U-Hi tenor to sing at Kennedy Center

Ross Mumford, who will be a senior at University High School in the fall, will travel to Washington, D.C., this month to perform at the 2010 National Honor Ensembles.

Students from 35 states will participate in the performance on June 27 at 4 p.m. at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Mumford sings tenor and is a performer in the U-Hi drama department and at the Civic Theater. He also performed in “Il Pagliaci” with the Spokane Opera. When the drama department from his school competed at the 5th Avenue Theatre’s High School Musical Awards, Mumford won Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for his portrayal of Anthony in “Sweeney Todd.”

“I’m pretty jazzed,” Mumford said of his trip to Washington D.C. “Singing and learning with this group and director will be great for me.”

He hopes to attend the Boston Conservatory and then move on to Broadway.

“Somebody’s going to do it, why not me?” he said.

Summer meals for children

The West Valley School District will present the Simplified Summer Food Program for children 18 years old and younger.

Registration for the meals is not required and children don’t need to be enrolled in the West Valley School District to participate.

The meals will be served at Centennial Middle School, 925 N. Ella Road, through Aug. 26 Monday through Thursday. Breakfast will be served from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. and lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Lunch only will be served at West Valley High School, 8301 E. Buckeye Ave., through Aug. 12 Monday through Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

There will be no meal service on July 5.

For more information, call (509) 232-6092.

Teens receive award for arson tip

Two teenagers each received $750 for providing a copy of a text message that implicated four other teens and an adult in an arson fire at Adams Elementary School in June 2009.

Principal Jeff Dufresne accepted the award on behalf of the tipsters, who will remain anonymous.

The fire was set in a garbage can under the covered play area of the school. Fire sprinklers controlled the blaze until the fire department arrived.

The award was presented by Darrin Sanger of the NW Insurance Council and Kevin Miller, the fire marshal of the Spokane Valley Fire Department.

Student’s Spanish poem wins contest

Haley Galik, who will be a senior at West Valley High School, recently received an award from the Office of Education of the Embassy of Spain. The embassy invited high school Spanish students to submit essays and poetry in its yearly contest. The essays and poems will be included in a booklet published by the embassy. The theme this year was “Somos más parecidos que diferentes,” which means “We are more similar than different.”

Galik’s poem in Spanish won first place.

Her Spanish teacher at West Valley is Margarita Plascencia.

Kudos

•The advanced marketing students at Central Valley High School recently participated in the second annual International Economic Summit on May 12.

The event simulates a world trade summit and teaches high school students economic concepts of international trade.

The overall summit winner was the team of Michael Barnhart, Markus Heintz and Sam Neumann who represented Russia in the simulation.

Leah Amsden and Annaliese Collins represented Cambodia and won the best table display.

The best costume award was a tie between Brooke Gallaway and Brandon Guy, representing Greece and Austin Parker and Conner Stephenson, representing Pakistan.

Other students from CV who participated in the event include Morgan Frock, Jessica Long, Ashley Richardson, Alex Bliss, Delaney Fisher, Amber Bliss, Courtney Stokesbary, Mackenzie Inge, Taryn Seacrist, Maci McLain, Hannah Calligan, Addison Tucker cq, Julia Marquiss, Davice Johnson, Tyler Thompson, Aaron Houston, Jordan Tuttle, Roni Dringle, Kendra Reilly, Brandon Fayant, Zach Norris, Devrick Barnett, Gaven Deyarmin, Danny Nimri, Dakotah Howatt, Troy Smith, Evan Grinalds, Phil Terrell, Michael Guarisco, Jarod Maynes, James Notrica, Jace Parker, Lane Fowler, Joseph Guerrinha, Chino Bautista and Jake Curran.

Also attending the summit were students from the school’s graphic design and Web design classes, who helped the marketing students enhance their presentations. Those students include Karissa Elliot, Thuy Duong, Ashleigh Dillon, Hayley Fechser, Brianna Hicks, Zane Allinger, Erik Buechler, Jeremey Leestma, Christopher Schneider, Blake Holloway, Cody Bafus, Cameron Fyhrie, Eric McHugo, Bradin Giglio, Garrett Ribail, Nicholas Evans, Anthony Brommer and Therin Taylor.

The marketing education teacher is Robin Barnhart.

•Emily Barkley , Breanna Ahlgren, Chris Sturm and Jinhyuk Kim from Central Valley High School have been awarded $3,500 each in U.S. Savings Bonds from eCybermission, a Web-based, science, math and technology competition, for being regional finalists in a science competition. Katy Weisbeck, Carly Wold, Aidan Dowling and Taylor Butters each won $6,500 in savings bonds and a trip to Baltimore and Washington, D.C., later this month.

The team’s adviser is Lori Buratto.