Contact: (626) 482--8963
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CLASS TOWN SHIPWRECK ISLAND - JOURNAL WRITING
Wednesdays 10am-11am
TAUGHT BY: Ani Janbazian
VENDOR: We Spark Learning
WHERE: Excellence in Education, Monrovia
TARGET: Grades 1-5
COURSE DURATION: 1 year (two, 13 week semesters - classes begin Sept 2, 2026)
DATES:
Semester 1 runs Sept 2 -Dec 9 2026
Semester 2 runs Jan 27-May 12 2027
COST PER SEMESTER : $296 (courtesy discount given to those who pay for class in full on day of registration).
We are an approved vendor for most area Charter schools. If not, we’ll contact you to start the vendor process for your school! 
Upon registration, you will be provided with a simple materials list of some basic school supplies that will be needed for class.
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Shipwrecked on a remote island, 1st-5th graders explore their exotic surroundings, scavenge for supplies, tame the wilderness, form a rescue plan, and band together for survival through perilous adventures -- all the while journaling their epic story.

Your weekly explorations will serve as the journal prompt or inspiration for your creative writing assignments.
"The eerie howling sound seemed to be coming from..."
"After tirelessly digging in the sand, it was a miracle that I found a..."
"Seeing that spectacular splash, I started to believe the mythical stories about..."

Each student will be assigned special skills to contribute to the group's success, and keep an inventory of valuable items they have salvaged or scrounged for in the search for more island resources.

Some drawing, crafts, prize games, and other creative expressions will also be incorporated throughout the year to fit our Island theme. Mini lessons on writing techniques, literary devices, and poetry will be explored, while maintaining the goal of this class: to motivate students to put pen to paper with enthusiasm!  Journal writing is done during class time, and writing expectations can be varied to adapt to different learning levels and abilities.

How will you survive this harrowing story? Will your party ever be rescued? Join the adventure!

REGISTRATION: Enrollment opens for new students on April 10th - Simply complete the form for either private-payment or charter families here at  26/27 REGISTRATION Monrovia.Charter School students should follow up with a request for a P.O./Enrichment Certificate to be issued as soon as possible to complete your registration with us.​

Questions? Call (626)482-8963 or email [email protected]
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MAKE A MICRONATION 
Wednesdays 11:15am-12:15pm
TAUGHT BY: Ani Janbazian
VENDOR: We Spark Learning
WHERE: Excellence in Education, Monrovia
TARGET: Grades 3-6
COURSE DURATION: 1 year (two, 13 week semesters - classes begin Sept 2, 2026)
DATES:
Semester 1 runs Sept 2 -Dec 9 2026
Semester 2 runs Jan 27-May 12 2027
COST PER SEMESTER: $296 (courtesy discount given to those who pay for class in full on day of registration).
We are an approved vendor for most area Charter schools. If not, we’ll contact you to start the vendor process for your school! 
Upon registration, you will be provided with a simple materials list of some basic school supplies that will be needed for class.
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In this class, students can mastermind, invent, develop, and design their very own nation and culture.  Micronations are imaginary countries that have many of the same things as real ones: laws, customs, culture and history - even their own flags, coins, and stamps.

Step by step, using examples from real nations and other micronations, students will establish a government, a code of laws, currency, create a language and distinctive clothing, initiate unique holidays, and so much more.

Dynamic discussions and hands-on activities will explore:
Government
Political Systems
Language
National Symbols
History
Geology & Resources
Physical Geography
Economy
Currency
Citizenship
Infrastructure:
Transportation & Communication
Cultural Identity:
Food, Art, Music, Clothing, Pastimes, Holidays

Imagine...
...an underwater nation where residents live in bio-domes, and use candy for money.
...a rock n' roll republic where music starts each day and the president looks like Elvis.
...a kingdom whose citizens wear shades of purple, and travel by moose.
...a gamer state where video game scores translate to real money in the bank.
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REGISTRATION: Enrollment opens for new students on April 10th - Simply complete the form for either private-payment or charter families here at  26/27 REGISTRATION Monrovia.Charter School students should follow up with a request for a P.O./Enrichment Certificate to be issued as soon as possible to complete your registration with us.​​

