Learning to Lead

By Sara Hall | NB Indy

Many Newport Beach students will be taking the lead March 11.

Students from Newport Beach, and all over Orange County, will be participating in the annual Take the Lead conference March 11 at California State University, Fullerton.

The interactive leadership summit gives local students and educators the opportunity to share leadership strategies, enhance teamwork, and develop skills that strengthen volunteerism and civic participation.

There will be many interactive workshops, including Make a Difference 101 and How to Change the World in 15 Days.

“There’s something for every teen who wants to make a difference,” according to the conference’s website.

The keynote speaker will be Amy Purdy, co-founder of Adaptive Action Sports (AAS), is a non-profit organization that advocates action sports for individuals with physical disabilities. The Lummi Island, Wash., based organization helps organize skateboard, snowboard, wakeboard and motocross camps, events and programs for veterans, youth and adults with permanent physical disabilities.

Purdy’s speech will revolve around leadership and civic involvement.

Students will also participate in service projects. Todd Francis, an artist and designer for Element Skateboards, will lead students in a card-making project for the wounded veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Students are also encouraged to bring canned food to benefit Orange County Food Bank and gently used shoes to donate to Soles 4 Souls. Students can also bring unused or unwanted cell phones and phone accessories for Verizon Hopeline.

The conference is presented by Fesitval of Children Foundation and OneOC. It will be held from 7:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at CSUF.

The conference is open to students in grades 9 through 12 from public, private and alternative school settings. Students will receive one hour of service learning credit for attending.

Admission is $20 per student with early registration. Ticket price includes all workshops, main program, lunch and a gift bag. There is no charge for accompanying teachers to attend.

For details about the conference and workshops and to register, visit www.takethelead2011.org or for more information call Tanya Stephens at 714-438-3200.

From the Heart

Geoffrey Van Der Ahe, Isabel Morris, Zoe Stern and Luke Slutzky with a basket of blankets and booties they have collected for pediatric heart patients. All four youngsters have had heart surgeries themselves.Story and Photo by Sara Hall | NB Indy

Isabel Morris, 10, will be spreading the love this Valentine’s Day by giving donated blankets and socks to children recovering from heart surgery at the Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles.

Morris, a 4th grader at Newport Elementary, started a charity last year called Blankets and Booties, to collect blankets and socks from her classmates. Happy Heart Day is the day Morris delivers the items to the children in the cardiothoracic intensive care unit at the hospital.

It’s a place she knows all too well. Morris had three open-heart surgeries at CHLA before her third birthday.

Morris now wants to help out the children like she was helped when she was there.

Isabel has said that she wants the babies to feel like they are at home, said her mother, Jill Morris.

“I just want to help,” Isabel Morris said. “And help keep them warm.”

Isabel was born with truncus arteriosus, a congenital heart disease that left her with a deformed pulmonary artery. She will need surgery again by her teens or early 20s, Jill Morris said.

As a mother who has been there, she said, something as simple as a warm and brightly colored blanket can help.

Hospitals are very gray and dreary, and at the cardiothoracic ICU, the kids are hooked up to a lot of tubes and wires, Jill Morris said, so a bright blanket can help brighten the atmosphere. It’s also very difficult to keep the children warm since minimal clothing is allowed, she said. So a soft blanket is also an easy way to help warm them up.

“It’s so nice to have little socks on their feet and soft blankets,” Jill Morris said.

It also seems that seeing Isabel alive and well is an inspiration to the kids currently at CHLA, Jill Morris said. Just knowing she has been in their same situation and now she is out and doing well gives them a lift, she says.

“I want those families to see our children and how healthy they are… How resilient they are… They were in the same situation,” said Danielle Slutzky, mother of Luke, 7, who has also had heart surgery at CHLA and is bringing the charity to his school. “I’m just hoping that seeing our kids might put a smile on those parent’s faces, like, ‘There’s hope here.’”

It is such a scary moment in a parent’s life, Slutzky said, sitting in the hospital, worried and unsure about what might happen. Seeing an older, healthy child who went through the same situation helps, she said.

A lot of people may not realize how important a blanket or socks can be, said Danielle Von Der Ahe, mother of Geoffrey, 9, who has also had heart surgery at CHLA and is bringing the charity to his school this year.

