Rainey Coffin

Lewis and Clark High School Tiger Drama is staging “In the Heights” beginning next Thursday in LC’s auditorium. Shows continue March 1-2 and March 7-9. All performances are at 7 p.m. The musical is about life in a tight-knit community in Washington Heights, where the coffee is sweet and the windows are always open. The town is on the brink of change and full of hopes and dreams. The community shares tradition, is family-focused and full of self-discovery.

Parents interested in enrolling their children in Spokane Public Schools’ Montessori or APPLE (Alternative Parent Participation Learning Experience) programs will have an opportunity to attend an orientation meeting beginning Tuesday. Parents are required to attend an orientation meeting for the program they would like their child to participate in. The Montessori program observes and supports the natural development of children. The curriculum, designed to enhance the child’s learning and life experience beyond the conventional classroom, uses a unique set of procedures and materials. The program is offered at Jefferson and Balboa elementary schools.

Northwest Christian Schools, 5104 E. Bernhill Road, will hold its annual Parent Preview Night next Thursday at 6:30 p.m. The school has programs for students from preschool through high school. During the preview night, parents will learn about the school’s Bible-integrated teaching; Advanced Placement courses; fine arts programs, including choir, band, strings, theater and art; the athletic programs; the supplemental learning lab; extended care center; available homeschool programs; and bus routes throughout the Spokane area.

The St. George’s School’s eighth-graders will perform William Shakespeare’s comedy “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” today at 7 p.m. and Friday at 1 p.m. in the school’s Founders Theater. The production is an annual tradition for the eighth-grade class. The cast includes Brett Ford as Oberon, King of Fairies; Alyssa Fery as Titania, Queen of Fairies; Samuel Niven and Ury Schlotfeldt as Oberon’s Guards; Hunter Hyde as Puck; Hailey Higashi as the Woodland Fairy; Liv Kindl as Cobweb; Paris Reinhardt as Peaseblossom; Katherine Mary Meyer as Moth; Cecilia Bergquist as Mustardseed; and Alison Day, Alyson Galow, Madison Ward and Shelby Wolfe as the Fairy Court.

Spokane Public Schools officials are hosting math community nights to introduce new materials being considered for third- through eighth-grade students to community members. The materials are part of an update in curriculum in the recently adopted mathematics learning standards. The standards were adopted by Washington, along with 44 other states.

Abigail Lombardo, a senior at Gonzaga Prep, was recognized for her community spirit when she was awarded the Ignatian Service Award, along with a letter in Community Service. Lombardo has completed more than 200 hours of community service as a student at G-Prep.

Spokane Public Schools high school seniors can start planning for how to pay for college at upcoming financial aid workshops. The first of the free seminars will be next Thursday in the Lewis and Clark High School library, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The workshops will provide students with information from Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education, and an opportunity to complete a free application for federal student aid. A press release from Spokane Public Schools stated that research shows that 90 percent of students who complete an application will enroll in postsecondary education within 12 months of high school graduation. Spokane School’s goal is to have a 57 percent application completion rate among high school seniors, matching the national average.

North Central High School students are spreading the holiday spirit. The students have been collecting food and other items for their annual Fill the Bus food drive. The drive will continue 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. today at Yoke’s, 3321 W. Indian Trail Road, where students will be asking the public to help them fill the bus.

Local residents will have an opportunity to have their questions answered about Spokane Public Schools tonight on “Educating Spokane” at 7:30 p.m., on KSPS channel 7. Spokane Public Schools Superintendent Shelley Redinger, Board President Bob Douthitt, and directors Rocky Treppiedi and Jeff Bierman will be available to answer questions and respond to comments from the public.

The public is invited to the Festival of the Arts concert at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the INB Performing Arts Center. The concert comes at the conclusion of a two-day festival for visual and performing arts students from Ferris, Lewis and Clark, North Central, Rogers and Shadle Park high schools.

Witches and goblins, ghosts and ghouls will have a frightfully good time at the Mead High School orchestra’s Halloween Spooktacular Carnival and Concert at 6 p.m. Monday in the school’s theater, 302 W. Hastings Road. Visitors are welcome to join in the costume contest and play carnival games. The carnival is at 6 p.m., and the concert begins at 6:45.

Fathers can once again spend a special night out with their daughters at Shadle Park High School’s third annual Daddy-Daughter Princess Ball, on Nov. 10 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The evening is hosted by the Shadle cheerleaders and meant for girls ages 12 and younger.

Hutton Elementary Principal Chuck Demarest was recognized for his positive attitude, genuine thoughtfulness of his staff and students and forward thinking when he was recently named the Dick Stannard Distinguished Elementary Principal of the Year. The award is named for a Spokane Public Schools’ principal who died in 1996. According to a press release from Spokane Public Schools, the special recognition honors principals who show purposeful leadership, excel at instructional leadership and resource development and possess exemplary interpersonal skills.

Lewis and Clark High School Tiger Drama will kick off the season with “Opening Night” on Friday in the auditorium. The performance starts at 7 p.m. The evening will feature selections from classic and modern musicals, such as “Thoroughly Modern Millie” and “Edges” and plays such as “The Glass Menagerie” and “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.” The cast will also perform pop music ranging from Michael Bublé to Lady Antebellum.

Krysten Amaya, a junior at Gonzaga Prep, won the Ignatian Service Award, along with a letter in community service. Amaya has completed more than 200 hours of community service as a Prep student. She has helped to raise awareness of domestic violence; she was the Prep Junior Varsity boys’ basketball trainer during the 2011-’12 school year; she volunteered a number of hours for Pop Warner Football; she kept books, was an umpire and helped coach Riverview’s Little Leagues; donated about 50 hours to bake sales to help the hungry and support a local children’s hospital; donated about 30 hours to help organize and run a fundraiser for a sports program; volunteered with Liberty Lake Days and helped raise money and awareness for youth programs in Liberty Lake.

Friends and family of Lizzie Jensen invite Spokane residents to LizziePalooza, a party and fundraiser to benefit the Lizzie Jensen Memorial Fund: For the Good of All, on Saturday in the Western Avionics Hangar at Felts Field, 5505 E. Rutter Ave. The fund benefits the Mead Education Foundation. The festivities start at 7 p.m. and will include music by Misspent Youth, hot dogs and soda pop, LizziePalooza T-shirts and wristbands, and an auction. Among the auction items is a print of Jensen’s original artwork.