Briefly In Education

SchoolPower- Palooza a success

Sunday’s second annual SchoolPowerPalooza, which attracted about 450 attendees, was nothing but blue skies, Stephanie Reid said.

“If you like listening to great music with your family and friends while enjoying a sparkling view of the Pacific Ocean, then SchoolPowerPalooza at El Morro Elementary was the place for you.”

The Laguna Beach High School jazz band kicked off the day with sweet sounds, followed by crowd-pleasing performances by Sasha “the next Norah Jones” Evans and the popular Jason Feddy Band.

Thurston Principal Joanne Culverhouse used the opportunity to thank SchoolPower for its part in the district’s music, art and technology advances. She also encouraged district parents to support the SchoolPower Community Campaign.

SchoolPower’s Tony Shutts wrapped up the event by thanking participants, sponsors and school leaders, “especially Dr. Fraisse, for his planning in maximizing the impact of SchoolPower dollars, with efforts like class size reduction.”

Stacey Singer, an El Morro parent, also expressed her excitement about the event.

“The kids had a blast, the music was great and I didn’t have to cook dinner!”

SchoolPower is the Laguna Beach Education Foundation established in 1981, which has raised millions for all four Laguna public schools. SchoolPower’s Community Campaign kicks off this week.

For information, call (949) 494-6811 or visit www.lbschoolpower.org.

AAUW seeks volunteer tutors

The American Assn. of University Women Laguna Beach Branch needs volunteers to work with children at El Morro.

Volunteers are needed for the Help-a-Child and Learning Club programs.

Help-a-Child needs volunteers for the classroom where they will work with small groups of children during regular school hours under a teacher’s guidance.

Learning Club is an after-school program on Tuesday and Thursday in which volunteers provide one-on-one tutoring to students who need additional help.

For more information, contact Peggie Thomas at (949) 499-1817 or [email protected] or Barbara Antonacci at (949) 248-5139 or [email protected].

Kid’s Club meets at mammal site

The Pacific Marine Mammal Center, 20612 Laguna Canyon Road, will feature Kid’s Club, an after-school program designed to increase children’s knowledge of marine life, beginning today.

The club will meet from 4 to 6 p.m. one Friday per month at the center.

Open to children ages 8 through 12. Cost is $195 per child, and covers September through May sessions; $175 for Seal Members.

For more information, visit www.pacificmmc.org or call (949) 494-3050.

Wyland teaches with water unit

The Wyland Foundation is expanding its efforts to teach children throughout Southern California about marine conservation and water management with a new partnership with the Ocean Institute of Dana Point. The groups will send the learning center to as many as 80 schools during the school year.

Developed with input from NOAA, the Ocean Institute, Scripps Institution of Oceanography and other resources, the 1,000-square foot bio-diesel powered exhibit includes a 40-person on-board theater, video microscopes for determining water quality, and a running river promotes a greater understanding of water as a shared resource.

“The concept is to have children enter the theater as a drop of water,” said Wyland, a marine artist with a studio and gallery in Laguna Beach.

“We use special effects to help them understand the facets of the water cycle and the importance of healthy water sheds. Then they enter the ‘watershed room’ where we have hands-on exhibits. The strength of the exhibition is its mobility.

“We can literally roll into a school that may not have a field trip in its budget. At a time of budget cuts in sciences and art, we think that’s important.”

The foundation also took its clean water center with an all-Spanish program to schools in Mexicali, Tijuana, Ensenada and Tecate, teaching more than 20,000 students about water issues facing the U.S. and Mexico.

For more information, visit www.wylandfoundation.org.