Seal Beach Schools

Look out Pageant of the Masters. J.H. McGaugh school might just steal your thunder. For the past eight months, the award-winning elementary school has been preparing Pageant of the Arts, a miniature version of Laguna Beach's famous summer pageant of "living pictures." And guess what? The kids' version includes 20th-Century art, modern dance and music composed by a former member of the rock group Berlin.

Students at McGaugh Elementary School will turn a $1.49 package of orange California poppy seeds into a science experiment next week when the space shuttle Columbia carries their payload on a 16-day mission. The school, the first in Orange County to fly an experiment on the space shuttle and one of only a few elementary schools ever to undertake such an endeavor, was selected for the Friday mission by Instrumentation Technology Associates. The Exeter, Pa.

John M. Blaydes, principal of McGaugh School in Seal Beach, said he believes that being head of an elementary school is very important. "Children in those early years can learn to like school very much or dislike it," he said. "It also seems to me that an elementary school principal can have an impact on a large number of people--many children, many teachers and many parents. "So I think caring is the most important thing. You care about what you do, and you do it the best you can."

Look out Pageant of the Masters. J.H. McGaugh school might just steal your thunder. For the past eight months, the award-winning elementary school has been preparing Pageant of the Arts, a miniature version of Laguna Beach's famous summer pageant of "living pictures." And guess what? The kids' version includes 20th-Century art, modern dance and music composed by a former member of the rock group Berlin.

Students at McGaugh Elementary School will turn a $1.49 package of orange California poppy seeds into a science experiment next week when the space shuttle Columbia carries their payload on a 16-day mission. The school, the first in Orange County to fly an experiment on the space shuttle and one of only a few elementary schools ever to undertake such an endeavor, was selected for the Friday mission by Instrumentation Technology Associates. The Exeter, Pa.

The Los Alamitos Unified School District owes much of its success to business manager Ron Murrey, who recently stepped down to take a position in Covina Valley. Murrey is credited with a legacy of fighting for millions of dollars in federal funding, money that was used to improve school services, officials said.

Voters will go to the polls next week in a City Council election that boils down to one familiar issue: how to fatten the city's anemic coffers without altering the seaside village's small-town character. It's an issue that has long dominated Seal Beach politics, especially in recent years when residents successfully mobilized to block several developments, including one proposal that would have placed more than 300 homes on the Hellman Ranch property.

John M. Blaydes, principal of McGaugh School in Seal Beach, said he believes that being head of an elementary school is very important. "Children in those early years can learn to like school very much or dislike it," he said. "It also seems to me that an elementary school principal can have an impact on a large number of people--many children, many teachers and many parents. "So I think caring is the most important thing. You care about what you do, and you do it the best you can."