OCEANSIDE - New Venture Christian School, 4000 Mystra Way, will hold its annual Christmas Bazaar from 4 to 8 p.m. Dec. 1. For more information, call (760) 444-9800.

SBT announces reading workshop

OCEANSIDE - The School of Business and Technology, 320 N. Horne St., will hold a free educational workshop from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Dec. 12 for parents and students designed to help teens develop a love of reading. The school is a free public high school campus specializing in small class sizes and college preparatory classes and is open to all North County students. For more information about the workshop and school, call (760) 231-1512.

Cathedral students are merit semifinalists

CARMEL VALLEY - Two students from Cathedral Catholic High School recently were named semifinalists in the 52nd annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Brittany N. Sprigg and Edward Alfred, seniors at Cathedral, were two of more than 1.4 million students from nearly 21,000 high schools throughout the nation to enter the competition.

National Merit Scholarship semifinalists represent less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors, and they are among the highest scoring entrants in each state.

To become a Merit Scholar, a semi-finalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by the school principal and earn PSAT scores that confirm the student's test performance. A detailed application must be submitted by the student which includes a descriptive essay and information about the finalist's participation and leadership in school and in community activities. Merit Scholar finalists will be announced in February.

Holiday Boutique planned

CARLSBAD - The annual Holiday Boutique, sponsored by the Aviara Oaks Elementary School PTA, will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Nov. 30 in the gymnasium of the school, 6900 Ambrosia Lane.

A high-end boutique will offer one-of-a-kind gifts. Other items will include designer jeans, purses, other apparel, unique holiday crafts and gifts. For information about becoming a vendor at the event, log on to www.aviaraoakselementary.com/holiday%20boutique.htm.

Bishop's School plans Christmas Tea

LA JOLLA - The Bishop's School will hold its 17th annual Christmas Tea from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Dec. 1 in the Ellen Browing Scripps Hall.

Traditional tea sandwiches and sweets will be served as a live nativity procession recreates the Christmas story. The Bishop's Singers, directed by Louise Carmon, will perform Christmas selections, accompanied by pianist Jared Jacobson. Tickets, to be sold in advance only, are $25 for adults, $15 for students. Call (858) 459-4021.

Vista resident earns academic honor

Sedona Chin recently was named to the Head's List when The White Mountain School announced its list of academic honors for the 2006-07 Term I. She is the daughter of Andrea Chinn-Parillo of Vista.

White Mountain is an independent preparatory school for grades nine through 12 that strives to prepare young people for rigorous college studies and life beyond formal academics with discussion-based classes.

Lake students take part in art festival

OCEANSIDE - Students at Lake Elementary School, a Vista Unified School District campus in Oceanside, took part in the Vista Unified School District's recent Festival of the Arts on the streets of downtown Vista.

With nearly 200 pieces of artwork displayed from the school, nearly every grade level was represented. Also on display were five student entries in the national PTA Reflections art contest. The Lake Show Choir also took part in the festival, performing in front of a large crowd in front of the Krikorian Theatres.

Carlsbad residents enter Dartmouth

Casey Hingtgen and Megan MacGregor of Carlsbad recently enrolled at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.J. Casey is the son of David and Sara Hingtgen, and Megan is the daughter of James and Gina MacGregor. Founded in 1769, Dartmouth is the ninth-oldest college in the country.

Bishop's students earn AP honors

The College Board recently named 166 Bishop's Upper School students Advanced Placement Scholars in recognition of their exceptional achievement on the college-level Advanced Placement Examinations taken in May. The College Board recognizes several levels of achievement based on the number of yearlong courses and exams or their equivalent semester-long courses and exams.

The top designation of National Advanced Placement Scholar was granted to 21 Bishop's graduates: 20 members of the class of 2006 and one member of the class of 2007.

Bishop's National Advanced Placement Scholars are: Nikhil Balaraman, Harvard University; Nicole Ballon-Landa, Bishop's junior; John Bestoso, Harvard University; Quincy Bock, Harvard University; Jason Chung, UC Berkeley; Elizabeth Deponte, Boston College; Maria Fernandez, Stanford University; Cornelia Gordon, Centre College; Mark Guiducci, Princeton University; Alicia Hanson, UC Los Angeles; Huntington Hardisty, Duke University; Susanah Hoehn, Dartmouth College; John Lazar, Yale University; Alexander Lazarides, Duke University; Alexander Myers, Amherst College; Russell Nickel, Stanford University; Kaitlin Richardson, USC; Daniel Song, UC San Diego; Whitney Sundby, Stanford University; James Sundseth-Kelvin USC; and Paul Treadgold, Yale University.

