We have been closely monitoring the incoming storm. The forecast in our immediate area predicts significant wind and rainfall throughout the day on Friday with the potential for thunderstorms.
We do expect to hold school as scheduled tomorrow. We have also dedicated time this week to prepare for the impacts of the storm, including trimming trees in Hope Ranch, clearing drains, and testing our communication systems across our two campuses.
Please drive safely to and from campus tomorrow, and be sure to stay tuned to your email in case the school needs to communicate any significant changes to school operations due to weather.
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GOLDEN OAK GALA SPONSORSHIP AND AUCTION DETAILS |
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SPRING BENEFIT
SATURDAY, MARCH 11 | HOPE RANCH
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24 HOURS LEFT TO SPONSOR! |
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Sponsorships confirmed by end of day on Friday, February 24 will appear
in the event program.
THANK YOU TO OUR EVENT SPONSORS TO DATE
GOTTESDIENER FAMILY · BERAR FAMILY · DRUCKER FAMILY
NAYAK FAMILY · TURNER FAMILY · ZEGAR FAMILY FUND (STEFANIE AND DAVID JACKSON) · FOWLER FAMILY · JIM AND CHANA JACKSON
PARDIS AND SHERRY NASSERI · PROBSTEL FAMILY
AMBER AND STEVE ORTIZ · WYATT FAMILY · ZEMECKIS FAMILY
WHITE & GRUBE ORTHODONTICS · FRIEND OF LAGUNA
CARPENTER FAMILY · GRASSINI MATHERN FAMILY
HENDERSON FAMILY · LONCKI FAMILY · TIFFANY PELLETIER
PEUS FAMILY · RICE FAMILY · REBECCA AND ARI RYAN · KBZ ARCHITECTS · ASHER FAMILY · BALL FAMILY · BERG FAMILY
BERGER FAMILY · BOLLAG FAMILIES · DURLING FAMILY
FIRLIK FAMILY · HASSMAN FAMILY · MCDERMOTT CHARNEY FAMILY
POPOVICH FAMILY · TRAUTWEIN FAMILY · FERRIS ORTHODONTICS · DAMERY FAMILY · KETABI/TERENZI FAMILY
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SNEAK PEEK OF A FEW AMAZING AUCTION ITEMS! |
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FRAMED ARTWORK
CACTUS MEDLEY | 50" x 70"
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PRIVATE WINE TASTING
FOR 4 PEOPLE
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MEDIUM CLASSIC LINK BRACELET
18K YELLOW GOLD
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SEATS ARE FILLING UP FAST! |
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DON’T GET STUMPED; PUT DOWN ROOTS BY SECURING YOUR SPOT TODAY!
BRANCH OUT AND ASK A FRIEND TO JOIN YOU!
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DONATIONS OF ALL KINDS WELCOMED |
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NEW THIS YEAR! ONLINE AUCTION OPENS AFTER THE EVENT AT 12:01AM ON MARCH 12
STAY TUNED FOR BIDDING INSTRUCTIONS.
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GOLDEN OAK GALA QUESTIONS? |
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PRIORITY REGISTRATION FOR SUMMER @ LAGUNA OPENS TOMORROW, 2/24 AT 9AM! |
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Summer @ Laguna priority registration opens tomorrow, February 24 at 9AM and will be open through Monday, February 27 at 11:59PM! General registration begins on Wednesday, March 1.
A few important notes about priority registration:
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Registration is password protected. Please use S@L2023Owls to access the registration portal from 2/24-2/27.
- You may share this password with three friends. Please ensure that your name is listed as the referral when they register.
All camps (excluding specialty camps, like The Great Outdoors) are $395/week and run from 9:00AM - 2:30PM DAILY with snacks and lunch provided. Summer @ Laguna provides complimentary early drop-off along with aftercare options on both campuses.
We hope you take advantage of early access to our exciting 2023 camp offerings in Arts, Academics, Adventure & Games, LEGO, STEM, and Sports & Fitness.
Please reach out to Zack Moore if you have any questions.
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LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT YEAR
HOLIDAYS & KEY DATES FOR 2023-24
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THROW BACK TO TEDxLBS 2023! |
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Enjoy a highlight reel of this impressive annual event by clicking the arrow above! |
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CONGRATULATIONS TO LAGUNA'S GLOBAL LEADERSHIP CONNECTION REPRESENTATIVES |
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Grade 11 students Magdalena Amezaga, Lucia Camp, and Andreas McClintock represented Laguna Blanca over the weekend at the Global Leadership Connection at Santa Barbara City College. Over 70 students represented schools from throughout the county.
