The School Success and Opportunity Act has been well received by transgender students.

Teachers in the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) will get a 3 percent pay raise and a 1.5 percent bonus retroactive for the 2012-2013 school year in an agreement that the Palo Alto Educator’s Association (PAEA) recently ratified.

On Apr. 21, in response to the Gunn Confessions Facebook page, Principal Katya Villalobos sent an email to parents and students alerting them about the page as well as sharing a new LibGuide developed by Librarian Meg Omainsky about cyber-bullying. Gunn Confessions received hundreds of “likes” from students and alumni before it was taken down. The page offered a link to a form through which one could submit an anonymous confession about anything or anyone. Although the page’s administrators initially claimed they would not post any negative confessions about specific individuals, a number of posts attacking a Gunn staff member drew sharp criticism. Gunn’s administration was made aware of the situation, but since the Gunn Confessions administrators had not technically violated any school rules, the school’s response was limited to requesting that the students take it down.

As a part of beauty product company Dove’s new “Real Beauty” campaign, the Dove Self-Esteem Fund released various statistics pertaining to girls and their body image. One, for example, stated that seven in ten girls believe that “they are not good enough, or do not measure up in some way.” Recently, comments made by clothing company Abercrombie and Fitch’s CEO Mike Jeffries in 2006 have resurfaced, in which he summed up the retail store’s sales strategies as “exclusionary.” In response to these facts, The Oracle decided to investigate the prevalence of body image issues at Gunn.

On May 3, Gunn teachers led a school-wide lesson on disability-based bullying during an extended E period in their respective classes. The prepared lesson highlighted three principal points: the definition of disability-based harassment, how to prevent bullying and how to report it as a witness.

On May 9, the Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) hosted the annual Staff Appreciation Lunch in the staff lounge. It treated Gunn administrators and teachers to a restaurant-style lunch, which distinguished this year’s lunch from that of previous years. The luncheon event was sponsored by La Boulange Bakery, Paris Baguette, Four Seasons Hotel, The Menu Restaurant and, for the first time, Pinkberry, as well as many other local businesses.

Written by: Boot Bullwinkle and Rachel Lew Cheer team coaches Dan Callanta and Andy Logan are no longer district employees following an incident at the cheer team’s national competition sponsored by the United Spirit Association (USA) in Southern California held from Mar. 15 to Mar. 17. During the...

On Mar. 19, a report by Gunn’s Guidance Advisory Committee (GAC) was presented before the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) school board to provide recommendations for general improvement of the school. The report, authored by a group of 17 students, teachers, counselors and administrators provides a host of 41 suggestions to better the quality of life on campus. Each suggestion was unanimously approved by the committee members.

The Palo Alto City Council voted on Mar. 4 to implement a Carbon Neutral Plan for 100 percent carbon-free electricity, effective immediately.

The cafeteria will be adding various new lunch options such as barbeque items, sushi, Teriyaki Chicken Bowls and noodles to their menu this semester. According to Student Nutrition Services Field Supervisor Veronica Arias, these new additions will be prepared fresh with organic ingredients. “Now we are looking into what we can prepare fresh, and [students] love it. [Students] say that now they are going out with the best food ever,” Arias said.

For more than two years, Palo Alto has been planning the California Avenue Streetscape Improvement Project that will transform the section of California Avenue between El Camino Real and the Park Boulevard Plaza into a more pedestrian and transportation-friendly area. Some of the changes involved include new street furniture, street touch-ups and separate turn lanes at all-way stop intersections.

Though the school board does not have a teacher pay raise scheduled for this year, teachers are speaking out at board meetings for a salary change. According to Palo Alto Employee Association (PAEA) President Teri Baldwin, the potential increase is still in negotiations between PAEA and the district. Neither party can release specific information about the raise yet due to confidentiality.