Inside our schools: City School students give lesson at OSPI conference
A group of West Valley City School students took over a lesson, this time for teachers at the recent 2008 Washington state annual teachers’ conference at the Spokane Convention Center.
Stephen Schreiner, a City School science teacher, felt that teachers and administrators were missing an important voice as they planned about how to improve schools, so he wrote a proposal to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to have some students present their ideas. The goal of a student presentation was to help teachers statewide make classroom changes that better met students’ needs.
OSPI approved Schreiner’s proposal for student input.
City School students Mariska Gramlow, Ashlynn Sellers, Phoebe Droz, Gail Gallaher, Alex Golikov, Shelby Schafer and Natalie Noble presented their ideas at the OSPI conference on Jan. 31. They designed their presentation to take between 45 minutes and one hour, leaving the last half-hour for questions.
City School language arts teacher Judy Harris, who was also involved in the students’ presentation, said more than 50 teachers listened to the students who highlighted two main points: that project-based learning really engages students and that the hands-on approach stays with them long-term.
Harris said the students also supported these ideas with information about high test scores among students in project-based learning environments such as City School. Project-based learning is tied into an authentic purpose – often engaging students in real community needs, activities or issues – during which the students can apply writing, presentations, science and other educational disciplines toward the project.
A few of City School’s projects have included how to negate the isolation that patients face during long-term hospital stays, water quality issues at marinas, fish hatchery support and community recycling.
EWMEA honors announced
The West Valley School District has announced top honors earned by student musicians at a Jan. 26 contest.
Band, choral and string students performed during the Eastern Washington Music Educators Solo and Ensemble Contest in front of judges. The students had their choice of preparing a solo, duo, trio, quartet or small ensemble.
The musicians performed knowing that their performance would receive one of the following ratings: I – Superior; II Excellent; III Good; IV Fair; and V Poor. Judges could also add a plus or minus to each rating along with oral and written comments.
After the performances, the WVSD musicians received Superior and Excellent Ratings, and two ensembles earned a “Golden Award” given to those performers who took top honors of the day from their judges.
The following students received recognition from judges for their music:
“Centennial Middle School Band Mixed Wind Quartet – (II Rating) – Connor Gore Rogers, Josh Covey, Ben Shannon and Alex Preston
“CMS Choir – Falconette Singers Quartet – (I+) – “Golden Award” – Crystal Persaud, Cristie Heerdink, Kayla Gariepy and Brooklyn Robinson
“Young Women’s Quartet – ( I ) – Tierra Duke, Danni Kelly, Kaylona Whiteside and Kandra Warren
“Soprano Solo – (I) – Katelyn Bauman
“Tenor Solo – (I) – Joe Mileson
“Soprano Solo – (I-) – Julia Emerick
“Soprano Solo – (I-) – Jazzmyn Salisbury
“Baritone Solo – (I-) – Chris Young
“Soprano Solo – ( II+) – Courtney Boles
“Soprano Solo – (II+) – Nyssa Cook
“West Valley City School Choir-Beautiful Rain Duet – (I+) – “Golden Award” Skye Reynolds and Larissa Carney
“CMS Strings-String Ensemble – (II+ ) – Justine Griffin, Ellen Postlewait, Brandon Babinski, Steven Ficca, Bryce Orth and Mark Yevdash.
Festival brings together high school performers
More than 100 male choral performers made music happen for a day at University High School for a Jan. 19 festival. A group of professional musicians called Male Ensemble Northwest hosted the 2008 Inland Northwest Men’s Choral Festival that brought together high school performers from around Spokane to hone their musical skills and learn three pieces for a culminating concert.
The event was organized by Russell Seaton, director of choirs and music theory at University High School. Seaton is also a member of MEN.
Grant will provide books, resources at University Elementary
A grant recently awarded to University Elementary School will purchase books and teacher resources.
The fourth-grade teachers and media specialist at University Elementary received a Community Outreach Program $1,134 grant entitled “Building Bridges with our Community through Reading and Writing.” The grant money will be used to buy hard-cover books, teacher resources and other supplemental materials aligned with the district’s writing curriculum.
The grant also provides for activities such as “Book Reads” and “Writing Reads” to bring the school, parents and community members together to enhance literacy. The grant was awarded by the Washington Education Association and the National Education Association in partnership with the Central Valley Education Association.