The James Logan Courier

By Sandhaya Mansfield and Jenelle Gallardo, Courier Staff Writers

As you have heard or may not have heard, today at both lunches C4 (Chinese Culture Community Connections) Club hosted a Chinese New Year lunch event. complete with a martial arts performance and sales of Chinese cuisine.

Roger Yang, 11, explained "This year is the year of the ox, basically every twelve years the same animal appears". The Chinese Calandar has twelve animals the: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster, dog, and boar. San Francisco holds a huge celebration every year as well as other cities across the Bay. Chinese New Year also known as Lunar New Year, is celebrated by many others. Everyone puts their own spin to it.

By Idrees Najibi, Courier Staff Writer

When it comes time for finals, there are always varying preferences of the three day or two day final schedule among the students and staff.

According to Vice Principal Matt Smith, this year's schedule confines finals to only two days because the, “staff needs to have more minimum days to do planning and collaboration. It’s important for the staff to work together and plan things out.” It’s obvious that, “The staff and teachers made the decision. They looked at the schedule and number of minimum days and unfortunately, it was not possible to have both the desired three day schedule and the minimum day needed for the teacher collaboration.”

Courier Staff Report

Problems with the New Haven school district's new Student Information System, called Zangle, frustrated many teachers' attempts to post semester grades Monday, a student-free workday set aside for teachers to submit grades and prepare for today's start of the second semester.

"I've had enough of Zangle," said Language Arts teacher Indira Chakrabarti this morning, after a frustrating day of dealing with the on-again, off-again, slowpoke computer program, which was supposed to make submitting grades easier when it was implemented as the district's new student information system at the start of the year.

By Michael Hawthorne
Chicago Tribune (MCT)

CHICAGO — A swig of soda or bite of a candy bar might be sweet, but a new study suggests that food made with corn syrup also could be delivering tiny doses of toxic mercury.

For the first time, researchers say they have detected traces of the silvery metal in samples of high-fructose corn syrup, a widely used sweetener that has replaced sugar in many processed foods. The study was published Monday in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health.

By Carol Rosenberg
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVY BASE, Cuba — Just hours in office, President Barack Obama late Tuesday sought a 120-day freeze in the war crimes trial of alleged Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed to give the new administration time to study ongoing war-on-terror prosecutions.

Pentagon prosecutor Clayton Trivett filed the motion seeking a 120-day continuance in the Sept. 11 death penalty case of five alleged al-Qaida co-conspirators at 8:51 p.m.

By Rick La Plante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer

The Board of Education on Tuesday night heard a report on the devastating effect that Governor Schwarzenegger’s proposed state budget once again will have on California public education in general and New Haven Unified in particular.

In his update to the Board on the 2008-09 budget and the 2009-10 budget proposal, Chief Business Officer Ted Hood said the Governor’s proposal will require New Haven to make $4 million in mid-year cuts. This comes after the District made more than $7 million in cuts last year.

In addition to the $4 million cited above, the District would have to cut another $1.7 million from the proposed 2009-10 budget, a total of $5.7 million.

Later in the evening, the Board approved a resolution calling for the Governor to set into motion actions that could keep legislators from getting paid when they miss their annual deadline for passing the state budget (see separate press release).

Also on Tuesday night, the Board received the regular quarterly update on the Strategic Plan. Chief Academic Officer Glynn Thompson and Director of K-8 Leadership Scott Pizani explained how the District’s coaching model supports the implementation of several action plans, and Principal Lisa Metzinger and literacy coaches Vera-Lisa Roberts and Kathy Frye of Kitayama Elementary School talked about how the coaching model is working at their site.

The Board also:
• Recognized Deputy Superintendent David Pava for his 30 years of service to the District and congratulated him on his retirement. A retirement party for Mr. Pava is scheduled Friday, Feb. 20, at the Newark Pavilion.
• Approved a resolution in support of the “One Book, One Community” program, encouraging all New Haven residents to read and discuss a single book, in this case, “Three Cups of Tea,” the story of one man’s mission to promote peace and education, one school at a time. Co-author Greg Mortenson will visit the community in March and speak at an assembly at James Logan High School.
•Approved the audited financial report for 2007-08.

