Briefly In Education: Sold-out LCAD gala a success

Laguna College of Art & Design raised $200,000-plus to benefit student programs and scholarships at the 23rd annual Collector's Choice Fine Art Event and Auction earlier this month, according to a news release.

The sold-out event celebrated the culmination of the 50th anniversary of the college with the theme "A Trip Down Memory Lane." Guests dressed in white and gold to match the décor designed by Emmy-nominated set and production designer and college trustee Nelson Coates.

Special guests included distinguished LCAD alumni, and friends of LCAD including world-renowned painter, sculptor, and drawer Richard MacDonald (Sissone), glass blower John Barber, renowned painters Kathy Jones and Karen Tusinski, collaborative painters Betty Haight and Stephanie Cunningham (Duets), sculptor and painter Andrew Myers, and plein-air artist Mark Jacobucci, the release said.

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El Morro fifth-grader projects part of Science Showcase

El Morro Elementary School's fifth-graders conducted individual science experiments as part of the school's Science Showcase, according to a news release.

"With the implementation of the new Common Core State Standards and an emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, we are ahead of the curve by having the fifth grade students create experiments to test their theories and present them in the Science Showcase," said El Morro Elementary School Principal Chris Duddy in a statement. "Students learned the scientific process and how to conduct an experiment that can be measured over time. I enjoyed seeing the results of their thinking."

The Science Showcase is a "standards-based project where each fifth-grade student constructed an experiment covering a science standard," said Fifth Grade Department chairman Jay Williams in a release. "The students completed lab books, tri-fold posters, and hands-on experiments."

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LBHS PTA receives top honor

Laguna Beach High School PTA received the 2012 Outstanding PTA Unit Award for Fourth District PTA, a release said.

The Fourth District PTA is the largest PTA district in the nation, and encompasses all PTAs in Orange County schools, as well as the southeastern region of Los Angeles County.

LBHS PTA was named best PTA of the year out of more than 420 schools in the region served by the Fourth District PTA, across all grade levels, according to the release.