Education Spotlight 2017

JSerra is an independent Roman Catholic high school that encourages students to pursue personal and professional excellence in life. Guided by the teachings of the Catholic Church, JSerra works in partnership with committed parents and inspirational teachers to form the faith, intellect, and character of its young men and women with a Christ-centered, sacrament-based learning environment.

Core Values
JSerra strives to form students who are:

Academic Achievers demonstrating a higher order of thinking skills; solving problems creatively and analytically; utilizing the appropriate technology to support learning.

Lifelong Learners who manage and direct their own learning; value and pursue postsecondary education; establish personal priorities and achievable goals; develop an appreciation of varying world views.

Responsible Christian Citizens who demonstrate knowledge of the Catholic Church; perform Christian service in their community; practice respect of self, others, and community.

Collaborative Workers who use effective leadership and interpersonal skills to foster, develop, and maintain relationships within a diverse setting.

Campus Life
Founded in 2003, JSerra has established itself within South Orange County as an exceptional academic institution. Each year at JSerra, new clubs are formed, athletic teams become stronger, and dedicated staff and faculty look for new ways to innovate the learning process.

JSerra also offers dynamic and highly successful magnet programs in arts, business, engineering, law, and medicine. These programs help prepare students for further study and professional careers in their respective areas of interest.

Through these programs and more, JSerra students are formed in faith, intellect, and character. Come learn more about joining the JSerra family at the January 19th Open House event from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

JSerra Catholic High School
26351 Junipero Serra Road
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
949.493.9307 • www.JSerra.org

“Unlike his roommates, the young man didn’t go to college to ‘find’ himself. He was never lost. In fact, he wanted to build a company. He studied Finance and International Law. He interned at a start-up near his university to become more expert in Technology. He launched his company after graduating. It monitored water supply networks in developing countries to minimize pollutants. It thrived. It also improved the lives of millions of people. On long flights overseas, the man thinks back to his high school… to ‘The Tree,’ Friday night football, and inspiring teachers. He knows he found confidence there. He knows he found character. But more than anything, he knows he has found his purpose.”

Preschool through High School

• Independent Christian School
• WASC-Accredited
• UC-approved college prep program
• Small classroom sizes/low student to teacher ratio
• 1 to 1 technology program
• Abundant athletic, arts, mission and service opportunities
• Serving all of South Orange County since 1997

Mission
To educate and disciple all students as they discover their purpose in the work of God’s Kingdom.

Values Kingdom-Minded:

• The advancement of the cause of Christ in the world.
• Model and emulate Christ while seeking to disciple students.
• Worship God in every way possible.

Student-Centered:

• Believes that every student is fearfully and wonderfully made.
• Understands that every decision should be made through the lens of student experience.
• Affirms that diversity and accessibility are central to the development of Christian community.

Saddleback Valley Christian School
26333 Oso Road
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
949.443.4050 • www.TheChristianSchoolForAll.org
Grant Waggoner, Director of Admission:
gwaggoner@svcschools.org

With academic tracks tailored to meet the needs of varied learners; more than 85 clubs and activities; competitive, character-building athletics and an award-winning arts program – all in a nurturing, Christ-centered environment – Santa Margarita students are empowered to grow spiritually, intellectually, socially and morally.

Be You
At Santa Margarita, the uniqueness of each individual is celebrated. Athlete? Great. Dancer? Super. Game designer? Perfect. Writer? Awesome. Straight-A student and Harvard’s your fallback? Understood. At SMCHS, students can stay true to themselves and discover their God-given talents.

Believe In Yourself
In addition to the academic foundation, critical thinking skills and character developed at SMCHS, the school provides a nurturing environment where self-confidence grows. All through college, in the big meeting on the job, and in millions of moments to come, there is no expiration date on the confidence gained at Santa Margarita.

Achieve More
Achievement matters at SMCHS, whether a “C” student striving for a “B” or a student-athlete pursuing a national high jump record while managing multiple AP courses. Santa Margarita students are supported by their classmates, teachers and coaches who expect them to succeed. This school-wide culture of positive peer pressure instills an enduring desire to excel – to do more and be more.

Love as Christ Loved
Inside and outside of the classroom, Santa Margarita students are encouraged to love as Christ loved. Empowered and inspired, SMCHS students become more thoughtful sons and daughters, act with greater compassion to friends and strangers alike, and harness the courage to consistently do what’s right, no matter the consequences.

Make a Difference
At every grade level, SMCHS opens students’ minds to social issues by providing opportunities to apply problem-solving abilities to real world troubles. By demonstrating a commitment to the global community, the school equips students to be far more than just bystanders when faced with exclusion and inequality.

