GR. 5-12 CLASS RETREAT PHOTOS ARE HERE! |
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Click on the links below for photos by class! |
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FAMILY ASSOCIATION HOSTS WELCOME COFFEE |
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Thank you to everyone who joined us on Tuesday at the Family Association Welcome Coffee! It was a beautiful way to connect with old friends, welcome new families to the nest, and enjoy coffee and treats as we usher in the 2022-23 school year.
Special gratitude goes to our Family Association for planning such a successful kick-off to the exciting year ahead!
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JOIN US FOR PICNIC ON THE GREEN TOMORROW! |
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Join us under the cypress trees on our Hope Ranch campus for our annual Picnic on the Green on Friday, 9/16 from 5-7PM! Bring your blanket and a picnic basket, and enjoy reconnecting with friends and meeting new Laguna families. Vibe with the sounds of Jackson Gillies and cool off with a scoop of Rori's Artisanal Ice Cream.
We hope to see you there!
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PICTURE DAY IS NEXT WEEK! |
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GRADES EK-4
Tuesday, September 20
Makeup Day: Tuesday, 10/11
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GRADES 5-12
Wednesday, September 21
Makeup Day: Wednesday, 10/12
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If paying via PayPal, please be sure to use the payment link included on the order forms above. Thank you! |
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A NOTE FROM OUR 2022-23 LAGUNA FUND CO-CHAIRS |
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Welcome back, Laguna Community!
We are writing as the Co-Chairs of the 2022-2023 Laguna Fund, our annual fund that ensures our children get the exceptional education and special experiences we’ve come to expect from Laguna Blanca School. A team of volunteers representing Grades EK-12 are already working hard to raise money for our school and to educate our community about the importance of this fundraising.
Information regarding this year’s Fund will be mailed home over the coming days and will include information about this year’s Family Festival and Fun Run, the annual celebration of our Laguna Fund. Leadership pledges and gifts of $2,500+ received by the end of day on October 7 will be recognized (if wanted) on the commemorative t-shirt worn by all students, staff, and volunteers at the Family Festival.
Every gift makes such a difference for our students and counts toward class participation, which is an important metric for our school. Please join us in giving today and mark your calendar for our Family Festival on Friday, October 21 at 3PM!
With gratitude,
Jordan Connelly & Mat Gradias
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STUDENTS & FACULTY:
ORDER YOUR FAMILY FESTIVAL T-SHIRT SIZES!
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SEPTEMBER 23
All student and faculty t-shirt sizes due
OCTOBER 7
Last day to get your name on our commemorative t-shirt with $2,500+ donation
OCTOBER 17-20
Spirit Week
All-school-themed days & t-shirt distribution
OCTOBER 21
Family Festival
All-student Fun Run followed by a Family Festival with food trucks, live music, student-led clubs & school programs showcase,
face-painting, and much more!
OCTOBER 22
Homecoming
STAY TUNED FOR MORE INFORMATION!
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JOIN THE FAMILY ASSOCIATION HIKING GROUP AT THE TUESDAY TRAIL ADVENTURE NEXT WEEK! |
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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20
San Ysidro Traihead (9:30AM)
Be sure to bring water, hiking shoes, and sun protection.
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COUNSELING CORNER WITH SCHOOL COUNSELOR KIM VALENTINE |
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Transitions can be hard, and challenges are common at the beginning of a school year.
School Counselor Kim Valentine has put together some helpful tools for Middle and Ninth Grade families to help smooth this transition and facilitate positive communication and encourage resilience during this time of adjustment.
Click the links below to read more!
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MIDDLE AND UPPER SCHOOL FAMILY ORIENTATION ZOOM RECORDING IS HERE |
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Thank you so much to those who were able to join us last Wednesday evening for the Family Orientation on Zoom. During the session, we reviewed our systems and protocols and shared our values and ideals regarding subjects such as cell phone use, the importance of keeping accurate attendance, our policy regarding lunch deliveries, as well as other helpful information. Your partnership is needed with these practices in order for us to have a successful academic year, and we are grateful for your support.
If you were not able to attend this Zoom meeting, please click on the links below to view the session as well as the slide deck from the presentation.
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IMPORTANT MIDDLE/UPPER SCHOOL ATTENDANCE REMINDERS |
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REPORTING ABSENCES PROTOCOL FOR MS/US
If your Middle or Upper School child(ren) will be absent from school, please either email attendance@lagunablanca.org* OR call (805) 681-2461, press 1, and leave a voicemail. Your message should include the name of the caller and student and the absence reason and duration.
LATE ARRIVAL AND EARLY PICK-UP PROTOCOL FOR MS/US
Step 1
- Call 805-687-2461, press 1, and leave a voicemail OR email attendance@lagunablanca.org.
- For last-minute calls: call 805-687-2461 x0200 and speak to the Main Office staff.
Step 2
- Drive to Main Office/Walk Up Window.
