Two University High School students recently turned popular footwear into pieces of art for the Vans Custom Culture art contest, and we’ve just learned that their collective entry has placed them among 50 national semifinalists.

A half-dozen IUSD educators will be recognized at next month’s Orange County Music and Arts Education Awards program.

We just learned that a limited number of tickets are still available for the 31st annual Donald Bren Honors Concert, which will be held at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 24.

For the third time in eight years, Northwood High has earned the state’s highest level of recognition for a public school.

And the Grammy goes to … IUSD’s Northwood High School.

Earning one of the most highly prized accolades for music education, Northwood High learned Thursday that it was one of only 10 schools nationwide to be selected as a Grammy Signature School for 2013, courtesy of the Grammy Foundation.

Six-member teams from University and Woodbridge high schools won second place in their respective divisions Saturday at a day-long mathematics festival hosted by Cal State Long Beach’s math department.

Good afternoon. Here’s a Friday roundup of some recent IUSD-related stories you might have missed from the Orange County Register’s website:

Parents who want to learn more about the new California Common Core instructional standards are encouraged to attend a special presentation led by a trio of IUSD educators on Thursday, March 28.

The Irvine Unified School District has once again been named one of the nation’s Best Communities for Music Education by the prestigious NAMM Foundation.