High Life : A WEEKLY FORUM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS : St. Margaret’s Seniors Get Pick of the Letters

The seniors at St. Margaret’s Episcopal School in San Juan Capistrano have some serious decisions to make this summer. At last count, the 26 members of the graduating class had received 102 college acceptances--an average of almost four per student.

Among the institutions competing to get members of this bright group of seniors are the University of California (26 acceptances, including four at Berkeley), Stanford, Juilliard Conservatory of Music, Vassar, Dartmouth, Occidental, Vanderbilt, Colgate and Carnegie-Mellon.

This year’s senior class has performed especially well academically, says Headmaster Mark Campaigne. Eight students--almost a third of the class--were recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corp. Three were named National Merit Scholars: Brooke Lyons, Joey Newell and Jason Tsai. Another five students--Aaron Batley, Christina Hallenbeck, Steve Markwell, Bobby Wildman and Justin Yeh--were named Commended Students, placing them in the top 5% of students nationwide.

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If high school yearbooks are cool, and music videos are cool, combining the two should be double-cool. So went the thinking of the movie production class at Buena Park High School, which for the sixth straight year has documented the senior year’s experiences in a two-hour presentation. The video, which plays June 2, 3 and 4 at the school’s Performing Arts Complex, uses a popular soundtrack from compact discs to give students a vivid reminder of their final year. (And for $25, they can take home a copy of “Senior Year, 1993.”)

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Laurice Hwang of Foothill High School in Tustin is the winner of a $300 savings bond in the 1993 Highway Safety Poster contest sponsored by the Knights of Pythias Tustin Lodge. The annual competition uses student artwork to stress the hazards that alcohol and drugs pose to motorists. Second place went to Andrea Jean of Tustin High, and Lidia Aguilar of Century High in Santa Ana took third place.

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“Time Warp,” Tustin High School’s Grad Nite, needs volunteers to help set up or work at the all-night party offering seniors a drug- and alcohol-free way to celebrate their graduation. Donated materials are also requested. Information: (714) 838-7488.

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“You have to have passion; technique alone is just an embroidered potholder.” --Raymond Chandler