Class notes

Winners of the grand prize awards for best development of the 2009 theme "Dreams” are Brittany Stewart, a senior at Hillsdale High School, for literary arts and Marcie Pagliaro, a sophomore at Aragon High School, for visual arts.

Other prize winners in the literary arts division are Aragon students Seth Klebe (first place, poetry), Veronica Navarro (honorable mention, poetry) and Julia Borden (first place, prose); Hillsdale High School students Austin Djang (first place, poetry) and Ali Ryan (honorable mention, poetry); and San Mateo High School students Mina Nilchian (first place, poetry), Teresa Bufford (honorable mention, poetry), Victoria Stein (first place, prose) and Sean Hwang (honorable mention, prose).

In the visual arts division, prize winning students from Aragon High School are Parisa Saniee (first place, 3D), Micaela Moss (honorable mention, 3D), Taylor Rossi (first place, 2D), Jordan Epstein (honorable mention, 2D), Katie Jensen (first place, photography) and Jeremy Christensen (honorable mention, photography); Hillsdale High School students Vanity Mitchell (first place, 3D), Zeeve Rose (honorable mention, 3D), Hannah Crockeh (first place, 2D and honorable mention, photography), Emily Door (honorable mention, 2D) and Tobin Galang (first place, photography); San Mateo High School students include Scott Wong (first place, 3D), Molly Florverday (honorable mention, 3D), Melody Chua (first place, 2D), Stephy Hong (honorable mention, 2D), Monica Dittbern (first place, photography) and Ashley Huey (honorable mention, photography).

The awards ceremony will include a welcome by city Librarian Ben Ocon and special congratulations to the students and their teachers by San Mateo Mayor Brandt Grotte. Work submitted by students is on display through the end of April at San Mateo Public Library, space permitting.

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Notre Dame Elementary School’s Earth Day Celebration on April 22 will be Sister Dorothy Stang Day.

Stang, a Notre Dame de Namur sister, lived and worked in Brazil for 40 years, helping the poor build independent futures for their families. She was shot to death in Anapu, Para, a section of Brazil’s Amazon rain forest. All Notre Dame Elementary School students are honoring her commitment to the poor and to the environment with week-long activities which will culminate in a ceremony on April 22.

The first grade will sign "It’s a Wonderful World” to start the ceremony. The second graders are bringing in empty egg cartons and planting them with organic soil and seeds as a gift for each student to take home and plant in Stang’s honor. The third grade class is decorating grocery bags as part of Belmont’s Earth Week program. Fourth graders are selling raffle tickets to raise money to protect land in the Brazilian Rainforest. Fifth graders are collecting gently used soccer clothes for children in Brazil. A school waste audit is being conducted by the sixth grade. The seventh grade is decorating using recycled products and the eighth graders are writing prayers for the environment and for Stang that will be read at the conclusion of the program.

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Notre Dame de Namur University is holding a free evening degree completion forum at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 23. NDNU holds forums to help students become acquainted with the specific graduate program their interested in and to meet the professors who will be guiding their studies. Learn about admission, financing, and meet with the director of your intended program. An optional tour will be available starting at 6 p.m.

The forum will be located at Ralston Hall Mansion on campus, 1500 Ralston Ave. in Belmont. Reservations are required. To reserve a spot call 508-3600.

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The Redwood City Education Foundation invites the public to its "Benefit for a Brighter Future” fundraiser. This year’s theme is "Invest in a Dream.”

The event will be held 5:30 p.m. Friday, April 24 at the Pacific Shores Club at Pacific Shores Center, 1100 Seaport Blvd. in Redwood City.

This entertaining and worthwhile event starts with a cocktail reception featuring abundant, delicious appetizers and beverages, during which time you will enjoy a unique exhibit of essays and drawings and meet some of the participants in the District-wide contest, "Invest in me, I am Your Future: What I want to be when I grow up.” A sit-down dessert and coffee program follows with keynote speaker Dave Girouard, president of Enterprise at Google; special guest state Superintendent Jack O’Connell; and presentation of our Investors Award to the Redwood City Civic Cultural Commission. Be ready to end the evening with the always lively Fund-A-Program and raffle draw event.

For tickets visit www.rcef.org/brighterfuture and click on "Order Your Tickets Online.” Ticket prices are $75. Teachers, principal and staff tickets are $45. All proceeds support essential programs funded by the Redwood City Education Foundation. For more information about the RCEF visit www.rcef.org.

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Rollingwood Elementary School will hold its annual spaghetti dinner, auction and drawing 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, April 24.

Dinner is $8 for adults, $4 for children 5 to 12 years old, and free for children under 5. The meal includes salad, garlic bread, spaghetti, dessert, water or soda and coffee. Dinner is served from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. A drawing and auction will be held from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

It is requested that tickets be purchased by Wednesday, April 22 to determine the amount of food needed. To purchase tickets contact Michelle Sherwin at 270-3593.

There’s no need to be present to win drawing prizes which include gift certificates and various donated items. Tickets are $1 per ticket, $3 for five and $5 for eight.