CSUN PR Students Get Brownie Points

Eleven public-relations students in Cal State Northridge’s journalism school have landed a merit award from the Los Angeles chapter of the Public Relations Society of America for their imaginative campaign promoting the San Fernando Valley Girl Scout Council.

The novice PR team created a press kit as part of their semester-long project that focused on the 85th anniversary of Girl Scouts USA. The award was presented to the students at the society’s annual banquet, held last week at the Biltmore Hotel.

Prix de Francaise: Dahlia Ditsworth, a Harvard-Westlake junior, brought home the prize for outstanding student in French language and civilization from the Academie de Paris, capping an intensive, monthlong academic program for high school students in Paris last summer. The 15-year-old honor student immersed herself in French culture and language through class trips to the Louvre, Versailles and other famous sites. Dahlia also studied international law and business with visiting professors from Yale Law School and Oxford University.

Student Posts Win: A Northridge eighth-grader will take home a $200 prize at the National Philanthropy Day awards breakfast Friday for her winning poster in this year’s California Community Foundation contest. Chalene Abrena, 14, who attends Holmes Middle School in Northridge, was one of seven Los Angeles middle and high school students chosen for their artwork. Chalene’s poster depicts a pair of hands cradling a world in which people are helping others.

The awards ceremony, which honors outstanding volunteers in the community, will be held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. A matching monetary gift will go to the students’ art teachers for class supplies.

EVENTS

Native American Day: Kindergartners at Calabasas’ Bay Laurel Elementary School plunge into their Native American studies next week when they try their hands at making pottery, grinding corn and “hunting” the fish and buffalo they’ll prepare themselves. The children will don their handcrafted native vests and headbands for the day’s festivities.

Science Day: Hundreds of Valley elementary school children will immerse themselves in physics, geology and astronomy workshops hosted by Cal State Northridge on Thursday. CSUN’s Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, sponsors of Science Day, aims to encourage the kids’ interest in science and math.

CELEBRATIONS

Healthy Decade: Students and teachers at San Fernando High School are celebrating the 10th anniversary of their Teen Health Center this week. State Assemblyman Tony Cardenas (D-Sylmar) will join clinic staffers at a luncheon today, where he will recognize those responsible for launching the center and keeping it healthy for a decade. The center, which treats ailments ranging in severity from acne and headaches to cancer and teen pregnancy, treated more than 9,000 students last year.

PROGRAM NOTES

Airline Class Soars: North Hills’ Monroe High School has launched an Airport Occupations program, which prepares interested Valley high school seniors for jobs in the airline industry. The eight-week program provides hands-on experience in all aspects of the industry, from ticketing to baggage-handling.

Class Notes will appear 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