Weekly roundup: Girls’ basketball scores historic win for Marina High, OCDE hosts substitute teacher recruitment fair, and more

(Courtesy of Huntington Beach Union High School District)

The girls’ varsity basketball squad at Marina High made history on March 7 by earning its first California-Interscholastic Federation State Southern California Regional Division V title.

After heading into the playoffs with a losing record, the Marina Vikings won 10 of 11 games and upset the San Pedro Pirates 51-43 on Tuesday to clinch the regional championship, KCAL News reported.

Most of the Huntington Beach Union High School District’s juniors and seniors lacked prior experience in the playoffs. But players clamped down on defense and senior Tiana To led the way with a game-high 19 points during Thursday’s game, according to the Daily Pilot.

“I’m really happy with how my team played,” team captain and senior Mia Grasse told the Pilot. “Mostly, I’m just happy for the rest of the seniors like me that get to experience this championship, get to win.”

On Saturday, March 11, the team will play against Bret Harte Union High School from Angels Camp in the CIF State Finals at Golden 1 Center Arena in Sacramento.

Head coach Danny Roussel told KCAL that even if the Vikings don’t win their next game, “we will hold our heads high and walk out of there with class knowing that we did our best.”

Here are the other stories we’ve been following this week:

  • Securing victory with the word “gallivat,” eighth-grader Aaron Lim spelled his way to first place at the 2023 Orange County Spelling Bee on March 4. 
OC Spelling Bee winners
  • Educators, survivors of human trafficking and anti-trafficking experts engaged in talks and led workshops at this year’s Ensure Justice conference hosted by the Orange County Department of Education and Vanguard University. 
  • With an increased need for classroom educators, OCDE hosted a substitute teacher recruitment fair Thursday to share information on teaching careers and set up interviews for its alternative education and special education programs.
  • On March 7, student teams from Fountain Valley, Fullerton Union, Newport Harbor, Rancho Alamitos and Valley high schools along with Orange County School of the Arts competed in a three-course cooking contest at the California Restaurant Foundation’s 2023 ProStart Cup.
  • The Orange Unified school board has appointed Ernest Gonzalez, assistant superintendent of human resources, as the district’s second acting superintendent.
SEL classroom
  • In collaboration with 28 local school districts, charter schools and county-run campuses, OCDE is supporting efforts to teach students social-emotional strategies, which are listed among the World Economic Forum’s top 10 job skills of tomorrow.
  • High school seniors who experience homelessness would receive $1,000 a month of guaranteed income under proposed legislation. Another proposed bill would require state approval before school districts ban curriculum, textbooks or other instructional materials.
  • After 46 years in operation, the Assistance League of Laguna Beach continues to support Orange County families with infants who are developmentally delayed through its free early intervention program.

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