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BRIEFLY IN EDUCATION

School puts on own pageant tonight

Saint Catherine of Siena Parish School students will present its fifth annual Masters Pageant tonight in the school’s parish hall/gymnasium.

Admission is free. Festivities will begin with a social hour at 7 p.m,. followed by the program at 8.

A tradition since 2004, the Masters Pageant began as a creative way of displaying student’s artwork. As the years progressed, two school parents, Colleen Sagert and Cynthia Carlson created and provided the direction to dramatize legendary pieces of art with a student cast.

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For more information, contact the school office at (949) 494-7339.

First masters’ students graduate from college

On May 12, the 80 students of the Laguna College of Art & Design class of 2008 celebrated their graduation on the college grounds.

Fourteen graduates were members of the inaugural class of the Master of Fine Arts program, the first group ever to receive a graduate degree from the college.

This year’s keynote speaker was Jack Lew, the global art talent resources manager at Electronic Arts, the world’s largest video game developer and publisher.

“It’s a great honor to have Jack Lew as an active memory of our honorary Advisory Council for the game art program. Jack’s mentorship in the initial development of our program helped in the creation of a strong major, that in one short year, already has industry eyes on our up and coming students,” Game Art Chairwoman Sandy Appleoff said.

Only a few North American institutions are offering an undergraduate program designed to build team skill sets and aimed at being partnered with industry. In developing this vision, the college built relationships with industry giants such as Electronic Arts. In recognition of strengthening the connection with the gaming industry, LCAD awarded Lew an honorary doctorate in Fine Arts.

For more information, visit www.lcad.edu.

District releases details for summer school classes

Summer school for grades one through eight will be from June 23 to July 18, from 8 a.m. to 12:10 p.m. at Thurston Middle School.

Transportation will be available for a nominal fee.

At Laguna Beach High School, summer school makeup classes in algebra, English, social studies and non-lab science will be from 7:45 a.m. to noon June 23 to July 25.

Sign ups begin June 4; information will be mailed home beginning May 27.

Student exchange program seeks host families

World Heritage, a public benefit organization, is seeking local families to host high school students from France, Germany, Thailand, Japan, Russia, China, Switzerland, Denmark and Italy. Host families provide room, board and guidance for a teenager living thousands of miles from home. Students are well screened and are selected based on academic performance, English proficiency, teacher recommendations and personal interviews.

Couples, single parents and families with or without children at home are all encouraged to apply.

The exchange students arrive from their home country shortly before school begins in fall. Each student is fully insured, brings their own personal spending money and expects to bear their share of household responsibilities, as well as being included in normal family activities.

For more information, call Bodil Dencker at (949) 310-5612, or visit www.world-heritage.org.

Preschoolers to become immersed in the arts

Chabad Jewish Center preschoolers ages 2 to 5 again will study the “Artful ABCs” in a yearlong curriculum initiated by teacher Tracey Belland.

The letters include A for Abstract, B for Brancusi, C for Chagall, up to W for Warhol. In addition to teaching art concepts, the curriculum explores numbers, letters, songs, poems and cooking.

The children learn poems for each letter and learn each art master’s styles. Belland enhanced the educational program with a Museum Pass Book, like a passport, in which the children get stamps after learning a new artist.

The children decorate their books and keep them until the end of the year, where they celebrate with Graduation at the Guggenheim.

For more information on Chabad Preschool, 30804 S. Coast Hwy., call (949) 499-0770 or visit www.chabadoflaguna.com.

Dads invited to discussion

Dads of infants through high school-aged children are invited to the Dad’s Group at Laguna Presbyterian Church from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Monday.

The discussion topic will be how to get ready for kids to go to college, and how to get kids ready to go to college someday.

Charlie Bell, a Laguna resident, architect and father of three, will lead the discussion. One of his children graduated from Oregon State, a second is graduating from Stanford next month, and the third is finishing her first year at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

The dads will meet in the Blue House, behind the church on the Third Street parking lot. Pizza and salad will be available for $6.

For reservations or further information, contact the church office between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at (949) 494-7557.

Seventh Thurston student to attend Tech Trek

A seventh Thurston Middle School student has been provided a scholarship to attend the Tech Trek weeklong residential math and science program at Cal State Fresno this summer.

The American Association of University Women, Laguna Beach Branch, will provide the scholarship to seventh-grader Sevana Dvorak, who was chosen on the basis of her written essay, a completed application and personal interview.

Music department fundraiser tonight

The award-winning Laguna Beach High School Jazz Orchestra, under the direction of Roger Shew, will play at the annual “Dining and Dancing Under the Stars” fundraiser and silent auction at 7 tonight at Tivoli Terrace. The event benefits the LBHS music department.

Tickets are $45 per person. For more information, call Julie Stevens at (949) 497-5857.


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