March 2012

‘Kodiak Flapjack’ visits Memorial Auditorium

‘BLONDE’ MOMENTPHS theatre becomes one of first

to perform hit musical

Elementary schools Read Across America

PICTURE THISGeorge Nettels Elementary School

kindergarten students Webb Fern (left) and Christopher Morgan sing the ABCs during

lunch as part of the school’s Lunchtime Sing Time program.

FROM THE COVER

Gabby Murnan wows as Elle Woods in “Legally Blonde: The Musical”

The PCMS Amateur Theatrical Society took to the stage at

Memorial Auditorium to perform“Kodiak Flapjack”

Elementary schools feature several activities to celebrate

Read Across America Day

ALSO INSIDE

Lakeside play celebrates Black History Month

USD 250 Foundation presents Mini-Grants

PCMS students sweep County Spelling Bee

Meadowlark honors Mrs. Degruson

Two PHS wrestlers win state

PCMS conducts “Hunger Games”

Bonds forged during YouthFriends

And more...

For most people, it was Feb. 10, 2012.

For Faith Turner, a fourth-grade student at Lakeside El-ementary School, it was Dec. 1, 1955.

During a play per-formed at Lakeside last month, Turner portrayed Civil Rights icon Rosa Parks, who became well-known 57 years ago after being arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white woman on that fateful December day in Montgomery, Ala. The play, which told Parks’ story and that of the Mont-gomery Bus Boycott that followed, was performed by fourth-graders in Babs Tims’ morning reading group.

“It was interesting studying this and performing it,” Turner said, “because you could actu-ally feel what it was like in 1955. It felt kind of sad, because it was a time when white people and black people couldn’t join togeth-er or get along.”

The play was conducted as part of the school’s study of Black History Month. Tims said the play is the school’s way of honoring the men and women who fought for social justice dur-

ing a crucial period of American history.

“We feel that by doing this short re-enactment of one of the most infamous moments,” Tims

said, “we not only learn more about it, but we also honor the people that we’re studying and talking about. It integrates social studies, history and literature, all of which are subjects we study every day at school.”

Isaac Plain portrayed Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during Friday’s play, a performance that included a recital of a portion of Dr. King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

“I think Martin Luther King was a good guy who fought for

the right things,” Plain said. “He helped Rosa Parks and he helped a lot of other people, too.”

For many of the students, be-ing involved in the play was an

eye-opening experi-ence.

“I didn’t know that white people treated black people in that way back then,” Kassidy O’Dell, who played the bus driver, said. “It felt awful to know that white kids and black kids couldn’t go to school together.”

Sydney Linahan, who portrayed a po-lice officer, said she was “surprised” by much of what she learned.

“I didn’t really know anything about

this stuff, and it’s very shocking to learn,” she said. “I hope this play will make other people want to learn about this time period and about Rosa Parks.”

Mac Biggs, who portrayed Parks’ lawyer, said learning about the past made him feel good about the progress that has been made in the United States.

“There were a lot of people who were mistreated back then,” Biggs said, “and I don’t like that. I’m glad things are different today.”

‘Glad things are different today’Lakeside play addresses social rights movement,

celebrates Black History Month

Tims garners national honorIn October 2011, the Inter-

national Reading Association launched its Celebrated Teacher of the Year campaign. Aimed at honoring this nation’s educators, the campaign called for the pub-lic to nominate educators “who inspired you.”

Sixty teachers from throughout the United States were nomi-

nated, and public voting was available on the IRA’s website.

On Wednesday, March 7, the IRA announced that Lakeside Elementary School 4th-grade teacher Babs Tims, with 883 votes, was the winner of the first IRA Celebrated Teacher Award. Tims will be

honored at the IRA’s 57th Annual Convention in Chicago, which takes place from April 30 to May 2.

Tims, in her 33rd year at Lakeside, said she will accept the award on behalf of her colleagues.

