This is the archive for May 2008
Note: The Courier originally ran this story on May 23, but, due to technical problem's we've been experiencing, many of our readers were unable to access The Courier for that day and several other days. So we're re-posting this story due to reader interest, and we urge those of you who are interested to see what you missed by visiting our archives.
By Rick LaPlante,
New Haven Schools Public Information Officer
Tommie Lindsey, who brought national attention to James Logan High School by building one of the best speech and debate programs in the country, is one of five finalists for the 2008 All-Star Teacher Award sponsored by Comcast SportsNet Bay Area.
Public voting begins today to help select the winner, who will receive $10,000 for his or her school.
Click here to vote for Tommie Lindsey for the 2008 All-Star Teacher Award.
Posted by courier at 10:30 AM. Filed under: News
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By Tim Johnson
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)
BEIJING — Health officials said Wednesday that they were prepared for an array of nightmare terrorist attacks on the Beijing Summer Olympic Games, ranging from anthrax and black plague to radiological "dirty bombs."
"We have already made full preparations," Jin Dapeng, the head of medical security for the Olympic Games, said at a news briefing.
Posted by courier at 07:50 AM. Filed under: News
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IBM employees, from left, Tsegga
Medhin, Smith Doss, and Al Chakra
chat about their upcoming overseas
assignments in Tanzania, the Philippines,
and Romania.
(Ted Richardson/Raleigh News & Observer/MCT)
RALEIGH, N.C. — As a single man in Raleigh, Greg Labows likes golf, college basketball and most things American. As a 35-year-old corporate riser at IBM, his eyes are overseas. The software-sales executive is preparing for a four-week stint in the Philippines, where IBM is working to build good will and a stronger presence.
"Ten or 15 years down the road, a lot of the opportunities will focus abroad," Labows said, "and experiences like this will open doors."
Posted by courier at 12:08 PM. Filed under: News
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By Sarena Bains, Courier Staff Writer
Senior Honor Convocation will be held on Wednesday inside the Pavilion at 7:00 PM.
The Senior Honors Convocation is a celebration of achievement to recognize individual seniors for their exemplary achievements while attending at Logan. The Convocation is for students who were members of CSF, won scholarships, any students who received a scholarship or award, athletic scholarships, etc.
Posted by courier at 09:08 AM. Filed under: News
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By Jay Price
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)
RALEIGH, N.C. — A decade ago, it was enough to carve their names in granite or freeze their likenesses in bronze to stand against time. Now, the fallen of America's military are also being memorialized in electronic ether.
Since the war in Afghanistan began, traditional monuments have been joined by dozens of Internet sites that offer new ways to remember, honor or simply learn about fallen troops. Some sites are elaborate, offering not only individual stories culled from the media about every U.S. service member killed, but even the ability to do things such as figure out how many were lost in each province of Iraq. Others are simple lists of the names or a tribute to a single dead service member.
Posted by courier at 11:56 PM. Filed under: News
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By Rick LaPlante,
New Haven School District Public Information Officer
James Logan High School students will raise money for victims of the earthquake in China and the cyclone in Myanmar and also conduct a bone-marrow drive during “Be the Change” Week, starting Tuesday, May 27.
Juniors Suzanne Wu and Jane Tian, members of teacher Sarah Du’s C4 (Chinese Connections to Community and Culture) Club, came up with the idea for the fund-raising drive to aid victims of the earthquake, which quickly was expanded to include victims of the cyclone in Myanmar. Second-period classes will serve as collection points for the fund-raiser, Logan Principal Don Montoya explained, and members of the C4 Club will coordinate the effort.
Posted by courier at 01:48 PM. Filed under: News
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By Rick LaPlante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer
Eastin Elementary has joined an elite group of California schools receiving the highest possible score for academic achievement, according to the latest report on standardized test scores released today by the California Department of Education.
