Students collect change for orphanage

Sun., Feb. 7, 2010

By Rainey Coffin raineyc@spokesman.com (509) 459-5434

Bryan Elementary students’ fundraiser for Haiti’s earthquake victims raised more than $740.

The students collected spare change and left a change jar at the school office. The money is being donated to an orphanage in Haiti.

Robotics team wins NASA grant

The Coeur d’Alene High School TeraViks new robotics team, made up of 17 CHS students and six adult mentors, was awarded a $6,500 grant by NASA.

The students will be competing in the regional FIRST Robotics Challenge, founded by inventor Dean Kamen, March 4-6 in Portland.

Brian Induni, the CHS robotics team coach, said in a press release that the team will have six weeks to design, build, and test a robot to compete in this year’s Breakaway challenge. The TeraViks meet three to four times a week and had set a goal to have a prototype by Saturday, and the robot completed by Feb. 23, the shipping date deadline.

Michael Nelson, assistant principal of CHS said in the release, “Coeur d’Alene High School is excited to have this new extracurricular program be offered to the students. Receiving this NASA grant is an outstanding accomplishment of the new team.”

“This grant helps offset the total cost of the robot which can run up to $10,000,” Induni said. The team is also sponsored by North Idaho Discovery Association, which contributes funds to help offset the $15,000 budget. Induni is the executive director of business and marketing for the group.

For more information call (208) 640-9412 or visit www.nidarobotics.org.

CdA spellers advance to regional bee

Students in the Coeur d’Alene School District recently competed in the district spelling bee.

The Coeur d’Alene students will join other top spellers on March 20 to compete in the regional spelling bee at North Idaho College.

Winners of the district spelling bee are: Winton Elementary fourth-grader Anthony Kirby; fifth-grader Tricia McCullough of Dalton Elementary; sixth-grader Colin Richards of Canfield Middle School; Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy seventh-grader Jaeger Zollman; and eighth-grader Jamie Orchard-Pomeroy of Woodland Middle School.