Honors, Awards & Recognition

In May 2022, the following Palms students each received a $500 scholarship toward their music lessons. The awards were given by the Los Angeles Tenth District PTSA.

• Aditya Ahuja, 8th grade, Violin
• Barathi Balamurugan, 7th grade, Alto Saxophone
• Douglas Eastman, 6th grade, Piano
• Aarna Kumar, 8th grade, Violin
• Antoni Lipetsky, 6th grade, Piano
• Aarohi Meli, 8th grade, Violin

Also in May 2022:

• Sixth grade violinist Dominic An won a Herbert Zipper Scholarship from the Colburn Community School of Performing Arts.

• Eighth grade violinist Aarna Kumar won a private music lesson scholarship from the Los Angeles Secondary Music Teachers Association.

On September 19, 2021, Palms history teacher Ms. Garret was honored at a UCLA Football Game at the Rose
Bowl as part of Extra Yard for Teachers, an annual salute to teachers supported by the Pac-12 and the College Football Playoff Foundation.

Extra Yard for Teachers is dedicated to elevating the teaching profession by inspiring and empowering teachers in four core areas: resources, recognition, professional development, and recruitment and retention.

In May 2021, students from Palms, overseen by Mrs. Igarashi, swept the awards in the Science Fair of The Bruin Experiment.

First place winners from Palms:

• Curie category: Micah Smith
• Einstein category: Alyssa Ferrufino
• Seabord category: Katalin Rison
• Turing category: Teara Wedlow

Other winners:

• President's Award: Aarna Kumar
• Most Ambitious: Lior Wilensky
• Most Applicable: Rowan Sellers
• Most Artistic: Selma Emekci
• Most Creative: Shaya Dadmehr
• Most Enthusiastic: Naomi Lahav

Honorable Mentions:

• Barathi Balamurugan
• Taraya Carter
• Azra Emekci
• Chloe Hovorka
• Sophie Hyun
• Elise Kao
• Alexander Linares
• Valentine Schieneman
• Noah Smith
• Christopher Neal Thompson
• Ian Thompson
• Malinda Veloz Venegas

In May 2021, Palms students Elise Fukuda and John Xie won $250 scholarships for private lessons from the Los Angeles Music Teacher's Association Scholarship.

In May 2021, ten 8th graders from Palms were selected to participate in the C5 Youth Foundation of Southern California program:

• Arielle J.
• Brandon C.
• Cruz G.
• Esteban N.
• Getajati L.
• Jonathan G.
• Liam G.
• Nasir Aliu
• Sary R.
• Sydney B.

The C5LA program:

• Builds strong relationships between youth and adults.
• Allows students to see college as a realistic goal.
• Introduces students to new activities, ideas and concepts.
• Engages students in challenging activities to build self-confidence.
• Engages students in community service.
• Leads students to career opportunities.

In March 2021, Palms 7th grade student Richard Arter was featured on NBC Nightly News Kids Edition.

The segment was about Richard's participation in the middle school music program that provides students with guitar, bass, or ukulele equipment and lessons. The program is a partnership between LAUSD and the Fender Play Foundation.

In the news segment, Richard talks to Lester Holt and demonstrates his bass playing.

➡ Watch the video

Richard's segment starts at 19:38.

In January 2021, Palms 7th grade student Mia Safdie, a clarinet player, was accepted into the California Symphonic All-State Honor Band.

Due to the pandemic, the All-State Band will be recording a virtual performance this year, rather than an in-person performance.

In November 2020, Palms 7th grade student Shirley Santiago received recognition and $100 as second runner-up in the Día de los Muertos art contest sponsored by the Tournament of Roses.

In October 2020, Palms 7th grader Tyler Maurer won 2nd place and $50 for his drawing of an environmentally friendly urban space in a contest sponsored by Solatia. Tyler was competing against both middle school and high school students.

Four Palms students received honorable mentions: Fateh Aliyev, Anastacia Gallardo, Areli Sanchez, and Olivia Taylor.

Contest theme: Incorporating green spaces into urban areas

Contest description:

Sustainable cities make efficient use of water, food, and energy resources while providing for the well-being of people and wildlife. How would you put a creative spin on integrating green spaces into where we live, work, and attend school?

Tyler's description of his art:

My solution works in a way that is environmentally friendly while teaching the public about the environment and sustainability. In my world, there is a “PLANTED Deli” where the meat is plant based and does not produce methane, a community garden where people can collaborate on something that is good for everyone, the “R&Y Gallery” which uses recycled materials to make art pieces, and a mural of the electric grid which educates the public about renewable resources. For accessibility, there are detectable warning pavers for the blind crossing the street, and “zebra” striped crosswalks, so that cars can see it from a greater distance. My art is progressive and shows a green future.