Step 3
Thank you for your cooperation!
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KATHERINE BALL '23 AND CADEN WEAVER '23 NAMED NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLAR SEMIFINALISTS |
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On Wednesday, 9/14, officials of National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced the names of over 16,000 Semifinalists in the 68th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,250 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million that will be offered next spring.
Congratulations to our Semifinalists, Katherine Ball and Caden Weaver!
Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. About 95% of semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and approximately half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.
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LAGUNA NINTH GRADER GABRIELLE TERZIAN LAUNCHES PET TREAT BUSINESS |
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Many grown adults might hesitate to start their own businesses. However, Laguna Ninth Grader Gabrielle Terzian took a leap of faith and went for it as a Middle Schooler during the pandemic. We caught up with this young entrepreneur this week to learn more about her growing business of homemade pet treats, Chou’s Barkery.
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO CREATE THIS BUSINESS?
I have been baking human treats since I was seven, and always loved the reactions on peoples’ faces after enjoying a treat. I couldn’t bake for others during the pandemic, so I started baking for dogs, whose reactions were even more rewarding. My business’s name was chosen to honor my beloved 17-year-old pug, Chou (pronounced like Shoe).
HOW DID LAGUNA’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP CLASS IN 8TH GRADE ASSIST IN THE LAUNCH OF YOUR PET TREAT COMPANY CHOU’S BARKERY?
The entrepreneurship class helped me to narrow my focus. I learned more about advertising and market research and how valuable customer input is. Now I offer samples to every dog that comes by.
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Dog owners can check out the treats at Gabrielle’s Pop-up Booth on Friday at Picnic on the Green! And for those with feline friends, Chou’s Barkery has you covered with two cat treats called Kitnip and Catfish. |
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KAI NAKAMURA '20 VISITS STEM CLASS IN NAKAMURA INNOVATION LAB |
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We welcomed Laguna alumnus Kai Nakamura '20 (pictured above on right in black tee) back to the nest today as he visited Mr. Ary's Robotics & IoT class in the Nakamura Innovation Lab. Kai spoke with students about how he has continued to build on his Laguna education while at Caltech. Kai is currently concentrating his studies on Artificial Intelligence with an emphasis on natural language processing (NLP).
During his time at Laguna, Kai helped spearhead the integration of VEX robotics into our science curriculum and was an integral part of our STEM program. After spending 12 weeks this summer working in an internship program at Meta, Facebook's parent company, Kai is now embarking on his junior year at Cal Tech.
Thank you for sharing your time with us, Kai! We look forward to seeing you blaze a trail!
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CELEBRATE LATINX/HISPANIC MONTH
(SEPTEMBER 15 - OCTOBER 15)
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A great way to celebrate and acknowledge Latinx/Hispanic heritage month is by reading literature with Latinx/Hispanic representation and learning about some notable people with Latinx/Hispanic heritage. We are using the terms Latinx and Hispanic for this month to recognize multiple racial and ethnic identities. Latinx is a gender-neutral term to describe a person who is from Latin America, and Hispanic is a term used to describe someone with Spanish heritage, originating from Spain. Not all people who are from Latin America have Spanish heritage.
We have chosen four books to recommend for each division. We hope you can either check them out from our school library or purchase them and add them to your home library. Diversifying our libraries and literature is important when we are learning about the world we live in, where we come from, and the different people and cultures we will interact with.
Happy reading!
Ursula Chan and Anna Alldredge
Below are links to Chaucer’s Books and Amazon.
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LOWER SCHOOL
Tía Fortuna’s New Home: A Jewish Cuban Journey, Ruth Behar and Devon Holzwarth
Areli is a Dreamer: A True Story by Areli Morales, a DACA Recipient, Areli Morales and Luisa Uribe Chaucer's Books | Amazon
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MIDDLE SCHOOL
Lucky Broken Girl,
Ruth Behar
Rooting for Rafael Rosales, Kurtis Scaletta
Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish, Pablo Cartaya
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UPPER SCHOOL
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, Erika L. Sánchez
The Undocumented Americans, Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
From Coveralls to Zoot Suits: The Lives of Mexican American Women on the World War II Home Front, Elizabeth R. Escobedo Amazon
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SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17
9AM-12PM
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September is Coastal Cleanup Month! Please plan to join the Laguna community on Miramar/Hammonds Beach for California's Annual Coastal Cleanup Day this Saturday, September 17! This is the twelfth year that Laguna Blanca is hosting a table. It's a fun way to start the day and will help remove trash and plastic pollution from our beaches. In 2019, over 74,000 volunteers picked up more than 900,000 pounds of trash from beaches and waterways throughout California.
If you can't join us in person, you can participate in a self-guided neighborhood cleanup by picking up trash in your neighborhood, local park, and other areas. Trash from inland areas flows downstream to the coast, so cleaning up neighborhood trash prevents marine debris. Gather cleanup supplies from home, download the CleanSwell app (to count your trash, and to have your trash counted!), and clean on your own time throughout September.
