School offices will be closed on Monday, October 12. Classes will resume on Tuesday, October 13.

Gr. EK-4 Make-Up Picture Day

Make-Up Picture Day POSTPONED

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Make-Up Picture Day POSTPONED

Zoom Link Here

In-Person Orientation Grades 9 & 12 by Advisory

Zoom Session for Grades 7 & 8 Students and Families (6-7PM)

Zoom Link Here

In-Person Orientation Grades 7 & 8 by Advisory

Zoom Session for Grades 10 & 11 Students and Families

Zoom Link Here

In-Person Orientation Grades 10 & 11

PSAT Testing for Grades 10 & 11 in HR Gym (8:45AM)

Students can begin soliciting sponsorships for participation.

Race Packs distributed - time to get movin'!

Spirit of Laguna - Virtual Celebration Day

BY BROOKE HOLLAND, NOOZHAWK STAFF WRITER

Undaunted by COVID-19 challenges, Lower School prepared for every contingency—even with its littlest students.

Mieke Delwiche, a kindergarten instructor at Laguna Blanca’s Lower School for the past 12 years, took a picture of herself wearing a face mask. She snapped another photograph of herself. This time, without wearing a face mask.

“I sent it home, so the kids could see what I looked like under my mask,” Delwiche said. “It can be a little bit scary at first, and being kindergarten, not many of my children were here last year.”

Young students this fall see about half of their teacher’s face and those of their classmates during in-person instruction on campus because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Delwiche welcomed her students with a photograph of her grinning.

“I wanted them to know what I looked like when I smiled,” she told Noozhawk.

Bright colors, Hawaiian shirts, and flip-flops.

WILD WEST DAY *

Denim, plaid, bandanas, cowboy hats, boots

LS grade levels and MS/US advisory groups will be assigned a certain color to wear. Each advisory/grade will choose its own exercise to do together.

*We would like to remind community members to be sensitive when it comes to cultural appropriation surrounding indigenous communities.

Check out the Spirit Wear shop to upgrade your closet and stay connected to your Owl Pride!

From outdoor learning, guitar playing, and drawing to dancing, running, and laughing, there's no shortage of meaningful activities and smiles on the Hope Ranch campus!

FROM THE KINDERGARTEN BLOG, SWOOP INTO KINDERGARTEN

Kindergarten students have another colorful Friday Fun in the books!

Last Friday's activities had a sense of sight theme. First up, students made pony bead sun catchers by adding bright beads to a mini pie tin in a pattern of their choosing. Ms. Delwiche then "baked" the tins in the toaster oven to create beautiful and cohesive sun catchers. This is a great motor skills building exercise that doubles as pretty classroom decor!

Next, students made cheery heart mobiles for the classroom. It was certainly a rainbow colored Friday Fun!

Connecticut College (9:30AM)

College of the Holy Cross (1PM)

The American University of Paris (12PM)

Syracuse University (10AM)

This week, recent Laguna grad Natalie McCaffery '20 was featured in a Forbes article, Using Machine Learning to Predict Disease in Cattle Might Help Solve a Billion-Dollar Problem.

"Preventative measures could significantly decrease these costs, and a small team comprising a data scientist, a college student, and two entrepreneurs spent the past weekend at the Forbes Under 30 Agtech+ Hackathon figuring out a concept for better managing the disease," the article mentions.

"Their solution? Tag-Ag, a conceptual set of predictive models that could take data already routinely gathered by cattle ranchers and tracked using ear tags to both identify cows at risk for BRD to focus prevention efforts; and to trace outbreaks of BRD to provide more focused treatment and management decisions," says writer Alex Knapp.

"By providing these insights, we can instill confidence in both big consumers such as McDonald’s or Wal-Mart, and small consumers like you and me, that their meat is sourced from a healthy and sustainable operation,” said team member Natalie McCaffery, an 18 year-old undergraduate at Washington & Lee University at the Hackathon’s final presentations on Sunday evening.

GO, NATALIE, GO!

Reprinted from SB Independent

BY MADELEINE NICKS

Reprinted from SB Magazine, Photo by Dewey Nicks

When COVID-19 swept the nation, schools closed, travel plans halted, and our family, like many others, was stuck at home. But instead of confining ourselves to days filled with nothing but Zoom meetings and disinfecting groceries, we found joy in the beauty of Carpinteria.

Read more in the Fall Issue of Santa Barbara Magazine.

Please join us for an informative and interactive session focused on student wellness and balance. Dr. Tom Anderson (Laguna parent) and Dr. Debra Kessler (Psychologist and parent) will field your questions regarding student health and wellness as we navigate remote learning, health, and connection. We hope that you can join us and engage with these professionals as we learn how to best support our students and one another during this school year. 

Please send any questions or topics that you would like our guest panel to address during our time together to Kim Valentine.

Be sure to check out the Counseling Corner tile in MyLaguna to access additional helpful resources from Ms. Valentine.