Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Pleasant Hill mom Maura Houston took matters into her own hands when she noticed a lack of information on the Gregory Gardens Elementary School website. So she built her own.
Maura Houston is a crafty mom, from the handmade coffee-cup earrings to the pink knitting she keeps in the purse at her feet. Houston is just as creatively virtually as she is in real life. The mother of two runs her own business as a graphic artist, designing everything from textile patterns to the visuals for social games. The moon-jumping cows and scarf-wearing frogs on your pajamas? They could be Houston's work. So too could be the colorful characters in the latest Facebook game. But her most recent project falls a little closer to home here in Pleasant Hill. In fact, it fell right out of her daughter's backpack. Houston's newly launched website — Pleasant Hill Mom — takes the events and announcements that Gregory Gardens Elementary …
Monday, May 14, 2012
Expect road closures through arteries in Walnut Creek, Concord and Clayton as cyclists make way to Livermore finish line in the 7th annual AMGEN Tour of California Tuesday, May 15.
Update: 3:45 p.m. Monday with school cautions Professional bicycle racers from all over the world have descended upon California to battle their way through the 7th AMGEN Tour of California, which will have a leg pass Tuesday through Walnut Creek, Concord and Clayton, as racers make their way to the Livermore finish line. The race encompasses much of the state via three stages, with one here in the Bay Area. See the attached map for a detailed stage-3-route. In Walnut Creek On Tuesday, the route will thrust cyclists west of the summit of Mount Diablo, up South Gate Road and down North Gate Road in Walnut Creek to Oak Grove Road, and then eastbound on Ygnacio Valley Road. On the Danville-Alamo side earlier in the tour, there will be …
Friday, May 11, 2012
Improved Hunt Hall kicks off 50th anniversary of private school.
Officials snipped the green ribbon and then the crowd of parents and children crowded into the new Hunt Hall at Seven Hills School. It launches the private school's celebration of its 50th birthday, which was when Charles D. Hunt donated the money to buy the property. The new building will help students "grow their curiosity," said Headmaster Bill Miller. "We think this education is deep and rewarding and everlasting." Walnut Creek Mayor Bob Simmons congratulated parents for making "one of the best investments you can make." Also on hand for the ceremony were City Council member Kristina Lawson and Cindy Silva, and county Supervisor Karen Mitchoff. The new Hunt Hall includes: • a new classroom wing. • an enlarged gymnasium…
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-122.04733
Seven Hills School
975 N San Carlos Dr, Walnut Creek, CA
/articles/new-building-opens-at-seven-hills-school
114991
/locations/6995467
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
U.S. News & World Report Awards Medals to Both Schools
Las Lomas and Northgate were both named top high schools by U.S. News & World Report today. The publication released its 2012 list of the nation's best public high schools today, which includes information on nearly 22,000 schools from 49 states and the District of Columbia, according to the publication's website. In addition to ranking the schools, U.S. News & World Report awarded 4,850 bronze, silver, and gold stars to top performing schools. Of those, 500 were gold stars, with 97 gold stars going to California schools, according to the magazine's website. The publication awarded Las Lomas High School a gold medal, with a college readiness score of 46.6 out of 100. The school is ranked 457th nationally and 92nd statewide. Fifty-three …
School Arranging Reciprocal Exchange Program
As summer approaches, Northgate High School is seeking families interested in hosting exchange students from China. The students' stay will last 10 days, from July 11 - 21. The students are between the ages of 12 and 18 and will participate in an American Studies course held at the school. The school will provide host families with a small stipend. "This is a great chance to provide a short-term home experience for these students with a 'window to America,'" Northgate principal John McMorris said in an email sent to parents. Morris hopes the local host families will learn as much from the experience as the exchange students. "This is a golden opportunity to teach and learn with students from another country," McMorris said. This will be …
Friday, May 4, 2012
“If you play music, you’re doing something beautiful and worthwhile in the world." That was one message about music, art, life and humanity, delivered by top musicians Eliot Fisk and Richard Stoltzman to young musicians Monday.
