Page 8 August 3, 2017 School Board from front page Madsen, the point man at the high school site, was front and center at the three-hour meeting, which was chaired by Board Vice President JoAnne Kaneda in the absence of President Israel Mora. The meeting predictably focused on the construction project and the implementation of “change orders” for both Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the multi-milliondollar structure. Madsen said that the change in electrical contractors was part of the delay, as were what he termed “soil compaction challenges” in the new main parking lot, plus some issues related to the heavier than expected rains that visited the South Bay earlier this year. All in attendance at the Board meeting agreed that it was well worth taking the extra six weeks or so to ensure student safety and the success of the transition for Da Vinci students to the new facility. Late last week, the District rolled out a construction update to the Wiseburn and Da Vinci stakeholders and community. It read, in part, “The WUSD and the Da Vinci schools will not put students or school staff into the building until all systems have been thoroughly tested and cleared by the building commissioning agents. We are committed to opening the building in all three schools as soon as it is certified as safe for occupancy.” So that means that, at least for a short while, the current sites for the Da Vinci schools--the Del Aire and Aviation campuses--will again house the first-part of the 2017/18 school year. The Phase II construction timeline is not affected. Johnstone said he mandated to the construction company that the Phase II part of the project, which includes the pool, gym and playing field, is going to have a ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 23, 2018. Of course, that could change, according to other “curveballs” that may arise during construction. “When you look at the magnitude of the project, on any given day you have over 200 people working [onsite] and coordinating that has been a challenge,” Johnson said. He also likened the coordination of the many moving parts at the new school site with the precision needed to send a rocket ship to and from the outer limits. Board member Neal Goldman thanked all of those involved in moving the colossal project forward. “We appreciate you guys busting your behinds, “he said. “We really do appreciate it.” During the action item portion of the meeting, the Board ratified an agreement between Travis Allen, the founder of the iSchool initiative program, for an amount not to exceed $9,000 to be paid to Allen, who will be the keynote speaker at the State of the District event on August 31. Allen’s proposed topic will be “Becoming a Mobile Learner.” Allen has gained popularity in educational circles, positing his iSchool initiative, which looks at how schools must update their teaching parameters in the 21st Century by “embracing technology and creating a positive culture of life-long learning.” Other items passed by the Board included the Dana Middle School’s Writers Workshop program; a partnership agreement with the Wiseburn Education Foundation; an agreement with nearby Loyola Marymount University to provide LMU student-teachers to work in the District; and a slight increase (10 percent) in the fee structure for the upcoming school year for the Dana Extended Day Care program. Summing up the consensus on the slight delay in occupancy at the Douglas Street facility, Madsen said, “We are building a building that has a 50- to 100-year life span, and these six weeks will make the difference in the final quality.” The next regularly scheduled Wiseburn School Board meeting is slated for Thursday evening, August 24. • Clayton Kershaw May Be Down, but Dodgers Not Out By Adam Serrao The Los Angeles Dodgers are off to the best regular season start by any team in Major League Baseball since the 2001 Seattle Mariners. That start presumably took a blow when the team’s ace and the best pitcher in all of baseball, Clayton Kershaw, left the game after two innings approximately two weeks ago with what was diagnosed to be a lower back strain. Kershaw’s absence from the starting rotation has become somewhat commonplace over the past couple of years. The future Hall of Famer missed two and a half months last season with a disc injury in the very same back that is troubling him currently. Despite the team’s best player being sidelined to injury, the Dodgers shouldn’t panic. There is already a certain amount of magic surrounding a ball club that finds it very difficult to lose a series to another team, let alone a game. The most disappointing thing about Kershaw’s injury isn’t what will inevitably be a longer recovery time than the left-hander would naturally want. The displeasing thing for Kershaw--and all of his fans alike--is what it does to his statistical season. Before Kershaw’s slight setback, he led baseball in wins (15), ERA (2.04) and innings pitched (141 1/3). He was also second in WHIP (0.88) and third in strikeouts (168). Without the injury, Kershaw was on pace to enjoy yet another Cy Young Award-winning season and had the opportunity to maneuver his way into accomplishing another pitching triple crown as well. Those goals