Advertisement

Corona del Mar Today: 7 Japanese exchange students visit CdM Middle School

Share

In an assembly that was both all-American and distinctly Japanese, Corona del Mar Middle School students on Friday welcomed seven exchange students from Okazaki, Japan.

The visiting students arrived Thursday and will leave Tuesday morning, said Connie Skibba, Sister City’s Okazaki chairwoman.

The 31-year-old program, funded by the Newport Balboa Rotary Club and the Newport Beach Sister City Assn., sends Newport Beach eighth-graders to Japan each summer, where they live with Japanese families, visit shrines and temples and attend school.

Advertisement

Then, in the fall, their Japanese buddies visit Newport Beach, where they have a beach barbecue, visit a theme park and spend time at Corona del Mar High School.

At the assembly, attended by eighth-graders and community leaders, cheerleaders welcomed the six Japanese students, who wore uniforms and snapped photos of the crowd. (One of the girls said they do not have cheerleaders at her school at home.) The school’s Madgrigals sang the school song, and students Julianne Bartz, Isaac Clark, Jordan Golden, Claire Nakamura, Salen Stuart and Maddie Tumbarello described their experiences in Japan.

“School in Japan is very different,” Julianne said, explaining that students there stay in the same room while teachers moved to different classrooms.

Maddie described how lunch is prepared for students at the school, and that she was so slow with chopsticks that her host family sent her to class with a fork.

There also are no janitors, she said.

“They actually have a cleanup period, and they have to clean their own classrooms,” she said. “It’s very different.”

There was a slide show with scenes of Japanese life, and the Okazaki principal and CdMHS Principal Kathy Scott exchanged gifts. Then the Japanese students changed into robes and performed a dance with fans.

Newport Beach City Councilman Tony Petros, whose daughter graduated from CdMHS two years ago, attended the assembly.

“It’s a big deal,” he said. “These kids came halfway around the world.”

Superintendent Frederick Navarro also attended.

“I think this is just amazing,” he said. “It’s nice that so many elements of the community are joining together. You don’t get many opportunities like this.”

*

Foodies truck in treats

There’s a new lunch option in Corona del Mar on Tuesdays, when the teri-rocki road food truck parks in a lot in back of the Port Plaza building.

“We’re foodies,” said Rob Taylor, who owns the teri-rocki road food truck with his wife, Mari Taylor. “Corona del Mar has great food and great options, and we just want to blend it and give people a new choice.”

The Taylors moved to Corona del Mar in late 2012 from Arkansas, where they first launched their food truck business. Mari grew up in Downey and graduated from Huntington Beach High School and always wanted to return, the Taylors said. The couple has a daughter in kindergarten at Harbor View Elementary School and a son who is a senior at Corona del Mar High School, as well as two other grown children.

They moved the food truck to California but had to make changes so it met local codes and regulations, Taylor said.

“It took six to eight months to get the bus to code,” he said.

They launched at a customer appreciation event at CdM Fitness, then took the summer off to continue to work on their business plan.

Two weeks ago, they began parking at the Port Plaza parking lot at 2865 E. Coast Highway from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays. For now, their only other regular spot is Wednesdays at a car wash in Newport Center. Customers who want to find them should follow the company on social media, including Twitter and Facebook.

“We bounce around Orange County,” Taylor said.

The teri-rocki road food truck offers chicken and ribey teriyaki tacos, made with Mari’s own teriyaki recipe, as well as rice bowl with veggies, tofu or chicken, wraps and more. The truck accepts credit cards and cash.

*

Coastal Commission to meet in Newport

The California Coastal Commission’s next meeting will take place Oct. 8-10 in the Newport Beach Civic Center, according to the commission’s online agenda.

The meeting will include a discussion on Thursday about a Crystal Cove State Beach plan to “replace one 24 foot x 60 foot modular structure with two 24 foot x 60 foot modular structures, grading, retaining walls, wood deck/outdoor classroom, coastal sage scrub mitigation plan, ADA access improvements and re-paving and re-striping of asphalt parking lot adding 40 additional parking spaces, located at Los Trancos parking lot,” the agenda states.

The application was submitted by California State Parks and Recreation.

A staff report on the item has not yet been posted.

The public may attend the commission meetings and make comments. The Civic Center is at 100 Civic Center Drive.

Race for the Cure road closures coming

Newport Beach officials are urging motorists to use alternate routes around the Fashion Island area on Sunday morning, when streets will be closed for the Susan G. Komen Orange County Race for the Cure.

The closures will be in effect from about 6 a.m. to noon, according to the city’s website.

Closures include:

• Newport Center Drive except at Santa Rosa Drive.

• Newport Center Drive from Corporate Plaza to Newport Center Drive.

• Santa Cruz Drive from San Joaquin Hills Road to Newport Center Drive. Access to Island Hotels at San Clemente Drive will be open.

• Santa Maria Road from San Clemente Drive to Newport Center DriveWest.

• San Clemente Drive from Santa Maria Road to Santa Cruz Drive.

• Civic Center Drive from Newport Center Drive to Avocado Avenue.

• Avocado Avenue from San Miguel Drive to CdM Plaza entrance.

• San Miguel Drive from Newport Center Drive East to Avocado Avenue.

• Anacapa Drive from Newport Center to Civic Center Drive.

Corona del Mar Today appears Sunday in the Daily Pilot. Read daily updates at coronadelmartoday.com.

Advertisement