Report Card

Five graduating eighth-graders were presented the Mayor’s Award from St.

Bonaventure School on Tuesday for making the honor roll every year since

fourth grade.

Jennifer Nyguen, Casey Roccanova, Jade Jimenez, Brian Nicalek and Thomas

Ursano were singled out at the Huntington Beach private school’s

end-of-the-year honor roll breakfast.

Nicalek’s award is especially sweet because the student went through

three surgical procedures last year to remove a brain tumor and is still

undergoing treatment.

More than 150 students attended the breakfast.

St. Bonaventure School teaches students in kindergarten through eighth

grade. Eligibility for honor roll starts in fourth grade.

EDISON STUDENT IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Alex Torrico of Edison High School was one of 12 finalists chosen by the

Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles for its 12th annual Spotlight

Awards Competition.

Finalists were chosen from 67 semifinalists selected at six auditions

held between January and March.

Torrico, a junior, qualified in the classical voice category.

Finalists will perform at the gala competition April 17 at Los Angeles’

Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

Winners receive $5,000, and runners-up will get $2,500.

FOUNTAIN VALLEY GROUP DANCES AROUND COMPETITION

The Fountain Valley High School Dance Company swept a competition held

Saturday at Rowland High School in Rowland Heights. The event was the

competitive debut for the school’s newest performing arts group.

The dance company competed in two categories -- medium-sized dance team

and lyrical dance. The dancers took first place in both. In the lyrical

dance category, the judges rated the dancers’ performance as close to

perfect.

The dance company is run by instructor Wendy Ellis, who choreographed

both of the winning numbers.

Members of the team are Martina Britton (captain), Michelle Charboneau

and Lisa Tucker (co-captains), Erin Crawford, Megan Blore, Katie

Critchell, Danielle Dardis, Nicole Salazar, Tiffany Wang and Gina

Gonzales.

CLASS OF 2016 ENTERS COLLEGE

The Class of 2016 will spend its first day in college Friday, when 1,200

kindergarten students visit Golden West College in Huntington Beach as

part of the annual KinderCaminata celebration. The event is designed to

teach children that a college education is part of their future.For

security reasons, the event is not open to the public.

The visiting students will walk through a mock graduation and receive

diplomas. Golden West chemistry students will demonstrate the making of

“slime.” Cosmetology students will braid hair and polish finger nails.

Other activities include science experiments and visits from police

officers and firefighters who’ll show off their emergency vehicles and

offer safety tips.Since 1994, KinderCaminata has been held annually at

Orange County community colleges on or near the birth date (March 31) of

Cesar Chavez.The theme -- Si, se puede! (Spanish for “yes, you can’) --

is intended to reinforce the concept that anything is possible through

education.Students from Huntington Beach City, Ocean View and Fountain

Valley school districts are among those planning to attend the event.

PREPARING FOR THE SATs

Golden West College is offering an SAT preparation seminar Tuesdays and

Thursdays through April 6.

Participants will learn test-taking strategies, critical reading,

sentence completion, arithmetic, algebra and geometry skills.

A total of five meetings, equaling 15 hours, started Tuesday and ends

April 6. The classes are scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday evenings --

beginning today -- from 6 to 9 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.The

next SAT exams are scheduled for April 8 and May 6 at local high schools.

The college is at 15744 Goldenwest St., Huntington Beach. The program fee

is $165. For information, call the college’s community services office at

891-3991.