On-Campus Camps - Spring Session 1
February 17 - March 26

Coming soon! Session 2: April 19 - May 27

Virtual Spring Classes
February 22 - May 28
(See flyers below for details)

Click on the arrow next to your school name to download class offerings flyer.

Aside from the FUN, innovative classes offered,
did you know quality After School Programs:

Give children activity choices, engage them in enrichment activities, and support socialization and team learning
Pay academic dividends during the school day, whether or not the class is classified as “academic,” because programs feature reading, language comprehension and analytic thought.
Provide opportunities for group projects which enhance children’s learning, as do music, art, theatre, and computer activities, as well as
reading for pleasure and writing for an audience.
Let students connect with teachers in a lower teacher-child ratio setting. Such meaningful interactions are associated with more positive interactions, less negativity, and more flexible
and age-appropriate activities.

Allow students (most markedly boys) greater flexibility to make choices in their class activities, which research connects to better social skills with classroom peers.
Can decrease TV viewing behavior in children!! Researchers found that children watch far more television at home after school than they do at after-school programs. In numerous studies, time viewing television has been associated with lower reading achievement and more frequent behavior problems among children.

LAEF’s After School Programs…where Los Al students have fun and parents have peace of mind! Have questions about programs? E-mail our Program Director at: programdirector@laef4kids.org

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CALENDAR

*LAEF classes and camps will not be held on designated No School Days
**LAEF classes and camps will be held on designated Open House Fays

February

March 2021

April

SU
MO
TU
WE
TH
FR
SA

28
1
2
3
4
5
6

7
8
9
10
11
12 *No School No School
13

14
15
16
17
18
19
20

21
22
23
24
25
26 Spring On-Campus Camps End
27

28
29
30
31
1
2
3

Spring 2021 Class Descriptions

Click on the arrow next to read class descriptions
All Classes will follow strict Covid-19 Guidelines for mask wearing, social distancing and sanitizing

Cheer is a sport involving the performance of organized cheering, chanting, and dancing. Cheer-leading teaches teamwork. The ability to work with other people to achieve a goal is an aspect of cheer-leading that carries over into your non-cheer life. This is because cheer-leading instills a strong work ethic. Cheerleaders are high achievers because cheer-leading teaches the following five key traits.

Confidence
Dependability
Responsibility
Accountability
Difficulty

Social distancing chess will be in full effect. Students will each be taking 3 steps back from the board. Students will be active playing chess by continuing to move throughout the game in this manner. Chess boards and pieces will be sanitized between games. Hand sanitizing and hand washing will be done throughout the camp. Face coverings will be used while playing the game. Chess is used to teach many life skills including sportsmanship, patience, strategic thinking, planning ahead, and working toward a goal.

This class offers children an introduction to the Chinese language and culture through games and interaction. The children will study basic words: greetings, food, animals and counting. They will try their skills at calligraphy and making their own first strokes of Chinese characters. Each lesson will have dedicated time for learning about culture and time for fun, including learning rhymes and songs.

Come explore the JOY of the musical theater experience on ZOOM using the well known musicals, “Peter Pan” and “Charlie Brown”! We will work on basic musical theater skills including drama, singing, and movement! No masks on Zoom! You can see yourself and practice wonderful facial, singing and speaking expressions!! CLICK and you are there!

Everyone will be involved reading scripts, memorizing scenes, choosing characters to study and portray, learning songs to sing, and more. Small group sessions will be scheduled at additional times (depending on student/teacher availability) to video the scenes, and practice solos. (We have some tech help this session to prepare final video presentations!)

We are excited to welcome you to this 2021 Spring LAEF Musical Theater class. You will be given a notebook with the scripts, songs, and musical theater information to keep and use during class and at home for practice. Come join the fun!! Cheers for the ARTS!!

Mrs. Coralie Prince…”Rewired” Music Teacher at Hopkinson and Lee.

