Bargain shoppers are invited to the Cumberland Elementary School Auction and Walkathon Oct. 17. Many companies and families have pitched in with donations to be auctioned, including a 40-hour Tivo unit, two roundtrip tickets anywhere Southwest Airlines flies, a seven-day vacation on Holland America Cruise Lines, greens fees at the Half Moon Bay Golf Links, a winemaker tour of Roche winery in Sonoma and gift certificates for fine dining at Chez TJ in Mountain View. Almost 1,000 items will be on sale during the auction.

In addition to the auction, the event includes a carnival games area for small children, a garage sale with gently used toys, games, books and puzzles, and a food area. All children and families in the community are invited to participate. The event will take place on Oct. 17 from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The auction and walkathon is the annual Cumberland School PTA fundraiser. Funds raised pay for music, band, science, arts, technology, and other activities for students, as well as for individual and grade-level grants to teachers. Cumberland School is located at 824 Cumberland Drive in Sunnyvale. For more information, to sponsor the walkathon, or donate to the auction, contact Louise Christy at 408.739.6445.


De Anza College ranks first for student transfers

Out of the 108 community colleges in California, De Anza ranked first in combined transfers to the University of California and California State University systems in 2002-2003.

During the last academic year, 1,937 De Anza students transferred to public universities in California.

The state rankings were compiled by the university systems and were released in September by the California Community Colleges State Chancellor's Office.

Santa Monica City College ranked second with 1,906 students transferring to public universities in California.

While Santa Monica still holds the lead in UC transfers, De Anza leads in CSU transfers.


Arts guild puts on pottery show, sale

The Orchard Valley Ceramic Arts Guild is holding its annual October show and sale with displays from more than 40 guild artists selling their pottery. Work includes functional and decorative pottery, jewelry, sculpture, pitfire work and raku. Refreshments will be served.

The Orchard Valley Ceramic Arts Guild is a nonprofit organization made up of 175 ceramic hobbyists and professionals banding together for support through education, meetings, shows and sales. The event will take place on Oct. 17 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Oct. 18 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Ramada Inn at 1217 Wildwood Ave. in Sunnyvale. For more information, call 866.841.9139 ext. 1075 or visit http://www.ovcag.org.


Council adopts new public requirements

New procedures have been adopted for presentations during Sunnyvale City Council meetings. Effective immediately, materials to be displayed, other than posters or display boards, must be prepared as PowerPoint presentations.

In the past, members of the public as well as Sunnyvale staff could use an overhead projector system to display individual documents. That system has been eliminated as part of a staffing restructuring dictated by the city's reduced fiscal year 2003­2004 budget. By using PowerPoint presentations, the city will retain the ability to broadcast the presentations as part of the KSUN-18 live cablecast of council meetings.

For those planning to present a PowerPoint report during a council meeting, the slide set must be delivered to the city clerk's office no later than 5 p.m. on the Thursday preceding the meeting. Presentations should be in PowerPoint (Office '97 compatible) format and may be on PC-formatted floppy disks or a CD. PowerPoint's "Pack 'n' Go" feature may be used for larger files. For more information, contact the city clerk's office at 408.730.7483 or by email to cityclerk@ci.sunnyvale.ca.us.