Teen Scores When Put to the Test

This fall season has produced the usual crop of tense 12th-graders, including Calabasas High School student Yashih Wu, who, like other top students, spent weeks preparing for the Scholastic Assessment Tests--used by most colleges in the admissions process--and worked overtime polishing her applications to the country’s most prestigious schools.

What separates Yashih from most of her peers, however, is the recent news that she scored a perfect 1,600 on her SATs, a feat not easily or often accomplished.

“I was shaking when I got my scores,” the 17-year-old said. “When I shared the news with my family, my dad began screaming and crying. He was very happy.”

Yashih’s exceptional SAT performance, coupled with her perfect scores on the subject-specific SAT II exams and her near-perfect advanced placement scores, has school administrators feeling rather emotional, too.

“You can’t help but love Yashih,” said Calabasas High college counselor Sheryl Burnam. “She’s an incredible combination of ability, motivation and humility.”

The soft-spoken Yashih, who plans to pursue a career in medicine, said that her academic successes, while extremely gratifying, occasionally have presented a downside as well.

“With every good achievement, there is some jealousy by others who will not be as happy for me, and there’s also a lot of pressure to keep up the reputation I’ve established as a good student,” she said. “But the advantages of doing well are that I’ve developed the self-confidence to believe that I’m capable, and that makes me feel better about myself.”

KUDOS

Ring the Bell: San Fernando High School was honored recently at the California School Boards Assn.’s 19th annual Golden Bell Awards luncheon in San Diego. Teachers Bernardo Ramos and Valerie Madrigal were singled out for their Multilingual Teacher Career Academy, a program that trains future teachers to address the needs of students whose native language is not English.

Roaring Success: Burbank students Jazmin Olivari, 12, of John Muir Middle School, Carolina Buhler, 13, of David Starr Jordan Middle School and Alisha Smirch, 13, of Luther Burbank Middle School each received awards and $50 savings bonds for their winning artwork in the Lions International “Planting the Seeds of Peace” poster contest.

EVENTS

Grand Tour: Vintage Math, Science and Technology Magnet School will offer tours of the North Hills campus, including its new computer lab, on Friday at 8:30 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. For information, call (818) 892-8661.

Kids’ Play: Portola Middle School in Tarzana will present “Kids w/Kids,”an original play written and produced by the advanced drama class. Performances run through Monday. Groups interested in attending may contact teacher Paul Richardson at (818) 342-6173.

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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.