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Features
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Sixth-graders’ fund-raiser is big success
[NOV.
9, 2001] Six
tables were filled with items for sale at 3 p.m., and sixth-graders
in Sue O’Hara’s room at Washington-Monroe School were wondering
if anyone would come to the sale they were having as a benefit for
the children of Afghanistan.
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But
by 4 p.m. the "slightly used" toys, games, books and
puzzles, along with the brand-new craft items, were almost gone, and
the baked goods had practically disappeared.
"It
was wild," class member Rebecca said. "I thought at first
people wouldn’t come in, and then suddenly everyone was coming
in!"
The
customers who crowded into the school library were fellow students
from the other 14 classrooms at Washington-Monroe, along with
parents, brothers and sisters, and teachers.
The
toys and games went first, reported Tim and Adam, who were selling
those items. The fresh baked goods were a close second, Miranda and
Frederick reported.
Sabrina
and Alex sold crafts, some made by Andrew and his mother, and some
by Kami’s mother. Hannah and Jeff staffed the table with the
stuffed animals. Jessie and Ashley bagged purchases after the
customers paid cashiers Kelsey and Rebecca. Each of the 19 students
had a job to do, and each one did it.
Another
"wild" moment came when the cashiers realized they had
well over $100 in the box, and the day wasn’t even over yet. The
final total, tallied the next morning, came to exactly $156.
That
was an impressive total for a class that had as their first goal
raising $1 per student, as President George W. Bush asked American’s
children to do in a speech he gave about three weeks ago.
Some
of the youngsters had heard about the president’s request, and the
class talked about a plan. They and Mrs. O’Hara decided they didn’t
want to just ask their parents to give them a dollar; they wanted to
find a way to raise the money themselves.
"We
put our ideas in a the box and decided a fund-raiser was the best
one," Hannah said. "We had class meetings to decide what
we were going to put in and how to do it. We had meetings almost
every day."
[to top of second column in
this article]
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Mrs.
O’Hara didn’t tell the class what to do but served as the
"supervisor," and she was a very good one, Amy reported.
"We
started bringing in stuff three days ago, but the baked goods just
came in today," Miranda explained.
Although
students used class time to work on the sale, they learned a lot
from it, Mrs. O’Hara said. Making the posters put up throughout
the school required English skills, and pricing and selling the
merchandise used math skills. Learning about the Afghanistan
children and their need for help enhanced social studies skills.
Cashier
Kelsey’s math skills were put to the test when a customer gave her
a $20 bill for a 25-cent purchase and she had to count out the
change, but she was up to the challenge.
"That
was my worst moment," she said.
Along
with academic skills, the sixth-graders learned other things, too.
They learned to work together to get a job done. And some of them
found out that doing a big project, no matter how positive it is,
can create tension.
"It
was stressful and hectic, but we’re glad we did it," Sabrina
said.
"Sometimes
I wanted to give up on it," Hannah admitted.
Kami
said her biggest fear was that "people wouldn’t come."
Several
said they didn’t sleep very well the night before the sale, and
Amy reported dreaming about it.
The
$156 will be sent straight to the White House, to become part of a
government-sponsored program to help the children of Afghanistan and
their families, Mrs. O’Hara said. The toys and books that didn’t
sell will be saved and donated to an all-school fund-raiser to be
held later. A couple of leftover blueberry muffins were disposed of
immediately.
[Joan
Crabb]
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Split-rail
fences bring history to life
[NOV.
7, 2001] Students
at Washington-Monroe took advantage of the fine weather last
Thursday afternoon. Members of the Logan County Railsplitting
Association were on hand to help the students build a fence around
their garden of prairie grass and prairie flowers. The fourth-grade
classes of Bev Wunderlin and Mrs. Singleton study Illinois history
and were learning about split-rail fences.
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[to top of second column in
this section]
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[Marty
Ahrends]
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Library’s
volunteer tutors
earn worthwhile dividends
[NOV.
1, 2001] Can
you help a child —
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Memorize the state capitals?
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Study spelling words?
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Learn math facts?
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Practice reading?
If you
can, and have a little spare time, you can be part of the Prime Time
Tutoring Center at the Lincoln Public Library. It’s a volunteer
job, but it pays dividends, as the tutors there will tell you.
"There’s
a direct correlation to how much a person reads and how much he
continues to learn lifelong. It’s a beautiful thing to think I
helped a third-grader read. That’s a gift to me," says
Allison Lindemann, an AmeriCorps volunteer.
Aubrey
Smith, a student at Lincoln Christian College, doesn’t get credit
in any of her classes for the tutoring she does, but she finds other
benefits.
"It’s
a stress reliever just to spend time with somebody who’s
learning." She smiles at her student. "And it’s
wonderful to see the look on her face when she gets something."
Michael
Plummer, another AmeriCorps volunteer, who just came to Lincoln from
Alaska, is doing volunteer work with young people in many areas. He
works with special needs students at Lincoln Community High School
and with Project Read.
