Twenty People Arrested for License Violations During First Half of March

March 17, 2013, 10:27 am

≫ Next: March Movie Madness: Releases This Weekend at the Box Office

Twenty People Arrested for License Violations During First Half of March

Patch Elmhurst, IL --

*Driving With a Revoked License*

Paul J. Zamkowski, 61, 4N744 Miner St. Apt. 1, Bensenville, was arrested and charged with driving with a revoked license and possession of drug paraphernalia after police pulled over his beige Chevrolet Express 1500 at Church and Grand at 9:47 a.m. March 6. He was released on bond and his vehicle towed for forfeiture.

William L. Allen, 40, 19W113 Adele, Lombard, was arrested and charged with driving with a revoked license after police pulled over his white Dodge Durango for expired registration at Grand Avenue and Industrial Drive at 8:17 a.m. March 18. He was released on bond and his vehicle towed for forfeiture.

*Driving with a Suspended License*

Luis Ochoa, 32, 2844 S. Pulaski, Chicago, was arrested and charged with driving with a suspended license after police pulled over his black Chevrolet Tahoe for no front license plate at North and Myrtle at 3:40 a.m. Feb. 27. He was released on bond and his vehicle held for forfeiture.

Victoria Squire, 24, 4901 30th Place, was arrested and charged with driving with a suspended license after police pulled over her green Ford Explorer at Berkley and Prairie Path Lane at 9:58 a.m. March 1. She was released on bond.

Angel H. Medel, 42, 4545 S. Mozart, Chicago, was arrested and charged with driving with a suspended license after police pulled over his black Chevrolet Astro for failure to stop at a stop sign at Poplar and Church at 8:51 a.m. March 6. He was released on bond.

Shannon Dolan, 22, 1117 Plainfield Road Apt. 13, Darien, was arrested and charged with driving with a suspended license and driving without insurance after police pulled over her black Dodge Stratus for one headlight at Route 83 and Roosevelt Road at 4:23 a.m. March 8. She was released on bond.

Ashley H. Otero, 26, 5617 Santa Barbara Drive, Hanover Park, was arrested and charged with driving with a suspended license after police pulled over her gray Mitsubishi Lancer for speeding at Grand and York at 7:37 p.m. March 8. She was released on bond.

Pilar G. Santana-Mesnard, no age given, 2538 N. Sarah St., Franklin Park, was arrested and charged with driving with a suspended license and suspended registration after police pulled over a white Toyota Camry for improper stopping in the roadway at Schiller and Commerce at 6:20 p.m. March 12.

Adabel Velazquez, 31, 2839 W. 36th St., Chicago, was arrested and charged with driving with a suspended license after police pulled over Velazquez's black Honda Ridgeline for expired registration sticker on the 900 block of North Oaklawn at 7:40 a.m. March 13.

Brianna Maurizi, 22, 622 S. Ardmore Ave., Villa Park, was arrested and charged with driving with a suspended license after police pulled over her black Toyota Avalon for speeding and no seat belt at Villa and Pine Street at 8:26 a.m. March 13. Police said her license was suspended due to a prior DUI arrest. The vehicle was towed for forfeiture.

Dioselina Quiroz, 49, 423 Westmore/Meyers Apt. A, Lombard, was arrested and charged with driving with a suspended license after police pulled her over for failure to yield at an intersection at Kenilworth and May at 4:27 p.m. March 13. She was released on bond.

Tkeyah A. Herbert, 18, 888 N. Swift Apt. 306, Addison, was arrested and charged with driving with a suspended license, driving without insurance and no valid registration after Herbert approached officers at 5:24 p.m. March 13 to say her brakes went out on her trip from Chicago to Addison. Police said her car had no license plates. She was released on bond.

Louie Gonzalez, 23, 410 S. York Road Apt. F, Bensenville, was arrested and charged with driving with a suspended license after police pulled over his blue BMW 330I for improper passing on the shoulder at Route 83 and North Avenue at 5:56 p.m. March 13. He was released on bond.

Ernest A. Pearson, 47, 769 N. Kenilworth, Elmhurst, was arrested and charged with driving with a suspended license after police pulled over his red Subaru for failure to signal at Second and Myrtle at 12:04 p.m. March 14. He was released on bond.

Aristides Troncoso, 48, 3605 N. Tripp, Chicago, was arrested and charged with driving with a suspended license after police pulled over his green Chevrolet Trailblazer for disobeying a traffic control signal at North and Melrose at 11:38 p.m. March 14. He was released on bond.

*Driving Without a License*

Olivia Valencia, 47, 2818 S. 59th Court, Cicero, was arrested and charged with driving without a license and driving without insurance after police pulled over her gold Chrysler Town and Country for a loud muffler and improper use of registration at Grand and Lake at 6:22 p.m. March 2. A passenger in her vehicle, Jose Torres, 22, of the same address, provided a false name and date of birth. He was charged with obstructing identification. Both were released on bond.

Antonio Jaimes, 40, 351 Miller Lane Apt. 2, Wood Dale, was arrested and charged with driving without a license after police pulled over his silver Nissan Frontier for improper u-turn at North and Villa at 11:22 p.m. March 6. He was released on bond.

Sarah Rayo, 20, 2115 Division, Melrose Park, was arrested and charged with driving without a license and driving without insurance after police pulled over her Honda Civic for no taillights at York and Diversey at 11:27 p.m. March 7. She was released on bond.

Jose Cortez, 35, 623 N. Lincoln Ave. Apt. 1, Addison, was arrested and charged with driving without a license and driving without insurance after police pulled over his black Volkswagon Jetta for speeding at Grand and Industrial Drive at 4:02 p.m. March 9. He was released on bond.

Elvia Terrazas, 46, 5726 W. 23rd St. Apt. 1, Cicero, was arrested and charged with driving without a license and driving without insurance after police pulled over her black Acura Integra at Lake Street and Interstate 294 at 2:10 p.m. March 13.

Patch reports on law enforcement activity using information provided by official agencies. Persons charged with a crime or issued a citation for violation of a local ordinance are presumed innocent until proved guilty in a court of law. If you or a family member are charged with a crime or cited for a violation and the charge or citation is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to contact karenc@patch.com and we will do follow-up reporting on the case. Reported by Patch 1 hour ago.

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March Movie Madness: Releases This Weekend at the Box Office

March 17, 2013, 5:45 am

≫ Next: Movie Reviews: 'The Call,' 'The Incredible Burt Wonderstone,' 'Oz the Great and Powerful' and More

≪ Previous: Twenty People Arrested for License Violations During First Half of March

March Movie Madness: Releases This Weekend at the Box Office

Patch Annandale, VA --

I'm sitting outside the Verizon Center, once again fighting for parking this week with the sports fans next door to my screening movie theatre. It reminds me, even when it matters, sometimes the winning team is a fluke, sometimes it's well deserved…

As Cinema Siren is meant to "guide you through a sea of celluloid," I'd like to direct you toward the more deserving teams of filmmakers releasing something this busy week at the multiplex. With spring break upon us, this early March weekend offers an odd mix of genres, with each vying for the top spot at the box office. Best of luck to them, they'd be replacing or be added to a top 10 where only two have even 50 percent positive reviews, and some of which are so bad they should be benched like the tasteless or very badly behaved player they are.

*Find movie times** at **Angelika Film Center & Cafe at Mosaic.*

This week, we have four new movies of note, and I'll briefly give my thoughts and recommendations, so you know what you're getting into before you hand over your hard-earned cash and sit in expectation for upwards of two hours….

*The Call: Don't Answer*
This movie stars Halle Berry as 911 operator Jordan in a race against time to save a teenage abductee Casey (Abigail Breslin). For a story which centers on the potential torture, rape and death of a young girl, it starts off well enough. We learn why Berry's character is highly invested in keeping alive the girl at the center of the action.

She's been there before, and it didn't go well. This means not only will you, dear audience, be watching extended scenes of a terrified teen screaming and crying in the trunk of a car while the serial killer trundles along with her toward his torture lair and kill zone, you will also see the pre-show, where we learn how truly awful the villain is.

Jordan in the 911 "hive," talking Casey through ways of getting out alive, is tense and compelling. I would argue, however, that from the very first scenes, this movie is extremely unpleasant to watch, and qualifies as anything but a good time at the theatre.

But let's say you like high-octane suspense flicks where a lot is at stake, and teenage girls being chloroformed and punched is an acceptable plot point. Perhaps you, like Cinema Siren, would like to support a black lead actress carrying a film. In that case, she'd better be driven by making sound decisions.

Unfortunately, The Call quickly veers off-road to four-wheel in the Land of Stupid Choices, that place in horror usually littered with the bodies of promiscuous co-eds. The movie gets weaker and weaker and more far-fetched, as it becomes more and more a revenge fantasy. At one point, Jordan goes alone into a hidden underground hiding place.

I'm tempted to scream, but lean over to a fellow critic and say, "Alone?" to which he replies sarcastically, "Oh, she's got this!"

Suffice to say by the end of The Call I hated this movie so much, it made me sorry I couldn't have walked out a full half-hour before. There is no joy, no cohesion, bad choices and a truly gruesome premise. Good acting all around made my distaste all the more unfortunate. When your local theatre gets The Call, don't answer.

*The Incredible Burt Wonderstone: Tragic Magic*
What happens when you mix great character actors Steve Buschemi and Alan Arkin, and funny men A-listers Jim Carrey and Steve Carell? It should be magic, right? If this was the movie equivalent of the magic trick where a woman gets sawed in half, there'd be blood all over the stage.

No question its heart is in the right place. Carell and Buscemi play lifelong pals who perform together as Burt Wonderstone and Anton Marvelton, making big bucks in Vegas with assistant Jane (Olivia Wilde) in an increasingly stale magic act. The two stars have grown to hate each other. When guerrilla street magician Steve Gray (Jim Carrey) steals what is left of their audience with his new over-the-top stunts, they lose their jobs and break up. Will Wonderstone get his magic mojo back when he discovers his childhood magic idol Rance Holloway (Alan Arkin)?

For a comedy, this movie has few funny moments. It does, however, have its fair share of mean-spirited elements, along with an "ick" factor that overall can only be described as bad taste. The actors do a perfectly fine job. Alan Arkin builds a particularly interesting and well-developed character, like magic, out of a script made of thin air….Olivia Wilde plays Jane with a straightforward sweetness and optimism that flies in the face of the movie as a whole.

It is the writing, both the dialogue and the script, that can't seem to decide what it wants to be, or where it wants to go. It is wildly uneven, as is our commitment to any of the lead characters. If they had stuck with Alan Arkin as the movie's central figure, they would have had something…Added to the weakness in the dialogue is an ending, after intermittent attempts to make the story somewhat believable, that stretches credulity to say the least.

