Thank You to Our Board Members - Johnston Community …Problem Solving on Planet Zak : Figure out...

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MAY | 2008

Thank You to Ou r Boar d Members

As the school year ends, we would like to thank all of our board

members for their service this year. We’re truly fortunate to have such

a dedicated and hardworking group guiding our organization.

At our first meeting of next school year (to be held in September), we

will ask our members to vote on a complete slate of officers for Friends

of Johnston ELP for the 2008-2009 school year.

If you have any questions or suggestions for our group, feel free to

contact any of us over the summer months. We’ll see you at our fall

meeting!

2007-2008 ELP STAFF CONTACT INFORMATION

Kathy Paul

ELP Coordinator for JCSD, assists with 7th,

8-9 ELP, Lawson, assessment, training

(515) 278-0476 [email protected]

Easiest to contact by e-mail

Sue Cline

ELP Teacher at Johnston High School / Advanced

Placement

(515) 278-0449 [email protected]

Contact by e-mail or call during school hours (except 8:00-8:45 AM and

2:10-2:55 PM)

Mitzi Hetherton

ELP Teacher at Horizon and Timber Ridge Elementary Schools

(515) 986-1121 (Horizon) (515) 331-4379 (Timber Ridge) [email protected]

Contact by e-mail or phone

Judie Horka

Part-Time ELP Teacher at Lawson and Wallace Elementary Schools

(515) 278-0478 (Lawson) (515) 278-6977 (Wallace) [email protected]

Contact by e-mail or phone on Monday, Thursday, or

Friday PM

Nancy McGill

ELP Teacher at Beaver Creek and Timber Ridge

Elementary Schools

(515) 278-6228 (Beaver Creek) (515) 331-4379 (Timber Ridge) [email protected]

Call between 3 and 4 PM or e-mail her for a convenient time

2007-2008

BOARD MEMBERS Our board members represent all schools within our district, as indicated below. Feel free to contact us with any questions, suggestions, or to volunteer to help with any of our activities. We’d love to hear from you!

Janet Petersma, President JMS / 515-270-0561

[email protected]

Jane McDowell, Treasurer Lawson, JMS, JHS / 515-270-0012

[email protected]

Sue Nagel, Secretary JMS, JHS / 515-334-0999 [email protected]

Salim Chandani, Member at Large

Horizon / 515-334-0647 [email protected]

Kari Dostalik, Member at Large

Timber Ridge / 515-252-1892 [email protected]

Ellie Holland, Member at Large

Summit, JMS / 515-252-6158 [email protected]

Shanyn Kramersmeier, Member at Large


Cheryl Miller, Member at Large

Beaver Creek / 515-999-2536 [email protected]

Greti North, Member at Large

Wallace, Summit, JMS / 515-252-7354 [email protected]

Kate Safris, Member at Large


Kathy Paul, ELP Coordinator

515-278-0476 [email protected]

Connie Pruitt

ELP Teacher at Summit

(515) 986-0318

[email protected]

Contact by e-mail or phone

NNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWSSSSSSSS FFFFFFFFRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM FFFFFFFFRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNDDDDDDDDSSSSSSSS OOOOOOOOFFFFFFFF JJJJJJJJOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHNNNNNNNNSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTOOOOOOOONNNNNNNN EEEEEEEELLLLLLLLPPPPPPPP Visit our website at http://www.johnston.k12.ia.us/schools/elp/

PROGRAMS FOR 2008-2009 SCHOOL YEAR

One of our goals is to provide educational programs for families and supporters of high-ability students. The dates of next year’s programs will be published on our website and on the 2008-2009 school calendar. Specific topics and meeting locations will be posted on our website.

MAKE THE MOST OF SUMMER

Summer time can yawn like a timeless, shapeless cavern for some kids and their parents. Don't let that be you! With a little advance planning, you can organize your summer so that you and your children will look forward to the time as an opportunity to enrich, renew, and refresh. Here are some tips for planning a summer for your high-ability kids:

• Find out what your child really wants to do. Does she want to be with a friend or do an independent project? Even though you think a particular program sounds great, listen to your child's reaction---he's the one who will have to be there.

