Teacher- Yoli Sandoval
My name is Yoli Sandoval and I grew up in Venice on San Juan Ave. I have five brothers and their names are: Jaime, Javier, Jose, Pablo, and Jorge. I now live in Hawthorne with my husband Sergio, daughter Karina who is 15, Isabella, 9 and my rambunctious son, Sergio Benjamin who will be 3 on Dec. 24th. I also have two dogs: Chiquis and Ruby. As a family, we like to go to church, walk/hike at the park (especially Will Rogers), watch movies in our family room, eat real gelato at the El Segundo Plaza, and go to our local mall. Our favorite place to visit is Nevada and Santa Barbara. Our family is special because we tell stories and jokes and laugh our lungs out. We also love to watch and tell scary stories too.
Aidan Weitz
My name is Aidan Weitz and this is my family. We live in West Adams, Los Angeles. My mom, Deirdre Higgins was born and raised in New York and grew up in New York. She works as a teacher and loves to write and do yoga. My dad, Jory Weitz, was born and raised in New York and grew up in New York. He works as a producer and loves to hike and bike. My sister, Sophie, is 12 years old and loves to draw and do gymnastics. She goes to school at LACES. We have a pet named Milo the cat. I like going to the museums with my mom and I like going to the beach with my dad and sister. Our favorite place to visit is the beach and our favorite park is Central Park in New York. Our family is special because we make each other laugh.
My name is Austin Jones and this is my family. We live in Culver City. My mom, Debbie, was born and raised in Kansas. She and my dad are martial arts teachers at their school Marina Tae Kwon Do. Mom loves to cook and bake. My dad, Keith, was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Westchester, California. He loves to go to the movies and bike. My baby brother, Kenny was just born in December ‘09. I nicknamed him Spike and I like to help mom feed him by holding the bottle. We have pet Weimaranner dogs named Liebchen and Hertzen. As a family, we love to take walks with our dogs and visit neighbors on weekends. Our favorite place to visit is my cousin Rawley’s farmhouse in Kansas. We love any park with sand and friends to play with. Our family is special because we like to celebrate and appreciate the ordinary things in life.
Samuel “Blue” Nordon
My name is Blue and this is my family. We live in Venice. My dad, Phil, was born in New York City and raised in Boston. He works as a writer and creative director at an ad agency and loves to read, swim, bike and cook. My mom, Michelle, was born in Hollywood and grew up in Los Angeles. She works as a book editor and loves to read, see movies, garden and practice yoga. We have two cats named Orson and Maxine. As a family, we love to visit our friends, go to farmer’s market, and watch the planes take off and land at Santa Monica airport. Our favorite place to visit is the fire station and our favorite park is Marine Park. Our family is special because we love to make up rhymes together.
Henry Sorman
Photo to come
My name is Henry and this is my family. We live in Mar Vista and Marina del Rey. My mom, Rachel Pollack was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Pacific Palisades. She works as a drug and alcohol treatment advisor and loves to write music and sing. My dad, Jonas Sorman, was born in Sweden and grew up in Sweden. He works as a composer and loves to write music and golf. My sister, Freja Sorman, is 7 years old and loves to read, play chess, and draw. She goes to First Lutheran Venice. We have pets named Bob and Ingrid, Half Leaf, clover and Elliott. As a family, we love to go to go to our ranch up north, play on the beach and visit with granny. Our favorite place to visit is Under the Sea and Sweden and our favorite park is Mar Vista Park. Our family is special because we love and adore each other and make each other laugh all the time. And we all love music!
Keaton Pearce
Bio to come.
Laurel Hinds
My name is Laurel Hinds and this is my family. We live in Los Angeles, CA. My mom, Karriann Farrell Hinds was born and raised in Oakland, CA. She works at home and loves to cook and bake. My dad, Elliot Hinds, was born in Brooklyn, NY and grew up in Brooklyn and Los Angeles. He works as an attorney and loves to play tennis. My brother, Maxwell Hinds, is 6 years old and loves to play basketball and football. He goes to school at Wildwood School. As a family, we love to play sports and games on weekends. Our favorite park is Mar Vista. Our family is special because we love to travel together.
