Mustang Marketing President Dianne McKay has been named Educational Leader of the Year by Ventura County Leadership Academy. McKay is currently serving in her third term as an elected trustee for the Ventura County Community College District (VCCCD).
National School Counseling and Guidance Week, sponsored by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), was celebrated from Feb. 1-5 at the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District.
This week focused public attention on the unique contributions of school counselors and guidance & support professionals within U.S. school systems and highlights the tremendous impact they can have in helping students achieve success and plan for a career.
Santa Maria High School officials this month will increase the of number Saints applying for financial aid by helping them complete either the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or California Dream Act Application (CADA), with a goal of 100 percent participation.
The three branches of the Southeast Ventura County YMCA are taking early registrations for their summer day camps. Camps are from June 14 through August 13 at the Conejo Valley YMCA and Yarrow Family YMCA and from June 7 through August 6 at the Simi Valley Family YMCA. Discounted pricing will be in effect until April 1.
Campers can attend full time (five days a week) or part time (three days a week) for all nine weeks or selected weeks. At Simi Valley YMCA, summer camp is offered to K-5th graders and teen camp (Leadership-In-Training) is offered to 6th – 8th graders. At Yarrow Family YMCA and Conejo Valley YMCA, summer camp is offered to TK -5th graders and teen camp is offered to 5th – 8th graders.
We’re swinging into this weekend with huge smiles on our faces because we know you’re going to love the Museum’s newest virtual exhibit! Newbury Park artist Anette Power’s Silver Linings: Journey of Light is now online. Power’s exhibit is over two years in the making, and is a love letter to living even in the midst of great change and challenges.
Click here to enjoy the online exhibit. All of the artworks in the exhibit are available for purchase. Silver Linings will also be on view at the Santa Paula Art Museum when Ventura County museums are able to reopen to the public.*
In observance of Black History Month, Moorpark, Oxnard and Ventura colleges are presenting a wide range of free virtual events for students and the community. The events are open to students districtwide.
Shuji Nakamura has received the 2021 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering for his development of LED lighting.
The COVID-19 vaccine dashboard was launched last Friday to keep the community informed on the progress of administering COVID-19 vaccines. The dashboard is updated Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The data shows that in very simple terms “when we get it, we give it”. We want you to receive the vaccine as soon as possible. When we receive the vaccines, we open appointments and administer them.
On Jan. 28, 2020, Optimal (formerly the SR Education Group) released “GradReports,” comparing the salaries of over 4.6 million college graduates to determine Salary Scores for more than 885 college degrees. Scores were then used to rank the best colleges in the U.S. for 2021 at the associate, bachelor’s, and master’s degree levels. Santa Barbara City College is pleased to announce that it ranked No. 11 in the category of “Best Associate Degrees.”
The COVID-19 vaccine dashboard was launched on Friday to keep the community informed on the progress of administering COVID-19 vaccines. The dashboard is updated Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The data shows that in very simple terms “when we get it, we give it”. We want you to receive the vaccine as soon as possible. When we receive the vaccines, we open appointments and administer them.
A second COVID-19 mutation has been detected in Ventura County. An Oxnard sewage study result revealed the presence of a second mutation in a small amount of the COVID virus present in the sample. Oxnard has been testing samples of its wastewater on a weekly basis for a number of weeks. The new mutation was identified as N501Y. It is present in both the United Kingdom and South African variants.
The County of Ventura is in Phase 1A. This phase includes those in the health care sector and 75 and older.
The State provides vaccines to the County on a weekly basis. The supply is not enough for the amount of people needing vaccines. The County is advocating for more vaccines and is prepared to administer once the shipment arrives.
Community members who are eligible to be vaccinated may
1) Register online www.venturacountyrecovers.org/vaccine-information/portal/.
2) Those with limited computer/internet access may call the phone registration line at 805-477-7161. The phone line is open Monday through Friday 8:30-5:00.
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Santa Barbara City College has been named among the top 10 best community colleges in the U.S. — in addition to receiving top rankings for its medical coding and photography programs — by Intelligent.com for 2021. Intelligent.com’s comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 2,277 accredited colleges and universities. Each program is evaluated based on curriculum quality, faculty, graduation rate, reputation and post-graduate employment.
The County of Ventura is in Phase 1A which includes those in the health care sector and those who are 75 and older. Vaccines are for those that live or work in Ventura County.
The County receives vaccines from the State once a week. Once vaccines are received the County creates appointments for those vaccines to be distributed.
Community members who are eligible to be vaccinated may register online on Mondays at the following link:
www.venturacountyrecovers.org/vaccine-information/portal/.
A virtual micro-internship program launched at CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) during the first months of the pandemic has proved to be so successful, it is continuing through the spring semester with even more participants.