The parents don’t want the hospital to be a scary place to their child, especially since they visit once or twice a year for checkups, Von Der Ahe said. So blankets and other items can help the babies and young patients feel a little more comfortable.

The idea for Blankets and Booties came after Isabel Morris wrote an essay for a school assignment about how she could give back to the community. She got her classmates involved and the project grew from there.

Friends, family members, community members, and neighbors all donated, Jill Morris said. In its premiere year, 76 blankets and 67 pairs of socks were collected by Isabel and her classmates.

“We’d like to turn it into a large charity and do it every year,” Jill Morris said.

This year, Isabel Morris wanted to include her entire school as well as other Orange County children she knew that have had heart surgery at the LA hospital. They were all on board to help out, Jill Morris said, and together, there are now four schools in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District that are involved.

“From one classroom (last year) to four schools this year,” Jill Morris said. “It’s amazing.”

The new students and schools involved this year are Luke Slutzky at Mariners Elementary, Geoffrey Von Der Ahe and Zoe Stern at Harbor Day Elementary, and Dylan Gallagher at St. Marks Preschool.

The kids have become close friends over the last decade since meeting at the hospital, as have their parents, Jill Morris said.

Most of the kids in the group will need to have surgery again because they will outgrow the valves or other artificial instruments now connected to their hearts, said Debbi Stern, mother of Zoe, 8. There are also other possibilities that they may need another surgery because of a leak or corrosion or a number of other potential problems, said Danielle Slutzky.

Once they reach adulthood and have stopped growing, they should not need to have any more surgeries, but nothing is every certain, all the parents agreed.

“Nothing is ever a definite, which is probably the most difficult part of this,” Jill Morris said.

The kids know what they are giving and why it’s important, Debbi Stern said. They are excited to give back, all the parents agreed. This is also a great way for them to learn to about charity and giving back to the community because it is something so personal to them.

The kids have collected approximately 70 blankets and 50 pairs of socks so far this tear. New blankets and socks are best, but any new baby items are welcome.

Donations can be dropped off in the baskets or heart boxes at the offices of any of the participating schools. Donations will be accepted until Feb. 11.

 “(It’s wonderful) how the community and schools have come together for such an amazing organization… In this crazy world, seeing these children doing such a wonderful and giving act is amazing in itself,” Jill Morris said. “These children are miracles that they are even alive and well.” 

In This Class, 'Ciao!' Doesn’t Mean It’s Lunchtime

Ryker Buys (left) and Tess Prichard, both 3, speak Italian with their teacher Letizia Colla. They are a part of the Italian Immersion preschool class at the Early Childhood Learning Center at Jewish Community Center that is taught entirely in Italian.Story and Photo by Sara Hall | NB Indy

Newport Beach children are saying grazie to their teachers at the Jewish Community Center for giving them another tool for learning.

Local kids ages 2 and 5 are learning a new language through an Italian immersion class at the center’s  Early Childhood Learning Center.

Research in brain science has shown that language acquisition during the early years can help children in a number of ways, said Peter Blair, director of the learning center

“We’ve used brain science in the development of our program,” Blair said. “What it’s found in young children is that when children are active and engaged in their learning, an active participant … it optimizes their development.”

The class is taught entirely in Italian by Letizia Colla and Rosalia Rionicci, both native Italians with experience in early childhood education. Colla, the lead teacher for the class, received her master‘s degree in education in Italy.

“There’s a uniqueness to this opportunity in that it doesn’t exist elsewhere (in the area),” Blair said. “As a parent myself, I look for opportunities to give my child every possibility that’s out there, (and this class is) a very unique opportunity for children to really open their minds.”

Learning another language at a young age can really open a child’s mind, Colla said. Children will be able to learn other languages easier as well as other subjects, she said.

“They’re like sponges,” Colla said.

Some of the parents speak Italian as well, Colla said, but the students whose parents don’t speak the language become just as fluent.

“We find that the children catch on very quickly,” Blair said.

Although the kids become fluent in Italian, like any language, maintenance is needed to so the skill isn’t lost, Blair said, not necessarily in an immersive setting but definitely continuing their exposure and use of the language.