Andreas was awarded Youth Leader of the Year, winning the Busch Family Scholarship and received an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, DC in October to attend the GLC Leadership Experience with student winners from other chapters. Lucia was awarded an ambassador scholarship of $100.
“This is a wonderful program for our juniors and a first step in preparing them for the college application process,” says journalism, public speaking, and community service advisor Ms. Trish McHale.
The Global Leadership Connection (GLC) is a scholarship awards program honoring outstanding high school juniors who maintain a high academic average and have demonstrated leadership ability in school and the community.
Way to go, Magdalena, Lucia, and Andreas!
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POETRY OUT LOUD PARTICIPANTS INSPIRE SANTA BARBARA |
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The first round of the Poetry Out Loud SB County Contest took place on Wednesday in Spaulding Theatre in front of the Upper School student body. Of the 13 Laguna students who participated at the school level, six went on to compete at the county level last night.
Congratulations to Poetry Out Loud SB County Contest 2nd Place winner Dionne Peterson '25 (pictured above!) Hats off to all Laguna participants who did an amazing job representing Laguna on the county level: Jared Sorensen '25, Carson Stewart '25, Maddie Becerra '25, Ada Green '25, and Sofia Ramirez '25!
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HUMANITIES PROGRAM STUDENTS INTERVIEW GETTY PRESIDENT/CEO AND TOUR MUSEUM |
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By Eleanor Crafton '25
Last week, students in the two-year Humanities Research Program journeyed to LA to visit The Getty Center as a final hurrah within the first-year students’ (sophomores) “Art and The Arts” exploration unit, wherein each student studied an aspect of the art world. Guided around the museum on a “VIP Tour” with veteran docents, the students explored the architecture, photographs, and pre-20th-century European art for which the Getty Center is famous. The tenth grade students observed Rembrandt, Monet, and Van Gogh paintings, as well as Goya’s 1804 Portrait of the Marquesa de Santiago and contemporary photograph by Ananke Asseff, which are paired pieces in the Getty’s “In Dialogue” series.
“I was amazed at the passion our tour guide held for art,” says Sofia Ramirez '25. “She radiated excitement and I couldn’t wait to see the next painting. I love how she fully analyzed each art piece, interpreting the use of symbolism, color palette, and history—it was all incredible!”
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MOCK TRIAL COMPETITION IS THIS SATURDAY, 2/25! |
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After nearly five long months of legal preparation and working with local attorneys who volunteer their time, Laguna Blanca’s Mock Trial Team—a student club open to students in Grades 9-12—will compete this Saturday, February 25 in the annual all-day Santa Barbara County Mock Trial competition. This year, families are invited to attend the competition. Please note that Laguna Blanca is Team 2 (school names are not mentioned anywhere, so use this team number to find the right courtroom.) Please contact Teacher Coach Jessica Tyler for further information.
The students will serve as defenders, prosecutors, witnesses, clerk, and bailiff in a trial regarding Robbery and Battery: featuring a pretrial argument on the 4th Amendment.
Best of luck to the following members of the Mock Trial team, and a special thank you to our Co-Teacher and Lead Attorney Coach Neil Levinson, and District Attorney Coaches Sarah Barkley and Shelly Mossembekker. We so appreciate the time and expertise you share with our students, providing them with a unique introduction to the legal system and a memorable experience.
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PROSECUTION TEAM
Pretrial Attorney
Jayla Provance '24
Attorneys
Dylan Charney '24
Eleanor Crafton '25
Hudson Mayfield '23
Witnesses
Evie Comis '26
Connor Murphy '26
Elisabeth Robilio '26
Jade Silva '23
Clerk
Jack Andrews '23
Prosecution and Defense Team Participants
Maddie Becerra '25
Jack Grube '26
Nikki Mielcarek '24
Dakota Risley '26
Ethan Somer '25
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DEFENSE TEAM
Pretrial Attorney
Lucia Camp '24
Attorneys
Jackson Baltes '24
Robbie Dunn '23
John Mayfield '24
Witnesses
Kent Dunn '23
Alex McClintock '26
Henry Risley '26
Changzheng Yu '26
Bailiff
Regina Lujan '24
Unofficial Timer
Pengyu “Sam” Wang '25
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BLACK HISTORY MOVIE NIGHT IS POSTPONED |
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Please note that tomorrow night's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever screening for Gr. 7-12 students is postponed due to inclement weather. Stay tuned for the rescheduled date from All Voices Heard and Ms. Chan!
