BRIEFLY IN EDUCATION

Elementary school christens new mural

The Community Learning Center, an alternative school within the Laguna Beach Unified School District on the Top of the World Elementary School campus, dedicated a new mural today made by artist and Laguna College of Art & Design graduate Min Kim.

The mural, at the entrance to the campus, depicts children cavorting through a scene reminiscent of the school’s dramatic natural backdrop.

Above the children, a dove of peace flies.

The kids, staff and parents thanked Kim with flowers and handmade drawings.

Kim, who previously worked on the Nix Nature Center mural, created the school mural in her spare time over the past year, while working at scrapbooking company Me and My Big Ideas.

High school seniors give back, clean up

Local high school seniors joined with Zero Trash Laguna to clean the town’s streets and beaches of hundreds of pounds of waste earlier this week, for the first annual Laguna Beach High School Gives Back Day.

“Since our seniors don’t take the STAR test, we decided to organize a community service project for the day,” Principal Don Austin said.

Kids were organized into teams with adult leaders, and wore T-shirts produced by the school’s silkscreening teacher, Scott Wittkop.

They gathered a total of 369 pounds of trash and 174 pounds of recyclables, according to Zero Trash Laguna’s Chip McDermott.

More than 160 seniors participated in the morning event, which was followed by community service endeavors at organizations throughout town.

“It was really a magic day,” Austin said. “The kids came with great attitudes, and the turn-out was awesome.”

Laguna gears up for ‘Hero’ festival

Laguna Beach residents will celebrate their champions at the Laguna Beach Hero Festival at 7 p.m. May 29 at [seven-degrees], 891 Laguna Canyon Road.

The free event is sponsored by the MY HERO Project, which has connected millions of students and teachers from around the world and put together the world’s largest collection of stories, art and short films about heroes from all walks of life.

It will feature works selected from the MY HERO media library, with a focus on Laguna filmmakers and the heroes they celebrate.

Filmmaker Shaun MacGillivray will be praised for his award-winning short film “Joey,” the story of 12-year-old Joey Masella, who battled with Epidermolysis Bullosa, a rare disease that causes the skin to blister inside and out.

James Pribram, a surfer, environmentalist and Coastline Pilot columnist who has worked with grass roots organizations in Chile, New Zealand, South Africa, Northern Spain and the Canary Islands, is honored for his work with ecowarriors to save some of the world’s most beautiful beaches from extinction.

The event will also honor members of the community from the Friendship Shelter, Surfrider Foundation, Laughing Yoga, the Community Learning Center and more.

For more information, call (949) 376-5964 or e-mail myhero@myheroproject. org.

Thurston to hold movie screening

Tonight, all Thurston students and their friends are invited to a special premiere screening of “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” at 4 p.m. in the Regency Laguna Theatre downtown.

Tickets go on sale at the theater at 3:30 p.m. $20 includes admission, a small popcorn and small drink.

Proceeds will benefit the eighth-grade promotion.

College holds industry open house

Forty-three graduating seniors, MFA students and recent alumni showcased their body of work to premiere studios, designers and executives at Laguna College of Art & Design’s fourth annual Industry Open House on May 14.

More than 50 industry professionals were on hand to meet the students, get a firsthand look at their broad range of talent, conduct casual interviews and provide career placement assistance.

This year’s theme, Emerging Talent, used a butterfly metaphorically emerging from its cocoon into flight to symbolize the talented students emerging from LCAD into the workforce.

Attendees enjoyed an exclusive formal screening of animation films and still images, and a tour of campus studios transformed into galleries exhibiting an array of genres and mediums.

Student Melissa Goodway received the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity’s Student Achievement Award for Excellence in Animation at the event.

The award recognizes the graduating senior in the Animation program who exemplifies Chuck Jones’ attitude and approach to classical animation: compelling, believable character definition through movement, timing and humor, with an emphasis on the animator’s mastery of hand-drawing techniques.

The award was presented by Jones’ daughter, Linda Jones Clough.

Members of the 2008 senior class were joined by a select cohort of MFA students and alumni, combining to represent several of the college’s disciplines: animation, fine at, illustration and related hybrid majors.

Eighty percent of students involved in past years have received employment offers as a result of this experience.