“I don’t see this as just an award for me,” she said. “I think it’s an award that I share with all of my fellow educators and with the students. I’m proud to be a Dragon, and I’m especially proud to be a teacher at a school I love.”

Lakeside Principal Courtney McCartney praised Tims for her love of teaching and learning.

“It didn’t take this award to know that Babs is among the nation’s best teachers,” McCartney said. “Her passion for education and her remarkable talent to connect with the students are known to anyone and everyone who has seen her in action.”

‘Our sunshine’Surprise ceremony held

for Meadowlark school counselor

Every day, Meadowlark Elementary School Counselor Melinda Degruson does whatever she can to put a smile on the faces of the students and her colleagues.

During a surprise February ceremony, the stu-dents and staff returned the favor.

Degruson was honored during an all-school as-sembly as part of the school’s recognition of Na-tional School Counselor Week. Students from each grade recited written tributes to their counselor, which was followed by an all-school vocal perfor-mance of the song “You Are My Sunshine.”

“She really is our sunshine,” Principal Becky Bedene said. “Just being in the same building as

Melinda Degruson brings everyone up. She lifts our spirits when we’re down and makes our highs even higher. It’s a true thrill to have her as a colleague, and we wanted to show her how much we all ap-preciate everything she does.”

Degruson, who fought back tears during the cer-emony, said the outpouring of support only solidi-fied what she already knew.

“We are a family here,” she said. “These stu-dents are my family. The staff here is my family. For them to put together this ceremony means the world to me. Everyone at this wonderful school de-serves something like this. The level of appreciation I have for everyone here knows no limits.”

PCMS ‘Hunger Games’ event promotes literacyWith the upcom-

ing release of “The Hunger Games” movie, the book that inspired the film has become even more popular, espe-cially among teen-agers and young adults.

“I think the book is extremely adven-turous,” PCMS 8th-grader Emily Norris said. “It’s thrilling, and I love it.”

In mid-March, PCMS hosted its own version of The Hunger Games, an activity developed to promote reading among the students.

To participate in the event, students had to read “The Hunger Games” and pass the subsequent Accelerated Reader test.

“The whole idea was to promote literacy and get kids excited about reading,” Language Arts teacher An-gela Lewis said. “I was thrilled by how much it worked. The students really bought into it.”

When the event was announced, ap-proximately 60 stu-dents had read the book. By March 12,

nearly 170 students had qualified for the event.

The PCMS ver-sion of The Hunger Games featured a variety of physical and mental chal-lenges, including knot-tying, trivia and BINGO. There was also a “refuel-ing station,” which featured food and drinks provided by the students’ par-ents.

Eighth-grade stu-dent Hannah Oertle said she enjoyed the activity.

“Mrs. Lewis was really excited about

this, and I think that made all of the stu-dents excited, too. It was a great idea and a very fun activity.”

Christian Adams, 8th-grade, said he knew many of the students read the book just so they could take part in the event.

“If the idea was to get more of us to read, then it definitely worked,” Adams said. “A lot of my friends read the book so they could be a part of the games.”

Pittsburg Community Middle School was well-represented at this month’s Great Bend Tri-bune’s 2012 Sun-flower Spelling Bee.

The top three fin-ishers at the 2012 Crawford County Spelling Bee were each PCMS stu-dents.

Sixth-grader Gina Mathew won the county bee, continuing a family tradition of county bee winners that includes her older brother Joseph and her older sister Nina. Second place went to 7th-grader Trina Paul and third place went to 6th-grader Evie Shawn.

It took 16 rounds to narrow the field down to Mathew and Paul. The two friends then went an-

other 15 rounds before Mathew sealed the win by correctly spell-ing “jocular” and “veteran.”

“It was my goal to continue what my brother and sister had done before me,” Mathew said. “They both won this competi-tion when they were here, and I wanted to do just the same.”

Paul said that while she would have liked to win, she was proud

to have competed for first against a fellow Dragon.

