Starry night instructive for Summit School students

Students in the third and fourth grades at Summit School in the Central Valley School District camped out on Peone Prairie Sept. 30 to learn about astronomy.

The guiding question of the trip was “Why does the sky keep changing?” and students were told about the effects of the motion of the earth in space.

They learned why we see different constellations in the sky at different times of the year and why we have night and day.

Eighty kids camped out and more than 100 parent volunteers participated in the planning and at the event itself.

Jerry Eber from the Spokane Astronomical Society brought a telescope and the students looked through it to see Jupiter, some of its moons and the cloud ring around the planet.

Along with the astronomy lesson, the students learned about team building while they set up six-person tents.

“Kids cannot stop talking about the team building and fun they had on the campout,” said teacher Christy Swan. “They loved watching the sunset and were amazed at how fast the stars were visible. Students were able to get a grasp at how far apart our planets are in our solar system as well as beginning to see before their eyes the sky changing due to the earth rotating on its axis.”

Wine tasting and auction

The West Valley Education Foundation will present a wine tasting and auction Nov. 6 at 6:30 p.m. at CenterPlace and Mirabeau Point Park, 2624 N. Discovery Place.

The event is a fundraiser for the organization which provides scholarships for West Valley students.

Participating wineries include Barrister, Mountain Dome, Plaza, Catarina, Arbor Crest, Whitestone, Townshend, Liberty Lake, Grande Ronde, Robert Karl and Emvy Cellars. The event will also have a selection of beers.

Tickets are $35 and are available at the West Valley School District office, 2805 N. Argonne Road.

For more information, call (509) 340-7204.

Kids First Campaign

The Central Valley School District will ask voters to approve a $69.6 million bond this February. To help campaign for the bond, a group of parents, board members, employee union leaders and other citizens have banded together for the Central Valley Citizens for Education “Kids First” campaign.

The group is urging voters to vote for the bond in February.

“We face real challenges with our school facilities in the Central Valley School District,” said Damon Smith, the chair of the campaign.

The group will officially launch its campaign on Jan. 6 with the Kids First Kick-Off Rally at 6:30 p.m. at CenterPlace, 2426 N. Discovery Place.

If approved, the bond will provide funds to modernize and renovate Evergreen Middle School, Opportunity, Ponderosa, Greenacres and Chester elementary schools and build a new elementary school at Mission Avenue and Long Road.

For more information about the campaign, call Smith at (509) 953-4187. If you would like to contribute, checks can be mailed to Central Valley Citizens for Education, PO Box 141716, Spokane Valley, WA 99214.

Boundary committee

In anticipation of the Central Valley School District’s bond passing in February, the school board directed staff to form a committee to discuss elementary school boundaries in the district.

The addition of a new elementary school to the district would require new boundaries. The district formed new boundaries in 2005. When you overlay those boundaries with the population of students in the area, three of the schools in the district would have lopsided enrollment – Greenacres would have about 404 full-time equivalent students, 180 under capacity. Liberty Lake Elementary would have about 625 students, 58 under capacity and the new school would have about 537 students, 81 over capacity. Superintendent Ben Small told the school board Monday that policy directs the district to form a district-wide committee to discuss possible boundaries. The committee would be led by Tim Nootenboom, executive director of elementary learning and teaching. Small recommended a parent from each affected area – Liberty Lake, Greenacres, the area of the Big Trout Lodge apartment complex and near the proposed school at Mission and Long.

Board member Cynthia McMullen asked Small if the committee would discuss the requirements of special needs students in the area, and board member Tom Dingus asked if the committee would discuss the walking distance to each school from each neighborhood. Small said the committee would discuss both.

Small said staff will come back to the board with a list of names for the committee for their review.

The next Central Valley School Board meeting will be Oct. 25 at 6:30 p.m. in the district office, 19307 E. Cataldo Ave.