Sharing Artwork With Pals

It wouldn’t be a big stretch for most 8-year-olds to slap paint on a piece of paper, mush it around, then declare the finished product a masterpiece of contemporary art.

Third-grade students at Vanalden Avenue Elementary School in Reseda have a different perspective on their artwork, however, since they took brush in hand in the Art Pals program at their school this year.

Taught by 18 volunteers from the National Council of Jewish Women, which also funds the program, students from three pairs of Valley elementary schools, including Vanalden, receive biweekly lessons about contemporary art and culture, based on the Museum of Contemporary Art’s elementary school curriculum. The lessons include slide shows and hands-on activities.

“These kids can look at an abstract painting and immediately see what’s in it,” said volunteer Jane Krieger.

Art Pals was started by Helene Schacter, who initially brought the program to the Valley Shelter in North Hollywood about 10 years ago. Hoping to get young art lovers to share their experiences with other students, she then brought the program to six West Valley campuses.

Vanalden and Tarzana’s Nestle Avenue Elementary School have already exchanged student-produced art. Bassett Street Elementary in Van Nuys is matched with Lanai Road School in Encino, as are Woodland Hills’ Calabash Street School and Canoga Park Elementary School.

“The children get a museum experience every time the volunteers come here,” said Vanalden third-grade teacher Barbara Espy.

KUDOS

Top Scholars: Two John F. Kennedy High School seniors have been recognized as finalists in the National Hispanic Recognition Program, which honors Latino scholars who perform especially well on the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test. The Granada Hills students--Ryan Celaya and Charles Cardenas, both 17--are among 3,000 high-scoring Latino students whose names are released to colleges and corporations for scholarship consideration.

PROGRAM NOTES

Bookworms: Most students at Calabash Street Elementary School don’t need much arm-twisting to read for pleasure. In fact, third-grader Mehdi Torabi read an astonishing 10,000 pages last year. One reason for the Woodland Hills students’ excitement is the Books and Beyond program. The nationally recognized program is designed to reinforce the concept of reading for pleasure and rewards students for completing an eye-popping number of books yearly.

With this year’s reading program beginning Thursday, the second- through fifth-graders are preparing to meet their goal of completing 2,400 pages before May to qualify for a gold medal.

APPOINTMENT

Richard Boolootian, community relations officer at Bel-Air’s Mirman School, has joined the Los Angeles Board of Education’s Science Fair Committee. The onetime UCLA zoology professor will help raise funds, seek judges and organize the annual science event, for which he has served as a judge for about 10 years.

END NOTE

San Fernando Middle School is seeking candidates to serve on their bilingual and compensatory education advisory councils, which determine the disbursement of funds for special school programs. Parents and community members are invited to attend the council elections tonight at 7 at 130 N. Brand Blvd., San Fernando.

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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 it to diane.wedner@latimes.com.