• Match an activity with your child's passion. If your child doesn't have a passion, find an activity that piques her interest and use it as an opportunity to explore new territory.

• Allow your child to choose to do something non-academic, even though an alternate academic challenge seems too good to pass up.

• Remember that you are parenting a whole child---consider how you can help your child discover or develop a new skill or interest that he may not even know he has. When your child shows by his behavior that he is tired or stressed, relax and let him just hang out for a while.

• Keep the last couple of weeks before school starts free---let your child have some downtime, even possible boredom, before the structure of school days resumes.

• Use family vacation time as a teaching tool. Have your child research geology, history, and culture of the place you will be visiting. After the trip, create a scrapbook to show where you went and what you learned.

• Take advantage of free nature, museum, or recreation area activities.

• Teach your child kitchen skills; let him learn to make some dishes or baked goods and create a cookbook of his own cuisine.

• Read, read, read, and read some more!

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Camp Invention

There still are openings for Camp Invention this summer. Here are some of the exciting things that will be happening during the week:

� I can invent it! Take apart appliances and use the parts to create a new invention.

� Problem Solving on Planet Zak: Figure out how to survive on an alien planet.

� Spills and Chills: Crash test cars and skateboards using eggs and water balloons.

� Imagination Point / Ride Physics: Design an amusement park.

� Recess Remix: High-energy recreational activities, combining creativity, teamwork and fun.

Camp Invention, July 14-18, will be held at Summit Middle School. Camp Director is ELP teacher Mitzi Hetherton, and Assistant

Director is ELP teacher Connie Pruitt. Camp Invention is open to incoming first-sixth grade students.

Please check the Community Education website

(http://www.johnston.k12.ia.us/index.html) or call Abbi Schutte at Community Ed at 278-0552 for registration information.

Scholarship options are available if cost is a concern. We hope to see a lot of familiar faces over the summer!

Summer Tutoring

Connie Pruitt, Summit ELP Teacher, is looking for students to tutor this summer. She is currently taking

students who will be in grades four-six next year. Individual or group sessions are available. Lessons can cover a variety of subjects, including math and reading enrichment. She is also planning small group classes with two to five students. These small group classes may include multicultural math or poetry writing.

For more information, contact Mrs. Pruitt at

[email protected] or call her at 986-7271.

NNeewwss ff rr oomm JJ oohhnn ss tt oonn EE ll eemmeenn ttaa rryy SS cchhoooo ll ss Submitted by Elementary ELP Staff

WINDING DOWN THE YEAR IN ELEMENTARY ELP CLASSES While the end of the 2007-2008 school year is coming to a close, the students participating in the elementary ELP classes are still going strong. Some of the things you might see in the buildings include:

• Fourth graders conducting research on a special interest area of our brain study.

• Fifth graders anxiously awaiting the results of their Stock Market Game session, so they can reflect on what worked well and what they would do differently if given another chance.

• Architect, Ellen Kyhl, sharing her knowledge and expertise in a fifth grade Design-A-Home project on May 6.

• Fifth graders participating in a Career Aspiration study. In Johnston we are producing the next renowned forensic scientist, aerospace engineer, pharmacist, urban planning engineer, author, lawyer, medical examiner, pediatrician, teacher, sports agent, and veterinarian. The talent among these fifth graders is unlimited! It will be exciting to see how they grow and change in the years ahead.

• Literature genre studies -- mysteries, humor, and fantasy, as well as award-winners.

• Thinking Skills units with many primary classes across the district.

• Fraction exploration using real life extensions from Exploring the Attic, Project M3 Series, with some third grade students.

• Third graders completing their studies of ancient Egypt and sharing projects, which give an opportunity to create some replicas or artifacts from Egyptian life.

• A group of fifth grade writers busy preparing a story to be included in an anthology of their work.

• Fifth graders well on their way to completing the second book in Caesar’s English. They are very knowledgeable of both Latin stems and classic vocabulary.

• Many third grade students enjoying investigations into measurement, division, geometry, and problem solving.

• Some Kindergartners enjoying reading extensions and others practicing their high level thinking skills.

