Cover Story
Palo Alto Unified School District Notice of Public Hearing (continued from previous page)
Tuesday, September 13, 2011, at 6:30 p.m.
BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING Palo Alto Unified School District Office 25 Churchill Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94306
you’ll start to hate it. So keep it as a hobby and have another job.” The skills also come in handy for school projects, such as class f loat-building during Gunn’s homecoming week, which Rohman has participated in since his freshman year. “It’s interesting to see how
many people get really good grades but are complete airheads when it comes to something like that,” he said. Though he suffers from test anxiety, Rohman says he enjoys school and looks forward to his senior-year classes, especially AP psychology and economics. In Gunn’s high-powered academic atmosphere, one way he’s learned to deal with the stress is to avoid
comparing himself with others. After a summer of building longboards, reading, relaxing and hanging out with friends, he most looks forward to “getting more productive” in going back to school. Asked what he least looks forward to, Rohman was momentarily at a loss and said he couldn’t think of anything, before coming up with a single answer: college applications.
In accordance with Education Code §60119, the PAUSD Board of Education will receive input from the public relative to certification that students in the Palo Alto Unified School District have sufficient textbooks or instructional materials, or both, for the 2011-2012 school year.
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Additional information available through Educational Services Office @ 650-329-3709.
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aly senior Sonya Kohli looks forward to getting “back into the rhythm and structure of school” after a relaxing summer of hanging out and weekly volunteering at the Stanford Blood Bank. She’s most excited about “senioryear classes, because they’re the most interesting — especially AP psychology.” And the least exciting prospect for senior year? “All the stress — college applications, SATs, the workload. I haven’t dealt with that well, but I’m learning. I generally know what to expect, and what it’s like.” Kohli says people tell her Paly and Gunn are more stressful than most schools. She doesn’t know why but speculates it has something to do with the looming presence of Stanford University. Outside of classes, Kohli’s biggest plans for the fall involve Paly’s Youth Community Service/ Rotary Interact Club, which she’s co-chairing. Since many of the members graduated in June, “We’re trying to build it up again so it stays at Paly — trying to get underclassmen more involved so it carries on.” Matching Paly volunteers with community events, YCS/Interact has offered her some interesting experiences, such as helping out at a Peace Corps 50th anniversary event at a beautiful home in Atherton. “We helped set up, and I helped guide people into the house because it was a winding driveway. That was really fun, and I met a lot of really nice people,” Kohli said. YCS/Interact volunteers also help staff the Palo Alto Weekly Moonlight Run, coming up the evening of Friday, Sept. 9. Last year’s event drew nearly 4,000 participants to run or walk a 5K course in the Baylands. Kohli has been a year-round volunteer for the past three years at the blood center, where she staffs the canteen on Thursday evenings, feeding cookies and juice to people who have just donated blood. “For me personally, I just really like doing service because it makes me feel good that I’m helping people and it’s just really fun,” she said.