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PHOENIX END OF THE YEAR REPORT FROM THE SCHOOLSPark Slope Students Create Their Own Model of Prospect Park for FairBY MARGUERITE PROVENZANOAnother recent in-depth study ot theborough%u2019s Prospect Park was completedthis year, but there was something differentabout this one. Instead of environmentalistsdetermining pollution levels or insectspecies, these investigators were fourthgraders from P.S. 282 working on a specialscience project.The school was chosen to work with theEnvironmental Center after District 13 received funding for its proposal to create thiskind of program. Other schools in the district worked on projects too, but the modelof Prospect Park was the only completedvisual project done by any of the schools.Ray Wiggers of the Parks Department commented that %u201cP.S. 282 was the m ost ambitious.%u201d It was shown at the school%u2019s sciencefair during the first week in June.The entire fourth grade was involved inthe project, and students made many tripsto the park during the fall, winter andspring. This accounts for the variety of colors and viewpoints in the completed model,which consists of 100 individual boxes puttogether to represent the whole park. Eachstudent worked on two boxes, portrayingtheir favorite parts of the park, in theseasons they like best.Principal Beverly Hall pointed out that%u201cevery (me is unique. Each child saw something different.%u201dExamining the project revealed that falland spring were preferred over winter, andcertain areas, such as the duck pond andarch-bridge, were favorite spots. In addition to studying the park in differentseasons, these young scientists used scientific methods to observe the elem ents in themeadows, woods and waters; they mademaps and com passes and used weatherequipment as well.Some of the fourth-graders shared theirnew-found knowledge with a visitor.Tawane Dinkens said, %u201cThere%u2019s a north treewith green moss growing on its north side.%u201dCharlene Rodriguez explained: %u201cThere%u2019s ayellow flower that turns to a wish flowerFourth-graders Tawane Dinkins, Hyeyoung Jun, Charlene Rodriguez and Nadine Ariasstand proudly in front of their m iniature of Prospect Park with their principal, Beverly Hall,and Ray W iggers, of the Prospect Park Adm inistrator's Office. The robot (right) beeped andtalked. (Phoenix/Provenzano Photos)with a parachute.%u201d Quaker Hill was thefavorite spot of Nadine Arias. She explained, %u201cIt%u2019s a brown hill that%u2019s kind of hard.You can see how trees and flowers grow bylooking at it.%u201dThis model of Prospect Park was onlyone of the many projects that filled the P.S.282 gymnasium at the science fair. Eachclass worked on its own project under thlhelpful eye of Eleanor McLean, science coordinator. %u2014%u201cMrs. McLean%u2019s enthusiasm catches on tocreate Science Fair Fever,%u201d explained principal Hall. McLean added that the teachers%u2019cooperation helped make the fair such asuccess.McLean described each project as requiring %u201ctotal involvement of each class withthe teacher%u201d in order to produce the desiredresult. Of the fourth graders working on thepark model, she said: %u201cDespite their inhibitions about doing a %u2018project,%u2019 they werequite excited doing it once they got into it.%u201dMcLean, in charge of showing the classesaround the gym , started by showing agroup of kindergarteners an exhibit onpollution done by a Special Education class.The students repeated this refrain with her:%u201cPollution is BAD,%u201d and sang a song reinforcing the idea. The class then moved toan exhibit about fruit with kids dressed asapples, bananas, pears and other fruit.Following this were displays on jungle anim als, robots, musical instruments and insects, most with some sort of teaching aidsuch as a song, lights or tape.The definite show-stopper was the %u201cOuterSpace Exhibit.%u201d All of a sudden the lightswent out, and a series of flashing lights wasfollowed by a talking alien and a light show.Stragglers still elsewhere in the gym movedin for a better view of this m ulti-senselearning experience.Classes picked the topics they wanted towork on, though most chose one of the subjects they had been discussing during theyear. The third grade had a particular fascination with the human body, and diagrammed its various system s and organs.Kids visiting the projects got a chance tolearn what the other classes had learned,and responded appropriately at eachshowcase, such as when many students actually shivered on this stifling June daywhile standing in front of the %u201cIce Age%u201ddisplay