MATH OLYMPIAD Math Olympiad has concluded for the year. The final test was the most challenging yet! The students never gave up their determination and have come out of this season much stronger problem solvers. Top honors from each school go to:

• Joshua Borwick, Timber Ridge fifth grader

• Connor Wunsch, Horizon fifth grader

• Jack Dolde, Lawson fifth grader

• Ethan Niu, Wallace fifth grader

• Jack Krone, Kole Swesey, and Jack Catus, all fifth graders, share the top spot at Beaver Creek

• Karl Rasmussen, Lawson top fourth grader

• There was a three way tie for top fourth grade honors at Wallace: Eli Couture, Kaleb Farnham, and Ryan Hilby

LETTERS ABOUT L ITERATURE (LAL)

We discovered another LAL semi-finalist at Beaver Creek following the publication of our March Friends of Johnston ELP newsletter. Congratulations to Seth Tack for this honor!

KIDS ARE AUTHORS TEAM WINS HONORABLE MENTION

The Horizon third grade Kids are Authors team received the Honorable Mention award for their book about the New Seven Wonders. The student authors and illustrators are Sara Siebrecht, Tyler Gurney, Afshan Chandani, Luke Safris, and Cole Kramersmeier. Visit the Friends of Johnston ELP website (Student Showcase tab) to see their creation.

IDENTIF ICATION FOR 2008-2009 SCHOOL YEAR

In late April and May, we begin the process of identifying students for ELP services in the district. We have already met and consulted with teachers at all grade levels and are beginning to discuss each recommended child with the ELP staff. Letters will be going home before the end of the school year with the final ELP staff identification results. Please understand we do not base our decision on test scores alone. We look at each child individually using multiple criteria: ITBS Iowa Percentile Ranking, MIALT (fall and spring results), Cognitive Abilities Test (when applicable), teacher recommendation, and parent recommendation. Should you have questions, please contact the ELP teacher in your student’s building.

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NNeewwss ff rr oomm JJ oohhnn ss tt oonn EE ll eemmeenn ttaa rryy SS cchhoooo ll ss CONTINUED

CELEBRATING POETRY MONTH WITH JAY JOHNSON

Through a grant from Iowa Art Share, the elementary ELP staff was able to bring poet Jay Johnson to our district to share ideas from a poet's perspective, as well discuss writing and the challenges of the creative process. Students explored what makes a line work and compared/contrasted poetry verse prose. Using an overhead projector, Ms. Johnson showed students how they could see the various forms of poetry, as well as to insert slant rhyme for the musicality of a poem. Finally, Ms. Johnson addressed the concepts of metaphor and simile, and students were invited to share their poetic work.

Above: Jay Johnson, poet from Washington state whose granddaughter was a former Horizon student, works with students

STUDENT POETRY

Winter D iamantes , by Beaver Creek Second Graders

Ryan Brueckner:

Snow cold shiny

fall dazzle twinkle sky ground slush flood

drift glitter sparkle slushy dirty

Water

Katie Srail:

Snow white icy

twirl drifting shimmering Alaska snowflake storming lightening

howling struggle scramble white piling Blizzard

Mitchell Hunerdosse:

Snow beautiful crunchy

shimmering shine glisten mound drift slush mush

splish splash splush wet soggy Water

Lane Kiple:

Snowflake tiny beautiful

falling howl blowing flutter pile snowman round scooping squish packing

cold chilly Snowball

Spencer Collison:

Blizzard scary frigid

blowing howling freezing frenzy windstorm disaster artic cold

hazard screaming warning dangerous glacial

White out

A diamante poem is a poem in the shape of a diamond. “Diamante” is the word for diamond

in Italian.

Shuda Jarboe (fifth grader, Timber Ridge) was one of the state winners for the "River of Words" contest. She wrote the following poem in the shape of a river:

My friend, the River, Beckoning, then racing Ahead, and tripping over Stones, its bubbly laughter Floating down to me, while I Chase her, running, acting like A fool, stumbling, falling, she Catches me. We continue, Playing an endless game of Hide-and-go-seek, we run As one person, united in a World, talking, laughing, joking, In a world where there are different Ways, where twisting turning rivers are Endless, and they never have to stop, Never. But taking a break is such a Wonderful thought. I lay down, And sleep by my friend, the River.