The state today released the 2007 Academic Performance Index (API) "base reports," including 1-10 rankings comparing individual schools, both to schools across the state (“statewide rankings”) and to schools that are demographically similar (“similar-schools rankings”). Rankings are based on API scores from STAR (Standardized Test and Results) tests taken last spring.
Eastin became the first school in the New Haven Unified School District to receive a statewide ranking of 10, up from 9 for the past several years.
Posted by courier at 11:57 AM. Filed under: News
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By Rick LaPlante,
New Haven Schools Public Information Officer
The Board of Education on Tuesday night heard an update on District budget development in the wake of the revisions to the proposed state budget presented last week by Governor Schwarzenegger.
Chief Business Officer Carol Gregorich told the Board that while the revision is less devastating to public education than the proposal presented in January, it still includes a significant reduction in funding. Many observers are concerned that the situation will get worse, because the governor is relying on a huge increase in lottery proceeds or a sales-tax increase that would not take effect in time to prevent mid-year cuts in 2008-09.
Posted by courier at 08:05 AM. Filed under: News
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By Patrick Hannigan,
Courier Advisor
When, more than two years ago, we began the experiment of making
The Courier the first and only daily, year-round high school news source in the world, we had fewer than 100 visitors per day to our website for several months.
We thought that was a pretty good-sized audience.
Posted by courier at 05:35 PM. Filed under: News
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Courier Staff Report
Logan teachers Vicky Medina, Stacey Diaz, Stephanie Papas and Leslie Crisfield are this years House Teachers of the Year, it was announced Monday.
As the top vote-getter, Medina is Logan's nominee for District Teacher of the Year.
The four were elected to the honorary positions by their faculty colleagues, after being nominated along with dozens of other teachers and counselors by students, colleagues and others during STAR testing last month. A panel of selected educators reviewed hundreds of nomination forms and narrowed the field of nominees to three from each house before a faculty election last week chose the four winners.
Posted by courier at 08:59 AM. Filed under: News
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Courier Staff Report
Campaign signs for ASB candidates again festooned the James Logan High School campus Monday, signaling the beginning of Associated Student Body elections that culminate with the results of online voting which starts today.
Thirty-one Logan students are vying for 12 student government offices.
For a list of candidates, click "Read More."
Posted by courier at 11:34 AM. Filed under: News
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By Robert Patrick and David Hunn
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MCT)
ST. LOUIS — A federal grand jury in Los Angeles Thursday returned an indictment against Lori Drew of O'Fallon, Mo., in the MySpace case that ended in the suicide of Megan Meier.
Drew, 49, was named in a four-count indictment that charges one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization to obtain information to inflict emotional distress on Meier, who was referred to in the indictment only as M.T.M.
Posted by courier at 08:59 AM. Filed under: News
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Members of the Improv Club sold
desserts and club shirts.
Rebecca Soltau/Courier Photo and
Najia Qadir, Courier Staff Writer
Despite scorching heat and long lines, this year's Unity Fair provided good times for students and staff while they learned about about some of the cultures represented at James Logan High School.
The event was "very successful, I think," said Francis Rojas, Logan's leadership teacher and faculty organizer of the fair.
Posted by courier at 01:31 PM. Filed under: News
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By Rick LaPlante,
New Haven Schools Public Information Officer
Full-day kindergarten, successfully piloted this year at Pioneer Elementary School, will be adopted at three more schools – Alvarado Elementary, Hillview Crest Elementary and Kitayama Elementary – for the 2008-09 school year, the New Haven Unified School District announced today.
Acting on studies showing that full-day kindergarten can lead to increased student achievement and accelerated behavioral and social development, New Haven Unified – in a cooperative effort with the New Haven Teachers Association – piloted seven full-day classes this year at Pioneer, where 138 kindergartners are enrolled.
Posted by courier at 11:40 AM. Filed under: News
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President George W. Bush, right,
and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert visit the Masada fortress.
(Ariel Jerozolimski/Flash 90/MCT)
JERUSALEM — President Bush took the occasion of Israel's 60th anniversary on Thursday to denounce calls for the United States to talk to Iran and other radical forces in the region as "appeasement" and a "foolish delusion."
