North High School

A main sewer line at North High School collapsed Wednesday, forcing school officials to close most of the restrooms on the east side of the campus and order a dozen portable toilets that will be set up today. School officials said that the sewer line became clogged Monday afternoon and was plugged to prevent a sewage spill. Joe Zeiler, assistant vice principal of maintenance, said a rooter was unable to clear the line Tuesday and by Wednesday the clay pipe had collapsed.

North Hollywood High School has been cleared in a leak of secure state test items, but a former student at the school has some explaining to do. The student was among those who allegedly posted online a total of 36 questions from various standardized exams conducted last spring. The questions were traced to 12 schools across California, including North Hollywood — but the student no longer attended that campus during the testing period. By that time, the student had transferred to an independently managed charter school, according to a source who was not authorized to comment publicly.

About 2,000 North High School students are expected to compete in a "Jog-Walk-Crawl-Wheelchair-A-Thon" on the Torrance school's athletic field at noon Tuesday to raise money for a Baja California crippled children's program. Proceeds will go to clinics in Mexicali and Tijuana, said Principal Peggy Tremayne. She said the school raised $20,000 three years ago for a similar project that brought children injured in the Mexico City earthquake to UCLA for reconstructive surgery.

Longtime artist Barbara Black didn't reach for her paintbrush when she decided a mural would brighten her Valley Village home. Instead, she contacted the art department at nearby North Hollywood High School and invited students to decorate the 50-foot alley wall next to her Otsego Street residence. Black asked the young artists to bring their ideas, and, because she is on a fixed income, to bring their own paint as well. They were happy to oblige. "It's hard to find a place to work where you're not doing it illegally," said Anthony Zapada Green, 19, who hopes to become a professional graphic artist.

Dozens of Torrance students have been suspended in the wake of walkouts in support of their teachers' contract negotiations. Several North High School students who were suspended said they were informed that they could not return to school for two days. As many as 35 or 40 suspensions have occurred at North High after a Tuesday walkout, they estimated. School Board President David Sargent said he has been told that "at least 20" students were suspended at North High.

Several hundred students at three Torrance high schools walked out of their classes Tuesday morning in what they described as a show of support for their teachers, who have been working since June without contracts. It was the second time in five days that students in the Torrance Unified School District have demonstrated in support of teachers.

With a fluid, silky voice, disc jockey Eric Calhoun begins to speak into his microphone as the rhythmic throbbing of the group Tears for Fears draws to an end. "You're listening to 89.7, KNHS, the rock of Torrance. Oh, yeah," Calhoun intones, blending each syllable with the closing beats of the song. Nearby, fellow disc jockey Cynthia Ericksen flips the switch on a second turntable. "Sexy" by Klymaxx begins beating through the studio speakers. Just another day in the life of an FM radio station?

At least once a day, a teenage girl walks into North High School's health clinic, wanting to find out whether she's pregnant. Frequently, it turns out she is. The city's teen birth rate is more than double the statewide rate of 24.3 births per 1,000 girls age 15 to 17, and Denver school officials are considering a proposal to dispense contraceptives in its six high-school-based health clinics, which serve the district's most impoverished students.

Dozens of Torrance high school students have been suspended in the wake of walkouts Friday and Tuesday supporting their teachers' position in contract talks. The protests at the district's four high schools were followed by two-day suspensions of "at least 20 students" at North High School and shorter suspensions of five students at West High School, said school board President David Sargent. No one was suspended at South High or Torrance High, he said.

About 70 freshmen at North High School in Torrance stared at Isabel Aguirre Thursday. She has cerebral palsy. The staring didn't bother Aguirre, 16, a junior at the school, although staring usually makes her feel different. For this class, she was happy to be the center of attention. She told them her message: "Be mature and treat us normally."

At least once a day, a teenage girl walks into North High School's health clinic, wanting to find out whether she's pregnant. Frequently, it turns out she is. The city's teen birth rate is more than double the statewide rate of 24.3 births per 1,000 girls age 15 to 17, and Denver school officials are considering a proposal to dispense contraceptives in its six high-school-based health clinics, which serve the district's most impoverished students.

The season could hardly have gone any better for Damon Morton and his Riverside North team. The team was undefeated and won the Southern Section Division V championship, and Morton was the star of a team that seemed to have an entire constellation's worth. Few, if any, athletes in the Southland were more efficient playmakers than Morton, who is The Times' back of the year. "When he touches it, magic happens," said his coach, Lou Randall, whose team scored 10 times on its first possession.

A week doesn't go by without an adult-- usually a number of adults--crabbing that the kids of today are shooting up America's schools because they have been exposed to the most malicious, vicious, vile, violent, criminal-creating, maniac-making vices and devices that Satan ever dreamed up . . . video games. On and on these people go, convinced we can help rid this country of unnatural-born killers by taking away their joysticks. With every new murder, someone writes: "See?

North Hollywood High School produces whiz kids who ace Advanced Placement exams the way others tie shoelaces. And now, for the second straight year, North Hollywood High has produced the No. 1 AP scholar in the country. Greg Marsden and five other graduates of North Hollywood's highly gifted magnet program learned Wednesday that they were among the top 10 AP scholars nationwide. To their delight, Marsden and two classmates ranked first, second and third.

North Hollywood High School produces whiz kids who ace Advanced Placement exams the way others tie shoelaces. And now, for the second straight year, North Hollywood High has produced the No.1 AP scholar in the United States. Greg Marsden and five other graduates of North Hollywood's highly gifted magnet program learned Wednesday that they were among the top 10 AP scholars nationwide. To their delight, Marsden and two classmates ranked first, second and third in the country.

A main sewer line at North High School collapsed Wednesday, forcing school officials to close most of the restrooms on the east side of the campus and order a dozen portable toilets that will be set up today. School officials said that the sewer line became clogged Monday afternoon and was plugged to prevent a sewage spill. Joe Zeiler, assistant vice principal of maintenance, said a rooter was unable to clear the line Tuesday and by Wednesday the clay pipe had collapsed.

About 70 freshmen at North High School in Torrance were staring at Isabel Aguirre. She has cerebral palsy. The staring didn't bother Aguirre, 16, a junior at the school, although staring usually makes her feel different. For this class, she was happy to be the center of attention. She told them her message: "Be mature and treat us normally."

The season could hardly have gone any better for Damon Morton and his Riverside North team. The team was undefeated and won the Southern Section Division V championship, and Morton was the star of a team that seemed to have an entire constellation's worth. Few, if any, athletes in the Southland were more efficient playmakers than Morton, who is The Times' back of the year. "When he touches it, magic happens," said his coach, Lou Randall, whose team scored 10 times on its first possession.

Van Nuys and North Hollywood high schools, which refused to adopt year-round calendars to handle mushrooming enrollment, will have to bus several hundred students to other San Fernando Valley campuses this fall--far more than originally expected, district officials said Friday.

The North Hollywood High School Leadership Council will probably be asked to reconsider the track assignment for the school's highly gifted magnet students at a Monday afternoon meeting. The panel of parents, teachers and administrators is charged with deciding which students get which tracks on the year-round multitrack calendar. In July, North Hollywood joined at least three other Valley schools in adopting a staggered calendar for three groups of students.