NEWS
By Britney Barnes | May 14, 2012
Quantum mechanics and physical chemistry student Stephen Shinjiro Sasaki loves teaching, but he isn't interested in rushing through the curriculum to meet rigorous state standards. So when he finished UC Irvine's Cal Teach program, which trains math and science teachers, he started his own course that allows him to spread his passion for science to kids, but also go in-depth about higher-level science topics. "I wanted to make the program because essentially I could do all the fun things," said Sasaki, who aspires to become a UCI professor.
NEWS
By Sarah Peters | April 6, 2012
If you are reading this, somewhere right now, a librarian is smiling in satisfaction over a job well done. To further promote the love of reading — a chief tenet of the librarian code — in all age groups, the Newport Beach Public Library is hosting a full week of free programming in observance of National Library Week, Sunday through April 14, at branches throughout the city. "The goal for any of our programs is to bring people into our branches and make them aware of what we have to offer," Youth Services Manger Debbie Walker said.
NEWS
By Britney Barnes | February 10, 2012
It started like any other flag deck at Killybrooke Elementary School on Friday, but after a performance by the school band and the pledge of allegiance, the Costa Mesa school's sixth-grade students received an exciting surprise. "All of us are going to camp," Principal Lorie Hoggard announced. "With Rock Harbor's donation we have met our goal. We're all going now. " Thanks to a $4,200 donation from Costa Mesa's Rock Harbor Church, Killybrooke can cover the remaining costs to send its students to sixth-grade science camp this March at Arrowhead Ranch Each student also received a blue camp sweatshirt that they quickly donned.
NEWS
By Britney Barnes | January 27, 2012
NEWPORT BEACH - The kindergartners began the event with cheers and big smiles on their cute-as-a-button faces. The 5- and 6-year-olds ran around the track, getting high-fives from Newport Beach firefighters and Corona del Mar High School cheerleaders and songleaders, as well as some approving applause from parents boogieing to the beats. "I was running fast because I wanted my parents to be proud of me," said Micayla Willis, her cheeks pink after the run. The Friday afternoon jog-a-thon might be standard at most elementary schools around the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, but it was Eastbluff Elementary School's first.
NEWS
By Britney Barnes | November 9, 2011
COSTA MESA — A small group of parents this week urged the Newport-Mesa Unified school board to cover the expense of sixth-grade science camp. One presented trustees with a petition urging the district to continue absorbing the costs. "I know you are strapped for money, but can't you find the money this year to provide for the sixth-graders that want to go this year?" said Martha O'Mara, a fifth-grade teacher. After a staff report on funding the camp, school board Trustee Katrina Foley made a motion to put the issue on the next meeting's agenda for discussion, but the motion was met with silence.
NEWS
By Britney Barnes | October 20, 2011
School board member Katrina Foley wants Newport-Mesa Unified to reallocate $200,000 from its administrative budget to help fund sixth-grade science camp programs. "This is an example of when we need to provide supplemental funding," said Foley. "Otherwise there are several schools in Costa Mesa that won't be able to attend, and that's a disparity in the district that we can't allow. " In particular, Wilson, California, Adams and Pomona elementary schools have expressed concerns about raising the money, said Susan Astarita, assistant superintendent of secondary education.
ENTERTAINMENT
By B.W. Cook | October 7, 2011
"Imagine what if and what will be?" This was the question asked by organizers of the Discovery Science Center's annual fundraising dinner last week, which welcomed some 400 community activists and raised more than $500,000 for science education in Orange County. The massive event was chaired with style by Jeff and Andrea Reeves . The event honored major donors Microsemi Corporation, represented by Jim Peterson , and philanthropist Paul Folino and his corporation Emulex, for their unwavering support.
NEWS
By Britney Barnes, britney.barnes@latimes.com | September 1, 2011
NEWPORT BEACH — Two Sage Hill School science classes recently attained a college graduate-level achievement — their research published by an international scientific database. Accelerated biology teacher Tyler Zarubin's students decoded the DNA of two species of — you guessed it — sage plants on campus and documented the plant's genetic sequence for the gene involved in the breakdown of sugar, a particular gene that has never been researched. "I want to teach them like a scientist, not a student," Zarubin said.
NEWS
By Patrice Apodaca | July 30, 2011
While on a walk around Newport Dunes recently, I was brought up short by the sight of a majestic bird perched on a post on Back Bay Drive. After a few minutes, it took wing, and as it flew overhead, I could see a fish clutched in its talons. I would soon learn that the bird I spotted was an osprey — likely the male partner of a pair that nests at the Back Bay Science Center. No doubt it was bringing a meal home to its chicks. That I was able to enjoy such a splendid sight is thanks to the staff at the science center, a gem of a facility where scientists and students study marine ecology and promote conservation.
NEWS
By Britney Barnes, britney.barnes@latimes.com | July 16, 2011
COSTA MESA — Taio Cruz' radio hit "Dynamite" set the rhythm to shake it. A small group of soon-to-be first-graders shook their stuff and a small plastic bottle filled with toilet paper and water as they made paper pulp. The shaking was just the first step to making paper — a process that includes using small screens to drain it and press it, and sponges to absorb any extra water. The science experiment was one of a series on paper and wood the kindergarten class had completed.