Posted on 01/16/2010 6:16:53 AM PST by ozark hilljilly
SAN DIEGO — Students were evacuated from Millennial Tech Magnet Middle School in the Chollas View neighborhood Friday afternoon after an 11-year-old student brought a personal science project that he had been making at home to school, authorities said.
Maurice Luque, spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, said the student had been making the device in his home garage. A vice principal saw the student showing it to other students at school about 11:40 a.m. Friday and was concerned that it might be harmful, and San Diego police were notified.
The school, which has about 440 students in grades 6 to 8 and emphasizes technology skills, was initially put on lockdown while authorities responded.
Luque said the project was made of an empty half-liter Gatorade bottle with some wires and other electrical components attached. There was no substance inside.
When police and the Metro Arson Strike Team responded, they also found electrical components in the student's backpack, Luque said. After talking to the student, it was decided about 1 p.m. to evacuate the school as a precaution while the item was examined. Students were escorted to a nearby playing field, and parents were called and told they could come pick up their children.
A MAST robot took pictures of the device and X-rays were evaluated. About 3 p.m., the device was determined to be harmless, Luque said.
Luque said the project was intended to be a type of motion-detector device.
Both the student and his parents were "very cooperative" with authorities, Luque said. He said fire officials also went to the student's home and checked the garage to make sure items there were neither harmful nor explosive.
"There was nothing hazardous at the house," Luque said.
The student will not be prosecuted, but authorities were recommending that he and his parents get counseling, the spokesman said. The student violated school policies, but there was no criminal intent, Luque said.
"There will be no (criminal) charges whatsoever," Luque said.
Police and fire officials also will not seek to recover costs associated with responding to the incident, the spokesman said.
Luque said both the student and his parents were extremely upset.
"He was very shaken by the whole situation, as were his parents," Luque said.
The school is located on Carolina Lane near Hilltop Drive.
Adjacent Gompers Charter Middle School was not affected during the incident, police Sgt. Ray Battrick said.
Millennial Middle School opened in fall 2008. It is part of the San Diego Unified School District.
He needs counseling for inventing a motion-detector device? His parents need counseling? What is wrong with this picture? And the people in charge of the school? Idiots.
The school administration is probably replete with individuals with “education” degrees. That should tell you who needs “counseling”.
Why would they recommend ‘counseling’? Because the child and parents were upset, or was it because they had a bright kid who made a motion detector device and such innovative thinking needs to be discouraged by the Public School Soviet?
I wonder what they were - regarding electrical devices?
And did his project get to remain in the competition? I wonder how he did.
I hear you about “education” degrees, having been aware of that con since I was at university. But this was a magnet school for technology and science, so someone there should have had some working brain parts.
Definitely! After all, his science project consisting of "electronic parts" whose purpose was not readily apparent to that dork of a vice-principal. When will these junior high school students learn that they should play only with soft plastic building blocks?
Meanwhile, how many of that child's fellow students are taking illegal drugs, engaging in illicit sex, missing class, using obscene language, etc.?
If the school authorities really knew their kids individually, like they did in my day, they would have known ahead of time if this kid was a problem or not.
But to be fair, the school authorities were right in recommending conselling for the child and his parents - they are probably scarred by the experience.
Regards,
Lets see here, we have an EMPTY Gatorade bottle, wires and unnamed electrical components attached to said EMPTY bottle and unspecified electrical components in the students backpack.
I know the student had figured out how to make a Gatorade stimulated light saber and the Asst Principal went off half cocked.
Hey the comment makes about as much sense as the story:-0
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
Ooh electricity and wires!!!
It must be a bomb!!!
Or a death ray!!!
What else could it be?
School administration graduated from Duke right?
Bet the kid has a PHD in horribleness.
And the vice principal is obviously “science stupid”...
LOL...good catch.
The vice principal is no doubt of the pink panty brigade. Just too much these days.
I'm thinking the second choice, but I'm a 'glass half empty' kinda gal.
LOL...death ray.
“The child is obviously too bright...he’s a danger to society.”
Like in “1984” if any of the Proles showed potential they were eliminated.
The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.
I wonder why it never occurred to the vice-principal to ask “Little Billy” what he had made instead of calling in the troops first? Or perhaps he was afraid if “Little Billy” told him he would have to go look it up?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.