This is the first year the center has offered the class, Blair said, but so far it has been very well received and has generated a lot of interest from local families. The class started with 10 families and has already grown to 13, he added.

“(So far) it’s been incredibly successful,” Blair said.

The program started after a group of families approached the center with an interest in an Italian immersion class. There was a lot of discussion between the parents and center officials before the class was implemented in September, Blair said.

Carolina Prichard, one of the parents who got the program started, said she has been speaking Italian to her daughter, Tess, since she was born. Tess, 3, is fluent in both Italian and English.

“I really wanted her to be bilingual,” said Prichard, who learned the language as an adult when she lived in Rome for three years after college.

Prichard said she wanted to pass on not only the language, but the love of the culture as well.

“And the language is such an important part of the culture,” Prichard said.

Prichard said they couldn’t find a program that fit their needs, so she approached various schools, including the JCC about creating a class. Prichard said all the families that joined the class have all heard about it through word of mouth.

“There was a good response from families that wanted to do it,” Prichard said.

And so the Italian Immersion class began.

Colla would recommend the class to interested parents because it’s a new and fun experience for children and a way for the child to have one more learning tool in their life.

“My class is like every other (preschool) class, but (taught) in Italian,” Colla said.

Colla uses common learning tools for young children that other preschool teachers use, like songs and games, the only difference is in Colla’s class everything is in Italian. The students sing along with Colla in Italian, the games are written in Italian and kids listen to instructions given in Italian. All of these tools help them absorb the language, Colla said.

“Music is a good way to learn a language… And it‘s fun,” Colla said. Especially Italian, she added, because singing is such a big part of Italian culture.

The current class is comprised of mixed-age students, Colla said. Just like in a regular, English-speaking class of mixed ages, the students are at different skill and learning levels and she has to personally adjust each lesson to each student. She may teach a younger student numbers one through 10, she said, and an older student 20 to 30. But even though the younger students may not be able to comprehend what is being taught to the older kids, they still hear and absorb it which makes it easier for them to learn when it’s their turn, she said.

The school year stretches from the day after Labor Day until the second Friday in June and there are still available spots for the upcoming year, Blair said.

Although the center does not offer other language immersion classes at this time, a Hebrew language class is offered, Blair said, which is called an enrichment class at the center.

There is a possibility of having other language immersion classes, Blair said.

“(We will) sit down at the end of the year and evaluate the program” Blair said. “We’ll look at our successes and look at what our challenges were.”

The class also fits in nicely with the school philosophy, Blair said,

The school’s teaching methods are inspired by the Reggio Emilia Approach, an educational philosophy started by Loris Malaguzzi and the parents of the villages around Reggio Emilia in Italy. The philosophy focuses on creating learning conditions that will help the child learn through exploration and discovery in a supportive environment and a strong sense of community.

It seemed like a natural fit, Blair said.

There has been a lot of study over the last decade or so about language acquisition, Blair said. The height of language acquisition  is between ages 18 and 36 months, he added, so much so that multiple languages can be taught simultaneously.  Children absorb language prior to 18 months, Blair said, but the peak is during that age range.

Language recall, being able to remember the language, comes a little bit later, Blair said. During these early years they are using perceptive, receptive and productive learning, meaning they are first able to hear  and process the information then being able to understand it and finally use the language.

“It keys (the child’s) brain into the processing of information more than anything else,” Blair said, which makes the learning process for any subject or idea easier. “It’s a key (developmental) skill.”

 Studies have shown that a second language helps children with math, music and other language skills, Prichard said.

“It’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it,” Prichard said. “It’s a free gift to your child, giving them a second language.”

CdM High Students Urge ‘Silence the Violence’

Corona del Mar High School student Bailey Burdett takes a moment to sign a pledge to “Silence the Violence” in the school’s quad on Tuesday.Story and Photo by Sara Hall | NB Indy

Local students took a stand against bullying this week.

Students from the Human Relations Council (HRC) at Corona del Mar High School (CdM HS) held events all week as part of their “Silence the Violence” campaign.

The goal is to “promote harmony and equity among students,” said CdM senior Amanda Bastien, one of the four presidents of HRC. “We’re students making a motion against bullying… (It’s a message for) students from students.”