In a speech to Israel's parliament, Bush compared the calls — by some leading Democrats — for talks with Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas to those who sought to negotiate with Adolf Hitler.
"We have an obligation to call this what it is — the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history," Bush said in his 20-minute speech.
Posted by courier at 12:01 PM. Filed under: News
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Leadership students served breakfast
to Logan's teachers and others.
Courier Photo
James Logan’s teachers started their Day of the Teacher this morning with a hot breakfast dished up by Leadership students.
According to the California Teachers Association, the Day of the Teacher “arose out of legislation co-sponsored by CTA and the Association of Mexican American Educators. Sen. Joseph Montoya (D-El Monte) wrote the bill and it was adopted in 1982 as Senate Bill 1546. California has patterned its celebration after the traditional “El Dia del Maestro” festivities observed in Mexico and other Latin American countries.”
Posted by courier at 12:23 PM. Filed under: News
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Courier Staff Report
A surge of activity on The Courier's website triggered the suspension of the online high school newspaper's account Tuesday, leaving would-be readers without access to the site and its stories.
A technician at Visionhead Technologies, The Courier's hosting service, said "The system had suspended the account because it is using up too many resources."
"I noticed that I couldn't access the website at around 6 a.m.," said Patrick Hannigan, the newspaper's faculty advisor. " We started getting complaints from readers at around 7 a.m."
Posted by courier at 07:41 PM. Filed under: News
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By Rebecca Soltau,
Entertainment Editor
Let’s face it, my fellow seniors. We’re all looking forward to getting out. We long for freedom from train-like minute bells and the “No Hat” rule. Even though we do like the diversity and unique-ness that is Logan, we want to go, just like the various decades of senior classes did before us.
Posted by courier at 10:19 AM. Filed under: News
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Shopping carts full of donated
shoes await shipment.
Pepper Moto/Courier PhotoBy Christina La,
Courier Editor-in-Chief
Shoes collected as part of a shoe drive begun early last month at James Logan High School to help the hurting children in Africa are about ready to be shipped.
This event is sponsored by Soles 4 Souls, a non-profit organization that offers shoes to the needy around the world.
Posted by courier at 03:27 PM. Filed under: News
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By Jennifer Torres,
Courier Staff Writer
The end of Tuesday, April 29 marked the official conclusion of the STAR testing week. Logan administrators and students were able to breathe a sigh of relief as the final bell rang.
"Yes! I'm so glad it's over, I will never have to take STAR testing ever again," said Alexis Cassilles, a junior.
Feelings were not mutual for the seniors who were not required to take the test.
"I loved coming to school late, I got to catch up on my beauty sleep," Jessica Yano, a senior.
Posted by courier at 09:15 AM. Filed under: News
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Before (top) and after imagery from
NASA's Terra satellite show a
landscape transformed when
Cyclone Nargis made landfall
in Myanmar. NASA photos.
NEW DELHI — With the death toll in cyclone-ravaged Myanmar passing 22,000 and foreign aid only beginning to reach victims, anger is surging against the isolated country's longtime military rulers, analysts said Tuesday.
But what form that frustration might take — and whether it could lead to the political change long sought by protesting monks and democracy campaigners — remains unclear as thousands in the southeast Asian nation struggle simply to cope with the aftermath of the disaster.
"People in general are quite frustrated and angry, but I cannot say whether that will lead to street protests," said Soe Myint, editor of the
Mizzima News, a New Delhi-based Myanmar news publication run by exiles. "People right now are fighting just for their survival."
Posted by courier at 08:11 AM. Filed under: News
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Alex Cho, second from right, won
a trip to Washington D.C.
,
Courier Staff Writer
Senior Alex Cho has stood apart from the four‑thousand-plus student population of James Logan and claimed victory at the twenty‑sixth annual
Congressional Art Competition, An Artistic Discovery. His success has won him a trip to Washington D.C.,where he will see his art work on display in the U.S. Capitol.