As the end credits roll, our hopes go poof. Let this one disappear from theaters; watch at home if you must. Honestly, you'd be better off buying a magic kit and spending the time learning a real trick or two. * *

*Stoker: All in the Family — Hitchcock Style*
Director Park Chan-wook makes his first English-language film with this Gothic creepfest, building suspense slowly with equal amounts of nerve and perve. The visual style is eye-strokingly gorgeous, with set decoration, production design, and editing that together make up for the holes in pacing and storyline.

Hitchcock is beyond an obvious influence, but clearly the film's inspiration, with several direct odes and parallels to Shadow of a Doubt, starting with the name of the introduction of "Uncle Charlie," which was also the name of the villain played by Joseph Cotton in the 1943 classic.

The story is of Evelyn Stoker (Nicole Kidman) and her daughter India (Mia Wasikowska). They have just lost Evelyn's husband Richard to a fatal car crash, when Richard's preppily handsome and fresh-faced brother Charlie (Matthew Goode) unexpectedly shows up to stay a while. In a country manor where time seems to have stood still, their already seemingly off-kilter world begins to completely unravel and heat up.

It is a sinister slow burn with a very European pace, reminiscent of Polanski's Repulsion. Psychosexual disfunction permeates the story. Chan-wook seems to excel at juxtaposing disturbing imagery like spiders crawling between India's legs with family scenes in the innocuously pea green parlor or at the family piano.

Mia's India sculls about dressed like she's in an Edward Gorey illustration, demonstrating a curiosity and intensity that leads the audience to question what's going on behind that deadpan stare of hers. Charlie is clearly more than he seems, and for better or worse we discover just how much more through the course of the movie. Evelyn is an ever-oppressive manipulative presence like a New England Blanche Dubois, but she may turn out to be the least concerning of the lot.

Though the last few minutes of the movie leave you scratching your head about motivation or deeper meaning (perhaps there is none), scenes in which the camera languidly captures what can only be described as an utterly demented family going about their demented doings will stay with you way after the end credits roll. A particularly memorable one recalling The Bad Seed had some audience members wide-eyed and clucking with dread, "No!"…If dark and Gothic is your thing, Stoker will give you the creeps you so richly desire.

*Upside Down: See Gravity-Crossed Lovers in So Pretty Sci-fi*
The creative idea to put young lovers Adam and Eden (Jim Sturgess and Kirsten Dunst) in two worlds that share opposing gravity and watch them try to find a way to be together is reason enough for curiosity about Upside Down. Alas, the script skips story continuity and any consistent explanation relating to the proceedings, so what could have been a great movie all around will have to survive on breathtaking dreamlike visuals and magnetic leads.

These two worlds are not allowed to fraternize, and are a metaphoric brick in the head about haves and have-nots. Down Below recalls a WW2 post-bomb blitz London. Up Above looks like Coruscant from Star Wars. Where the two meet, frolic, and fall in love as teens is like the most beautiful mountain landscape you've ever seen, only times two.

Nevermind the silly and sillier plot points, it's about the romance and the visuals, which are more than worthy to be seen on the big screen. Director/writer Juan Solanas uses photography and his experience training with famed cinematographer Felix Monti to create a strong personal artistic perspective with a surprisingly small budget.

Twilight shmilight, teens could do far worse than obsessing about this movie. You've never seen a couple so bathed in light and aglow with love and its accompanying optimism. Love may conquer all in the end, or leave them alone and dejected, but either way you'll be in for a dazzling cinematographic ride.

My vote, after going through these four movies, is for Upside Down and Stoker, both of which are in limited release, which might mean a bit of a road trip for some of you. They are both indie films, which means they were created on a much smaller budget, and allowed more freedom to those involved. How lovely that we might actually feel compelled to support what's good instead of what's big! Reported by Patch 6 hours ago.

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Movie Reviews: 'The Call,' 'The Incredible Burt Wonderstone,' 'Oz the Great and Powerful' and More

March 17, 2013, 5:51 am

≫ Next: Educator Says MPCSD Superintendent Created Hostile Work Environment

≪ Previous: March Movie Madness: Releases This Weekend at the Box Office

Movie Reviews: 'The Call,' 'The Incredible Burt Wonderstone,' 'Oz the Great and Powerful' and More

Patch West Des Moines, IA --

Movie information aggregated from MovieFone.com

*The Call*

· *Run Time*: N/A
· *Starring*: Halle Berry , Abigail Breslin , Morris Chestnut , Michael Eklund , Michael Imperioli
· *Director*: Brad Anderson
· *Trailer*

"The Call for the most part is a tense, extreme-jeopardy thriller that delivers the intended goods." Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter.

"Rare is the thriller that goes as completely and utterly wrong as The Call does at almost precisely the one hour mark. Which is a crying shame, because for an hour, this is a riveting, by the book kidnapping." Roger Moore, Movie Nation.

*Do you plan on seeing this movie? Leave a review of the film with a comment below after you do.*

* -*

*The Incredible Burt Wonderstone*

· *Run Time*: 100mins.
· *Starring*: Steve Carell , Jim Carrey , Steve Buscemi , Olivia Wilde , James Gandolfini
· *Director*: Don Scardino
· *Trailer*

"The Incredible Burt Wonderstone draws a lot of goodwill from the basic likability of its star performers." Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle. Full Review

"The inconsistencies in tone - is it an Anchorman-style farce or something more serious? - distract from likeable turns from the leads." Helen O'Hara, Empire. Full Review

*Do you plan on seeing this movie? Leave a review of the film with a comment below after you do.*

* - *

*Dead Man Down*

· *Run Time*: 110mins.
· *Starring*: Colin Farrell , Noomi Rapace , Terrence Howard
· *Director*: Niels Arden Oplev
· *Trailer*

"The tone and pacing of Dead Man Down have a distinctly European flavor, which may explain why American viewers, used to having background and exposition pared down and cleanly delivered, may feel adrift at the outset." James Berardinelli, ReelViews. Full Review

"The action merely meanders when it should be hurtling forward, running in circles when one expects it to head toward a conclusion or some sense of resolution." Calum Marsh, Slant Magazine. Full Review

*Have you seen this movie? Help your neighbors out. Leave a review of the film with a comment below.*

* -*

*Oz the Great and Powerful*

· *Run Time*: 130mins.
· *Starring*: James Franco , Mila Kunis , Rachel Weisz , Michelle Williams , Joey King
· *Director*: Sam Raimi
· *Trailer*

"Raimi manages to keep things engaging, which is a very real act of wizardry in and of itself." Jordan Hoffman, Film.com. Full Review

"This trip isn’t so notable. It’s not bad. Some bits are enjoyable. But ultimately, other than some genuinely impressive visuals, it never makes a compelling-enough case to justify its existence." Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic. Full Review

*Have you seen this movie? Help your neighbors out. Leave a review of the film with a comment below.*

* -*

*21 and Over*

· *Run Time:* 93mins.
· *Starring*: Miles Teller , Skylar Astin , Justin Chon , Sarah Wright ,François Chau
· *Director*: Jon Lucas, Scott Moore
· *Trailer*

"Writer-directors Jon Lucas and Scott Moore find a nice balance between the over-the-top high jinks and an emotional core, which unexpectedly crystallizes relatively late in the movie." Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle.

"Yes, surely for them, the lucky few and probable many, 21 and Over will be the Best Movie Ever. For the rest of us, though, it’s something of a chore." William Goss, Film.com.

*Have you seen this movie? Help your neighbors out. Leave a review of the film with a comment below.*

-

*Jack The Giant Slayer*

· *Run Time*: 114mins.
· *Starring*: Nicholas Hoult , Stanley Tucci , John Kassir , Ian McShane ,Ewan McGregor
· *Director*:Bryan Singer
· *Trailer*

"Ultimately, it’s hard and a bit pointless to nitpick Jack The Giant Slayer because it never sets out to be or presents itself as anything more than a slightly beefed up fairy tale." Kevin Jagernauth, The Playlist. Full Review

"This epic waste of $190 million plunders the grab bag of overused plotlines, failing to put its own stamp on much of anything." R. Kurt Osenlund, Slant Magazine. Full Review

*Have you seen this movie? Help your neighbors out. Leave a review of the film with a comment below.*

-

*Snitch*

· *Run Time*: 112mins.
· *Starring*: Dwayne Johnson , Barry Pepper , Susan Sarandon
· *Director*: Ric Roman Waugh
· *Trailer*

"Snitch is grittily streetwise, and until its last 20 minutes fairly credible compared to other movies "inspired by" true stories." Steve Persall, Tampa Bay Times.

"Although Johnson performs admirably in the drama-heavy role — far better than many of his action-hero colleagues would manage — John Matthews is a character as boring as his name." Barbara VanDenburgh, Arizona Republic.

*Have you seen this movie? Help your neighbors out. Leave a review of the film with a comment below.*

-

*Safe Haven*

· *Run Time:* 118mins.
· *Starring:* Josh Duhamel , Julianne Hough
· *Director:* Lasse Hallström
· *Trailer*

"A sentimental romantic thriller. But it’s a well-made sentimental romantic thriller, and that makes all the difference." Connie Ogle, Miami Herald.

"It’s hard to argue with the title here – Safe Haven, indeed. This is all about safety in the Hollywood workplace. Why make a movie when making a Hallmark-card-with-dialogue is so much less risky?" Rick Groen, The Globe and Mail.

*Do you plan on seeing this movie? Leave a review of the film with a comment below after you do.*

-

*Identity Thief*

· *Run Time: *N/A*
*
· *Starring: *Melissa McCarthy , Jason Bateman , John Cho , Clark Duke ,Amanda Peet
· *Director:* Seth Gordon
· *Trailer*

"Melissa McCarthy is riveting in simply-penned moments of remorse and confession, adding tearful depth to her ace timing and formidable physical comedy." R. Kurt Osenlund, Slant Magazine

"Identity Thief is a road movie with its creative lanes clogged, and a Mack truck comedian barreling through, anyway." Steve Persall, Tampa Bay Times

*Have you seen this movie? Help your neighbors out. Leave a review of the film with a comment below.*

* -*

Any of these spark your interest? Jordan Creek Century 20 and XD will be showing all these flicks. Showtimes and ticket costs can be found on the theater's website. Reported by Patch 6 hours ago.

↧

Educator Says MPCSD Superintendent Created Hostile Work Environment

March 13, 2013, 3:33 pm

≫ Next: Second-Quarter Honor Rolls Announced at Rockville High School

≪ Previous: Movie Reviews: 'The Call,' 'The Incredible Burt Wonderstone,' 'Oz the Great and Powerful' and More

Educator Says MPCSD Superintendent Created Hostile Work Environment

Patch Menlo Park, CA --

Menlo Park City School District employees were on edge Tuesday night as one of their colleagues lambasted the district’s new superintendent for creating a hostile work environment and unsettling the future of special needs education in the district.

