April 18, 2008

Evergreen SchoolScene

Biehl elected to California School Board Association Delegate Assembly

East Side Union High School District Trustee Frank Biehl was elected to the Delegate Assembly of the California School Board Association (CSBA) on Apr. 1.

CSBA is a collaborative group of virtually all of the state’s more than 1,000 school districts and county offices of education. A member-driven organization, CSBA brings together school governing boards and their districts on behalf of California’s children.

Frank Biehl

The Delegate Assembly is CSBA’s primary policy-making body. Made up of approximately 270 local school board trustees, Delegate Assembly members are elected or appointed by local school boards in 21 geographic regions throughout the state.
Biehl will be one of ten representatives elected by the 33 school boards in Santa Clara County.

“I will be an advocate for parents and children. California’s economy depends upon a workforce educated to meet the challenges of the 21st century.” stated Biehl. “Even in tough economic times the state’s top budget priority must continue to be our investment in education,” Biehl continued, “And every dollar must be spent wisely. Our children are our future.”

The Delegate Assembly meets twice a year. Biehl’s first meeting will take place in Sacramento on May 17. His two-year term ends in March of 2010.

Making plastic stronger: Innovating credit card security

Kunal Agarwal

By Helen Hong
Special to the Times

After participating in the Synopsys Championship Fair for a chemistry class, Kunal Agarwal, a junior at Silver Creek High School, has won the Grand Prize from the East Side Union High School District for credit card security innovation.

His project, the Zier, was designed to prevent identity theft and credit card fraud by employing a dynamic credit card system. Using one laptop, one desktop and the Futronic FS80, Kunal created a dynamic security system guarded by an accurate fingerprint verification process, a time-stamped card number, and an SMS verification process. The Santa Clara Valley Science and Engineering Fair Association also awarded Kunal with a $100 Honorable Mention by the Morgan Lewis Law Firm, as well as a $50 gift certificate, medallion and Certificate of Achievement by the United States Navy and Marine Corps.

Kunal will be proceeding to the state level in Los Angeles on May 19, 2008, and onto the international level if qualified. Through young and intellectually curious minds such as Kunal’s, the world may see an impenetrable credit card system in the near future.

Evergreen wrestler

Jonathan Rodriguez (in white), a second grade student at Norwood Creek Elementary School placed fourth in the prestigious Cliff Keen Reno World's Wrestling tournament in Reno, NV. Rodriguez represented his school, the Evergreen community and California in the competition among 2,800 wrestlers from 34 states in various divisions with great sportsmanship and won the respect and admiration from coaches, parents, referees and fellow athletes.

Second Harvest honors Evergreen School District and Nurse Chris Quick

Evergreen’s school nurse Chris Quick was recognized with a Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award

On Tuesday, Mar. 18 at the Second Harvest Annual Awards Event and Recognition Ceremony, the Evergreen School District community was recognized for its contributions to the 2007 Food and Fund Drive. The District received both the Community Champion Award for having more than 1,000 participants and the Blue Diamond Award for donating over 50,000 pounds of food. This is the highest award given, and congratulations are in order to all the students, staff and families who helped support our larger community with donations of food.

Evergreen’s school nurse, Chris Quick was also recognized with a Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award for demonstrating “the most excitement for the Food and Fund drive.” Chris has been a long-time champion and District coordinator for the annual Second Harvest Food Drive, and she represents Evergreen very well. Congratulations Chris!

Lan Nguyen, Board President of East Side Union High School District and Nguyet Dinh, Evergreen resident and Administrator of Language Minority Programs present the first copy of a Vietnamese language textbook published by East Side.

East Side publishes first Vietnamese language textbook

Over 900 students enrolled in East Side Vietnamese language classes are getting a new textbook.

“We were the first U. S. school district to offer Vietnamese in the foreign language program,” stated Nguyet Dinh, Administrator of Language Minority Programs for East Side. “Because we were first, there was no text. We had to develop our own.“ Dinh continued, “The curriculum blends Vietnamese language, culture, and literature with the most recently developed American teaching methodologies.”

Funding for the textbook was provided by grants from the U. S. and California Departments of Education.
Students take Vietnamese to fulfill foreign language requirements for both graduation and to enter the university system.

“The program helps students see their identities, understand their roots and improve student achievement,” explained East Side Board President, Lan Nguyen.

The 900 students taking Vietnamese have a grade point average of 3.0.