Briefly In Education

Class of 2010 gathering on Sunday

The Laguna Beach High School Class of 2010 will celebrate baccalaureate at 7 p.m. Sunday at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, 1042 Temple Terrace, Laguna Beach.

The ceremony will be led by Fr. Eamon O’Gorman, pastor of St. Catherine’s; Rabbi Peter Levi of Temple Beth El in Aliso Viejo; and the Rev. Dr. Steve Sweet of Laguna Presbyterian Church. Student speakers will be Mo Arthur and Andrew Shapiro.

Music will be provided by Shapiro on guitar and Ian Greene on bagpipes. A reception provided by the Laguna Beach Interfaith Council will follow. All are invited to join in the celebration.

Thurston students explore French culture on trip

A group of students at Thurston Middle School recently took an eight-day trip to Paris, Normandy and Brittany, France, where they were led on a private, customized tour as they explored French culture.

“The purpose of the trip was to extend the students’ understanding and appreciation of French culture, as well as to immerse for a week in the French language,” Thurston teacher and chaperone Randi Beckley said.

The group visited famous monuments of Paris, including Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, where they enjoyed a delicious French dinner at 58 Tour Eiffel, the restaurant on the first floor of the tower.

The highlight in Brittany was a tour of the immense Mont St. Michel, completely surrounded by quicksand.

In Normandy, they visited the hometown and memorial of Joan of Arc, the Caen Peace Museum and the American Cemetery.

Beckley said the students were humbled to sit amid burial sites of fallen heroes of WWII at the cemetery.

“The students all grew tremendously through this experience. It was so fun to watch them explore France, some for the first time, and to become more enchanted with the beauty, history, and significance of French culture,” Beckley said. “One of my fondest moments on the trip was stopping along the side of the road in Brittany to sample some local oysters, completely on the whim of one of our students. Taking students to France is truly the highlight of my profession.”

Boys & Girls Club summer program

The Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach will make the most of summer by holding daily programs that offer an array of educational and fun activities, including art class, sports like golf and tennis, an outdoor adventure club, yoga and gardening.

Along with innovative programs, the club will offer a classic Games Room stocked with every game board imaginable in addition to Lego contests, ping-pong, pool, air hockey and poly-pong.

A state of the art Education/Technology Center bridges the learning gap between school years by providing access to fun educational programs such as Claymation Club, Reading Club, National Science Programs as well as supplemental support for summer school students.

Each day of the week will offer special activities and field trips. Club members will enjoy an afternoon at the beach on Mondays; Photography Club or Water Blast on Tuesdays; Wednesdays will give kids a chance to sign up for many classic summertime destinations such as Wild Rivers, Knott’s Berry Farm or an Angels Game; Thursdays will be dedicated to the Nationally Award Winning Adventure Club, where members explore the outdoors of Orange County and in the afternoon the club hits the pool; Fridays, there will be excitement with famous Bunker Ball and barbecues, and special events including the talent show and carnival.

The club will also offer two special camping trips. The first will be a classic mountain camping experience at Pathfinder Ranch from July 26 to 30, where kids can go horseback ridding, canoeing, do archery, rock climb and much more.

The annual Catalina Camping Trip will take place Aug. 24 to 27 and will give campers a chance to hike, kayak, snorkel, create natural art souvenirs, rock jump, learn essential camping and survival skills, and participate in the free form play and relaxation that camping in nature provides.

Pam Estes, executive director of the club conveyed expressed enthusiasm about the summer programs, which she said will offer learning opportunities outside of the classroom.

“This summer is going to be the best ever for kids at our club,” said Pam Estes, executive director. “We have fantastic staff on hand to mentor and lead our young ones, but more importantly, fun is the one constant every kid can count on at the club. Summer is a time for kids to cut loose and play and really enjoy being a kid.”

Summer Club Camp fees are $100 a week. Field trips vary in price $5 to $35. For more information, call Elena Mendoza at (949) 494-2535, ext. 105.

MFA thesis exhibit set this summer

Laguna College of Art and Design will host the 2010 MFA Thesis Exhibitions through June 19, and June 26 to July 10 at Arena 1 Gallery in Santa Monica.

The exhibit is a visual statement representing the culmination of each students’ graduate painting research and contains of work that centers around their particular conceptual objectives. Major works from each artist’s series will be exhibited in addition to drawings and small painted studies.

There will be an accompanying exhibition of current MFA student work.

Members of the community, friends of LCAD, as well as collectors, gallery dealers and critics are invited to the opening receptions at the gallery from 6 to 9 p.m. on June 26.

For more information, visit www.lagunacollege.edu/mfa and www.santamonicaartstudios.com.

SchoolPower raises $500,000 for local schools

SchoolPower formally announced its new trustees for the 2010-11 year at Sunday’s end-of-year meeting at Claes Restaurant.

Board Development Vice President Lynn Gregory and other trustees praised the high caliber of the volunteers, which includes Steve and Jennifer Baker, Andy and Kristin Bunn, Will and Kelly Boyd, Robert and Stacie Capobianco, Jeff and Melissa Cavanaugh and Barron and Kim Ressler.

Incoming Vice President Marcus Skenderian presented David Wilson with the 2010 Claes Hall of Fame Award for exemplary long-term contributions to Laguna Beach education since 1984. This year’s fundraising efforts will net more than $500,000 for Laguna Beach public education.

Robin Rounaghi accepted the board’s nomination to serve a second year as president, along with Executive Officers Skenderian, Tony Shutts, Beth McCombs, Carol Normandin, Samantha Washer, Mike Yoder, Mike Austin and Lynn Gregory.

Rounaghi paid tribute to outgoing Supt. Robert Fraisse, who received a standing ovation from the 70 school supporters in attendance.

Incoming Supt. Sherine Smith, along with School Board President Ketta Brown and School Board members Betsy Jenkins, Bill Landsiedel and Theresa O’Hare joined in the celebration.