“He’s bullying people until they leave the district,” said Olivia Mandilk, Special Education Services Director, whose job will eliminated in June.

“Teachers can’t sleep at night, living in fear that they could be destroyed financially,” Mandilk told Patch.

Mandilk said that she was the latest in a string of administrative employees who were presented with the three options: resign, retire, or take a teaching position in the district – if one was available.

She cited seven other employees’ surprising departures from the district as evidence of this alarming trend. Some of the individuals had worked in the district for only a few years, while others had been employed there for more than 30 years. She said all of the following people were victims of workplace bullying:

Dennis Hatfield, former maintenance and operations director; Clyde Pinto, former accounts payable employee; Jo Sauer Mitchell, former assistant superintendent; Mike Melton, former Hillview Middle School principal; Carol Meltzer, former administrative assistant; Robin Redding, reading specialist at Encinal; and Toni Barone, instructional technology coordinator.

She said that on February 22, Superintendent Ghysels informed her that the district would be taking special education services in “a new direction,” and presented her with the three options, all of which would result in the elimination of her job.

“He doesn’t understand that the department goes in a different direction every year,” she said, describing the special education program that creates Individual Education Plans for each of its special needs students.

Communication about this issue broke down, according to parents who say they were not consulted about how the department was addressing their child’s needs or their perspective of the program’s success.

*Jennifer Kaufman* is the mother of a 12-year old special needs student in the district named Joe, who often carries plastic hangers with him for comfort.

“Our child is not typically developing and doesn’t fit into curriculum mandated by state,” she said, noting that his IEP was as unique as his chromosomes.

Kaufman said Menlo Park CSD’s special education program is a “gem” without an equal on the Peninsula and credited Mandilk with its creation. She was surprised by the announcement that the district would be changing course next academic year, saying that no one told the parents.

“I don’t know about ‘the new direction’ that this district and this impacts me,” she said. “I implore you not to let her go,” she told the board of education.

*Menlo Park City School District *is “an inclusive district,” which means special needs children are placed in classroom with regularly developing and advanced students. About 90 % of the special needs students take courses with the general population of students, according to mpcsd.com. While some parents say this is a good thing that enables their children to be seen as valued members of society by other students, not everyone agrees that this approach is being executed in the best way.

*Janet Gough*’s child shares a classroom with special needs children. She said her dissatisfaction with the special education services in the district inspired her to try to discuss ways to improve things.

“Some specialists were detriment rather than a help,” she said, describing the obstacles she faced while trying to discuss best practices with them.

She was especially frustrated with the poor communication between specialists in the school and the parents.

“There wasn’t a feedback form, no conversation, or any real way to give feedback,” she said, noting that she spoke on behalf of a group of parents who feel the same way.

“We tried our hardest to open a dialogue with Olivia, so all the stakeholders could come together and be able to discuss what’ going on," she said. “We were denied the right to organize; our dialogue was not welcome, and we were invited to meetings that were presentations,” she said.

The Menlo Park City School Board discussed Mandilk's and Borone’s employment contracts on Tuesday night in closed session prior to the regularly scheduled board meeting. When the board members emerged at 6 p.m., Board President Terry Thygesen reported that no action had been taken.

*“*These are always difficult matters,” Thygesen told about 65 parents and teachers in the boardroom that night. “We’re restricted by law and not allowed to comment about personnel matters,” she said.

Many teachers who spoke under condition of anonymity said watching their colleagues depart from the district under dubious circumstances made them fearful for their job and unlikely to try to present their opinions to district administrators in the future. None of them were told what type of special education services the district would have next year.

California law requires that public school districts provide special education instruction and services. MPCSD had 214 special needs students as of December 2011, according to the latest data available from the California Department of Education. The County of San Mateo has a total of 10,136 special education students, while the state of California educates 686,352 students with special learning needs.

The school district's superintendent is responsible for shaping the district’s curriculum and staffing educators to support the educational goals set by the school board. The Menlo Park City School District hired Maurice Ghysels in on July 1, 2011, a move which is altering the way the public school system does business.

Mandilk said since Ghysels was brought on board, he’s engaged in “violent psychological harassment, terrorizing district administrators and creating a dramatic, hostile work place.”

“I’m angry at myself that I didn’t stand up before now,” she said. “I’m standing up here now for the district employees who’ve been mistreated,” she said, “so it doesn’t happen to anyone else.”

“A healthy work place used to be the norm, and must be reestablished as quickly as possible,” she added.

After hearing multiple emotionally-charged stories about the uncertain future of the special needs curriculum during the meeting, Ghysels addressed parents.

“Rest assured, I’m speaking from the heart here; I don’t want you to worry. The direction we’re going is very much based on collaboration,” Ghysels said. “My recommendation [to eliminate the job] is a reflection of listening to teachers and working with staff,” he said.

The board approved the elimination of the Borone's technology services coordinator position Tuesday night. It was on the consent agenda.

The future of Mandilk’s position was uncertain as of 10:40 p.m. when the board reentered closed session to discuss her employment. On Wednesday morning, sources confirmed that her position would be eliminated.

*

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*Also on Patch: *

*Mexican Restaurant To Please Picky Eaters in Menlo Park
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*Who Are the Richest People in Menlo Park and Atherton?
*
*New Study: Average Local Apartment Unaffordable for 57% of Renters
*
*Body Found on Tracks Identified
*
*Stately Menlo Park Home: $6.25 Million*

* * Reported by Patch 5 days ago.

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Second-Quarter Honor Rolls Announced at Rockville High School

March 14, 2013, 5:48 am

≫ Next: March Movie Madness: Releases This Weekend at the Box Office

≪ Previous: Educator Says MPCSD Superintendent Created Hostile Work Environment

Patch Vernon, CT --

Rockville High School has released its honor rolls for the second quarter of the 2012-13 academic year.

*High Honors*

*Grade 9*

Isaac Bilmes, Scott Blanchard, Sophie Bonadies, Sierra Buckley, Kayla Bull, Sara Butterfield, Abdullah Chaudhry, Alana Covert, Alicia Daigle, Bethany Daigle, Sylvia Darigis, Hali Doyon, Sumiko Dunwoody, Gillian Foley, Amber Fuller, Laurel Garrett, Mitchell Gessay, Shannon Guilbault, Stephen Hatch, Evan Hurst, Brittany Janosi, Paul Jeffers, Kylie Kearney, Sarah Kline, Renee Leighton, Sara Linton, Brianna Markunas, Matthew McClure, Haley Mistretta, Elizabeth Murray, Janeleen Negron, Tyler Oliva, Alexis Pariseau, Julia Philbrick, Andrew Pizzanello, Ryan Poutre, Dana Purcell, Chris Rocha, Renee Rogan, Mathieu Roy, Najah Royal-Hall, Winona Scheff, Andrew Simard, Melissa Smajevic, Caleb Tourtelotte, Vivian Ufongene, Lily Vartanian, Jeffrey Westcott, Allyson Witham, Haylie Yeats, Kenny Zheng.

*Grade 10*

Zachary Adams, Muhamed Aly, Adam Arnold, Vitali Bahatyrevich, Brandon Bartol, Nicholas Bartos, Tyler Beaulieu, Steven Bloniarz, Erin Brownell, Amanda Columbo, Mohamed El Tahawy, Erin Gonyeau, Haley Hasty, Emily Hawley, Andrew Honan, Joy Houlder, Tyler Johnson, Jaclyn Leonard, Amber Lessard, Aaron MacKenn, Aarika Mallory, Zachary Maloof, Brett Montminy, Spencer Padjet, Victoria Prevost, Cassandra Schambach, Brennan Schliphack, Trevor Seiders, Keith Simmons, Elizabeth Ward, Cheyenne West

*Grade 11*

Leah Abrahamson, Carlos Adamson, Jessica Bearse, Matthew Bilmes, Nicole Bilodeau, Bryan Bliek, Atzy Borisov, Heather Bousquet, Emily Burg, Joshua Chaffee, Sara Clarke, Alyssa Condon, Michelle Correia, Patrick Cowperthwaite, Katherine Cutting, Giulio D’Alatri, Joseph Darigis, Alyssa Desmond, John Drost, Amy Eitelman, Briana Flint, Taylor Fournier, Jonathan Frank, Alyssa Gunther, Mahnoor Khan, Muryam Khan, Zachary Kline, Jessica Koelsch, Natalie LaRocco, Jessica LaRose, Michael MacDonald, Michelle Manganello, Luke McCleary, Maria Meier, Dominique Moore, Jennifer Mueller, Sean O’Gara, Jacqueline Ose, Jacob Ott, Corrine Perry, Chelsea Poloski, Patrick Purcell, Elizabeth Radcliff, Gabriel Rogan, Katia Ruesta, Kiara Ruesta, Shayla Schoeneberger, Patrick Sekula, Rachael Shane, Hannah Steed, Jenna Sunderland, Sayleelove Torres, Claire Ufongene, Andrew Uzdejczyk, Sarah Vincze, Jetsenia Walker, Schanzeh Waraich, Jessica Wells, Danielle Wemmell, Wendy Weston, Olivia Whitehead, Kelsey Wilson, Melissa Works.

*Grade 12*

Alex Alvarez, Kurt Annelli, Daniel Arcand, Matthew Belanger, Evan Beutel, Mehrin Bhuller, Alicia Biske, Amber Boucher, Caleb Brownell, Jesse Cohen, Irene Darko, Erin Dlubac, Vincent Donofrio, Bianca Dorrenhaus, Marissa Fujimoto, Megan Gardiner, Allison Hawley, Ethan Hotchkiss, Abigail Kaminski, James Kane, Sidra Khan, Julia Koper, Christopher Kupchunos, Kaitlyn Lajoie, Steven Lavoie, Michael Leonard, Joseph Lucia, Sarah Lueckel, Megan McCollum, Connor McCullough, Peter Melander, Ana Morales, Lisa Mueller, Son Nguyen, Rachael Nutt, Samantha Perry, Jessica Petritus, Sarah Provencher, Elizabeth Royce, Lauren Silver, Laura Skoly, Emily Sullivan, Olivia Tani, Nicholas Thierfeldt, Nicole Timbrell, Clayton Trahan, Kailynn Violette, Courtney West, Courtney Wheeler, Diana Ziolkowska.