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News from Summit and Johnston Middle Schools Submitted by Kathy Paul, ELP Coordinator, and Connie Pruitt, ELP Teacher

LETTERS ABOUT L ITERATURE

Summit student Sarah Startz was honored at the 2008 Letter About Literature (LAL) Awards Ceremony held on April 25 at the State Library of Iowa building. There, the Iowa LAL winners read their letters. Sarah’s letter was written to Barbara Park about The Graduation of Jake Moon. Two semi-finalists also from Summit were Stanzy Snyder and Abby Dockum. Stanzy wrote to Margaret Peterson Haddix about The Shadow Children series. Abby wrote to Peg Kehret about Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio. There were over 56,000 entries at the national level this year, 1,921 being from Iowa. The letters can be viewed on the

website http://www.iowacenterforthebook.org/letters/index.html.

SUMMIT STUDENTS SHINE AT DISTRICT HISTORY DAY

April Fools’ Day was no joke for 42 Summit students who spent the day at the State Historical Building competing at District History Day. Seven students earned the right to advance to state competition on April 28. They were Hannah Soyer, Laura Smalley, Courtney Norelius, Austin Kerr, Kavita Israni-Winger, Karen Chen, and Mikayla Seiler. Special awards of the day were given to Sarah Startz, Brenna Robinson, and Joscelyn Minor for “Best Use of Primary Sources.” Josh Hjelmaas and Ciera Wolinski both won “Most Creative Entry,” while Katey Brimeyer, Ashley Shay, and Lauren Kimble won Most Creative Environmental Entry. Carmen Vajgrt, Ellie Wallace, and Melinda Paszkiewicz won “Most Creative Timeline,” and Abby Dockum took the “Women’s History Special Award.” The “Most Creative Use of Music in a Performance” award went to Soyer, Smalley and Norelius.

Below is a listing of Summit students’ History Day projects:

EXHIBITS

• “Tilting the Playing Field” by Brenna Robinson and Joscelyn Miner

• “Jackie’s Mission to Break the Color Barrier” by Alexa Anderson and Julia Ratekin

• “Tinker vs. Des Moines: Conflict in Des Moines” by Fatiha Igbal, Lauren Stephens, and Emily Walton

• “Martin Luther King, Jr.” by Megan Manteaw

• “Rachel Carson: The Fight to Save the World from DDT” by Katey Brimeyer, Ashley Shay, and Lauren Kimble

• “Racing Against Racism” by Carmen Vajgrt, Ellie Wallace, and Melinda Paszkiewicz

• “Peace on Antarctica” by Margaret Tian, Grace Ma, and Anna Lam

• “The Conflict and Compromise of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire” by Sarah Startz

• “All Blood Runs Red” by John Koopal

• “The Yalta Conference: A Beginning and an Ending” by Josh Hjelmaas

• “Anne Frank vs. Hitler” by Amy Nihart, Aditi Dinakar, and Madeline Taylor

• “We Can Do It: Women’s Roles in the Workplace During World War II” by Abby Dockum

• “Conflict and Compromise Goes to the Moon!” by Andrew Boge, Jackson Traeger, and Monte Friestad

PERFORMANCES

• “Survival of the Fittest: America’s National Bird” by Sanjay Koduvalli, Brandon Gabbert, Cameron Redshaw, and David Baker

• “Batter Up Girls! Conflict and Compromise in the AAGPBL” by Hannah Soyer, Laura Smalley, and Courtney Norelius

DOCUMENTARIES

• “Whaling” by Ciera Wolinski

WEBSITES

• “Leonardo’s Horse” by Austin Kerr

• “Hippias and the Battle of Marathon” by Kavita Israni-Winger, Karen Chen, and Mikayla Seiler

PAGE 5

News from Summit and Johnston Middle Schools CONTINUED

JMS STUDENTS COMPETE AT KNOWLEDGE BOWL

The 2008 central Iowa Jr. High Knowledge Bowl competition has concluded. The Johnston Middle School team

(comprised of eighth graders Nick Holland, Evan Culbert, Chase Wallace, Scott Syroka, and Grant McDonald)

placed fifth out of 78 teams at the conclusion of the computer rounds held at each school. The students then

qualified for the championship round at Merle Hay Mall on April 17, where the students competed in a written

round and oral rounds with face-to-face competition with area teams. Although they didn’t place in the top

five at this level, the boys competed well. Kathy Paul, ELP teacher at the Middle School, coached the team.