Mrs. Donna Artukovic…”Rewired” Drama Teacher at McAuliffe.

Oh the places you’ll go, if you use your imagination and allow your creative juices to flow. What do you get when you combine Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math? You get creators, thinkers, doers, problem solvers, inventors, and innovators! Participate in fun, hands on activities, engineer and test awesome structures, let’s learn to code, and use science to grow crystals. STEAM opens up a whole new world of endless creative possibilities. STEAM Rocks! And you know what else rocks? You do!

This 5-week session will include learning songs, dancing, and scenes from some of our favorite movie musicals such as The Greatest Showman, Trolls, Hamilton, and all of the Disney big screens! This class is perfect for kids who love to sing, dance, and act and want to get better at it! We will start each day with fun warm-up games and team-building exercises, and then move on to our one-of-a-kind curriculum that includes self-esteem activities with Performing Arts Education! This class is for students at all talent and experience levels.

Spring 2021 on-campus TEACHER BIOS

We are an organization solely devoted to promoting chess among children. Academic Chess teaches using its own unique set of cartoon characters to represent each chess piece. These characters pique the interest of children and get them involved in the lessons. Also, this visual approach gives kids mental “hooks” on which to hang new concepts. Using posters, booklets, and energetic instructors centered on these characters, we fire up the kids to learn chess.

Melisa Baluyot has a passion for teaching and motivating young people to discover their own passions, while striving to accomplish their goals. This fall will be her 15th year of teaching. As a Titan alum, she has a Bachelor of Science degree in Child and Adolescent Development and a Multiple Subject Teaching credential from California State University, Fullerton. Melisa has worked with a diverse group of students during her years of teaching, ranging from grades TK through 12th grade. She also has numerous years of experience teaching STEM with the Tiger Woods Foundation, through their enrichment and afterschool programs. As an educator, Melisa is driven by one philosophy; Inspire young people to believe in themselves and empower them to create positive change in the world. Melisa and LAEF are both excited to have her on board.

Melodie graduated from Hope International University in Fullerton with a B.A. in Human Development and has taught in several private elementary schools throughout southern California for over twenty years. Developing her own curriculum and spear-heading an innovative after school program on the east coast, she moved back in CA to pursue her love of hands-on teaching in the classroom. She is currently a projects coordinator at Oakwood Academy in Long Beach.

Free to Be Me Performance Academy provides quality performance training in a positive, enthusiastic, nurturing, and embracing environment. Through our classes our students learn essential life skills such as teamwork, respect, responsibility, care and compassion. We emphasize the importance of character both on and off the stage and work to inspire each student to BE a positive light out in the community. Most importantly we encourage FUN!

Emily is a recent graduate from California State University Long Beach. She graduated with honors and a degree in Marine Biology. Before attending CSULB, Emily lived in Washington State and attended Skagit Valley College where she played on the college’s volleyball team. Emily has been playing volleyball since she was 10 years old and has 4 years of experience coaching the sport. Emily was also a coach and director at Skyhawks Sports Academy and looks forward to continuing to teach children life skills through sports. She is excited to share her knowledge of the game with the students in Seal Beach through LAEF.

Alondra graduated from Long Beach State University where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Art Education and pursued her Single Subject Credential in Art. She has worked with diverse groups such as students from grades TK-12th. Alondra enjoys teaching in the classroom where students and art can come together within the community. She has a background in drawing, painting, ceramics, collage, fiber art, and 3d art. Alondra strongly believes the Visual and Performing Arts serve as a vehicle for creativity, exploration, social change, community building, and life-long learning. Her favorite quote is from Maxine Greene in which she shares a powerful message, “The arts, it has been said, cannot change the world, but they may change human beings who might change the world.”

