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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Reid Conferences Will Follow ‘Arena’ Format

Janice Podsada Staff writer

Unlike the situation at Cheney’s five other elementary schools, the parent-teacher conferences at Robert Reid Elementary School next week will be “arena” style rather than the traditional meeting of a student’s parents with individual teachers.

Reid parents are invited to meet with the four or five instructors who work with their child during a typical week, not just the one teacher who spends most of the time with that student.

Joseph Mirich, Reid’s principal for the past six years, said he was initially skeptical of arena conferences when they were implemented at Reid two years ago. The arrangement puts all the school’s teachers in the gym for two sessions of conferences.

Students spend most days with one teacher, Mirich said, “but twice a week a student spends a 35-minute period with the physical education teacher, 35 minutes with the music teacher and 45 minutes once a week with the school librarian.”

Students who are having difficulty in a particular subject, such as math or reading, may spend additional time each week with other instructors.

Arena conferences allow parents to meet every teacher who instructs their child, Mirich said.

The conferences are held in the school’s gym in an informal atmosphere. Parents select the teachers with whom they want to confer.

Conferences begin Wednesday, from noon to 7 p.m, and continue through next Thursday, from noon to 4 p.m.

Cheney High School also is using arena-style parent-teacher conferences, Mirich said.

Crash dummies to visit Hamblen

Vince and Larry, the “car crash dummies,” will visit Hamblen Elementary School on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. to honor students who strap on their bike helmets when they cycle and buckle their seat belts when they ride in the car with their mom or dad.

When Mary Hiss, injury prevention coordinator with the Spokane County Health District, made a surprise visit to Hamblen one day last month, she found that 82 percent of the students who biked to school that day had worn their helmets.

Fifth-grade teacher Steve Powers attributes the high percentage to the school’s emphasis on bicycle safety.

“Our school has a bike rodeo every year. We not only stress wearing a bike helmet but how to wear it,” Powers said.

In addition, Powers also accepted a Spokane County Emergency Medical Services challenge: Make sure all his students and their families wear their seat belts every time they drove anywhere during a seven-day period last month.

Win the challenge and win a catered pizza lunch, EMS officials said.

“This is the first such challenge EMS has ever issued to an elementary school,” said Ray Tansy Jr., spokesman for EMS.

The students had to return a statement signed by them and their parents stating they had completed the challenge.

“Every student responded, which is not a real normal thing, but with this challenge they all came right back,” Powers said.

“Any time the kids can get involved in fire and home safety, they really pick up on that and share it with their families,” Powers said.

The challenge met, pizza will be served Wednesday, the same day the crash-test dummies are featured at Hamblen.

Ferris wheelchair athlete wins race

Ferris High School freshman Tyler Byers, 14, won first place Saturday in the wheelchair division of the Washington State Cross Country Championships in Pasco.

“Pretty exciting for him, huh?” said Principal Jon Bentz.

Byers competed against three wheelchair athletes from Western Washington in a 1.9-mile race.

“It was only a race for about 80 seconds,” Byers said.

The Ferris student finished the race in 8:43 - 1:14 ahead of the second-place finisher.

“I trained really hard,” Byers said. “I feel great.”

But Byers has yet another sport to conquer, said Bentz.

“He’s just about ready to start his wrestling career on our team,” the principal said.

Sunset students pour on the food

Students at Sunset Elementary School in Airway Heights are gearing up to fill their local locomotive full of food.

For the past five years, Sunset has sponsored a December food drive.

Each classroom collects as many items of food as possible and puts them in boxes decorated like the cars of a train.

Each classroom has its own “boxcar,” said Principal Dave West.

All food collected by the students is donated to local food banks, including the Airway Heights food bank, West said.

The classroom that brings in the greatest number of food items wins a hamburger, fries and dessert at the Airway Heights Zip’s Drive-In.

“Last year we brought in 2,500 food items,” West said. “This is a great way to teach kids the pleasure of giving.”

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