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Stem Cell Therapy for Pets
It is no secret that stem cell therapy is rapidly growing into one of the largest alternatives in veterinary pain management. Stem cells are being used to improve the lives of animals that suffer from osteoarthritis as well as tendon and ligament damage, joint injuries and fractured bones. Roughly 25 to 30 percent of dogs and cats suffer from osteoarthritic conditions and degenerative joint disease. Other common ailments where stem cells may provide relief for your animal include hip dysplasia, joint/cartilage damage, ligament damage and tendon damage. Other treatments, such as NSAIDs, only attempt to reduce symptoms and can sometimes leave the animal feeling lethargic.

As an alternative, using stem cell therapy allows All Creatures Veterinary Center to treat the cause of your animal's discomfort, not just suppress the symptoms.

Common signs of osteoarthritis include your animal's inability to get and up and down steps, general stiffness in gait as well as marked inability to recover from exercise for a long period of time.

There have also been cases where veterinarians utilized stem cell therapy in other cases not indicated, under what we term as "compassionate use." Although we are still researching these conditions, we've seen some exciting clinical responses when other traditional therapies (standard of care) are not an option for your pet. Some of those conditions are degenerative myelopathy, feline gingivitis, end-stage renal disease, liver and kidney failure, allergies, auto-immune disease, inflammatory bowel disease and atopy.
All Creatures Veterinary Center and Canyon Country Veterinary Hospital, partnering with MediVet America, now provide an all-natural, affordable and safe solution that will ensure your pet's future health and quality of life. 291-1121 or 424-9900

Santa Clarita School of Performing Arts 222-7910

"My name is Noah Visconti and I am 6 years old. I go to Santa Clarita School of Performing Arts and take classes from Mr. Matt. He is a really cool teacher. I have been in Mr. Matt's class for one and a half years now and he has helped me a lot with my acting. We do commercials, improv and play fun acting games. Me and all the other kids have so much fun at Santa Clarita School of Performing Arts. I have learned modeling, acting and some music. I really like to be on stage or on TV. I have been in runway modeling shows, TV commercials and, now, movies. You may have seen me before... but if not, make sure you check me out in the new "Iron Man 3" movie, in theaters May 3! Thank you Santa Clarita School of Performing Arts!"
Courtesy of Santa Clarita School of Performing Arts 222-7910 www.scsopa.com

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Legacy Students Dominate at ACSI Math Olympics
Exciting news - 16 students from Legacy Christian Academy competed in the ACSI Math Olympics at Whittier Christian School and 14 came home with medals! Students in third through sixth grade participated in timed tests for reasoning or computation. We would like to congratulate all of the Math Olympics participants: Lexi Fernandez (first place: computation), Mia Yen (fifth place: computation), Peter Shen (second place: reasoning), Diego Fu (fourth place: reasoning), Ria Bakhaya (first place: computation), Emily Chang (third place: computation), Nicole Augusta (first place: reasoning), Tristen Leem (first place: reasoning), Chloe Johnson (computation), Kylie Shin (third place: computation), Lindsay Whalen (first place: reasoning), Christian Kim (second place: reasoning), Aerin Choi (computation), Alison Oh (first place: computation), Tia Bakhaya (first place: reasoning) and Tyler Shin (fifth place: reasoning). 257-7377 www.legacy-christian.com

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American Sign Language Club at College of the Canyons Hosts Deaf Awareness Week April 20 to 26
The American Sign Language (ASL) Club at College of the Canyons is dedicated to creating awareness of deafness, deaf culture and American Sign Language on campus and within our community. The ASL Club is affiliated with the American Sign Language Department and Interpreter Training Program at COC, a two-year program for students looking to earn their Associate of Arts degree in American Sign Language Interpreting. The degree will equip students with the necessary skills for entry-level positions in the field of interpreting. It also helps streamline the process for students looking to transfer to a four-year college or university.

This spring the ASL Club will be hosting its inaugural Deaf Awareness Week from Saturday, April 20 to Friday, April 26. This celebration will include several workshops for students and community members, film screenings and the Fourth-annual Spring Festival.

The week's event schedule is as follows:
Saturday, April 20, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Community ASL Workshop

Monday, April 22, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.: DEAF 101: A Panel Discussion

Tuesday, April 23, TBA: A showing of "Through Deaf Eyes"

Thursday, April 25, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.: Deaf-Blind Culture: A Panel Discussion

Friday. April 26, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.:Spring Festival
For detailed information, locations and updates, please visit www.facebook.com/aslclubcoc or www.canyons.edu/offices/sign.

Deaf Awareness Week will conclude with the Spring Festival, which will take place in the College of the Canyons Honor Grove, located on the Valencia Campus. Included in admission will be an ASL Workshop for beginners, face painting, watermelon contest, an obstacle course bounce house, an amazing raffle and more. The highlight of this event is the annual "ASL IDOL." Students and community members are encouraged to compete by performing a signed song, poem, joke or story. Admission is $8 for adults and $5 for children 8 and younger and includes food and beverage. Everyone is welcome - knowledge of ASL is not necessary!

Support and donations from the community will help ensure that this event is successful in meeting the mission of our club, as well as raising funds to bring guest speakers, performers and future events to the campus and the community.
362-3050 brittany.applen@canyons.edu
362-5009 deborah.sison@canyons.edu

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College Planning should Start Earlier than You Think
Traditional wisdom suggests that junior year of high school is when students and parents should begin college planning. That may work for some families, but if you want to take full advantage of scholarships; increase your child's likelihood of being admitted to competitive universities; want to prevent application, class scheduling and testing missteps before they happen; find ways to reduce your parental contribution and more, the wiser route is to start as early as ninth grade. As a first-year high school student, your child will have the best opportunity to draft a four-year schedule of classes that meets the minimum requirements for college admission. They can also begin building a flexible schedule that addresses adequate time for studying, impressive engagement with their extracurricular activities and family time. Some ninth graders begin self-studying for the PSAT and, if they're into athletics, ensuring that they are maintaining eligibility for NCAA programs.

If your child isn't in high school yet, you can still begin the financial planning steps that will empower you to send your child off to college without damaging your quality of life or savings account in the process.

One last tip: Read to your kids and, when they're old enough to read to themselves, provide them with high-quality literature and plenty of opportunities to bury their head in a book. Few things prepare students for success with college application essays and standardized tests better than reading.
The College Planning Experts 295-9946 www.collegeplanningexperts.com