The James Logan Courier

By Howard Blume
Los Angeles Times (MCT)

LOS ANGELES — As he offered a routine explanation of corporations in a recent class, high school economics teacher Dan Schlick hardly came across as subversive.

But just by directly talking to students, just by teaching them, Schlick was part of a self-styled staff revolt in the closing days of a Hawthorne, Calif., school nicknamed Hip Hop High.

The teacher "rebellion" against an online-only curriculum marked a final stage at the Academy for Recording Arts, a school that first became known for giving troubled students access to an on-campus recording studio.

By Mark Seibel
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

WASHINGTON — BP pulled 25,290 barrels of oil from its runaway Deepwater Horizon site on Thursday, the company said Friday — a high point in its collection efforts but one that adds to the uncertainty over how much oil is flooding into the Gulf of Mexico and whether the Obama administration is prepared for the worst-case scenario.

The new number would suggest that BP is now recovering between 42 percent and 70 percent of the oil surging from the well, if the most recent government estimate that the well is spewing between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels of oil a day is accurate. BP's live video feed from the leak, however, continues to show dark clouds of crude oil and natural gas pouring into the water.

By Rick La Plante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer

The Board of Education on Tuesday night approved a 2010-11 budget that - despite another round of cuts imposed by the state - minimizes a planned increase in class sizes in kindergarten through third grade, saving the jobs of more than 40 teachers.

The $99 million budget - down from $108 million as recently 2008-09 - also enables the District to retain transportation for the middle school students who live farthest from their schools, for the 2010-11 school year only. It also enables the District to postpone for one more year the planned elimination of stipends for after-school activities, until 2012-13.

By Rick La Plante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer

Working together to resolve an issue that would have disrupted and distracted students during testing next spring, the New Haven Unified School District and the New Haven Teachers Association have agreed on a change to the 2010-11 instructional calendar.

As approved Tuesday night by the Board of Education, schools will be closed for spring break April 4-8, 2011, instead of April 25-29, as originally called for in the collective bargaining agreement between the District and NHTA. The change will keep students from having to miss a week of school in the middle of the state- and federally mandated testing window.

By Rick La Plante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer

John Hazatone, who has 14 years of experience as an elementary school principal, has been hired as principal at Hillview Crest Elementary. The New Haven Unified School District Board of Education approved the appointment Tuesday night.

“We are very excited to welcome John to New Haven,” Superintendent Kari McVeigh said. “His tremendous experience, and his knowledge and enthusiasm, will be a perfect fit for the Hillview Crest family – students parents and staff.”

By Rick La Plante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer

Despite being forced by the state to make yet another round of budget reductions, the New Haven Unified School District will be able to reduce a planned increase in class sizes in kindergarten through third grade in 2010-11, saving the jobs of more than 40 teachers, according to the spending plan that will be presented Tuesday night to the Board of Education.

Pending Board approval, the District also will be able to retain transportation for middle school students for 2010-11 and postpone for one more year the planned elimination of stipends for after-school activities, until 2011-12, Superintendent Kari McVeigh said.

By Erika Bolstad
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

WASHINGTON — BP knew its Macondo well was troublesome in the days leading up to a fatal April 20 blowout, congressional investigators found, but the company "appears to have made multiple decisions for economic reasons that increased the danger of a catastrophic well failure."

From the company's uncommon well design to its fatal decision not to circulate drilling mud, which could have cleared out pockets of gas, and the lack of critical testing, which could have pinpointed problems with its cementing, the company had many points at which it could have prevented an explosion, investigators with the House Energy and Commerce Committee have found.

By Raja Abdulrahim
Los Angeles Times (MCT)

LOS ANGELES — The Muslim Student Union at the University of California at Irvine should be suspended for one year for its involvement in repeated disruptions of a February speech by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren, according to a disciplinary report released by the university.

The Muslim Student Union has appealed the recommendation.

The speech about U.S.-Israeli relations was interrupted 10 times by students who got up and yelled out things like, "Michael Oren, propagating murder is not an expression of free speech."

By Sabina Singh, Courier Comics Editor

In the past, the district had to cut out school bus transportation and other things in order to balance the district budget. Now, after the latest revision of the state budget, the New Haven Unified School District will be laying off teachers. The lay offs will be taking effect in the 2010-2011 school year.

Teachers were notified in March about the lay offs. Most of the teachers who are being laid off are teachers who were hired this year or ones with temporary contracts. The departments facing the biggest cuts are the Math and English departments.

By Brandie Moore, Courier Books Editor

James Hansen started teaching at Logan in the fall of 1976. Now after 34 years of working at James Logan High School, he will be retiring.

Hansen is a well-known teacher throughout the school. He is a teacher that students admire and like. Kids have fun in his class because Hansen doesn't just teach. he also jokes around with the class and makes his class fun.

Asked what he thought of Logan students, he said, "I get along with most of them through humor and hopefully they're learning."

By Ranjana Prasad, Courier Staff Writer

Stand-out members of the James Logan Forensic Team are on their way to the 2010 National Forensic League National Championship in Kansas City, Missouri.

Members of the forensic team left Wednesday for this five-day tournament that is being held from June 14 to June 18. This is the last tournament for the 2009-2010 school year.