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FAMILY ASSOCIATION MARGERUM WINE TASTING IS NEXT WEEK! |
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Come enjoy delicious local wine with fellow Laguna families at Margerum on Tuesday, February 28! The event will take place at the Margerum Tasting Room downtown (19E Mason Street) from 5-7PM. |
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LEGO LEAGUE PRESENTATIONS AT TECOLOTE TUESDAY |
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From Ms. Butler and Mrs. Delwiche, LEGO League Leaders:
Congratulations to our third and fourth graders for an amazing LEGO League presentation to conclude our season! The theme of this year’s First LEGO League was “Superpowered.” Students focused on the fundamentals of engineering as they explored real-world problems, learned to design and code, and created unique solutions made with LEGO bricks and powered by a LEGO Education robot. Our engineers explored the path energy takes as it is collected, distributed, stored, and used. Their builds focused on ways to innovate for a cleaner energy future for our community.
Students built model solar-powered buses, water-powered cars, and wind-powered vehicles. Well done to all our teams: “The Super Apples” (Sophia and Mark), “The Tearing Tigers” (Catherine, Alice, Jacob, and Henry), “The Super Owls” (Rio, Sebastian, Tucker, and Quincy), “The Extraterrestrial Wolves” (Izzie, Simone, and Hunter) and “The Speed Demons” (River and Shane). Congratulations on a great season!
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FIRST GRADE COMPLETES ARCTIC UNIT |
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The first grade class closed out their arctic unit last week after studying caribou, polar bears, arctic hares, foxes, and penguins. First graders took a virtual trip to the Ice Festival in Harbin, China and were amazed at the illuminated city! They created polar bear snow globes and watched the Northern Lights as we wrote for the Daily Gazette. Videos posted on SeeSaw with “Breaking News” feature snowmen on night-time adventures!
First graders even surprised Mrs. Alldredge with a continuous story. One student started the story when Mrs. Alldredge’s snowman “Bill” escaped from her front yard in an ice cream truck! The following student sent Bill overseas on a safari. First graders listened to what the student said so that they could continue the story. This activity helps students improve their speaking and listening, and they learn to be creative enough to make the story continue and make sense. They surprised Mrs. Alldredge with Bill’s adventures in a read-aloud where he ended his trip in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, eating vanilla cake with the entire class. First Grade Teacher Ms. Clifford is happy to report Bill lived happily ever after!
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100TH DAY OF SCHOOL IS NEXT WEEK! |
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Lower School students will be “100 days smarter” next Tuesday, February 28 when we celebrate our 100th day of the school year! Students have been compiling collections of 100 items, and the day will end with a tour of each classroom to see the collections. In addition, there will be cupcakes at lunchtime for our 100 students to enjoy! |
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MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR THE THIRD GRADE PLAY |
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Next month, our Third Grade presents its much-loved play, The Greatest Americans of the 20th Century!
Third Grade families are invited to join us on Wednesday, March 15 at 9:30AM at the Lower School Pavilion for the performance.
ABOUT THE PLAY
It's the greatest awards show ever seen on TV, for the greatest Americans of the 20th century! Statesmen, artists, athletes, musicians, scientists, and many more are honored in a prime-time presentation (complete with commercials). Where else can you see Henry Ford rap? Students are introduced to many of the major figures in modern American history in a fun and tuneful show.
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LOOKING AHEAD AT THE LOWER SCHOOL |
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Summer @ Laguna Priority Registration Opens for Laguna Families
Friday, February 24 at 9AM
Trimester 2 Ends
Friday, February 24
100th Day of School
Tuesday, February 28
Summer @ Laguna Registration Opens to the Public
Wednesday, March 1 (9AM)
Storyteller Michael Katz Visits Lower School
Tuesday, March 7 - Wednesday, March 8
First Grade Trip to Ostrichland
Thursday, March 9
Last Day of Chess Club
Tuesday, March 14
Third Grade Presents The Greatest Americans of the 20th Century
Wednesday, March 15 (9:30AM, LS Pavilion)
Dress Down Day, St. Patrick's Day Theme
Thursday, March 16
EK-12 Field Day
Friday, March 17
Spring Break
Monday, March 20 - Friday, March 31
LS Grandfriends' Day
Friday, April 14
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ACT/SAT BOOT CAMP AT BISHOP DIEGO THIS WEEKEND! |
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Tutors Across America will provide an ACT/SAT Boot Camp over the dates of March 24–26 at Bishop Diego High School.
