Distinguished educators named
Cindy McMahon, family and consumer science teacher at Shadle Park High School and Gail Jessett, a first-grade teacher at Roosevelt Elementary, have been named Spokane Public School’s distinguished educators for the second quarter. The awards are sponsored by Piper Jaffray.
McMahon’s nominator wrote, “Cindy is an educator who makes a difference every day for the Shadle Park community. She is the trainer at many peer helper retreats and from that experience teaches a peer mediation course, which is a very successful program at Shadle. She also is adviser for the Character Counts group. She is a positive and enthusiastic change agent for Shadle. She creates an environment where kids feel valued and safe.”
Jessett’s nominator wrote, “The best analogy to describe Gail’s teaching would be to compare her craft to an architect drawing an original design on a blank canvas. Her ‘teaching blueprint’ emerges through a process of trying out new ideas, getting feedback, and challenging herself with imaginative possibilities. Her innovative teaching makes learning come alive for her students. She makes connections that make learning relevant to daily life. Her classroom is a mixture of fun and motivation.”
St. George’s gets NASA grant
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has awarded a $6,000 grant to St. George’s School for its new robotics program.
The grant is one of three awarded to schools in Washington state and just 109 schools nationwide who will participate in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition.
“This is a great way to kick off our new robotics program,” said Rick DeFord, physics teacher at St. George’s. “Our students will develop skills in teamwork, budgeting, management and applied science while building a human-size robot to compete against robots from other schools.”
St. George’s program already has more than 20 students involved in the program, said DeFord. “A key to its success will be recruiting industry mentors to show the students how engineers tackle similar projects in the real world,” he said. The program’s next step is to approach local science and technology companies for mentors, sponsorships and support for the program.
The NASA grant will fund the initial cost of acquiring a standard set of parts to begin the robot project in January 2005 and entering the FIRST regional competition in Portland in March.
Evergreen Elementary concert
Evergreen Elementary will hold its annual Winter Music Program at 7 tonight at Whitworth College’s Cowles Auditorium. Admission is free.