The National AP Scholar Award is granted to students who receive grades of four or higher on eight or more full-year AP Examinations. Fewer than one out of every 1,000 AP candidates receives a National AP Scholar Award.

Heritage Charter students are finalists

ESCONDIDO - Students from Heritage Charter School recently were chosen as finalists in the Papa John's Heroes contest. They are: Ariel Rumbawa, Holly Hull, Jacob Simpson, Steven Coe, Marshall Fischer, Thomas Cummings, Guadalupe Flores, Scott Dawson, Emily Paarman, and Kaelynn Parker. The students and three guests each were treated by Papa John's Pizza to a day at Legoland.

The school, which serves kindergarten through 12th-graders, recently announced nine students of the month. One child from each grade was chosen for best embodying the Core Virtues of Self-Control and Self-Discipline. Honorees were Matthew Grabbe, Miranda Perez, Jayme Littlejohn, Ben Baar, Elijah Blanco, Sienna Baldwin, Stephanie Sams, Joshua Stewart and Micah Bobczynski.

Local residents enroll at Syracuse

NORTH COUNTY -Joseph Coulter of Rancho Penasquitos and Stephen Williamson II of Poway recently enrolled for the 2006-07 academic year at Syracuse University in Syracuse, N.Y. Both are majoring in human services and health professions.

Host families needed

ESCONDIDO - Orange Glen and San Pasqual high schools will welcome Australian exchange students and chaperones for 10 days in January.

Families are needed to host students while they are in Escondido. Host families must have students who attend either high school. They also must have a bed for the exchange students (rooms can be shared) and an adult must be at home when exchange students are in the homes. On school days, the exchange students will go to school with students in the family and either shadow them or go on a prescheduled tour with their group. Evenings and weekends are the time for host families to enjoy the company of their guests and help them explore the area.

For more information, contact parent volunteer Tracey Locher at (760) 233-2801. Families must be registered by Nov. 30.

Holiday Home Tour to benefit students

4S RANCH - A Holiday Home Tour benefitting Oak Valley Middle School will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. Dec. 4.

The tour will feature seven homes in the 4S Ranch area festively decorated for the holidays. Oak Valley students will play holiday music on violin or piano at each of the homes along the tour.

Tickets cost $20 each and include a map to the homes, all of which are off Camino del Norte within a one- to two-mile radius of each other.

For more information, call Kris Meyers at (858) 243-7781.

SPHS auction-dinner seeks sponsors

ESCONDIDO - The San Pasqual High School Athletic Booster Club is collecting donations for the upcoming Eagle All-Star Auction Dinner on March 24.

The group is seeking donations of services or goods to raise funds to support all of the athletic teams at the school. Sponsors also are needed to help underwrite the event.

All proceeds will go to support the athletic teams at San Pasqual. For more information, call Rita Bowcock (760) 432-8865.

ECHS holds golf tourney

ESCONDIDO - Escondido Charter High School held its fifth annual American Heritage Foundation Golf Tournament Oct. 26 at the Maderas Golf Course in Poway to benefit the school's athletic and extracurricular programs.

Participants enjoyed an afternoon of golf followed by a dinner, silent auction and awards ceremony.

The school thanks participants and sponsors and congratulates winners: Mike Megna, Dan Hutchins, Dennis Grant and Dave Heilinger, Best Scoring Foursome; Ken Cooper, Closest to the Pin; Ron Olsson, Longest Drive; and Gerry Corvino, Putting Contest.

Christmas Barnfest planned

ESCONDIDO - The Escondido High School Ag Boosters will hold a Christmas Barnfest from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 2 on the farm of the school, 1535 N. Broadway.

Craft and second-hand items will be sold and a barbecue lunch is planned. Craft booths are $20 each. All proceeds will support the school's Agriculture Department.

To donate items or rent a booth, call Kelly or Julie Lyon at (760) 747-0304 or e-mail kett55@aol.com.

Teacher of the Year salute to be rebroadcast

NORTH COUNTY - "Cox Presents: A Salute for Teachers," which was originally broadcast on Oct. 7, will air again at 5 p.m. Dec. 2 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 23 on Channel 4.

The rebroadcast will be shown in high definition on Channel 704. Judy Leff of Paul Ecke Central School in the Encinitas Union School District was one of four county Teachers of the Year chosen from a field of 49 nominees from local school districts.

The four recipients are now vying for the coveted California Teacher of the Year award.