Tag Archives: Berkeley High School
Berkeley High seeks donations for annual Holiday Meal
Every year, dozens of Berkeley High School students produce a holiday meal extravaganza for some 300-500 homeless or low-income people and families in the Berkeley community. As well as preparing and serving a warming meal, the school offers clothing, books, shoes, toys, blankets and provides entertainment.
The annual Holiday Meal will take place on Saturday, Dec. 15, and the school needs donations. So far the organizers, the BHS Student Leadership Team, have collected almost $1,000 and over 500 pounds of food, but the goal is to reach 10,000 pounds of food before Dec. 14. … Continue reading »
“Wilder Times” at the Aurora: Engaging, thought-provoking
Four engaging one-act plays by Thornton Wilder, the three-time Pulitzer prize-winning author, give us insight into Wilder’s view of the ways in which American families live and struggle — for better or for worse. Add a terrific cast and wonderful direction by Barbara Oliver, and these plays come alive. Whether written in the 1930s or the 1960s, the Wilder Times one-act plays remain creative and fresh.
The first two plays, both written in 1962, Infancy and Childhood, show us what deficient parents we’ve had and what flawed parents we are to our children. Infancy and Childhood were written for Wilder’s Plays for Bleecker Street at the Circle in the Square Theater in Greenwich Village, where they were directed by the great José Quintero. Then and now, Wilder’s plays experiment with the private thoughts of his characters. … Continue reading »
Concussion training: Advice for parents, athletes, today
A recently published report suggests that 600,000 youth concussions occur yearly in the U.S., about double the 300,000 commonly estimated. The figure is extrapolated from a survey out of Massachusetts that found that 3,000 youth athletes from 164 schools suffered concussions last year.
Schools and parents try to take measures to protect their kids from potentially devastating concussions which happen across many sports, including, but not limited to, football, soccer and boxing. But, especially in football, the only true shield is to prevent the contacts that lead to the concussions in the first place. Even helmets don’t actually protect the brain. … Continue reading »
Two BHS students: Let’s hear more political viewpoints
Noah Shreiber and Isaac Lomprey, both sophomores at Berkeley High School, believe too many people are stuck in a political rut and aren’t particularly open to exploring other people’s perspectives. They decided to do something about it and formed the Diverse Political Views Club at the school. Now they’ve just pulled off their first coup: organizing a student-moderated mayoral forum on campus. All six of Berkeley’s wannabe mayors have said they will attend the forum, which takes place on Monday Oct. 29 at the BHS Library, 7:00-8:00 p.m., and is open to anyone who would like to know more about their potential local leaders. We caught up with Lomprey to find out more about what drove the pair to become so politically engaged.
You’re both sophomores at BHS in the Academic Choice school. How did you get to know each other?
Noah and I first met through our moms when we were very young, but later we got to know each other at summer camp, and started really being friends after we were in the same freshman biology class.
Why did you decide to form a Diverse Political Views Club?
We formed this club because Noah and I found that too many people are stuck in their own political ideologies and don’t dare to consider other viewpoints beside their own. … Continue reading »
Berkeley schools show gains on standard tests
The California Department of Education yesterday released its 2012 Accountability Progress Report, which show significant gains for Berkeley schools on both the state Annual Performance Index (API) and the federal Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). (Details of both district and individual school results for API and AYP can be seen on the state’s Accountability Progress Reporting site.)
Berkeley Unified School District had an overall growth of 19 points for a district-wide API of 810. Each of Berkeley’s elementary and middle schools exceeded the statewide API target of 800 or above. Berkeley High School, which went years without having enough students take the test to get an API, had a 19-point growth for a school API of 734, which was above the school’s target growth for the year. Only 30% of high schools in California exceeded an API of 800.
“I think these results are evidence that Berkeley is on the right track, that we’re making a difference for our kids,” said Co-Superintendent Neil Smith. “I think particularly looking at achievement all across elementary reading was a real strength for the district. Where we still have a lot of work to do is the high school.” … Continue reading »
Berkeley businesses join forces to support high school
What are you doing for lunch on Friday? One option is to head to Caffe Venezia and join a group of local business players who, for the second year running, have set themselves a goal of raising funds for the Berkeley High Development Group while enjoying good Italian fare and convivial conversation.
Architect Charles Kahn (Kahn Design Associates) co-founded BHSDG Business Partners last year with David Mayer of Mayer Laboratories. Mayer had been asked to take over “business outreach” for the Berkeley High School Development Group and he was stunned to find that, historically, only a few thousand dollars had been made available annually in direct donations to the group. He resolved to accept the assignment only if he could significantly improve the results.
“Berkeley High School is the only public high school in our community — we rely upon it for the education of our children and our employees’ children,” says Kahn. “We recognize it is in our self-interest to support Berkeley High.” The group also recognizes that the school has a national reputation for academic excellence, diversity and social enrichment. … Continue reading »
Coastal cleanup part of nation’s largest volunteer effort
It was California Coastal Cleanup Day on Saturday and locals of all ages turned out in the hundreds to help keep Bay Area beaches and waterways clear of trash.
