Schools

It’s lunchtime at a Gilroy high school campus and the music is blaring in the quad. Students are mingling with friends in the lunch line and eating pizza and fries at the lunch tables. It’s a snapshot of an ordinary high school; but looking deeper, one can see it’s anything but. Beyond the boundaries appear buildings that are home to a larger campus and older students: Gavilan Community College.

Seeking to provide students with advanced Aviation Maintenance Technology coursework, Gavilan College was one of 36 districts to submit letters of intent to host baccalaureate degree programs to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.

Katrina Carter, 17, senior at Gilroy High School

Jessica Quintos, senior at Christopher High School

Up-and-coming Thespians will be happy to know that the newly renovated Gilroy High School Theater—currently receiving a $500,000 facelift with Measure P funding—will soon be open. The renovations themselves were “long overdue,” GHS Principal Marco Sanchez said, and he’s pleased with how the theater is shaping up.

For the third year in a row, students at Christopher High School in Gilroy collected leftover Halloween candy to send to American troops overseas. The campaign, called Treats for Troops, helps add candy to care packages sent to soldiers, airmen and sailors overseas. This year, the Cougars donated 309 pounds of candy, doubling last year’s goal of 150 pounds.

Gavilan College officials unveiled its new Veterans’ Resource Center on the Gilroy campus, located at 5055 Santa Teresa Blvd., during a grand opening ceremony Nov. 4.

Jonathan Souza was a graduate student at San Jose State University when he went on a trip that changed his life. Souza was a member of the San Jose State Choraliers and toured Europe with the group, drinking in the different cultures and experiences the continent has to offer.

Carlo LeGan, 17, Gilroy, senior at Mount Madonna School (491 Summit Road)

Adam Alvernaz, GECA, Grade 10