Change the World
In prominent colleges and universities throughout the United States, and diverse organizations and companies around the globe, Santa Margarita graduates are making this world a better place – learning, leading and thriving.

Find It Here
While some students already know what makes their hearts beat faster, it’s a journey of discovery for most. Whether it’s the daily rigor of the school’s International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, mastering the choreography of a school musical production, assembling a robot, or simply enjoying new friendships at a club meeting, there is something for everyone at SMCHS.

Santa Margarita Catholic High School
22062 Antonio Parkway
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688
949.766.6076 • www.smhs.org

Our Lady of Fatima Parish School is a 21st Century learning community founded in 1965 that has educated students in South Orange County for over 50 years. Nestled among the rolling hills with a view of the Pacific, OLF is the only Catholic School in San Clemente. The school is fully accredited and staffed by an outstanding team of credentialed, nurturing, and dedicated faculty. The secured campus offers a welcoming learning environment for all students centered on the value of “family.” OLF is a dynamic, technology-driven learning institution that prides itself on spirituality, academic rigor and high student expectations amid small class sizes that “empower today’s children to promote tomorrow’s leaders.” The school’s robust Community Service Program ensures that OLF students value and live their faith-filled educational experiences.

OLF’s students are committed learners who demonstrate excellence in academic expectations, technology acquisition, and service to their community. With a cross-curricular and cross-cultural approach to instruction, OLF offers each student differentiated opportunities to explore, investigate, and demonstrate understanding by means of a hands-on approach to learning that integrates 1:1 technology opportunities. By complementing the academic rigor with the offerings of innovative electives, the OLF faith-filled student cultivates a zest for life-long learning, develops into an effective communicator and advances as a globally responsible citizen. Proudly, 100% of OLF graduates are accepted into local Catholic High Schools. Most of OLF’s graduates place into Honors/Advanced Placement courses and/or Magnet Programs. OLF students are recognized within the local and regional contests of various competitions including Chapman University’s Holocaust Art, Writing, Poetry and Film Contest, Orange County Science Fair, Jr. High Academic Decathlon, Knight’s of Columbus’ Writing Contest, and OC Catholic Charities Poster Contest.

OLF’s Early Education Center’s Transitional Kindergarten program is the first year of a two-year academic Kindergarten program that is specifically designed to give four-year-olds and young fives the “gift of time” to develop socially, emotionally, and cognitively. All students participate weekly in the enrichment classes of Spanish, Music, Piano, Art, Choir and PE. K-2, 3-5, and Middle School Musical Productions are a highlight of the school year along with the annual all-school Christmas Program and 5th Grade Passion Play. The extended field studies programs for 4-8th graders include Sacramento day trip, The Pilgrim, Catalina Ecology Safari, ECOS Science Camp, Channel Islands, and Philadelphia/Gettysburg/Washington D.C. OLF School enthusiastically hosts upwards of 30 community-building events for students and parents throughout the school year.

Our Lady of Fatima Parish School
105 N. La Esperanza, San Clemente, CA 92672
949.492.7320 • www.olfschool.net

Mission Basilica School embraces a rich heritage from its founding in 1928 as part of the Mission community founded by Saint Junipero Serra in 1776. The school honors Saint Serra’s mission by preparing every student for a life of leadership and Catholic values. The beautiful campus, uniquely located in the historic setting of the grounds of Mission San Juan Capistrano, has a student body of 250 in grades Pre-K to 8th. Mission Basilica School is a WCEA/WASC accredited, National Blue Ribbon School, staffed with highly skilled and credentialed teachers. Mission Basilica School continues to foster faith formation and academic excellence through its highly acclaimed programs.

Faith

• Strong Catholic Identity
• Christ-Centered Learning
• Weekly Mass in the Basilica
• Ongoing Christian Service
• Spiritual Retreats

Academics

• Popular TK Program
• Accredited by the WCEA
• National Blue Ribbon School
• Rigorous Academic Curriculum
• Student-centered classrooms
• 1-to-1 iPads
• STEM Laboratories
• Fitness, Sports and Health Education
• Rich Fine Arts Program
• Spanish Language Program
• After School Clubs and Programs
• Extended Day Care

Mission Basilica School
31641 El Camino Real
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
949.234.1385 x2 • www.MissionBasilicaSchool.org

The investment you make in your children’s education is one of the most important decisions you will make in their lives. You want to invest in an institution that is strong, stable, and qualified to deliver outstanding preparation for life and leadership. Capistrano Valley Christian Schools (CVCS) embodies excellence in academic, spiritual, extracurricular, and cultural distinction. CVCS is a school on the rise with an exciting vision for the future. Above all, CVCS is marked by a deep sense of community where students and families are cared for in a way that delivers a more meaningful experience that will influence your child’s faith and character for the rest of their lives.

