Students in Orbit Over Space Study

It’s not a big stretch to say that the Olive Vista Middle School science projects on display recently at the Sylmar campus were out of this world. Students were on hand at Science Night to show off NASA moon rocks and hand-crafted lunar globes and to share their knowledge about space science with their parents and other visitors.

“We had the opportunity that other schools don’t have to study these rocks,” said sixth-grader Jaasiel Sauceda, as he identified a variety of tiny lunar fragments. “They’re worth more than diamonds.”

Science teachers J. Johanna Carberry and Patrick Rios attended workshops at NASA’s Resource Center in Lancaster and the Science Center in Van Nuys, respectively, to bring information and hands-on tools to their students. The children learned how to build a computer-operated Mars rover and to construct lunar globes, which were also on display.

“We want our kids to be involved in projects like this,” said Fidel Martinez, an Olive Vista parent. “It’s important because we’re entering the new millennium and we’ll see more of this type of exploration. It’s a challenge for girls to enter these fields, so I’m glad my daughter is involved now.”

KUDOS

Math/Science Whizzes: Several San Fernando Valley high school students distinguished themselves in the recent UC Santa Barbara Undergraduate Fellowship and Prize Competition in math and science. The students took challenging exams in one or more subjects, including biology, computer science, chemistry, mathematics and physics. The highest-scoring participants qualified to take the advanced examinations. Those who achieve the highest scores on those tests will be awarded cash prizes at a special ceremony Dec. 11 on the Santa Barbara campus.

Bishop Alemany High School seniors Peter Noyes and Louis Tourtellotte and junior Michael Taylor qualified to advance in the chemistry competition. Classmate Michael Rains, a senior at the Mission Hills school, placed first in the same subject. Sean Lubens, a senior at Harvard-Westlake High School in North Hollywood, tied for second place in the biology competition, and Jeff Zira, a North Hollywood High School junior, placed second in physics.

PROGRAM NOTES

Silence Is Golden: Reading enthusiasts at Chatsworth High School now have hundreds of new books after Borders Books and Music in Northridge recently delivered 75 bags of new volumes for the school’s Sustained Silent Reading program. Administrators instituted the program to increase the students’ love of reading and to help raise reading scores. The entire student body reads books of their choice for 18 minutes every morning. The bookstore chain offered a special discount to the school to help stretch an Annenberg Foundation grant of $150 per teacher for the books, which will be installed in a number of new classroom libraries.

EVENTS

Arts Show: Students at Balboa Magnet Elementary School in Northridge will display their talents at their annual Reflections Arts Show today and Friday. The national contest, sponsored by the PTA, sends judges to elementary schools, where they select the best paintings, drawings, photography, literature and musical compositions to compete at the district, state and national levels. This year’s theme is “Anything is Possible.” The gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the school’s auditorium. The public is invited to attend.

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.