Contact: Doug Fleischli,
Director, Marketing
St. Mary’s School
7 Pursuit Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
Ph: (949) 448-9027, ext. 328

Email: doug.fleischli@smaa.org

St. Mary’s Offering Three Programs for Youth This Summer

ALISO VIEJO, CA, APRIL 27, 2009—St. Mary and All Angels, an independent, non-denominational Christian school, is pleased to announce that applications are now being accepted for Summer School (June 22-July 10 & July 13-31), Summer Resort Day Camp (June 22-August 28) and Sports Camp (June 22- August 20).

To showcase its summer offerings, St. Mary’s is encouraging families throughout the community to attend its Summer Preview event on Thursday, May 7 from 5:00 to 6:00 pm. Families will have the opportunity to meet Summer School teachers and see curriculum samples, as well as learn more about the Summer Resort Day Camp and Sports Camp. Address: 7 Pursuit, Aliso Viejo, 92656 (www.smaa.org)

Parent can receive registration information, by contacting Tina Garcia at (949) 448-9027, ext. 360 for Summer School, Jim Cox at (949) 448-9027, ext. 312 for the Summer Resort Day Camp and Matt Keil at (949) 448-9027, ext. 330 for the Sports Camp.

By attending St. Mary’s Summer School, students from around the community will have the opportunity to experience the benefits of an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School. The purpose of being an IB School is to provide an inquiry-based learning environment where curriculum is engaging and challenging. Preparatory courses for Kindergarten through grade eight are available in math, reading, writing and comparative literature. Elective courses include study skills, music, art, PE, computers, science, Spanish and French.

St. Mary’s Summer Resort Day Camp, designed for children in preschool and junior kindergarten through grade five, offers a wide range of recreational activities and excursions for children throughout the community. The Resort is a complete, full-day program with games, art, and cooking and science projects. Field trips include Doheny State Beach, Knott’s Berry Farm, Aquarium of the Pacific and an Angels Game.

St. Mary’s Sports Camp, open to children in grades three through eight, offers teaching and training to enhance skills in volleyball, basketball, flag football, general physical training, soccer and lacrosse. This camp is staffed by experienced coaches and instructors.

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I am a parent and my daughter attends Wood Canyon Elementary. My child attends the after school program at the YMCA.

When I first signed her up I was very concerned as to the quality of the after school program as she previously attended a private daycare in Laguna Beach. I have been so impressed with the quality of after school care my daughter has received and feel that she is safe and is in a comfortable place while I am at work as a working mom.

The Wood Canyon YMCA should be recognized as a top notch after school facility as it is right here in Aliso Viejo. The Wood Canyon YMCA was recently recognized and received Accreditation by the National Afterschool Association which is not received by the majority of after school care facilities.

Below is a description of the Accreditation program and also gives some information about the YMCA and the wonderful staff members. Gianna Flores is the Director and Jessica Wright is the Assistant Director. The Wood Canyon YMCA is truly a secret gem in Aliso Viejo!

Elizabeth Gonzales
Aliso Viejo Resident

The National Afterschool Association (NAA) is a way to recognize quality in school age care programs. Accreditation means that a program has demonstrated substantial compliance with the NAA standards. Accreditation leads to sustained program improvement. This is documented through the ASQ team program improvements made and annual reports on continuing compliance sent to NAA and verified every four years through the Endorsement Visit. The NAA for Quality School age care specifically addresses the indicators of quality programs reflected in current research. Examples include meeting the developmentally different needs of youth, 5-14 years, involving children and youth in program planning, providing positive interactions between children and youth and adults, and ensuring a safe and challenging environment for children and youth in out of school time. Quality programs lead to better outcomes for children and youth. It protects the well being of children, supports emotional and social development for children, and enhances academic achievement for children!

Recently, Wood Canyon YMCA, which is located on campus of Wood Canyon Elementary School, went through this process of becoming Re-Accredited. The YMCA was first Accredited in 2005, and recently announced its Re-Accreditation achievement in March 2009. Wood Canyon YMCA is one of three YMCA’s in Orange County, and one of fifty six school’s in the Capistrano Unified School District, with this distinguished award. We were visited in November 2008 and were scored in categories relating to relationships with staff, children, parents, and school personnel. Director Gianna Flores stated that “We passed with flying colors!” “We hope to maintain the great relationships that we have established over the years.” The staff consists of Gianna Flores, director, Jessica Wright,assistant director, Sheila Tabrizi, kindergarten plus teacher, Kim Brown, staff, Taryn Stiles, staff, Fredy Celis, staff, Sierra Estrada, staff, and Heather Van Roekel, staff. Please congratulate them on their achievement.

