PALMTREE SCHOOL SEEKS HELP, DONATIONS TO FUND ECOLOGY PARK.

Byline: JOANNE CRAWFORD

PALMDALE - Palmtree Elementary School officials, pupils and parents need help from the community to fund the completion of the school's outdoor ecology center and relaxation area.

Parrot Park, sponsored in part by the Palmdale Education Foundation, is intended to provide an environmental laboratory - complete with an ecological curriculum - and a nice place where students can read and relax, said Palmtree Vice Principal Pauline Winbush.

``Mrs. (Mary) Wright, our principal, always tells youngsters to dream big dreams, because dreams do come true,'' Winbush said. ``They are very excited about it, so we really want the community and our parents to get involved.''

The Friends of Parrot Park group is looking for businesses or individuals to donate park benches, picnic tables, water fountains, trees, shrubbery, gardening tools, cement and other related items, Winbush said.

Needed in the near future will be volunteers with ``green thumbs'' and a love of the environment to perform gardening duties on a regular basis, she said.

In addition, officials are looking for public relations volunteers interested in becoming involved with the project, Winbush said.

A $5,000 grant, which will cover only a portion of the undertaking, was approved recently under the National Urban Forestry grant program.

Although the park construction has not begun, teachers have begun training to learn about the Los Angeles County Office of Education's curriculum called ``A Child's Place In Our Environment,'' Winbush said.

Wright and Winbush originally developed the concept for the park, and fifth- and sixth-grade students conducted brainstorming sessions, making drawings and writings about their ideas, Winbush said.

Palmdale Education Foundation officials, who have been heavily involved in the project, were responsible for obtaining the help of the Emanika architectural firm, she said. Architects have rendered a drawing of the completed project, Winbush said.

Anyone interested in helping Palmtree with Parrot Park should call Wright at the school at [phone].

LANCASTER - Antelope Valley College will demonstrate the creative innovation and ingenuity of American Indians in an exhibit Wednesday through May 1 at the campus art gallery, 3041 W. Ave. K.

``Indian Objects for the Living Past'' will feature nearly 100 artifacts from the Antelope Valley Indian Museum under the direction of curator Edra Moore, AVC public relations director Steve Standerfer said.

``The collection of pottery, baskets, paintings and other materials - some dating before the time of Christ - provides a glimpse into the culture of American Indians in California and the Southwest,'' Standerfer said.

Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The exhibit is free and open to the public.

For more information, call [phone], Ext. 346.

LANCASTER - Antelope Valley Adventist School is registering kindergarten through 10th-grade students for the 1997-1998 school year.

Kindergartners must have been born on or before Dec. 2, 1992, said secretary Rita Hardy.

Parents should bring a copy of a birth certificate for the child and proof of immunizations including demonstration of passing the Mantoux tuberculosis test, Hardy said.

Registration fee for all students at the private school is $50. Tuition is decided on a case-by-case basis, she said.

For more information or to receive a school brochure, call Hardy at 942-5699. The school is at 45045 Date Ave.