“I was pleased that it was one of my schoolmates that was up there with me at the end,” Paul said. “I’m very happy for Gina and also for Evie. I think we all did a great job, and I was happy to make it as far as I did.”

Lonnie Moser, PCMS principal, said he was proud of his students.

“Those young ladies are very bright, and they represented the school well,” Moser said. “It’s such a neat thing to know that we had the top three finishers. I’m very proud of those students.”

S-W-E-E-PPCMS students dominate County Spelling Bee

Morning routine

Students and staff at Westside Elementary School took part in a brief workout routine each morning during the month of February. Physical Education teacher Veronica Ausemus launched the program

to promote physical fitness and heart health. West-side students also participated in Jump Rope For

Heart during P.E.On Mondays and Wednesday, Ausemus leads an

exercise program for school staff.

In the days leading up to his first YouthFriends session at Pittsburg High School, freshman Kenneth Renfro was having his doubts.

“I didn’t think I was going to like it,” Renfro said. “It just felt like it was going to be more school work, and I’d be doing it with someone I didn’t know.”

By the end of his first meeting with that “someone,” junior Da-kota Taylor, Renfro was sold.

“I knew I was going to make a new friend out of this, and that was a nice feeling,” Renfro said. “Plus, I knew it would help my grades.”

Approximately 30 students participate in the PHS Youth-Friends program, which places seniors and juniors in mentor

roles for sophomores and fresh-men. During Dragon Time each day (2:23 to 2:55 p.m.) the pairs meet to work on course assign-ments, discuss grades and, if time permits, play games and talk.

Karen Kelso, PHS counselor and coordinator of the school’s YouthFriends program, said 13 upperclassmen are in the pro-gram. They tutor and mentor 13 to 15 underclassmen. The pro-gram started in mid-January, and Kelso said it has already proven to be a great success.

“It doesn’t take long to see the true impact that a program like this can have on the students,” Kelso said. “We’re not only see-ing the younger students’ scores and grades improve, but we’re also seeing true friendships form.

This is a wonderful program to have at Pittsburg High School.”

Kelso praised the upperclass-men who have volunteered to serve as mentors, as many of them, due to their schedules, could be out of school during Dragon Time.

“A lot of these students could be home during this time,” Kelso said. “The seniors who have earned Platinum Dragon Time can leave school if they want, but the students in this program have chosen to stay and help. They’re here because they care, and they should be commended for that.”

Taylor, who now considers Renfro a close friend, said there are many benefits to being a YouthFriend.

‘I’ve gained a new friend’

Continued on next page

“It’s a great learning experi-ence,” he said. “When you tutor, you’re reminded of the areas on which you need to brush up. I certainly remember going through some of the lessons that Kenneth is going through now, but going over it with him has been a nice refresher course for me.

“Aside from the school work,” he said, “I do really feel like I’ve gained a new friend. We may not see each other much during the day, but when we do, we make sure to say ‘hello’ and ask how the other is doing. It’s like a part-nership, really.”

Renfro said getting to know Taylor through the YouthFriends program has helped calm the nerves that come along with be-ing a freshman in a school of 800 students.

“It’s definitely made me more outgoing,” he said. “I don’t feel as shy now, because I know there is an upperclassmen here who is my friend and that I can talk to him if I need to.”

Renfro also said he is doing better in school because of Tay-lor’s influence and assistance.

“Each day, we come in and look at my grades and talk about any missing assignments,” Ren-fro said. “So, knowing he is going to see them has made me try harder, and I know for a fact that my grades wouldn’t be as good as they are now without being in this program.”

Freshman Aubri Wilbert said spending time with her Youth-Friend, junior Kaylin Moser, has motivated her to improve her grades.

“This program has helped a lot with my grades,” Wilbert said. “It gives me motivation to do well because if Kaylin is going to be willing to spend time helping me, I don’t want that to go to waste. She makes me want to be better.”

