October 29, 2008

 

NHS to Host College Planning Conference

On Wednesday, November 5th, a College Planning Conference will be held at Newton High School from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The event will be held in Willis Gym and students will be dismissed to attend. Parents of high school students are also welcome and encouraged to attend. The event will feature admissions representatives from around 50 schools for students to visit with about post high school educational opportunities. The conference is organized and sponsored by KACRAO (Kansas Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers). For more information, call Newton High School: 316-284-6280, ext. 2229.

October 29, 2008

Students get to vote early in mock election

Chisholm Middle School 7th and 8th graders recently participated in the Channel One Vote. The election allowed kids from across the nation to visit the Channel One website anytime between Oct. 20 and Oct. 24 to cast their vote for president. Channel One News reported on Wednesday that Barack Obama came out the favorite among the student voters.

Photo: CMS 7th graders Sayra Porros and Brittney McDonald cast their votes.

October 29, 2008

"Wheat Lady" visits CMS

"The Wheat Lady", Mary Beth Bower of Marion, made her annual visit to the Chisholm Middle School 7th grade social studies classes of Gary Ewert on Tuesday, October 28, 2008. Students studied the different parts of the wheat kernel, discussed "old time" methods of harvest and baking, and then helped grind wheat to be baked into bread. Their reward was a slice of wheat bread baked on the site!

Photo: Erika Westhoff leans into the grinder as Grant Gaeddert holds the desk down. Ben Tran and Sergio Cervantes look on.

October 22, 2008

Sunset kindergarteners tour fire station

Kindergarteners at Sunset Elementary School got a up close look at the operations of a fire station last week. The students, who are fortunate that their school is just a few steps away from Fire Station Number One on west Broadway, took a guided tour of the station hosted by fire and EMS workers Bob Maier and Shawn Ashcraft.

After the tour of the station, the children were delighted to have the opportunity to climb up into the cab of one of the fire trucks. Maier and Ashcraft described the typical firefighter’s day, including cleaning and maintaining all of the equipment that must be kept ready to respond at a moment’s notice. Then the fire truck was brought out to show the children how all of the equipment is stored on it and how the high pressure water hoses work.

Photo: Bob Maier, a member of the Newton Fire and EMS department, shows Northridge kindergarteners how the fire truck hose works.

October 22, 2008

Sunset students expand prairie garden

Sunset students have added another planting area to their burgeoning prairie restoration garden. The latest addition was planted by 4th and 5th grade students last week and is the second site at Sunset under the Earth Partnership for Schools program. The plants were funded through an OWLS (Outdoor Wildlife Learning Sites) Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks grant. Once the plants mature, the students and staff will be able to enjoy the new reflection garden, with a sensory theme focusing on plants that appeal to one or more of the five senses: textures, scents, etc.

The planting is in the school courtyard area with easy access from the special education classrooms and the students in these classes also assisted with the planting. The location is ideal as a quiet, secluded place for reflection and sensory stimulation. The garden also features a central “council ring” area that will be large enough to accommodate groups or even an entire class. Brad Guhr, Education Coordinator with the Dyck Arboretum of the Plains in Hesston, instructed the children in the proper planting procedures to install the plants.

The day following the planting, members of the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) visited the school to view the new and existing plantings. Several Sunset students served as tour guides for the group, which included teachers and conference instructors from across the country.

Photos by Amber Celestin

Top: Sunset 4th grader Bryan Castillo adds a native plant to the second phase of the school’s Prairie Earth Restoration project.

Bottom: Tour guide Derek Gonzalez speaks to members of the NAAEE during a tour of Sunset Elementary School’s Prairie Earth Restoration project.

October 22, 2008

Gone Fishing

To the teacher it was a perfect opportunity for project based learning, to the students it was a fun fishing trip and a day away from school. Students in Kathy Murphy’s fifth grade class at Walton 21st Century Rural Life Center were able to convince Murphy and principal Natise Vogt that a class fishing trip to Harvey County East Lake would be a rich learning opportunity, and it was.

The students, along with several volunteer chaperones, visited the lake after organizing the trip with assistance from Gander Mountain and East Lake park staff. Prior to the trip, the class researched the types of fish at East Lake, the habitat of the fish, the behaviors of the fish, and the bait they would need to catch the fish. They also compared the properties of the different fish and researched how to handle the fish safely.

The students also researched state regulations regarding the trip (license, limit on the catch, size of fish) and learned about worms, their benefits to the soil and their characteristics/properties.

