BRIEFLY IN EDUCATION

Junior Art Day is Saturday at Festival of Arts

Kids can enjoy hands-on art making activities, such as paint-a-pot, printmaking and more from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday during Junior Art Day. All Junior Art Day activities are free, as is admission for children 12 and under. Art supplies are limited, and admission is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Hands-on art activities include paint-a-pot at the ceramics booth, creating an artfully inspired hat, and make-a-print at the printmaking booth. In addition to art activities, Bob Baker Marionette’s will perform at noon and 1 p.m. on the center green. Kids can also get their faces painted, take home a balloon creation and participate in an “Art Quest” scavenger hunt through the art show.

The Festival of Arts is open daily from 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., (except Aug. 23) at 650 Laguna Canyon Road. Information, (949) 494 to 1145 or foapom.com.

Visit with exotic animals at Sawdust Art Festival

Families can get to know some exotic, wild animals on Wednesday and Aug. 13, with Sawdust guest artist Chris Hoy.

Hoy will present Wildlife Days at the Sawdust Art Festival from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on those days. Hoy, along with longtime associate and co-founder of E&E; Animals, Shannon Thompson, will share some of the world’s most exotic animals that inspire Hoy’s wildlife paintings.

The live show will be on the Main Entertainment Deck, featuring a variety of species for guests to meet and greet, up close and personal. Some of the wild creatures partaking in this hands-on experience include:

?American alligator, one of the largest reptiles. ?Binturong, the Asian Bearcat, found in southeast Asia. ?Burmese Python, the largest subspecies of the Indian Python.

?Red Kangaroo, lives over most of the central part of Australia. ?Kookaburra, which inhabits woodland areas of Australia. The Kookaburra’s rolling, laughing call is one of the best-known sounds in the animal world.?Serval, or African Wildcat.?Tawny Owl, an owl of Eurasia and northern Africa that has tawny, wormlike markings.

The Sawdust Art Festival is open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at 935 Laguna Canyon Road. For more information call (949) 494-3030 or visit www.SawdustArtFestival.org.

Heiney wins National Merit Scholarship

Everett A. Heiney of Laguna Beach has been named a National Merit Scholar and will receive a Claremont McKenna College Scholarship.

Heiney was one of more than 1,900 National Merit Scholarship winners receiving between $500 and $2,000 annually for four years of undergraduate study.

District provides free, reduced-price lunches

The Laguna Beach Unified School District has announced its policy for providing free and reduced-price meals for children served under the National School Lunch/Breakfast Program. Each school and/or the central office has a copy of the policy, which may be reviewed by any interested party.

Household size and income criteria will be used to determine eligibility for free, reduced-price, or full-price meal benefits. Children from households whose income is at or below the levels provided are eligible for free or reduced-price meals.

Children who receive Food Stamp, California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs), Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payments, or Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations benefits are automatically eligible for free meals regardless of the income of the household in which they reside. Eligibility for a foster child is based on a separate application and solely on the amount of the child’s “personal use” income.

In accordance with federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, the district is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability.

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964.