*Honors*

*Grade 9*

Dylan Andrews, Ashley Barile, Samantha Barisano, Kaylin Blais, Richard Clay, Nikole DeCarli, Zachery Graves, Carl Guglietta, Gloryanna Hockenberry, Caroline Jeffers, Maggie Knybel, Rebecca Landry, Jacob Mullins, Zachary Peters, Tiara Pitman, Darianna Pozzato, Brandon Rivera, Naisandra Serrano, Denis Shannon, Rachel Silver, Salaysia Simmons, Glenn Thierfeldt, Anastasia Vincelette, April Violette, Emma Walsh, Samantha Westwood, Christian Wheeler, Mariah Wine.

*Grade 10*
Riley Aafedt, Manane Adoyi, Paul Andrulot, Mitchell Armstrong, Alize Barnard, Igor Biahliak, Amy Camp, Asia Chuaviriya, Carlie Clayton, Gabrielle Cruz, Benton Damiano, Bret Davis, Kathryn Davis, Alicia Dillman, Tatiana Dimovski, Samantha Fazzino, Seamus Foley, Caitlyn Hennessey, Gavanni Kennan, James Lamoureaux, Andre Lisee, Taylor Machholz, Jacob Marley, Petra Martinelli, Nicole Michaels, Robin Morrill, Bradley Owen, Alexander Polanco, Zachary Polansky, Nikolas Rodriguez, Kaitlyn Salcedo, Morgan Skoly, Ryan Werner, Cole Zdanis.

*Grade 11*

Julisse Acevedo, Catherine Bartol, Julia Bonadies, Courtney Botteron, Hillary Brandt, Patrick Breslin, Katelyn Burke, Waleed Chaudhry, Katie Curtis, Alexander Demetro, Daniel Dzen, Matthew Goff, Rachel Hadden, Sean Hammond, Kimberly Irving, Joshua Jarrett, Christopher Jordan, Michael Kalencik, Jacob Kennedy, Amanda Lavoie, Christiane Lee, Benjamin Lovett, Timothy Lyons, Michael Mastroianno, Anna McCain, Kaylee Miklas, Tao Pan, Sara Pare, Nathan Plossay, Clarissa Sarmiento, Emily Seekins, Karam Shafique, Ahlajuwon Spencer, Trong Tran, Timothy Trimmer, Joshua Walsh, Daniel Wheeler, Junique Wright.

*Grade 12*

Marzouk Adoyi, Hinna Ashraf, Troy Bajjo, Geoffrey Barry, Matthew Beaulieu, Benjamin Brady, Kellie Butterfield, Muhammad Chudary, Erica Clayton, Melissa Colon, Gilberto Cordero, Alina D’Aguilar, Colleen Donohue, Bradley Gale, Robert Gardiner, Alan Gary, Jacqueline Gauthier, Abigail Godfrey, Melissa Hall, Christa Hockenberry, Tyler Jacques, Zachary Johanson, Pakeeza Khan, Sora Kim, Mariah King, Tyler King, Tiffany Lawrence, Zachary LeBeau, Megan Leopard, Matthew LePage, Aidan Malone, Elaina Marcotte, Rebecca Morrill, Maxim Nowak, Courtney Oliva, Trixie Parcon, Christina Pettengill, Justin Piretti, Bryan Ramsey, Danielle Rini, Haidar Sheikh, Daianera Small-Cashman, Emily Vincze, David Wylie. Reported by Patch 4 days ago.

↧

March Movie Madness: Releases This Weekend at the Box Office

March 16, 2013, 3:13 am

≫ Next: Olivia Wilde Takes Jason Sudeikis To Strip Club

≪ Previous: Second-Quarter Honor Rolls Announced at Rockville High School

Patch Burke, VA --

I'm sitting outside the Verizon Center, once again fighting for parking this week with the sports fans next door to my screening movie theatre. It reminds me, even when it matters, sometimes the winning team is a fluke, sometimes it's well deserved…

As Cinema Siren is meant to "guide you through a sea of celluloid," I'd like to direct you toward the more deserving teams of filmmakers releasing something this busy week at the multiplex. With spring break upon us, this early March weekend offers an odd mix of genres, with each vying for the top spot at the box office. Best of luck to them, they'd be replacing or be added to a top 10 where only two have even 50 percent positive reviews, and some of which are so bad they should be benched like the tasteless or very badly behaved player they are.

*Find movie times** at** **Fairfax Corner 14 and Regal Fairfax Towne Center 10.*

This week, we have four new movies of note, and I'll briefly give my thoughts and recommendations, so you know what you're getting into before you hand over your hard-earned cash and sit in expectation for upwards of two hours….

*The Call: Don't Answer*
This movie stars Halle Berry as 911 operator Jordan in a race against time to save a teenage abductee Casey (Abigail Breslin). For a story which centers on the potential torture, rape and death of a young girl, it starts off well enough. We learn why Berry's character is highly invested in keeping alive the girl at the center of the action.

She's been there before, and it didn't go well. This means not only will you, dear audience, be watching extended scenes of a terrified teen screaming and crying in the trunk of a car while the serial killer trundles along with her toward his torture lair and kill zone, you will also see the pre-show, where we learn how truly awful the villain is.

Jordan in the 911 "hive," talking Casey through ways of getting out alive, is tense and compelling. I would argue, however, that from the very first scenes, this movie is extremely unpleasant to watch, and qualifies as anything but a good time at the theatre.

But let's say you like high-octane suspense flicks where a lot is at stake, and teenage girls being chloroformed and punched is an acceptable plot point. Perhaps you, like Cinema Siren, would like to support a black lead actress carrying a film. In that case, she'd better be driven by making sound decisions.

Unfortunately, The Call quickly veers off-road to four-wheel in the Land of Stupid Choices, that place in horror usually littered with the bodies of promiscuous co-eds. The movie gets weaker and weaker and more far-fetched, as it becomes more and more a revenge fantasy. At one point, Jordan goes alone into a hidden underground hiding place.

I'm tempted to scream, but lean over to a fellow critic and say, "Alone?" to which he replies sarcastically, "Oh, she's got this!"

Suffice to say by the end of The Call I hated this movie so much, it made me sorry I couldn't have walked out a full half-hour before. There is no joy, no cohesion, bad choices and a truly gruesome premise. Good acting all around made my distaste all the more unfortunate. When your local theatre gets The Call, don't answer.

*The Incredible Burt Wonderstone: Tragic Magic*
What happens when you mix great character actors Steve Buschemi and Alan Arkin, and funny men A-listers Jim Carrey and Steve Carell? It should be magic, right? If this was the movie equivalent of the magic trick where a woman gets sawed in half, there'd be blood all over the stage.

No question its heart is in the right place. Carell and Buscemi play lifelong pals who perform together as Burt Wonderstone and Anton Marvelton, making big bucks in Vegas with assistant Jane (Olivia Wilde) in an increasingly stale magic act. The two stars have grown to hate each other. When guerrilla street magician Steve Gray (Jim Carrey) steals what is left of their audience with his new over-the-top stunts, they lose their jobs and break up. Will Wonderstone get his magic mojo back when he discovers his childhood magic idol Rance Holloway (Alan Arkin)?

For a comedy, this movie has few funny moments. It does, however, have its fair share of mean-spirited elements, along with an "ick" factor that overall can only be described as bad taste. The actors do a perfectly fine job. Alan Arkin builds a particularly interesting and well-developed character, like magic, out of a script made of thin air….Olivia Wilde plays Jane with a straightforward sweetness and optimism that flies in the face of the movie as a whole.

It is the writing, both the dialogue and the script, that can't seem to decide what it wants to be, or where it wants to go. It is wildly uneven, as is our commitment to any of the lead characters. If they had stuck with Alan Arkin as the movie's central figure, they would have had something…Added to the weakness in the dialogue is an ending, after intermittent attempts to make the story somewhat believable, that stretches credulity to say the least.

As the end credits roll, our hopes go poof. Let this one disappear from theaters; watch at home if you must. Honestly, you'd be better off buying a magic kit and spending the time learning a real trick or two. * *

*Stoker: All in the Family — Hitchcock Style*
Director Park Chan-wook makes his first English-language film with this Gothic creepfest, building suspense slowly with equal amounts of nerve and perve. The visual style is eye-strokingly gorgeous, with set decoration, production design, and editing that together make up for the holes in pacing and storyline.

Hitchcock is beyond an obvious influence, but clearly the film's inspiration, with several direct odes and parallels to Shadow of a Doubt, starting with the name of the introduction of "Uncle Charlie," which was also the name of the villain played by Joseph Cotton in the 1943 classic.

The story is of Evelyn Stoker (Nicole Kidman) and her daughter India (Mia Wasikowska). They have just lost Evelyn's husband Richard to a fatal car crash, when Richard's preppily handsome and fresh-faced brother Charlie (Matthew Goode) unexpectedly shows up to stay a while. In a country manor where time seems to have stood still, their already seemingly off-kilter world begins to completely unravel and heat up.

It is a sinister slow burn with a very European pace, reminiscent of Polanski's Repulsion. Psychosexual disfunction permeates the story. Chan-wook seems to excel at juxtaposing disturbing imagery like spiders crawling between India's legs with family scenes in the innocuously pea green parlor or at the family piano.

Mia's India sculls about dressed like she's in an Edward Gorey illustration, demonstrating a curiosity and intensity that leads the audience to question what's going on behind that deadpan stare of hers. Charlie is clearly more than he seems, and for better or worse we discover just how much more through the course of the movie. Evelyn is an ever-oppressive manipulative presence like a New England Blanche Dubois, but she may turn out to be the least concerning of the lot.

Though the last few minutes of the movie leave you scratching your head about motivation or deeper meaning (perhaps there is none), scenes in which the camera languidly captures what can only be described as an utterly demented family going about their demented doings will stay with you way after the end credits roll. A particularly memorable one recalling The Bad Seed had some audience members wide-eyed and clucking with dread, "No!"…If dark and Gothic is your thing, Stoker will give you the creeps you so richly desire.

*Upside Down: See Gravity-Crossed Lovers in So Pretty Sci-fi*
The creative idea to put young lovers Adam and Eden (Jim Sturgess and Kirsten Dunst) in two worlds that share opposing gravity and watch them try to find a way to be together is reason enough for curiosity about Upside Down. Alas, the script skips story continuity and any consistent explanation relating to the proceedings, so what could have been a great movie all around will have to survive on breathtaking dreamlike visuals and magnetic leads.

These two worlds are not allowed to fraternize, and are a metaphoric brick in the head about haves and have-nots. Down Below recalls a WW2 post-bomb blitz London. Up Above looks like Coruscant from Star Wars. Where the two meet, frolic, and fall in love as teens is like the most beautiful mountain landscape you've ever seen, only times two.

Nevermind the silly and sillier plot points, it's about the romance and the visuals, which are more than worthy to be seen on the big screen. Director/writer Juan Solanas uses photography and his experience training with famed cinematographer Felix Monti to create a strong personal artistic perspective with a surprisingly small budget.

