U.S. Senator Herb Kohl joins Greendale High School Principal Steve Lodes and teachers Tari Garnaas and Wade Bosworth at the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation Luncheon on March 29. Garnaas and Bosworth were recognized as Fellowship recipients by the Foundation.

Greendale High School was one of 25 teams selected to compete in the seventh annual Lake Sturgeon Bowl at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on February 23. Christina Perkins, Ashlyn Potterton, Ryan Holly, Carrie Staats, and Heather Lueck participated in the event. They were coached by GHS Science teacher, Pam Schulteis.

The Lake Sturgeon Bowl is an academic tournament that provides a forum for students who excel in math and science. During the environmental knowledge contest, five-member teams of high school students from across the state compete by answering challenging AP or college level questions. Topics include climate, Great Lakes, geography of the ocean, physics and chemistry of water, marine life and more.
The National Ocean Sciences Bowl sponsored this regional tournament in ocean sciences coordinated by the UWM School of Continuing Education, UWM Great Lakes WATER Institute and the UW Sea Grant Advisory Services. Over 100 local scientist and other experts officiated.

The educational program was developed to stimulate interest in the ocean sciences among high school students and demonstrate to the public the importance of the oceans in daily life. One of the long-term goals of the program is to foster the next generation of marine scientist, educators and policy makers for the ocean sciences. For more information, please visit www.glwi.uwm.edu/sturgeonbowl/.

For the past three months, the fourth graders at Canterbury have been working on their state reports. Each student completed many different projects and activities that pertained to the state they had researched.

On March 14, the students had the opportunity to present their information in a creative way to help educate their classmates. Each student was responsible for creating a booth for the carnival. At each booth, the student displayed their research paper, baby book, travel brochure, graph, timeline, three choice activites, and flag.

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Can you clean a penny?

This was one of many questions asked during the Canterbury Elementary School Science Fair on March 10. Creative exhibits on electricity, tornadoes, mold, optical illusions, and more filled the school's gymnasium.

In all, there were 48 student exhibits at the annual fair which was sponsored by the Student Council. The event was open to all Canterbury students from Kindergarten through 5th grade.

Student Council Advisor, Carla Gilmore, noted that participation in the Science Fair is a great opportunity for Canterbury students of all ages. "This event opens kid's eyes to the world of science," said Gilmore.

This year, 9 participants chose to have their experiments reviewed by a panel of parents with scientific backgrounds. The students followed prescribed guidelines and then received feedback on their project at the Science Fair.

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Greendale Middle School 8th graders and Canterbury 4th graders are reading buddies. Once a week, the 8th graders walk over to Canterbury and the students take turns reading to each other for thirty minutes. Currently, the 4th graders are writing stories and letters to their 8th grade buddies.

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February was “Food from the Heart” month at College Park Elementary School. Cub Scout Pack 506 and the College Park PTO sponsored two service projects, a food drive and a sandwich-making event. As needs increase after the holiday season, February was a great month for the Scouts and the students at College Park to focus on the needs of the less fortunate in the area.

During the week of February 18, a food drive was held to benefit the Greendale Emergency Food Pantry at St. Alphonsus Parish and the Windlake Elementary Charter School on Milwaukee’s south side. A week before the drive, each student received a grocery bag, compliments of Sendik’s Food Markets, with an attached list of much needed items that each grade level was asked to bring. On February 21, 27 cub scouts from the pack and several parent chaperones gathered after school to help load the food on a bus and deliver it directly to St. Al’s. The bus was paid for by Pack 506. Each scout was given a box to fill with whatever food items he could carry. Scouts were not the only ones engaged in this project. Lynn Crapitto, Co-Chair of the Food from the Heart Service Project overheard a second grader ask, “How do I get to be a Cub Scout?” as he watched the Scouts pack and carry their boxes. Scouts unloaded the boxes in the St. Al’s pantry, and met with the food pantry coordinator, who discussed how the boys were helping the children and families in the area who may not have enough to eat.

“When you think of scouting, you think of service,” said Pam Jankowiak, Webelos Den Leader, and Co-Chair of the Food from the Heart Service Project. “This service project was designed to give the boys a hands-on experience and an awareness of the needs in our own backyard. The boys were shocked to learn that 75% of the people the pantry serves are children just like them.”

On February 29, the second component of the service project entitled “Lunch bags for the Homeless” was carried out. Families gathered in the College Park lunchroom to decorate lunch bags with markers, make homemade cards, assemble sandwiches, and pack 75 lunches for Repairers of the Breach, a daytime homeless shelter in Milwaukee. All lunch items and supplies were provided by the PTO. After the sandwiches were completed, a representative of the homeless shelter spoke to the families about their facility and how our efforts help the clients they serve. We then ended the evening with a showing of the movie “Meet the Robinsons” in the gym.

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With all the media coverage of the presidential primaries, students at Highland View have been discussing what qualities a good leader should have. Hardworking, trustworthy, brave, and honest were some of the characteristics students believed to be important. Someone who would work with other world leaders to keep the peace we all want to enjoy for our lifetimes.

After our discussion, students worked on crowns or hats for a president or monarch to wear. Many used a red, white, and blue color theme. Symbols and words decorated the head coverings. After reading and studying the colonial founding fathers, most of us agreed that we prefer living in a representative government rather than a monarchy.

Millions of children throughout the world have been delighted by the rhythm and rhyme of books like The Cat in the Hat and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. These and many other delightful children’s books were written by the famous Dr. Seuss.

On Monday, March 3, millions of people across the United States celebrated Read Across America. This event commemorated the birthday of the late Dr. Seuss and all of his literary accomplishments.

Highland View teachers planned many fun-filled activities to celebrate Read Across America Week. Throughout the week, third through fifth grade students promoted books they love during the morning and afternoon announcements. Teachers also chose a favorite book and challenged the students to see if they could correctly match each teacher with their favorite book. All Highland View students engaged in a service-learning project with Mt. Carmel by making cards for the residents. The theme of these cards was “Books Cheer You Up!” Each Highland View student designed their own card, showcasing their love of reading. There was also a school-wide read-a-thon, a Seuss trivia contest, birthday cake and balloons. WOW! What an exciting way to celebrate reading!

You can celebrate reading all year long by sitting down and reading with your children every night. Here are some tips for promoting reading among children:

Set a good example as a reader. Let kids see you reading every day.

Get a subscription in your child’s name to an age-appropriate magazine. When relatives and others ask for gift ideas, suggest magazine subscriptions, books, or a bookstore gift certificate.

Make reading fun! Make it a time that you and your child look forward to spending together.

Check out The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease. It is loaded with fun tips.

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Starting on March 3, Greendale Middle School 7th grade students who make up Team Adventure are participating in “Tune Out” by giving up TV, computers and video games for as many consecutive days as possible.  They are asking family and friends to sponsor them on either a per day basis or with a lump sum contribution if they meet their goal. The students will make this sacrifice for the benefit of others. After considering many charitable organizations, Team Adventure decided to donate the proceeds to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Many activities have been organized to help students "Tune Out." On March 14, over 20 members of Team Adventure gathered at 5 Star Coffee for an "Open Mic" event. Students participation included reading poetry and stories, playing guitar, and performing skits.

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