The group chose this week in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and MLK Day on Monday.

 Tuesday the student-run group passed out bracelets and displayed posters around campus. The group used posters from www.thinkb4youspeak.com that listed commonly used slurs and three steps: How the slurs are used in an offensive manner; instructions to “knock it off”; and the website’s address.

The “ThinkB4YouSpeak” website focuses on how kids use slurs as insults or as a joke, thinking it’s funny, said HRC advisor Denise Weiland. But it can be offensive and hurtful, she added.

They also had a wall-sized poster that students signed and pledged to help silence the violence.

Human Relations Council members Bastien, Tara Armand, Nicole Danser, Kimberly Billett, all seniors, and Afaf Moustafa, a junior, all participated in Tuesday‘s event.

On Wednesday the group hosted a movie screening of “Bullied,” a Teaching Tolerance documentary made by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

On Thursday, they organized the student body into creating a giant peace sign in the volleyball sandpit.

The campaign is meant to try to “stop the toxic language,” Weiland said. “Get kids to think about how they treat others.”

The HRC is a student-led organization dedicated to serving as a catalyst for positive action and change by promoting unity across campus. Their goal is to create an interconnected campus that listens, accepts and respects the voices of people of all backgrounds. The students aim to increase awareness and compassion, and offer tools to prevent or stop verbal and physical bullying.

At the beginning of the school year, the HRC students hosted a Rachel’s Challenge Unity Assembly. Rachel’s Challenge is a national program developed in memory of Rachel Scott, one of the Columbine High School shootings. The goal of the program is to start a chain reaction within schools of kindness and compassion.

The HRC also conducted a school wide survey about bullying, and the results showed that 70 percent of CdM students feel there is a verbal bullying problem on campus.

The group will also participate in a Day of Silence event in April. That will include hundreds of thousands of students nationwide taking a vow of silence to bring attention to anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) name-calling, bullying and harassment in their schools.

The CdM group will observe a moment of silence and then gather in the quad area and scream, said Bastien.

“It’s kind of the point of our whole campaign,” said Bastien, “to speak for those who can’t, or won’t.”

The Human Relations Council began several years ago when some students wanted to promote tolerance and have an organization where students could share stories and feelings, said Weiland, who has been at CdM school for 10 years.

Every year, the group heads to the mountains for a retreat to talk about issues on campus and brainstorm for the year’s campaign.

“(We discuss) what problems we see on campus,” said Bastien.

The main issue at CdM has been cliques and stereotypes, said Weiland.

Armand said she became more aware of the cliques as a new student after she transferred to CdM from Riverside.

“I saw a problem,” Armand said.

Each year the group chooses a different issue to address, Weiland said. Last year it was stereotypes, this year bullying.

“(The HRC students) try to come up with things throughout the year that are relevant to what’s going on campus,” Weiland said.

Bullying was chosen not only because of its relevance to the CdM campus, as their survey showed, but because of the stories about the kids nationwide who have committed suicide recently because of bullying, Weiland said.

“We want to prevent suicide or that feeling that no one cares about them,“ Weiland said.

The HRC holds other events throughout the year, involving speakers, assemblies and demonstrations or rallies.

There are about 30 students in HRC and all have to apply to be in the group.

“The beauty of this group is a really good mix of kids,” said Weiland. “But they have one thing in common and that’s how they treat each other on campus.”

The group also works with younger kids to try and get them involved in the programs or events the HRC holds. The group strives to show students how to be kind and respectful of each other, said Weiland.

“It’s about how you treat people,” Weiland said. “Anyone can do it and anyone can feel good about it.”

Kids Shine in Musical Theater Program

Alexa Zachary,15, gets fitted for one of her outfits by production assistant Alex Camastro, 18, for her role as Truly Scrumptious in MTA's upcoming production of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.”

IndyTV: Behind the Scenes at the Musical Theatre Academy, a slideshow with audio.

Story and Photos by Sara Hall | NB Indy

They rehearse several times a week for about four months. They put on full scale productions with state of the art lighting, sound and stages. Their performances have had audiences laughing, crying and singing along for 26 years.

And they’re all younger than 18.

The Musical Theatre Academy of Orange County, based out of Newport Beach, has been teaching children ages 4 to 18 how to dance, sing and act since 1984.

