A pair of high school newspapers from Irvine took first and second place at this year’s Orange County Journalism Education Association Write-Offs, which were held March 2 at Fullerton College.

Plaza Vista School recently found itself in the pages of the Irvine World News after celebrating a successful jogathon fundraiser with some good ol’ fashioned pie-throwing and beard-dying.

The Irvine Public Schools Foundation is once again putting out the call for its Parents Appreciating Teachers and Staff recognition program, which allows families to recognize their favorite IUSD employees.

At a Feb. 12 award ceremony, Woodbridge High’s Academic Decathlon team learned that it placed fourth overall in the 45th annual Orange County Academic Decathlon, and that wasn't the only good news. The school also earned an invite to compete at the state competition in March.

So we're in the office a little early this morning, and for good reason. Irvine’s three Teachers of the Year, representing the district’s elementary, middle and high schools, will soon be revealed during surprise visits to their respective campuses.

Imagine a super-rigorous math competition, one that challenged teams of up to four students to answer a real-world problem by employing complex mathematical models that included algebra, geometry and calculus. Oh, and give each team 36 hours to come up with a solution.

IUSD’s Stonegate Elementary School has been nominated for a prestigious National Blue Ribbon award, state officials announced Thursday.

A pair of Irvine schools made headlines recently on the Orange County Register’s website. For starters, Register reporter Samantha Schaefer previewed Northwood High School's third annual Timberwolf 5K Run/Walk, which will raise money for Northwood's athletics program and Families Forward.

The National Merit Scholarship Corp. has released its latest list of semifinalists who are in the running for prestigious National Merit awards, and 94 of them are from right here in IUSD.