{"id":384210,"date":"2026-07-02T22:30:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T22:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/384210\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T22:30:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T22:30:09","slug":"weekly-roundup-three-orange-county-scholars-bring-home-top-honors-at-state-civics-bee-and-more-ocde-newsroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/384210\/","title":{"rendered":"Weekly roundup: Three Orange County scholars bring home top honors at state civics bee, and more \u2013 OCDE Newsroom"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\"OCOC students Logan Thielen, Deon Witte and Aryan Goya earned top honors at the California National Civics Bee Competition held June 27 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. (Courtesy of the Yorba Linda Chamber of Commerce Foundation) <\/p>\n

Three Orange County middle school students earned the top three spots at the California National Civics Bee on June 27, displaying their civic knowledge and leadership initiatives at the statewide competition held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.<\/p>\n

Logan Thielen of Falcon Academy in the Brea Olinda Unified School District captured first place<\/a> and will represent California at the National Civics Bee Championship. Fellow BOUSD student Aryan Goya of Olinda Elementary School secured second place, while Deon Witte of Corona del Mar Middle School in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District earned third place. <\/p>\n

The National Civics Bee competition<\/a> challenges students from sixth through eighth grade to demonstrate their knowledge of government, civic engagement and American democracy while presenting ideas to improve their communities through a series of multiple-choice quizzes and research proposals. <\/p>\n

The trio moved on to the state finals after emerging as the top three competitors at the National Civics Bee Yorba Linda Regional Competition<\/a> in April. The second annual California National Civics Bee continues a strong showing for Orange County students \u2014 last year\u2019s state title was won by Garden Grove Unified School District student Arlo Fravien<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Logan will put his civic knowledge to the ultimate test at the National Civics Bee Championship in Washington, D.C. this fall and have the opportunity to earn a $100,000 scholarship toward his college education. <\/p>\n

Here are the stories we\u2019ve been following this week: <\/p>\n

As the new school year approaches, three new California laws went into effect July 1 and will reshape school policies<\/a> on student cellphone use, campus facilities and student identification cards.<\/p>\n

\"University<\/p>\n

\"Orange<\/p>\n

Administrators, youth service workers, police officers and more will share best practices to improve student well-being and school safety<\/a> at the three-day National Safe Schools Conference \u2014 hosted by former California Secretary of Education Dave Long in partnership with the Orange County Department of Education and the OC Sheriff\u2019s Department. <\/p>\n

Two campuses from the Fullerton School District were named Schools of Excellence<\/a> at the 2026 National Speech & Debate Association Championship for their success in categories including storytelling, poetry and informative speaking \u2014 marking the seventh straight year the district has earned a national title at the tournament.<\/p>\n

Recent Edison High School graduate Kevin McGowan published his first novel<\/a> \u2014 utilizing themes of community involvement and historic events \u2014 to inspire greater civic awareness among his peers. <\/p>\n

New federal student loan changes will take effect this week<\/a>, impacting millions of borrowers via shifts in repayment plans and updates to how borrowers manage monthly payments.<\/p>\n

Under California\u2019s recently signed budget, oversight of the state\u2019s public school system will largely shift from the elected state superintendent<\/a> to a governor-appointed education commissioner beginning next year according to the Los Angeles Times. <\/p>\n

This is the part where we encourage you to keep up with local education news stories by bookmarking\u00a0the OCDE Newsroom<\/a>,\u00a0subscribing for emailed updates<\/a>\u00a0and following us on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0X (formerly Twitter)<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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