During a special concert for middle school students at the Lesher Center for the Arts on Monday, world-renowned clarinetist Richard Stoltzman and classical guitar player Eliot Fisk performed a sampler of classical, jazz, modern and folk music. While displaying exquisite technique, the two virtuosos also took questions and offered valuable lessons about the craft of performance, the thrill of artistic expression and music’s essential role in society and in a happy, meaningful life. “How many of you play music because you feel something deep inside that you want to express?” Fisk asked the excited audience of nearly 300 students, grades 6 through 8 from Rancho Medanos and Hillview junior high schools in Pittsburg. Many hands shot up. A few …
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
The solar panel project was officially dedicated at Northgate High School
Two rows of solar panels got a warm welcome by local dignitaries Tuesday at Northgate High School. The school's solar energy project was officially dedicated underneath the panels in the school's large main parking lot. "This is something special and something meaningful happening in our district," said Kish Rajan, the Walnut Creek City Council member who served as master of ceremonies. The panels are one of 51 solar projects in the Mt. Diablo Unified School District, all overseen by SunPower of Richmond. At Northgate High, there are 2,178 solar panels installed that produce a total capacity of 926 kilowatts. Company officials said the district-wide system will save the schools $200 million in electricity costs over the 30-year life of the…
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-122.00691
Northgate High School
425 Castle Rock Rd, Walnut Creek, CA
/articles/letting-the-sunshine-in
232091
/locations/6941297
Friday, April 27, 2012
See, that's a double entendre because A's is also the name of a baseball team once managed by Tony LaRussa, who founded the Animal Rescue Foundation, which is bringing the dogs for stressed-out Berkeley students to pet, OK?
You might be able to remember those biochem facts if, while you're staring at your laptop, you are simultaneously scratching a Scottie under the chin. That's the concept. Pet therapy dogs from Tony LaRussa's Animal Rescue Foundation of Walnut Creek will visit the U.C. Berkeley campus to calm the students in the week before finals. The week of dog therapy begins Monday, April 30. “Studies show that interaction with animals lowers blood pressure, reduces anxiety, improves physical and mental health, and gives a feeling of well-being," stated Pat Mills, ARF coordinator of the pet therapy program in a U.C. Berkeley press release. "The dogs will provide students with a huge stress relief, a wonderful fur fix and unconditional love.”
37.932207
-122.019592
Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation
2890 Mitchell Dr, Walnut Creek, CA
/articles/unconditional-love-studying-a-s
232127
/locations/6890907
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Students and other volunteers will pitch in to plant and put benches in for outdoor education memorial to 2 classmates who died in rafting accident.
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Thursday, April 26
Saturday is volunteer work day at Las Lomas High School. The senior class calls on students and community members to help build an outdoor memorial that evokes the memory of classmates Matt Miller and Gavin Powell, who died in a rafting accident in a rain-swollen urban creek channels in February 2011. The work day is 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. behind the Las Lomas library. "Since the concrete is already laid down, we will be putting the finishing touches on the memorial, which will be planting and putting the benches and table in," wrote senior class President Steven Maiuri in an email. "OC Jones will be there guiding everyone so everything should run smoothly. We would like everyone to come earlier rather than later to get a head start in the …
37.8907
-122.05762
Las Lomas High School
1460 S Main St, Walnut Creek, CA
/articles/las-lomas-rolls-up-its-sleeves-saturday
232118
/locations/6884967
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Creative writing program links Las Lomas students with Murwood first-graders.
There was a literary gathering of a matched inter-half-generational set last week, the biggest in its history. The first-graders and high schoolers — biographees and biographers — got together under the auspices of the Picture Book Program of the creative writing students at Las Lomas High. The high school students interview Murwood Elementary first-graders to prepare a picture book starring the first grader. And the high schooler-first grader bonds just happen naturally from there. They got together over milk and cookies on Friday, "approximately 95 (the biggest group ever!)" — said Ami Zensius, the creative writing teacher who collaborates with Murwood teachers Joy Inouye, Laura Miller, Erica Montgomery and Paula Shaw. The partnership …
37.882273
-122.046422
Murwood Elementary School
2050 Vanderslice Ave, Walnut Creek, CA
/articles/high-schoolers-write-stories-of-first-graders
232094
/locations/6852255
Ken Roberts
7:35 am on Tuesday, May 15, 2012
This is so cool Work at my office will end at 10 am. We will mount our rides and get up as far as we can on Mt. Diablo. Really hope this becomes a yearly thing. more ›