Moser said she enjoys spending time with Wilbert and is happy to call the two “friends.”

“We talk in the halls, ask how each other is doing,” Moser said. “She’s definitely one of my good

friends now.”Juniors Andie Casper and Nick

Vacca, both YouthFriends men-tors, said the program has many benefits.

“It gives the students an oppor-tunity to interact with someone that they would not normally interact with,” Vacca said. “It gives the freshmen someone to look up to, a role model. Being a mentor gives us the responsibil-ity of being somewhat influential on another student’s grades and overall high school experience.”

Casper said the relaxed, quiet setting helps enhances the effec-tiveness of the program.

“It’s a comfy place to sit and do homework and to talk,” she said. “The goal is to make sure the younger students are getting their work done and for them to know that we’re here if they need anything. I think it’s a wonderful program, and I enjoy volunteer-ing my time to help out a fellow student.”

‘Blonde’ ambition

PHS Theatre performs ‘Legally Blonde: The Musical’Before the middle of March,

few people who know PHS senior Gabby Murnan would have as-sociated her with Elle Woods, the ditsy sorority girl and main character of the hit movie “Le-gally Blonde.”

So, when it was announced that the PHS theatre department be-came one of the first in the nation to secure the performance rights to “Legally Blonde: The Musi-cal,” Murnan knew just who she wanted to play.

“The Elle Woods at the begin-ning of ‘Legally Blonde’ and I could not be more different,”

Murnan said, “but those are the roles I like doing the most. I like a challenge.”

The high-energy musical hit the stage in mid-March, making PHS one of the first schools in the country to perform the show. As is becoming commonplace at PHS, the students wowed the audience with their acting and singing abilities.

“I think it’s safe to say that this show was a very big success,” Murnan said. “We sold out or were close to selling out every night. We got nothing but posi-tive responses from the crowd,

and we could definitely feel their energy during the show. It was the most fun I’ve had in my life.”

Greg Shaw, theatre director, said the musical was different than past shows because of its “full-throttle” pace.

“It goes a mile a minute,” Shaw said. “There’s not a lot of stopping. I liked to say it was a two-hour and 15-minute sprint. I thought our students, from the cast to the tech crew, did a fan-tastic job of meeting the chal-lenge and putting on an excellent show.”

IYOOEEEEE“Kodiak Flapjack” heads south to

PCMS, Memorial Auditorium

A simple outdoors-man from Chug-a-Lug, Alaska took the reins of a ritzy, all-girl school in Connecticut during this month’s performance of “Kodiak Flapjack” by the PCMS Amateur Theatrical Society.

The play teaches vari-ous real-life concepts, such as diversity, accep-tance and patience.

It also has the added benefit of being hilari-ous.

“It’s a comedy, but there are several lessons to be learned by this play,” Director Joella Reid said. “The girls in Connecticut have to learn how to accept this ‘strange’ man from Alaska. It’s as educa-tional as it is entertain-ing.”

The play also fea-tures a large cast, which meant every student who auditioned found a role in the cast.

“We had 42 students try out for the play,” Reid said. “This was a play that could ac-commodate all of them, which makes for a lot of fun.”

Jack Warring, who played Mr. Flapjack, said he enjoyed per-forming in the play.

“This was a pretty cool show because of the different types of char-acters,” he said. “We had stuck-up Connecti-cut girls, an old general and a bunch of simple folk from Alaska. That’s interesting stuff.”

On Friday, March 2, Readers across the country celebrated the National Education Associa-tion’s Read Across America Day, a national reading celebration that takes place each year on or near March 2, the birthday of Dr. Seuss. Pitts-burg Community Schools staff and students celebrated the fun and excit-ing day with a vari-ety of activities.

In the morning, Pittsburg firefight-ers visited Westside Elementary School to read to the stu-dents from some of their favorite Dr. Seuss books. The firefighters were then treated to a nice breakfast courtesy of the Westside staff.