Two of the Logan's duo teams are in transit to the competition.

By Laurel Brodzinsky, Courier Staff Writer
Second of two parts


Recent changes to the AP and Honors program have resulted in an opening up of those classes to more people. Those who previously would have been limited because of not completing extensive pre-requisites or being GATE-identified earlier now can sign up for higher level courses. Opinions on these changes vary among teachers, staff, and students.

Honors teachers hosted a meeting with prospective students today to explain the programs.

By Laurel Brodzinsky, Courier Staff Writer

Part One of Two

On a Tuesday last month, administrators and teachers met to discuss changes to the James Logan Advanced Placement and Honors programs.

The administration is attempting to open up the AP and Honors classes to all students, getting rid of the process of teacher recommendations and applications to get into them. Gifted and Talented Education- identified (GATE) students were previously funneled into these classes automatically, while others had to work to get into them. The theory was that GATE-identified students were the most fit for college level or higher level classes, and would be most successful. However, some have now brought out issues with the GATE testing discriminating against students from certain socioeconomic and racial backgrounds.

By Shamal Asnani, Courier Film Critic

As we approach the end of the school year here at James Logan High school, the school is not only saying goodbye to the graduating class of 2010, but also 10th Grade counselor Sharon Hope, who is retiring this year.

Hope started her job as a counselor at James Logan in August of 1974, at the age of twenty-three. Although she had heard the school was looking to hire someone with teaching experience, something she did not possess, she still applied and received the job. She noted that when she first started working here, the school was not exactly in the best shape. However, after taking a brief break from Logan to work at the district’s elementary schools as a counselor, she returned to a much different, yet familiar environment. Upon her return she immediately noticed that the schools attendance record had skyrocketed to 98 %, and that the campus was contaminated by many fewer fights.

By Alexys Cran, Courier Staff Writer

Next year, the house structure of Logan will be returning to a three house model instead of the current four house structure organized around grade levels. These changes will be made to address and correct problems, mainly in counseling, clerical staffing, and in parent feedback.

By Jericho Faustino, Courier Staff Writer

There are a number of students graduating from James Logan this year. Some of them have scholarships, but not as much as Nicholas Staib. He has eight of them.

Senior, Nicholas Staib, leads Logan with the most scholarships, with Justin Chan and Nargis Hakeem right behind him with five scholarships apiece.

"It feels good, like an accomplishment," saidť Nicholas Staib on receiving the scholarships. "It wasn't very easy. You need to write a lot of essays, and paper work, and meet deadlines to stay on top of the scholarship."

By Alyssa Pimentel, Courier Staff Writer

By the autumn of 2011, the Logan campus will be the site two schools: the current James Logan and a "school-within-a-school" currently in the development stage. The smaller school would kind of act like a magnet school, creating what administrators and others hope will be a “small, individualized education” experience, as requested by the community.

Jessica Lange, one of the teachers that are helping design this school, said it is a work in progress. “Right now, we’re still at the planning stage of everything,” she said, “So there really isn’t much information to give.” Others that are in the planning committee are teachers Alicia Elbert, Jodie Schwartzfrab, Erin Cross, Dorothy Allen, Ed Raco, Stephanie Papas and Principal Amy McNamara.

By Eric Brown, Courier Staff Writer

It’s June once again, a time of year where nearly all of Logan’s attention is devoted to seniors who are nearing their departure date. The impending graduation ceremony, however, obscures other losses in the Logan community, notably the retirement of Logan teacher Mary Jo Von Pinnon. After dedicating 13 years of her life to the Colt community Von Pinnon, known by many students as Ms. Von, is preparing to call it quits but has many memories from her time spent at Logan.

When Von Pinnon came to Logan in November 1997 she had a considerable amount of work experience, having taught for five years and then worked in the fashion and retail industry for 15 years. Despite her prior work experience Von Pinnon encountered initial difficulty at Logan, stepping into Foods and Keyboarding classes where “there had not been a regular teacher from the beginning of the year and the kids were wild”. Von Pinnon is the first to admit that she was not a computer expert at the time and thanks the help other faculty members gave her.

By Allen Chan, Courier Staff Writer

Ten years ago a school lunch cost $1.50. It was very affordable for the youth and guaranteed a substantial amount of nutrition. Four years later it increased to $2.50 due to the California’s shortage of revenue. The price was still affordable and students were willing to pay the extra amount because the lunches satisfied the stomach. However, six years later everything changed.

The current price for a school lunch cost $3.75. Within ten years the price has more than doubled. A student who purchases lunch everyday would have to spend $18.75 a week, $75.00 a month, and $787.5 in a school year. If one were to multiply the cost by thirteen, for every year a student attends school, the amount would come out to $10,211.50 by the time a student crosses the stage.

By Rick La Plante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer
The Board of Education on Tuesday night received an update on how Gov. Schwarzenegger’s proposed revisions to the state budget will affect New Haven schools in 2010-11.

The budget presented in January forced the District to make $3.6 million in new reductions for 2010-11, on top of $1.6 million in reductions previously approved for next year. Chief Business Officer Akur Varadarajan told the Board that the May revise could cost the District an additional $550,000 in lost revenue.