Week’s assignment: fun and games

Bemiss Elementary School fourth-grader Calani Balos studied the selections on a piece of paper held tight in his hand on Monday as if it were his final exam.

The “test” went something like this:

Q: Should I do the scuba scramble, which is a race involving the donning of scuba gear, or do the refrigerator box roll race, crawling on hands and knees inside a box to make it move like a hamster wheel?

A: Both of the above.

The events were part of the Bemiss field day, when students and staff at the Spokane school take to the playground, playing games for prizes, singing karaoke or having their faces painted.

“We don’t do very much in school right now,” said Bemiss fifth-grader Alora Hoover, 11. “It’s pretty much a fun week.”

With only four days of this school year left, Bemiss students weren’t alone. Students all over the region are celebrating this week with awards ceremonies, talent shows, fun days and field trips.

But that doesn’t mean the books are closed. School districts are required by the state to provide 180 days of learning each year.

“Learning doesn’t stop when the WASL is over,” Lauralee Klingler, a teacher at Bemiss, said of the state-required assessment testing. “Students are still working on big projects. There are still lessons being taught.”

That includes lessons in socializing.

Students at Brentwood Elementary School in the Mead School District were eating Sno-Cones in the park near the school Monday, while others went roller skating at Pattison’s North Skating Rink.

The Mobius Kids museum in downtown Spokane has two groups from area schools scheduled every day for the rest of this week.

Cheney Middle School eighth-graders were headed to Silver Lake for a day of fun and, they hoped, sun.

Students at West Valley City School were planning a trip to Silverwood Theme Park in Idaho today as a reward for hard work.

“We are having fun, but we are still focused on academics, and we’re not letting down until the bell rings on Friday,” Principal Tom Moore said. Students still are finishing up projects and presentations, he said.

At many local high schools, students are cramming for final exams later this week. That becomes difficult to do with a quarter of the students already gone. Most seniors have graduated and left the building.

“It does become tough to hold their attention this time of year,” said Rick Haverman, a teacher at North Central High School. “The best way to keep the lid on things is to still be aggressive with meaningful lessons.”