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2 Students Get a Lift to a Liftoff

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SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

As people across the nation sat riveted to their television sets last week watching John Glenn and his fellow Discovery astronauts blast off on their nine-day space adventure, two lucky Saugus students, accompanied by their Rio Vista Elementary School teacher and assistant principal, got to observe the event up close and personal.

“It was really exciting,” said Jason Stewart, 11, about the bone-rattling liftoff he witnessed from the Kennedy Space Center’s Causeway, seven miles from the launch site. “When they took off, it was amazing to hear it and feel it.”

“Not many people get to experience an historical event like that,” said fellow observer Sarah McIlvaine, 11. “It was very special.”

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The sixth-graders were chosen for the Florida trip after writing their class’s winning essays about modern space flight and the significance of the Thursday launch.

Assistant Principal Jon Baker was invited by his friend Scott Parazynski, one of the Discovery astronauts, to bring three guests to the launch that took the 77-year-old U.S. senator back into space, 36 years after he became the first American to orbit the Earth.

“I do a lot of science and space study with my students, and now they’re even more involved,” said Rio Vista teacher Sue O’Brien. “It was fun to see this event through their eyes.”

“The trip helped bring the curriculum to life,” said Baker, who got Southwest Airlines to donate four round-trip tickets to Florida. “You can read about it in a book or hear a teacher talk about it, but to be there was incredible.”

PROGRAM NOTES

Eager Readers: Beginning readers at Napa Street Elementary School in Northridge have been devouring books since the August inauguration of their Reading Rabbits after-school book club. First-, second- and third-grade students meet twice a week to discuss and compare their favorite literature.

College Concert: The Glendale College Community Orchestra will open its 18th season Sunday with a 4 p.m. concert featuring student soloists Shura Sasaki and Leslie Bauer. Under the direction of Eagle Rock resident Ted Stern, the orchestra will perform J.S. Bach’s Concerto in C Minor and Schumann’s Symphony No. 4 in D Minor.

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EVENTS

Pop on Over: Students at Vintage Math, Science and Technology Magnet School will demonstrate the dynamics of bubble-blowing at their second annual Family Math and Science Night on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the North Hills campus. Families will watch a “Bubblemania” show, then get to try out their own bubble blowers.

Chance to Shine: The staff and students at Valley Alternative Magnet School have lined up their paintbrushes and gardening tools in anticipation of this Sunday’s Sparkle Day activities, at which volunteers from Temple Beth Hillel in North Hollywood will join the students in a school-wide cleanup effort. The Van Nuys school will host a post-cleanup cookout.

KUDOS

Smooth Talkers: Cleveland High School’s drama and speech students took home the first-place Grand Overall Sweepstakes trophy in the Southern California Forensic League’s Drama Festival recently. The students, under the direction of drama teacher Sarah Rosenberg, took top honors in all categories, including humor and group musical. The Reseda students, along with other festival winners--including participants from Birmingham and El Camino Real high schools--will perform at a Paramount Studios showcase in Hollywood on Sunday.

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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.

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