CVCS excels in: ACADEMIC DISTINCTION:

• CVCS ranks #14 on the 2016 list of top 100 Christian schools in California – no other non-denominational Christian School in Orange County is found near the top of this list
• College acceptances at elite institutions, including Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Duke, Cornell, NYU, West Point, and the best Christian colleges including Wheaton, Westmont, and Biola
• Highly qualified, fully credentialed teachers, including an OC Parenting Magazine Top 25 Teacher of the Year

SPIRITUAL FORMATION:

• Leading Biblical worldview department in Southern California, including world-famous apologetics author Dr. Sean McDowell
• Unique world and regional mission trips to Russia and Fiji, Berkeley, Salt Lake City, and Los Angeles
• Mentorship programs to foster deep relationships between teachers and students to build a lifelong walk with Jesus Christ

EXTRA-CURRICULAR QUALITY:

• 12 division—one recent and current scholar athletes to schools like UCLA and Florida State
• Girls’ volleyball CIF Finalist and State Southern Section Finalist, ranked #1 in Maxpreps
• 2014 CIF Champions in baseball
• CIF semi-finals past three years in boys’ basketball
• Incredible coaches are role models who develop the hearts and skills of their athletes
• Robust performing arts department, with high-quality theatrical performances and musicals throughout the year

Capistrano Valley Christian Schools
32032 Del Obispo Street
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
949.493.5683 • www.cvcs.org

The world is dynamically connected today in ways that did not exist even ten years ago. With the advent of the Internet and technological advances, the pace of change is exponential. The challenge for our education system is to provide curriculum that keeps up with this pace of change. We believe that the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program is poised to meet this challenge.

St. Mary’s is the only primary and middle school in Orange County to offer the International Baccalaureate Program. St. Mary’s delivers exceptional academics with a world-view to students from early preschool through eighth grade. The IB Program was founded in Switzerland in 1968 to prepare internationally mobile students for university. Today, it offers educational programs for students worldwide ranging in age from three to 19 by a community of educators motivated to create a better world through education. This kind of aspirational goal requires faculty excellence – over 70% of St. Mary’s teachers hold advanced degrees – and demands stimulating, individualized interaction. Teacher to student ratios at St. Mary’s range from 1:6 in Early Preschool, to 1:11 in Lower School, to 1:18 by the Middle School years.

“This student centered, inquiry based approach motivates students to engage in the curriculum and allows them to see how academic material applies in the outside world,” says Sharon Taylor, Head of School. Academic programs are designed so that each subject translates to another, enabling students to connect ideas and concepts in different fields. Taylor adds, “Our faith-based, extracurricular-rich, IB-inspired education delivers graduates who consistently show levels of communication, thinking skills and all-around knowledge that guarantees academic perseverance and flexibility, equipping them for success in high school, higher education, and life beyond.”

St. Mary’s School
7 Pursuit
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
949.448.9027 • www.smaa.org

Always learning, The Parish School graduates are confident and compassionate young men and women who will make a difference.

Faithful to Catholic values, The Parish School at St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church sustains an evolving schoolwide learning environment that inspires each learner to achieve his or her God-given potential inside and outside the classroom.

Benefit: She Is Always Learning.
She digs out a rock during her class’s nature walk, her dirtied fingers deciphering textures to determine its geological origins. She collaborates with a classmate to code a game in Scratch, their story coming to life in scripts and pixels. She raises her hand as the priest asks about the Gospel reading. Her heart beats faster – she knows the answer. No matter where or what or when, she is always learning at The Parish School.

Benefit: He Discovers His Faith.
Though his shoes don’t quite touch the floor when he sits in the pew, he thinks deeply about God. Does God know his name? Is God watching him at this very moment? He finds himself doing things and not doing things because of God. More and more, something or Someone seems to be guiding his decisions. It is transformative. He is discovering his faith.

Benefit: She Speaks Her Mind.
At first she is scared to talk in class. But her teacher gently coaxes her. By lower school, her voice doesn’t tremble anymore. Her upper school teachers encourage her to ask big questions. Classmates sometimes challenge her ideas, and she defends them. She listens to other learners too, adopting bits of their new thinking even as she adapts her own. Confident yet open-minded, candid yet thoughtful, she is speaking her mind.

Benefit: He Is Resilient.
His engineering experiment doesn’t work. For a moment, he is embarrassed. His fists clench, but he catches himself. He sits and thinks. He soon gets back to work, disassembling and reassembling pieces of his machine. When he’s ready again, he releases the ball bearing. Eureka! He is so giddy he could dance. Led by expert educators who embrace classroom mistakes as real learning, he is becoming a resilient young man.