Questions? Call (626)482-8963 or email [email protected]
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BAKER ST. BRAINIACS
Wednesdays 12:45-1:45pm
TAUGHT BY: Ani Janbazian
VENDOR: We Spark Learning
WHERE: Excellence in Education, Monrovia
TARGET: Grades 4-7
COURSE DURATION: 1 year (two, 13 week semesters - classes begin Sept 2, 2026)
DATES:
Semester 1 runs Sept 2 -Dec 9 2026
Semester 2 runs Jan 27-May 12 2027
COST PER SEMESTER: $296 (courtesy discount given to those who pay for class in full on day of registration).
We are an approved vendor for most area Charter schools. If not, we’ll contact you to start the vendor process for your school! 
Upon registration, you will be provided with a simple materials list of some basic school supplies that will be needed for class.
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Become a Jr. Detective as you dive into Sherlock Holmes inspired challenges, with thoughtful exploration, hands-on testing, problem solving, logic and deduction. Weekly hands-on lessons will include detective mysteries, puzzle challenges, brain games, and S.T.E.A.M. activities and more! 

Who is Sherlock Holmes?
Sherlock is a fictional private detective who famously lives at 221B Baker Street. Created by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, this literary character is known for his amazing powers of observation and superior logical reasoning that helps him solve the most difficult and unusual cases.

We'll study a few of his famous cases together and analyze the methods Holmes uses to solve them using powers of observation over inference, using spatial awareness in context, the use of deductive vs. abductive reasoning, and more.

When we aren't diving into Sherlock's cases, you'll participate in classroom challenges that will stretch your mind to test out-of-the-box solutions, flex your reasoning, boost your creativity, and harness the power of teamwork!

REGISTRATION: Enrollment opens for new students on April 10th - Simply complete the form for either private-payment or charter families here at  26/27 REGISTRATION Monrovia.Charter School students should follow up with a request for a P.O./Enrichment Certificate to be issued as soon as possible to complete your registration with us.​​

Questions? Call (626)482-8963 or email [email protected]
THE HERO'S JOURNEY: GAMIFIED 
Wednesdays 2:00-3:00pm
TAUGHT BY: Ani Janbazian
VENDOR: We Spark Learning
WHERE: Excellence in Education, Monrovia
TARGET: Grades 5-8
COURSE DURATION: 1 year (two, 13 week semesters - classes begin Sept 2, 2026)
DATES:
Semester 1 runs Sept 2 -Dec 9 2026
Semester 2 runs Jan 27-May 12 2027
COST PER SEMESTER: $296 (courtesy discount given to those who pay for class in full on day of registration).
We are an approved vendor for most area Charter schools. If not, we’ll contact you to start the vendor process for your school! 
Upon registration, you will be provided with a simple materials list of some basic school supplies that will be needed for class.
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Become the hero in a classroom role-playing game that adventures through the Mushroom Kingdom. Record key decisions in your adventure log, and leave it to the roll of the dice to determine your fate! 
In this class you'll be inspired by video game adventures, as you take on a quest to rescue Princess Peach being held captive by Bowser, as Mario and Luigi are unable to come to her aid. 

You and your classroom players will make team decisions for each of the 12 stages of The Hero's Journey, write about some of your key choices, as you roll dice to determine the outcome of each challenge.
The Hero’s Journey is a literary theory popularized by American writer and professor Joseph Campbell, that identifies the framework of stories and legends across cultures.  