Twilight shmilight, teens could do far worse than obsessing about this movie. You've never seen a couple so bathed in light and aglow with love and its accompanying optimism. Love may conquer all in the end, or leave them alone and dejected, but either way you'll be in for a dazzling cinematographic ride.

My vote, after going through these four movies, is for Upside Down and Stoker, both of which are in limited release, which might mean a bit of a road trip for some of you. They are both indie films, which means they were created on a much smaller budget, and allowed more freedom to those involved. How lovely that we might actually feel compelled to support what's good instead of what's big! Reported by Patch 2 days ago.

↧

Olivia Wilde Takes Jason Sudeikis To Strip Club

March 17, 2013, 9:02 pm

≫ Next: March Movie Madness: New Releases at the Box Office

≪ Previous: March Movie Madness: Releases This Weekend at the Box Office

Olivia Wilde treated her funnyman fiance Jason Sudeikis to a racy date night by booking a private room in a New York strip club, according to a U.S.... Reported by ContactMusic 15 hours ago.

↧

March Movie Madness: New Releases at the Box Office

March 18, 2013, 2:25 am

≫ Next: Movie Reviews: Upside Down, The Call, 'Blah' Wonderstone

≪ Previous: Olivia Wilde Takes Jason Sudeikis To Strip Club

March Movie Madness: New Releases at the Box Office

Patch Old Town Alexandria, VA --

I'm sitting outside the Verizon Center, once again fighting for parking this week with the sports fans next door to my screening movie theatre. It reminds me, even when it matters, sometimes the winning team is a fluke, sometimes it's well deserved.

As Cinema Siren is meant to "guide you through a sea of celluloid," I'd like to direct you toward the more deserving teams of filmmakers releasing something this busy week at the multiplex. With spring break upon us, this early March weekend offers an odd mix of genres, with each vying for the top spot at the box office. Best of luck to them, they'd be replacing or be added to a top 10 where only two have even 50 percent positive reviews, and some of which are so bad they should be benched like the tasteless or very badly behaved player they are.

This week, we have four new movies of note, and I'll briefly give my thoughts and recommendations, so you know what you're getting into before you hand over your hard-earned cash and sit in expectation for upwards of two hours….

*The Call: Don't Answer*
This movie stars Halle Berry as 911 operator Jordan in a race against time to save a teenage abductee Casey (Abigail Breslin). For a story which centers on the potential torture, rape and death of a young girl, it starts off well enough. We learn why Berry's character is highly invested in keeping alive the girl at the center of the action.

She's been there before, and it didn't go well. This means not only will you, dear audience, be watching extended scenes of a terrified teen screaming and crying in the trunk of a car while the serial killer trundles along with her toward his torture lair and kill zone, you will also see the pre-show, where we learn how truly awful the villain is.

Jordan in the 911 "hive," talking Casey through ways of getting out alive, is tense and compelling. I would argue, however, that from the very first scenes, this movie is extremely unpleasant to watch, and qualifies as anything but a good time at the theatre.

But let's say you like high-octane suspense flicks where a lot is at stake, and teenage girls being chloroformed and punched is an acceptable plot point. Perhaps you, like Cinema Siren, would like to support a black lead actress carrying a film. In that case, she'd better be driven by making sound decisions.

Unfortunately, The Call quickly veers off-road to four-wheel in the Land of Stupid Choices, that place in horror usually littered with the bodies of promiscuous co-eds. The movie gets weaker and weaker and more far-fetched, as it becomes more and more a revenge fantasy. At one point, Jordan goes alone into a hidden underground hiding place.

I'm tempted to scream, but lean over to a fellow critic and say, "Alone?" to which he replies sarcastically, "Oh, she's got this!"

Suffice to say by the end of The Call I hated this movie so much, it made me sorry I couldn't have walked out a full half-hour before. There is no joy, no cohesion, bad choices and a truly gruesome premise. Good acting all around made my distaste all the more unfortunate. When your local theatre gets The Call, don't answer.

*The Incredible Burt Wonderstone: Tragic Magic*
What happens when you mix great character actors Steve Buschemi and Alan Arkin, and funny men A-listers Jim Carrey and Steve Carell? It should be magic, right? If this was the movie equivalent of the magic trick where a woman gets sawed in half, there'd be blood all over the stage.

No question its heart is in the right place. Carell and Buscemi play lifelong pals who perform together as Burt Wonderstone and Anton Marvelton, making big bucks in Vegas with assistant Jane (Olivia Wilde) in an increasingly stale magic act. The two stars have grown to hate each other. When guerrilla street magician Steve Gray (Jim Carrey) steals what is left of their audience with his new over-the-top stunts, they lose their jobs and break up. Will Wonderstone get his magic mojo back when he discovers his childhood magic idol Rance Holloway (Alan Arkin)?

For a comedy, this movie has few funny moments. It does, however, have its fair share of mean-spirited elements, along with an "ick" factor that overall can only be described as bad taste. The actors do a perfectly fine job. Alan Arkin builds a particularly interesting and well-developed character, like magic, out of a script made of thin air….Olivia Wilde plays Jane with a straightforward sweetness and optimism that flies in the face of the movie as a whole.

It is the writing, both the dialogue and the script, that can't seem to decide what it wants to be, or where it wants to go. It is wildly uneven, as is our commitment to any of the lead characters. If they had stuck with Alan Arkin as the movie's central figure, they would have had something…Added to the weakness in the dialogue is an ending, after intermittent attempts to make the story somewhat believable, that stretches credulity to say the least.

As the end credits roll, our hopes go poof. Let this one disappear from theaters; watch at home if you must. Honestly, you'd be better off buying a magic kit and spending the time learning a real trick or two. * *

*Stoker: All in the Family — Hitchcock Style*
Director Park Chan-wook makes his first English-language film with this Gothic creepfest, building suspense slowly with equal amounts of nerve and perve. The visual style is eye-strokingly gorgeous, with set decoration, production design, and editing that together make up for the holes in pacing and storyline.

Hitchcock is beyond an obvious influence, but clearly the film's inspiration, with several direct odes and parallels to Shadow of a Doubt, starting with the name of the introduction of "Uncle Charlie," which was also the name of the villain played by Joseph Cotton in the 1943 classic.

The story is of Evelyn Stoker (Nicole Kidman) and her daughter India (Mia Wasikowska). They have just lost Evelyn's husband Richard to a fatal car crash, when Richard's preppily handsome and fresh-faced brother Charlie (Matthew Goode) unexpectedly shows up to stay a while. In a country manor where time seems to have stood still, their already seemingly off-kilter world begins to completely unravel and heat up.

It is a sinister slow burn with a very European pace, reminiscent of Polanski's Repulsion. Psychosexual disfunction permeates the story. Chan-wook seems to excel at juxtaposing disturbing imagery like spiders crawling between India's legs with family scenes in the innocuously pea green parlor or at the family piano.

Mia's India sculls about dressed like she's in an Edward Gorey illustration, demonstrating a curiosity and intensity that leads the audience to question what's going on behind that deadpan stare of hers. Charlie is clearly more than he seems, and for better or worse we discover just how much more through the course of the movie. Evelyn is an ever-oppressive manipulative presence like a New England Blanche Dubois, but she may turn out to be the least concerning of the lot.

Though the last few minutes of the movie leave you scratching your head about motivation or deeper meaning (perhaps there is none), scenes in which the camera languidly captures what can only be described as an utterly demented family going about their demented doings will stay with you way after the end credits roll. A particularly memorable one recalling The Bad Seed had some audience members wide-eyed and clucking with dread, "No!"…If dark and Gothic is your thing, Stoker will give you the creeps you so richly desire.

*Upside Down: See Gravity-Crossed Lovers in So Pretty Sci-fi*
The creative idea to put young lovers Adam and Eden (Jim Sturgess and Kirsten Dunst) in two worlds that share opposing gravity and watch them try to find a way to be together is reason enough for curiosity about Upside Down. Alas, the script skips story continuity and any consistent explanation relating to the proceedings, so what could have been a great movie all around will have to survive on breathtaking dreamlike visuals and magnetic leads.

These two worlds are not allowed to fraternize, and are a metaphoric brick in the head about haves and have-nots. Down Below recalls a WW2 post-bomb blitz London. Up Above looks like Coruscant from Star Wars. Where the two meet, frolic, and fall in love as teens is like the most beautiful mountain landscape you've ever seen, only times two.

Nevermind the silly and sillier plot points, it's about the romance and the visuals, which are more than worthy to be seen on the big screen. Director/writer Juan Solanas uses photography and his experience training with famed cinematographer Felix Monti to create a strong personal artistic perspective with a surprisingly small budget.

Twilight shmilight, teens could do far worse than obsessing about this movie. You've never seen a couple so bathed in light and aglow with love and its accompanying optimism. Love may conquer all in the end, or leave them alone and dejected, but either way you'll be in for a dazzling cinematographic ride.

My vote, after going through these four movies, is for Upside Down and Stoker, both of which are in limited release, which might mean a bit of a road trip for some of you. They are both indie films, which means they were created on a much smaller budget, and allowed more freedom to those involved. How lovely that we might actually feel compelled to support what's good instead of what's big!

To find out what's playing near you, check the websites of Regal Cinema Theatres in Potomac Yard and AMC Hoffman Center on Swamp Fox Road. Reported by Patch 10 hours ago.

↧

Movie Reviews: Upside Down, The Call, 'Blah' Wonderstone

March 18, 2013, 2:59 am

≫ Next: Olivia Wilde Booked A Private Room At Strip Club For Fiance Jason Sudeikis

≪ Previous: March Movie Madness: New Releases at the Box Office

Movie Reviews: Upside Down, The Call, 'Blah' Wonderstone

Patch Clarendon-Courthouse-Rosslyn, VA --

I'm sitting outside the Verizon Center, once again fighting for parking this week with the sports fans next door to my screening movie theatre. It reminds me, even when it matters, sometimes the winning team is a fluke, sometimes it's well deserved…

As Cinema Siren is meant to "guide you through a sea of celluloid," I'd like to direct you toward the more deserving teams of filmmakers releasing something this busy week at the multiplex. With spring break upon us, this early March weekend offers an odd mix of genres, with each vying for the top spot at the box office. Best of luck to them, they'd be replacing or be added to a top 10 where only two have even 50 percent positive reviews, and some of which are so bad they should be benched like the tasteless or very badly behaved player they are.

| *See What is Playing at the AMC Courthouse Plaza 8* |

This week, we have four new movies of note, and I'll briefly give my thoughts and recommendations, so you know what you're getting into before you hand over your hard-earned cash and sit in expectation for upwards of two hours….

