Oak View

Andrew Bingham, who graduated from Huntington Beach High School in 2003, has been selected to attend the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. He spent the past school year at the Hill School, a Pennsylvania prep school. He was a competitive swimmer at Huntington Beach High and Hill. His parents are Surf City residents Dave and Sharman Bingham ... Huntington Beach Girl Scout Stephanie Thompson, 16, earned the Girl Scouts' Gold Award after completing a community service project over the summer.

Academic Performance Index Scores in 2003 and 2004 -- HUNTINGTON BEACH CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT School 2004 API 2004 Target 2003 API ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS Eader 854 N/A 837 Hawes 864 N/A 867 Huntington Seacliff 894 N/A 885 Kettler 831 N/A 802 Moffett 867 N/A 862 Perry 744 744 741 Peterson 866 N/A 866 Smith 827 N/A 835 MIDDLE SCHOOLS Dwyer 801 777 776 Sowers 824 N/A 816 ...

The city has built it and you can bet they will come. Four years after Oak View teenagers pleaded with the city to build them their own skate park, it is at last complete. This afternoon, officials and community members will celebrate the opening of the 1,650-square-foot Oak View Skate Park at the Oak View Family and Community Center. "The work is done and it's ready to skate on," said Luann Brunson, a senior administrative analyst for the city, who coordinates community block grant funding.

Jenny Marder "Remember, we're going to keep them quiet right now," Oak View Elementary School kindergarten teacher Margaret Friedmann said as she handed a set of jingle bells to each student. With no time to waste, the 5-year-olds immediately began ringing the bells, shaking them above their heads and smacking them against their wrists or onto the shoulder of a nearby student. Thus began the Christmas carols, sung loudly, passionately and out of tune by two kindergarten classes at a tree trimming party at Surf City's Pacific Liberty Bank on Monday.

They're not messing around at Oak View Elementary School -- and the numbers prove it. Oak View improved its score by 80 points since last year on the annual Academic Performance Index, which came out a couple weeks ago. This leap was the largest in the district and most impressive because 90% of the students at the predominantly Latino school have a major handicap -- they are still learning English. The index, released annually by the California Department of Education, is the cornerstone of the 1999 Public Schools Accountability Act, which presses schools to meet state standards.

API SCORES -- SCHOOLS 2003 2002 GROWTH HUNTINGTON BEACH CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT Elementary Schools Eader 830 820 10 Hawes 864 817 47 Huntington Seacliff 880 877 3 Kettler 797 781 4 Moffett 857 796 61 Perry 737 685 52 Peterson 856 832 24 Smith 833 815 18 Middle Schools Dwyer 778 760 18 Sowers 812 812 0 HUNTINGTON BEACH UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT Edison 739 750 -11...

Adams Street: Narcotics activity was reported when a woman thought she saw a drug deal take place in the 9000 block at 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Beach Boulevard and Warner Avenue: A hit-and-run was reported at 3:25 p.m. Saturday. Bickley Street: A city ordinance violation was reported when teenagers were seen using pellet guns in the 9600 block at 4:14 p.m. Saturday. Bluewater Lane: Vandalism was reported when a woman reported that her car was keyed overnight in the 17100 block at 1:12 p.m. Saturday.

184 students honored, 15 by the mayor St. Bonaventure School in Huntington Beach honored the academic achievements of its students during an honor roll breakfast Tuesday. In the fourth through eighth-grade, 184 students made the honor roll and 15 graduating eighth-graders received the special Huntington Beach Mayor's Award. "They are bright and they study hard -- they earn it," said Xiomara Galindo, fund-raising chair. The annual Mayor's Award was presented to students by Mayor Connie Boardman.

Coral Wilson "You're big," the children at Oak View preschool exclaimed as they gazed up at Rob Reiner as he entered their classroom Monday afternoon. "I'm very big," Reiner responded with a hearty laugh. While obviously impressed by Reiner's towering physique, the 4- and 5-year-olds still did not comprehend the extent of Reiner's largeness. They were too young to remember the movies "When Harry Met Sally" and "Stand By Me," directed by the actor and filmmaker in their presence.

Handing the reigns of the Oak View Community Center to the Children's Bureau of Southern California was one of the better moves the city has made. The aim of the nonprofit group is to care for and protect children, to help them become productive adults and to give parents the tools needed to succeed in raising their children. That just sounds like someone answered an Oak View want ad. The bureau, which just finalized a deal with the city to take over the center on May 1, is much better equipped to run the center than the city was. The Oak View Community Center is an after-school program that provides sports and recreation activities for at-risk youth.