Communications

Mrs. Pilon is a school counselor serving students with last names P-Z at Laguna Beach High School. Counselors are available to offer direction as students plan their academic futures. Starting in ninth grade, students work with their counselors to create a four-year academic plan that will lead to a career or the university or college of the student's choice. Each year, the counselors help students continue to achieve their short-term goals to support them in meeting their long-term aspirations. Counselors also provide confidential and supportive counseling and intervention to foster independence and help students face emotional challenges. Let's dive right into our Q & A with Mrs. Pilon! 

1. What is a mantra that you want all students to have for themselves? 
   Never compare yourself to anyone else, because there is no one out there who is authentically just like you.
    
2. What is something you can never over-invest in? 
   You can never over-invest in love. 
    
3. What is your favorite song of all time? 
   "I Can Only Imagine" by Mercy Me
    
4. What is your go-to breakfast? 
   Ezekiel bread and almond butter
    
5. What are you currently excited about in life right now? 
   I am currently excited about watching my daughter dance! 
    
6. What do you want to be remembered for? 
   I want to be remembered for loving my children unconditionally.
    
7. Who would you say was your role model growing up? Why?
   My role model growing up was my sister because she believed in me and pushed me to challenge msyelf regardless of the circumstances. 
    
8. How do you unwind? 
   I unwind by working out.
    
9. If you could go back and tell your 13-year-old self one thing, what would it be? 
   Don't stress, love yourself just the way you are, it all works out in the end.
    
10. If you had a superpower, what would it be? 
    If I had a superpower, it would be the ability to heal.
     
11. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? 
    Life is not a race, it's a journey.  Slow down and enjoy the ride because life happens when you are busy making plans.

In her role as school psychologist at Top of the World Elementary, Mrs. Jones consults with teachers, staff, and parents to evaluate possible learning disabilities in students. She also supports staff to develop learning plans for students who need additional assistance to be successful in school. Here's a little more about her!

1. What is something you can never over-invest in? 
   A sense of humor.
    
2. What is your favorite song of all time? 
   "Fireworks" by Katy Perry
    
3. What are you currently excited about in life right now? 
   Seeing kids' faces in person again!
    
4. What’s your favorite book? 
   Have You Filled a Bucket Today? A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids by Carol McCloud
    
5. What do you want to be remembered for? 
   Helping unique humans achieve goals they didn't imagine!
    
6. If you had a superpower, what would it be? 
   To go back in time and tell myself and others to enjoy small moments more.
    
7. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? 
   "You can't care more about a problem than the person who owns it." I find this helpful because I can internalize others' setbacks as my own and this advice helps me move past that thinking and towards supporting others to dig deep and work towards their own solutions.

School Counselor Jolene Hamilton is currently supporting the students and families at Top of the World Elementary. As a school counselor, Mrs. Hamilton is trained to help students with three domain areas: personal/social needs, academic concerns, and career planning. Here's what we learned about her in our Q & A. 

1. What is something you can never over-invest in? 
   Other people!
    
2. What are you currently excited about in life right now? 
   Seeing my toddler twin boys learn new things - they are just starting to talk! 
    
3. What’s your favorite book? 
   The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
    
4. What do you want to be remembered for? 
   Being helpful, kind, and encouraging! 
    
5. Who would you say was your role model growing up? Why?
   My big sister. She's always been so considerate and responsible. When my parents divorced, she was protective over me, sometimes acting in a parental role when one parent wasn't around. We now live in houses next door to each other! 
   
6. How do you unwind?
   I'm the queen of taking naps! 
    
7. If you could go back and tell your 13-year-old self one thing, what would it be? 
   Friends, popularity, and looks will change... pay more attention to growing your character! 
    
8. If you had a superpower, what would it be? 
   Flying! I still have flying dreams... 
    
9. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? 
   Don't take anything personally. (I'm a pretty sensitive person!)

In recognition of the importance of the role that social-emotional learning plays in the lives of our students, we are dedicating some time to getting to know the staff that support the social-emotional health and wellbeing of LBUSD students. Luisa Mossa is a school psychologist currently serving the school community at Thurston Middle School. 

1. What is a mantra that you want all students to have for themselves? 
   "I can do this!"
    
2. What is something you can never over-invest in? 
   Time with family. 
    
3. What is your favorite song of all time? 
   "Amazing Grace"
    
4. What is your go-to breakfast? 
   Oatmeal with berries or a banana
    
5. What are you currently excited about in life right now? 
   Decorating my new home and seeing my grandkids in October.
    
6. What’s your favorite book? 
   The Old Man and the Sea
    
7. What do you want to be remembered for? 
   How I helped students feel better about themselves and got them the supports they needed to be successful.
    
8. Who would you say was your role model growing up? Why?
   My best friend Kelly. She was super social while I was shy.  She was my only friend but that's all I needed because she knew everyone.  She was super determined and like MacGyver (a show from the '80s); she could figure anything out and make things happen. If she said she was going to do something she would.  
    
9. How do you unwind? 
   I go on a hike, run, or mountain bike ride.
    
10. If you could go back and tell your 13-year-old self one thing, what would it be? 
    Read the good book and follow the right path, it's as simple as that. It sure makes life a lot easier.
     
