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Published on 07/28/1999 All articles from this issue

Demolition makes way for new buildings, quad

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By Linda Taaffe / Town Crier Staff Writer

Schools Roundup

New Principal at St. Nicholas Catholic School

Mary Williams will take over as principal at St. Nicholas Catholic School in Los Altos Hills this Sunday. She will replace Sister Barbara Nixon, who announced her resignation last March after serving as principal at St. Nicholas School the past three years.

Mary Merkert, vice principal of St. Nicholas, said a committee including diocese officials, school staff and community members selected Williams from about 10 applicants.

Williams, who attended Catholic schools, is a graduate of Santa Clara University. She earned her teaching credential at Hayward State University and her master's degree in education and administration from San Jose State University.

Merkert said Williams has both teaching and administrative experience. She taught in the San Jose Unified School District for the past six years and is currently serving as principal of the Santa Clara County Summer School program.

"She's very, very bright, enthusiastic and forward thinking," Merkert said. "She has a high energy level."

Foothill's graduation rate up 8 percent

Residents passing by Los Altos High School this month might have noticed something missing - the campus quad, cafeteria and multipurpose building. A construction crew demolished the buildings surrounding the school's quad July 16 in preparation for the renovation of the quad and the construction of a new multi-use building and library.

The planned multi-use building will include a 350-seat auditorium, a new kitchen, a student dining and staff room and a quad area. The theater will feature a 1,350-square-foot expandable stage capable of seating 90 musicians for concerts. The library will be 13,000-square-feet, according to construction plans.

The demolition of Mountain View High School's multipurpose room and cafeteria was scheduled for this month in preparation for quad upgrades and a new multi-use building and library.

The project at Los Altos is budgeted for $8.1 million and the project at Mountain View for $8.3 million.

Officials said both quads are scheduled to be completed by fall 2000.

The renovation and construction of each school quad is part of the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District's five-year, $58 million construction program.

More students than ever before donned caps and gowns on June 25 during Foothill College's graduation ceremony. Approximately 560 students earned degrees from the community college this year - that's 8 percent more than last year and 67 percent more than five years ago, school officials said.

This year's graduates have transferred to every campus of the California State University system, officials said. Some transferred to the University of California campuses at Berkeley, Los Angeles, Santa Cruz, San Diego and Davis as well as to Cornell, Columbia and Stanford universities.

The students enrolled in the Foothill Middle College Program had a college acceptance rate of more than 90 percent, officials said.

IN BRIEF: Mathematics students at De Anza College took second place nationally in the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges Student Mathematics League competition recently held on campus. Students at Pasadena City College took first place.