting.

• Collaborative Assignments: Total of 8 interdisciplinary and collaborative assignments for GAIMS students.

• Course Sequence: Updated our program’s class course sequence (Video DM, Video 1/2, Video RM Video IM, and Drawing 3/4).

• Cultural Festival: May 19th collaboration event at Cleveland between GAIMS and T.I.M.E. Club (Teen International Media Exchange) celebrating an evening of cultural awareness with booths, food, music, and entertainment with 19 different cultural student performances and food from different organizations and clubs.  The event hosted nearly 200 people and raised approximately $400 from ticket sales.  Started planning for a Cultural Festival in the spring semester (late October).

• Earth To Paris: Filmed a 10-second video with nearly 100 students for the United Nation’s Earth To Paris conference on Climate Change (Nov 20).

• Field Trips: Eleven excursions:

   9th Grade – Heal The Bay beach clean up, 50 students (Nov 10)

   9th & 10th Grade Career Fair and Orientation w/ LA Valley College, 50 students (Mar 30)

   10th Grade – “He Named Me Malala” movie with reps from Malala.org, 100 students (Oct 12)

   Getty Villa, 100 students (Apr 12)

   11th Grade – LA Valley College tour & orientation, 100 students (Feb 22)

   12th Grade – Getty Center, 100 students (Nov 12)

   LA Subway Art Tour, 60 students (Feb 4)

   All Grades –    Careers in Film Summit, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 10 students (October 17)

   Job Shadow at Paramount Studios, 40 students (Nov 16)

   Job Shadow at Sony Studios, 40 students (Mar 3)

   “Meet The Pros” Event at LA Valley College, 10 students  (Apr 22)

• Film Festival: Started planning and organizing for GAIMS’ first Film Festival in the fall semester (early December), and a second Film Festival in the spring of 2017 (May). 

• Grand Fair: Participated in LAUSD’s arts festival for recruiting students (Apr 16).   Films from the LA Summit and the video classes were screened. 

• Grants: Applied for 9 new Grants (Received 4, 3 pending, 2 denied).

• Grants: Submitted 12 Letters of Interest for new Grants (4 pending, 8 denied).

• GAIMS is part of the Los Angeles Hi-Tech Regional Consortium in partnership with L.A. Valley College, and received $50,000 in equipment and PD funds for 2016.

• International Youth Media Summit: Students and staff participated in both the IYMS in Serbia and the Mini-Summit in Los Angeles (Jul-Aug, 2015); Organizing for upcoming IYMS in Nepal and Mini-Summit at Los Angeles Valley College; recruited four student delegates to attend IYMS in Nepal and nearly 75 students from Los Angeles for the Summer of 2016; and hosted the IYMS organizer from Nepal (Sapan Hamal) here in LA for a week to fundraise and increase awareness.

• International Youth Media Summit – Environmental Film: The TIME Club (hosted by GAIMS) produced an environmental film for a collaborative film project for the 2016 International Youth Media Summit.

• Linked Learning: Held an informational meeting and then submitted an application to LAUSD’s Linked Learning program; received conditional acceptance; staff attended four Saturday training sessions; and received final acceptance as a Linked Learning program.

• Local District Northwest “Fest 2016” at Reseda High School: Several GAIMS teachers and students worked at the Cleveland booth to advertise our program and recruit students (Mar 5).

• Matrix: Coordinated with administrators and department heads to ensure our grade level teams have a common conference period for interdisciplinary collaborations.

• Mentor Program: Connected freshmen with seniors (Feb 26) for student mentoring.

• Model United Nations (MUN) club: Although open to all academies, we participated in 3 conferences (UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, and USC) and received 9 student achievement awards.

• Open House: Held a pre-Open House meeting at Cleveland for 9th Graders and their parents.

• Parent Tour and Parent Night: Introduced approximately 25 8th grade students and their parents to GAIMS for recruitment (Dec 4 and Jan 19).

• Pathway Learning Outcomes: As part of Linked Learning, GAIMS wrote our Pathway Learning Outcomes and ESLRs for our graduating students.

• ‘Prep 4 Success’ Summer Bridge Program: Teaching a three-week Bridge Program over the Summer for approximately 30 incoming GAIMS freshmen to be instructed on a LAUSD curriculum, receive 5 class credits towards graduation, be introduced to high school and GAIMS expectations, and participate in three field trips with a budget of $15,000 from LAUSD’s Linked Learning.

• Professional Development Action Plan: As part of Linked Learning, GAIMS wrote our PD Action Plan.

• Program Applications: Coordinated with Administration to accept student applications for students outside school boundaries (i.e. Millikan Middle School)

• Senior Portfolio Defense: Began building the organization and procedures for our seniors who will present and defend their own learning with a Portfolio Defense.

• Skillify Conference with LA Valley College (May 5) for student mentoring and career orientation.

• Skills USA State Conference: Two GAIMS students participated with the school’s KCAV teams at the Skills USA State Conference.  One team took home a Silver Medal in TV Broadcast, and the other was a runner-up.

• Social Mixer: Introduction and expectations for approximately 480 GAIMS students (Sep2).

• Student Advisory: As part of Linked Learning, GAIMS wrote our student learning expectations through our Advisory class by grade level.

• Summer Internship Program: Connected 10 students for summer internships.

• Website: Began a GAIMS page that’s linked from the Media Academy’s page on the Cleveland High School website.

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