COMMUNITY NEWS GAETA MOTIVATES WITH 'STAR WARS'.

Valerio Street Elementary School teacher Pablo Gaeta was one of three educators nationwide to receive a National Disney Education Award for primary elementary education.

Chosen from among more than 50,000 nominees, the third-grade teacher was honored for setting high expectations in the classroom and creating an energized environment for his students.

Thinking creatively, Gaeta has developed a ``Star Wars''-inspired Jedi Academy in his classroom.

``I take all that is noble and I have a Jedi Code that sets the tone for the kids,'' he said. ``Through the Jedi Academy, they feel like they can accomplish their tasks.''

Gaeta will compete with 45 other teachers across the country for the 2005 Disney Teacher Award, which will honor five educators for their creativity, innovative teaching methods and ability to inspire students.

Robin Joyce Calote has been named to take the reins of the Ventura County Community College District. Calote, former vice president of instruction at San Bernardino Valley College, has more than 30 years' experience including leadership roles in academic instruction and management in higher education. She succeeds Larry Calderson, who left more than a year ago to become president of Broward Community College in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The Ventura Police Officers Association is accepting applications for its second annual Dee Dowell Memorial Scholarship. Four $1,000 scholarships will be presented in August to students who are entering their freshman or sophomore year in college. The scholarship is named in honor of Sgt. Darlon ``Dee'' Dowell, who was shot and killed in 1978 and is the only officer in the city's history to die in the line of duty. Applications are due June 30 and are available at www.venturapd.org/.

After a year-long effort, nearly 3,000 toys and blankets - many of them handmade - were donated to the Department of Children and Family Services by nearly 1,000 volunteers with Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints congregations including those in Calabasas, Canoga Park, Chatsworth, Reseda, Tarzana, West Hills, Woodland Hills and Thousand Oaks. The donated items, with a total estimated value of $55,000, were distributed to 13 Children and Family Services offices throughout the county to benefit abused children.

Viewpoint School seniors Anjali Tripathi of Woodland Hills, Kara Jancourtz of Calabasas and junior Erin Mann of Agoura Hills took national rankings in the 70th annual Le Grand Concours French Contest, a national competition sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French.

Of more than 5,000 students who took the level five test, Anjali ranked eighth, and Kara and Erin both ranked 11th.

Meanwhile, seniors Talun Zeltoun of Woodland Hills, Sarah Spano of Malibu and Jamie Rugg of Woodland Hills earned regional recognitions in the contest, which evaluated students on their written, oral and listening comprehension skills in French.

California State University, Northridge's public radio station KCSN-FM (88.5) has won three regional Edward R. Murrow Awards from the Radio and Television News Directors Association, including the award for overall excellence for the second consecutive year. That award was for a compilation of work by KCSN's team, which is made up of full-time news director Keith Goldstein and students majoring in broadcast journalism. It also won an award for best newscast for its 30-minute news show Sept., 21, 2004, and senior Kaitlyn Van Diepen received an award in feature reporting for a story on literacy.