Chase Students Early Birds For Nature Study
Juanita Baldwin was having a busy morning.
First it was a Brewer’s blackbird on the lawn.
Then a red-tailed hawk swooped over the meadow. Then a magpie perched nearby.
Baldwin dutifully recorded her observations in the laptop computer she toted along with her.
The Chase Middle School eighth-grader and several of her classmates have spent the past three months monitoring the fields surrounding their school, recording which birds frequent the area.
The information Chase students gather will be sent to University of Washington via computer. The data become part of the university’s NatureMapping program and provide a means of tracking the migratory patterns of area birds.
But Chase science teachers Diane Gibson and Heather Cassidy say the best part is the students’ enthusiasm about the project. Students consistently have shown up at 7:30 a.m. to take part, they said.
“This actually matters for something,” said eighth-grader Pat Frederickson. “It’s not just for them to give us a grade.”
Student Chae Hoban said she learned better by observing the birds.
“Instead of flipping through a book, I get to actually see the birds in real life,” she said.
The project was funded by $25,000 in grant money.
The dollars bought several laptop computers, which students carry into the field to record their observations. They’re also armed with old-fashioned binoculars and bird guides.
More than half of Chase’s eighth-graders took part and culminated their work with a 16-page newsletter wrapping up their months of observations.
Jan Reynolds, a “self-taught naturalist” who works with students around the city, said she hopes the project will have a lasting effect.
“I’m hoping they will continue to see the connections in their natural environment and take it with them,” said Reynolds. “Eventually, these kids will be the ones making the decisions about our environment.”
Students beef up competitive skills
Several Medical Lake High School students will head to the national FFA competition.
Andy Williams, Adam Lust, Jared Williams, Jonny Varona and Aaron Gomez placed first in state in meats evaluation and technology career development events. The state events took place last month at Washington State University.
The five had to identify retail cuts of beef, pork and lamb and grade carcasses like U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors would.
“The process involves a lot of technical kinds of things,” said Medical Lake FFA adviser Randy Williams. “It takes a kid who really wants to practice.”
Twenty Medical Lake students went to state. This is the first time Medical Lake students have gone on to nationals.
Chase marching band wins first
The Chase Middle School marching band took first place in the junior high division at the Sea to Ski Festival in Bellingham last month.
Band director Jane Bateham said 285 Chase students traveled to Bellingham for the event.
“We try to take a trip out of the city every other year,” she said.
It was the first time Chase marched at Sea to Ski.
Kids can cast their lot with arts
District 81 student who just completed grades 3 through 8 can express their creativity this summer through Creative Arts in SummerTime (CAST).
The fine arts program integrates music, art, dance and drama classes for students at all levels of proficiency. A final program, CAST’s Festival of the Arts, is presented for parents and the public during the last week of CAST.
The program runs in the morning, from next Wednesday through July 15.
For additional information, call the CAST office at 353-5200.
District names new principal
Lincoln Heights Elementary will have a new principal at the helm next fall.
Rick Haffner, currently the large-school facilitator for Audubon and Roosevelt elementary schools, will take over at Lincoln Heights in the fall.
Current principal Al Fein is retiring.
Haffner has been a district employee since 1987.
He taught third, fifth and sixth grades at Stevens Elementary. He completed his administrative internship at the same school in 1995.