*The Call: Don't Answer*
This movie stars Halle Berry as 911 operator Jordan in a race against time to save a teenage abductee Casey (Abigail Breslin). For a story which centers on the potential torture, rape and death of a young girl, it starts off well enough. We learn why Berry's character is highly invested in keeping alive the girl at the center of the action.

She's been there before, and it didn't go well. This means not only will you, dear audience, be watching extended scenes of a terrified teen screaming and crying in the trunk of a car while the serial killer trundles along with her toward his torture lair and kill zone, you will also see the pre-show, where we learn how truly awful the villain is.

Jordan in the 911 "hive," talking Casey through ways of getting out alive, is tense and compelling. I would argue, however, that from the very first scenes, this movie is extremely unpleasant to watch, and qualifies as anything but a good time at the theatre.

But let's say you like high-octane suspense flicks where a lot is at stake, and teenage girls being chloroformed and punched is an acceptable plot point. Perhaps you, like Cinema Siren, would like to support a black lead actress carrying a film. In that case, she'd better be driven by making sound decisions.

Unfortunately, The Call quickly veers off-road to four-wheel in the Land of Stupid Choices, that place in horror usually littered with the bodies of promiscuous co-eds. The movie gets weaker and weaker and more far-fetched, as it becomes more and more a revenge fantasy. At one point, Jordan goes alone into a hidden underground hiding place.

I'm tempted to scream, but lean over to a fellow critic and say, "Alone?" to which he replies sarcastically, "Oh, she's got this!"

Suffice to say by the end of The Call I hated this movie so much, it made me sorry I couldn't have walked out a full half-hour before. There is no joy, no cohesion, bad choices and a truly gruesome premise. Good acting all around made my distaste all the more unfortunate. When your local theatre gets The Call, don't answer.

*The Incredible Burt Wonderstone: Tragic Magic*
What happens when you mix great character actors Steve Buschemi and Alan Arkin, and funny men A-listers Jim Carrey and Steve Carell? It should be magic, right? If this was the movie equivalent of the magic trick where a woman gets sawed in half, there'd be blood all over the stage.

No question its heart is in the right place. Carell and Buscemi play lifelong pals who perform together as Burt Wonderstone and Anton Marvelton, making big bucks in Vegas with assistant Jane (Olivia Wilde) in an increasingly stale magic act. The two stars have grown to hate each other. When guerrilla street magician Steve Gray (Jim Carrey) steals what is left of their audience with his new over-the-top stunts, they lose their jobs and break up. Will Wonderstone get his magic mojo back when he discovers his childhood magic idol Rance Holloway (Alan Arkin)?

For a comedy, this movie has few funny moments. It does, however, have its fair share of mean-spirited elements, along with an "ick" factor that overall can only be described as bad taste. The actors do a perfectly fine job. Alan Arkin builds a particularly interesting and well-developed character, like magic, out of a script made of thin air….Olivia Wilde plays Jane with a straightforward sweetness and optimism that flies in the face of the movie as a whole.

It is the writing, both the dialogue and the script, that can't seem to decide what it wants to be, or where it wants to go. It is wildly uneven, as is our commitment to any of the lead characters. If they had stuck with Alan Arkin as the movie's central figure, they would have had something…Added to the weakness in the dialogue is an ending, after intermittent attempts to make the story somewhat believable, that stretches credulity to say the least.

As the end credits roll, our hopes go poof. Let this one disappear from theaters; watch at home if you must. Honestly, you'd be better off buying a magic kit and spending the time learning a real trick or two. * *

*Stoker: All in the Family — Hitchcock Style*
Director Park Chan-wook makes his first English-language film with this Gothic creepfest, building suspense slowly with equal amounts of nerve and perve. The visual style is eye-strokingly gorgeous, with set decoration, production design, and editing that together make up for the holes in pacing and storyline.

Hitchcock is beyond an obvious influence, but clearly the film's inspiration, with several direct odes and parallels to Shadow of a Doubt, starting with the name of the introduction of "Uncle Charlie," which was also the name of the villain played by Joseph Cotton in the 1943 classic.

The story is of Evelyn Stoker (Nicole Kidman) and her daughter India (Mia Wasikowska). They have just lost Evelyn's husband Richard to a fatal car crash, when Richard's preppily handsome and fresh-faced brother Charlie (Matthew Goode) unexpectedly shows up to stay a while. In a country manor where time seems to have stood still, their already seemingly off-kilter world begins to completely unravel and heat up.

It is a sinister slow burn with a very European pace, reminiscent of Polanski's Repulsion. Psychosexual disfunction permeates the story. Chan-wook seems to excel at juxtaposing disturbing imagery like spiders crawling between India's legs with family scenes in the innocuously pea green parlor or at the family piano.

Mia's India sculls about dressed like she's in an Edward Gorey illustration, demonstrating a curiosity and intensity that leads the audience to question what's going on behind that deadpan stare of hers. Charlie is clearly more than he seems, and for better or worse we discover just how much more through the course of the movie. Evelyn is an ever-oppressive manipulative presence like a New England Blanche Dubois, but she may turn out to be the least concerning of the lot.

Though the last few minutes of the movie leave you scratching your head about motivation or deeper meaning (perhaps there is none), scenes in which the camera languidly captures what can only be described as an utterly demented family going about their demented doings will stay with you way after the end credits roll. A particularly memorable one recalling The Bad Seed had some audience members wide-eyed and clucking with dread, "No!"…If dark and Gothic is your thing, Stoker will give you the creeps you so richly desire.

*Upside Down: See Gravity-Crossed Lovers in So Pretty Sci-fi*
The creative idea to put young lovers Adam and Eden (Jim Sturgess and Kirsten Dunst) in two worlds that share opposing gravity and watch them try to find a way to be together is reason enough for curiosity about Upside Down. Alas, the script skips story continuity and any consistent explanation relating to the proceedings, so what could have been a great movie all around will have to survive on breathtaking dreamlike visuals and magnetic leads.

These two worlds are not allowed to fraternize, and are a metaphoric brick in the head about haves and have-nots. Down Below recalls a WW2 post-bomb blitz London. Up Above looks like Coruscant from Star Wars. Where the two meet, frolic, and fall in love as teens is like the most beautiful mountain landscape you've ever seen, only times two.

Nevermind the silly and sillier plot points, it's about the romance and the visuals, which are more than worthy to be seen on the big screen. Director/writer Juan Solanas uses photography and his experience training with famed cinematographer Felix Monti to create a strong personal artistic perspective with a surprisingly small budget.

Twilight shmilight, teens could do far worse than obsessing about this movie. You've never seen a couple so bathed in light and aglow with love and its accompanying optimism. Love may conquer all in the end, or leave them alone and dejected, but either way you'll be in for a dazzling cinematographic ride.

My vote, after going through these four movies, is for Upside Down and Stoker, both of which are in limited release, which might mean a bit of a road trip for some of you. They are both indie films, which means they were created on a much smaller budget, and allowed more freedom to those involved. How lovely that we might actually feel compelled to support what's good instead of what's big! Reported by Patch 9 hours ago.

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Olivia Wilde Booked A Private Room At Strip Club For Fiance Jason Sudeikis

March 18, 2013, 6:25 am

≫ Next: Mid Somerset Festival 2013 - More results

≪ Previous: Movie Reviews: Upside Down, The Call, 'Blah' Wonderstone

Olivia Wilde is a man's dream come true - she booked a private room at a strip club for her fiance Jason Sudeikis last month. Reported by Starpulse.com 6 hours ago.

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Mid Somerset Festival 2013 - More results

March 18, 2013, 11:53 am

≫ Next: So You've Failed -- Masterclash and Asylum Say Goodbye

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This is Bath -- March 14 Class: 39 Reading Aloud (14 & 15) Jennifer McGlynn 40 Reading Aloud (16 & over) Miranda Shirnia 69 Group Acting (21 & under) Next Stage Youth 76 Duo Acting (under 17) Matilda Thomson & Sophie Drew 96 Classical Drama (14 & over) Elliot Shirnia March 15 Class 16A Verse Speaking (91/2-10) Amman Hassan 16B Verse Speaking (91/2-10) Sam Morgan 17A Verse Speaking (10-101/2) Liberty Shirnia 17B Verse Speaking (10-101/2) Harvey Wilson 22 Verse Speaking (121/2-13) Laura Smith 23 Verse Speaking (13-131/2) Harry Kemp 24 Verse Speaking (131/2-14) Florence Shirnia 29 Shared Verse (11 & under) Liberty Shirnia & Julian Shirnia 30 Bible Reading (10 & under) Tabitha Mattock 35 Reading Aloud (8) Keira Purewall 36 Reading Aloud (9) Emily Bleakley 42 Memorised Prose (9 &10) Freddie Vaughan 48 Story Telling Felix Robertson 61 Duo Mime (10 & 11) Anna Blezard & Eleanor Robertson 72A Duo Acting (under 12) Hermione Titcombe & Ysobel Andrews 72B Duo Acting (under 12) Ben Pearson & Alex Maclaren 87 Solo Acting (14) Isabelle Ingledew 88 Solo Acting (15) Emilie Bolt 89 Solo Acting (16) Charles Beaven 93 Solo Shakespeare (15 & 16) Charles Beaven Musical Theatre MT1 Solo (11 & under) Lucy Bean MT2 Solo (14 & under) Caitlin Mazza MT3 Solo (16 & under) Yasmine Meaden MT4 Solo (open) Bridgwater College MT6 Duo (14 & under) Lucy Pughe-Morgan & Meg Murphy MT7 Duo (16 & under) Grace Sessions & Charlotte Bond MT8 Duo (open) Bridgwater College MT10 Group (14 & under) Stagecoach Bath MT11 Group (16 & under) Stagecoach 1 MT12 Group (open) Bridgwater College MAJOR AWARDS Bath High School Cup Benjamin Bathurst and Olivia Stockinger Browne Challenge Trophy Miranda Webb Cawood Challenge Rose Bowl Arthur Williams Celia Powell Memorial Trophy Isabel Elliot, Charles Beaven and Miranda Shirnia De Reyes Challenge Trophy Lara Lawman Donald Sadler Trophy Harvey Wilson Evelyn Sandford Memorial Cup Olivia Laughton Farnell Thurston Trophy Celia Toke Nichols Harper Challenge Trophy Poppy Hedley Ledbury Cup Joe Bruton Plowman Memorial Trophy Jon Forbes Whiting Challenge Trophy Harry Kemp Evelyn Sandford Repertoire Trophy Elliot Shirnia Muriel Catling Memorial Trophy Yasmine Meaden Gilbert Cup Arthur Williams and Harvey Wilson March 16 Chamber music & ensembles Class X2 Instrumental Ensemble (year 8 & under) Paragon Brass Ensemble & Paragon Saxophone Quartet X5 Chamber Music: Trio-Nonet (year 8 & under) Millfield Piano Quartet X6 Chamber Music: String Quartet (up to year 13) Millfield String Quartet X7 Instrumental Ensemble (up to year 13) Prior Park African Drummers Reported by This is 24 minutes ago.

