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Students in Laguna Beach public schools ranked second in Orange County for overall percentage of students who met or exceeded state standards in English and math on a recent state test, says a district announcement. The state Department of Education released results of the 2017...

SchoolPower presented its top Hall of Fame Award to parent Brent Martini recently. The award was created in honor of the late Claes Andersen, owner of Hotel Laguna and Claes Restaurant. Andersen opened his restaurant to SchoolPower back in 2001 and underwrote an annual dinner for...

  Next Generation Artists Show Promise Two St. Catherine School students won first place in the Festival of Art junior artist contest. Sixth-grader Charlotte Sekerka, left, and Franky Rasic, both received certificates for their work.   Welcome Mat Rolls Out for New...

By Amy Orr, Special to the Independent Athletes and fans will have more to cheer about this year as Laguna Beach High School adds two new sports to its athletic line-up. Wrestling squads will appear at LBHS this winter and lacrosse teams will play in the spring. The school board...

LBHS Students Among National Merit Contenders Students Charlotte Hoffs, Andrew Keyser, Joseph Ravenna and Ben Sharp have been named semifinalists for National Merit Scholarships. These seniors will compete among 7,500 of their peers for National Merit Scholarships worth more than...

Thurston Middle School attendance and student records specialist Gwen Myers received the 10th annual Spirit of LBUSD award at a welcome breakfast for staff last week. The award honors a staff member who exemplifies extraordinary service. Myers, a graduate of Laguna Beach High...

Ten Boys Make Plans for School Year Cebreros, co-president of 10 Boys Who Care, set a goal of presenting $2,500 scholarships to a male and female athlete at Laguna Beach High School for the coming school year. They have a second goal of raising $500 more to help another school in...

New Venue Opens for Special Education Tarbut V’ Torah Community Day School in Irvine will offer individualized educational support and resources for students in grades 8-12 with significant learning challenges. Students in the program will take courses with a designated teacher...

School-Lunch Sign Ups Begin Families in the Laguna Beach School district may apply online at LunchApplication.com for free or reduced-price school breakfast and lunch. Households receiving a letter saying they qualify for the program do not need to turn in an application. If a...

A small class of students enrolled in Introduction to Nonfiction, a Laguna College of Art and Design literary survey course, received some practical advice from best-selling author and Newport Beach resident Dean Koontz last week. “You need to know about the business,” Koontz...

McKenna Learns Her Way Around the Capitol   Laguna Beach reident Halland McKenna served as a summer intern for Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina. Halland gained experience working in Washington, where she attended committee hearings, led tours, and assisted office...

By Carol Bennion, Guest contributor When informed that she had been nominated by Laguna Beach High School faculty and staff to interview with two of her peers to compete for a single spot at California Girls State, Delaney Basile had no idea what she was getting into. “None of us...

By Charlie Warner, Special to the Independent After four years in high school, the senior class of 2017 embarked this week on a new journey. Before departing, though, seniors arrived by buses in droves to a familiar but newly remodeled space, the grounds of the Festival of Arts,...

Laguna Beach High School seniors Elijah Meisse and Jack Smith won the top two instrumental music awards for 2017 from the school’s instrumental music director Jeremy Chung at the Music Boosters’ annual band picnic on Saturday, June 10. Jack received the John Philip Sousa Award,...

Locals Named to Dean’s List Three Laguna Beach residents, Eleanor M. Blott, Olivia L. Clark and Kara E. Mcclements, have recently been named to the Dean’s List at Boston University for the spring semester. While schools set their own dean’s list criteria, students generally...