He
likes the flexibility of the Prime Time Tutoring Program, and on
this particular day he has chosen to tutor a student sitting on the
floor in a back corner of the children’s section. This quiet
corner helps his student stay focused on the task at hand because
there are no distractions.
"I
like to work with kids, and this allows me to wear many different
kinds of hats," he says.
Mary
Leesman of Hartsburg is an adult tutor, and she sits with her
third-grade student at a child-size table while he learns to count
change.
"I
saw a sheet at the Recreation Center about tutoring, so I signed
up," she says. "It’s a nice feeling to work with
children again."
Mary’s
own two children are both in college, and she doesn’t have any
grandchildren yet. She thinks tutoring is a good idea for those who
like young children and are "between children and
grandchildren."
The
tutoring center now has 14 students and 11 volunteers but is
expecting more students soon.
"We
usually get quite a few calls after the first report cards come
out," says Pat Schlough, children’s librarian. The calls are
mostly from parents, but sometimes they’re from teachers who call
because the parents want their child to have tutoring.
Tutors
are not teaching children new skills, Schlough says, just helping
them with homework, encouraging them to get it done, answering
questions if a child didn’t take in all the information at school.
The
center has textbooks from District 27 schools in case children
forget their own. Tutors also use reference books and the Internet
to help students get information for reports and other projects.
"We
match up the tutor to the child," Schlough says. "We ask
tutors what areas they are comfortable with. Some are not
comfortable with science or sixth-grade math.
"We
sometimes have students waiting for math tutors, and if there’s
anyone out there good at math who would like to tutor, we’d love
to have them."
Tutors
not particularly strong in math are also needed, says Cindy Harris,
coordinator of the Prime Time Learning Center, because many students
also need help with reading comprehension. "Reading
comprehension and math are the areas most asked for," she says.
The
tutoring center works with students in grades two through six, with
occasional exceptions for students in other grades. Most youngsters
meet with tutors twice a week, but some meet more often. Students
may come from any Lincoln-area school. Tutoring starts about 3:30
p.m. when schools are out, and goes until 6 p.m.
[to top of second column in
this article]
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[Tutor
Aubrey Smith helps Holly, a third-grader from Carroll Catholic,
choose a book.]
[In
a corner of the busy children’s section of
the library, tutor Michael Plummer and student J.J., a
sixth-grader at Central School, work on learning state capitals.]
[Tutor Beth Edgington, an LCC student, helps student Lori with her
spelling homework.]
[Allison Lindemann helps Brandon, a
third-grader at Northwest School, with reading.
Brandon’s grandmother says his grades have improved
tremendously since he came to the tutoring center.]
[Tutor
Allison Lindemann helps Jacob, a third-grader at Central School,
with rounding off numbers.]
[Caitlin,
a fifth-grader at Central School, works with tutor Allison on
English, which is what Caitlin thinks she needs the most help in.
“She’s a whiz at math,” her tutor says.]
Many
tutors this year are from Tri-County AmeriCorps, while others come
from college, such as LCC. The tutoring program has also had retired
teachers and senior citizens.
Many
of the young people who are tutoring this year want to work with
children as a career. LCC student Beth Edgington wants to be a
teacher, while her roommate, Aubrey Smith, wants to be a children’s
minister. Michael Plummer hopes to start a therapeutic wilderness
program for at-risk youth, the kind of project he once did for
AmeriCorps."
Parents
are generally enthusiastic about the program, Harris reports. Jill
Struebing says tutoring has really helped her two children. Her
third- and fifth-graders recently switched schools and were a little
behind. She describes both of their tutors as "very good."
Tina
Johnson, whose daughter comes to the program, also just moved to
Lincoln.
"It’s
getting harder for me to help with homework," she says.
"Math has changed so much since I got out of school." She
thinks it is easier for her daughter to deal with a tutor closer to
her own age, one who has learned the material more recently.
The
students seem to like it, too. They appear to be comfortable with
their tutors, not afraid to ask a question or share an idea. For
example, third-grader Jacob shares his enthusiasm for the story of
the Titanic with tutor Allison, reading to her from a book he has
brought. "My tutor is nice," he says.
Sixth-grader
C.J. holds up some treats he’s earned from tutor Michael. Michael
is helping C.J. with reading and describes him as "really
good" at math.
Harris,
who has been coordinator of the tutoring center since January of
1995, is happy with the program and with her current group of
students and tutors.
"For
the last couple of years I’ve had really good kids. We have no
problems getting them to come in or do their work. And we have a lot
of repeat students from past years."
To become part of the
Prime Time Learning Center, call the Lincoln Public Library at
732-8878 and ask to speak to anyone in the children’s department.
[Joan
Crabb]
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Honors
& Awards
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Area
students inducted into Phi Theta Kappa
honor society at Lincoln College
[NOV.
