Wilson Elementary Launching Science Olympiad

Friday, students at Wilson Elementary School will count their cake and eat it too.

Lynda MacQuarrie a fourth-grade teacher at the school, and Elaine Vonada, a sixth-grade teacher, have planned an all-school science olympiad at Wilson.

One of the events, designed for first-graders who have been studying nutrition, involves identifying foods from the five basic food groups and placing them in the right car on the big nutrition train, MacQuarrie said.

And, of course, once the cargo has been loaded and its contents tallied, students get a small snack from each of the cars - cake included.

This is the first year Wilson will stage a science olympiad. In previous years, the school has held science fairs.

“We want to get away from the traditional science fair,” MacQuarrie said. “It’s so competitive.

“A lot of the children have parents who help them with the take-home project, and others don’t. I think it’s important for all children to enjoy science and be successful.”

The event begins at 12:30 p.m. and concludes at 3 p.m. Students will have their own science olympiad packet and be involved in two to four activities.

Like scientists all over the world, the children will predict an outcome for their project, proceed with the experiment and then record data. They will then compare their predictions with the actual outcome, MacQuarrie said.

The science olympiad concept is an extension of Spokane School District 81’s policy of implementing a “hands-on” science program for all grade levels.

“These aren’t pencil-and-paper activities,” MacQuarrie said. “We try to plan and choose activities that will complement or extend the science units that are taught at each grade level.”

This year fourth-graders have been studying electrical circuits, buoyancy and earth landforms. Sixth-graders at Wilson have studied elements, compounds and mixtures; kindergartners, recording data and prediction.

Thursday’s activities will spill out into the hallways, gym and playground, where fifth-graders will be building rockets.

If all goes well, the olympiad may become an annual event. “We haven’t told the kids too much about what’s taking place Thursday, so it will be a little bit of a surprise,” she said.

Kiwanas protect heads and minds

Every student at Garden Springs Elementary School without a bicycle helmet will receive one today courtesy of Dick Honnold, a member of the West Spokane Kiwanis Club.

Honnold, owner of Interstate Battery, “donated all the money for the helmets,” said Principal Joe Mirich. Members of the West Spokane Kiwanas have also purchased new books for each third-grader at Garden Springs.

“These are their own,” Mirich said. “Each child has his or her name in the book.”

The Kiwanians will hold their weekly meeting at the school today. The books will be presented at noon to Tamra Ireland’s third-graders.

At 1 p.m. students will receive their bike helmets.

“The kids don’t know they’re getting the books yet. It makes my hair stand up,” Mirich said.

“It’s such a wonderful thing. This doesn’t happen very often.”

Treats for trees

Students from Hutton Elementary used a portion of the proceeds from a bake and craft sale held two weeks ago to buy trees, said Hutton Principal Deborah Johnson.

Members of the third/fourth-grade combination class of Kim Johnson and Sara Devins bought two young black alder trees for Manito Park. Last week, the children planted the saplings by the duck pond. The trees will help replace those destroyed by November’s ice storm.

‘Math Is Cool’

Thirty-six math teams from 15 regional schools recently participated in the seventh grade “Math Is Cool Championship” at Lewis and Clark High School. The seventh-grade championship was sponsored by Washington Trust Bank and hosted by LC math teacher Gregg Sampson.

The top-scoring individuals from each of the participating South Hill schools are: Ellie Nagy, Cataldo Catholic School; Caitlin Connelly, Hutton Elementary School; Andrew Kugler, Lincoln Heights Elementary School; and Greg Hogan, Medical Lake Middle School.

The four South Side students who were among the top 15 overall scorers are: Ellie Nagy Cataldo Catholic School, sixth place; Caitlin Connelly, Hutton, seventh place; Michael Connelly, Hutton, 14th place; and Bonnie Eldenburg, Hutton, 15th place.

The three South Side teams that scored in the top seven teams are: Tom Feulner, Laura Gabby, Katie Gillum and Ellie Nagy, Cataldo Catholic School, third-place; Caitlin Connelly, Bonnie Eldenburg, Stefani Kaupilla and Lili Kellman, Hutton Elementary School, fourth-place; and Michael Connelly, Martin Escandon, Chris Halvorson and Bryce Henson, Hutton Elementary School, seventh-place.

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