03/31/2011 - The Independent

10 THE INDEPENDENT • THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 2011 CommunityDare to be warped?An LVCP film festivalBy Kaity BurnsOn Thursday March 17, LVCP(Livermore Valley Charter Preparatory)hosted its second filmexhibition of the year at the VineTheater in Livermore.Students worked hard at creatingindependent sci-fi films for theshowing. The films were based onnarratives that the students wrote.At the exhibition, those who attendedwitnessed those creativeideas on the big screen. The moviesincluded stories that had to do withother worlds, past loves, zombies,and the effects of drugs.Not only were there moviesthat had actors, but one particulargroup of students including SarahBatchelor, Seth Bowman, ShelbyHoughton, Dulce Garcia, MichaelMyers, Brandon Reuter, and AlexLopez, made a movie that wasmade up of picture after picture.After the showings, people hadmany different things to say aboutthe event. Maria Mancini said thatit was an “exciting and enlightening”experience. Mikaela Wintersaid that it was an “awesome”event.Students loved the opportunityto see their work shown in this way.Many of them including DevinBergough and Shawn Lewis, saidthat their movies turned out a lotbetter than expected.SJSU President's ScholarLivermore resident DavidDosanjh has been selected forinclusion on the San Jose StateUniversity Presidents Scholar list.A total of 8 students were chosenfrom the current attending classat SJSU of approximately 30,000students. Prior to attending SanJose State University, he attendedLivermore High School.David is majoring in health scienceat the College of Applied Sciencesand Arts. He states, "HealthScience has supplied me with thenecessary tools that I will utilizeto make a difference in this world.Receiving the President’s Scholaraward symbolizes the dedication Ihave put forth to my studies. Thisaward is a tremendous honor thatholds immeasurable value."he plans to attend an alliedhealth school that specializes inoncology technology. After a fewyears of experience, he will applyto medical school to pursue a careeras an oncologist.Downtown Livermore Merchants Team Upwith Parents Group to Raise Funds for SchoolsUnder the coordination effortsof Nickie Branco of Outside InEtc. in downtown Livermore, agroup of downtown retailers areteaming up with the Parent ClubInformation Council (PCIC) tohold shopping days on the first andthird Thursday of each month, with10% of proceeds from participatingretailers going to the chosenschool of the day.Ellen Goold of PCIC stated, “Atthe March 15 PCIC meeting, it waspresented that a group of 18 DowntownLivermore merchants hadcome together to assist Livermoreschools with fund-raising. Headingthis effort is Nickie Branco of OutsideIn, etc. Nickie has children atboth Smith and Mendenhall so sheis very familiar with fund-raisingneeds. I am very excited about thisopportunity.”Smith School will be the firston March 31. Participating merchantswill give 10% of sales asa donation to that days designatedschool. Flyers are sent home withstudents for each school on theirchosen date and the shopping datewill be publicized and posted onthe school website.“The Livermore merchants seethe need to get shoppers out of themall and into our downtown stores.Being both a Merchant and a parentin the Livermore school systemand working with other familiestrying to raise funds for the schoolsI thought it was a perfect way tobring the two together.” said organizerNickie Branco.Sheri Swanson, owner of MainStreet Designs agrees, “MainStreet Designs is delighted tobe able to give back to the community,with the new ’Shop foryour School’ fund raiser. Ourlocal schools have always beena personal priority for us, so thiscollective effort to give 10% ofsales twice a month to a school isa great way to give support.”For more information, contactNickie Branco at 925-606-6434Christensen Middle School’s 6th graders on a virtual tour of theEureka redwood forests. Ranger Ferreira had the students createa human chain to display the diameter of a giant redwood.Virtual Tours Teach StudentsChristensen Middle Schoolstudents in Livermore recentlyparticipated in field trips to HearstCastle and the Redwood Forestsof Eureka without ever leavingtheir classrooms. The live virtualtours, a component of CaliforniaState Parks Online Resources forTeachers and Students (PORTS)program, allowed students toengage directly with park rangersthrough video conferencing toursof California State Parks.The sixth grade ancient civilizationssocial science curriculumcame alive for students in Ms.Rhodes and Ms. Peterson’s classesthrough interactions with RangerConstance. She led the classesthrough Hearst Castle pointing outrelevant architecture, and Greekand Roman statues. One studentcommented, “Now I would liketo go to Hearst Castle one day. Ithink it is a wonderful place. It isinteresting that the owner changedthe design four times.”Environmental science studentsin Ms. Brinker’s class explored oneof the most ancient ecosystems onthe planet as they toured the RedwoodForests of Eureka. Studentsinteracted with Ranger Ferreira asthey witnessed and discussed theinterrelationships of living andnon-living resources and gainednew perspective into the past andfuture of our working forests. Thestudents went on to say, “We got totravel to a redwood forest. I neverknew how tall the redwoods were.This was very special becauseit physically showed us the areaand had someone explaining andtalking about everything withoutus making the long drive to thearea.”During both tours, the rangerswere able to talk to the studentsand answer students’ questionsin real time. Student response tothe PORTS program was enthusiastic.