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Over 6K seniors graduating at local high schools this week

Over 6K seniors graduating at local high schools this week

Yahoo29-05-2025

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Graduation ceremonies are in full swing across the San Diego Unified School District, with 6,009 seniors set to receive their diplomas this year.
The district is celebrating a projected graduation rate of 90.9%, marking a significant achievement for students and educators alike. This year's ceremonies highlight the accomplishments of students who have excelled in various academic and civic areas.
San Diego County Fair announces semi-finalists in 'Fair-tastic Foods' competition
Among the graduating seniors, 687 have earned the State Seal of Biliteracy, recognizing their proficiency in English and at least one additional language. This achievement underscores the district's commitment to fostering multilingual skills among its students.
Additionally, 76 seniors have been awarded the State Seal of Civic Engagement, which honors students who have demonstrated a strong understanding of the rights and responsibilities of citizens in a democracy.
As graduation ceremonies continue throughout the week, San Diego Unified School District celebrates not only the academic success of its students but also their readiness to engage in a diverse society.All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KSWB. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KSWB staff before being published.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Rare hazel dormice released to create Leicestershire's only known population
Rare hazel dormice released to create Leicestershire's only known population

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Rare hazel dormice released to create Leicestershire's only known population

Conservationists have released 20 rare hazel dormice into a secret woodland location in Leicestershire to create the county's only known population. The tiny mammals were reintroduced this week to an undisclosed area of the Bradgate Park Trust estate by wildlife charity People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) and its partners. It comes as part of national efforts to help the endangered species come back from the brink of extinction. The native dormouse, immortalised as the sleepy guest at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party in Alice in Wonderland, has suffered declines of 70% nationally since 2000 and has vanished from 20 English counties. Annual dormouse reintroductions began in 1993 and have been managed by PTES since 2000, with 1,142 being released into 26 different woodlands in 13 counties, including six English counties where they had previously been lost. The reintroduction in Leicestershire follows the successful reintroduction of 38 dormice to the National Forest from the National Trust's Calke Abbey in Derbyshire. The conservationists say this secondary reintroduction is a vital step forward for dormouse recovery nationally and regionally. The hope is that these two populations of dormice will one day form part of a wider population spanning the whole forest. Bradgate Park Trust, which is a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) and part of a national nature reserve, was chosen with the help of local wildlife groups to ensure the woodland is suitable for dormice now and in the future. Ian White, PTES dormouse and training officer, said: 'Despite once being a common part of Britain's woodlands and hedgerows, hazel dormice have experienced a historic and catastrophic decline due to habitat loss, degradation and poor management of woodlands and hedgerows, compounded by a changing climate. 'PTES's reintroductions, alongside habitat management, landscape projects and monitoring, are paramount to their long-term survival.' James Dymond, director of Bradgate Park Trust, said: 'As a small charity, we are proud to be entrusted with the care of these rare and charming creatures. 'This reintroduction is a testament to the past woodland management efforts on the estate, and we are committed to ensuring this special habitat continues to thrive—not only for the dormice, but for a wide range of other rare species that call it home too.' Ben Devine, head of nature recovery at the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, added: 'This release is an exciting first step in helping dormice not only locally, but nationally too. 'Ensuring the right landscape and habitat is in place is key to ensuring continued nature recovery, and we will continue to monitor the dormice to ensure that Leicestershire's only known population thrives and one day expands beyond Bradgate Park estate.' The dormice are bred in captivity and undergo an eight-week quarantine with regular health checks before their release, to ensure only healthy animals are put into the wild. They have been released into their woodland habitat, which has been selected to make sure it meets their needs, in large wire mesh cages with food and water. Local volunteers from Bradgate Park Trust and the Leicestershire and Rutland Mammal Group will regularly check the cages and top up their food and water before the doors are opened after 10 days to allow them to start to explore their new home.

Government should auto-enrol eligible pupils for free school meals
Government should auto-enrol eligible pupils for free school meals

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Government should auto-enrol eligible pupils for free school meals

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An additional 77,700 children became eligible for free school meals in the past year, according to recent data published by the Department for Education. More than one in four (25.7%) pupils in England were eligible for free school meals in January, the equivalent of 2.17 million children – up from 24.6%, or 2.09 million, in January 2024. But the report from EPI – which is based on surveys and interviews with local authorities and multi-academy trusts in 2024 and early 2025 – found where a child lives or goes to school determines how hard it is for families to register for free school meals. In some local authorities, parents are required to make their own application while facing significant barriers and if found ineligible at the time must reapply when circumstances change. While in others, they use local auto-enrolment to proactively identify entitled children without relying on parents sharing details or making an application. 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Don't let a vocal minority silence Britain's ancient church bells
Don't let a vocal minority silence Britain's ancient church bells

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Don't let a vocal minority silence Britain's ancient church bells

There used to be a tradition that ringing church bells would drive out evil spirits. Now it's the bells that are being driven out. The latest set of chimes to fall foul of complainers are in Mytholmroyd. It's a small West Yorkshire village, best known as the birthplace of Ted Hughes. Perhaps it was the bells of St Michael's Church that inspired the late Poet Laureate to write in one of his rhymes for children about a bell's 'clang of mumbling boom'. But that clang was far from mumbling for three residents who said they were being kept awake all night by the chimes, ringing every 15 minutes. A noise abatement order imposed on the bells means they now can't be rung at all, so for the first time in 100 years they have fallen silent. There have been similar ding dongs over church bells elsewhere in the past few years: in both Witheridge and Kenton in Devon, in Helpringham in Lincolnshire, and in Beith in Ayrshire, usually by people saying that chimes through the night in these rural neighbourhoods are ruining their sleep. As someone who lives in a city, used to police helicopters overhead, ice cream vans blaring their tinny tunes, trains rattling past, and crowds of students staggering home at night under the influence of numerous intoxicants, I have to say I do find the noise of the countryside rather disturbing. Here in the city, these noises are part of a constant soundscape. In the country, there is an enveloping silence, but then you will be jolted into wakefulness by a cockerel's piercing crow, or a huge piece of farm machinery rattling past, or a herd of cattle lowing their way to milking. But a church bell chime, surely, is in a minor key compared to these other rural interruptions? For me the sound of bells is, well, music to my ears. Despite the planes flying into Heathrow over my head and the police sirens blaring outside my door, I can still hear the sound of a bell nearby, which rings regularly to mark Divine Office being said in a local monastery as well as the Angelus at noon. On Sundays, a peal of bells sounds out at a nearby church, and on weekday evenings too you can hear the ringing, as the tower captain and his team practise Plain Bob Major or Grandsire Triples or one of those other extraordinary mathematical formulas, known as changes, that make up bell-ringing. But the kind of change we don't want is something so quintessentially English as bell-ringing to disappear because after a few people make a fuss, officialdom steps in. The bells of Mytholmroyd were silenced when just three people objected – but the 1,200 residents who wanted the chimes to continue had their petition ignored. It's a growing pattern: a few complaints put an end to chimes that had been loved by communities for generations. Yet there's more at stake here than bells. It sounds a death-knell for our tradition of going with what the majority want. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.

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