done by another Special Educationclass.Awards and Honors Go To Students at Downtown Area SchoolsThis has been a very successful spring interms of awards, achievements, and honorsfor local schoolchildren. From Boerum Hillto Park Slope to Fort Greene, the recognitions are almost as numerous as thestudents.The P.S. 39 chorus was given quite anhonor when it was invited to sing %u201cTheStar-Spangled Banner%u201d at Shea Stadiumwhen the Mets played the L.A. Dodgers onMay 29. Music teacher Alan Zwim directedthe singers.Four local winners in a %u201cMagic Theatreat BAM%u201d creative poster competition werehonored with a luncheon and performanceof %u201cLady Liberty,%u201d as well as with savingsbonds. So-Hyun Kim from P.S. 39, JenniferWatson from PJS. 29, and Taguo A1 Hammami and Mario Todeo from P.S. 261 willhave their work on display in the BAM lobby through June 27.P.S. 20 held a 150-student oratorical competition from which third-grader CacheChurch went on to win the District 13 Storytelling Championship with her recitation of%u201cWhy Spiders Live in Comers,%u201d an AfricanFolktale. Four other students went on to theBrooklyn Borough Championships in theDelta Sigma Theta Oratorical Competition.They are Rhonda Bonilla, Khaibah Stuart,Aisha Pew, and Sabriyha Hassan.Spring is also the season in which manyschools hold their science and math fairs.I.S. 88%u2019s Science Fair awarded prizes totheir students and also to the P.S. 107 andPJS. 10 students who participated in theFair. I.S. 88 winners were Zoe Hudson, AmySandgrund, Alexander Fong, and AdamSchecter. Sixth grade winners were CassieEhmeberg, Aleida Mojica, Bering SeidenMiller, Leila Ortiz, Graciella Walken, Annita Krishnanan and Jesse Lanser. Seventhgrade prize-takers were Oliver Cary, JoshGray, Melissa Poe, Josepha Gonzalez andPeter King. Alexis Kravitz, Kristie Wronski,Olivia D%u2019Aponte, Lisa Hayes, Maya Petti------n ---------t i -------- x r------ -%u2014 %u2014 A*.\\J k u 5 L K U U M I l H M l l U j U U I J U i l V l l k V U w i t v * JLouis were eighth grade winners.Ninth grade winners were Josephine Connelly, Arlene Valentine, Miriam Gonzalez,Tirson Santiago, Teresa Collins, Aura Ponton and Maria Gill. P.S. 107%u2019s winner wasDavid Ehrenberg, and P.S. 10%u2019s winner wasDesiree Santiago.The results from the I.S. 88 Math Fairhave come in as well. Amy Sandgrun andAlison Gabel took first place with their project on %u201cThe Solar & Lunar Calendar,%u201dHarold Smith won second place with %u201cComputer Probability,%u201d and Amos Torres camein third with %u201cDodecahedron.%u201d Maya Newton got an honorable mention for her oralpresentation of %u201cMath Maze,%u201d and%u201cCircuit%u201d by Melissa David received theprize for best inspiration.Individual academic and service awardshave been earned by many as well. GennieGambale, a sixth grader at P.S. 58, received the %u201cGolden Record of AchievementAward.%u201d Winners of the District 15 ChapterI Math Olympics were Christopher Negronfrom P.S. 10, and Shawn Lee from L.S. 293.Individual school winners were SuzanneSchwartz of J.H.S. 51, Andrew Magidoff andAlison Gabel of I.S. 88, Young Su Lee, PeterRuss and Daniel Zinamon of J.HJS. 142, andRosa De La Cruz, Tanya Toppin and YadiraBonilla from I.S. 293. The highest schoolwinner was 142, with those three studentssplitting a three way tie for District winner.One other Junior High School 51 achievement was the success of runner-up YolandaHernandez in the Intermediate category ofthe Spanish Spelling Bee.District 13 awarded the Mario DeFalcoAward for outstanding community serviceto one student in each of its schools. Localwinners were Debbie Cruz of P.S. 46,Shatisha Ingram of P.S. 67, Dimarys Gonzalez of P.S. 133, Veronica Alford of P.S.270, Jason Homa of P.S. 282, Eyana Cuff ofP.S. 287, Charles Schmitt of P.S. 307,Nichole Harewood-DeGannes of J.H.S. 113,Madeleine Soto of Satellite HI, GeorgeSpencer of Satellite IV, and YolandaStuckey of Sum mit/SP.In addition to these is a group of 550B p n n lrly n o tu H o n tc w h n h n v p p a m p H C n m rvtrailer%u2019s Awards for outstanding achievement in science, mathematics, computertechnology and economics in the 1985-86school year.%u2014M.P.The Marching Band of P.S. 58 was honored recently by the invitation to join in a specialperform ance outside C ity Hall on M ay 22.Three mem bers of the Apaches enjoying the recent P.S. 321 Fair. Their team is one ofthe top St. Francis Xavier Little League Popcorn Division. The league ends its season June22 with an All-Star game at the Prospect Park Parade Grounds at 1:30pm. (Phoenix/PearsonPhoto)June 19,1986, THE PHOENIX, Page 21