BRIEFLY IN EDUCATION

Bomb threat causes evacuation

Laguna Beach High School was evacuated at 9:42 a.m. Tuesday after an anonymous person called police and said a bomb could be in a school bathroom, according to Laguna Beach police records.

Staff and students were sent to the school’s football field while police searched the school’s 16 bathrooms.

No bomb was found.

A suspicious backpack in one room was also searched and found to be benign.

The school was determined to be safe by 10:46 a.m. and students and teachers returned to their classrooms.

Principal Don Austin was in Washington, D.C. at the time accepting the school’s Blue Ribbon award.

“We had a fire-drill planned for the same day, so it wasn’t terribly disruptive,” Austin said. “We, of course, are collecting any information about the origins of the call and will treat this matter seriously if we determine the name of the caller and his affiliation, if any, with our school.”

The incident is under investigation and police are following leads regarding a possible suspect or suspects, Laguna Beach Police Sgt. Darin Lenyi said.

Thurston student to join conference

Thurston Middle School eighth-grader Karina Parker has been selected to participate in the National Young Leaders State Conference, which is an opportunity to develop leadership skills. The conference is sponsored by the Congressional Youth Leadership Council, a nonpartisan educational organization founded in 1985.

“Karina Parker is an amazing student,” said Joanne Culverhouse, Thurston Middle School principal. “She is a Thurston PAL and puts her heart and soul into everything she does.”

Parker was also the recipient of the Joey Masella Award.

For more information on the Congressional Youth Leadership Council, visit www.cylc.org.

Club hosts ‘Cars and Costumes’ party

The Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach is revving up for its first-ever Classic Cars & Costumes Party from 6:30 to 11 p.m. Nov. 8 at Crevier Classic Cars in Costa Mesa, a 25,000-square-foot facility that houses 80 privately owned classic and exotic cars.

Guests are invited to dress to match any automotive period that appeals: Gatsby-era flapper, sock-hopper, hippie or whatever era inspires them. Admission to the event is $65 per person.

The party includes food, no-host bar, and live and silent auction items. Event co-organizer Tom Kennedy will act as auctioneer for a day of touring with a private limo driver and lunch at the Montage Resort, and a six-day, five-night stay at a luxurious five-bedroom Poipu Beach waterfront home on Kauai.

Before the costume party, parents can drop off their children for a party at the Boys & Girls Club for kids ages 5 through 11, at a fee of $25 for one child, or $35 for two or more children. Call (949) 494-2535 to make reservations.

A pre-event online auction is now on with many unique items, including a hot-air balloon ride, five days in Cancun, and a trip to the Kentucky Derby in May 2009. The auction closes Nov. 3. Anyone with Internet access and a valid credit card can bid at www.boysandgirlsclub. cmarket.com.

Crevier Classic Cars is at 365-B Clinton St. in Costa Mesa. This multipurpose building won the International Interior Design Association’s 2008 Calibre Award for architectural design.

Serving more than 1,400 local youth annually ages 3 to 18, the Boys & Girls Club provides more than 30 enriching after school and summer programs run by trained youth development professionals, with an annual club membership fee of only $150. No child is ever turned away due to financial circumstances.

The club depends on the community for support. Visit www.bgclaguna.org for more details.

Annual Boo Blast is today at El Morro

El Morro Elementary School’s annual Boo Blast Halloween carnival will be from 2:30 to 7:30 p.m. today at the school. All proceeds from the Boo Blast go to the school PTA and benefit students and teachers.

Halloween Parade to be Thursday

The Laguna Beach Parents Club will hold its annual Halloween Parade at 4 p.m. Thursday at Main Beach.

The club serves all families in Laguna Beach, providing activities and resources to create a supportive environment for local mothers, fathers and children.

For information, call (949) 235-2882 or visit www.lagunabeachparents. com.

Club program jumpstarts reading

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Laguna Beach, Main and TLC Branch, recently participated in Jumpstart’s Read for the Record campaign. Boston-based Jumpstart is a national early education organization that helps children from low-income families improve their language and literacy skills.

The Jumpstart Read for the Record campaign’s goal is to have 400,000 participants reading the same book on the same day. This year the campaign chose “Corduroy” by Don Freeman, which tells the story of a teddy bear’s night-time adventures in a department store.

Rebecca Porter, Children’s Librarian at the Laguna Beach Library, chose the Even Start Preschool Program at the Main Branch to participate in this campaign.

Even Start Preschool is free for 3- and 4-year old children from qualifying low income families. Porter read the book to the children who then made their own “Corduroy” in an art project. A book was given to each child.

“It is so important for children to be read to in the home, yet many low-income families cannot afford to buy books,” said Even Start Preschool Director Terry Anne Barman.

“That is why it is so important to have programs like this to help promote children’s literacy by providing books for the home.”

The club also participates in the Reading is FUNdamental program, a nationwide early literacy program, which provides books at a low cost that enables the club to purchase them and give each child three books for their home each year. The program is sponsored by the Assistance League of Laguna Beach.

A total of 34 children were read to.

“It was really awesome for the children to hear the story and then be able to take a book home,” said Monica Silva, program development director at the TLC Branch.

The Orange County Community Foundation also donated 120 “Corduroy” books in Spanish to be distributed at the Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach.

Bill of Rights essay contest entries due

Local high school students planning to participate in the national Being an American Essay Contest are reminded by the Bill of Rights Institute that all entries must be submitted by Dec. 1.

Cash prizes totaling nearly $200,000 and a trip to the nation’s capital will be awarded to winning students and their teachers for exploring the rights and responsibilities of American citizenship.

Teachers can submit essays online at www.BeingAnAmerican. org.

“The Bill of Rights Institute encourages students and teachers to participate in the 2008-09 Being an American Essay Contest,” said Bill of Rights Institute President Victoria Hughes.

This school year is the first in which high school students from all 50 states and the District of Columbia are eligible to enter the contest.

To participate, students are asked to share their thoughts on American citizenship by answering the following question: “What civic value do you believe is most essential to being an American?”

The names of the top three prize winners in the nine regions will be announced at a special Washington, D.C. awards gala in March.

The first-place winners in each region and their sponsoring teachers will each receive $5,000 cash awards; second-place winners $2,500 and third-place winners $1,250. Honorable mention prizes of $250 will be awarded to 63 students, seven from each region.

Visit www.BeingAnAmerican.org for complete rules and materials.