Science Fair Put Theories to the Test
Students at Vintage Math, Science and Technology Magnet elementary school in North Hills have come up with solid answers to some of nature’s most commonly asked questions, such as: Which plants do snails most like to eat and exactly how much oxygen is there in air, anyway?
The students presented hypotheses and findings for these and other such science stumpers at the school’s annual Science Fair 2000 held last week.
Winners were: Kody Wood and Joey Samuelson, first grade; Nikki Stone and Daniel Rochin, second grade; Catherine Esquerra and Grace Afsari-Mamagani, third grade; Joshua Sheneman and Shaun Kashper, fourth grade; and Elaiza Torralba, Julianne Carlile and Lindsay Reeves, fifth grade.
The students asked and answered questions such as: Do human vitamins affect plant growth? How do we know what is in water? And which nut--a peanut, cashew or almond--contains the most energy?
Scientists from Boeing Co.’s Rocketdyne Division and Lockheed Martin Corp. joined a panel of educators in judging nearly 100 entries.
Joshua Sheneman, 10, of North Hills won a first-place trophy for studying whether the weight of a car could be determined by measuring the air pressure in its tires. He found that it could.
“This was pretty fun to do,” he said of the experiment, which was conducted with the help of two local car dealers.
Presenting his findings to attentive professionals was a thrill, he said.
“I’ve never explained something like that before to a real scientist,” he said.
Judges acknowledged that they learned a thing or two from the young scientists.
“These students did surprisingly well, embracing some difficult concepts,” said David Schoenberg of Rocketdyne. “I was very impressed with their work.”
The students were tested on their hypotheses, accuracy of information, originality, visual display and oral presentation.
“It’s a pretty involved process,” said Principal Jim Kennedy.
KUDOS
College help: Nineteen graduating high school seniors and current junior college students from the San Fernando Valley received college scholarships this year of $500 to $1,500 each from the Andres Cardenas Family Foundation.
It was established to honor Andres Cardenas, who emigrated 45 years ago from Mexico. The Pacoima resident--along with his wife--encouraged his 11 children to obtain college degrees, in fields such as education, psychology and engineering.
Since 1998, the foundation has awarded more than $25,000 in scholarships to ambitious and deserving Valley students for academic excellence.
Smart Kids: Members of Burbank’s John Burroughs High School Odyssey of the Mind team are at the Odyssey of the Mind 2000 world finals in Knoxville, Tenn., after winning first place in the state championships earlier this month.
Odyssey of the Mind competitions test students from kindergarten through college on their imagination and problem-solving skills.
Silver Tongues: Three students from Cleveland High School in Reseda and another from Monroe High School in North Hills brought home top awards from the California High School Speech Assn. state championship competition, held last month in Union City.
David Yaroslavsky of Monroe High School and son of Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, won first place in expository speaking. Winners from Cleveland were: Tyler Dean in the original prose and poetry category; Josh Schein for impromptu speaking and Julia Mandelsohn for extemporaneous speaking.
PROGRAM NOTES
Students from the Valley Alternative Middle School in Van Nuys teamed up earlier this month with Los Angeles’ Pio Pico Middle School for a video teleconference called “Hour of Dialogue” with students from Brinkley Middle School in Jackson, Miss.
The hourlong discussion--held at Cal State Northridge earlier this month--covered school and world violence and substance abuse.
END NOTES
Professor Richard C. Loofbourrow has been named Antelope Valley College’s Scholar in Residence, the highest honor for a faculty member, for the 2000-2001 school year . . . Children and adults are invited to hear authors and storytellers read at “The Joy of Reading,” June 7 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Northridge Middle School, 17960 Chase St., Northridge.
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.