The annual cleanup, orchestrated by the California Coastal Commission, is the state’s largest volunteer event. When combined with the International Coastal Cleanup, organized by Ocean Conservancy and taking place on the same day, California Coastal Cleanup Day becomes part of one of the largest volunteer events in the world.
A group of Berkeley High students joined dozens of volunteers down on the Berkeley Marina to clear garbage, and also made note of what they found. … Continue reading »
Berkeley goes back to school amid transitions
School started Wednesday for more than 9,400 students in Berkeley’s 11 elementary schools, three middle schools, and two high schools.
At Emerson Elementary School, students lined up on the playground in their class configurations and gave a big cheer of E-M-E-R-S-O-N, Emerson!, before entering their new classrooms.
2012-13 will be a year of transition for the district. The administration moved into new headquarters on Bonar Street in mid-August, and saw the retirement of Superintendent Bill Huyett a few days later. The search for a replacement has taken longer than expected, and the school board last week appointed two interim superintendents, both current administrators, to temporarily oversee the district. They are Javetta Cleveland, Deputy Superintendent, and Neil Smith, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services. … Continue reading »
Potential crisis at Berkeley High student paper is averted
A potential crisis has been averted at the Berkeley High student newspaper, the Jacket, after its staff succeeded in persuading school administrators to categorize it as a two-period class. This means the 100-year-old publication can continue to be published on the same schedule and with the same number of staff.
“We can run the Jacket as usual this year. I am so relieved,” said Dharini Rasiah, the faculty adviser to the Jacket, whose allocated time to the paper had been cut back, putting the paper’s future in jeopardy, according to some of its editors.
The Jacket has around 130 staff, 35 of whom are editors, and is published every other week and online. Because it is run as a class, it requires a faculty adviser with the requisite number of hours to handle the number of students. After Rasiah’s course load was changed before the beginning of this academic year, Jacket staff feared they would need to slash staff numbers to around 40 which would prevent them from publishing as frequently, if at all. … Continue reading »
Berkeley High student newspaper calls for more support
Students who manage Berkeley High School’s student newspaper, the Berkeley High Jacket, which is marking its 100th anniversary this year, say the publication is in crisis after the school withdrew part of its support.
The paper, which is published every other week and online, is categorized as a class and is therefore allocated a staff supervisor and a number of periods relating to the number of students who are registered for the class.
For the past three years, the paper’s faculty adviser has been advanced video teacher Dharini Rasiah. At the end of the last academic year, Berkeley High eliminated a media support services course which amounted to 20% of Rasiah’s quota of daily classes. As she had been devoting much of that course time to the Jacket, which, by her estimate, takes up 20-30 hours of her time a week, the overall time she could commit to the paper has been significantly reduced. Rasiah has also given a new art class to teach. … Continue reading »
BHS alum has ‘Daddy Skills’ in new DJ Dave video
Even rockers and rappers grow up and have kids. Two Berkeley High alums, both musicians, have collaborated on a music video that, while being upbeat and funny, also makes a candid stab at exploring the peculiar transition that happens when you segue from carefree youth into parenthood.
DJ Dave, aka David Wittman, will be known to Berkeleyside readers as the creator, via his company Fog and Smog, of the popular “Whole Foods Parking Lot” video, and the “Berkeley Enough” follow-up he put out with local performer LaeCharles Lawrence. Wittman met Sam Dorman at Berkeley High, although Dorman graduated in 1994, two years behind Witman. The pair got to know each other well when they both lived in Los Angeles. … Continue reading »
Wendell Brooks: Educator, singer, citizen of the world
Wendell Houston Brooks: May 24, 1940 – August 3, 2012
Wendell Brooks died peacefully at home on August 3, 2012. He was a consummate singer, lifelong educator, and a citizen of the world. His wonderful smile and non-stop energetic personality brought great joy to all who knew him.
Wendell was born in a suburb of Kansas City, Kansas to Julius Blaine Brooks and Golden Mitchem Brooks, spent his childhood in Omaha, Nebraska, moved to Sacramento at the age of 12, and graduated from C.K. McClatchy High School.
After graduation from Whittier College, Wendell served in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia, lived in Europe, earning his Master’s Degree from Uppsala University in Sweden, and returned to the United States in 1971. For the rest of his life he taught primarily at California State University East Bay, Berkeley High School, and Holy Names University.
Wendell was an avid follower of politics, and his wide-ranging interests, including sociology, history, music, religion, and African American studies, made him an outstanding and inspiring educator. … Continue reading »
BUSD reveals spending on sexual harassment case
By Anika Anand, California Watch
The Berkeley Unified School District spent $172,697.15 on a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by a high school student against her guidance counselor, according to records provided by district officials more than a year after they were first requested by California Watch.
All but $46,281.25 of the cost of investigating, defending and settling the case involving Berkeley High School counselor Anthony Smith was paid by the district’s insurance carrier, Deputy Superintendent Javetta Cleveland said in a telephone interview.
Cleveland revealed the information after California Watch reported that since July 2011, district officials had not responded to repeated requests for a breakdown of their spending on the controversial case. … Continue reading »
