Elementary school given 2,000 books Oak View...

Elementary school given 2,000 books

Oak View Elementary School students have 2,000 new books on hand

to fire up their imaginations thanks to community-minded locals.

The Rotary Club of Huntington Beach and Sunrise Rotary Club

presented the books to Oak View children bright and early Monday in

an outdoor ceremony. To show the schools thanks, girls on Oak View’s

spirit team gave club members a cheer.

The books were donated in cooperation with “Reading by 9,” a

program sponsored by The Los Angeles Times. This was the third year

Rotary Club members donated books to Huntington Beach schools. Last

year, 2,000 books were given to Perry Elementary School and in 2002,

Oak View students received 2,350 books.

Holding up a paperback in front of the children, Dale Dunn,

community service chairman for the Rotary Club of Huntington Beach,

showed the students a sample of what they will be able to read.

“They’re real cool books too,” Dunn said. “Here’s ‘How to be Cool

in the Third Grade,’” Dunn said.

Guests on hand for the ceremony included district Supt. James

Tarwater, Mayor Cathy Green, School Board President Barbara Boskovich

and City Councilman Gil Coerper.

“These books can bring you so much fun and so many travels and so

many experiences,” Green said.

Most of the children attending Oak View are English learners.

Principal Karen Catabijan credited the program and other community

efforts with helping students read. Another program that helps the

school, she said, is the Canine Literacy Program, in which volunteers

bring dogs to the school and children read with the animals.

“It’s the reader and the dog, just sitting with the students

reading,” Catabijan said.

Brethren musicians have eyes on festival

Budding musicians jazzed it up over the weekend at a music

festival in Placentia.

The Brethren Christian High School jazz band was one of 10 schools

that competed in the second annual Mimi’s Cafe Battle of the Bands at

Bradford Field on Saturday.

“All the bands were good. Everyone had a great time,” Band

Director Len Montgomery said.

The competition was a fundraiser for music groups, and the

earnings gained from 4,000 tickets sold will make it easier for

Brethren students to attend the Monterey Jazz Festival in April,

Montgomery said.

Though Brethren musicians did not take home the crown, the group

received a standing ovation after playing its four-song set,

Montgomery said.

City school district taking precautions

Officials with the Huntington Beach City School District plan to

use a vent to release methane gas trapped underneath Kettler

Elementary School.

Methane is a nontoxic gas that can explode if in a 5%

concentration above ground. Methane detected below the surface has

been found exceeding the gas’ lower explosive limit, the minimum

concentration of gas in the air that can cause an explosion, but it

cannot ignite underground.

Official tests have not found any methane above the surface.

The passive vent would be another safety measure taken by the

district after methane gas was discovered beneath the school in

November 2003. Underground methane was also found in tests conducted

in January, February and on Sunday.

“This weekend we did our last borings and we found our last

elevated methane hole, and that kind of lets us know where the plume

is,” said Wayne Nunnery, the district’s maintenance and operations

supervisor.

The district has already installed methane detectors in all the

school’s classrooms, as well as in closets and the kitchen area.

“It’s probably maybe an overkill, but if it makes people

comfortable, that’s what we do,” Nunnery said.

Parents keeping an eye on the school can attend weekly meetings

with district officials and consultants monitoring the problem. The

meetings are held from 3 to 5 p.m. every Friday at Kettler

Elementary, 8750 Dorsett Drive. The school’s telephone number is

(714) 536-7568.

Music students look to make purchase

Students in Marine View Middle School’s music program are raising

money to buy a new grand piano.

So far, students working with the PTSA have collected $8,500

toward the $25,000 cost of the desired Yamaha Grand Piano, said Lynn

Silver, director of the school’s Jazz Ensemble.

“We are really cooking here,” she said.

Anyone who donates $100 can become one of 88 “Key Donors.” A

Spring Fling scheduled for May 21 will feature a performance of “Only

in America” by the Jazz Ensemble and a silent auction.

Donations can be mailed to Marine View Middle School, 5682 Tilburg

Drive, Huntington Beach, 92649.