North County School News, Feb. 27

CARLSBAD

PacRidge students in Shakespeare contest

Two Pacific Ridge School juniors recently competed in the 2022 San Diego County ESU National Shakespeare Competition. After winning a Shakespeare monologue competition at Pacific Ridge, Josie Twardowski of Encinitas and Katie Griffitts of Carlsbad moved on to the county competition at North Coast Repertory Theater in Solana Beach. Students from seven county schools recited their monologues to a panel of judges that included Emmy-winning actor and producer Gabriela Sosa, Oregon Shakespeare Festival company members, and other professional theater artists. Twardowski and Griffitts finished second and third respectively. First place went to Kendall Becerra from Coronado School of the Arts.

DEL MAR

District hosting information nights

The Del Mar Union School District is holding two parent information nights for those attending Pacific Sky School for the 2022-2023 school year. They will be at 5:30 p.m. March 7 at Sycamore Ridge School and 5:30 p.m. March 30 at Ashley Falls School. Call (858) 755-9301.

ESCONDIDO

District schools invite all to vaccine clinics

The Escondido Union High School District is hosting COVID-19 and flu vaccine clinics at each of its high school campuses this week. Preregistration is not required, and the clinics are open to everyone in the community. Students and their families can go to any of the clinics, regardless of which school they attend. Everyone 5 years and older can get a free COVID-19 vaccine. Booster shots will be available for eligible individuals 12 years and older. Flu shots will also be available. Parents/guardians must attend with their students to provide consent. Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines will be offered. Youths ages 5-17 can receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Those 18 and older can select their preferred vaccine. The schedule: 2 to 6 p.m. Monday, San Pasqual High; 3 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Orange Glen High; 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Escondido High; 3 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Del Lago Academy; and 3 to 6 p.m. Friday, Valley High. Call (760) 291-3200.

NORTH COUNTY

Super STEM Saturday festival coming up

More than 60 interactive science, technology, engineering and math activities and demonstrations will engage thousands of attendees from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 12 as Super STEM Saturday returns in person, rain or shine, for the first time in three years. The free festival is held at California State University San Marcos in partnership with The Classical Academies. Children of all ages are invited to attend. To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, all the exhibits will be outside. Guests are strongly encouraged to follow the recommendation of San Diego County and the California Department of Public Health to be fully vaccinated and/or have a negative COVID-19 test within two days before attending.

‘Financial Superheroes’ contest for children

The San Diego Council on Literacy has launched a Financial Literacy Superheroes Competition to promote good money management among young people and families. Children and their parents and guardians are invited to submit graphic art entries that are comic-book themed. Entries must include a financial literacy/money management message. The submission can reflect a comic book cover, a traditional comic book page with panels, or a poster format. The contest has categories for ages 4-17; most require collaboration between children and a parent or guardian. For online entries and information, visit bit.ly/3sdNktA. Entries are due by March 11. Email [email protected].

Applications open for scholarships

The San Diego Foundation has opened its Common Scholarship Application with $3 million available for local college students. Students can apply at sdfoundation.org/scholarships through March 10. Through one online application, students can access more than 140 types of scholarships. The scholarships are made possible through the Community Scholarship Program and Community Scholars Initiative at The San Diego Foundation.

SAN DIEGUITO

Boys water polo team hosting fundraiser

The San Dieguito High School Academy Boys Water Polo Team hosts its first restaurant night fundraiser of 2022 from 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at Blaze Pizza, 127 N. El Camino Real, in Encinitas. Blaze Pizza will donate 50 percent of the proceeds to the team from dine-in and takeout orders. Funds raised will support next season’s tournaments, coaches, senior night, team banquet and equipment expenses. When ordering in the restaurant, the fundraiser flyer needs to be presented to the server or shown on a phone. Download it at sdafoundation.com/boyswaterpolo. For online orders, use the Blaze App or visit blazepizza.com. Enter Code 1029A into the “Promo Code” at checkout. The transaction will show a $.01 discount applied, which confirms 50 percent of the cost of the order goes to the fundraiser.

SAN MARCOS

Palomar holding virtual public forums this week

Palomar College is scheduled for a peer review visit by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges this week as part of the standard accreditation process. Part of that process is gathering input from the public, and virtual public forums are scheduled for 4 to 5 p.m. Monday and 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesday. The commission will also conduct a virtual site visit this week to complete its evaluation. Both the site visit and the public forums will be conducted via Zoom. Registration is required to participate in the forums at palomar.edu/pages/accreditation.

VALLEY CENTER

Sadie Stevens, a junior at Valley Center High School, recently took first place in the 2022 countywide Poetry Out Loud competition.

(Courtesy photo)

Student competing in state poetry finals

Sadie Stevens, a junior at Valley Center High School, recently took first place in the 2022 countywide Poetry Out Loud competition. This is her third year participating in the program, and this year she will represent San Diego at the state finals March 6-7. Xiaofan (April) Zuo of Canyon Crest Academy placed second at the event. The Write Out Loud organization coordinates the local Poetry Out Loud initiative. At the county competition, Stevens recited “Cartoon Physics, part 1” by Nick Flynn and “To the Poor” by Anna Laetitia Barbauld. The winner at the state level will move on to represent California in the national finals in Washington, D.C. A total of $50,000 in awards and school/organizational stipends will be given at the national finals. Visit poetryoutloud.org.

VISTA

District hosting free reading workshops

The Vista Unified School District is hosting free workshops to help parents teach children to read. For children pre-kindergarten through second grade, the workshop will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday, and for children in second and third grades, the workshop will be at 6 p.m. March 16, both at Vista Innovation Center, 836 Olive Ave. Literacy information, activities, refreshments and Spanish interpretation will be provided. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, child care will not be available. Contact Amy Rankin at [email protected].

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