Pilgrim adventures

The fifth-graders at Top of the World Elementary School have begun their overnight adventures aboard the Pilgrim ship in the Dana Point Harbor. Students experience first-hand what life was like for sailors coming across the ocean to settle the New World.

Red Ribbon Week has just finished, and this year kids took pledges to make healthy lifestyle choices and to remain tobacco-, drug- and alcohol-free. The program -- headed up by Beth Sand and our new counselor, Jami Parsons -- had children making posters, wearing caps and collecting pennies to fund the Red Ribbon Week Scholarship Fund to help drug-, alcohol- and tobacco-free Laguna Beach High School students go to college.

The Jog-a-thon Committee has begun looking for T-shirt sponsors. Sign up before December 1 and become a member of the Dolphin Club. The Jog-a-thon takes place on March 24 and is the PTA’s largest fundraiser.

Finally, in our continuing effort to keep kids excited about reading and to promote humanitarian values, the PTA has joined with Heifer International in the “Read to Feed” Program. As children accumulate points, the PTA will contribute funds to purchase livestock for struggling families who have few resources.

“This is a great opportunity for our TOW kids to make a difference in the world,” said Ron LaMotte, the principal.