Experience the Hero’s Journey:
1.In the Ordinary World
2. The Call to Adventure
3. The Refusal of the Call
4. Meeting the Mentor
5. Crossing the threshold
6. Tests, Allies, and Enemies
7. The Approach
8. The Ordeal
9. The Reward
10. The Road back
11 The Resurrection
12. Return with the Elixir

Throughout the year, gamers will complete writing assignments they start in class, at home.  These will be recorded in their personal adventure logbooks. Once the grand campaign is ended, you'll have 8-10 lessons in our second semester, to craft and write your own epic action adventure story using the The Hero's Journey you've just mastered as your guide.  Students will need to access Google Classroom for this course.

REGISTRATION: Enrollment opens for new students on April 10th - Simply complete the form for either private-payment or charter families here at  26/27 REGISTRATION Monrovia.Charter School students should follow up with a request for a P.O./Enrichment Certificate to be issued as soon as possible to complete your registration with us.​​

Questions? Call (626)482-8963 or email [email protected]
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MONUMENTAL MOMENTS IN MOVIES, MUSIC & TV 
Wednesdays 3:15-4:30pm
TAUGHT BY: Ani Janbazian
VENDOR: We Spark Learning
WHERE: Excellence in Education, Monrovia
TARGET: Grades 8-12
COURSE DURATION: 1 year (two, 13 week semesters - classes begin Sept 2, 2026)
DATES:
Semester 1 runs Sept 2 -Dec 9 2026
Semester 2 runs Jan 27-May 12 2027
COST PER SEMESTER: $340 (courtesy discount given to those who pay for class in full on day of registration).
We are an approved vendor for most area Charter schools. If not, we’ll contact you to start the vendor process for your school! 
Upon registration, you will be provided with a simple materials list of some basic school supplies that will be needed for class.
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Students 8th-12th grade take a look at Modern American History and the defining moments of pop culture, film, media, broadcasting and television through the 20th Century.

This class will explore the collective memories of a nation, captured through decades of film, music, television, radio and broadcasting. Discussion and summaries of these memorable moments will be accompanied by video or audio clips.  You'll learn about movies and actors that brought amazing stories to life, sample iconic episodes of shows that made us laugh and cry, hear music and the talent that touched our hearts or rocked our world, and explore the shocking news broadcasts that marked history through the decades.

Homework will consist of fascinating research assignments of various pop culture phenomenon.  Each semester will feature one take-home project and two quizzes, and we'll finish the year with a final assignment that will explore your personal connection to the living history of the 20th Century.  Students will need to access Google Classroom assignments, and grades will be provided for transcripts.

REMEMBERING THE MOMENT…
When Michael Jackson's zombie dancing video made Thriller the best selling album of all time.
When a man-eating shark strikes fear into millions, with just two haunting musical notes in Jaws.
When Dorothy clicks her technicolor heels in Oz saying "There's no place like home".
When the world watched as Neil Armstrong took the first steps on the moon.
When Elvis Presley shocked T.V. audiences with his performance on the Ed Sullivan Show.
When Lucille Ball hilariously rehearses a "Vitameatavegamin" commercial.
When a televised white Bronco car chase captivated the nation.
When Aretha inspired generations with R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
When we learned "Who is Keyser Soze?” and so much more.

IMPORTANT NOTE TO PARENTS
This class is recommended to students no lower than 8th grade, partially due to some of the discussion of harrowing news events, discussion of film content and the biographical stories about Hollywood and music stars that as you might expect can include themes of violence, drug use, death, and such topics.  There is no way to cover the subject of iconic films in modern times, without discussing the impact of certain significant  "R" rated movies that made their mark on pop culture and the world (Godfather, Schindler’s List, Matrix etc) However, please know that any clips shown to students will either be of critics discussing the film's impact, or short clips that will NOT include segments with content that would have contributed to earning it's "R" rating.

REGISTRATION: Enrollment opens for new students on April 10th - Simply complete the form for either private-payment or charter families here at  26/27 REGISTRATION Monrovia.Charter School students should follow up with a request for a P.O./Enrichment Certificate to be issued as soon as possible to complete your registration with us.​

Questions? Call (626)482-8963 or email [email protected]