They Put Their School Districts in the Picture

DESIGNING STUDENTS: Trustees of the new Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach unified school districts have chosen student-designed logos that will appear on everything from district stationery and business cards to vehicles.

Seventh-grader Pam Tantiprasertchai of Lincoln School in Redondo Beach designed the logo for the Redondo Beach Unified School

District, while ninth-grader Michael Mantel of Mira Costa High in Manhattan Beach created the one for the Manhattan Beach Unified School District.

Both logos use beach imagery: Tantiprasertchai’s portrays two students, their arms outstretched, with the sun and a flock of sea gulls overhead, while Mantel’s depicts a beachside view of the Manhattan Beach Pier.

Trustees at the two school districts chose the winning logos from more than 100 entries at all grade levels. Mantel was awarded $100 for his design; Tantiprasertchai received $50 for hers.

In both cases, the winning logos were noted for their simplicity and clarity.

“It’s very clean, very simple,” James McDonald, Redondo Beach Unified spokesman said of Tantiprasertchai’s design. “It really catches your eye quickly.”

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CULTURAL EXCHANGE: Students, parents and teachers at 90 schools throughout the Los Angeles Unified School District’s South Bay region will celebrate diversity Friday by dancing, singing, writing and playing sports.

The activities, aimed at fostering understanding among different cultures, will kick off the region’s first Human Relations Day, region spokesman Daniel Lawson said. The region, which includes Gardena, Carson, Harbor City, Wilmington and San Pedro, includes students from every ethnic group throughout the sprawling school district, he said.

“We have a great, diverse student population and we feel very strongly that we want to be on top of the things we’re doing for students, staff and the community,” Lawson said.

To celebrate Human Relations Day at Dolores Street School in Carson, teachers will pair up students of different grade levels and ethnicities to talk about their cultural differences. Last week, the entire student body assembled on the playground to spell out the word PEACE.

Students at Del Amo Elementary School in Carson will commemorate Human Relations Day by participating in so-called friendship games--athletic events intended to promote ethnic understanding. And students, parents and teachers at 156th Street School in Gardena will have a chance to walk through a “cultural museum” on display in the auditorium.

“This day is designed to bring attention to the need for us to get together and to understand each other, regardless of culture or background,” Lawson said.

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INTENSIVE STUDY: Starting next school year, teachers at South High in the Torrance Unified School District will provide students with two days of intensive instruction every quarter.

On those days, class periods will be lengthened to two hours to allow teachers to assign classroom projects they would not have time for during regular one-hour periods, Principal John Schmitt said.

The plan, which will give every class an extended period four times a year, was approved this week by the school’s site council. The council, composed of students, parents, faculty and other school employees, agreed to try extended periods as a pilot project next year.

“I think it has a lot of potential to expand the kinds of things teachers are able to do in classes,” Schmitt said. “It would be ideal for science classes that need an extended lab period. There are some experiments you can’t set up and accomplish in two hours.”

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YOUNG AND TALENTED: Eleven Torrance students sing and dance in the children’s choir that appears in Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”

Ten of the performers attend schools in the Torrance Unified School District. They are: Matt Hammervold of Seaside Elementary; Kristen Anthony, Eric Jensen and his twin brother, Ryan Jensen, all of Lynn Middle School; Michelle Woo of Casimir Middle School; Kerry J. Kamimura of West High School; Jacqueline Covas, Karin Moore and Tiffany St. John, all of Edison Elementary; and Brandon Anthony of Towers Elementary. Dawn Lynn Conners of Torrance is enrolled in an independent, home schooling program.

The students, who perform at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood four nights a week, have been with the production since it opened in January. They will remain with it until its final Los Angeles performance on June 27.

Melody J. Kamimura, whose daughter is among the student performers, described the musical as “one of the happiest shows on Earth.”

Items for the weekly Class Notes column can be mailed to The Times South Bay office, 23133 Hawthorne Blvd., Suite 200, Torrance, CA 90505, or faxed to (310) 373-5753 to the attention of staff reporter Kim Kowsky.