On Latest Mission, Astronauts Explore Junior High Schools

OUTER SPACE: Two astronauts who were aboard the first voyage of the Space Shuttle Endeavor orbited South Bay schools this week, landing in the auditoriums of Monroe Junior High School in Inglewood and Hawthorne Intermediate School.

At Monroe Junior High, Dr. Mae C. Jemison, the first African-American female astronaut, talked to a standing-room-only crowd of students, staff and district administrators about the importance of students taking math and science courses.

Jemison’s project, during the shuttle’s nine-day mission in May, was to study the effects of weightlessness on the development of frog legs.

At Hawthorne Intermediate, shuttle commander Pierre Thout showed a video presentation of himself and three fellow astronauts attempting to repair a malfunctioning communications satellite.

It took three attempts and 17 hours to repair it, he said.

The astronauts fielded questions from students ranging from how it feels in outer space--the closest you can come to it on Earth is being underwater--to their space flight menus--they choose from a menu of shrimp cocktail, creamed asparagus, green beans in mushrooms, chicken teriyaki and beef tips in mushrooms.

“How many students watched the Barcelona Olympics?” Thout asked. Almost every hand in the auditorium popped up.

“You watched it using the satellite we repaired,” he said.

KUDOS TO ALL: The Los Angeles County Office of Education will honor 67 teachers Friday, including seven from the South Bay chosen to represent their districts in the national Teacher of the Year program.

“The teachers were nominated by a peer or school administrator,” said Laurene Twineham, spokeswoman for the county Office of Education. “This is the only recognition program in the county for the teachers.”

After the teachers are selected by their districts, semifinalists proceed to the regional, state and national championship.

Jane Murray, an eighth-grade teacher at Magruder Middle School in Torrance, was selected to be one of 12 semifinalists representing Los Angeles County.

The other six South Bay teachers selected by their districts were:

Diane Corbin of Oak Street Elementary in Inglewood, Esperanza Andrade-Banachowski of Kenneth L. Moffett Elementary School in Lennox, Clark “Kevin” Post of Manhattan Beach Intermediate, Mary Hall of Montemalaga Elementary School in Palos Verdes Estates, Marcia Avent of Birney Elementary in Redondo Beach, and William Fauver of Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach.

MORE AWARDS: Four teachers in the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District were named Educator of the Year at the 12th annual awards dinner last week.

The Palos Verdes Peninsula Chamber of Commerce presented the awards to Doris Griffin of Soleado Elementary School in Rancho Palos Verdes, Suzanne Dobrin of Palos Verdes Intermediate School in Palos Verdes Estates, Emily Wierenga of Rancho Del Mar Continuation School in Rolling Hills, and Roger Gartland, retired principal from Vista Grande Elementary School in Rancho Palos Verdes.

AND NOW THIS: Gwen Gross, former principal and director of operations for the Laguna Beach Unified School District, will take over as superintendent of the Hermosa Beach City School District on Nov. 30.

Gross replaces Elaine Gourley, who left the one-school district in July after 13 years.

Items for the weekly Class Notes column can be mailed to The Times South Bay office, 23133 Hawthorne Blvd., Suite 200, Torrance 90505, or faxed to (310) 373-5753 to the attention of staff reporter Lorna Fernandes.