Scouts Paint Wall-Size World Map For Shiloh Students
Jay Simmer was tired Monday night.
No surprise there. He spent about 30 hours last weekend leading his Boy Scout troop in a giant painting project at Mead’s Shiloh Hill Elementary School.
After all the sweat hours, the finished product is a beautiful, colorful map of the world that covers almost an entire wall at the school.
But rather than get a breather after school Monday, Simmer, a Mead High School senior, sweated through 20 50-yard sprints and one 200-yard sprint at football practice. After a quick shower, he then rushed off to his Scout troop meeting.
About the time Monday Night Football was wrapping up, Simmer was heading off for some trigonometry homework.
“I’m pretty tired,” he said.
The mural fulfills Simmer’s required community service project for his Eagle Scout badge. He spent several weeks getting the project ready, including recruiting members of his Scout troop to volunteer painting time.
The work now done, Simmer says he gets increasingly proud of the project.
“You go look at it and see people’s reaction and get a great sense of accomplishment,” said Simmer. “This is biggest thing I have ever done.”
About 20 members of Troop 210 - all Mead students - worked in five-hour shifts. Parents barbequed, and radios boomed in the background.
The Shiloh Hills parent group donated about $250 for paint, rollers and supplies, and a relative of Shiloh Hills Principal Joan Davis donated a pair of lifts for painting high on the wall.
Simmer became involved in Boy Scouts while in Hawaii. Both his parents work, and Simmer wanted a group that spent lots of time outdoors.
He achieved Life Scout rank in eighth grade and has been working his way through the merit system to earn his Eagle Scout badge. He suffers from attention deficit disorder, and the paperwork necessary to earn merit badges sometimes slows his progress.
But Sally, his mother, said Jay uses a computer whenever possible, which helps.
“At first, he just wanted to get it done,” said Sally, a professional watercolor artist. “When he went out and saw the wall … he got more and more excited.”
Simmer said he has average grades, but the Eagle Scout badge and its prestige offers more paths to college, where he would like to study aeronautical engineering. He would like to eventually become a pilot like his uncle, who flew F-15s.
“Making Eagle - not many people do that,” said Simmer. “It represents that you are responsible and have the good values of the Scouts.”
Cookies for lunch
At Arlington Elementary’s annual parent picnic last week, three top District 81 officials had some nutrition pointers for a student.
The sandy-haired, smiling third-grader, who said he didn’t remember his name, charmed several parents out of their oatmeal cookies and devoured them in cookie monster-size bites.
After working the table of parents and students, the boy hit up the picnic’s special guests - Superintendent Gary Livingston, Assistant Superintendent Ned Hammond and school district spokesman Hugh Davis.
Livingston told the boy he had to finish his half-eaten meal - a cheeseburger, whip-cream fruit salad, baked beans and chocolate milk - before moving to dessert.
Hammond also turned him down.
Davis’ response: “This is Mr. Davis’ cookie. Mr. Davis wants his cookie.”
For the record, the boy got half of this reporter’s cookie.
Memorial for Kara Claypool
Friends and relatives are planning a memorial service for Kara Claypool, the first publicly known child with AIDS in Spokane schools. She died Aug. 30.
Seven-year-old Kara was a student at Willard Elementary in teacher Mary Haymond’s classroom.
People are invited to submit anecdotes, poems and photos for possible use in the service.
Send the remembrances, by Friday, to: Kara’s Memorial, in care of Willard Elementary, 500 W. Longfellow, Spokane, WA 99205.
The service will be held Oct. 7 at 1:30 p.m. at Fourth Memorial Church, 2000 N. Standard.
AIDS curriculum on TV
Parents can see an overview of Spokane District 81’s HIV/AIDS curriculum on Cox Cable Channel 15 through Friday. The 14-minute tape will be played daily at 8:30 a.m and 3:30, 6:30 and 7 p.m.
State law allows parents to take their children out of classes about AIDS after they have seen an overview of the curriculum to be presented.
Handbook a necessity
Mead High School has turned its student handbook - a resource normally relegated to the library - into a daily necessity.
Last spring, the Mead Associated Student Body voted to expand the list of student rules into a day planner and a student resource guide that includes a periodic table and a list of calculus equations.
The first-time experiment appears to have worked. Between classes earlier this week, students flipped through planners, jotting down homework assignments, dates or Melrose Place episodes.
Teachers have helped also.
Business teacher Brock Taylor requires a planner for some of his classes. James Fleming, Taylor’s student and the ASB treasurer, said students like not having to buy one themselves.
“It prepares you for life after high school, for jobs and stuff,” said Fleming.
Fleming said student leaders were leaning toward continuing the planner. To help trim the $4,000 the ASB paid for the 1,800 planners last year, students will be asking local business to advertise.
The only problem: Teachers want them too. The ASB paid for one per student, but Randy Mickelsen, the ASB adviser, said enough might be printed next year to give one to faculty members as well.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo
MEMO: Education Notebook is a regular feature of the North Side Voice. If you have news about an interesting program or activity at a North Side school or about the achievements of North Side students, teachers or school staff, please let us know. Write: Education Notebook, North Side Voice, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210. Call: 459-5484. Fax: 459-5482.