Ponderosa Elementary School in Sunnyvale, part of the Santa Clara Unified School District, received, California Distinguished School status in 2004, which goes to schools with good test scores and a strong sense of community.

Starting Arts, a nonprofit arts organization, got its start at Ponderosa about three years ago. Ponderosa is also a writing magnet school as part of the "Every Child a Reader/Writer" Initiative and hosts an International Night event once a year.

The school celebrated the award by raising the Distinguished School Flag on June 3 at 9 a.m. Sunnyvale Mayor John Howe and Vice Mayor Dean Chu attended, along with San Jose Sharkie.

Ponderosa Elementary School is located at 804 Ponderosa Ave and is the fourth school in Sunnyvale to achieve this status.

Center offers legal clinics to locals

The India Community Center—based in Milpitas, with a new Sunnyvale location—has started a "Lawyers in the Library" program, in association with the Pro Bono Project Silicon Valley, to offer free legal clinics and advice geared towards Indian-Americans.

Legal advice is available in several Indian and Southeast Asian languages and on a first-come first-served basis every Sunday from 10 a.m. to noon at ICC's Milpitas location at 555 Los Coches St., Milpitas.

For more information, visit www.IndiaCC.org. The phone number for is 408.245.2737 and the address is 285 N. Wolfe Road.

Students place high
in creative contest

Seven students from varying schools in the Fremont Union High School District joined for a common goal last September. And now, they just have to decide at which school they should keep the trophy.

At the Global Tournament for Destination ImagiNation in Knoxville, Tenn., the Fremont Union team placed fourth in the international competition.

The contest, which tests creative problem solutions, incorporates skills in playwriting, technical design and improvisation. The team's version of the "Plot in the Pendulum" problem, which the team has been working on for eight months, placed well. The team also did well in a timed "instant challenge."

Fremont High School boasts five of the team members: Aaron Hunter, Chris Wollman, Christine Cardosi, Mathew Pecot and Patrick Samuels. Thomas Oldfield is a student at Monta Vista High School, and Kevin Holt attends Homestead High School. John Cardosi was their volunteer manager.

Young artists shine
in local Olympiad

The Olympics are being held in Greece this year, but local students are bringing home prizes from artistic competitions recently held in the "Athens of the West."

The West Valley/Mission College Foundation awarded 12 Sunnyvale residents as part of the Olympiad of the Arts. Ninety students from Santa Clara County were honored for their studies in a myriad of areas, including the visual arts, dance and music.

Nine of the Sunnyvale winners are Wilcox High School students honored for creative writing: Elizabeth Sheldon, Sharlee DeAngelo, Sean Thompson, Diane Towner, Jacquelyn Braggin, Jennifer Chou, Rebecca Johnson, Boris Vatkin, Anirudha Rajiv Jadhav and Katherine Ngo. Susan Kanda, a student at Foothill College, won for creative writing and Caitlyn Tella of Presentation High School won for acting. Honorees exhibited their work and performed at West Valley College on May 2 in conjunction with the Saratoga Rotary Art Show.

The Olympiad of the Arts began in 1928 due to the efforts of U.S. Sen. James Phelan and Dr. Henry Meade Bland, who believed the Santa Clara Valley was capable of achieving the cultural significance of that famous Greek capital. Until 1984, the event was held every four years to coincide with the Olympic Games, and aims to stimulate creativity and excellence in the arts.

The Olympiad's sponsors, including Arts Council Silicon Valley, awarded $6,000 in prizes this year.

De Anza art students
take over the museum

The school year is winding to a close, and De Anza College art students finally have the opportunity to strut their creative stuff.

The De Anza College Student Art Show is running through June 10, and features a broad range of media, with all pieces created by De Anza students. A jury of three will select three works for awards, and the results will be announced at a reception on June 8.

The show is exhibiting in the Euphrat Museum of Art on the De Anza campus. Museum hours are Monday through Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.