Learning the Subject, Then Teaching It
It’s one thing to read about science, but quite another to experiment with the concepts in a lab setting. So Lynne Hasz, science department chairwoman at Notre Dame High School, recently invited a group of middle school students to visit the Sherman Oaks campus for a “day of learning.”
The 20 participating eighth-graders were handed packets of lab experiments that Hasz’s 10th-grade honor’s biology students had written and tested. The older students then assisted their younger counterparts with the lab work.
Experiments, drawn from the physical, earth and life sciences, included studies of genetics and the water cycle. The budding scientists took the instruction booklets and lab materials back to their schools, where they will teach their peers the scientific process.
PROGRAM NOTES
More Science News: Sixth-graders at Valley Presbyterian School have been testing their knowledge of the physical and life sciences, the results of which are on display through Tuesday at the North Hills campus.
Among the many projects is one that tested the potential impact of acid rain on plant life, and another that analyzed the effects of fire on roofing materials. The experiments were conducted over the course of four months, with the results presented on peg boards. The top science fair winners will receive blue ribbons, and have the chance to present their projects at an upcoming competition at Biola University in La Mirada.
Animated: The new fine arts program in animation at Glendale Community College is drawing throngs of students to its second semester of classes.
Glendale College, in conjunction with Warner Bros. Studios--which is providing training and equipment--offers the classes in digital animation technology to students who have completed the prerequisite art courses.
Enthusiasm for classes is apparently widespread, with the college reporting a 5% increase in the student population, compared with last year’s figures. In contrast, Pierce College has reported a 6% decline in enrollment and Mission College, a 14% slide. Valley College’s enrollment is unchanged.
KUDOS
Honored: Four top-ranked National AP Scholars from North Hollywood High School’s Highly Gifted Magnet were honored recently in Sacramento at a state Board of Education meeting. George Lee, Howard Chong and Manish Singh, all currently enrolled at UC Berkeley, and Carmel Levitan, a Stanford University student, are ranked among the top 10 National Scholars, based on the College Board’s Advanced Placement Exam scores. George earned the highest score nationwide among students who took more than eight Advanced Placement tests last year, and Carmel earned the top ranking among girls in the state.
Leading the Pack: Edna Piano, a Providence High School senior, has been nominated, along with exceptional students nationwide, for a Principals Leadership Award Scholarship, sponsored by the National Assn. of Secondary School Principals. Winners, announced this spring, will receive $1,000 college scholarships. The Burbank student, who is a member of the National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society, among numerous other organizations, plans to study marine biology in college.
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