Area students earn honors in VFW essay contest

A theme of citizenship inspired several Spokane Valley students to write winning essays.

For a Veterans of Foreign Wars essay contest, children in grades third through fifth wrote about “What does it mean to be a citizen in my community?” The Patriot’s Pen theme for grades six, seven and eight was “Citizenship in America.”

The following students won for their essays at the post level, VFW Post 1435, in Spokane Valley. A few of these essays also were selected for consideration at a regional district level.

Winners at the post level included:

Third grade – Brady Sanders, first place, Liberty Lake Elementary; Matt Arlt, second, Liberty Lake; Kyle Brockbank, third, Liberty Lake.

Fourth grade – Kelsey Bunting, first, St. Paschal School.

Fifth grade – Briana Shull, first, Adams Elementary; Taylor Wilson, second, Adams; Kess Rickus, third, Adams.

Sixth grade – Christopher Trudeau, first, St. Paschal; Kylie Heintzelman, second, St. Paschal; Kayla Trudeau, third, St. Paschal.

Seventh grade – Peter Cossette, first, St. Paschal; Garrett Lawless, second, St. Paschal; Josh Matthews, third, St. Paschal.

Eighth grade – Camille Frank, first, East Valley Middle School; Jessica Drake, second, St. Paschal; Bailey Riggin, third, East Valley Middle School.

At the district level, Frank’s essay won as well as one written by Sanders. A sixth-grade student with Valley Home-Scholars, Lindsey Burke, also won at the district level.

Log on to CVHS site for fun

Once a month, a Central Valley High School trivia quiz marks one of many ways to enjoy an alumni Web site launched last fall.

The site, www.alumniproject.org, gets an average of 48 hits per day. People can find information on 56 years of graduates, alumni activities, stories, history and how to connect with classmates.

“We have done a number of things that would bring people back to the site,” said organizer Dave Graham. “We did a trip to the Valley museum and put photos in. We’re doing a quiz every month that started in January, and we had a nice prize for the winner, so we expect more activity in February.

“All the answers can be found on the site somewhere. We’re encouraging people to surf. This month it’s a history of CV sports.” The site is encouraging communications and connections in a number of ways, Graham added. Through the site and by finding area alumni, CVHS basketball coach Rick Sloan has been able to put together plans for an alumni basketball night in May, he said.

Organizers also are planning an alumni picnic this summer. What Graham describes as really taking off is how people are connecting to others from their class years.

“This is kind of a hub of Web sites. We have 56 classes and 56 classes have their own presence on the Web site, so it’s more than just a Web site.”

Another page allows for stories and memories, and for those shy about writing their own descriptions, the alumni group has a volunteer project writer. In addition, the Central Valley Activities Foundation, offering fundraising support for the school, now has no problem finding alumni who want to be a part of an annual golf tournament and other activities, Graham added.

Fifth-graders helping community

At East Farms Elementary, fifth-grade teacher Kathy Barrett‘s classroom has taken on several community service projects. These students have organized the entire school collecting pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House. Also, the father of an East Farms student is serving in Iraq and Barrett’s students have coordinated sending him care boxes.

In addition, two girls in the classrooms made their own collection box for collecting money for the SCRAPS animal shelter to provide dog food and cat litter.

The Youth-Family-Adult Connection and Crisis Residential Center recently honored the students with the Roger Emerson Award in recognition of their outstanding community service.