Jr. Achievement teaches teamwork
It took teamwork to get the most doughnuts off an assembly line inside second-grade teacher Linda Reineke’s University Elementary School class.
The students, who worked in groups of five, learned about jobs and business while setting up their own doughnut shops during a Junior Achievement Day activity on Thursday. Frenzied fingers punched out paper circles, while other hands added ingredient stickers and color-crayon highlights.
“Working together gets the job done,” said student Emily Coleman. Two of her co-workers, Julio Martinez and Dylan Carr, thought the team produced at least 20 doughnuts during a timed drill. They had to show their work to another student group designated as the “inspectors.”
“Go, go, go,” encouraged Martinez, while adding ingredients to the doughnuts. “Wait, I forgot to put eggs on that one.”
The first Junior Achievement Day at University Elementary was made possible by financial support from AmericanWest Bank, said Principal Sue Lennick. More than 300 children at the school learned how jobs and services support the community as well as about economics through interactive, age-appropriate curriculum.
Some 15 Junior Achievement volunteers who are business professionals taught the lessons, including several from AmericanWest Bank offices at Spokane Valley Financial Center.
Lennick first saw Junior Achievement’s role in schools when she was a Liberty Lake Elementary School second-grade teacher. “The hands-on activities were so engaging to our students,” Lennick said. “It brought business concepts into the classroom.”
AmericanWest employee Oana Dawson, volunteering inside teacher Paulette Fuller’s first-grade classroom, used a large poster showing a busy neighborhood and shops. The students were asked to point out people doing jobs.
“I see a girl holding up a stop sign,” said student Emily Clarke.
After several examples were found, Dawson asked the group about jobs in their own community and within their families. “Do you guys have jobs at home?” she asked.
To which Hylie Davenport replied, “I help my mom wash the car.”
Teacher Bob McCaslin’s second-grade students also talked about different jobs and services, from a hot dog salesman in the park to a police officer. Volunteer Shelly O’Quinn led them through tasks highlighting community roles.
“These are jobs that need to get done in order for our community to work,” said O’Quinn, an Inland Northwest Community Foundation board member and a Junior Achievement volunteer.
Coordinated by Junior Achievement of the Inland Northwest, the lessons Thursday included: first-grade – “Our Families;” second-grade – “Our Community;” third-grade – “Our City;” fourth-grade – “Our Region;” and fifth-grade – “Our Nation.”
CV hosting arts evening
Central Valley High School will host an evening of arts on Wednesday , in the school’s performing arts center. Beginning at 6:30 p.m., the art department will have students’ work on display in an art gallery format as the Chamber Choir and Jazz Combos provide musical accompaniment.
At 7:30 the Spokane Symphony will perform a special concert with the Central Valley High School orchestra, band students and choirs. The Spokane Symphony performance will include the Central Valley orchestra and choir for a culminating ensemble piece. Admission is $5 per person. The school is at 821 S. Sullivan Road.
Greenacres awarded grant
Greenacres Elementary School has received a $500 education grant from the Exxon Corp. The donation, presented by Jodi Herron of the Raja Market in Greenacres, will be used toward supporting and upgrading technology in the school. Greenacres Elementary School serves more than 520 students in the Central Valley School District.
Principal of the Year
Sunrise Elementary principal Sue McCollum was recently named Principal of the Year by her colleagues in the Northeast Elementary School Principals Association of Washington. McCollum will join 17 other regional nominees at the state level as a candidate for the Washington state National Distinguished Principal Award.
The award is part of the National Distinguished Principals Program established in 1984 by the National Association of Elementary School Principals in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Education. The awards honor exemplary elementary and middle school principals who set the pace, character and quality of the education children receive during their early school years. McCollum has been the principal at Sunrise Elementary School since fall 2000 and an educator for 23 years.