BRIEFLY IN EDUCATION

‘No Suits Allowed’ concert planned for Jan. 31

The 21st Annual “No Suits Allowed” Concert will take place at the Laguna Beach High School Artists Theater at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31.

The show, organized by Gary Shapiro, will feature many of Laguna’s talented high school students and guest performers. All money raised will go toward the Class of 2009’s “safe and sober” graduation night activities. Shapiro will also perform.

Shapiro is a math teacher at Laguna Beach High School who has helped put on the concert as a fundraiser for the graduating class for 21 years.

Shapiro spends hours working with the kids, and brings in the elementary school chorus and guest performers, including other teachers and members of the community.

A pre-show fundraiser will take place at Ristorante Rumari from 5 to 6:45 p.m. These tickets are $60 each and include a three-course pasta dinner and reserved section seating. There are also a limited amount of $30 reserved section seats available.

General tickets will go on sale at 4 p.m. Jan. 31, with a maximum of four per person.

Student admission is $10; adult admission $15.

Checks for reserved ticket orders can be made out to “LBHS Class of 2009” and sent to Kathleen Moore, 84 Emerald Bay, Laguna Beach.

For more information, call (949) 497-8455.

Adult English classes offered through district

The Laguna Beach Unified School District is offering free English as a Second Language classes for adults beginning Jan. 27. Classes will be from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday through June 18.

Classes are at Laguna Beach High School, 625 Park Ave., above the swimming pool at the corner of Manzanita Drive and Park Avenue, across from the administrative headquarters.

Register in class with the instructor. For more information, call (949) 497-7700, ext. 210.

Nunes on dean’s list

Spenser Allen Nunes of Laguna Beach has been named to the dean’s list for the fall 2008 semester at South Dakota State University.

To earn dean’s list distinctions, students must have completed a minium of 12 credits and have earned at least a 3.5 GPA.

Patriots Day Parade art, essay winners named

Winners of the 2009 Laguna Beach Patriots Day Parade program cover art and essay contests have been announced.

Winner of the cover art contest is Steven Bell, a sophomore at Laguna Beach High School and art student of Kerry Pellow.

The essay contest winner is Taylor Addis, a sixth-grader at Thurston Middle School and member of Gaye Pivaroff’s language arts class. The students will receive $100 U.S. savings bonds donated by Citizens Business Bank and Bank of America.

The savings bonds will be presented at the Parade’s Honoree Brunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Jan. 25, at Tivoli Terrace, Festival of Arts grounds. The public is invited to attend and meet the parade honorees. Cost is $25.

For information and reservations, call (949) 494-6016.

Club member, 13, wins digital arts festival

Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach member Ellie Scharf, 13, was Pacific Regional Photo Tech Winner in the seventh annual Club Tech Digital Arts Festival.

This is one of three National Programs that the club’s Art Department participates in annually. The Digital Arts Festivals celebrate creativity in photo illustration, music making, movie making, web design and graphic design.

The “Nature of Design” was this year’s theme. Members were asked to explore nature’s beauty to find what artists borrow from the natural world to create their art. Ellie’s first place accomplishment, out of seven states in the Pacific Region, was created using Adobe Photoshop with pictures taken by club members during Photography Club to create a unique composition expressing the Art Festivals theme.

Ellie received a certificate of achievement and a Zune in addition to an engraved plaque for display in the club. Art Director Emily Murray runs the teen art program from 4 to 6 p.m. every Tuesday in the Teen Center. All members have the opportunity to hone their creativity and artistic skills in daily art programs in the Art Room.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Laguna Beach serve children and families living in Laguna Beach and the surrounding area. The club is open every day after school for a membership fee of $150 a year. For more information, call (949) 494-2535.