If you are looking for a place for you child to feel safe, work on their homework and make a few friends or two…. then the YMCA After-School program is the place for you. The Wood Canyon YMCA is a state licensed quality program to encourage your children to explore the world around them, build strong character values through many of the activities and build lasting relationships with friends & classmates daily. The YMCA also offers a K+ program, which extends the academic experience for your child. This program offers many of the same educational experiences that the child is experiencing in school, yet with a slightly different approach. It enhances their knowledge of the basic learning concepts needed to move into 1st grade.

Y Summer Camp…Amp it up!

Director Flores stated that the Wood Canyon YMCA is gearing up and preparing our summer camp field trips and activities! We will be open from 6:45am to 6pm. We will be going on weekly bus field trips and having vendors entertain the children. Daily curriculum such as art, science, and character building will also take place.

Please feel free to stop by, schedule a tour or just ask a few questions regarding our program. We would be happy to meet you and share with you our YMCA experience. Contact information, Gianna Flores (director) gflores@ymcaoc.net or Jessica Wright(assistant director). We also can be reached by phone at (949) 363-7087. We are looking forward to chatting with you soon!

CONTACT: Julie Hatchel
Chief Communications Officer
(949) 234-9427
jhatchel@capousd.org

TIJERAS CREEK DESTINATION IMAGINATION TEAM WINS STATE TOURNAMENT

On April 4, the Tijeras Creek Fifth Grade team won the Destination Imagination California State Tournament in San Jose, earning a near perfect score of 391 out of 400, a full 32 points ahead of their closest competitor. This achievement qualifies the team to join teams from other states, as well as 45 countries, in the Global Finals tournament in Knoxville, Tennessee in May.

The team qualified for the state competition when they took second place at the regional tournament in February where they were awarded the prestigious DaVinci award. In San Jose, the team presented an outstanding performance in the central challenge portion of the competition. The team was required to research animal communication based on a team selected habitat and featured creature and then to present their information in an interesting, educational, and entertaining way within an eight minute time frame.
Tijeras Creek DI members Emily Boggess, Jacob Stanley, Alayna Mason, GJ Harrick, Melissa Andrews, Santino Labate, and Andrew Stelling, narrowed their brainstorming to a South Pacific coral reef habitat featuring the Broadclub Cuttlefish. Their extensive research over a period of four months was presented as an engaging television show entitled, “Two Cool Scientists”, complete with a team composed theme song, a commercial starring Zac Efron (played by Andrew Stelling), and the vanquishing of the villainous Dr. Evil. Team members played multiple roles as various sea creatures discovered during their research.
The state appraising team commended these scholars for their clever script and outstanding costumes and scenery, as well as their musical talents. The team also received acclaim for their entrepreneurial spirit and the celebration of team created inventions and forward thinking technologies presented within their solution. We are very proud of these Tijeras Creek scholars. We wish them good luck at the Global Finals tournament in Knoxville, Tennessee.

GEORGE WHITE ELEMENTARY WINS NATIONAL TITLE

The Capistrano Unified School District is proud to announce the George White Elementary Online Math Team ranked 1st place in its national completion, with over 82 teams representing all 50 of the United States. The team is composed of 4th grade students Adam Levy, Derek Cheng, Alyssa White, Claire Richards, Shelby Wong, Jennifer Daly, Thomas Van Hoomissen, Scottie James, Patrick Mullen, Alec Kirste, Jeremy Ingraham, Jack Matthess, Kaelyn Casazza, Emily Pai, Troy Walker, Jazim Khan, Kian Ghafari, Patrick Ring, Alexandria Rosas, and Jasmine Mosavi.

“We are thrilled with the success of this team,” said Mike Spelber, principal at George White Elementary School in Laguna Niguel. “They have worked hard and their perseverance and dedication have paid off.”

The team, which started as an after school program offered by parent volunteer Diana Wong, quickly gained notoriety as being fun yet educational, doubling its size in nearly one month. “We hope to see the popularity of other academic organizations increase as a result of this success,” notes Spelber. “We can’t ask for anything better than infusing fun with learning and success!”

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CONTACT: Julie Hatchel
Chief Communications Officer
(949) 234-9427
jhatchel@capousd.org