Central Valley High students use their heads to inspire young readers
A group of Central Valley High School students turned to the Cat in the Hat to inspire very young readers.
In celebration of National Read Across America Day and the recent birthday of the beloved children’s writer, Dr. Seuss, members of the CV Future Business Leaders of America walked to the KinderCare on Sullivan Road and read to the preschool- and kindergarten-aged children earlier this month.
Dressed in Cat in the Hat hats and with one student in a Cat in the Hat costume, the high school students hoped to generate enthusiasm for reading among children of the community.
“Because young children naturally look up to high school students, this was an opportunity for these young adults to promote reading with their words and actions,” said FBLA adviser Sherry Johnson.
VCS will compete in state Knowledge Bowl
Valley Christian School placed first among 15 B classification schools (based on enrollment) and second overall at the March 7 Regional Knowledge Bowl Meet and qualified for state competition next Saturday.
To get an idea of Knowledge Bowl, think of a fast-paced game of “Jeopardy!” Thirty-five area high schools participated, from the smallest B schools to the largest 4A schools with the common goal – to qualify for the state competition in Camas, Wash.
All teams competed in five intense oral rounds and one written round by 1 p.m. The top teams then went on to compete in the semifinal and final rounds, based on their cumulative scores; regardless of school size. Lewis and Clark (4A) placed first among all schools. Second place went to Valley Christian (B) and third to Cheney (3A).
Valley Christian did earn a berth at state competition with its regional win over all B schools and its close second-place finish to Lewis and Clark. VCS coaches include Marilyn Schlafmann, Alan Orr, Karen Pace and Cathy Hopson.
Students competing on Valley Christian’s team include: Josh Dixon, Ben Lewis, Laura Schlect, Matt Seeman, Rhett Trom and Robert Zakheim.
Food drive nets 3,100 pounds
Students at Greenacres Elementary School in Central Valley collected more than 3,100 pounds of food for the Spokane Valley Food Bank in just five days. Sponsored by the Associated Student Body, the food drive was held March 6 through 10.
Event planners waited to hold the food drive until well after the holiday season to help restock food bank shelves. Class competitions were held and teacher Cheri Jensen‘s fifth-grade class won the grand prize, a pizza party, for collecting 508 pounds of food. The school works on one community outreach project each year.
“This is good quality food with lots of protein and canned fruit,” said Barb Bennett of the Spokane Valley Food Bank, who came to collect the donated food on March 13. “The amount of food collected is unusually high.”
Most school-drive donations range from 500 to 1,000 pounds, she added. The Greenacres Elementary ASB leadership team helped plan the food drive, with guidance from ASB Co-Advisers Heather Graham and P.J. Jarvis.
Shakespeare from the mouths of babes
Summit School’s High Top Shakespeare Co. performed “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” for audiences this week. A cast of 17 that included eight kindergarten students has rehearsed since January.
Director Dan Powell said watching kids perform Shakespeare is fun, “but kindergarteners doing Shakespeare is jaw-dropping. They all have lines.”
The performances included a prelude with a Shakespeare sonnet sung by a student. “The fifth- through eighth-graders were phenomenal in bonding, coaching, caring and modeling for the kindergartners,” Powell added.
Students handled lighting and a backstage crew, as well as helping with makeup.
“The play never would have come into being without the creative forces of two special parent volunteers: Kathleen Weisbrod and Sandy Rankin.”
Parents Paula Mosqueda and Irene La Plante did costume design.