Monik began dancing at the age of 8 in church. She trained at the Los Angeles High School of the Performing Arts, and earned her Bachelor of Arts in World Arts and Cultures, concentrating in dance with a minor in education from UCLA. She went to the University of California, Irvine where she was mentored by the legendary Donald McKayle and earned her Masters of Fine Arts in Dance. Miss Monik has founded Monik’s Creative Movement Education Program where the goals are to focus on gross motor skills, coordination, rhythm, creative expression and self-confidence through the medium of dance. Ms. Jones teaches all forms of dance but is best known for her reputation as a liturgical dancer, choreographer,and a teacher. She is the Artistic Director of Vessels of Praise Liturgical Dance Ministry from the Judson Baptist Churs. Ms. Jones has developed a liturgical dance curriculum that she teaches across the country.

Sara Hassan Khani is an interdisciplinary artist based in Long Beach, California. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from the University of Tehran, Iran in 2015. She has been working as a visiting artist coordinator, art history research assistant, and been a teaching assistant for multiple courses at California State University Long Beach, where She received her Master of Fine Arts in Fall 2020. While she has a comprehensive studio art background, her interest lies in the intersection of painting, drawing, illustration, installation, and Printmaking. She mainly works with traditional media such as charcoal, ink, oil paints, watercolors, and collage. She has shown in multiple solo and group exhibitions in California and Iran. She is the recipient of multiple awards, including the John Baldessari Scholarship.

Abbie is a 2020 Los Al graduate and was a member of the Varsity cheer team! She now attends Long Beach State and is a member of the Cheer team on campus. She is majoring in Liberal Studies in hopes of becoming a Kindergarten teacher! Abbie is a dance teacher at Onstage Dance Center and also worked at Rise Up Athletics teaching gymnastics and tumbling. She is so excited to meet all of you!

Coach Eduardo Nunes begins his first year of the LAEF after school soccer program, but he’s not new to Los Alamitos or the game of soccer. Coach Nunes has been coaching soccer for over 24 years. He has coached club and high school soccer, including a 5 year stint as an assistant for Los Al High School Girls Varsity. He is currently a coach at Beach FC where many of his players are from Los Alamitos. He is also the Women’s head coach at Long Beach City College where some of his best players are graduates of Los Al High School. He is happy to be back in Los Al Unified teaching what he loves.

Pat has served as the girls’ varsity soccer coach at Los Alamitos High since 2004. Rossi has led the girls to multiple Sunset League championships, as well as the 2005 CIF Championship and posted a 22-2-5 record that season. That year, the team was ranked #1 in the nation by Student Sports Magazine. Rossi is also the coach at Beach Futbol Club and in the past has served as an assistant coach on the Cal State Long Beach women’s team and coached the Cypress Futbol Club team. Pat was the 2019-2020 Orange County Girls Soccer Coach of the Year.

Skyhawks provides a wide variety of fun, safe and positive programs that emphasize critical lessons in sports and life, such as teamwork, respect and sportsmanship. Our programs are designed to give each child a positive introduction into sports while fostering a lifelong love for an active, healthy lifestyle. Our patient and knowledgeable staff use a variety of skill-building games and activities to give each athlete a complete understanding and overview of the sport.

Alanna Shields is a student athlete who currently attends Goldenwest College, and is on the beach volleyball team there. She has been playing volleyball since she was 10 years old, and still loves to play, learn, and teach it. She has 3 years of experience coaching kids, and working with kids. She loves the game, and has a great welcoming attitude towards everyone and everything. She is excited to share her knowledge of the game with the students in Los Alamitos Unified through LAEF.

Andrea has been a student of Kenpo Karate for over 30 years and is currently a 5th Degree Black Belt. She has been the International champion six times and has won more than 150 1st place trophies in her tournament career. Ms. Solow owned and operated a karate school in Telluride, Colorado for 15 years. She has instructed several hundred people over the years, having many advanced students, and bringing several people to the rank of black belt. She recently moved back to her home state, California, with her husband and two children who attend school in the Los Al school district. Ms. Solow is passionate about teaching kids and is excited to be an instructor for the LAEF program!

