Leland Campus Gains Brand-New Really Big Thing

by Greg Courville

Over the past few years, Leland students have witnessed an astounding number of improvements across campus. The "new computer smell" (widely regarded as preferable over the previous "old book smell") still lingers in the ITC following the introduction of a new Apple eMac lab. Over the summer, J-wing classrooms gained state-of-the-art video projection systems for "movie days" and class parties, large internal windows for visual communication between students in neighboring classes, and attractive new concrete floor surfaces featuring intricate arrangements of large decorative cracks. Earlier this month, construction crews completed the latest addition to this ever-growing list.

Dubbed the Pablo Picasso Memorial Jungle Gym, the most recent project in the ongoing campaign of renewal and renovation consists of a massive steel frame painted in a pleasing royal fuchsia (to match Leland's official color scheme of blue and gold), strung topside with a net of interwoven wires and perched atop four concrete posts. This impressive new structure will not only serve as a mooring for small dirigibles, but will also provide a nighttime roost for hundreds of local birds, making it a truly versatile addition to one of the most innovative high school campuses in Almaden Valley.

Response from the student community has been overwhelmingly positive. "I'll bet we're the only school in California with a giant outdoor... thing," remarked senior Watashiwa Bakadesuyo, adding, "the kids at Pioneer are gonna be so jealous." Nevertheless, some students are somewhat less than pleased with the change. "I am somewhat less than pleased with the change," said sophomore Nicht Vorhandene, who declined to elaborate. A few have complained that the funds expended on the costly project might have been better applied towards things such as in-class textbook sets for teachers who still lack them, but, in a school which prides itself on its strong athletic programs, most students don't seem to mind carrying a few extra pounds if it means more money for exciting renovations.

Proponents of the project hope that the new structure will help to promote unity and community spirit among the student body. It is expected that, in time, the iconic structure will be become as much a part of Leland's identity as the familiar "lightning" motif, and perhaps even one day take its place as the official symbol of this great school and all that it stands for. After all, a knight carrying a lightning bolt is a real hassle to draw.

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Published in the February, 2006 issue of the Charger Account (Click for other articles).