New program for gifted students starting at Seth

A new class for children identified as gifted learners is set to start this fall at Seth Woodard Elementary.

Sue Fischer, retiring this year as the gifted program consultant for West Valley School District, said the new class is unusual because it places third- through fifth-grade gifted students together all day, for every school day. She helped get the class off the ground as part of the district’s Program for Accelerated and Creative Education.

“This class will be for students identified by the district as gifted,” said Fischer. “This one at Seth is a magnet gifted class. No one in the area has this.”

“This is not a pull-out program. This will be their classroom place all school day, all school year.”

The class has a limit of 26 students and is already full with a waiting list. WVSD will continue offering its other gifted programs for students who participate in a cluster model at individual schools.

“The kids are clustered in a particular classroom at each school,” Fischer said. “That teacher writes the individual teaching plan and uses differentiated curriculum.”

However, the new Seth class model opens the door for children who need a more intense learning environment.

“There are degrees of giftedness. If a person’s IQ is around 130, most of those do well in a cluster. They just need a little extra push. The kids who are the farther away from the norm, the more they need a differentiated program. We have a significant number of these kids who are in this group.”

The district also offers a gifted cluster group at Centennial Middle School. Beginning in sixth grade, those kids are kept in a core group throughout their middle school years. The students are still grouped together in a mentor class in high school.

In the WVSD, anyone can nominate a child for PACE, including parents, teachers, administrators, and grandparents. A screening process is completed that includes testing and criteria. If a student comes from another school district and is identified in that former district as gifted, then re-testing is not required.

Children are tested at the end of second grade and participation in PACE starts in third grade. A student can be tested at any point beyond second grade.

For more information on the gifted class or about PACE, call the district at 924-2150.

Greenacres fifth-graders receive care package

Fifth-graders in teacher Jill Moll‘s Greenacres Elementary class got a special care package last Friday from Ramadi, Iraq. It was sent by Army Chaplain (Capt.) Robert T. Kinnune, a former student who serves with the 321st Army Reserves Engineer Battalion.

During this past school year, the students had sent letters, care packages, and even the class mascot, “Flat Stanley,” to Kinnune at the Forward Operations Base in Ramadi, home to 5,000 U.S. soldiers.

Dianne Lemley, Kinnune’s mother, helped open the package Friday and shared photos and stories with the students. “Flat Stanley,” a paper character used to promote literacy, returned to the students with a disposable camera depicting his adventures on the base.

The students also received a U.S. flag that had flown over the base with a certificate recognizing their service to the soldiers. Kinnune often distributes the students’ letters to soldiers on their birthdays as a morale boost. Lemley, a former Central Valley teacher, is also active with the Family Readiness Group, through which she volunteers to support local families of Army soldiers.

Governors Scholarship given to WVHS student

A West Valley High School student was awarded a Washington Governors Scholarship.

Kaitie Twiggs, who plans on attending Spokane Community College, is among 31 foster youth whose names were announced on June 1 by Governor Chris Gregoire, along with former Governor Gary Locke, in Olympia. These scholarships will help young adults in state, tribal or federally recognized foster, group and kinship care enroll in and graduate from college.

Since the program began, a total of 156 students have been awarded four-year scholarships to attend Washington colleges and universities. Nine of the scholarship recipients have graduated and completed the program, which was formed by Governor Locke in 2001. The scholarship program is primarily funded by proceeds from the annual Governors Cup Golf Tournament.

Fifty-three students applied for the Governors Scholarship program this year. Additional information can be found on the College Success Foundation’s Web site at www.collegesuccessfoundation.org/gs.

Battle of the books concludes

East Valley Middle School students recently took on the “Name That Book” challenge, for the fourth year in a row.

In a Battle of the Books-type contest, students read a number of books outside the regular curriculum. They then compete in teams answering trivia questions about the selected books.

This year, 94 students and one teacher competed on 30 teams over four weeks, leading up to the final championship game. The winning team this year was called “Who Wants to Know?” with seventh-grade students Allison Momb, Denis Matveyev, Lynsey Sather and Devin Hobbs. They each received a $10 gift certificate to Barnes & Noble Booksellers and have their picture displayed in the library until a new winner is declared next year.