The Asian Pacific Fund recently announced the Bay Area winners of the Growing Up Asian in America 2004 contest. Students in grades K­12 were selected from 1,200 entries and will share $27,000 in savings bond awards for their winning essays and artwork.

The young writers and artists mirror the diversity of a growing Asian American population, with Vietnamese, Chinese, Filipino, Korean and Indian winners. This year's theme, "On Friendship," probed insights about friendship amid cultural diversity in the community.

In the K­5 division, 11-year-old Michelle Wang of Argonaut Elementary School placed first for art, while in the grades 6-8 division Redwood Middle School student Sherry Cha, 11, received an honorable mention for art.

In the art portion of the contest for grades 9­12, Saratoga High School student Amy Chuang, 18, placed first and Saratoga High student Shasha Du, 15, came in third.

Summer school
registration

The Saratoga Union School District is holding four weeks of summer school classes from June 21­July 16 for academic remedial purposes as well as recreation intentions. Classes take place for grades K­5 at Argonaut Elementary School, 13200 Shadow Mountain Road, and for Redwood Middle School students at Foothill Elementary School, 13919 Lynde Ave., Saratoga. Interested participants can register for summer school through the Saratoga­Los Gatos Community Education and Recreation Department. For more information, call 408.354.8700.

Van Putten will
travel to China

Saratoga High School English teacher Karen Van Putten was accepted into the Stanford University Teaching About East Asia program, which will include a three-week tour of China. Van Putten currently teaches English to juniors and freshmen as well as an honors English class.

In addition, she will be attending the National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute for Teaching Shakespeare at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., according to Saratoga Principal Kevin Skelly.