Elementary School Students

Sixty elementary school students shut their books Thursday and headed for Granada Hills Community Hospital for a close-up look at the medical profession. The students from Telfair Avenue Elementary School, third- through fifth-graders, are part of a summer premed course offered by the Los Angeles Unified School District. "You never know how these experiences will change people's lives," said Consuelo Garcia, Telfair's principal.

Enrollment on the first day of school Monday disappointed administrators at Las Virgenes Unified School District, although two Calabasas elementary schools had enough unanticipated students to fill two classrooms. Head counts taken Monday showed the district 68 students below the projected 10,362 for this school year, Assistant Supt. Don Zimring said.

The city's elementary school students are seeing firsthand how recycling benefits the community through a program that turns empty soda containers into picnic tables. Kids CARE (Civic Awareness and Recycling Education), a city-run program funded by the state Department of Conservation, aims to raise youngsters' awareness of the environment.

"Let's see. I'm looking for 'astronaut physique,' " said Donald Scott, scoping out the sea of elementary school students. Allison Hulette, a fifth-grader, approached the stage eagerly. "Put this on," Scott instructed her, holding out a puffy plastic object, but Allison was squeamish. She shook her head. The object was a diaper. "That's the first thing [astronauts] put on," Scott said. "Disposable diapers were invented for NASA astronauts, but babies use it."

For nearly 20 years, Prospect Elementary School students have studied California trees and plants at nearby El Modena High School's nature paths, with high school students acting as guides for one-on-one tours. This year, the younger students decided to give something back to the high school. The youngsters have been gathering bottles and aluminum cans since the start of the school year. They recently cashed in their collection for recycling and gave the proceeds--$94.

The American Immigration Lawyer Assn. will honor two Los Angeles elementary school students today for their prize-winning essays on the importance of immigration to America. Anthony Quintanilla and Melburn Trapp, both 10, will receive $200 and $100, respectively, from the lawyers' group at an evening ceremony at the Sheraton Grande Hotel downtown. The students, both from Alta Loma Elementary School in the Mid-City area, were the local winners in the nationwide contest.

A team of elementary school students from two Laguna Niguel schools have won first place in an international competition in creative problem-solving in Knoxville, Tenn. The team, the Gallant Sea Monkeys, made up of students Hannah Gray, 11; Erin Haug, 10; Sarah Leech, 11; Maddie Smith, 11; and Sam Thorpe, 11, took top scores over 50 teams from the United States and eight other countries. They won in the elementary level of the dynamic improv competition.

Students at Stephen S. Wise Temple Elementary School in West Los Angeles played host Thursday to about 100 students from Washington Carver Elementary School in Compton, who were learning how to use the temple school's new telecommunications program. The Galaxy system, as the program is called, is an interactive satellite educational curriculum for elementary school students that relies on direct satellite television, fax machines and other equipment.

A new program aimed at educating elementary school students about ethnic differences is looking for 50 parent volunteers. Co-sponsored by the Orange County Human Relations Commission and the National Conference of Christians and Jews, the "Green Circle" program will train parents to teach informal classes on tolerance.

The elementary school students' questions to astronaut Susan Still, circling Earth in the space shuttle Columbia, went something like this: "What happens to oil and vinegar salad dressing when you mix it in space?" and "Do you feel closer to heaven?" The fifth-grade students from El Segundo's Center Street School had been waiting for this moment for months.