11. If you had a superpower, what would it be? 
    I always loved Aquaman and how he could communicate with sea life. I would love to communicate with animals.
     
12. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? 
    Be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.

Congratulations, Laguna Beach High School Class of 2020! View the full photo album. 

Congratulations to the Thurston Middle School 8th-grade class of 2020! View the full photo album. 

Congratulations to the El Morro Elementary 5th-grade class of 2020! View the full photo album. 

Congratulations to the Top of the World Elementary 5th-grade class of 2020! View the full photo album.

The Second Step is an evidence-based social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum that helps students develop skills for emotion management, situational awareness, and academic achievement. When LBUSD transitioned to distance learning, Mrs. Hamilton used her growth mindset to step out of her comfort zone and in front of the camera. It was hard and uncomfortable at times, but she made some friends along the way that helped her through. Meet Snail and friends in these SEL video lessons: 

Handling Name Calling

Fair Ways to Play

Solving Problems Part 2

Intro to Solving Problems

The Color Monster (Book about Feelings)

Managing Worries

Positive Self Talk (for calming down)

Calming Down

A viral new Instagram account run by a Dutch woman is featuring do-it-at-home photographic recreations of some of the greatest works of art in history. The account (named @tussenkunstenquarantaine, which means “between art and quarantine” in Dutch) started when the woman and her roommates, stuck at home due to social-distancing measures, decided to recreate Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring using a towel, a placemat, and a clove of garlic.

Hoping to give her students a break from screen time while introducing them to 3D art, Ms. Selway recently challenged students in her classes to take part in the museum-at-home challenge. Interested in a virtual field trip of sorts? Check out the results above, they're uncanny! 

One of the most popular items checked out from the library at the Top of the World is cookbooks. Every time a student checks one out Mrs. Romano asks them to write it down, take pictures, or even better, share a sample of what they make and they'll receive Reading Counts points for it. "I love cookbooks for their complete lessons of reading, math & science," said Mrs. Romano. "It is Common Core at it's finest."

When LBUSD transitioned to distance learning, she noticed on social media that a lot of families were cooking together. She even challenged her own teenage boys to learn to cook. She reached out to all students and asked them to send her pictures of them cooking at home; the response has been overwhelming. She receives pictures or write-ups almost every day! These are just some of the examples. 

“Romeo and Juliet” might be one of Shakespeare’s most renowned tragedies, but this short film featuring some of our Laguna Beach High School (LBHS) staff is anything but. 

Every year, Mrs. Benson asks her ninth-grade Honors English students to recite a few lines from “Romeo and Juliet” for a quick performance in class. This year, they went digital so she extended her casting call out to all staff at LBHS. Hit the play button and watch our new favorite group of thespians!

Change can be a little overwhelming and sometimes we just need to take a minute or two to sit with our feelings to make sense of them. 

Third-graders at Top of the World took some time for mindful creativity in a virtual coloring party and sing-a-long with Mrs. Sand. Organized by Mrs. Day, students had the option to print a page from a custom Top of the World coloring book or bring a page from one of their own coloring books. They “sat with each other” on Zoom while listening to Mrs. Sand play some of their favorite Top of the World songs. 

Every cloud has a silver lining and Thurston Waveriders have definitely found it. 

In a recent call for photos, Thurston Middle School’s Ms. Leighton asked students to share photos depicting what they’re “stay at home” activities have looked like in the weeks since Governor Newsom issued a statewide stay-at-home order. Waveriders have been staying busy as evidenced in this feel-good roundup of creative and random activities they are doing while social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic. In just a few weeks students have learned new instruments, shared the distance learning experience with their favorite pets, taken up baking, made sure to exercise, and so much more! 

Some of us might find ourselves struggling to channel our inner creativity during these times. 

That’s definitely not the case for third-graders in Mrs. Wong’s class. They’ve been pretty busy hard at work on their engineering projects, even from home! They have designed a playground, a treehouse, a rocket ship, and a dog toy with more projects in the works. 

Check out Destin’s treehouse! He designed and built it using items he found in his own backyard. 

Amidst so much change, one thing remains constant for the students in Mrs. Mays’ transitional kindergarten (TK) class: storytime. 

For students in transitional kindergarten, distance learning is a little different from other grade levels. Most of them are pre-readers that need a lot of support and guidance at home to make it work. At this age, developmentally appropriate work is framed as exploration and play to be most effective. 

Every morning, parents receive a daily email with a link to a read-aloud story featuring Mrs. Mays and an activity to accompany the story. It’s not all fun and games though, students also have a variety of letter and math pages for the week that they can choose from. The wrap up each week with a “Fun Friday” Google Meet that includes “show and tell” and a live Fairy Tale reading. You can follow their adventures at https://mayskinder.wordpress.com/. 
 

Fourth-grade students recognized the 50th anniversary of Earth Day through art. Every Friday, students in Mrs. Bammer’s class gather on Zoom for a “Fun Friday” Zoom call that has a different theme every week. To date, the class has celebrated crazy hair day, share your favorite pet (real or stuffed), and sunglasses day (as a reminder of how bright their futures are). The class meetings always include a minute of mindful breathing and an opportunity for the class to connect with each other. Most recently, they reflected on something they have gratitude towards and shared it with the class. It’s the little things!