See you there! And make sure to bring your own bucket!
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DRESS DOWN DAY IS TOMORROW 9/16 |
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Theme: California Coast!
On Friday, 9/16, Lower School students are invited to wear colors and images that celebrate our California coast – blue, green, ocean, earth colors, animals, recycling, etc!
The Lower School occasionally designates “dress down” days when students do not need to follow the uniform dress code. On these days, students may wear their choice of shorts, nice blue jeans, leggings, pants, skirts, tops and/or dresses. T-shirts must be free of objectionable words or images and not be a typical undershirt. Athletic shoes of any color continue to be the required footwear for students. Pajama pants and other sleepwear are not normally permitted.
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LOWER SCHOOL BACK-TO-SCHOOL NIGHT IS NEXT THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 |
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Join us next Thursday, September 22 to meet your child's teachers and find out what to expect from your child's education in the year ahead. Stay tuned for more details to come! |
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The following athletic contests will take place at home or close by:
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16
Girls Varsity Golf vs Buckley (Canceled)
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17
Varsity Football vs Windward
1PM at Laguna
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20
Boys Sand Volleyball vs Providence
3:30PM at Laguna
Girls JV Volleyball vs Santa Clara
5PM at Laguna
Girls Varsity Volleyball vs Santa Clara
6PM at Laguna
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22
Boys Sand Volleyball vs San Marcos
4PM at Laguna
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23
Girls JV Tennis vs Bishop Diego
3:30PM at Laguna
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24
Varsity Football vs Animo Robinson
1PM at Laguna
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JV GIRLS VOLLEYBALL TEAM WINS AGAINST VILLANOVA |
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Congratulations to our JV girls volleyball team on their 2-1 win against Villanova Prep on Tuesday! GO OWLS!
Video by Coach Jenny Sims
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STRONG SERVING, PASSING CARRY LAGUNA BLANCA IN FRONTIER LEAGUE OPENER |
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By Barry Punzal, Noozhawk Sports Editor
Laguna Blanca used strong serving to sweep Villanova Prep in a Frontier League girls volleyball opener on Tuesday night in Ojai.
Jacqueline Richardson '23 served five aces and Lola Hall '23 and Sarah Woodhouse '24 each had three in the 25-19, 25-19, 25-13 win.
Coach Jason Donnelly was also pleased with his team's passing.
“We were much more consistent in our serve and pass game tonight," he said.
"This was our best passing match of the year and it showed as we were able to attack through the middle of the court. Danica Rux '25 had a few nice kills out of the middle.”
The Owls (6-3, 1-0) host Santa Clara next Tuesday, 9/20.
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LAGUNA BLANCA TOPS BISHOP DIEGO IN TENNIS |
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By Barry Punzal, Noozhawk Sports Editor
Laguna Blanca defeated Bishop Diego, 15-3, in a girls tennis match on Tuesday in Hope Ranch.
Laguna’s No. 1 doubles team of Grace Trautwein '24 and Katherine Ball '23 lost only one game in sweeping its three sets to improve to 9-0 on the season.
The No. 2 duo of Alexandra Siegel '23 and Lucia Camp '24 also went 3-0.
In singles, Laguna ninth grader Dakota Risley won a 6-2 set in her high school debut.
The visiting Cardinals got two wins from No. 1 singles player Sam Kenney. Her loss was a 7-5 decision against Laguna's No. 2 Caroline Kenny '25.
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NEXT WEEK'S COLLEGE REP SCHEDULE |
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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19
The American University of Paris
Trinity College
10:15AM in College Counseling Office
Willamette University
12:15PM in College Counseling Office
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20
Syracuse University
University of Florida
10:15AM in College Counseling Office
Students can sign up for these visits via SCOIR.
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LOOKING AHEAD
IMPORTANT DATES FOR ALL DIVISIONS
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LOWER SCHOOL
September 16
Dress down day
Gr. EK-12 Welcome Picnic on the Green (5-7PM)
September 17
Coastal Cleanup Day (9AM-12PM)
September 20
Gr. EK-4 Picture Day
FA Tuesday Trail Adventure - San Ysidro Trailhead
September 22
Gr. EK-4 Back to School Night
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MIDDLE SCHOOL
September 16
Gr. EK-12 Welcome Picnic on the Green (5-7PM)
September 17
Coastal Cleanup Day (9AM-12PM)
September 20
FA Tuesday Trail Adventure - San Ysidro Trailhead
September 21
Gr. 5-12 Picture Day
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UPPER SCHOOL
September 16
Gr. EK-12 Welcome Picnic on the Green (5-7PM)
September 17
Coastal Cleanup Day (9AM-12PM)
September 20
FA Tuesday Trail Adventure - San Ysidro Trailhead
September 21
Gr. 5-12 Picture Day
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