Lomarena Elementary School students got a special surprise when Los Angeles Angels pitcher Luke Murphy stopped by their Laguna Hills campus as part of the Angels Classroom Connections program.
Students and staff at the Saddleback Valley Unified School District campus gathered for an assembly featuring Murphy and Angels broadcaster Trent Rush. The visit included a presentation, a question-and-answer session and opportunities for students to meet Murphy and get autographs.
The school received another gift from the Angels Baseball Foundation — a $2,000 grant that can be used to support educational programs on campus. The grant is part of Angels Classroom Connections, an initiative formed in partnership with Cox Communications that provides selected schools with funding to strengthen science, technology, engineering and mathematics learning and classroom technology.
Now in its sixth year, the program also provides participating schools with an Angels Classroom Connections banner and up to four game tickets for each student and staff member.
For Lomarena students, the program offered a chance to bring some of the excitement of Angel Stadium right onto their school campus — and inspire a few future fans along the way.
Here are the other stories we’ve been following this week:
- The California Office of Traffic Safety and Caltrans recently launched a free online driving simulation game designed to help teens and soon-to-be drivers practice safe driving by putting players in realistic scenarios that involve distracted driving, speeding and impaired driving.
- Orange County students in grades three through 12 will get the chance to design their own block-built solutions in the world of Minecraft Education and explore challenges facing their cities via the new Battle of the Counties e-sports competition presented by the Orange County Department of Education and Level Up Civics.
- After reviewing more than 27,000 high schools nationwide, U.S. News & World Report named 37 Orange County High Schools among the top 300 in California and in the top 1,700 nationally — with local campuses Oxford Academy, Troy High School and the Orange County School of the Arts making it to the top 35 statewide.
- In his latest column, County Superintendent Dr. Stefan Bean outlines how OCDE is aligning its work around two complementary pillars — educational excellence and operational excellence — with a shared goal of better serving students, schools and communities.
- The annual High School Voter Education Weeks initiative kicks off Sept. 15, inspiring high schools across California to promote civic engagement efforts on campus and provide students ages 16 to 17 with the option to preregister to vote.
- Fullerton Union High School will soon break ground on a major athletics project that will add about 33,270 square feet of new and renovated facilities for student-athletes — including a new two-story athletic building with locker rooms, new tennis courts and improvements to the baseball and softball fields.
- The LAist recently highlighted the Santa Ana Unified School District’s efforts to expand its scratch-cooking program with high school menus featuring familiar foods and nutritious meals while incorporating student feedback each month.
- Earlier this week, the Huntington Beach Union High School District united teachers and classified staff for its Mission Possible back-to-school event, focused on building connections across the district alongside motivational speeches from special guests and district leadership.
- New data released by SchoolHouse Connection and Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan reveals an increase in the number of California children ages 0 to 3 experiencing homelessness, accounting for more than 5 percent of infants and toddlers statewide in 2023-24.
- The number of California students sleeping at least eight hours per night jumped by 13 percent, according to newly-released data on the effects of Senate Bill 328 mandating later school start times for middle and high school campuses.
- A proposed change to California law could give schools more clarity on how to use the $1 billion annual arts education funding through Proposition 28 by specifying eligible arts programs and allowing schools to share teachers and resources.
- Palisades Elementary School in San Clemente invited families and students to celebrate its 65th anniversary by reflecting on its history and unveiling new programs such as newly-funded performance opportunities and new sensory equipment for classrooms.
This is the part where we encourage you to keep up with local education news stories by bookmarking the OCDE Newsroom, subscribing for emailed updates and following us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram.