Noozhawk Education Feature

Laguna uses innovative teaching methods and programs in its pre-kindergarten to 12th grade classes. Its middle school curriculum is designed around themes to help students connect different content areas, offering a holistic educational experience.

“First and foremost, our goal is for students to take ownership of their learning and find purpose in the process,” said Shane Lopes, head of the middle school at Laguna Blanca.

Laguna’s standards help students to develop essential skills and bridge the transition between each level of school.

The curriculum offers hands-on experiences with field trips, projects, and themes. Curriculum development revolves around an anchor theme for each quarter, with four major themes covered in multiple classes throughout the school year.

“Interdisciplinary design of curriculum with themes increases the likelihood for a greater depth in learning, as well as sticky learning moments, where concepts can be retained and skills can be effectively developed as they are reinforced in multiple courses by various teachers and with real-world applications,” Lopes said.

Buena Vista Trail

Local, Montecito

Click here to RSVP!

Foodbank of Santa Barbara County

Cabrillo Pavilion Arts Center at East Beach

This event is $10/person. The price includes a tasting of 5 select wines. 15% of all the wine and food purchased at the event will be donated to the Family Association.

Thank you to everyone who attended the recent Lunch & Learn on Tuesday! Those who weren't able to attend can view the recording here.

Please click here to RSVP, or if you cannot attend but are interested in getting involved, please click here to provide your contact details for future communications.

7th & 8th grade students can bring a guest to the dance (guests must also be in 7th or 8th grade), and forms can be picked up from the bench outside Mrs. Poet-Johnson’s office. Guest forms are due next Thursday, November 17.

Tickets are $20 and will be sold next week.

Please refer to the email from Heather Poet-Johnson sent on 11/3 for more details.

Eleventh and twelfth grade students in new English electives are excited to explore the academic and social issues in the texts they read. To amplify the issues they encountered in their summer reading text, Into the Wild, the unit extended to explore nomadic living and the issue of the unhoused in our own community. Partnering with Kingdom Causes, students spent time working with service-based communities and representatives from former or currently unhoused community members to de-stigmatize the idea of the 'unhoused.' The classes studied the criminalization of homelessness and the need to address otherization of marginalized communities. Students learned about the myths of homelessness and solutions available in our own community. Next, students had an opportunity to share stories and connect and build relationships with those who are forced to or choose to walk a different path. At the end of their time together, students were given tangible opportunities to learn and do more.

"When we broke off into groups to have conversations at Alameda Park, I brought up the experience of our field trip to DTLA in ninth grade, says senior Jack Andrews. "I think having that experience at such a young age allowed me to grasp the devastation, debunk many misconceptions surrounding homelessness, and ultimately connect with new friends here on a deeper level."

You're invited to an evening of musical theater! Come enjoy the many talents of our students in addition to the sound and lighting upgrades that were installed in Spaulding this summer, thanks to the generous support of the Laguna Fund. Plus, Laguna's Technical Theatre students designed and will run tech for this multi-school show!

Lucas Acosta '24, Katherine Ball '23, Maritza Barrera '27, Maddie Becerra '25, Opal Peltz '25, Anya Taylor '28, Vanessa Vasquez '26

Tickets are available at this link. 

We hope to see you there!

This week, a select team of students from the TEDxLBS class visited the Chevron headquarters to pitch the benefits of the program and event to Chevron executives. Students were tasked with preparing a slide deck, a partnership packet, and a presentation about the roles of the different teams within the TEDx class and the added value of the event to the greater community. They also practiced public speaking and professional etiquette before the meeting.

Thank you to Chevron for providing this incredible learning opportunity for our students and for once again supporting the TEDxLagunaBlancaSchool program!

Take a behind-the-scenes peek at a day in the life at Laguna's Upper School by clicking on the arrow above!

Special thank you to Alexandra Siegel '23 for taking us along with her throughout her school day and to the Upper School Marketing Independent Study class for organizing and editing the vlog. Be sure to follow @lifeatlaguna on Instagram for more fun student-created content!

By Leslie Dinaberg, SB Independent

Kindergarten begins a new and exciting chapter for both parents and children. Longtime Laguna Blanca Kindergarten Teacher Mieke Delwiche offers some valuable tips to help families prepare to start school. The most important thing is to have fun with learning, says the Carpinteria native, who has been teaching for nearly 20 years.

The Fourth and Fifth Grade Soccer Team finished their season last week with a 4-2 win over Crane Country Day School. The turnout of 27 players was the most that I have ever had for an after-school program! We were able to establish two teams and enjoyed the addition of Mrs. Jennifer Riley as our second coach. This enabled the players to get more playing time and develop their individual skills. The next sport is basketball, which begins on Wednesday, November 16.

Please contact Coach Robitaille for more information.

We are finding many jackets left on campus that are unlabeled. Please take time to check your child’s outwear and add a label if necessary. We recommend using permanent markers or sew-in tags; stick-on tabs are not reliable.

If your child is absent due to illness, please make arrangements with the teacher or the office to obtain missed class or homework assignments. If your child is to be absent for an extended period, please make arrangements with your child’s teacher for a time to pick up the missed work. Allow teachers at least one day for each day your child is absent to prepare make-up work. Due to a teacher’s daily schedule, it is not possible to provide make-up work the same day of the absence unless prior arrangements are made with your child’s teacher. Thank you and don’t hesitate to get in touch with your child’s teacher if you have questions.

Friday, November 11

Wednesday, November 16

Friday, November 18

Monday, November 21 - Friday, November 25

November 30

Thursday, December 1

Wednesday, December 7

Friday, December 16

Friday, December 16

Monday, December 19 - Monday, January 2

Tuesday, January 3

On Tuesday, November 15 from 6-7PM, Laguna's College Counseling Team will host a Financial Aid nuts and bolts online webinar. Parents and students are welcome to join the presentation, which will cover college financial aid forms and more. Corinne Schell, Marist College Director of West Coast Admission, will be our guest speaker and will be available to answer any questions you may have about the financial aid process. We hope you will join us!

Boys Basketball Preseason Game vs Wildwood School—3PM

Girls Soccer vs Ojai Valley—3PM

Boys Soccer vs Ojai Valley—3PM

Girls Basketball vs Newbury Park Adventist—4:30PM

Boys Basketball vs Newbury Park Adventist—6PM

Boys Soccer vs Thacher—3PM

Girls Basketball vs Ojai Valley—5PM

Boys Basketball vs Ojai Valley—6:30PM