“Some kids come through that door… Very scared and shy,” said director of support services at MTA Ruth Gottuso. “I watch them grow from production to production. I watch them blossom.”

The young performers agree that they grow and gain confidence.

“It takes the stage fright out of life,” said Zach Relock, 15, a first year MTA student.

The kids are grouped into two age brackets, 7 to 12 and 12 to 18 (classes are available for younger kids). They put on two shows in winter and two in spring, one per age group per season.

“It’s amazing what they create in a relatively short period of time,” said Dr. Michael Lowenstein, parent of one of the performers. “The productions are phenomenal.”

For the 2010-2011 year, the younger kids are performing Disney’s My Son Pinocchio, Geppetto’s Musical Tale and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang for the older kids. Geppetto’s tale will be live on stage this weekend while Chitty will be the next two weekends.

Part of the magic of MTA is that every child has the opportunities to improve themselves, said Gottuso, and they each get their moment to shine.

Jimmy Hippenstiel, artistic director of MTA, shows one student how a dance move is done during a recent rehearsal.“We pride ourselves on the fact that (with MTA) every child deserves to shine,” said artistic director Jimmy Hippenstiel.

Acceptance into MTA is not audition based, and although auditions are held for the lead roles, every student has a vital role, he said.

Hippenstiel and the rest of the staff also stress how important the ensemble is to the success of the entire show.

“Every person is just as important (as the next) on that stage,” said Hippenstiel, who made a career out of being an ensemble dancer.

“We all want each other to do well,” said Alex Camastro, 18, a recent graduate of the academy and now a volunteer production assistant. “The whole show depends on all of us. You’re important no matter what part you have.”

It’s not a typical children’s theater, Hippenstiel said, because the staff treats the performers like adults and expects them to act professionally. People are often surprised of the professionalism of the kids and the shows, he said.

“We’re kind of tough on a staff level,” Hippenstiel said, “but I think we get respect from the kids that know us really well because they know that we really do love them and we really want the best for them.”

The staff make the experience a lot more fun, said Paige Mills, 12, and they teach them a lot.

“They can be fun and nice but we still get everything done,” Mills said.

The talent and experience of the staff at MTA make it unique compared to other programs, said Lowenstein.

Adam Levy, 16, talks with other MTA students during their rehearsal of “My Son Pinocchio, Geppetto’s Musical Tale.”“If you look at all our directors resumes… It’s incredible,” said Adam Levy, 16, who plays Geppetto. Older kids sometimes perform in the younger kids’ show when a particular character might benefit from the experience an older student can bring.

Not only do they learn how to succeed in the musical theater industry, Hippenstiel said, they learn life skills.

“They instill professional skills that you can take with you anywhere in life,” production assistant and recent MTA graduate Amy Trgovac, 19.

Parents, staff and volunteers agree, the students become more responsible, confident, outgoing, professional and overall better adjusted after becoming involved with the academy. They are also taught how to work as a team to achieve success for the entire show, Hippenstiel said.

Performing has also helped many of the kids overcome their fears.

 Many of the students agreed that performing gives them the courage to try new things and to be confident while in front of a crowd.

“When I started doing musical theater I wasn’t exactly the type of person that would get up on a stage,” said Relock, who has been performing for about three years. “But ever since I started doing musical theater it has changed my perspective on what that really is, what being in front of people really is, it’s actually such a blessing to be able to share your gifts with other people.”

Although the students are happy and the admission numbers are strong, the financial situation at MTA could use some help. Hippenstiel, Gottuso, MTA executive director Michele Trgovac and acting class instructor and production assistant director Deborah Mathews all agree their number one wish for MTA would be financial stability.

“We need outside support…from someone who truly believes in the arts and they can see what we’re doing and they believe in what we’re doing,” said Hippenstiel.

Although the academy is tuition-based, that only covers one-third of the operating budget, said Michele Trgovac. The other two-thirds are dependent on donations.

The last few years many of their sources of funding have dwindled, she said. Many non-profit organizations are struggling during these hard economic times, said parent Karen Nagy.

Nagy and fellow MTA parent Lisa Henke both said they wish more people in the community knew about the organization and how it contributes to the community.