Mapping routes to school from their homes using Mapquest online mapping site, the students were able to bring their fishing poles, which are not allowed on the school bus, to school. They also learned how to tie a clinch knot to attach the hook to the line.

Using persuasive writing skills, they sent letters to Gander Mountain and successfully obtained eight dozen worms and poles to use on the trip. Now, the students are writing thank you letters to Gander Mountain and to the parents and other volunteers who accompanied them on the trip. Following the trip, an additional writing assignment was given to write a narrative story about their experience.

In one trip to the lake, the Walton fifth graders learned more than just how to fish, they learned how to read, write, conduct research, follow complicated directions, and much more.

Photo: Walton fifth grader Cody Koehn and his grandfather, Bill Spangler, enjoy a day of fishing during a field trip to Harvey County East Lake.

October 14, 2008

Sunset Kindergarteners Go Flat

Kindergarten students at Sunset Elementary School went flat last week after reading the book Flat Stanley. The book, by Jeff Brown, was read to the children by their teachers and tells the story of a boy named Stanley who is flattened when a bulletin board falls on him. He then takes many adventures as his parents send him places by mail, because it is much cheaper than airfare.

The children learned that this type of story is fiction, because a person couldn't really become flat and be sent through the mail. The children then created flat people to resemble themselves. They chose the color of clothes their flat person would wear and a photograph of each student’s face was attached to the head of their flat person.

The students then took their flat selves to a Flat Stanley Party, which included a balloon launch and ice cream party. This was considered the Bon Voyage party as they sent their flat people off on their first adventure.

In the book, Flat Stanley ate ice cream on one of his adventures, so it made sense for the students to have an ice cream party, since this was the first adventure for their flat people. They discussed how the balloons floating off to places where they could no longer see them was symbolic of their flat people being sent to far off places through the mail.

The students, with the help of their parents, decided where to send their flat people. It might be to another town, state, or country. Some sent their flat people to relatives and others to friends. Notes were sent home explaining the project and asking parents to provide a picture and a card or letter describing where their child’s flat person went and what occurred on his or her adventure. The destinations will be marked on a map as part of an early introduction to Geography and maps. The students and teachers are now anxiously waiting to see where their flat people have been and what they did.

Top photo: (click on photo for full view) Sunset kindergarteners (left to right) Cole Billinger, Sadie Barr, Caitlynn Ericson, Cody Hauck, Taylor Hill, Max Musser, Mercedes Seifert, Jasmine Huerta, and their flat people watch their helium balloons float away.

Bottom photo: Sunset kindergarteners (left to right) Jasmine Huerta, Isabella Rogers, Max Ruth, Adrian Ramos, Jewel Kelly, and their classmates release their helium balloons during their Flat Stanley Bon Voyage party.

October 14, 2008

Sunset Pushes Safety During International Walk/Bike to School Day

Sunset Elementary School students learned about bike safety during the International Walk/Bike to School Day on October 8. The worldwide event was sponsored by the National Center for Safe Routes to School. Sunset students were encouraged to walk or ride their bikes to school on this day and school resource officers Brad Celestin and Chad Gay conducted bicycle safety clinics, inspecting the students’ bikes to make sure they were safe and in good repair. Bicycle registration cards were sent home with all students and those who returned the completed cards were entered in a drawing to receive free bicycle helmets. Over 250 Sunset students registered their bicycles during the event.

Photo: Newton Elementary School Resource Officer Brad Celestin inspects Sunset student Nathan Graber’s bicycle during the Safe Routes Walk/Bike to School Day, October 8.

October 8, 2008

Newton to Celebrate Marvel-ous Homecoming

The Newton Railers will host Pratt during the homecoming football game this Friday, October 10. The theme for this year’s homecoming is Marvel-ous! taken from the Marvel comic book hero theme. A variety of activities will be held in conjunction with homecoming. On Wednesday, October 8, classes and clubs will be building parade floats from 4:30 - 8:30 p.m. at the 4H building.

On Friday, October 10, the homecoming parade will line up at First and Meridian at 4:30 p.m. The parade begins at 5:00 p.m. and will proceed west on First St. to Grandview and north on Grandview into Athletic Park.

Coronation will begin at approximately 6:20 p.m. the football game will kick-off at 7:00. KSN TV station will be hosting a Friday Night Football Fever Tailgate Party in the stadium on the night of the game. They will be offering a brat, soft drink and chips for $2.00. All proceeds will be donated to Newton High School.

