Around Town: Irvine-based nonprofit donates to South Dakota school

Irvine-based True Sioux Hope Foundation announced Monday its $25,000 donation to the Pine Ridge Girls’ School in South Dakota.

The institution will be the first college-preparatory independent girls’ school on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

The reservation in South Dakota has over 1,000 girls of middle and high school age.

The school plans to eventually have girls in grades six through 12. Starting in January, the school will begin with its sixth-grade class and continue to fill up grade levels each year until the first class graduates in 2022.

The True Sioux Hope Foundation is dedicated to funding education for the Sioux Tribe in South Dakota.

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Pretend City to host fitness games and activities

For those looking to see out their New Year’s resolution to stay active and fit, Pretend City Children’s Museum in Irvine will host its Fitness Fun event 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 23 for families.

The museum will partner with First Step Fitness, a health club and company in Long Beach, for the event.

Children of all ages will be welcome to partake in games and exercises that will get their muscles moving while also teaching parents how being active will advance their children’s learning abilities.

Pretend City is located on 29 Hubble in Irvine.

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Student exchange program applications for Newport Beach students open

Applications for the 2016 Okazaki Japan Student Exchange, a trip sponsored by the Newport Balboa Rotary Club and the Newport Beach Sister City Assn., are now open.

For the past 32 years, the club and association have done the two-week student exchange with their sister city Okazaki, Japan.

In the past, about eight students selected in Newport Beach traveled to Japan around June while the same amount of students in Okazaki were chosen to go to Newport Beach in September.

Newport Beach students stayed with the families of the Okazaki students who were selected for the exchange program, and vice versa.

The application is for students who are residents of Newport Beach or Costa Mesa and in the eighth grade during the 2015-16 school year. The students may be from public or private schools.

For more information and the application, visit newportbeachrotary.com/okazaki-student-exchange.

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IUSD to hold e-waste recycling event

The Irvine Unified School District will host a free electronics recycling event at its district office from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 30.

In partnership with All Green Recycling, district staff will collect old computers, monitors, printers, TVs, VCRs, stereos and other electronic equipment.

Items such as furniture, household hazardous waste and kitchen appliances will not be accepted.

The district office is located at 5050 Barranca Parkway in Irvine.