“We always love having the firefighters come in to read to the students,” Westside Principal Ann Lee said. “The kids get ex-cited about it, and it’s just a very fun day.

Pittsburg Mayor Marty Bee-zley visited George Nettels El-ementary School Friday morning to read to the students. Also visit-ing Nettels Friday were KOAM news anchor Dowe Quick, Pitts-burg Area Chamber of Com-merce President Blake Benson

and a Pittsburg firefighter.“We really appreciate that they

took the time to visit and read to our students,” Andy Gottlob, Nettels principal, said.

Steve Mahnken, a fourth-grade teacher at Nettels, prepared

Green Eggs & Ham for his stu-dents to eat during class. While Mr. Mahnken was cooking, Pub-lic Information Director Brett Dalton read the book Green Eggs & Ham to the students.

Lakeside Elementary School celebrated the day by bringing in nearly 40 student-athletes from Pittsburg State University to read to the students. Afterward, the entire school took part in a period of silent reading.

“To see the excitement on the kids’ faces as the PSU athletes read to them was a great thrill,”

Lakeside Principal Courtney Mc-Cartney said. “I’m so happy that they got to experience that.”

Students at Meadowlark El-ementary School put down beach towels in the school’s Family Room and sat in pairs to read

from their favorite books. Many of the students welcomed family and friends into the school to take part in the reading event.

“This is one of our favorite events of the year,” Mead-owlark Principal Becky Bedene said. “Our Living Room is packed with kids, their families and great books. It doesn’t get much

better than that.”Celebrating Read Across

America Day is among the many ways USD 250 promotes reading throughout the school year.

“Pittsburg Community Schools USD 250 understands and places great value on the importance of reading, not only for educational purposes, but also for fun,” Su-perintendent Destry Brown said. “We greatly enjoyed seeing all of the smiles on the kids’ faces as they held books in their hands for Read Across America Day.”

Elementary schoolsREAD ACROSS AMERICA

More pics on next page

Champions

Seybold, Bennett win wrestling goldRieck named Coach of the Year

For the first time in the 32-year history of the Pittsburg High School wrestling pro-gram, one Dragon wres-tler has two state titles and another is the first to join his brother as a state champion.

Oh, and their coach is the best in the state.

Not a bad way to end the season.

Seniors Aaron Sey-bold (145 lbs) and Broc Bennett (285 lbs) both won state gold this year, and Coach Scott Rieck was named Class 4A Wrestling Coach of the Year.

Seybold’s champion-

ship comes one year after he won the Class 5A state championship at 135 pounds.

Bennett’s gold matches that of his brother Beau, who won a class 5A title in 2010.

For both wrestlers, winning the state title was always the ultimate goal.

“When I ended the season last year, I did so on top,” Seybold said. “I wasn’t going to let anyone knock me off. I wanted to end my high school career on top, and that’s what I did.

I’m very proud of that.”Bennett said

matching his brother’s accom-plishment was a dream-come-true.

“I could see how proud he felt after winning his title,

and I wanted to experi-ence that feeling,” Ben-nett said. “That it hap-pened in the same year that Aaron got another one makes it that much sweeter.”

Rieck said his Coach of the Year honor should serve as a reflection of the talent and dedica-tion of the athletes and all that they achieved

this year, particularly the seniors.

“(The seniors) ended up with seven state medals, three first-place medals, four final appearances,” Rieck said. “Plus, they con-tributed to two SEK championships, one regional championship, a regional runner-up, two top 5 finishes in the state. They finished the race real well and in the big picture, that’s how you’ve got to look at it.

“I am very proud of our team, and I’m ex-cited to come back next year and see what we’ve got.”

PHS All-State Choir

Chelsea Montgomery, Kylie Wilber, Moriah Morgan, Kaylin Moser, Kevin McNay, Garrett

Brummit, Mason Bayliss and Dakota Slaughter.

