A new branch of the Santa Monica Public Library is being built on Pico Boulevard to bring together nearby neighborhoods through sustainability and design, according to architects at Koning Eisenburg Architecture (KEA).

The Scott Family Charitable Fund recently donated $500,000 to the Santa Monica-Malibu Education Foundation (SMMEF), the foundation's second largest donation since its founding in 1982.

Current John Adams Middle School (JAMS) principal Eva Mayoral will begin her appointment as Samo principal Aug. 22, bringing with her the beginnings of a new plan for the school.

Illuminate crashed on May 28 and 29, leaving students and faculty without access to grades and attendance records online.

Two Samo “veterans” and two newcomers will join H-House Principal Leslie Wells in house leadership positions during the 2013-14 school year.

The annual Associative Student Body (ASB) Blood Drive on May 21 was an unintended casualty of a dispute among University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), nurses who help with the event.

Samohi Solar Alliance (SSA) will host the last Bike It! Day of the school year on May 22, aiming to promote bike safety through the help of various collaborations.

Samo administration is undergoing large changes as the four new house principals for the 2013-14 school year have been selected.

Principal Laurel Fretz drew mixed reactions from students when she warned of the dangers of Vine, a video social networking application, in a recent email to parents on May 3.

The Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) received a “C” rating for failing to support minority students by the Education Trust-West.

Prom may be scheduled for a Friday next year, throwing student plans into conflict.

The Santa Monica City Council unanimously passed the Sustainability Bill of Rights (SBR) on Apr. 9 after the Samohi Solar Alliance (SSA) and Team Marine clubs backed the bill over the past year.

Lack of computers for student use remains a concern among staff and administration, as plans for Samo’s shift from physical to computer-based state testing next year unfold.

Samo’s curriculum will drastically change over the next two years as part of a national shift toward the Common Core Standards, which adjust the focus of school from content learning to application.

Samohi University, a professional development session for Samo faculty to share its strengths and interests with each other, will be today, Wednesday, April 24.

Samo students Eli Brown ('13) and Ryan Roberts ('14) will tour with the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA), a newly formed orchestra of the best musicians in the United States, for a month during the upcoming summer.

This summer, a select few classes will be offered for free to students as part of the Ed Ahead program, instead of the array offered last year by the Santa Monica Education Foundation (SMEF) for $595 per class.

In the late ’60s, civic-minded high school and college students would get together for anti-Vietnam war protests, demanding peace and love. Nowadays, they are protesting a different war, the war on the environment.

Over the span of the last two years, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) pushed forward its calendar, a change that has caused unintended consequences for students and staff.

Many students were turned away from the annual Associated Student Body (ASB) blood drive in partnership with the Red Cross on Feb. 12.

Students responded passionately to the plans of the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) to picket Samo on Feb. 25., organizing a “wall of humanity” in support of gay rights.

This semester, Samo teacher Daniel Escalera stepped down from the position of co-Athletics Director, leaving social studies teacher Marisa Silvestri the only person with the position.

Samo students Ryan Tepper (’13) and Julian Mickelson (’13), also co-president of the Samohi Solar Alliance (SSA), are competing in the 2013 Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge.

Previous Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) parents Laurie Lieberman and Maria Leon-Vazquez were elected president and vice president of the Board of Education, respectively at their Dec. 13, 2012 board meeting.

Samo administrators have worked to streamline the school tardy policy, while a revised detain system is still in the works, according to H-House Principal Leslie Wells.

Samo administrators issued a survey on Jan. 7 to students and staff in order to create the first ever Samo homework policy after complaints from parents and students about the amount of homework assigned at Samo.

The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) Board of Education passed a student-proposed conflict-free minerals resolution.

Santa Monica crime rates rose dramatically in 2012 and have affected Samo students both inside and outside of school.