The judge's comments on Tyler's art:

I like that the artist answered the question of “integrating green spaces into where we live, work, and attend school” by using city planning and looking at the bigger picture of what is needed in order to create real change and sustainability. I think the drawing was executed well and is a thoughtful depiction of the many elements needed to create progressive community needs in order to achieve that goal.

In October 2020, Palms 8th grade student Krisette Arcinas received Top Honors for her painting in the Hope for Unity art contest sponsored by art supply store Baller Art Ware. The artwork was displayed in October and November at the Neutra Institute Gallery & Museum.

In September 2020, Palms seventh grade history teacher Ms. Garret was recognized during Extra Yard for Teachers Week for "going the Extra Yard for her students." The award included $1,200 for classroom supplies and projects.

The news was tweeted and shared on Facebook by @UCLA Athletics, saying

Ms. Garret has shown herself to be a leader in diversity and inclusive education through her community involvement. She works tirelessly to ensure that all students are fully adapting to distance learning.

Each year, during the College Football Playoff Foundation's Extra Yard for Teachers Week, universities, conferences, and ESPN come together to celebrate and recognize teachers across the country.

Palms 6th grade violin player Jasmine Li won a $250 music scholarship from the Los Angeles Secondary Music Teacher's Association (LASMTA). The scholarships are awarded to "students who show exceptional promise and achievement in the field of music."

A color drawing of a bird standing in front of trees, mountains, and the sun, created by 8th grade Palms student Daniel Spagna, was selected for the July page of the 2019-20 LAUSD School Calendar.

The calendar is entitled Our Students - the heART of Los Angeles Unified 2019-2020 School Calendar.

In November 2019, Palms sixth grade students showcased their STEAM innovations in the Southern California Robotics League, a chapter of the First Lego League (FLL).

Each of the three teams from Palms won a trophy in the qualifying tournament, featuring 23 teams from across Los Angeles. Tasks included engineering robots, using CAD and 3D printing to improve urban communities, and programming robots to achieve tasks on a game board.

• Team Watermelon won first place overall and was awarded the Champion's Award. They advanced to the Southern California FLL Regional Finals in December 2019.
• Team EV2 won second place, earning the Robot Score Trophy.
• Team The Norwegian Ridgebacks won second place, earning the Robot Design Trophy.

In November 2019, the Palms 6th grade Beyond the Bell Co-Ed Flag Football Team won the Los Angeles City championship, with a resounding 50-0 win over Peary Middle School.

The Palms 7th/8th grade boys team and the Palms 7th/8th grade girls team both lost in the city semi-finals.

In September 2017, LAUSD Daily featured Palms Middle School's participation in a program by JPL and the Space Games Federation.

Palms students met the challenge to design an athletic competition/game to be played in space.

Julie West, former Palms instrumental music teacher received numerous awards during her tenure at Palms.

Ms. West, always active in the local music community, served as President of the Los Angeles Secondary Music Teachers Assocation (LASMTA) from 2011 to 2017. She retired in June 2017.

In Spring 2017, Sapir Brand was one of only 50 students worldwide selected in the My Family Story 2017 International Competition.

With air transportation provided by the museum, she was invited to show her winning project -- The Land of Milk and Honey -- at the Beit Hatfutsot Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv.

More than 20,000 students from 28 countries participated in My Family Story initiative.

Jaden and Lorelei with their teacher Ms. West

In Spring 2017, two Palms students won music scholarships after auditioning for the Los Angeles Secondary Music Teacher's Association (LASMTA).

• 6th grader Lorelei Deutsch won for her cello playing.
• 7th grader Jaden Robinson won for his trumpet playing.

Lorelei and Jaden received their awards at a ceremony at the Grammy Foundation in Santa Monica.

Artwork by Nicole Feyzjou

The 2014 LAUSD Holiday Card distributed by Superintendent Ramon Cortines featured art from Palms 7th grade student Nicole Feyzjou.

Nicole, a student of art teacher Ms. Goldin, is one of only three students in all of LAUSD whose art was selected after a district-wide competition.

In March 2014, Palms 8th grade violinist Aya Chaarawi won the House of Blues Foundation "Why I would like to have an instrument" essay contest. She was rewarded with a new violin.

Palms score highly overall and in every LAUSD AGT category: by sex, by Special Education status, and by ethnicity. Palms was the only middle school on the Los Angeles Westside to receive this recognition and one of only 6 LAUSD middle schools recognized district-wide.

Superintendent John Deasy said:

We celebrate the performance of these extraordinary schools. These results are a testament to the outstanding work of the administration and faculty on those campuses.

In April 2013, Palms students raised $1,660 to make a donation to the Simms/Mann UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology in honor of a Palms parent. Palms students of teacher Mrs. Santana spent their lunch periods volunteering their time, selling homemade artwork and jewelry and items they made from duct tape, and jumping rope to earn money from pledges. Read the thank-you letter they received.

Bruce Kravets, Palms math teacher, was honored as Teacher of the Month at a Lakers basketball game in February 2011.

See also The Power of Parents below.