Briefly In Education

Swim test for Junior Lifeguards

The Marine Safety and Community Services Department will host the first swim test for the 2011 Junior Guard program from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 26 at the Community Pool, required for youth who are new to the program, City Manager John Pietig announced in his Friday Update. More than 480 girls and boys between the ages of 8 and 15 are expected to participate.

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Club welcomes the Year of the Rabbit

The Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach recently celebrated the 4,708th Chinese Lunar New Year, where members, staff and parents bid farewell to the Year of the Tiger and welcomed the new Year of the Rabbit, according to branch director Ashlyn Strahle.

After a thorough sweeping of the club (to clean away any worries of the past year), a party followed with activities including Chinese character and anime drawing, making paper lanterns, an array of games and a dragon parade. The Year of the Rabbit brought new additions to the annual celebration with chopstick updo’s, a Chinese tea party, a red rabbit cookie walk and a ninja star obstacle course and skill test.

Members also enjoyed delicacies like teriyaki seaweed, sugar cane, marinated tofu, dragon eyeballs (lychee fruits) and other assorted treats from the Far East, Strahle stated in a written statement to the press.

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Donors ‘fund-a-need’ for schools

SchoolPower’s Annual Dinner Dance at the Montage Laguna Beach raised about $256,000 for Laguna’s schools, according to Stephanie Reid of SchoolPower.

A portion of the money raised will benefit the Fund-A-Need initiative, a math software program called SuccessMaker that allows students to work at their own pace. Already available to fourth- and fifth-graders, dinner dance patrons were asked to raise their bidding paddles so that the program could be extended to the third grade at Top of the World and El Morro elementary schools.

SchoolPower is still seeking donations for Thurston’s Mac Lab Fund-A-Need and Laguna Beach High School’s College Prep Fund-A-Need, Reid stated in a press statement. For more information or to make a donation, visit https://www.lbschoolpower.org or call (949) 494-6811.