Students to Receive Free Health Services

Students from 14 East Valley public schools will receive free health services, including vision tests, inoculations and dental checkups, at today’s Polytechnic Complex Health Fair.

The event is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Arminta Street Elementary School, 11530 Strathern St.

Students from each campus of the Polytechnic Complex, a Los Angeles Unified School District group including Francis Polytechnic High School in Sun Valley, two middle schools and 11 elementary schools, will attend. But organizers stress it won’t be a leisurely field trip.

“This isn’t a fair where they’re spending money and going to booths,” said Anne Kaplan, Polytechnic Complex facilitator and principal planner of the event. “We’re going to keep them calm. We’re not even serving lunch. We want them in and out.”

Each student entering the fair will receive a “passport” that will be filled out as the student visits any of the 24 stations. The passports will then be forwarded to school nurses to assist students with follow-up examinations.

Stations will offer a variety of services suited to youths of all ages, from blood pressure screenings to HIV/AIDS education.

Kaplan said the school did not spend money on the fair, depending instead on donations from local health care providers and organizations such as the American Cancer Society.

Entertainment by student musicians, storytellers and drill teams also is scheduled. For more information, call (818) 765-3010.