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So You've Failed -- Masterclash and Asylum Say Goodbye

March 18, 2013, 7:43 pm

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≪ Previous: Mid Somerset Festival 2013 - More results

Filed under: Humor, Entertainment, Video, Masterclash

The time has come to say goodbye. There were robots and nerdy burlesques and everything Star Wars. We gave you A Woman's Perspective and had Drinks With Writers. Olivia Munn pranked our intern. We banned Megan Fox and encouraged women to have Sex ... Read more

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments Reported by Asylum 17 hours ago.

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Trailer: The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

March 19, 2013, 4:11 am

≫ Next: Los Gatos Students Compete in Silicon Valley Science Fair

≪ Previous: So You've Failed -- Masterclash and Asylum Say Goodbye

Comedy starring Steve Carell, Jim Carrey, and Olivia Wilde. Reported by Sky Movies 8 hours ago.

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Los Gatos Students Compete in Silicon Valley Science Fair

March 19, 2013, 11:19 am

≫ Next: Broadchurch episode 3 brings in 7.6 million viewers

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Los Gatos Students Compete in Silicon Valley Science Fair

Patch Los Gatos, CA --

*Editor's Note:* This article was written for Los Gatos Patch as part of a San Jose State University journalism class assignment. The writer welcomes your feedback and comments.

With solutions to help aid cancer research, to in-depth data on how to prevent global warming, Silicon Valley students impressed judges with their science projects last Wednesday at the 53rd annual Silicon Valley Science Fair.

The fair, sponsored by Synopsys and the Santa Clara Valley Science and Engineering Fair Association (SCVSEFA), was held at the San Jose Convention Center.

According to SCVSEFA board member Veena Jain, the fair helps students develop the skills they learn in the classroom.

"The teachers work hard to get them here and their parents encourage that," Jain said. "All we're doing is providing a forum for them to compete with each other and do well."

Under strict fair deadlines and requirements, students must turn in an application before conducting their science experiments to ensure they follow safety and ethics rules, as well as reaching a certain science standard, according to SCVSEFA board member Heidi Strahm Black.

The experiments must also be independent, project-based research within the fields of computer science, environmental science, medicine, health, chemistry, biology and others.

This year, according to the 2013 Synopsis Championship statistics, 1,110 students participated.

Of those students, more than 10 represented Los Gatos High School. They are: Dan Burns, Jessica Chiu, Cathy Messenger, Brooke Murphy Ahmed, Justin Browns Brian, XinNi Chai, Eugenia Bing Huang, Andrea Rae Kibel, Adam Kevin O' Regan, Hannah Belle Spinner, Chinmay Manish Vaidya and Olivia Lynn Woodford-Berry.

Students who advance within the science fair continue on to the California State Science Fair, Broadcom Masters Competition, Intel International Science and Engineering Fair and the I-SWEEEP Olympiad.

Eesha Khare, a Lynbrook High School senior, won the I-SWEEEP Olympiad gold medal for her energy storage project last year.

"It was just a great experience because this project was about sustainability so first you get to see how your project can really make an impact in the world in terms of sustainability," Khare said.

A fourth year participant, Khare said participation in the fair and further competition is a unique and eye-opening experience.

"The Synopsys competition prepares you really well for the international fair," she said. "I think it's really important to participate in these science fairs because it gives you the opportunity to think independently and ask really big questions."

According to Khare, focusing on what you're passionate about and meeting others who are just as passionate about different subjects is all the difference.

"It's a good experience in terms of friends and learning in that sense, but also to develop your individual talent," she said.

Winners of this year's science fair will be announced April 1. Reported by Patch 1 hour ago.

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Broadchurch episode 3 brings in 7.6 million viewers

March 19, 2013, 7:25 am

≫ Next: Find Out How You Did On the Women's History Quiz

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Broadchurch episode 3 brings in 7.6 million viewers

This is Dorset -- Episode three of ITV drama series Broadchurch was watched by 7.6 million people last night. Filmed at West Bay in Dorset, the series stars David Tennant and Olivia Colman. Nearly 7 million viewed tuned in for the first episode on March 4, with last night's programme seeing a steady increase in interest. Last night's episode also sparked great debate on Twitter, with an estimated 880 tweets sent per minute about Broadchurch. Did you watch Broadchurch last night? Leave a comment below and have your say. Reported by This is 5 hours ago.

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Find Out How You Did On the Women's History Quiz

March 19, 2013, 7:17 am

≫ Next: Channel 4 show helps two people lose virginity as new season is announced

≪ Previous: Broadchurch episode 3 brings in 7.6 million viewers

Patch East Hampton, NY --

Here are the answers to the women's history quiz prepared by Hugh King, in honor of Women's History month. How did you do?

*1. Who was the first African American teacher hired in the East Hampton school system?*

*Answer: *Lucille Teel

*2. Who was the first woman to travel across the Rockies in a covered wagon? Hint: She's from Sag Harbor.*

*Answer: *Polly Swett

*3. Who was the first Native American mentioned in the town records?*

*Answer: *Quashawan

*4. Which woman is credited with directing the Marine Band to play a specific march whenever the President of the United States enters a public event?*

*Answer: *Julia Gardiner Tyler (the woman pictured in the photo)

*5. Who was the first female Supervisor of the Town of East Hampton?*

*Answer*: Judith Hope

*6. Who is the woman who gave the land for Guild Hall, the East Hampton Library and Nature Trail in the village?*

*Answer: *Mary Woodhouse

*7. Who was the first woman historian in East Hampton?*

*Answer: *Jeannette Edwards Rattray

*8. Who is Mary Olivia Slocum?*

*Answer: *Mrs. Russell Sage, Sag Harbor's greatest benefactor

*9. Who was the first female published author in the Town of East Hampton?*

*Answer: *Cornelia Huntington, who wrote "Sea Spray" in 1957.

*10. Who was the first woman elected to the East Hampton Village Board?*

*Answer: *Current Deputy Mayor Barbara Borsack

Thanks to Mr. King for sharing these questions with us and to everyone who played! Reported by Patch 5 hours ago.

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Channel 4 show helps two people lose virginity as new season is announced

March 19, 2013, 10:40 am

≫ Next: Magnolia Acquires 'Drinking Buddies,' Starring Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson

≪ Previous: Find Out How You Did On the Women's History Quiz

Jay Hunt unveils new programmes, including The 40-Year-Old Virgins, a French sci-fi drama and daily prayers during Ramadan

First came the film, now comes the Channel 4 reality show which will help two 40-year-olds lose their virginity.

In fact, the two people taking part in Channel 4's The 40-Year-Old Virgins are 45-year-old Clive and Rosie, 29, but that wasn't the name of the hit Steve Carell movie.

Unveiling more details about the programme today, Channel 4 chief creative officer Jay Hunt said it was an "incredibly heart-warming piece. I have never seen anything quite like it".

The two participants undergo radical sex therapy in the US and lose their virginity to two "sex surrogates".

One of the surrogates claims to have had sex with "850 people, not including my husbands".

Rosie tells the programme-makers: "Guys have this weird smell, kind of like a mix between aftershave and ham".

Hunt said the couplings would not be shown on screen but "it's clear what's going on".

"It's incredibly exposing for the two key characters in it," she said. "They talk in quite a lot of detail about what it's been like getting to a point in their lives where they have never had sexual contact with anybody.

"In a sense, what's extraordinary about it is they are normal people who for whatever reason have never ended up in a relationship."

Hunt added: "It feels like a sort of coming-of-age film and quite a responsible piece of broadcasting. But it's also got a real heart, it's quite an amazing film. Do we show them having sex? Not really, no. It's clear what's going on."

Hunt spoke about the documentary as Channel 4 unveiled a new season of programmes on Tuesday, including daily morning prayers during Ramadan, a behind the scenes look at a Scottish murder trial and French sci-fi drama Rebound.

The broadcaster will mark the Islamic holy month, which this year falls in July and August, with a nightly five-minute programme from a range of British Muslims on how they cope with Ramadan, as well as marking daily early morning prayers.

The Murder Trial will feature remotely operated cameras put into a British criminal court for the first time to capture a murder trial in its entirety.

The product of three years of negotiation which are still continuing today, it will feature the case of Nat Fraser, accused of murdering his wife Arlene Fraser, who vanished in 1998 and has never been found.

One of the first subtitled dramas to air on Channel 4 for many years, Rebound (Les Revenants) tells the story of a group of people in a small Alpine village who have trouble returning to their homes, unaware that they have been dead for several years and they are not expected back.

Other new shows include Olivia Colman in contemporary drama Run, Davina McCall gameshow Five Minutes to Make a Fortune, David Mitchell panel show Was it Something I Said? and two-parter Do You Speak English?, in which "ordinary" British people help four first-generation immigrants to learn English.

Peter Kay will also return to Channel 4 with his spoof of Secret Millionaire, which has now come to an end on C4, Malachy's Millions.

New drama London Irish, about a hard-drinking, hard-living ex-pat community of Northern Irish 20-somethings living in London, looks likely to cause controversy, featuring a scene in which a woman wakes up in bed with a young boy who passes her a lighter for her cigarette.

"It's obviously a gag," said Hunt, who said she hoped the drama would become "channel defining".

"It feels like we are entering a slightly different phase creatively," she said. "We are going to keep innovating in the months ahead."

Channel 4's coverage of its first Grand National will kick off with a special Alan Carr show the evening before and live coverage from Aintree, beginning at breakfast on 6 April.

The station will also start trailing its coverage of the big race today with an advert featuring horse riders jumping over urban obstacles such as cars and garden fences, with the strapline: "The Grand National - the original extreme sport".

• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email media@guardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".

• To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook. Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 hours ago.

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Magnolia Acquires 'Drinking Buddies,' Starring Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson

March 19, 2013, 11:41 am

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Magnolia Acquires 'Drinking Buddies,' Starring Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson

Magnolia Pictures has acquired the North American distribution rights to "Drinking Buddies," Joe Swanberg's comedy starring Olivia Wilde and Jake Johnson that premiered at the South by Southwest film festival.

Related Articles:
The Most Popular Movie at SXSW Was Never Supposed to Get Made - or Star a Woman
'Incredible Burt Wonderstone' Reviews: Jim Carrey More Magical Than Steve Carell

read more Reported by The Wrap 55 minutes ago.

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Hawthorn Middle School North Honor Roll

March 19, 2013, 1:59 pm

≫ Next: Olivia Wilde Wants To Design Her Own Wedding Dress

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Patch Vernon Hills, IL --

The following sixth, seventh and eight grade students have been named to honor rolls at Hawthorn Middle School North for the second trimester of the 2012-13 school year.