Also during the game, the Education Endowment Committee will hold a gift basket auction. Dozens of themed gift baskets have been prepared by local businesses, schools, and endowment supporters and will be sold to the highest bidder at the end of half time. Some of the basket themes include gardening, movie night, children’s books and toys, KU vs. K-State football tickets, computer gadgets, pizza party, Kansas food products, car care, handyman tools, scrap booking, and tailgate party, along with many, many more. Proceeds from the gift basket auction fund grants to teachers for enhancing technology in the classroom.

The evening will wrap up with the homecoming dance at the high school from 10:00 p.m. to midnight.

In addition to the homecoming festivities, several classes are having reunions. Reunion information is available on the NHS Alumni web-page.

Anita Monarez puts the finishing touches on a basket for the Education Endowment Gift Basket Auction, which will be held during the homecoming football game this Friday, October 10.

 

October 1, 2008

The Ice Cream Cone Turns 105

The first grade classes at South Breeze celebrated the 105th birthday of the ice cream cone by touring the local Dairy Queen and making their own ice cream cones. The owner of the store invites the children in annually to celebrate the birthday of the tasty treat, on September 22. The children took a guided tour of the facility, which culminated with a free soft serve DQ ice cream cone for each child.

Ice Cream photo: South Breeze first grader Mya Sayles makes a Dairy Queen ice cream cone with the help of DQ employee Andria Daugherty.

 

 

October 1, 2008

German Exchange Students Visit Newton

Fifteen students and two teachers from Germany recently spent two weeks in Newton, attending classes and touring the area. The group is from Lohmar, Germany, located in the state of North Rhine Westphalia, close to the Rhine River and not far from Cologne and Bonn.

The group visited local classrooms at several Newton schools and attended classes at Newton High School while here, along with doing some site seeing.

The visit was the result of an on-going exchange program that Newton High school has been engaged in with the Gymnasium Lomar school for several years.

A "Gymnasium" is a German school for college-bound students and includes students from grades 5-13 currently. There is a movement toward only requiring twelve years of attendance. A diploma from this type of school allows students to study at a university. Germany also has a secondary school “Realschul” which includes 5th through 10th grade. Once they complete 10th grade, if their grades are good enough and they wish to, they may attend the Gymnasium, followed by a university, or they may choose to participate in an apprenticeship and vo-tech training.

The third secondary school “Hauptschule” is also 5th through 10th grade, and graduates from this school enter the workforce directly upon completion of 10th grade.

Newton High School has participated in a German American Partnership Program (GAPP) exchange for nearly twenty years. Former NHS German teacher Ruth White started the exchange with a school in Düsseldorf.

Eventually the exchange school in Düsseldorf became a specialized business school and at that time current German teacher Nan Bergen searched for another partner school through the same program (GAPP). She discovered Lohmar and has taken students from NHS there in 2002, 2004, 2006 and this past summer 2008. The groups spend two weeks attending their school and living with host families. The students who host their exchange partners then visit their partner school in the other country the next year.

The German students spent two weeks here and are now spending a week in Washington D.C. and New York before returning home. They will return to Germany on October 3. The trip coincides with their two-week fall break, and NHS students visit Lohmar in June, after school is out. This exchange takes place every other year, in even years. The next exchange will occur in 2010.

Some interesting differences in the German education system, vs. the United States are that all German students are required to learn English immediately upon entering school, along with another language in later years. They may choose from French or Latin. In Germany there is also no school coordinated transportation. Students must make their own way to school, even from long distances. Meals are also not provided at school and all students and teachers provide their own lunches.

The students found Kansas to be “flat, like it shows in the movies.” They also found the school days here to be very long—classes at their school end at 1:00 or 2:00 p.m. each day. Regarding teachers, the German students indicated that American teachers in general are more approachable as compared to their more formal German counterparts.

German students 1: German students Jens Wittmeyer (left), Amelie Groth (middle), and Inga Twardy talk to students at Chisholm Middle School about their school in Germany and the differences between their country and the United States.

German students 2: Teacher Christoph Spiess (left) and students Richard Schindel (middle), and Arne Kerns, from Germany, visit with students at Sunset Elementary School.

German students 3: Visiting German students Sarah Grassme (left) and Jacqueline Tehraud visit a local farm during a field trip while visiting the Walton 21st Century Rural Life Center.