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Published on 04/07/1999 All articles from this issue

St. Nicholas begins work on new science building

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By Linda Taaffe

Town Crier Staff Writer

Schools Roundup

he dirt was flying at St. Nicholas Catholic Elementary School in Los Altos Hills last Thursday as students armed themselves with hard hats and shovels to break ground for the school's new science and extended care building.

The new 3,674-square-foot building will replace the parking lot alongside Pritchard Hall at the front of the school and will feature a computer lab, office space and an extended care area.

"This is a new phase of life (for the school)," said the school principal, Sister Barbara Nixon, during the groundbreaking ceremony.

The new building will be the fourth construction project to take place on the campus since the school was built 45 years ago, Nixon said. She said the last construction project took place 13 years ago with the addition of Pritchard Center.

Nixon said a 1995 school study showed that St. Nicholas needed an updated science building and room for extended care.

"The world of learning changes as fast as you can click a computer mouse," Nixon said. "We want to offer the very best. The new building will be a place where the world of science will unfold."

Geography winner moves on to state level

Ask Joshua Lu the location of any city in the world, and chances are he'll know its climate, latitude and economic vitality, too. The Springer School fifth-grader was among the 100 students statewide to qualify for the state level of the National Geography Bee sponsored annually by the National Geographic Society. The competition will take place Friday in Sacramento.

Organizers say advancing to the state level is no easy feat, especially for a fifth-grader.

"Not too many (fifth-graders) qualify for the state level. It does happen, but only if a kid is really into it," said Dan Haley, who helped organize the school-level competition at the Los Altos School District.

Teacher Cathy Miller said Joshua is the first student to advance to the state competition during the five years she has been at Springer.

"It's tough, but I wasn't totally surprised," Miller said. "He's strong in this area."

The 12-year-old competition is open to students in grades 4-8, Haley said, with the first rounds taking place at the school level.

Only one student from each school may take the written examination to try to qualify for the state-level competition, Haley said. Only 100 of those students may move on to the state competition.

If Joshua wins the state competition, he will move on to the national competition this May in Washington, D.C., where he will compete against one winner from each state. "Jeopardy" game show host Alex Trebek will host the game, which will air on local PBS stations.

Main Street Singers on tour in Europe

Los Altos High School's Main Street Singers started their 17-day tour in Europe last Sunday. The 28-member choral group is scheduled to perform 11 concerts throughout Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Director Mark Andrew Shaull said this year's tour is "a big deal." Shaull said this is the 15th year that the group has traveled overseas to perform. At the end of the trip, the group will have performed more than 200 international concerts in 44 countries on six continents since its founding, he said.

"This is a great group of kids with a great commitment," Shaull said.

He said members practice every weekday and rehearsed 85 hours outside of class last month in preparation for the tour.

The group, which sings Renaissance to contemporary songs in 20 languages and performs about 100 concerts each year, has built an international reputation over the years, Shaull said

He said the group has been invited to perform with the Beijing Youth Philharmonic in China; the San Felice Orchestra; and the Lima Philharmonic in Peru.

This year's group was recently invited to perform in a PBS special with Walter Cronkite, which will air later this year, he said.

Shaull said about 150 students typically audition for a spot in the choral each year. Only about 28 make it.

Shaull said this year's members raised about $1,500 each for the tour and for the group's general operating budget.

IN BRIEF: Students at Oak School raised approximately $40,000 during their annual walk-a-thon and silent auction last month. Students logged in a total of 14,130 laps, or 3,432 miles at the event held at the school. All proceeds will go toward the construction of the school's new play structure.