Congratulations to the students and to Mrs. Susan Laushman.

Great job!!!

PHS JAZZ BAND EARNS TOP RATING

AT FESTIVALThe Pittsburg High School

Jazz Band earned a 1-rating during the 38th annual Pittsburg State University Jazz Festival.

The festival, which took place at Memorial Auditorium, fea-tured more than 1,300 middle and high school musicians from Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.

“I think that even though we are a relatively small band, we brought a big band sound, and I think the judges appreciated that,” PHS Band Director Coo-per Neil said. “I was very pleased with the way we performed.”

Sam Ortiz, a junior alto saxo-phone player, was honored at the festival with an Outstanding Musicianship award.

“I was really surprised to receive that award,” Ortiz said, “but I was also very proud. I think we all performed well, and being at the festival was a lot of fun.”

The PCMS MathCounts team of Lewis Weller, Amanda Hoff-man, Josh Lee and Trina Paul placed 1st at regional competi-tion hosted by Pittsburg State University. The team traveled to Salina on March 3 for state competition.

Nearly 40 students from nine schools participated at PSU. Weller finished 2nd overall, while Hoffman finished 5th and Lee finished 8th. Walter Sours fin-ished 9th overall.

MathCounts is the most rigor-ous, challenging math competi-tion for middle school students

in the nation. Sponsored by the National Council of Engineers the program provides an oppor-tunity for students to achieve in mathematics.

The competition consists of developing critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. MATH-COUNTS competitions involve written and oral rounds, as well as individual and team compo-nents. The competition problems focus on the 6th through 8th grade standards of the National Council of Teachers in Math-ematics.

PCMS MATHCOUNTS TEAM

WINS REGIONAL

During a February ceremony at the USD 250 Bevan Education Center, the USD 250 Foundation announced the recipients of the 2012 Foundation Mini-Grants, which help fund educational projects designed by teachers. The goal of the grant pro-gram is to enhance and improve educational oppor-tunities for USD 250 students.

Since 2007, more than $14,000 in mini-grant funds have been awarded.

This year, $7,370 were awarded to fund the fol-lowing:

-- Angela Lewis -- PCMS 8th Grade English Spe-cial Projects: $250

-- Megan Mantooth -- Meadowlark P.E., Basic Ultimate Scooter Game: $1,000

-- Diana Guiles -- Meadowlark K-5, Everyday Math Calculators: $994

-- Haley Bugni -- Lakeside 4th Grade, Route 66 Night: $250

-- Sarah Prince -- Westside 3-5, Board Game Sets to Improve Reading Scores: $770 and Fantas-tic Caverns Study Trip: $656

-- Nancy Hurt, Mary Robinson, Stacy Diamondd Elementary Art Show: $600

-- Greg Shaw -- PHS Drama, Telex Intercom System Headsets: $800

-- Susan Laushman -- PHS Vocal Music, Multi-Generational Women’s Chorus: $1,000

-- Cathie Kunstel -- George Nettels K-5, Coun-seling Materials: $250

-- Gabriela Johnson, Melinda Kitchen, Natalie O’Neal, Melissa Rink, Monica LaForte -- ESOL, Students Living History Field Trip: $300

-- Jennifer Menghini -- PCMS 7th Grade, Sci-ence Module Headphones: $420

-- Emily Smith -- PHS Student Publications, Lens Filter: $780

The USD 250 Foundation is an independent nonprofit organization formed in 2000 by a group of interested community members and the USD 250 Board of Education to create an avenue for private giving to support Pittsburg Community Schools. The Foundation partnered with community mem-bers to complete the renovation of Hutchinson Field, a project that included the installation of FieldTurf in 2003. The PHS gymnasium floor was replaced in 2005 with wood. Most notably, the Foundation helped facilitate the funding of the Me-gan Mallatt Activity Center at PHS.