Agendas of regular Board of Education meetings and minutes of past meetings are available on the District website.

By Rick La Plante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer

With the state of California once again considering massive cuts to public education, the Board of Education on Tuesday night called on Governor Schwarzenegger to set in motion actions to keep legislators from getting paid when - as has become routine - they miss their annual deadline for passing the state budget.

The five-member governing board of the New Haven Unified School District, by a unanimous vote, passed a resolution calling for the California Citizens Compensation Commission to suspend pay for legislators when they fail to pass a budget by the June 15 deadline. The Legislature has not met the budget deadline in 23 years.

By Rick La Plante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer
from the New Haven E-News

The list of New Haven folks in Washington D.C. today - to be witnesses to history - is impressive.

More than two dozen students and at least two teachers from James Logan High School, as well as their principal, a young singer from Cesar Chavez Middle School and several other individuals with New Haven ties, are among an estimated 2 million people who converged on our nation’s capital to see Barack Obama sworn in as our 44th President. Also in Washington are four Chavez teachers and two folks each from Pioneer and Hillview Crest elementary schools, meaning the New Haven contingent with stories to tell for the rest of their lives numbers at least three dozen people.

By Mike Dorning
Chicago Tribune (MCT)

BALTIMORE — President-elect Barack Obama tied the current challenges of economic crisis and war to the great struggles of the nation's past as he traveled Saturday to Washington for the inauguration by retracing the final stages of the train trip Abraham Lincoln made to assume the presidency on the eve of the Civil War.

The daylong, 137-mile train ride, beginning in Philadelphia and incorporating rallies in Wilmington, Del., and Baltimore as well as "slow rolls" through communities on the way, permitted the incoming president to invoke the broad perspective of history while expanding the pageantry of the inauguration to a large swathe of the densely populated Northeast.

By Joel Greenberg
Chicago Tribune (MCT)

JERUSALEM — Under intense international pressure to halt a three-week-old offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip that has taken a high toll of civilian lives, Israel declared Saturday that it would unilaterally cease fire but keep its forces in the territory for now.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned that Israel would respond forcefully if Hamas continued its rocket attacks on Israel, and it remained unclear whether the militant Islamic group would also hold its fire.

By Rick La Plante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer

A group of James Logan High School students will leave tonight for a week-long trip to Washington D.C. and the opportunity to see Barack Obama sworn-in as the nation’s 44th president.

Logan social science teachers Alida Lombardi and Jeff Ustick take students each year to Washington as part of “Close Up,” a government/citizenship program for high school students nationwide. This year, Logan’s contingent of 24 students will be in Washington for the Inauguration on Tuesday, and they plan to join more than a million people expected to gather on the Capitol Mall to watch the ceremony.

By Rick La Plante, New Haven Schools Public Inormation Officer


Superintendent Kari McVeigh introduced herself, answered questions and received feedback from about 25 people at her first New Haven Community Forum, held Tuesday night at the Educational Services Center.

Ms. McVeigh, who joined the District on December 1, told the audience she met with staffs at all District sites in December and now is in the process of meeting with as many individuals as possible during the first 90 days of the new year. She also is intent on attending School Site Council meetings at all sites in January and February, as well as meeting with community groups and others. Her immediate priority, however, is dealing with the effect that the state financial crisis is having on New Haven, as the District faces the prospect of both mid-year cuts to the current budget and a much tighter budget in 2009-10 and 2010-11.

By Rick La Plante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer

A group of James Logan High School students will leave Friday for a week-long trip to Washington D.C., just in time to be in the nation’s capital for the inauguration of Barack Obama as President - where a Cesar Chavez Middle School student will sing.

Logan social science teachers Alida Lombardi and Jeff Ustick take students each year to Washington as part of “Close Up,” a government/citizenship program for high school students nationwide. This year, Logan’s contingent of 24 students will be in Washington when the new president is sworn in next Tuesday.

“We probably won’t get tickets, so we’ll be out with the hordes on Capitol Mall,” Ms. Lombardi said. “Obviously, though, just being there will be very special.”