LETTERS ABOUT L ITERATURE

JMS ninth grader Ananya Kumar was awarded third place in the recent

Letters About Literature (LAL) contest. Her letter was written to

author Sudha Murty about the book Wise and Otherwise.

EIGHTH GRADERS PLAN FOR THE FUTURE

Earlier in the year, a group of students participated in a class to help

plan for the future. This spring, approximately 25 more students in

eighth grade have had a chance to take the class. The students are

currently working on a four-year plan for their high school curriculum.

They enjoyed the recent visit from high school students. High school

students will return soon to talk to the students individually about their

plans.

BLANK SUMMER PROGRAM

Two students from JMS were recently selected to attend the Blank

Summer Institute for the Arts and Sciences to be held at the University

of Iowa, June 29 through July

11. Allison Wignall and Zoe

Eagle were selected from

students across the state to

attend the two-week institute

taught by professors in an area

of specialty. Zoe Eagle was

selected for the Social Sciences

category, and Allison Wignall

was chosen for Creative

Writing. Students first had to

be nominated by their school

district and underwent a

rigorous selection process.

Alternates to the program are

Summit Middle School seventh

graders Katie Giles in

Performing Arts and Alejandra

Escoto in Visual Arts. They

were also selected to

represent Johnston in their

specialty areas.

PAGE 6

News from Summit and Johnston Middle Schools CONTINUED

JMS STUDENTS COMPETE AT DISTRICT HISTORY DAY

Thirty students from Johnston Middle School combined efforts to win the first place school trophy at the District History Day event held on April 1, 2008, at the State Historical Building of Iowa. Nearly 400 students from the area competed in the event. In addition to the school trophy, students also qualified for the state competition and some received special awards. Students were coached by Extended Learning Coordinator, Kathy Paul. Advancing to junior division state competition on April 28:

INDIV IDUAL EXH IB ITS

• Elizabeth Mills

• Andrew Tubbs (award for primary sources) GROUP EXH IB ITS

• Martha Carroll and Emily McDowell (award for most creative entry)

GROUP DOCUMENTARY

• Taylor Mithelman and Helen Lagerblade

• Emma Henry, Lisa Friesth, Brandi Jansen, and Sammie Hildreth

• Grant McDonald and Chase Wallace WEBS ITES (these students advanced directly to state competition in this new category)

• Kaitlyn Aldrich, Sam Sparland, and Caroline Pace

• Madi Buckley

Other eighth grade participants included Lily Sindlinger, Joe Buckley, Courtney Nelson, Bryan Johnson, Shane Chafa, Joy Tan, Jacey Elmer, Jessie Sandmann, Kai Van Zee, Taylor O’Bryan, and Samantha Trail. Alex Peterson, Ben Parsons, and Andrew Schneider received an award for their creativity.

Advancing to senior division state competition on May 5:

H I STOR ICAL PAPERS

• Amber Solberg GROUP PERFORMANCES

• Mikhala Stutzman and Shae Atterberg WEBS ITES (these students advanced directly to state competition in this new category)

• Keo Corak

Others in ninth grade who participated included Cindy Xu.