The Foundation’s most recent projects include the renovation of the PCMS locker rooms, en-hancement of the PHS theater sound system and the PHS track and soccer field renovation project. The Foundation is also helping to fund the con-struction of an outdoor shelter for George Nettels Elementary School.

Foundation presents mini-grants

Sewing circle makes book bagsfor Meadowlark students

At home. At the doctor’s office. In the car. Wherever Meadowlark Ele-

mentary School first-graders are, their teachers think they should have a book with them.

After a generous donation by the Craft e Gals Sewing Circle from Parsons, those students will have an easier time carrying around those books.

During a special presentation at Meadowlark in mid-March, members of the sewing circle dis-tributed book bags they knitted for each 1st-grade student. Each bag has the student’s first name sewn onto it. They also donated books for the school’s Craft e Gals Pass It On Library.

The project began when teach-er Diana Guiles learned of the idea during a class she is taking at PSU. When she posted online a

request for such a project for her students, the Parsons-based sew-ing circle answered.

“We love doing service proj-ects, and it was fun doing some-thing for the kids,” Karen Taylor said.

Guiles said she and her fellow 1st-grade teachers at Meadow-lark plan to use the book bags and the donated books to help promote and encourage reading among the students. “We want to foster the love of reading wherever the children go,” Guiles said. “Our hope is that they’ll want to carry around their new book bags, and if they do, they’ll always have a book with them.

“There can be a lot of distrac-tions and other things for kids to do these days, but it’s still very important that they de-velop a passion for reading and for words. It’s the backbone for everything else they’ll learn and discover in their lives.”

PICTURE THISWestside Elementary School 3rd-grade

teacher Kerstin Womble portrayed The Assessment Hero during a school

assembly aimed at preparing the students for state assessment tests.

PCMS Bowling Club‘Fun times with friends’

For Charley Scholes, it was an opportunity for another chal-lenge.

“I like to set goals, and I like to do what it takes to go for those goals,” Scholes, a PCMS 6th grader, said.

The PCMS Bowling Club also offered something else, how-ever..

“Overall, it’s just a blast,” Scholes said. “It’s a fun time with friends.”

The intramural bowling pro-gram, which wrapped up its sea-son earlier this month, serves as a fun, safe after-school activity for many students, particularly 6th-grade students.

“Sixth-graders can’t yet play football or basketball or track,” Bowling Club coordinator Glenn Bliss said, “but they can come here and participate and have a great time doing it.”

Kiel O’Neal, who bowls in a league at Holiday Lanes, said he enjoys the school program because it’s “fun and relaxing.”

“It’s a fun thing to do to get away from it all after school,” he said. “It’s time with friends and it’s time with a fun sport.”

For some students, the club was their first ever introduction to bowling. Many, like 6th-grad-er Savannah Jones, found out that it’s not as easy as it looks.

“The hardest parts are stand-ing up right, not getting in the gutter and bending your fingers back,” she said. “It’s fun, but it’s also kind of hard.”

Bliss said the club continues to be popular among the students.

“They get a kick out of it because it’s different,” he said. “We all have a great time do-ing this, and I get excited every year.”

Young artists display work at MemorialWoven people and

clay dogs were among the various art projects that were displayed at Memorial Auditorium in the month of March, part of the annual USD 250 Elementary School Art Show.

The works, created in art class by students at each of the four el-ementary schools, were featured in the Beverly J. Corcoran Gallery.

Featured were works by students of Nancy

Hurt, who teaches at Meadowlark and George Nettels elemen-tary schools, Mary Rob-inson, who teaches at Lakeside and Westside elementary schools, and Stacy Diamond, who teaches some kindergar-ten art at Lakeside.

“This is an exciting experience for the art students,” Robinson said. “They take pride in their pieces, knowing that they’ll be displayed in a public place that

gets a lot of foot traf-fic. It’s fun to see how much they concentrate and how focused they

become when they’re working on their proj-ects.”

PHS Job Shadow Day

Meadowlark Talent Night

Photo

Finish