Briefly In Education

Boys & Girls Club has week of fun

The Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach has been celebrating National Boys & Girls Club week with daily festivities.

On Tuesday, they attempted to break a Guinness World Record. Boys & Girls Clubs nationwide did jumping jacks at the exact same time for two minutes. They’ll find out soon if they broke a record.

The kids had some interesting days planned, such as filling in as staff for a day on Wednesday. Thursday called for paper airplane making and a Mad Science Day at the Park.

Friday is their last day of festivities with a Main Branch favorite, the Mega Bubble. Kids will get the chance to be inside a bubble. The week will end with the TLC Branch’s annual sleepover, where children will get to play flashlight tag and finish off a festive week.

For more information about the Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach, call (949) 494-2535.

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Students donate to soldiers

El Morro Elementary School PTA and Student Council will be collecting used cell phones, which will be recycled into prepaid phone cards for American soldiers overseas. The main office and classrooms will have collection boxes until April 1.

For more information, call El Morro at (949) 497-7780.

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Grapes for Grads coming up

The sixth annual Grapes for Grads, the fundraiser that raises scholarship money for Laguna Beach High School and Laguna College of Art & Design (LCAD) students, will take place April 17.

At Tivoli Too! in the Festival District, guests can enjoy wine from California, France, Italy, Argentina, New Zealand and many more places, along with food from K’ya Bistro & Bar.

LCAD students will be doing live demonstrations in different disciplines such as painting, animation and sculpture.

The day is also in conjunction with the 80th anniversary of the Rotary Club of Laguna Beach. The Montage Resort will be making a commemorative cake and presenting it at Grapes for Grads.

To buy tickets, visit grapesforgrads.com. All guests must be 21 or older.

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LBHS student recognized by Rotary

Laguna Beach High senior Jason Zade was recently named High School Student of the Month by the Rotary Club of Laguna Beach.

He won for science, and was nominated by his teacher Jen Merritt.

Zade plans to study mechanical engineering in college and hopes to go on to a career in the automotive industry.

Not only does Zade excel in science, but he also is the vice president and co-founder of the Safe Rides program at Laguna Beach High.

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Free SAT prep at Library

Need to prepare for SATS and ACTS tests? Take a free practice test Saturday.

The Laguna Beach Library and Kaplan Test Prep are hosting free SAT and ACT practice tests from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the library.

On April 6, test takers can return to get their scores and get free test-taking tips.

To sign up, call the library at (949) 497-1733.

The Laguna Beach Library is at 363 Glenneyre St.

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Thurston to honor Marie Thurston

On Thursday, Thurston Middle School will honor its namesake, Marie Thurston, the first principal of Laguna Beach Grade School in 1913 and one of the first teachers in the city.

Laguna Beach Councilman Kelly Boyd, Thurston’s grandson, will say a few words about his grandmother and the new memorial wall in the library and administration building that is being named after her.

Thurston’s leadership class has been working with the Boyd family to learn more about Marie Thurston, which eventually made the tribute come to fruition.

“The concept of paying tribute to Marie Thurston began two years when a few students in the leadership class asked me why our school name was Thurston. I knew Ms. Thurston was the grandmother of Kelly Boyd, so I began having conversations with Kelly and Michelle Boyd regarding Marie,” Principal Joanne Culverhouse said in a statement. “This helped me realize what a valuable contribution Marie Thurston made not only to education, but also to the entire Laguna Beach community.”

For more information, contact Thurston Middle S 9chool at (949) 497-7785.

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LBUSD reveals drug-free strategy

Due to the surge in underage drinking and drug use, the Laguna Beach Unified District is developing a multiyear strategy.

The district hopes to partner with concerned parents, experts in the field and others in the community in an effort to send the message of staying drug-free.

“The work of this committee is another step forward in our overall mission to educate and develop the whole child,” school board President Theresa O’Hare said in a statement. “I am gratified that so many community organizations and agencies have joined the district in this effort to protect Laguna’s children from the harmful effects of alcohol and substance abuse.”

They are working with the Laguna Beach Community Coalition, which is part of the Other Drug Prevention Steering Committee, to use research-based strategies to reduce drug and alcohol use in their students.

For more information about the district’s efforts, go to LBUSD.org.

—Joanna Clay