Colbert Kids Learning Skills By Creating Art

A flurry of cutting and gluing filled Colbert Elementary School last week as students fashioned construction-paper eyes, mustaches and noses, and positioned them on paper faces.

“I want mine to look like a business man with a mustache and glasses,” said Amanda Nicol, 9, of her mask. At a neighboring desk, Vanessa Stranahan affixed strands of curly, rainbow-colored paper hair to her creation.

But mask-making was only the start of an inventive day orchestrated by Ron and Marsha Feller. Artists, musicians and general sources of inspiration, the Fellers make their living travelling the nation, sharing ideas on how to teach basic skills through art.

Folding paper into thirds to make a greeting card, arranging patterns of block stamps or making paper boxes, for example, can all be math lessons. The Fellers also use the paper masks as a springboard for writing.

“If kids spend an hour building a character, then they are ready to write about it,” Ron Feller explained.

Wizards with scissors, the Fellers can transform paper into three-dimensional masks so quickly it seems almost magical.

But the point is, it’s not magic. Anyone can do it.

“When kids hear adults say, `I can’t draw’ or `I can’t sing,’ they get the idea that some people have it and some don’t,” said Feller, 57. “It’s vital we have positive things to say about our creativity.”

After making masks, students gather for a group writing session. A story or poem is put to music - a tune spontaneously hummed by a student, then replicated by Feller on the Autoharp or synthesizer - and an original song is born.

“We want kids to see this is something they can do at home,” Feller said. “Song writing is not mysterious. We want them to know we don’t have to be consumers, we can be participants in the arts.”

The Fellers spent four days at Colbert and have engagements at schools throughout Spokane in the coming weeks.

Foster Grandparents help at Stevens

“`Monkey on the left. Monkey on the right. Monkey in the middle. Monkey out of…’ um, I don’t know that one,” said third-grader Ashley Hale as she read a passage from a book called “Monkey See, Monkey Do.”

“Sure you do,” urged Rodney Thumm. “Look, you just read `right,’ now this one has an `s.”’

“Oh! `Sight!”’ Ashley said, and continued with the story.

Thumm, a retired carpenter, is one of five members of the national Foster Grandparent program in place at Stevens Elementary again this year. They are a devoted bunch. Most help out four days a week and spend about five hours a day at the school.

Locally, foster grandparents also work at Audubon, Bemiss, Holmes, Finch, Medical Lake, Pratt, Salnave and Sheridan elementary schools, and All Saints Middle School and Bancroft School.

The program allows children who need a little extra help to get about an hour of one-on-one attention a week. Thumm, who worked with Ashley last year, too, said he’s seen real improvement. And that is exactly why he does it.

“I like seeing the kids’ progress,” he said, adding that Ashley’s reading skills have improved.

Currently, the Foster Grandparent program is open to limited-income seniors 60 and older. No teaching background is necessary.

Participants receive a monthly stipend from the state and attend monthly training sessions that help them learn how to effectively deal with children and keep them interested in reading. The program is recruiting volunteers.

For more information about the program, contact coordinator Jerry Schmidt at 323-9403.

Whitman honors summer scholars

Whitman Elementary School administrators tried something new last summer. Because there wasn’t enough money to host summer school at Whitman, they sent each student home with a Summer Scholars workbook.

Principal Beverly Lund saw it as a cost-effective way for the school to work with all of the kids throughout the vacation, and touted it to the kids as a good way to “keep your brains sharp and learning cemented in your head all summer long.”

Two Wildcat award assemblies last week dedicated time to honoring the 61 students who completed the program. They each received a certificate and a specially designed, limited-edition T-shirt.

The workbook, which contained something to do each day of the summer break, focused on review material and required kids to complete activities such as reading books and writing about them, reviewing math with flashcards and writing letters.

Parents were urged to work with their children, and then sign their name to the student’s completed work. The final assignment was for parents and students to tell what they thought of the program.

From those responses, it looks like the Summer Scholars program will become an annual happening.

“We got lots of positive feedback,” said Lund. “Some parents said it helped them know what they should be reviewing over the summer so their student wouldn’t come back unprepared.”

Jennie Bates said she wished she had had a similar program while she was in school. Her sons Kyle, 6, and Brinn, 9, both completed the program.

“It was excellent. Every day there was something different,” she said. “I think it really kept their minds fresh and gave them a jump start on the school year.”

Students, too, had good things to say.

“I liked it,” said Kaitlyn Armstrong, 7. “My favorite was the first page - the dot-to-dot.” Her twin sister, Makaila, agreed, and added that she planned to be a Summer Scholar next summer, too, for sure.

And when Lund asked who else planned to complete next summer’s program, every hand shot skyward.

G-Prep’s Commended Students

A trio of Gonzaga Preparatory School students from the North Side were named Commended Students in the 2000 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Seniors Michelle Eber, Christina Johnston and Patricia Migliuri placed among the top 5 percent of the more than 1.2 million high school students who took the 1998 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship qualifying test.

Logan fund-raiser

Logan Elementary School is participating in a Box Tops for Education fund-raiser sponsored by General Mills.

For every Box Tops for Education logo clipped from General Mills products and sent to the school, Logan will receive 10 cents. The money raised will help provide educational activities for Logan students.

Send box tops to Logan Elementary, 1001 E. Montgomery, Spokane, WA 99207.