'STELLA VIA' SET FOR ART, LEARNING.

Byline: Eugene Tong Staff Writer

CANYON COUNTRY - A spot of Henri Matisse, the swirls of Edvard Munch and even the psychedelia of Andy Warhol will be on display at Sierra Vista Junior High this weekend as part of the chalk art and education festival.

But the event, dubbed ``Stella Via,'' serves both as a community event and an opportunity to engage parents and students in preparation for next month's state Standardized Testing and Reporting exams.

``The time of the year is perfect for this kind of thing,'' Assistant Principal Sal Frias said Monday. Local elementary school students slated to enroll at Sierra Vista are also encouraged to attend, he said.

The festival is scheduled to display 18 pieces of student-produced sidewalk chalk art - from Salvador Dali's vision of melted clocks in ``Persistence of Memory'' to the abstraction of Matisse's ``Icarus.'' Nearby, junior high teachers will host 15-minute workshops on subjects including reading, English language, mathematics and study skills.

``We can get parents here to look at the beautiful artwork, and we want to take advantage of the situation and give them some information about testing,'' Frias said. ``We just want to give insight and information to further increase our scores.''

Last year, Sierra Vista scored 746 on the Academic Performance Index, which reflects performance on the STAR exams. While the number still placed it within the top 20 percent of California schools, it was still short of the 800-point proficiency mark.

For 2004, the school must raise its API by three points to 749.

Teams of up to 36 students will begin filling in their artwork Friday. The festival is scheduled for Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 19425 W. Stillmore St., Canyon Country.

Eugene Tong, [phone]

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com