By Suzanne Wu, Courier Staff Writer

Glitches in Zangle's the school's new student information system are resulting in inaccurate transcripts being printed, just as seniors need accurate transcripts to move on to college.

Earlier this year, James Logan Principal Judy Billingsley announced on her first interview on Logan Live that transcripts were not ready for distribution. After the initial announcement, no further information has been given about the status of the transcript system.

Currently, the new Zangle system the school has implemented suffers from an abundance of glitches that prevents the transcripts from being ready, according to a James Logan official who works daily with the system, who asked not to be identified. The old HP system, a program customized for the New Haven district and for Logan, was used for years until the debut of Zangle this fall.

By Jeffry Bartash
MarketWatch (MCT)

WASHINGTON — The incoming Obama administration on Thursday asked Congress to postpone the nationwide switch to digital television, saying too many Americans would lose their TV signals if the change takes place as planned in mid-February.

John Podesta, co-chairman of Obama's transition team, sent a letter to top lawmakers in the House and Senate requesting the delay until later in 2009. He said the government has not provided enough financial support and consumer information to make the planned switch.

"We have discovered major difficulties in the preparation for the February 17 conversion," Podesta wrote.

By Renee Schoof
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

WASHINGTON — As Congress gets to work this week on an economic stimulus plan, environmentalists are arguing that installing more wind and solar energy, making homes and government buildings less dependent on fossil fuels and expanding mass transit would be the best way to add jobs quickly and jolt the economy.

Environmental groups cheered last week when President-elect Barack Obama said the U.S. should use the stimulus package to double its production of renewable energy in three years and cut its use of fossil fuels by modernizing more than 75 percent of federal buildings and improving the energy efficiency of 2 million homes.

By Liz Sly
Chicago Tribune (MCT)

BEIRUT — Looming over the Gaza conflict is the long shadow of Iran, which has much to win or lose from the outcome of the battles raging nearly two weeks after Israel launched its devastating onslaught to stop Hamas rocket attacks.

For Iran, which provides funding and training to Hamas, the crisis represents an almost existential battle in its quest to become a regional superpower, in which Hamas plays a key role as an extension of Shiite Iranian influence.

By John McCormick and Emily S. Achenbaum
Chicago Tribune (MCT)

CHICAGO — Like many Americans, Barack Obama spent Sunday getting things organized so he could head back to work after an extended holiday vacation.

But the president-elect's departure from Chicago's Midway Airport for a flight to Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, D.C., brought with it some emotion, as he left behind an empty home and the city most associated with his historic political rise.

"I gotta say I choked up a little bit leaving my house today," he told reporters aboard a military aircraft that transported him to Washington.

By Liz Sly
Chicago Tribune (MCT)

BEIRUT — President-elect Barack Obama's silence on the eight-day-old offensive in Gaza is drawing criticism among Arabs who have grown skeptical about hopes that his administration will break with the Mideast policies of the Bush era.

Obama, who is moving to Washington this weekend, was on vacation in Hawaii when the crisis erupted and has made no statements, either about Israel's assault on Gaza or Palestinian rocket attacks against Israel. His aides say that he does not wish to address foreign policy issues in any way that could send "confusing signals" about U.S. policy as long as President George W. Bush is in office.

"The president-elect is closely monitoring global events, including the situation in Gaza. There is one president at a time, and we intend to respect that," Brooke Anderson, chief national security spokeswoman for the Obama transition team, said Saturday.

By Liz Sly
Chicago Tribune (MCT)

BEIRUT — Israel's assault on Gaza is a gamble that may succeed in irrevocably weakening the Palestinian Hamas movement — but it also could backfire by strengthening Hamas and other radicals in the way that the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah ended up emboldening Lebanon's militant Shiite movement.

The longer Hamas holds out against the Israeli offensive, the greater the likelihood of comparisons with the Lebanon war, in which Hezbollah stood firm against massive Israeli airstrikes and earned the widespread adulation of the Arab world, according to experts in the Middle East.

Hezbollah later leveraged its enhanced prestige to push for greater political power within the Lebanese government — thereby increasing the influence of its patrons, Iran and Syria, in the region.