Class Notes

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LBHS Alum Curates Art Show

Chloe Cunningham, second from right at top, among fellow students.
Chloe Cunningham, second from right at top, among fellow students.

Laguna Beach High School graduate Chloe Cunningham and seven fellow students at Pennsylvania’s Dickinson College co-curated an art exhibition, “Letters & Lines” which opened Feb. 21.

The exhibit is the capstone experience for Cunningham, an art and art history major and daughter of Gary Cunningham of Lake Isabella, and Leslie Cunningham of Laguna Beach.

“It was challenging to make a show that would be interesting to academics and also palatable to the general public,” said Cunningham.

Delay the Gray

Psychotherapist Liz Jorgensen will present a free parenting workshop on raising pre-teens and teenagers during the PTA’s Coffee Break ay 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 19, taking place at Top of the World Elementary School.

Participants will learn how to distinguish normal teen angst from true problem behavior or signs of drug use or depression. Jorgensen, who specializes in adolescent psychotherapy and substance abuse counseling, will coach parents on how to create a family “safety contract.” She is hilarious, direct, honest, and extremely savvy about connecting to teens, says organizer Kate Rogers.

Baked goods for sale support TOW’s fifth-grade graduation committee.

Starting Learning Before School Begins

Parents with youngsters under 5 are invited to participate in the school district’s school readiness program and attend Learning Link workshops on March 26 and April 30.

The events will provide an opportunity for children to learn new skills in preparation for kindergarten. Parents and their children can attend one or both sessions, which will be held from 12:15 to 3 p.m. in the preschool classroom at Top of the World Elementary School, 21601 Tree Top Lane.

The district’s five-person school readiness team will be participating. For info and to register by March 21, contact Ms. Olsen at (949) 497-7700 x 5327 or by email at [email protected].

Student Exchange Opportunities Abound

Exchange students describe their Laguna experience.
Exchange students describe their Laguna experience.

LBHS foreign exchange students visited Thurston Middle School’s Spanish Club on March 6 to describe learning a language by immersion.

AFS offers $1000 tuition scholarships to LBHS students who go abroad for a semester or year. Programs are still available for this summer, fall, and gap year.

LBHS accepts four exchange students each year. Currently families are being screened and matched to students for 2014-15. Foreign students live with volunteer host families in Laguna for the school year.

Information regarding participation in the program sponsored by AFS-USA, is available at afsusa.org or asse.com. Local AFS representative Barbara Hawthorne can answer questions at [email protected].

Schools Earn a Spot on Business’s Honor Roll

All four-district schools were named to the California Business for Education Excellence honor roll in 2013.

The award recognizes schools that demonstrate consistently high levels of student academic achievement, improvement in achievement and reduction in achievement gaps.

A full list can be found at: www.cbee.org

Theatre Apprenticeships Available for Youth

UC Irvine’s School of the Arts offers high school and college students a one-of-a-kind opportunity to join the New Swan Shakespeare Festival as an apprentice in acting or technical theatre. Performances are held outdoors in their portable mini-Elizabethan theatre.

Tech apprentices spend two weeks on the festival team as part of the production, tech and rehearsal process. Apprentices in acting prepare with coursework that may include acting, voice, movement, Shakespeare, singing and improvisation.

Visit outreach.arts.uci.edu/summer-academies for dates times, scholarship information, and to register. Or (949) 824-8976 or [email protected].

Grant Provides Theatre Experience in OC Schools

Laguna Playhouse’s theatre touring program, which brings drama into public schools, received a $4,000 gift from employees of Cox Communications.

The program allows 1,300 fourth-grade students from 11 elementary schools in Orange County to see “By The Great Horn Spoon!” a one-act play about the California Gold Rush. Activity guides are sent to teachers prior to each performance, which tie into required reading.

Local Families Needed to Host Exchange Students

Laguna Beach-bassed ASSE International is seeking local host families for international high school boys and girls for the upcoming high school year or semester. The students are conversant in English and anxious to learn about this country by living as part of a family, attending high school and sharing their own culture and language with their host family.

Each ASSE student is fully insured, brings his or her own personal spending money and expects to contribute to his or her share of household responsibilities, as well as being included in normal family activities and lifestyles.

More info: 1-800-733-2773.

 

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