The micro-internships, which are hands-on learning projects with pay, are offered through the Martin V. Smith School of Business & Economics’ (MVS) Entrepreneurship & Small Business Institute (ESBI) with Associate Professor of Marketing Ekin Pehlivan, Ph.D. and Assistant Professor of Management Cynthia Sherman, Ph.D., Director of the ESBI.
Medical and microbiology experts discuss the science behind the current COVID-19 vaccines.
Jonesin’ for a little OC student jammin’? Hungry for some home-grown creative talent? We know how you feel! And that’s why we’re bringing back this encore presentation of the Visual and Performing Arts Student Showcase.
Relive the pre-pandemic glory days with some all-star student work in Communication Studies, Music, Art, Film, and Dance! And stick around for a conversation with two stars of the show, Adan Nevarez and Jullianne De La Cruz. Find out how these OC students have kept heart and soul together during one of the most challenging years ever!
The California Strawberry Festival, which had been set for May 15 and 16 at Strawberry Meadows of College Park in Oxnard, is officially cancelled and will not be rescheduled for 2021 because of the continuing public health crisis due to COVID-19.
“We know that this will come as an enormous disappointment, not only to the thousands of guests we welcome every year, but also to the sponsors, exhibitors, performers, vendors and volunteers who help make the Festival what it is,” says Dean Kato, Chairman of the California Strawberry Festival.
Ventura County we want you to have access to vaccines as soon as possible! We receive vaccines each week from the state and open appointments for the vaccines we are provided. We are not given enough supply to vaccinate all community members at one time. We are advocating for more vaccines and we have the infrastructure to get vaccines in arms as quickly as possible once they are received.
We understand headlines in other places say 65 and older now. Unfortunately, in those places many people in that age range cannot get vaccinated yet because Counties throughout the State are in the same position of not having enough vaccines. The supply issue impacts the ability to expand the vaccine to more sectors at this time.
The Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation (Cabrillo EDC) recently recognized 14 graduating high school seniors and college students for their academic achievements and pursuits with Rodney Fernandez Leadership Fund (RFLF) Scholarships.
The RFLF was created in 2011 and honors the legacy of Rodney Fernandez, Cabrillo EDC’s founder and Executive Director for 30 years (1981–2011). The scholarship continues Fernandez’s legacy of community building by cultivating the leadership of residents to attain their goals and empower themselves to take action to improve the quality of life in their communities.
“This scholarship opened up the doors for me to do what I love,” said Alexa Gruener, student recipient of the RFLF Scholarship. “As a freshman in college, this scholarship has helped me pay my tuition for both semesters, allowing me to take on fewer work hours and thus seek out research and internship opportunities. Currently, I am volunteering at Westminster Free Clinic and working for the Boston University Medical School’s MANOS project, which does research on chronic kidney diseases in field workers from Central America.”
As of 1/19/21 31,553 individuals have been vaccinated in Ventura County. We have received 44,625 first dose vaccines. All appointments are filled this week.
More appointments will be opened next week. A notice will be sent when they open up.
We have to wait each week on the amount of vaccines provided to the County from the State and then more appointments can be made. All vaccines coming in are going out to the people in Phase 1A and 75 and older. We have more eligible people wanting the vaccine than vaccines available.
It will take months to vaccinate all people. Vaccine supply is the biggest barrier to making this effort move more quickly. This is impacting Counties throughout the State.
Once appointments are opened you can register on the Ventura County Recovers website at the following link:
COVID-19 Vaccine appointments are full at this time. There are more community members wanting vaccines than appointments available this week because of the amount of vaccines we have available. More appointments will be added as more vaccines become available. The County receives vaccines from the state on a weekly basis. More vaccine distribution sites are launching but the County still needs more vaccines to add more appointments. We understand this is frustrating. We want to vaccinate the entire community as quickly as possible. We continue to expand infrastructure for distribution which will help move things forward once we receive more vaccines.
The Ventura College Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides resources and financial support to Ventura College students and to school programs, distributed $824,548 in financial support during the 2019-2020 academic year–$699,971 in scholarships, $84,577 in VC Promise tuition assistance and $40,000 in textbook support. The annual scholarship distribution was the largest in the foundation’s history and was distributed during the COVID-19 pandemic in April.
Beginning in Spring of 2021, CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) will require undergraduate students to take at least one 3-unit ethnic studies class. The CSU Chancellor’s Office made the determination that all 23 campuses will require ethnic studies for lower division undergraduates following the passage of AB 1460 in the state legislature.
A study conducted by three students and two faculty members in 2019 suggests this requirement may help students stay in school and graduate, regardless of their ethnicity.
“I think it’s cool that our little math project that we worked on one summer may make such a difference,” said 2020 Mathematics alumnus Avery Brunk, who is now working on her master’s degree in statistics at CSU Fullerton. “It seems to say ‘You should take more ethnic studies!’”
