Whiz Kids of Cupertino

George Sakkas Named to All-Star Wrestling Team

Sakkas, a Cupertino High School senior, will compete in the California Association Duals in Santa Cruz.

Respectful, passionate and compassionate on the mat, Cupertino High School senior wrestler George Sakkas is no pushover. “He’s dangerous,” says Roberto Dixon, director of Santa Clara Valley Wrestling Association. Sakkas was named to the SCVWA team, which will compete in the California Association Duals held at Santa Cruz High School in Santa Cruz May 18 through 20. It’s the second year in a row Sakkas has been named to the all-star team that is picked by Dixon and a panel of coaches. A “student of the sport” Sakkas has an unorthodox style, Dixon says, both of which only add to his athleticism. “I’ve never had to coach against George, but my best advice to someone would be: ‘Try and survive. See if you can score a point and survive.’ …

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Anne Ernst

4:12 pm on Wednesday, May 16, 2012

George is just a good human being, his coach says. I think it's in his DNA.   more ›

West Valley College President Lori Gaskin Resigns

Longtime college leader will step down July 1 to become president of Santa Barbara City College.

West Valley College president Lori Gaskin is moving south to become the superintendent and president of Santa Barbara Community College District.  Concluding a nationwide search, Santa Barbara Community College District trustees announced the appointment of Gaskin's appointment last month. Gaskin will start her new position effective July 1, taking over the position that Dr. Jack Friedlander, Santa Barbara City College executive vice president, has held since July 2011. "Sometimes life presents us with unexpected opportunities and I have been given that gift recently. While I had not intended to leave West Valley College at this point, the presidency of Santa Barbara City College became for me one of those 'unexpected opportunities,'" …

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Saratoga High Wins Documentary Film Contest

First place went to Saratoga High students Stephen Ruff and Michael Hoffman; Kenya Dream, a Cupertino-grown nonprofit was the subject of 4th place winner.

Cupertino's Kenya Dream was the subject of a student-made documentary film that took 4th place, and a Saratoga High School media arts student won top honors in the 5th annual Bay Area Social Issues Documentary Film Contest, also known as SI DocFest. Kenya Dream, the nonprofit started at Cupertino High School in 2006 and the subject of Can You Dream, received $1,000 for the film created by 4th-place winners Rebecca Walton and Janna Wang, juniors at Freestyle Academy in Mountain View. Saratoga High students Stephen Ruff and Michael Hoffman’s film, My New Red Shoes, highlighting the non‐profit My New Red Shoes, won first place and earned $10,000 to be split between the school, the nonprofit and the film‐makers, said Jane Marashian, assistant …

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Secure Donation Site Set Up for Lawson Middle School Teacher

Mary Pham's home was destroyed by a fire on Wednesday. Lawson set up a secure donation site to help the school's teacher.

Lawson Middle School is trying to help Mary Pham and her family following the loss of all their possessions in a fire at their home Wednesday. A secure donation site has been set up for this purpose. The link is https://secure.cloud501.com/donor/phamfamily. Read the full story, Lawson Middle School Teacher's Home Ruined by Fire: Donations Sought.

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Monta Vista Listed Within Top 100 High Schools in the U.S.

U.S. News and World Report ranked it as the number 97 high school out of 22,000 schools in a list released Tuesday.

Monta Vista High School in Cupertino snagged the 97th spot in U.S. News and World Report’s list of the top 500 high schools in the U.S. Released Tuesday, the 2012 list also ranks it as 16th place within California high schools. Nearly one-fifth of the top 500 schools are in the Golden State. U.S. News partnered with the Washington D.C.-based Institutes for Research to compile data on 22,000 public high schools in the U.S. in its rankings. To determine the national rankings of the schools, they looked at how well students performed on state assessments, taking the test scores of disadvantaged students into account. Then they tried to look at the college readiness of the schools by analyzing how well students do on Advanced Placement (AP) or…

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School Board Meeting Preview: Teacher of the Year To Be Announced

Cupertino Union School District will announce the District Teacher of the Year Tuesday at 6 p.m.

The Cupertino Union School District will recognize its 2012-2013 Teachers of the Year, and announce the District Teacher of the Year, at Tuesday’s school board meeting. Held at 6 p.m. at a changed location of L.P. Collins Elementary School, the meeting will also recognize Elyse McGuire, an Instructional Assistant at McAuliffe Elementary School, as Classified Employee of the Month. The District is additionally slated to approve a slew of infrastructure projects at its meeting. One of them is a contract for the installation of 36’x40’ Modular Classroom Building at McAuliffe Elementary School. They are also scheduled to approve a contract to replace three of the roofs at Lincoln Elementary School. These consent items will be enacted in one …

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Successful Walk/Bike to School Day at MVHS

Tasty, healthy food, sunshine, and fewer cars near Monta Vista High School make for a successful Walk/Bike to School Day on Wednesday.

Monta Vista High School’s 8th Annual Bike/Walk to School Day on Wednesday got about 741 students out of cars and onto their feet, wheels, or in a bus—for at least one day. Barbara Nishimoto, chair of the event, said 741 raffle tickets were distributed Wednesday morning to those students who came to school on foot, bicycle, scooter, or in a bus. The raffle got them a free healthy breakfast, courtesy of local retailer donations and the City’s Public Safety Commission. About 140 bagels were donated by Noah’s Bagels and Whole Foods donated 400 organic apples. Monta Vista PTSA added a variety of breakfast foods, and the grant given by the city made up the rest, Nishimoto said. More students may have participated in the event, but beat the …

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