Lucy Compton
My name is Lucy Yu Brown Compton and this is my family. We live in Venice. My mom, Yu Mei was born in Hong Kong and grew up in Columbia, South Carolina. She is a freelance art director/graphic designer and she loves to be creative, read, bike, go shopping especially at the Santa Monica farmers market and attempt to cook. My dad, Jeff, was born in Louisville, KY and grew up in Burlingame (Bay Area). He is the executive creative director at Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency and he loves to run, drive his classic porshe and surf. My sister, June Li, is 6 1/2 years old and is a first grader. She loves crafts, do art projects, jump rope, explore nature and ride her bike. She and I love to play with our American Girls and pick sour grass together. As a family, we love to go to Palm Desert, the beach, the farmer’s market, take mini road trips and try new restaurants or cuisine. Our favorite parks are Walgrove Kinder Yard and Jocelyn. Our family is special because we are multicultural, creative, love to have fun and have new experiences as a family.
Lucy Tate
Lucy Tate
My name is Lucy Tate and this is my family. We live in Mar Vista. My mom,
Dianna, was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. She works in
sales/marketing and loves to swim, bake and knit. My dad, Biff, was born
and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. He works as a web content manager for
Yamaha Motor Corporation and loves to play music, brew his own beer, garden
and ride his motorcycle. My sister, Sophia, is 6 years old and attends
Beethoven Elementary. We have fish, but I really want a kitty. As a family,
we love to stay home and barbeque on weekends and have friends and neighbors
over. Our favorite place to visit is the beach, and St. Louis to see our cousins and grandparents and our favorite park is Mar Vista. Our family is special because we like to be together.
My name is Lua McKnight and this is my family. We live in Mar Vista. My mom, Patricia, was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She works as an engineer and loves to travel, go to the movies and take me to places like our weekly play group, the park and Disneyland! My dad, Geoff, was born in Virginia and raised in Maryland. He works as a scientist and loves photography, music and to play with my brother and me. My brother, Kyle, is 2 years old and loves music and garbage trucks. He will be starting at NSW in the fall. As a family, we love to go to parties, hiking, shopping at our local farmer’s market and traveling and our favorite park is Mar Vista. Our family is special because we love doing activities together, visiting new places and sharing experiences.
Mia Rios
My name is Mia and this is my family. We live in Mar Vista. I was born in Los Angeles. My mom, Katie, was born in New Jersey and grew up in Connecticut. She works as a school administrator and helps adults, and loves to read. My dad, Gerald, was born in Chihuahua, Mexico and grew up in New Mexico. He works as a school administrator and makes sure everything works and everyone is safe. He loves to watch sports. I love to play with babies and dress up and play outside. As a family, we love to go to the playground and beach on weekends. Our favorite place to visit is Santa Barbara and our favorite park is the beach park. Our family is special because we love being together and having adventures. I have a Gamma in Phoenix and a Gamma and Gampa in New Mexico.
Owen Grossman
My name is Owen Henry Grossman and this is my family. We live in the Mar Vista/Marina del Rey neighborhood. My mom, Laurie, was born in Hartford, CT, and grew up in West Hartford, CT. She works as the Content Director for a website called TheCradle.com, and loves to cook and sing. My dad, Jonathan, was born in Mt. Kisco, NY, and grew up in New Rochelle, NY, and Tarzana, CA. He works as a composer/songwriter and producer, and loves to play guitar…and poker! (My mom and dad actually met when she auditioned for his band and performed on the road together for many years!) I have a baby sister named Piper who is 3 years younger than me. I think she’s really cute. We have two pets: a dog named Scout (he’s an Airedale Terrier), and a fish named Rocky. As a family, we love to go to the farmer’s market, have barbeques in our back yard, and have friends over for dinner and to play. We also love to camp out in our backyard – we sleep in our tent and eat s’mores over our fire pit. Our family is special because we love each other, we like to talk about our feelings, and we feel safe with each other. And we like to have fun!
Rowena Smith
My name is Rowena Nisha Smith and this is my family. We live in Santa Monica. My dad, Conrad, was born in Dorset, England, and grew up in Massachusetts and the UK. He works as an IT consultant with PWC and loves to sail & travel. My mom, Dharmini, was born in Malaysia and grew up in Malaysia and the UK. She works as a service operations specialist with GE Healthcare and loves to bake, practice yoga & travel. As a family, we love to go to the farmers’ market on weekends. Our favorite place to visit is the beach and our favoritpark is Virginia Park. Our family is special because we have five passports between the three of us.