Students To Monitor Habitat Near Chase Science Project Will Provide Data For Wildlife Agency, UW
The great outdoors will merge with modern technology for some Chase Middle School eighth-graders this year.
Science teachers Heather Cassidy and Diane Gibson comprise one of 10 teams recently awarded a District 81 Innovative Ideas Grant.
This means, come springtime, 280 Chase students will cart 16 new Apple laptop computers into the fields to record their observations.
Developed by the state Department of Wildlife and the University of Washington, the NatureMapping project compiles data to be used by resource agencies around the state to monitor wildlife habitats.
From March to June next year, Chase students will use the laptops to identify wildlife species and map the school’s mixed surroundings of housing developments and natural habitat.
They’ll compare wildlife in the rural and urban settings and send their information to be added to the University of Washington’s NatureMapping Web site.
“The best thing is, we’re reaching more than half the eighth-graders in the school with this project,” said Gibson. “It’s not just a small segment that will benefit.”
In addition to contributing to the statewide database, students will be learning how to conduct scientific investigations in the field and interpret their data, the teachers said.
The work will culminate in a Chase ecosystem Web site, to be posted when the project is completed next June.
Teen center seals deal with district
Although it’s been open since June, the Libby Teen Center got the official District 81 welcome at the school board’s Nov. 26 meeting.
The board voted to enter into a joint-use agreement with the teen center, providing the center with district facilities and services.
This gives the center access to the cafeteria and gym at the Libby Center, which houses the teen program in addition to several district-run programs.
District custodians will also maintain the center.
The Libby Teen Center, at 2900 E. First, opened this past summer after five years of planning by East Central community members. It’s intended to give kids ages 12 through 18 a place to hang out.
It offers pool, television and a slew of video and board games.
P.E. teacher honored
Fannie Bush, a physical education teacher at Adams Elementary, has been named the Elementary Physical Educator of the Year by the Washington Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.
Bush received the district Distinguished Teacher Award in 1993.
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MEMO: The Education Notebook is a regular feature of the South Side Voice. Please let us know about interesting programs and activities, and the achievements of students, teachers, administrators, staff and volunteers at schools on Spokane’s South Side and in Cheney, Medical Lake and the Liberty School District. Contact Amy Scribner, South Side Voice, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210. Or call 459-5439. Fax 459-5482.