Schools

* Education news

COSTA MESA

Summer Program Sets Sights on Stars

Student groups from kindergarten through 12th grade may enroll in a summer program at the Orange Coast College Planetarium.

OCC astronomy teacher Sheryl Johnson has designed a special program for youngsters, “From Grasshoppers to Galaxies: Adventures in Astronomy,” to run through the summer months.

Planetarium shows through Aug. 9 will be at 9:30 a.m. Group reservations are $85 for each show. Information: (714) 432-5880.

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IRVINE

Woodbridge Takes Science Fair Prize

Woodbridge High School won the Outstanding School Award at the recent Orange County Science and Engineering Fair at the Orange County Fairgrounds.

The award is presented to the school with the most winning science fair projects. This year is the 11th in a row that an Irvine Unified School District high school has won.

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TUSTIN

Elementary Teacher Wins District Honor

Rhonda Parks, who teaches students from first through third grades at W.R. Nelson Elementary School, was selected 1995-96 Teacher of the Year by the Tustin Unified School District.

She will represent the school district in the 1996 Orange County Teacher of the Year competition.

Parks has taught in the school district for five years, four at Nelson and one at Helen Estock Elementary, where she taught first grade.

Along with Carla Poellnitz, a third-grade teacher, Parks is leading the school district’s first “multi-age classroom,” which groups first- through third-grade students.

Students progress at their own pace and are offered learning opportunities and challenges not available in typical classrooms.

The program is the first of its kind in the Tustin school district and one of only four in Orange County.

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SAN CLEMENTE

High School Forms Academic Boosters

Volunteers, faculty members and administrators at San Clemente High School have formed an Academic Boosters Club.

The group’s goal is to provide support and recognition for students who achieve academic excellence.

The club will also raise money for the library, computer lab and classrooms, and recognize teachers for outstanding performance both on and off campus.

Information: (714) 492-4165 or (714) 489-5997.

--COMPILED BY HOLLY J. WAGNER WITH RUSS LOAR, HOPE HAMASHIGE, JEFF BEAN AND BERT ELJERA