School Life: Winners
Published 11:27 pm Monday, November 5, 2007
Monroe choir finishes festival on a high note
Monroe High School’s Concert Choir earned top marks at the recent 14th annual Education Choral Festival in Pullman sponsored by the Washington State University School of Music and Theatre Arts.
The high school was one of 13 high school choirs invited to the festival.
The concert choir was one of three outstanding choirs chosen to perform together at the close of the event. The vocalists also received recognition for commitment to their work and musicianship.
More than 400 students participated in various workshops throughout the day and had the opportunity to hear the WSU Concert Choir, Madrigal Singers and jazz ensembles perform. WSU’s choral music festival is intended to be educational, noncompetitive and motivating for the students in a positive environment.
Students are selected for the Monroe High Concert Choir by audition. There are 41 young men and women performing with the group.
Local residents are invited to the choir’s next performance at 7 p.m. Nov. 18 at Monroe High School’s Performing Arts Center, 17001 Tester Road, Monroe. There is no cost to attend.
Horizon teacher gets article published
Kate Norem, a fourth-grade teacher at Horizon Elementary School, had an article printed in this month’s issue of “School Talk,” a publication produced by the National Council of Teachers of English.
Norem’s article, titled “Nurturing Response to Reading,” is about the strategies she uses in the classroom that encourage her students to get involved emotionally and to connect and interact with the books they read.
Follow this link to the publication and find Norem’s article on page 5: www.mukilteo.wednet.edu/departments/pr/info/pdfs/SchoolTalkNLOct’07-Web.pdf.
Stanwood FFA team shines at nationals
Four Stanwood Future Farmers of America students placed ninth in the nation while representing Washington at the National FFA Environmental and Natural Resources Career Development Event in October.
Stanwood FFA results include:
Jared Calkins, Pender Rink, Scott Weisse and Brent Weisse placed ninth in the national competition.
Jared Calkins received the second-place individual award at the national event.
The team was listed as a Gold Emblem Team.
Jared Calkins, Brent Weisse, and Scott Weisse received Gold Emblem Individual awards.
Pender Rink received the Silver Emblem Individual award.
The top 11 individuals and the national winning team members received scholarships to further their education at a post-secondary institution of their choice.
Stanwood FFA students competed at local and state levels to represent their home state at the National FFA Convention at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.
National FFA Environmental and Natural Resources Career Development Event is a competitive activity that allows students to apply classroom knowledge to real-life situations.
The event focuses on testing students’ problem-solving and decision-making skills in environmental and natural resources. These areas concentrate on soil profiles, water and air quality, waste management, environmental analysis and use of global positioning units.
North Lake students brighten vets’ days
Erin Pakinas’ art class fell into a project that will spread their creations from Lake Stevens to Seattle.
When asked to take on a special project to brighten the day for veterans in hospitals and nursing care by making tray favors, they never thought their art would become so popular.
Their holiday-themed tray favors will spread cheer to patients at the VA hospital in Seattle and closer to home to the residents of Ashley Point.
Isabel and Preston Scheid, Pakinas’ grandparents who volunteer many hours at the Veterans’ Hospital, asked for 190 tray favors. These were for the trays of veterans released from the VA Hospital to local contract nursing homes. The sixth- and seventh-grade art classes at North Lake Middle School made more than 500 construction-paper turkeys and cards that will go to veterans in nursing homes as well as those who are still patients at the VA Hospital.
Students decided not only to make these favors for the VA hospital, but also wanted to bring holiday cheer closer to home.
They decided to give turkeys to residents at Ashley Point. The students created paper turkeys of all sizes and colors — they even fashioned a large “hand-waving” turkey for Paul Burden, a resident at Ashley Point.
Burden is often seen out in front of Ashley Point on 20th Street NE waving to folks in an effort to bring a little cheer to those passing by. Students Joe Hendrickson and Dakota Perrine decided to return the favor by sending Burden a giant turkey and Thanksgiving card.