*8th Grade High Honor Roll (3.5 GPA and higher):*

Rebecca Ackerman, Jamie Adam, Ankit Agrawal, Ryan Antenore, Gabriela Antenore, Jake Antenore, Vincent Arpino, Donna Baeck, Zakary Baumann, Erin Blase, Meghan Boidy, Emily Carido, Aaron Castellanos, Blake Cedergren, Dylan Cline, Erin Crowley, George Curran, Sneha Cyriac, Ashwini Deshpande, Brian Duffley, Patrick Dunleavy, Andrew Duros, Danielle Dymova, Luke Edwards, Nathan Ferrara, Brandon Ferrara, Arden Floom, Lexi Floom, Nicole Flora, Sara Fortman, Justin Garlow, Yuliya Gofman, Jisel Gomez, Peter Grahl, Priyanka Gupte, Alexis Harte, Shannon Heiberger, Athina Herrera N G, Samantha Hiscox, Christine Hong, Stephanie Hull, Leah Jacoby, Olivia Jazbutis, Jenna Joyce, Nathan Ju, Eunice Kang, Eunice Kim, Alex Kinderman, Christina Knutson, Michael Kokkines, Andriana Kokkines, Emily Komessar, Mariya Korkuchanskiy, Bradley Larsen, Lauren Lee, Sara Lenzi, Miriam Lerman, Oliver Leung, Kelly Li, Lauren Lum, Alexander Mamulashvili, Christopher Mariella, Annette Mathew, Sierra Miller, Nicholas Mohrdieck, Lesley Mun, Hirsch Nangia, Alexia Napierkowski, Sean Naughton, Caitlyn Nelson, Anna Ochoa, Jose Organista, Emma Pappano, Jack Peacock, Lizet Pedroza, Anthony Popilov, Sinead Prentiss, Monica Rusnak, Tyler Savage, Aakash Setty, Tania Silva, Amanda Stenstrom, Lindsey Takaoka, Jessica Tartakovsky, Joana Torres, Candice Uhm, Guilherme Vazamim, Emily Whalen, Andrew Winegardner, Keira Wingader, Sophie Yufa, Paulina Zajkowska, Derek Zhang and Jeffrey Zhang.

*7th Grade High Honor Roll (3.5 GPA and higher):*

Sarah Abdallah, Andrea Avendano Martinez, Darby Barnett, Gitika Bhardwaj, Matthew Boyer, Sage Brenner, Lindsey Brettmann, Jordyn Bunning, Ruben Camargo, Anya Caples, Kelsey Carido, Mariya Chaadayeva, Ariel Chah, Eleanor Cheng, Kathleen Cheon, Neel Choudhary, Yareth Cirilo, Nelly Constantinova, Kevin Cronin, Sarah Damianov, Isabel DeJesus, Carlos DeLeon, Olivia Devin, Kevin Diaz, Brynne Dorsey, Brian Favia, Benjamin Favreau, Frances Ferolo, Olivia Fiorenza, Claudia Fiorenza, Evelyn Flores, John Frantz, Brandon Froman, David Geier, Cassidy Gillespie-Dipinto, Marko Glamocak, Lauren Glenn, Pranav Goel, Jesse Goldufsky, Kaitlyn Griffin, Lindsey Hansen, Taylor Harte, Abigail Heinz, Christopher Hernandez, Evelyn Herrera, Michael Hong, Suyeon Hong, Rachel Jacobson, Lauren Katz, Derek Kendall, Ryan Kim, Karl Kirkpatrick, Morgan Kleidon, Yulia Kornikova, Margaret Kowzon, Jacqueline Krutsch, Abigail Kwon, Paige Landry, Hayden Lau, Brynn Lauman, Adam Lawdan, Ethan Lee, Se Young Lee, Sophia Li, Camden Lieberman, Grace Lim, Alyssa Locascio, Sophia Lopez, Nikhil Mangtani, Maria Manzella, Peter Marek, Elizabeth Mayes, Madeline McCambridge, Julia Mollenhauer, Hannah Monteith, Tara Moyers, Lauren Murphy, Nicholas Neumann, Riann Newland, Cameron Nissen, Stephanie Orozco, Sydney Pacer, Sydney Joy Pan, Devin Papiernik, Anmol Parande, Arth Patel, Haley Paustian, Isabel Pedroza, Rithva Ramesh, Jorie Ryan, Jack Sherpinskas, Bryan Shim, Breena Shusterman, Christina Simley, Sharon Song, Amy Steeno, Paola Torres, Sheri Vaks, Gretchen Vanderbloomer, Ema Velisavljevic, Jonathan Wallach, Kristen Whalen, Jace White, Jennifer Williams, Kelly Wu, Isabel Zamost, Kaitlyn Zhang and Kelly Zhang.

*6th Grade High Honor Roll (3.5 GPA and higher):*

Madisyn Amoral, Stephen Auw, Piper Bedell, Kaitlyn Brennan, Antonio Brown, Erika Bugaring, Patrick Cheon, Jacob Damocles, Katelyn Dohler, Carter Dorow, John Dosemagen, Zoe Eitel, Jami Ellen, Brooke Flouret, Cecilia Gao, Jacqueline Garcia, Jessica Garcia, Johnna Geick, Mary Gheysen, Samantha Gilfand, Phillip Gokhman, Osvaldo Gomez, Luc Gudmundson, Katherine Highfill, Serena Hsieh, Gabrielle Jezorski, Agne Jurgelaityte, William Kaigh, John Kang, Ryan Kang, Sydnie Kaufman, EunSoo Kim, Alexandra Kim, Chaeyoung Kim, Sean Kim, Jiaha Lee, Skylar Lucich, Payton Makowskyj, Eka Mamulashvili, Kaylin Mann, Xochitl Marcos, Esther Marcos, Vincent Martorano, Autumn Matuch, Nicholas McNamara, Lily Meng, Noemi Moran, Mitchell Newman, Jacob Olive, Joshua Olson, Nicholas Otto, Cameron Overbeck, Natalia Palafox Burbano, Cassandra Pappano, Evan Peepo, Lia Pelech, Zoe Pelech, Victoria Perez, Drew Petereit, Jack Peterson, Alexa Pomerantz, Amanda Powell, Kyle Prochotsky, Joseph Reyes, Charlie Schmitt, Sophi Schofield, Ryan Schofield, Sadie Schultz, Patrick Sear, Hepi Shah, Olivia Sheldon, Logan Sides, George Sides, Jacob Slaw, Alexandra Smolic, Emma Stuart, Trinity Ustrnul, Emily Vitaioli, Chase Wampler, Mitchell Whelan, Daniel Wizceb, Calvin Wu, Alice Zhang and Therese Zimmerman.

*8th Grade Honor Roll (3.0 to 3.49 GPA):*

Victoria Alper, Kaitlyn Burrows, Thomas Campbell, Giavanna Cianfaglione, Kelli Cigelnik, Shannon Clark, Athena Clark, Denis Constantinov, Arthur James Curry, Jennifer Garcia, Syed Hasan, Lilly Hemesath, Noah Hewett, Grace Hutson, Kacper Jaskowski, Brandon Jones, Joann Kang, Matthew Kieft, Isabelle Kling, Nicholas LaFleur, Ryan Larsen, Emily Lightman, Bryce Lucich, Guadalupe Matias-Gomez, Brandon Meister, Jessica Murguia, Jason Palmer, Akvile Petrauskaite, Martha Ramos, Kyle Ranallo, Margeaux Riehm, Fernando Roman, Matthew Rudoff, Jessica Salerno, Stefan Savin, Ian Schwartz, Brianna Suchowski, Corey Takaoka, Samuel Thornburg, Amanda Tsao, Nancy Vazquez Reyna, Christina Walter and Alexander Yates.

*7th Grade Honor Roll (3.0 to 3.49 GPA):*

Javier Abarca, Paloma Aguilar, Natalie Aranda, Brian Bello, James Berglund, Maha Bokhary, Brianna Bolotin, Stephanie Caballero, Luis Catalan, Kimberly Conejo, Zachary Damenti, Brenda De La Cruz, Brennan Duffin, Amanda Egan, Anna Erickson, Kyle Fasbinder, Melissa Flores, Sheyla Gonzalez, Mario Gonzalez, Louis Halperin, Gi Han, Scott Harris, Luke Herr, Aris Herrera N G, Jack Himel, Derrick Jones, Carli Kaufman, Brandon Kim, Sarah Krahnke, Adam Logan, Madison Madhani, Elia Maldonado, Luis Mangato, Precious Lady Medina, Carlos Nevarez, Robert Papierniak, Nicholas Pearl, Luke Perlin, Isaac Ramirez, Jonathan Ramirez, Luis Rios, Carlos Rosales, Eldana Satymkulova, Joseph Schmeltzer, Christopher Schuk, Nathan Stuck, Brennen Tolari, Sara Torres, Gabriela Villalpando, Evan Webber, Jakub Witkowski and Calvin Yoon.

*6th Grade Honor Roll (3.0 to 3.49 GPA):*

Jack Acosta, Mikhail Alenichev, Kevin Aykroid, Drew Boidy, Alexander Coleman, Matthew Edwards, Elizabeth Friday, Tiffany Fuller, Andrew Gehrett, Alyssa Giangiorgi, Rylee Goldberg, Joseph Greenlee, Richard Hu, Trinity Hutson, Timothy Jordan, Caitlin Josten, Jessica Krivorot, Jonathan Lauber, David Lopez, Ian Lu, Marissa Mangoni, Emma McGreevy, Michael Moras, Jessica Nabat, Raya Nahlawi, Averi Nolan, Guadalupe Nunez, Elizabeth Ochoa, Erick Osorio, Travis Pak, Stevan Pastar, Nikki Patel, Marian Perez, Andy Rodriguez, Gisselle Sahagun, Adam Salhani, Isaias Sanchez, Erick Santoyo, Jake Schulman, Rinkey Shah, Rebecca Shapiro, Bryan Silva, Maximilian Smolic, Brett Sweeney, Nayeli Torres, Gabriel Vazamim, Sydney Yanez, Janice Yoon and Brajan Zajkowski. Reported by Patch 23 hours ago.

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Olivia Wilde Wants To Design Her Own Wedding Dress

March 19, 2013, 12:49 pm

≫ Next: Olivia Wilde Convinced She Had No Chance At Comedy Role

≪ Previous: Hawthorn Middle School North Honor Roll

Actress Olivia Wilde is in no rush to marry her fiance Jason Sudeikis because she wants to find the time to design her own wedding dress.The Tron:... Reported by ContactMusic 1 day ago.

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