The Congressional Art Competition is an annual art contest hosted by the House of Representatives that recognizes the artistic talents of high school artists across the nation. Local contests are held within each district,and the winning entries from all districts are displayed at the U.S. Capitol for a year.In Logan’s case,only one piece of art work was allowed for submission into the contest.
Posted by courier at 01:59 PM. Filed under: News
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By Rick La Plante,
New Haven Schools Public Information Officer
The Board of Education on Tuesday night heard a report from the Education Services Department about the work done this year to develop a comprehensive interventions model at the elementary, middle and high school levels. Nancy George, Director of Adult Education and Intervention Services, explained how three tiers of intervention - benchmark, strategic and intensive - are being used to support struggling students.
Posted by courier at 12:03 PM. Filed under: News
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Teacher Maria Cullinane uses an
electronic blackboard to help
Cliffside Park, New Jersey sixth
grader Alexander Velasquez learn
math in preparation for a state exam.
Carmine Galasso/The Record/MCT
HACKENSACK, N.J. — School districts eager to boost scores and keep pace with federal mandates are using computer games, electronic blackboards and even pep rallies to prepare students for state exams.
Technology in particular has become a mainstay for some schools as they prepare students for an acronym soup of tests.
For example, in late April and early May, students in the fifth through seventh grades in Bergen and Passaic counties will take the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge, or ASK, while eighth-graders will round out the year with the Grade Eight Proficiency Assessment, or GEPA.
Posted by courier at 02:45 PM. Filed under: News
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By Oscar Avila
Chicago Tribune (MCT)
MEXICO CITY — While Mexican immigrants led the charge in Chicago and other cities Thursday to push the U.S. government to treat illegal immigrants more humanely, the same demands for immigrant rights are festering in Mexico, which is facing mounting international criticism for how it treats Latin American migrants.
In April, diplomats from El Salvador and Honduras formally protested after dozens of their citizens accused Mexican authorities of brutality while they were detained.
That same month, the top UN advocate for migrant rights toured the country and proclaimed that "the impunity with which Mexico victimizes Central American immigrants makes it the principal violator of human rights on the American continent."
Posted by courier at 12:11 PM. Filed under: News
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By Pablo Bachelet
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)
WASHINGTON — Tucked into a vast public lands measure approved by Congress last week was a bill that thrilled Hispanic lawmakers and activists.
The legislation, which the White House is expected to approve, creates a 23-member panel to study the viability of a National Museum of the American Latino Community in Washington. Proponents hope the museum will rise above the din of the illegal immigration debate to highlight the contributions to U.S. society by the 45 million-strong Latino community.
"This could really happen," said Florida Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. "We could really make this come true."
Posted by courier at 09:09 AM. Filed under: News
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By Mandy Locke
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Tilden Hagan spends his days cruising college campuses trying to pick up students.
His line: Let me tell you about my mom.
Before they can answer, Tilden Hagan, a 25-year-old Duke University alumnus with shaggy hair, launches into a speech about the ills of America's health care system, lack of financial aid for students and slow progress in making energy green. He insists his mother, Kay
Hagan, can fix what's broken with America and tells them she needs their vote in the May 6 Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate.
Posted by courier at 09:05 AM. Filed under: News
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By Rick La Plante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer
Rosa Thompson, who for more than 20 years has played a crucial role in the English as a Second Language Program at Barnard-White Middle School, was named today as one of the six inaugural winners of California’s Classified School Employees of the Year program.
“The state obviously wanted to set the bar high as they started this award, and they’ve set it very high indeed by making Rosa one of the recipients,” said Derek McNamara, Associate Superintendent for Personnel Services for the New Haven Unified School District. “Rosa’s work has directly benefitted hundreds of students during her career, and we’re immensely proud of her.”
Learn about all of the winners from the website of Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell.
Posted by courier at 12:12 PM. Filed under: News
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