It’s a myth that all high school seniors drop difficult courses and cruise through the remainder of their high school career … you know, the Senior Slump.
Katherine “Katie” Zerbst, a 2017 graduate of Canyon High School, was no slouch during her senior year. She spent many of her after-school hours working to complete her Gold Award, the highest possible honor within the Girl Scouts of USA. The Gold Award is achieved by less than 5.4 percent of eligible Girl Scouts, often because of the time commitment and scope of the project: the Girl Scout is required to plan and implement a project that provides a sustainable, lasting benefit to the community, personally devoting a minimum of 80 hours.
Katie identified the Australian Yard space at the Santa Ana Zoo as a potential project site, and approached Zoo Educational Specialist Lauren Bergh about opening a plant propagation facility. She had previously worked with the zoo, creating a butterfly garden for her Girl Scout Silver Award.
This project would be on a much larger scale. A plant propagation facility would provide a lovely, peaceful garden, with the added benefits of an educational component about plant facts and conservation for young zoo visitors. Katie designed a brochure with puzzles and zoo facts as part of the facility education. In addition, the facility would provide useful materials for the zoo animals.
The project took more than six months, including research and design. More than 240 volunteer hours were expended, with Katie leading a team of up to nine volunteers on-site at any one time, assisting in cleaning the lot, building planters, painting, planting and more.
There were challenges along the way. Originally, it was planned that an existing tree stump be removed, but it was later designed into the space as a work table. Katie repurposed an old patio table she scrounged from the trash to use as a tabletop. She then had to design and build work benches to cover the big tree roots that remained above ground.
In all, 20 varieties of plants from three different plant families – California natives, Mediterranean and Rainforest – were incorporated into the design in six planters; three different nurseries were sourced. A whopping 4,620 pounds of mulch and 2.5 tons of gravel were used. Community sponsor RJ Noble Company representatives were surprised, “It’s not often we get an inquiry from a Girl Scout seeking literally tons of gravel for a volunteer project … (and we were) happy to be involved in a great community project like this.”
Costs for the project totaled more than $3,500. About $1,000 was donated by family members; Katie paid the balance of the costs from her own savings. The challenge and learning with a project of this size and scope, though, were priceless, said Katie: “I learned time management, communication, and flexibility. There is room for flexibility in a project like this, and I just rolled with it, worked when team members were available, made the design fit the space, and worked with available plants.”
New leader at La Purisima
Rosa Ramirez has been named principal of La Purisima Catholic School.
Ramirez has deep roots within the La Purisima community, her family has been a part of the church since the 1950s. Her grandfather, Roberto Soto, came to Orange as a migrant worker, and later brought his wife, Solidad, and family. Roberto was one of the parishioners who helped build the “old church,” the 450-seat structure erected in 1962. (The “new church” was dedicated in 2005, and seats 1,200.)
Ramirez is an alumnus of the school, as are her twins, who graduated this spring. She taught third grade on campus for 13 years, served on the administrative team, and was vice-principal during the prior school year.
The school incorporates spiritual growth, and emphasizes service for all students. A new three-year scholarship program, was recently unveiled for the 2017-18 school year. Sponsorships allow the school to offer 20 scholarships for new students.
Students will be welcomed back on Monday, Aug. 28. Information: www.lpcs.net.
El Modena cheer clinic planned
Students in kindergarten through eighth grade are invited to learn cheers, jumps, stunts and dances at the El Modena Cheerleading Mini Cheer and Pom Camp, to be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sept.16 at the high school campus. The ElMo Cheer and Pom Squad leaders will teach the Vanguard cheers and songs, plus provide pom-poms, a hair bow and camp-T-shirt for each participant.
The mini cheer and pom campers will perform for parents at 2 p.m., and receive free admission to the Sept. 22 varsity football game at Fred Kelly Stadium to cheer at halftime with the El Modena teams. The fee is $70 per camper, and $65 for each sibling when registering before Sept.4; pre-register online at tinyurl.com/ElModenaMiniCheerCamp. Snacks and lunch are included in the fee.
Taste of OLu
Save the date for the inaugural Taste of OLu, slated for 5 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 14 on the school campus. The event is a combined celebration of the 45th anniversary of the school, and the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation.
Casey Overton, Class of 2001, and former executive sous chef at the Montage-Laguna Beach, will be the featured culinary guest, and will be joined by additional food sponsors, brewmasters and wineries. Cooking demonstrations, live entertainment and pub games are planned. For sponsorship and ticket information, see weareolu.org/tasteofolu.
Send your photos and school news to Andrea Mills at OCSchoolNews@aol.com.