Education Roundup: Wildlife open house, testing for assessments, outdoor adventure trips and more, Jan. 21

Financial assistance: The Scholarship Board of the North Bay Learning Foundation assists families of students who have learning issues and are not succeeding in school. NBLF offers financial help for professional screening for dyslexia, ADHD or processing problems. And then after testing, students have used financial support for equine therapy, tuition assistance for supplemental courses or tutoring and cognitive therapy. Request a scholarship application by emailing northbaylearningfoundation@gmail.com.

Important meetings: The trustees of Sonoma Valley Unified School district have held three public meetings about changing the trustee voters' areas from an 'At Large' model where all voters elect all trustees, to a model where trustees are individually elected in five separate and equal areas. A fourth and final public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 21, at 6 p.m at the district office on Railroad Avenue.

Seeds of Learning: The Sonoma-based nonprofit, Seeds of Learning will host a fundraising dinner and auction on Saturday, Jan. 25, at Hanna Boys Center. Proceeds from the event will help to increase access to education in Nicaragua and cross-cultural understanding locally. For more information, call 939-0471, or email info@seedsoflearning.org.

Barn Talk: Save the date for the next Sonoma Valley High School Barn Talk on Thursday, Feb. 27. The title of the talk is 'How Sonoma has Changed.' Teacher and SVHS grad Andy Gibson (Class of '97) will interview Press Democrat columnist Gaye LeBaron ('53) and former Index-Tribune owner and publisher Bill Lynch ('60). Tickets are available at svgreatschools.org.

Venturing: Sonoma's Venturing Crew is hosting its annual Friends and Family Picnic at Bartholomew Park from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 2. Students age 14-18 who are interesting in adventure including rock climbing, whitewater rafting, night kayaking, cave exploring, target practice, backpacking, volunteering and more are welcome to attend (bring a food item to share). Crew meetings are held the first Sunday of the month from 4 to 5:30 p.m.

Open house: The Sonoma Wildlife Center is hosting a public open house fundraiser from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25, at Sonoma Valley High School in science teacher Elisha Coon's classroom, M4. Learn more on Instagram @SonomaWildlifeCenter.

Hands on History: There are a series of free activities planned (for ages 7 and up) in the Sonoma Mission courtyard on Sonoma Plaza in the months ahead, including a drop-in wool and weaving event from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25.

Career event: High school students should consider applying for the FBI Teen Academy, which runs all day on March 5 at Santa Clara University, to learn about cyber crime, counterintelligence, terrorism, organized crime, evidence response, SWAT and more. Applications are due Jan. 29. To apply, visit fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/sanfrancisco/communityoutreach#Teen-Academy.

Teen jobs: Students interested in serving as paid election poll workers on Tuesday, March 3 should submit their applications to sonomacounty.ca.gov/CRA/Registrar-of-Voters/Poll-Worker-Info/Student-Precinct-Officer-Program/. Evening and Saturday poll worker training classes are available for students so as not to interfere with school. The application can be emailed to rov-polls@sonoma-county.org.

Art classes: Students can explore their creativity while Sonoma Valley schools are closed with classes at Art Escape Sonoma on Feb. 14, Feb. 17, April 10 and April 13. Check artescape.org for ages, class times, topics and reservation policies.

Email news, tips and events to ourschools@sonomanews.com.