The James Logan Courier

By Shay Quillen
San Jose Mercury News (MCT)

SAN JOSE, Calif. — While other high school kids in Santa Monica, Calif., were listening to Green Day and starting up garage bands, Chris Chu was immersing himself in the Beatles and the Beach Boys and educating himself in music theory.

He missed out on groupies, but he got a solid grounding in how to craft a pop song. When he finally got around to writing songs, while pursuing a music degree at the University of California-Berkeley, he quickly generated buzz on the indie-rock blogosphere. Then he and the others in his band, the Morning Benders, had to learn to be a working band.

"We didn't know anything about how booking stuff worked, or promoting and all that," says Chu, 22. "It was just playing with friends."

LUNCH
Featured entrée selections include Pasta, Pizza, Chicken Teriyaki & Veggie Chow Mein, Burgers, Chicken Strips & various Deli items. Lunches include a variety of fruits, veggies and milk.

MISCELLANEOUS
Reminder Students: Be sure you check out with your teacher. Students are being dropped from classes but they are NOT checking out or returning books.

Students, remember there is a dress code at Logan. Strapless tops or shirts with spaghetti straps are not allowed. Logan has a NO HEADGEAR policy except for unaltered Logan headgear. Non-Logan headgear that is worn or visible will be confiscated. Remember, Off and Away for cell phones and all electronic devices. These can only be used before school, during lunch, and after school.

By Rick LaPlante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer

Hillview Crest Elementary School recorded one of the most dramatic improvements in student achievement in the state – a remarkable 71-point gain – and Alvarado Middle School jumped 38 points to join the “800 Club” according to Academic Performance Index (API) scores released today by the California Department of Education.

As a whole, the New Haven Unified School District recorded double-digit improvement for the third time in four years, jumping 13 points. Every sub-group improved, including African American students by 22 points, socio-economically disadvantaged students by 17, English learners by 12 and Hispanics by 11. Scores also improved among whites (24 points), Asians (14), Pacific Islanders (8), Filipinos (7) and students with disabilities (4).

Compiled from Courier staff reports

Overcrowding in classrooms is being addressed by counselors, who are laboring to "level" out the most crowded classrooms by reassigning students, Vice Principal Matt Smith announced to the school this morning, but it hasn't happened quickly enough to prevent annoyance and frustration among students and teachers.

In an email to staff, Smith wrote, "Many of you have commented on the large class sizes that we've opened with. While to a some extent this was expected, our hard-working counselors are actively trying to reduce and balance class sizes where possible."

From wikipedia:
Gerald Stanley Wilson is an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer/arranger, and educator. He has been based in Los Angeles since the early 1940s.

Wilson was born in Shelby, Mississippi on September 4, 1918. He graduated from Cass Technical High School in Detroit. Wilson joined the Jimmie Lunceford orchestra in 1939, replacing its star trumpeter and arranger Sy Oliver. While with Lunceford, he contributed numbers to the band's book, including "Hi Spook" and "Yard-dog Mazurka," the latter being a big influence on Stan Kenton's recording "Intermission Riff."

The Dozens: Essential Gerald Wilson, by Jeff Sultanof, free from jazz.com.