JUNIOR DIV IS ION STATE HISTORY DAY RESULTS

Johnston Middle School won the third place school award at the State History Day Contest on April 28 held at the State Historical Building. Sixteen students represented the school at the state level. Several groups received judges’ choice awards for their entries, including: Chase Wallace, Grant McDonald, Andrew Tubbs, Elizabeth Mills, Emily McDowell, and Martha Carroll. Selected as state finalists in the website category were: Sam Sparland, Kaitlyn Aldrich, and Caroline Pace. These students finished in the top five entries of the state out of 65 entries, the largest category. The History Day coach is Kathy Paul. Left: JMS students are presented with the third place school award by Director of Cultural Affairs, Cyndi Pederson; Right: National qualifiers with Ms. Pederson

Advancing to National History Day in College Park, Maryland, in June: GROUP EXH IB ITS

• Chase Wallace and Grant McDonald (topic: Berlin Wall) GROUP DOCUMENTARY

• Helen Lagerblade and Taylor Mithelman (topic: Murder of Emmett Till and the Civil Rights Movement)

SENIOR DIV IS ION STATE HISTORY DAY RESULTS Four Johnston ninth graders (Mikhala Stutzman, Amber Solberg, Shae Atterberg, and Keo Corak) competed at State History Day on May 5 at the State Historical Building. Shae and Mikhala won the outstanding entry in the state related to agriculture with their performance on Roswell Garst. Amber received an excellent rating on her paper about the Little Rock Nine. Keo Corak was a state finalist with her web site on the Camp David Accords.

PAGE 7

NNNNNNNNeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwssssssss ffffffffrrrrrrrroooooooommmmmmmm JJJJJJJJoooooooohhhhhhhhnnnnnnnnssssssssttttttttoooooooonnnnnnnn HHHHHHHHiiiiiiiigggggggghhhhhhhh SSSSSSSScccccccchhhhhhhhoooooooooooooooollllllll Submitted by Sue Cline, ELP Teacher

We’ve just wrapped up an intense competition season! Here are some highlights from recent activities. Congratulations to all!

JETS: JUNIOR ENGINEERING TECHNICAL SOCIETY Congratulations to our JETS Varsity Team B for advancing to

national competition! By placing first in the state in our division,

this team's work will now be evaluated at the national level, with

results to be announced by May 5.

Team members were seniors David Zhang, Fred Zhao, Ryan

Campbell, Yuri Federov, Ben Mulaosmanovic, Ian White, David

Zhang, and Katie Githens, and junior Kevin Shi

DISTRICT HISTORY DAY COMPETIT ION

District History Day competition on Tuesday, April 1,

culminated in JHS’ only competitor, Lindsay Frederickson,

advancing to state competition later in the month. Her exhibit

about Desmond Tutu received almost perfect marks, affirming

how her work clearly demonstrated the theme of “Conflict and

Compromise in History.”

MOCK TRIAL REGIONAL TOURNAMENT JHS wrapped up a very successful Mock Trial season with two teams finishing in the top ten at state competition. Team “I Have a Taped

Confession” placed eighth in their first appearance at state. This team, coached by JHS alums Justine Blanchard and Becca Paszkiewicz,

includes seniors Katie Githens, Megan Hankins, Rachel Binner, Tim Clay, and Ben Mulaosmanovic, juniors Ethan Nutter, Dylan Cue,

Adam Helgeson, and Betsy Pilkington, and sophomore Joe Payne. Team Purple advanced all the way to the state semi-finals before finally

being defeated by eventual state champion Robbins. This third place finish is an incredible pinnacle in a long career, as team Purple has

been at state competition every year, with a sixth place finish in 2007. Another notable achievement was team member Alan Nagel’s

selection as one of only 11 Outstanding Witnesses at the state tournament. Team Purple, coached by Loraine Wallace, includes seniors

Cory Gagne, Michelle Wallace, Sam Grasso, Tucker Vasey, Julia Steggerda, Daniel Chapman, Katherine Burggraaf, Torey Robinson, and

Trista Woody, and junior Alan Nagel.

PHOTOS FROM COMPETIT ION SEASON

Regional History Day: Individual Exhibit by Lindsay Frederickson

JHS State Academic Decathlon Team: Ian White, Eric Everett, Chris Cline, Niki Ward, Jenny Ajluni, Tim Clay, Katie Githens, Senuri Jayatellika, Neal Herink, and Kevin Shi

JETS Varsity Team B: David Zhang, Fred Zhao, Ryan Campbell, Yuri Federov, Ben Mulaosmanovic, Ian White, David Zhang, Katie Githens, junior Kevin Shi

PAGE 8

Thank You to Our Board Members - Johnston Community …Problem Solving on Planet Zak : Figure out...

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