This camp is open to local area students and will help participants to prepare for the Spring ACT & SAT exams. The boot camp will be particularly important for students in eleventh grade, but all grades are welcome to participate.
Schedule for the 3-day (20-hour) Boot Camp
Friday, March 24: 4 – 8:30PM
Saturday, March 25: 9AM - 6PM
(lunch break from 1-2PM)
Sunday, March 26: 9AM - 6PM
(lunch break from 1-2PM)
The boot camps are averaging 3-7 point improvements on the ACT, and 150-200 points on the SAT, which represents a 20-40 percentile point increase.
Cost of Camp: $399
The camp includes practice testing on two ACT & SAT exams. (actual past ACT & SAT exams)
Tutors Across America’s Founder, Ryan Fitzgibbons
- Achieved a perfect score on the SAT
- Scored in the 99th percentile on the ACT (the highest you can get)
- Member of Mensa High IQ Society
- Completed Bachelors Degree in just 2 years
- One of Kaplan’s highest-rated teachers in the nation for student score improvement
- His students earned over $25 million in scholarships last year
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VIRTUAL SUMMER PRE-COLLEGE PROGRAM FAIR IS THIS SATURDAY, 2/25 |
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Current high school students and parents/guardians are invited to register for the 2023 Summer Pre-College Opportunities Fair on Saturday, February 25 from 7AM-9:30AM PST. Attendees will have the opportunity to connect with representatives from leading US colleges and universities to learn more about Summer 2023 academic programs for high school students.
Visit virtual program booths where you can chat one-on-one via text or video with summer program representatives.
Access program details before the event and for up to 6 months after the event ends.
Registration is open and the event is FREE to attend! Limit one event registration per household.
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WHERE THERE BE DRAGONS TO VISIT LAGUNA NEXT TUESDAY, 2/28
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Madeleine Colvin is an experienced instructor with Where There Be Dragons and is excited to share about these immersive travel programs! Stop by her table to learn more, or reach out to her via email. |
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UPPER SCHOOL
The following US events take place at Laguna.
Tuesday, February 28
Boys Volleyball vs St Bonaventure, 5PM
Wednesday, March 1
Girls Varsity Beach Volleyball vs St Bonaventure, 3:30PM
Thursday, March 2
Boys Volleyball vs Dunn, 5PM
Saturday, March 4
Boys Volleyball Quad tournament:
9AM vs Paso Robles
3PM vs Maranatha
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Tuesday, February 28
MS Boys Volleyball: Team Valdez vs Crane, 3:45PM at Laguna
MS Boys Volleyball: Team Deux-el vs Crane, 3:45PM at Laguna
Thursday, March 2
MS Boys Volleyball: Team Valdez vs Ojai Valley 3:45PM at Laguna
MS Boys Volleyball: Team Deux-el vs Riviera Ridge, 3:45PM at Riviera Ridge (2130 Mission Ridge Rd, SB 93103)
MS Girls Basketball: Team Aslesen vs Riviera Ridge, 3:45PM at Riviera Ridge (2130 Mission Ridge Rd, SB 93103)
MS Girls Basketball: Team Ryan vs Crane, 3:45PM at Crane
(1795 San Leandro Lane, SB 93108)
GRADES 4 & 5
Wednesday, March 1
4/5 Co-Ed Blue Volleyball vs Crane, 3:45PM at Crane
(1795 San Leandro Lane, SB 93108)
4/5 Co-Ed White Volleyball vs Crane, 3:45PM at Crane
(1795 San Leandro Lane, SB 93108)
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LOOKING AHEAD
IMPORTANT DATES FOR ALL DIVISIONS
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LOWER SCHOOL
Friday, February 24
Summer @ Laguna Priority Registration Opens 9AM
Deadline to Sponsor the Spring Benefit
LS Trimester 2 Ends
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MIDDLE SCHOOL
Friday, February 24
Summer @ Laguna Priority Registration Opens 9AM
Deadline to Sponsor the Spring Benefit
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UPPER SCHOOL
Friday, February 24
Summer @ Laguna Priority Registration Opens 9AM
Deadline to Sponsor the Spring Benefit
Saturday, February 25
Mock Trial Competition
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