Students’ Skills Shine in Local Gift Projects

Granada Hills’ Kennedy High School wood shop could easily be mistaken for its famous counterpart at the North Pole, as students put the finishing touches on holiday projects as diverse as walnut grandfather clocks and wooden treasure chest aquariums.

Branden Silverman, 17, is hard at work building a folding chair, which he is donating to Fire Station 87 in Granada Hills.

Not to be outdone by their students, class instructors Robert Hazard and Harvey Phillips joined their industrial education colleagues Friday in the district’s annual toy-making workshop at Marshall High School to make gifts that will be delivered to needy children for the holidays.

CELEBRATIONS

Sharing the Fun: Giving up their traditional Thanksgiving feast posed no problem for Chatsworth’s Sierra Canyon Middle School students, who instead treated more than 175 Lokrantz Special Education Center students to a morning of dance, music, food and fun recently.

Neither the rain nor the accompanying power failure dampened the spirits of the revelers at the Reseda center, who gobbled up cookies and other snacks between macarena lessons and the limbo.

Shelley Deutsch, Sierra Canyon’s community service coordinator, credits the middle school students’ enthusiasm with making the event such a success. “The kids begged to stay longer,” Deutsch said. “They said it was the best Thanksgiving they ever had.”

Spirit of Giving: The students and staff members at Van Nuys’ Independence High School believe it’s time to formally thank Fred Heim for his generous gifts to the school over the past two years. So, 125 current students will join a group of past scholarship recipients to send some praise his way this Friday at a celebratory bash.

Heim, whose son graduated from the high school two years ago, has donated more than $10,000 to school programs, including a class trip to Washington in 1995. Scholarships are offered to students and teachers to further their education.

PROGRAM NOTES

Making It Fun: History lessons are generating excitement at Westlake School, where Lesly Vick’s fourth-graders have assumed the identities of important historical figures. After researching the histories of such luminaries as Clara Barton, Orville Wright, Anne Frank and Thomas Edison, the students--dressed as their alter egos--will recite “their” life stories and achievements to visiting parents and students at the school’s annual Living Museum on Monday.

“The kids get to learn about important historical figures and have fun doing it,” the Westlake teacher said. “It’s exciting and informative at the same time.”

Parenting Skills: Kids and adults are playing, singing and getting messy together every weekday morning at Newcastle Elementary School, where the Reseda Community Adult School is sponsoring a parenting program for mothers and fathers, grandparents and other caregivers.

Credentialed teachers are on hand to lead discussion groups on a range of topics, including eating and sleeping problems, sibling rivalry and tantrums.

Classes are in session for three hours, with plenty of time for children to explore a variety of toys and games with their adult partners. The $10 fee covers 20 weeks of classes.

Class Notes appears every Wednesday. Send news about schools to the Valley Edition, Los Angeles Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth 91311. Or fax it to (818) 772-3338. Or e-mail them to diane.wedner@latimes.com