haven’t been lost just yet, but his absence from the rotation will certainly make them harder to achieve. The severity of Kershaw’s injury was not immediately known and likely won’t be addressed by manager Dave Roberts. One thing that is for sure, though, is that Roberts and the team will certainly not rush their ace back into action. “Over the course of the next week we’ll see how he feels and how the body reacts to medication,” Roberts said a few days after the injury. “As everything takes, we’ll know more. Right now, he’s on a slow program.” That slow program originally projected Kershaw to be out from marked the team’s 31st come-from-behind victory of the season. It’s almost as if they encourage the opposition to take the lead so that they can come back and completely demoralize their opponents. That comeback win was the team’s 14th in the seventh inning or later. That same victory put the Dodgers 43 games over .500 for the first time since 1974 and put the club more games over .500 than the Giants (40-66 at the time) had won all season long. This Dodgers team that is slowly breaking the record books is obviously bigger than just one player. Kershaw, however, is the one player that everyone seems to be counting on come October. His absence from the starting rotation may not be ideal, but the ace of the club will undoubtedly be back, rested and ready to go sooner rather than later. Until then, it looked like this Dodgers team will continue being absolutely unbelievable and filled with magic without him. • – Asixlion@earthlink.net four to six weeks. Kershaw is known for his dislike of time frames, though, and had already begun playing catch again as early as last week. “A timetable has kind of been put out there, but we don’t know,” Roberts explained of the original projection. “With Clayton and his desire and medicine, anything can happen. We’re very reluctant to put any type of timetable on it. It’s unfair to Clayton as far as speculating and trying to project.” Fans of the “Boys in Blue” may be a bit nervous about the Kershaw news, but the optimistic part of his most recent injury lies in the fact that the scans revealed that the problem was simply a strain and not a recurrence of the disc issue that sidelined him for so long one season ago. More optimism arose last week, when despite not traveling with the team on their recent road trip, Kershaw threw three straight days of catch with no setbacks. Justin Turner put it perfectly when explaining how the entire team has learned from Kershaw’s injury last season and is now ready to move forward in his absence once again this year. “Knowing the way we responded and the way we played in his absence makes it a little bit easier pill to swallow, I guess, but you don’t want him not taking the ball every fifth day,” Turner explained. “But we’ve talked about the depth the front office has created and how guys step up. That’s what we expect to do.” Last season, the Dodgers stepped up in Kershaw’s absence by remarkably going 38-24 and in the process, overcame an eight-game deficit to the much hated San Francisco Giants in the standings to overtake first place in the NL West. When Kershaw returned to the team, he seemed well-rested, posting a 1.29 ERA in the month of September while also giving the team every last ounce of energy that he had--whether it was in a starting role or from out of the bullpen in October. Last year following the injury, Kershaw had the first impressive postseason of his entire career. The Dodgers have already responded once again this season, too. After Kershaw exited the game against the Atlanta Braves on July 23, Los Angeles went on to win eight games in a row dating back to last Sunday to finish out the month of July, before the month of August even had the chance to get itself started. Like the Dodgers have typically done all season long, there has been a new hero every single night. Whether it’s Justin Turner, Corey Seager, Cody Bellinger or even Logan Forsythe, the Dodgers have simply become a team that finds it very, very difficult to lose baseball games whether Kershaw is on the mound or not. As Orel Hershiser put it on a recent telecast, “There’s just no place [in the batting order] to breathe if you’re an opposing pitcher.” Ask the San Francisco Giants who looked like they were in position to win last Sunday’s game on two separate occasions. That was before the Dodgers came back from behind yet again and won on a tworun walk-off double by Kyle Farmer in the rookie’s MLB debut and first career at-bat. Almost every single player on the team has taken a turn being the hero. Last Sunday Are You Still Paying Too Much For Your Medications? You can save up to 97% when you fi ll your prescriptions with our Canadian and International prescription service. Get An Extra $15 Off & Free Shipping On Your 1st Order! Call the number below and save an additional $15 plus get free shipping on your fi rst prescription order with Canada Drug Center. Expires June 30, 2017. Offer is valid for prescription orders only and can not be used in conjunction with any other offers. Valid for new customers only. One time use per household. Use code 15FREE to receive this special offer. 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