Class notes

A musical extravaganza filled with toe-tapping tunes, Seussical borrows its plot directly from the characters and occurrences in a multitude of favorite Dr. Seuss books.

Leading the audience through the musical’s twists and turns is the devious The Cat in the Hat, played by James Zongus. Along the way, the audience encounters Jojo, a small Who with very large Thinks, played by Charlie Kruse, and Horton the Elephant, played by Sean Zurcher, whose heart is as keen as his sense of hearing as he vows to protect Jojo and all the rest of the Whos on their tiny speck of dust. Horton gets sidetracked by Mayzie LaBird, played by Chelsea Meacham, who asks him to watch her egg for a few minutes and then takes off for Palm Springs. But not to worry, Horton has the love and support of Gertrude McFuzz, played by Paige Collazo, the kindly "girl next door” with only one feather in her tail.

Key Seuss characters who pepper the show with humor and conflict are the Sour Kangaroo, played by Maddie Chong, the mayor of Whoville and his wife, Wassim Khemici and Laura Tesarowski, the Grinch, played by Steven Mike, the Lorax, played by Jamie Fadden, and Yertl the Turtle, played by Jason Pallas. Connor Hulbert, Alex Rosenberg, Justin Shing and Michael Torbati "monkey around” with ease and style as the Wickersham Brothers, an unruly quartet of monkeys who rock the Jungle of Nool with their cruel tricks and monkey business. Kate Blood, Gabriella Despues, Kellie Freshour, Lucia Masarova, Natalya Osipchuk, and Barbara Storch provide colorful backup to the story as Gertrude and Mayzie’s bird girls.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $7 for students, children and seniors. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. at the San Mateo Performing Arts Center, 600 N. Delaware St., San Mateo. For more information visit www.bowditchmusical.org.

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The California Youth Symphony continues its 56th season with CYS Young Artist Competition winner Vivian Fu as violin soloist at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 9 at the San Mateo Performing Arts Center and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 16 at the Flint Center in Cupertino. Tickets are $12 and $6 for seniors and students. For more information call 325-6666 or visit www.cys.org.

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Cañada College will hold Middle College High School information sessions at Sequoia, Carlmont, Menlo-Atherton and Woodside high schools during the first two weeks of March. All meetings will be held from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Here is a complete list of meeting dates and locations:

• Tuesday, March 4, Sequoia High School Multi Purpose Room, 1201 Brewster Ave., Redwood City.

• Thursday, March 6, Carlmont High School, Multi Use Room, 1400 Alameda de las Pulgas Road, Belmont.

• Tuesday, March 11, Menlo-Atherton High School Multi Use Room, 555 Middlefield Road, Atherton.

• Thursday, March 13, Woodside High School Multi Use Room, 199 Churchill Ave., Woodside.

Under an agreement between the college and the Sequoia Union High School District, students enrolled in Middle College can take college courses for free.

The March meetings will include an overview of the program, a question and answer session, and the opportunity to speak with current Middle College students about their experience. More information about the program is available at http://canadacollege.net/middlecollege/. For more information call 306-3120 or e-mail canadamiddlecollege@smccd.net

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The Ronald C. Wornick Jewish Day School will hold their third biannual Invention Convention from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 5 at the school, 800 Foster City Blvd., Foster City.

Students’ inventions will be on display and winners of this year’s contest will be announced.

Students will compete for first-, second- and third-place awards at each grade level. The Invention Convention is the culmination of a two-month long program, designed to stimulate invention, innovation and creativity. This unique program addresses the critical need to teach problem solving skills. Student entries will be displayed from noon to 4 p.m. Thursday, March 6 and 10 a.m. to noon Friday, March 7.

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Students interested in studying abroad in Beijing and Shanghai to experience culture, business practices, language and cuisine while earning college credit through Skyline College should attend an information session at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 8 or 5:15 p.m. Monday, March 24. in Room 8-8302. For more information call 738-4479.

Class notes is a weekly column dedicated to school news. It is compiled by education reporter Heather Murtagh. You can contact her at (650) 344-5200, ext. 105 or at heather@smdailyjournal.com.