Sections    West Valley View- Education School Notes Estrella High School to hold open house Estrella High School is having a parent open house from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the school’s campus, 510 N. Central Ave., Avondale. APS, Phoenix Suns start grants for schools Arizona Public Service Co. and the Phoenix Suns are offering education grants for projects addressing energy, the environment, reading, math and character education. The mini-grants of up to $500 are available for projects to be completed during the 2004-05 school year. A total of $50,000 in grants is available. Log on to www.aps.com for information or to download an application for the grants, or contact Louise Moskowitz at 602-250-2291. Applications must be mailed by Jan. 31, 2005. Web site launched for college students ACT, a non-profit teaching organization, has launched the Web site www.actstudent.org, a new center for students taking the college admissions exam. Services include score reporting, information about college admission exams, free test preparation, college searches and an online store for testing materials. Litchfield Park youth to be awarded honor Litchfield Park resident Eric Stucky will be awarded the George Washington Honor Medal by the organization Freedom Foundation Valley Forge. The 11-year-old student was awarded the honor for his participation in youth community service. He will be honored in Sun City in November. Litchfield district school board candidates meet the parents Parents of students in the Litchfield Elementary School District are invited to meet the school board candidates at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 30 at the Litchfield Elementary School cafeteria, 13825 W. Wigwam Blvd. in Litchfield Park. There are four candidates running for three open positions. Candidates are Scott Seely, Debra Undhjem, Shawn Watt and John Wachter. Agua Fria High School gears up for homecoming Agua Fria High School’s homecoming celebration will be held 7 p.m. Sept. 24 at the high school stadium, 530 E. Riley Drive, Avondale. The Owls will be playing Flagstaff High School. Underdown PTA to plan fall festival The Underdown Junior High School PTA will meet at 7 p.m. Sept. 20 at the school’s campus, 1642 S. 107th Ave. in Avondale. Plans are in the works for a fall/harvest festival. Call PTA President Theresa Remtula at 623-478-0152 for more information. Early Childhood classes now open at rec center Litchfield Park Recreation Center is accepting registrations for the Early Childhood Learning Class, a program designed for 4- and 5-year-olds. The class is held Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in the Recreation Center Community Room, 100 S. Old Litchfield Road in Litchfield Park. Morning and afternoon classes are available for the program, which runs September through May 2005. Rates are $115 per month per child for Litchfield Park residents, $125 for non-residents. For information, call the rec center at 623-935-9040. New program available to learn language abroad Language Skills Abroad offers language programs for people who wish to study in foreign countries and earn college credit at the same time. The company has a relationship with 20 different language schools designed for the purpose of teaching the local language to foreigners throughout Europe and Latin America. Languages include Spanish, German, Italian, Russian and Arabic. Language Skills Abroad was formed by Lena Diamond, an alumna of Arizona State University, who faced the same challenge as the thousands of students from the United States who each year travel to foreign countries to learn other languages and earn school credit. Because of the financial and time constraints involved, Diamond has created language programs that allow students flexibility in their schedule, and at affordable prices. For information, contact LSA’s Gelie Akhenblit at 480-452-3028 or by e-mail at Gelie@Languageskillsabroad.com. Extra-credit challenge launched by Westcor Shopping center developer and manager Westcor Partners, in partnership with a number of other companies, has launched the 2004 Extra Credit School Challenge, with the goal of directing $150,000 to state public and charter schools. Arizona taxpayers may contribute up to $200 individually ($250 for a household) annually to state public and charter schools and receive a tax credit in like amount for doing so. Under this year’s school challenge, Westcor and its partners will contribute an additional $20, up to a maximum of $1,000 per school, for each maximum donation made. A total of $150,000 has been pledged for the program by Westcor and its partners. Last year, Westcor and its partners contributed $100,000 to schools across the state, and individual school districts reported tax-credit funding increases ranging from 5 percent to 22 percent. 3 WV nursing students awarded scholarships Forty-four students from Arizona’s community colleges and universities, including three nursing students from Buckeye, Goodyear and Tolleson, have received BHHS Legacy and Salsbury scholarships as part of the Campaign for Caring Student Scholarship Program. Patricia Veleta of Buckeye, a nursing student at Arizona State University, Clara Ogar of Goodyear and Nora Quinonez, the latter two nursing students at Phoenix College, were among the scholarship recipients. A total of $134,000 in scholarships — $75,000 from the BHHS Legacy Foundation and $59,000 from the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association Education Foundation Salisbury Scholarship Program — were divided among students seeking careers in nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, radiological treatment and respiratory therapy. The scholarship programs are part of affirmative efforts to address the crisis-level shortage of health-care professionals in Arizona, said John Rivers, president and chief executive officer of the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association. Litchfield High grads planning 50th reunion The Litchfield High School class of 1954 is planning a 50th reunion, to be held Oct. 15 in Goodyear. Reunion organizers are trying to locate the following people: Grace McMillen, Patricia Brown, Larry Horton, Flo Ann Patterson, Betty Lou Bagshaw, Jerry Brunken, James Carden, Dorothy Hodges, Roger Peterson, Ronald Bell, Charles Compton, Jim Peterson and Thomas Wells. Contact David and Dodee Johns at dodee@drjgroup.com for or with information.

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