Young Leaders Taking Off for U.S. Capital

The first contingent of Valley high school students is heading to Washington this week, where the youths will rub elbows with lawmakers and journalists at the National Young Leaders Conference.

Sponsored by the Congressional Youth Leadership Council, the conference runs through mid-March, with students spending six days on Capitol Hill at a time.

Students representing Glendale’s Crescenta Valley High School, North Hollywood High School, Reseda’s Cleveland High School Humanities Magnet, North Hollywood’s Campbell Hall School, Saugus High School, and Harvard-Westlake School in Studio City will interact with key government leaders and the diplomatic corps during their trip to the nation’s capital.

Selected on the basis of scholastic merit and leadership potential, the 14 juniors and seniors will join 350 student leaders from around the nation at a session of the House of Representatives. They will also engage in a panel discussion with journalists at the National Press Club and participate in a “model Congress,” in which they will debate and vote on proposed legislation involving juvenile justice.

“I’m very excited,” said Harvard-Westlake’s Kyle Beswick, 17, who goes to the capital Feb. 3. “I’ve always been interested in everything regarding lawmaking. I want to see how everyday people can get involved in these important activities.”

PROGRAM NOTES

Making Music: Band members at Monroe High School are marching to a different tune these days, with the advanced band boasting twice as many students as last year, and with a jazz and concert band in full swing on the North Hills campus.

In the two years since instrumental music Director Julia Anderson took over the faltering department, five music classes have been added, and they are all near capacity. While Anderson rejoices at the resurgence of interest in the music program, she faces the challenge of providing instruments for all her students, numbering 90 this year, and expected to climb in September.

Fund-raisers are in place to add money to the music department’s coffers, with band members--who recently placed second in a Granada Hills field show tournament--running carwashes and candy sales.

“The school has been very supportive of us,” Anderson said. “But we need to raise funds of our own. These kids are so great, it’s worth it.”

Old Friends: Sixth-graders at Studio City’s St. Michael’s and All Angels School are geared up for their second semester of monthly visits to the Jewish Home for the Aged, where they play games with and entertain the residents at the Woodland Hills facility.

“They’re incredibly nice and have a lot to offer,” said Ashley Greathead, 13. “I love their sense of humor.”

END NOTES

Boeing Co.’s Rocketdyne Propulsion & Power division, in conjunction with the Detwiler Foundation, has a Computers for Schools program, which recently donated 140 refurbished computers equipped with educational software, along with a number of printers, to 13 Valley schools. . . . Civic-minded high school seniors planning to pursue careers in the cable industry are invited to apply for one of five college scholarships, each for $5,000, offered by Time Warner Communications and the Southern California Cable and Telecommunications Assn. For information, contact Gloria Pollack at (818) 407-3141.