Jerry is the founder of Red Zone Threat Management and travels nationally and internationally teaching seminars to members of the DEA, Local Law Enforcement, and civilians on the topic of personal protection. He is the author of the book “Red Zone Prime: A Foundation for Personal Protection”. In addition he is a passionate instructor of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts which he teaches at the facility he has owned and operated for the last 14 years, Centerline Martial Arts and Fitness. Jerry runs kids classes daily in mixed martial arts and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu as well as the kids BJJ competition team. He has two children who both attend schools in Los Alamitos Unified. Jerry firmly believes that every child has the right to enjoy their school days without fear of being bullied and is committed to helping them develop the necessary tools and attitude to help them on their journey.

spring 2021 virtual TEACHER BIOS

Students will learn to code while building their own video games. Students will gain problem solving, critical thinking, and STEM skills in a fun, safe, and inspiring environment. Technology is advancing at an incredible rate, and we’re just getting started. Every kid deserves the chance to unlock their innate, unlimited capacity to learn. Whether or not they pursue coding as a career, Code Ninjas wants to provide students with skills that will help them pursue their dreams.

Kathy Brubacher is fully bilingual in English and Japanese having been formally educated in both the US and Japan during her formative years and through graduate school. Her interest in education—the development of the mind and heart—was sparked as a young adult by her mentor and with support of her parents. As a certified teacher in Japan and professional mom, she has taught various age groups in multiple settings including private schools, private tutoring, and homeschooling. Kathy encourages her students to aim high and pursue excellence in whatever they do. She believes passion typically comes after mastery of a subject opening doors to opportunities for the future and present. She is looking forward to teaching Japanese this fall!

– Sara Hassan Khani is an interdisciplinary artist based in Long Beach, California. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from the University of Tehran, Iran in 2015. She has been working as a visiting artist coordinator, art history research assistant, and been a teaching assistant for multiple courses at California State University Long Beach, where She received her Master of Fine Arts in Fall 2020. While she has a comprehensive studio art background, her interest lies in the intersection of painting, drawing, illustration, installation, and Printmaking. She mainly works with traditional media such as charcoal, ink, oil paints, watercolors, and collage. She has shown in multiple solo and group exhibitions in California and Iran. She is the recipient of multiple awards, including the John Baldessari Scholarship.

Pilar DeNardo was born and raised in Barcelona, Spain and in Perú. After graduating from college, she came to the United States to learn English. Pilar earned an M.A in Bilingual Education as well as multiple teaching credentials. After teaching elementary school for 5 years and becoming a mom, Pilar decided to open her own business and teach her native language to elementary age students.

A native of El Salvador moved to the US in 1986. She loves sharing language and culture with students and has been teaching in Orange County since 2008. Claudia earned her Master’s in Education from Azusa Pacific University and a B.A. in Education and Child Development from National University. As a language teacher, her goal is for students to be exposed and gain a deeper appreciation of the beautifully diverse multilingual, multicultural, and multiethnic communities we are so blessed to have in California and in our world. She is currently teaching as a reading intervention teacher in Los Alamitos Unified.

Elena graduated from People’s Friendship University of Russia, earned her B.A. degree in World History. Her diploma comes with teaching credentials. Elena spent three years at Tianjin University where she earned certificates in Chinese language proficiency (including a HSK certificate) and she took Master degree courses in economic and trade law in Mandarin. She worked in Russia as a middle school ESL teacher. In China she tutored ESL to groups of students from preschool to middle school age and individually tutored Russian language to Chinese and Korean students. Elena has experience developing individual teaching plans suitable for different ages, skill sets and requirements, creating fun activities to make classes interesting and fun. She strongly believes that anyone can learn a foreign language and enjoy the process. Elena is a proud parent of two students in the Los Alamitos Unified School District. Elena is extremely excited to teach for LAEF!

