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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Grandparents pay a visit to Ramsey Elementary


Ramsey Elemenatry second-grader Samantha Miller shares a laugh with her grandparents, Lois and James Bowers during Grandparents Day at Ramsey Elementary on Monday. 
 (Kathy Plonka / The Spokesman-Review)

You could tell something was up the moment you walked in Ramsey Elementary School on Monday. Everywhere, adults, most over the age of 50, were milling about. Led by kids, many hand in hand, the folks were checking out the school, hanging out in the classrooms and eating lunch. It was Grandparent’s Day at Ramsey, and, according to the grandparents and school employees who attended, it was a huge success.

“Isn’t this a great way to bring families into the school?” said Claudia Stevens, grandmother of Ramsey students Braeden and Kennedy Gelnette. Stevens was with her husband, Dennis, and 6-year-old Braeden in the lunch line.

Grandparents were invited to eat lunch with their grandchild, or grandchildren, at the newly remodeled school and take a tour. Stevens said she was impressed with Braeden’s teacher, Carolyn Tensmeyer. Braeden and his classmates sang a song about the Pledge of Allegiance for their visitors, including definitions of the words like “indivisible” and “justice.”

Stevens was impressed.

“I think it’s wonderful,” Stevens said. “And the turnout of grandparents is great.”

Nearly 200 grandparents attended. Tensmeyer said between 16 and 20 came to her class alone.

“And they’re all generous enough to grab a kid who doesn’t have a grandparent here,” Tensmeyer said.

The timing of the day worked out well for Ken and Susan Bertrand, who got into town that weekend from their home near Palm Springs, Calif. They’ll be in town through Christmas visiting their children and grandchildren.

“I’ve never heard of Grandparent’s Day,” Ken Bertrand said as he waited for his family to exit the lunch line. Of the Bertrand’s seven grandchildren, 7-year-old Rachelle and 6-year-old Alexis are the only Ramsey students.

Penny Anderson joined her 7-year-old granddaughter, Marissa, for lunch.

She was impressed by both the creative activities going on at the school and the sense of community.

“I would feel safe here if I was a little kid,” Anderson said.

Ramsey office manager Sheri Erickson said the event was a huge success and that the school will likely do it again.

“With the feedback that we received from grandparents, I don’t know how we could not,” she said.

Schools get grants

Five Coeur d’Alene elementary schools received $500 grants from Exxon Mobile to promote reading programs. Dave Paltzer of the Ross Point Hico gas station worked with the school district to secure the grants for Borah, Bryan, Fernan, Sorensen and Winton schools.

“It’s thanks to Dave and thanks to Exxon Mobile,” said Borah Principal Bob Shamberg. “That’s what I like about it so much is it’s a community member that applies for it. For us, it’s really just a gift. It’s quite thoughtful.”

Shamberg said Borah has already spent some of the money on literacy materials such as books and instructional materials for teachers. There’s some left over to last the school through the year.

“It’s nice to have a little extra cushion, a little treasure,” Shamberg said. “We just really appreciate it.”

Along with the $500 Exxon Mobile grant, Bryan Elementary also received $500 from the local Kiwanis club to begin a books-on-tape library to support the CDA 4 Kids Wake up and Read program.

CDA 4 Kids got another boost through a $500 Governor’s Innovation Grant. The governor’s office doled out 170 grants totaling approximately $85,000. Three of those grants went to Coeur d’Alene School District employees, including Hayden Meadows first-grade teacher KT Paxton and school counselor James Curb, who will use the money to help the CDA 4 Kids program at Bryan Elementary.

The third recipient was Ramsey kindergarten teacher Clarissa Jackson, who said in an e-mail that she’ll use the money to fund “A Celebration of Life” project at the school.

Seventeen classrooms at Ramsey will receive a butterfly kit to give students the opportunity to follow the life cycle of a butterfly with the aim of enriching the children’s understanding through observation.

Once the butterflies have hatched, they’ll be let loose in a screen room, bought using the grant money, leaving 100 butterflies flying together in the room. The butterflies will stay in the room for about five days, then the students in the 17 classrooms who raised them will watch them fly away outside the school.