Report Card

Mike Sciacca

The Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County is asking elementary and

middle school students to help feed the hungry by participating in a

“Pennies and Peanut Butter” food drive in March and April.

The purpose is to promote hunger awareness among young people. An

estimated 450,000 Orange County residents, including 180,000 children,

are at risk of going hungry sometime during each month, said Mark Hunt,

food drive coordinator.

Participating schools will encourage students to collect pennies,

peanut butter and other nonperishable food items to donate.

In previous years the food drive has brought in more than 500,000

pennies, or $5,000, and more than 9,000 pounds of food.

Students show a knack for writing “Seuss style”

Students from two Huntington Beach elementary schools showed a flare

for writing “Seuss style” this week when they nabbed first place wins in

Time Warner Cable’s third annual “Dr. Seuss-Style” story writing contest.

First-grade students in Kathy McCallum’s class at Eader Elementary

School won for their entry “Green Eggs and Clams.” In the fourth through

sixth grade category, the entry titled, “No-Read Richard,” penned by Lora

Stoianova and Vivi Nguyen, students in Alice French’s fifth-grade class

at Circle View Elementary School, captured first place in the division.

The contest, developed by Time Warner in support of the National

Education Assn. Read Across America initiative, emphasized the importance

of reading and literacy in schools. Classes in kindergarten through sixth

grade in all schools within Time Warner’s service area -- 12 cities total

-- were invited to participate.

Nearly 80 stories from local schools were entered in this year’s

contest. Students were asked to create, write and illustrate their own

“Dr. Seuss-Style” story as a group. A panel of community leaders judged

the entries based on content, creativity and a story’s lesson and overall

impression.

The winning classrooms from Eader and Circle View received a private

assembly with “The Creature Teacher,” a mobile zoo featuring live

reptiles, mammals and more.

Transfer requests and kindergarten enrollment begins

Students in the Huntington Beach City School District wishing to

transfer to another school for the next school year may turn in

applications between March 26 and 29. The open enrollment period is for

students in kindergarten through the eighth grade.

Students who are currently attending a school on an open enrollment

transfer are not required to reapply unless they are entering middle

school for the first time. Enrollment at each school will be based on

available space and a random selection method will be used to establish a

priority list at each school.

A separate request must be submitted for each child and there is no

guarantee that other children within a family will be approved for

transfer.

Application forms can be picked up and returned at a student’s school.

Kindergarten registration begins on March 26.