“MTA has been here for 26 years and we would really hate to see it go under,” Michele Trgovac said. “But we do need the funding and unless we get the funding, it’s a strong possibility.”

The academy was founded by Margie King in 1984. It started as children’s choral group, the Rainbow Singers, explained Gottuso. They were part of the for-profit Yamaha Music Education Center in Irvine. 

By the time the Rainbow Singers had evolved into a full-scale musical theater production group, Yamaha Corporation sold the franchise and left the Rainbow Singers with no financial support. Parents of the young singers approached King and urged her to keep the group together. King was able to secure non-profit 501(c)(3) status and renamed the organization the Musical Theatre Academy of Orange County.

Gottuso met King while she was working at Costa Mesa High School and King came in looking to use their school’s auditorium space.

“She and I connected really well,” Gottuso said.

After Gottuso retired, King invited her to help out in the office at MTA and she’s been there ever since.

“I’ve watched it grow,” Gottuso said. “To look back at where we were and where we are today… It’s incredible.”

Hippenstiel came on as a choreographer in 2000 and within a few years brought on Mathews, who was in children’s theater with him when they were kids. Production vocal directors Holly Bisaha and Sharon Frazier also soon joined.

Michele Trgovac joined the staff approximately 10 years ago when her daughter Amy wanted to start doing musical theater. They saw the academy in the phone book and decided to see one of their shows.

“We instantly fell in love with what we saw,” Michele Trgovac said.

Both mother and daughter got more and more involved as time went on.

Michele Trgovac soon took over the business side of the organization. She started adding more classes so the students would have more options. The program started to grow and enrollment was increasing, she said.

Now, this winter’s younger group has one of the largest casts ever, with 52 kids total.

Kids can still get in even if they don’t have experience, said Nagy, everyone’s welcome.

“Regardless of talent level there’s a place for everybody and they’ll teach them (the child) to optimize whatever talents they have, whether its dancing, singing, acting,” said Lowenstein, whose daughter, Natalie, has been involved with MTA for five years. “It’s just a great place to (for kids to) participate and fit in. It’s a very worthwhile  program… And it keeps them out of trouble.”

Jake Rome, 9, Eby Calvo, 12, Colleen Moore, 11, Megan Petrosky, 10, Trixie Vindigni, 9, Cristian Hernandez, 10, Carly Robinson , 10, Taylor Webb, 11, Leila Marshall, 9, Anysa Wilson, 10, Paige Mills, 12, Amanda Riedl, 10, Ali Gutierrez , 10, and Chloe Goble, 12, are just a small group of the kids in the production for the 7 to 12 age bracket.

They all agreed they don’t mind being in such a big group because they are all friends, kind of like an extended family, they said.

And all 52 of them love to sing, dance and act.

“The best part of performing is being able to express yourself and sing and dance and dress up as different characters and have fun with friends,” Goble said.

“(I love) being on stage and knowing there’s a huge audience watching you,” said Webb.

“The audience, how they react makes the show,“ Relock said. “Having the people feel what the show is trying to make them feel. Having them laugh, have them cry, have them cheer… That’s what we want.”

Relock, Alexa Zachary,15, Noah Clements, 13, Sara McFarland, 15, Mackenzie Gaddis,14, Jonathan Haidl, 14, Austin Kendrick, 14, Aaron Griffin, 14, Andrew Ashby, 13, and Brayden Taylor, 14, are just some of the cast members in the older group.

“When I first walked in I felt welcomed,” said Ashby, who just joined . “(I was) saying (to myself) I belong (here) I just want to do this for the rest of my life.”

Others agreed with Ashby that the warm welcome and accepting environment is how people are treated at MTA.

“We really became a family…In theater you form this bond that’s indescribable because you work so closely with them,” said Amy Trgovac. “You give your heart to them when you’re on stage.”

“It’s a really indescribable process,” Amy Trgovac said. “I can’t find the words to define MTA and how important it is.”

• For tickets call 714-793-1150. More information about showtimes or tickets can be found at www.rosecentertheater.com
• To donate, find out about showtimes, upcoming productions or to learn more about the Musical Theatre Academy of Orange County visit www.mtaoc.org or call 949-955-3737.