monrovia

Monrovia Unified School District Incoming Superintendent Dr. Ryan Smith discusses the excitement and challenges of assuming the top administrative post in Monrovia, meeting with stakeholders, welcoming students back to campus, and continuing the District’s tradition of academic excellence.

Monrovia High School CTE teacher Anthony Carlson and senior Charlie Heatherly discuss the student-created gaming app Red Dungeon, the school’s game development team Forge Interactive, the importance of inclusivity in game design, and the opportunities for students in the burgeoning game development field.

General Butt Naked aka Joshua Blahyi is a complicated figure. He is now a Liberian Christian missionary helping victims or Liberia's first civil war rebuild their lives. In the early 90s, he was one of Liberia's most brutal warlords. While literally naked, and often while wielding a machete, he led an army of coked-up, brainwashed child soldiers into committing almost unimaginable atrocities. He committed child sacrifices and regularly engaged in cannibalism. And there were others nearly as brutal as he was. Liberia in the 90s was basically hell on earth. It was a nation of sexual abuse and murder and corruption and chaos. How did things get so bad? Today we learn how Liberia was formed and how decades of oppression led to two incredible bloody civil wars.

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Monrovia Unified parent Dominique Strivings and Monrovia High School teacher Robin Chicca discuss FuzzFEST, a Monrovia fundraiser that has participants shave their heads to raise money for St. Baldrick’s Foundation, an organization dedicated to finding cures for childhood cancer.

Monrovia Unified’s Bradoaks Elementary School Principal Jayne Nickles discusses the school’s recent designation as a science academy, the importance of inquiry-based learning, increasing parent involvement and preparing for the school’s Spring Fair.

Monrovia High School Principal Kirk McGinnis discusses the District’s renovation of Wildcat Stadium, the school’s math and humanities learning academies and arts conservatory, its Early College Dual Enrollment partnership with Citrus College and its upcoming College Fair.

Monrovia Unified celebrated its visual and performing arts program during Monrovia Days, a three-day annual festival. Director of Performing Arts Patrick Garcia discusses the importance of immersing students and their families in the arts, local partnerships with music and theater companies, and the District’s five-year plan to expand arts curriculum.

For nearly 15 years, Monrovia Unified School District has staged the Monrovia Elementary Olympics, a one-day track and field competition that features 150 fourth- and fifth-grade students from all five District elementary schools. Wild Rose School of Creative Arts teacher and event founder Dana Elliott joins Wild Rose students Joshua Menlove and Amirah Sorra to discuss school spirit and how physical education brings out the best in students.

Two Monrovia Unified School District robotics teams – the Kings and Queens from Monrovia High and the Hippie Bots from Clifton Middle School – have advanced to the First Tech Challenge World Championships in Houston on April 17-20. Robotics directors Tom Dobson and Paul Flores, Kings and Queens member Zach Szymkowski and Hippie Bots member Ian Hughes discuss the development of the robotics program and the challenges of high-level robotics competitions.

Wild Rose Elementary, a community fixture in the Monrovia Unified School District since 1921, was recently renamed the Wild Rose School of Creative Arts. Principal Dr. Leslie Miller and Intervention Specialist Sharon Naugle discuss the school’s commitment to integrating VAPA into the school’s core curriculum, the Center Theater Group grant for Disney Musicals in Schools, and Wild Rose’s new Spanish language dual immersion program.

As Monrovia High School celebrates 125 years as an educational institution, MHS Principal Kirk McGinnis discusses “Living Life the Wildcat Way,” watching students transform into lifelong learners, and the special role Monrovia High plays in defining the character and spirit of the tight-knit Foothills community and school district.

The country of Liberia is nestled on the Atlantic coast of West Africa between Sierra Leone and Côte d'Ivoire. In recent history, civil war and disease have wreaked havoc on the country's already small population. The country's healthcare sector in particular has taken a big hit and remains understaffed with a largely undertrained workforce in many areas of the country. Sadly, Liberia is also one of the most dangerous places in the world for a mother to give birth. In fact, according to the World Health Organization, out of every 100,000 live births in Liberia, 725 mothers will die. This is compared to six in Australia, 14 in the USA, and nine in the United Kingdom.

But great strides are being made in equipping the next generation of healthcare workers in Liberia through the work of organizations and individuals such as Seed Global Health and Waltona Cummings. Take a listen as Waltona, a native of neighboring Sierra Leone, shares her story of being a nurse and nurse midwife educator. She and her colleagues in Liberia are working to save lives by raising the education standard one student at a time in hopes of building a stronger and healthier future for a country that has already lost so much.

Driving around looking for something interesting and stumble into a childhood memory.

This is for all you lovers of music from Southern Africa (Kwaito, BongoFlava, etc) featuring: Seleckta-Nyubani; Nash; Lilac-Fruity; Sparko n Slim-Ice cream; Enepal-Mungeli; Kay Figo-Phone; Ntilie - Final Mama; Jose Chameleone-Naumia; Arthur Mafokate-Daai Ding; Mafikizolo-Nisixoshelani; Dully Sykes-BongoFleva; Malaika-Mmatswale; Malaika-Never Change My mind; Theo-Ukhona; Theo Kgosinkwe-Usi Sthandwa Sam; etc.

After nearly freezing to death beneath the ice, Baron Ambrosia seeks shelter with a famed Liberian chef in hopes of gaining a healing pepper sauce.  In exchange for the spicy medicine, he must travel to Monrovia, Liberia to find her a qualified apprentice to carry on her culinary legacy.
Special Guests: Eliza Smith & Aunty Nana