Benefit: She Gets Involved.
She has the worst balance on the Surf Team but is first to the beach for practice. She struggles with the F chord but plays her dad’s old Fender until her strumming hand aches. She runs for Student Government. She wins. While she is not the tallest or the most talented or that learner who others naturally follow, she refuses to be a bystander in school or life. She is going to be involved.

The Parish School St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church
33866 Calle La Primavera
Dana Point, CA 92629
949.496.1241 • www.StEdSchool.org

At Our Savior’s Lutheran School, class sizes are small so children have room to grow. Our Savior’s goal is to educate and inspire by creating a learning environment that balances the heart, mind and spirit. In this environment, individuals don’t get lost and students excel academically. In fact, Our Savior’s students tend to achieve above their ability, on both their schoolwork and national testing. In 2015 the fifth grade class at Our Savior’s produced three State History Day Champions.

Our Savior’s students achieve through the perfect blend of high expectations, traditional academic skills instruction and an emphasis on critical thinking, problem solving and collaboration across the curriculum. Our Savior’s teachers understand that STEM is not just about doing science and having electronic devices, but requires students to be actively engaged in solving problems and creating solutions through multi-disciplinary activities.

Our Savior’s Lutheran Preschool children feel loved. When children feel loved, they love to learn. Our Savior’s Lutheran Preschool is a premier preschool in south Orange County. Students thrive academically and socially through a child-centered, developmentally appropriate curriculum in a loving, nurturing, hands-on environment. Students develop the skills and critical thinking ability which lay the groundwork for success in elementary school and beyond.

To learn more about Our Savior’s Preschool or Elementary School, contact the school office or access the website. The administration is happy to provide a personal tour and answer any questions.

• Average Class Size is 17
• Small town community feel
• Nurturing Christian Environment
• All faiths are welcome
• Excellent Standardized Test Scores
• Fully Accredited
• Dynamic Physical Education, Spanish, Computer, and Music classes
• STEM emphasis schoolwide
• Fully Credentialed Teachers at all levels
• Strength is building community
• Extended Day Care Program
• Transitional Kindergarten- full day/5 days week
• Full-Day Kindergarten through 5th Grade
• Preschool for 3 & 4 years, 5 day Pre-K

Our Savior’s Lutheran School
200 Avenida San Pablo
San Clemente, CA 92672
949.492.6165 • OurSaviorsSchool.net

Some describe it as a hidden jewel by the sea. Perched hillside along Coast Highway, Saint Catherine of Siena Parish School overlooks a panorama of the Pacific Ocean, from Montage Laguna Beach to Catalina Island. This backdrop sets the scene for the unique educational experience St. Catherine of Siena provides, blending academic excellence, spiritual development and a focus on the arts.

Serving students from transitional kindergarten through eighth grade, this tightly knit academic community offers a well-rounded curriculum designed to educate the whole child — mind, body and spirit. This is achieved through a rigorous academic program with an emphasis on cross-curricular, active learning that incorporates proven educational strategies and state-of-the-art technologies.

Originally opened in 1957, the school was completely reconstructed beginning in 2008. The facility offers larger classrooms, separate elementary and middle school buildings, a science lab, cutting-edge computer facilities, art lab, library, music room and gymnasium.

Although St. Catherine comprises only about 200 students, Principal Mike Letourneau notes that alumni are represented at top universities throughout the nation.

Laguna Beach has long been known for its flourishing artistic environment, a heritage St. Catherine of Siena eagerly embraces. The school employs experts in visual arts, music and theater, and holds its own annual Pageant of the Masters, where students bring to life such paintings as “The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci and “American Gothic” by Grant Wood.

St. Catherine of Siena is served by the Pacific Symphony’s Class Act program, introducing students to symphony musicians who lead classroom lessons, ensemble performances, assemblies and concert performances.

The arts are also incorporated into St. Catherine’s cross-curricular learning platform. For example, students studying California history demonstrate what they have learned through art projects, student-produced theatrical productions and more.

As a Catholic academic institution, St. Catherine of Siena nourishes each student’s faith journey while embracing a diversity of creeds. The inclusive community makes catechesis and faith formation part of daily learning, developing students into responsible citizens ready to serve the global community.

Saint Catherine of Siena is hosting an Open House on February 2, 2017 at 5:30 p.m., the same evening as its community-wide Pasta Dinner hosted by the 6th grade class. Bring your child to look at the school, meet the teachers and sit down with the families. There isn’t a better time for prospective families to “Come and See” Saint Catherine of Siena Parish School.

St. Catherine of Siena Parish School
30516 S Coast Hwy.
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
949.494.7339 • www.StCathSchool.org