I have to admit I was a tad starstruck meeting actor and social-justice activist Martin Sheen at a fundraising luncheon Thursday at Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont.

Sheen, after all, is one of my favorite actors. I’ve enjoyed his film work over the years and put his epic war movie “Apocalypse Now” towards the top of my list.

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A former Redwood City School District teacher returns to town to perform with her band.

San Francisco-based Lua Hadar, an eclectic world jazz vocalist, and the sophisticated band TWIST play two homecoming shows Dec. 6 at Angelica’s Bistro, 863 Main St. in Redwood City.

“The Redwood City community has been a huge part of my life,” said Hadar, who worked with teachers, students and families on stage productions at Garfield and John Gill Elementary schools. “I can’t wait to see everyone. I hope all the teachers and families will come to meet the band and have a great evening together.”

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Check out a new research article co-written by Belmont resident Diana Chu, an assistant biology professor at San Francisco State University, in today’s edition of the journal Molecular and Cellular Proteomics.

If you remember, I wrote about Chu in July. She won a five-year grant of $655,000 from the National Science Foundation. The money will support her research on the role of proteins in sperm production.

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About 70 freshman students from Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, or nearly half the class, will travel Sunday to Soledad to put up a carnival for the children of migrant farmworkers.

The project is part of the university’s service-learning and social-justice focus, which encourages students to get involved in the community.

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Kudos to Rick Federighi, an eighth-grade history and social-science teacher at Ralston Intermediate School in Belmont.

He is the 2008 Educator of the Year for the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District.

Federighi (the guy with the plaque in the photo) has served at Ralston for more than 30 years.

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From mid-August to early September, my head is spinning with numbers and percentages from student-achievement results released by the state Department of Education.

During that span, the department sends out the latest reports on STAR, API/AYP/PI and CAHSEE, that is, state test scores, academic-performance yardsticks and the high-school exit exam.

The last was the exit exam a week ago, and I’m still recovering today.

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With all the talk and media coverage the past year of the achievement gap, I thought it would be worthwhile to explore that subject in-depth and find out what schools in San Mateo County are doing to tackle that problem.

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Summer break has come and gone although I probably did take more of an extended hiatus from this blog than I should’ve.

But here’s a story that has broken that blogging lethargy - at least for a while:

Dave Mandelkern was the classic couch potato just a few years ago.

He sat in front of the television and “ate crappy food — junk food,” he said. Sure, he tried various activities such as racquetball and aerobics.

“But nothing caught on until I found this crazy sport,” said Mandelkern, who serves on the board of the San Mateo County Community College District.

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Ok, with students on their summer vacation, this education reporter will also take a break for a week or so, starting tomorrow.

I’ll be headed to Mexico for some fun and relaxation but don’t plan to completely tune my brain out (at least that’s the hope!).

The trip will be an opportunity for me to catch up on some reading and hone my Spanish with the locals there.

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Sorry but a favorite spot for fireworks watchers won’t be available this Fourth of July.

For years, people have parked their vehicles at Cañada College lots in Redwood City to watch the pyrotechnics from Redwood Shores to the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View.

But construction work will close the campus during the holiday - the first time in recent memory that will happen.

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