Coralie Prince’s life has been music from the time she was born! Her father was a singer/songwriter/pianist and producer of shows. Mother, a nurse, performed at home and supported the arts. Coralie began piano when she was a toddler and violin when she was 6. She most recently taught elementary classroom music at Hopkinson and Lee both from 1980 to 2014. She directed grade level shows and produced, directed, accompanied a large musical each year with the 5th grade and/or the 4/5 chorus. She taught piano privately for many years and later, a summer Musical Theater Workshop for grades 3 thru 12. She is so excited to continue working with the students in the LAEF Musical Theater Class.

Vivien Ridgway is an American Sign Language interpreter and Deaf Studies student originally from Seattle Washington. Vivien moved to Orange County six years ago to study American Sign Language Interpreting, and has been heavily involved in the Deaf community ever since! She was a sign language interpreter at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, California, and when she isn’t working enjoys playing guitar, swimming, and hanging out with her dog, Sheila. Vivien last taught American Sign Language for LAEF in 2019. She is excited to be teaching students in Los Alamitos once again.

Mrs. Vida grew up speaking French as her native language. She was raised in the Loire Valley, in France; graduated from College with a language degree, and worked in Paris in an American Company, before moving to the USA in her thirties. She is very familiar with our Los Alamitos School District as she volunteered on PTA Boards for over 20 years. This is Mrs. Vida’s second season working for LAEF after-school and she is so excited to get back at it!

Enhancing Educational Excellence

Enhancing Educational Excellence

On-Campus Camps - Spring Session 1
February 17 - March 26

Coming soon! Session 2: April 19 - May 27

Virtual Spring Classes
February 22 - May 28
(See flyers below for details)

Click on the arrow next to your school name to download class offerings flyer.

After School Enrichment

Aside from the FUN, innovative classes offered,
did you know quality After School Programs:

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CALENDAR

*LAEF classes and camps will not be held on designated No School Days
**LAEF classes and camps will be held on designated Open House Fays

March 2021

*No School

Spring On-Campus Camps End

Spring 2021 Class Descriptions

Click on the arrow next to read class descriptions
All Classes will follow strict Covid-19 Guidelines for mask wearing, social distancing and sanitizing

Spring 2021 on-campus TEACHER BIOS

spring 2021 virtual TEACHER BIOS

STREET ADDRESS:

MAILING ADDRESS:

Corporate Partners

Corporate Partners

Enhancing Educational Excellence

Enhancing Educational Excellence

On-Campus Camps - Spring Session 1February 17 - March 26Coming soon! Session 2: April 19 - May 27Virtual Spring ClassesFebruary 22 - May 28(See flyers below for details)

Click on the arrow next to your school name to download class offerings flyer.

After School Enrichment

Aside from the FUN, innovative classes offered, did you know quality After School Programs:

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CALENDAR

*LAEF classes and camps will not be held on designated No School Days**LAEF classes and camps will be held on designated Open House Fays

March 2021

*No School

Spring On-Campus Camps End

Spring 2021 Class Descriptions

Click on the arrow next to read class descriptionsAll Classes will follow strict Covid-19 Guidelines for mask wearing, social distancing and sanitizing

Spring 2021 on-campus TEACHER BIOS

spring 2021 virtual TEACHER BIOS

STREET ADDRESS:

MAILING ADDRESS:

Corporate Partners

Corporate Partners

On-Campus Camps - Spring Session 1
February 17 - March 26

Coming soon! Session 2: April 19 - May 27

Virtual Spring Classes
February 22 - May 28
(See flyers below for details)

Aside from the FUN, innovative classes offered,
did you know quality After School Programs:

*LAEF classes and camps will not be held on designated No School Days
**LAEF classes and camps will be held on designated Open House Fays

Click on the arrow next to read class descriptions
All Classes will follow strict Covid-19 Guidelines for mask wearing, social distancing and sanitizing