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Published on 03/15/1999 All articles from this issue

LASD approves play structure at Oak School

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By Linda Taaffe / Town Crier Staff Writer

Schools Roundup

Students at Oak School can expect to swing, slide and climb on a new play structure this spring. The Los Altos School District Board of Trustees approved the remodel of the school's play structure at its regular meeting March 1 after putting the plan on hold last month.

Board members opted to postpone a go-ahead for the project at the regular meeting Feb. 8 after hearing neighbor concerns about the height and placement of the proposed playground piece. The board requested that the Parent-Teacher Association consult with the structure's manufacturer, Ross Recreation, to explore other design and placement options.

After examining those alternatives last week, board members agreed that the original placement and design were the safest plans for students.

The new equipment will be added to a portion of the existing structure that the PTA helped to install seven years ago on the west side of the school's yard, about 40 feet from the closest neighbor. Plans for the new addition include two 6-foot covered platforms, slides and an assortment of climbing pieces.

In addition to the structure, the board approved the placement of a new ground cover around the structure and agreed to give the PTA a short-term loan to cover a portion of the initial installation costs. The PTA also agreed to plant hedges along the play area property boundaries in order to mitigate the structure's impact on the neighbors.

Parent Carl Hess said the PTA planned to install the structure over spring break this April.

St. Nicholas students explore science at fair

Lollipops, rats, paint balls and plants: St. Nicholas School in Los Altos Hills looked more like a scientist's laboratory than an elementary school earlier this month when students in grades seven and eight displayed two and a half months' worth of research and experiments at the annual Science Fair March 1.

Science teacher Angie Chen said the final results "surprised me. This is really a forum to have students shine, show their creativity."

As part of their science curriculum, eighth grade students worked on physical science projects of their choice and seventh grade students worked on earth and life science projects of their choice. A visiting panel of judges from various science fields came to the school to judge the projects based on creativity, scientific value, how well the science inquiry process was carried out and what students had learned.

"The purpose is to have the students explore the whole process of how to do research," Chen said.

Chen said the event provided students the opportunity to turn their hobbies into science projects.

That's exactly what eighth grader Brendan Jiminez did. He tested at what angle a paint ball would shoot the farthest distance. Chen said his experiment was simple but expressed clearly. Jiminez won first place in the eighth grade division.

Seven students won awards at the fair. First place winners were, Brendan Jiminez, grade 8, and Matthew Weiss, grade 7; second place winners were Brittany Follett, grade 8, and Katie Giebler and Gabriela Olvarrieta, grade 7; third place winners were, Andrew Essary, grade 8, and Lauren Riccoboni, grade 7.

Schedules won't affect Cupertino School

The proposal to alter junior high school schedules in the Cupertino Union School District that drew criticism from parents last week will have little impact on Cupertino Junior High, according to a district spokeswoman.

The district began looking at scheduling changes last year after agreeing to add grade six to its junior high campuses this school year. District officials said scheduling changes were needed in order to equalize instructional minutes among the schools as required by state law, lower class sizes and grant teachers common time to exchange ideas.

A school committee presented four alternative schedules to the board at the regular meeting March 9 that could shave a couple of minutes from each class period - reducing weekly instructional time at some schools from 1,750 minutes to 1,575 minutes and limiting the number of electives students take.

Cupertino, which serves students in south Los Altos, already has a minimal schedule in place that provides for common time for teachers and two elective periods for students. The school's class average is among the lowest in the district, with an average of 29 students per class, the spokeswoman said.

"Cupertino will probably end up with a schedule similar to its own," she said.

The alternative schedules are slated to take effect at the start of the next academic year, she said.