SBCC was pleased to work with the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department in making the Wake Campus on Turnpike Road available for administering the first dose of the Moderna Coronavirus vaccine to county firefighters. See the KEYT-TV story…
For more information about the COVID-10 vaccine, visit the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department.
CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) teacher candidates planning to teach middle or high school math or science can apply for a new $8,000 residency grant funded through the CSU-wide Math and Science Teacher Initiative (MSTI).
Assistant Professor of Education Kara Naidoo, Ph.D. wrote the grant, which is called the Math and Science Teacher Initiative (MSTI) STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) Challenge. The MSTI is an effort by the CSU Chancellor’s Office to increase the number of credentialed and highly-qualified mathematics and science teachers in middle and high schools.
The Southeast Ventura County YMCA and the Columbia Memorial Space Center’s second unit of their STEM Club for local middle schoolers begins January 19 online. The session focuses on solar chemistry and runs through March 26.
Middle schoolers meet online Tuesday through Thursday from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Ventura College is offering a new two-year Veterinary Technology Program culminating in an Associate of Science degree. Classes begin spring 2021 at Ventura College’s East Campus in Santa Paula.
After successfully completing the first-year curriculum, students will receive a Certificate of Achievement in Veterinary Assistant, which will enable students to seek entry level employment in the field of veterinary technology while completing the Associate of Science degree requirements.
It’s been another year like no other, but one marked with so much success because of strong partnerships, faithful support and visionary investments. Thank you for the part you have played in these stories, every one only possible because of the advocacy, the goodwill and the philanthropic support of people like you.
Thank you for continuing to build so much more than housing with us!
Shout out to our special healthcare heroes who continue to serve very sick community members 24/7! We appreciate their dedicated service.
UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Puzzles & Ping-Pong with Will Shortz on Thursday, Jan. 28 and 5 p.m. Pacific. The world’s only academically accredited puzzle master, Shortz has been crossword editor of The New York Times since 1993, where he’s built a level of culture and solving skill unrivaled in the nation. Also an avid table tennis player, Shortz is the owner and director of the largest table tennis facility in the U.S. For A&L puzzle hounds and table tennis aficionados, he’ll talk about the relationship between the two pursuits and answer your puzzle-related puzzlements, and he’ll do it all from the tables of his famed Westchester Table Tennis Center. This presentation will be followed by an audience Q&A.
The Channel Islands Maritime Museum is proud to welcome Keri Dearborn and Mike Watling of Friends of the Island Fox to its 2021 Speaker Series on Wednesday, February 17th, starting 5:30 pm. Due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, this will be an on-line event on the Museum’s website at www.cimmvc.org.
Students for Eco-Education & Agriculture (SEEAG) is holding a live online auction March 25 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. to raise money for a Farm Fresh Mobile Classroom van. An online silent auction will take place March 23 to March 25.
Items to be auctioned include farm-to-table dinners, golf outings, restaurant and winery gift cards, bed and breakfast stays and gift baskets.
Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara proudly invites the Santa Barbara community to its annual fundraiser, StrongHER Together: Finding Strength through Sport, streaming live on Friday, April 16th, from 5:30 to 6:30 pm. Registration for this family-friendly event is free and open to the public.
StrongHER Together will celebrate the unique power sports possess to help girls and teens discover their strengths and recognize their potential to be leaders of tomorrow. A recent global study of senior female business executives found that 94% of women C-suite executives played sports at one point in their lives.
The Oxnard Performing Arts Center Corporation (OPAC) invites you to an evening under the stars, celebrating National Poetry Month (April). The event is free and open to the public for ages 13 years and up. Join us on Sunday, April 18 from 6 PM to 8 PM for an Open Mic Night showcasing our talented community.
OPAC is pleased to announce that Ventura County’s 2021 Youth Poet Laureate, Angelina Leanos, will be taking the stage alongside Genesis Perez, the 2020 Youth Poet Laureate. The event is to be hosted by musician and all-around-funny-guy, Christopher Hall. Members of the public are invited to sign up to share the stage for this first OPAC Open Mic Night where all COVID-19 Safety Guidelines and protocols will be followed
Using active imaginations and active bodies, kids will dive into a world where anything is possible! Physical theatre blends comedy, improvisation, clowning, and acting into a one of a kind learning experience that engages students verbally, physically, visually, and intellectually. Ages 7-11 FREE
Santa Maria High School students and faculty will take entertainment to new heights during the Saints Virtual Talent Show at 4 p.m. April 30.
The submission period for two-to-three minute videos began today and wraps up April 15. The videos can be uploaded at WWW. BIT.LY/TALENTSMHS and the names/ student identification should be directed to mgoldin@smjuhsd.org.
