Many Lamorinda families look for childcare after school for their children. With children in many directions after school, it’s often a necessity for working parents to sustain care and/or a driver for their child until they are sixteen. There are a variety of options in Lamorinda and the key is that each of these options can fill up quickly, so it's important to do your research and be on waitlists early if you are relying on facilities or classes that have a maximum capacity.
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Each school district in Lamorinda is made up of elementary schools and a middle school. The three high schools in Lamorinda, Acalanes in Lafayette, Campolindo in Moraga and Miramonte in Orinda, are a part of the Acalanes High School District, which also includes a fourth high school in Walnut Creek, Los Lomas. The high school attendance boundaries often cross city lines, so a middle schooler from one city might be designated to go to high school in another city. It’s important to check in with the high school district to see which high school will be your child’s ‘school of residence’ because it may not be in the city within which you reside.
Applying for college is a huge task, often requiring support for the high school senior. Each of the three public high schools in Lamorinda have an on site College Counselor. The person is there to guide seniors through the college application process and provides reminders about deadlines as well as information about colleges. These counselors arrange visits from colleges to each of the high school campuses and helps students through the process, from beginning to end. The college counselors can be instrumental in helping with deadlines, graduation requirements and creating a list of schools that are potentially a reach, match or safety. College counselors can help with essays and obtaining letters of rec. They are also there to assist with submitting transcripts, test scores and financial aid applications. The counselors also help with parent education around the topic of college, testing, and working as a team to manage the senior’s stress and anxiety level. Lamorinda’s public school college counselors are a wealth of information and almost every high school senior passes through the college counseling office at some point. Local private high schools also have college counselors on site providing the same services.
Each of the three cities within Lamorinda has an education foundation to bridge the gap between state funding and the district budget needed to run the excellent programs within the Lamorinda schools. While public school is free for all, the excellent programs provided in Lamorinda depend on donations, sponsors, business partnerships and fundraising events to help support the elementary, middle and high schools of Lafayette, Moraga and Orinda. Millions of dollars are given each year through the three foundations to Lamorinda’s students.
Yes, if you are leaving the city behind you’re leaving behind lots of great grubbing! The downfall of the suburbs are fewer choices in international fare - but, all is not lost. As an anonymous foodie, I’ve taken my fair share of excursions to find my favorite spots to fulfill a craving. For me, it’s mostly spicy and Asian - but, everything from Nigerian to Cambodian to hot dogs have been explored! Read on:
Being a mom means you plan the meals. Even if you work! You run the show. When you have a busy life and a special diet, it’s nice to know where to do without having to do the experimenting yourself. Going gluten-free is often a matter of feeling better, but for some it’s a serious health risk to eat foods with gluten, so knowing where to go to eat out is a necessity. Luckily, Lamorinda has many options and they have a wide variety of menu items to fully satisfy those who consider less (wheat) is more in their diet.
Pizza is a mom’s best friend. You might not have it often but it’s there when you need it. It might not be your favorite way to pig out on carbs but it’s reliable and plentiful….hey, kinda like wine! Well, pick your pizza because Lamorinda is not short on pizza options! Depending on your taste, occasion, atmosphere preference, dine-in, pick up or delivery...there is something for you. There are pizzas in a wide variety of budget options and you can find just about any style pizza in Lamorinda, from fancy to fast food. While many restaurants throughout Lamorinda include a couple of pizza or flatbread options on their menu, such as Chow and The Bistro at the Park Hotel, both of Lafayette, there are many restaurants dedicated solely to pizza.
We’re a fortunate bunch here in Lamorinda. We live in a bubble of caring, loving community. And we know it. Fortunately, we love to give back. Whether you’re looking for an ongoing opportunity or a one-time event, there are plenty of ways to support local charities and have fun volunteering with family and friends in and around the area.
“Buy Nothing: Give Freely. Share the bounty. Post anything you'd like to give away,
lend, or share among neighbors. Ask for anything you'd like to receive for free or borrow. Keep it legal. Keep it civil. No buying or selling, no trades or bartering, we're a gift economy. We'd love to have you join us! We have over 3,000 groups around the world; if you don't have one in your town, we'll help you start one; just ask us how - It's free and easy. This page is the general headquarters of the Buy Nothing Project network, where we link interesting gift and sharing economy news from the internet, and inspiring posts from the many BNProject groups around the world.. The actual gift economy action is hyper-local -- that is, it happens within much smaller, geographically defined communities.” You found your house...you unpacked. You met a few neighbors and you’re ready to ‘find your tribe’. Well, the best place to start is online…Nextdoor.com registration will let you observe your neighborhood silliness in exchange for asking for good gardeners, buy a second hand kid thingy that your kid will outgrow in twenty days, or find a local nanny that needs a new family situation. Beyond this tie in to your immediate neighborhood, other great groups exist on Facebook, most notably ‘Lamorinda Families’. To apply for Lamorinda Families you must change your physical location/hometown to one of the Lamorinda communities prior to request. Once you are approved, this is what you can expect to find:
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Kristina McCann
Passionate about helping you fit in... Lamorinda's Top INDEPENDENT Realtor 925.567.4328 Categories
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