1, 2001] The
Iota Chi Chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa fraternity at Lincoln
College inducted 64 new members at its initiation ceremonies on
Sunday, Oct. 28. Phi Theta Kappa is a junior college academic honor
society
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Lincoln
College PTK faculty advisers John Welter and June Burke welcomed the
guest speaker, Lincoln College Museum curator Ron Keller. Keller gave
a speech on the tragic events of Sept. 11 and what everyone can do to
make a difference.
Area
students who qualified for membership are Kari Borowiak, Ashley
Brinner, Tim Christoffersen, Miles Craig, Lisa Curcuru, Andrew Dexter,
Molly Donnelly, Heidi Graff, Brock Guzouskis, Julie Halcomb, Brooke
Huskins, Aaron Johnston, Teri Kavelman, Lyndsey Pickering, Jonah
Rosenthal, Anna Schmidt, Clinton Smith, Joshua Twente, Joshua
Utterback and Kate Winters, all of Lincoln; Nathan Dieckow, Hamilton
Harmon, John Hoblit, Rich Lynch and Tiffany Sutton, all of Atlanta;
Brittany Franklin of New Holland; Felicia Haak of McLean; Tamar Lyons
of Elkhart; Rececca Ruben of Hartsburg; and Heather Long and Harry
McMillan of Mason City.
[News
release]
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Announcements
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Notice
to participants in the current GED program
You
are urged to pass all five sections of the present GED exam by Dec.
31. In January 2002, a new GED test will be given and it will be
necessary to start over from the beginning. Make your plans now to
finish all five sections and get your GED.
For
orientation dates and registration information, call Heartland
Community College, 735-1731.
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Menus
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Lincoln
District 27 schools
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Breakfasts
(Milk served with all
meals)
Friday,
Nov. 9 — No
school; parent-teacher conferences
Monday,
Nov. 12 — Cereal,
cinnamon toast, juice
Tuesday,
Nov. 13 — Cream
of wheat, toast, fruit
Wednesday,
Nov. 14 — Cereal,
bread and jelly sandwich, juice
Thursday,
Nov. 15 —
Scrambled eggs, fruit, toast
Friday,
Nov. 16 — Cereal,
rice crispy treats, juice
[to top of second column in
this section]
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Lunches
(Milk served with all
meals)
Friday,
Nov. 9 — No
school; parent-teacher conferences
Monday,
Nov. 12 — Corn
dogs, green beans, fruit cocktail, oatmeal bar cookies
Tuesday,
Nov. 13 — Chicken
fried steak, mashed potatoes, bread and butter, strawberry
applesauce
Wednesday,
Nov. 14 — Sausage
pizza, corn, carrot sticks, pears
Thursday,
Nov. 15 — Sloppy
Joes, cole slaw, french fries, cranberry juice
Friday,
Nov. 16 — French
toast sticks with syrup, hash brown, sausage patty, peaches
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Mount
Pulaski Grade School
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Milk
and condiments are served with all meals.
Students
in grades three through eight may choose hot dog and bun or
peanut butter and jelly sandwich in place of main entree.
Students
in grades six, seven and eight may choose salad bar in place of
main menu.
Friday,
Nov. 9 — Breaded
chicken patty, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, pumpkin bars,
bread, oleo
Monday,
Nov. 12 —
Hamburger, bun, cheese, pickle, peas, apple, potato chips
Tuesday,
Nov. 13 — Chicken
noodle soup, cheese, crackers, carrots, peaches, peanut butter
sandwich
Wednesday,
Nov. 14 — Hot
dog, bun, corn, carrots, applesauce, graham crackers
Thursday,
Nov. 15 — Roast
turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce, fruit,
pumpkin bars, rolls, oleo
Friday,
Nov. 16 —
Ravioli, cheese sticks, lettuce, mixed vegetables, oranges, bread,
oleo
[to top of second column in
this section]
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Monday,
Nov. 19 — Cheese
pizza, mixed vegetables, peaches, brownie
Tuesday,
Nov. 20 — Chicken
and noodles, green beans, lettuce, pineapple, peanut butter sandwich
Wednesday,
Nov. 21 — Corn
dog, corn, carrots, applesauce, trail mix
Thursday
and Friday, Nov. 22 and 23
— No school; Thanksgiving
Monday,
Nov. 26 — Breaded
chicken patty, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, peaches, bread,
oleo
Tuesday,
Nov. 27 —
Hamburger, bun, cheese, pickle, tri tator, corn, applesauce
Wednesday,
Nov. 28 — Spanish
rice, lettuce, peas, orange, peanut butter sandwich
Thursday,
Nov. 29 — Chicken
noodle soup, carrots, cheese, crackers, cherry pudding, bread, oleo
Friday,
Nov. 30 — Cheese
pizza, mixed vegetables, banana, jello, raisins
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