BRIEFLY IN EDUCATION

Festival of Arts students honored

Three Festival of Arts Art Workshop students were honored at the May board meeting at the Festival of Arts.

The artwork of Sarah Wellsfry, grade 6; Chase Hallahan, grade 5; and David Fisher, grade 4, was shown at the National K12 Ceramic Exhibition at the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts Conference in March.

The students’ work was chosen from 800 entries. The three students were also selected to receive certificates of recognition for their ceramic achievements. Sarah and Chase both received certificates of excellence, and David received a certificate of merit.

Festival of Arts Board Secretary Tom Lamb presented certificates of merit to each of the three students at the organization’s monthly board meeting .

O.C. youth summer bus pass available

The Orange County Transportation Authority is offering a uRide Youth Summer Bus Pass for kids 18 and under, which provides unlimited bus rides from June 1 through Aug. 31 for $40.

OCTA also has partnered with businesses and entertainment centers around the county to offer discounts to uRide users, including Knott’s Berry Farm, Discovery Science Center, Red Robin, Santa Ana Zoo, Vans Skatepark, Subway, Adventure City Theme Park, Boomers, Irvine Spectrum and McDonald’s.

For a complete list of partners, visit www.octa.net/destinationdeals.

The pass is on sale now at the OCTA Store, The Village in Orange, local schools, at www.octa.net/summerpass or by calling (714) 560-5392.

TLC branch holds birthday party

The TLC branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Laguna Beach celebrated two years of being part of the Boys & Girls Club family with a birthday party on April 28.

TLC has a total of 150 members and serves, on average, 35 club kids daily. The staff-to-child ratio is 1:8.

The “birthday” morning began with hot pancakes, thanks to the Emerald Bay Fire Department, which provided the griddle.

Nearly 100 family members, friends, and board members attended the party at Bluebird Park, where about $1,000 was raised, and “birthday presents” like school, art and sports supplies were received.

For more information regarding the Boys & Girls Clubs of Laguna Beach TLC program, call Elena Mendoza at (949) 494-7630.

College holds industry open house

Laguna College of Art & Design’s 3rd Annual Industry Open House was held on May 9.

More than 50 industry professionals were on hand to meet students, get a firsthand look at their talents, conduct casual interviews and provide career placement assistance.

This year’s theme, “Like a Kid in a Candy Shop,” was created by Graphic Design senior Maliah Coolidge and described the experience of attendees as they shopped amid the pool of talent.

Attendees enjoyed a formal screening of animation films and still images, and toured campus studios that were transformed into galleries exhibiting an array of genres and mediums.

Members of the 2007 senior class were joined by select alumni representing each of the college’s disciplines: Animation, Drawing & Painting, Illustration, Graphic Design and several hybrid majors.

The college reported that 80% of students involved in past years have received employment offers as a result of this experience.

Dentist visit deadline for students nears

New state legislation requires that children must have a dental checkup performed by May 31 of their first year in public school.

This new dental check-up requirement applies to kindergartners in their first year of public school, or first graders, if they did not attend kindergarten.

Dental evaluations that have occurred within the 12 months prior to school entry also meet this requirement.

If a dental check-up cannot be obtained, parents may be excused from this requirement by filling out the waiver portion of the form provided by the child’s school.

Copies of the required forms can be obtained from the child’s school or through a link from the California Dental Assn. website at cda.org

Chamber and Rotary award scholarships

The Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce and Laguna Beach Rotary Club announced the recipients of scholarships to Laguna College of Art & Design students on May 16 at the monthly networking mixer.

Two $2,000 scholarships were presented to students who were selected based on criteria that included an essay submission, academic excellence and portfolio review by the scholarship selection committee.

Sarah Crooks will be a senior in the fall majoring in Illustration/Graphic Design, and Jason Norton will be a junior majoring in Illustration/Animation.

The scholarships were made possible by funds raised at the April 29 “Grapes for Grads” wine-tasting event that was attended by more than 400 people and featured more than 20 local and regional wineries.

High school Surfrider club hosts testing

The South Orange County Surfrider Chapter is sponsoring a community water-testing program this summer, which will be held at the South Laguna home of Laguna Beach High School Surfrider Club President Marshall Thomas.

Testing will be every Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., beginning June 26.

The club elected new officers on May 16.

Mike Rubel and Andrew Shapero will serve as co-presidents. Casey Finnerty will be vice president, with Jake Johnson as secretary.

For more information on the testing program, contact Thomas at (949) 415-0417.

Textbooks on view at district office

A variety of textbooks is on view at the Laguna Beach Unified School District office, 550 Blumont St., through June 1 for public inspection.

For more information on the titles, grades and subjects, call (949) 497-7700.