Seeing World From Russia’s Point of View

Movies and books can provide a glimpse into life in Russia, but nothing compares to experiencing the real thing, as eight Viewpoint School students learned recently.

“It was the trip of a lifetime,” said Derek Bly, 16, about his 12-day visit to Moscow. “Russia is different from the perception we have of it here. [Moscow’s] a beautiful city and the people were very friendly.”

The Calabasas teens stayed with Moscow families whose children visited Viewpoint in April. The American teenagers were treated to an array of cultural events, from visiting museums and attending the ballet, to cheering on the Russian soccer team at a World Cup qualifying game.

“The purpose of the exchange program is to expose the students to another culture,” said Viewpoint’s associate headmaster Paul Rosenbaum. “It increases their understanding of the common humanity of both countries.”

PROGRAM NOTES

Future MDs: Lauren Pearlman, 17, is heading this week for the 1998 National Youth Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C., where she’ll get the chance to check out some of the area’s most prominent medical schools. The Chatsworth High School senior will join 350 other outstanding students who will attend workshops on genetic and cancer research, AIDS, bioethics and other topical health issues.

The leadership forum is a nonprofit educational organization that sponsors career-oriented programs for high-achieving high school students with strong leadership abilities.

Hard at Work: Thanks to Burbank’s Summer Youth Employment Training Program, more than 250 public- and private-school students, ages 14-18, have found jobs at such local businesses and service organizations as Disney Studios, the Creative Arts Center and the Red Cross.

The job-training partnership of the Burbank Unified School District, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the city of Burbank and local businesses has given teens minimum-wage work experience in fields other than fast food.

“The kids love it,” said Susan Boegh, the school district’s director of career education. “They gain that first job experience and get to explore different occupations.”

The 3 R’s: Pierce College Extension is offering math and phonics classes to grade-school students beginning Thursday. The four sessions cost $33. For information, call (818) 719-6425.

KUDOS

Page Me: Hilary Rubin could have spent the summer just hanging around the house, but instead, the 17-year-old Chatsworth resident is hanging around the House--of Representatives--serving as a summer page at the nation’s Capitol. The Harvard-Westlake School senior was nominated for the position by Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, and was one of 65 students selected by Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich for the salaried job. Hilary and her fellow pages sit in on House sessions, where they’re on call to assist representatives by, among other jobs, dashing to the Library of Congress to do research.

Picture That: Louisa B. Caucia’s yearbook students at Columbus Middle School have won the silver medal awarded by Columbia University’s Scholastic Press Assn., the Canoga Park school’s eighth yearbook award since 1990. Caucia’s cable news students also garnered honors--the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Video in the Classroom award--for a 17-minute newscast.

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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.