West Newsmagazine 6-14-17

16 I SCHOOLS I
June 14, 2017
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE
Continuous Maintenance and Security
Free Anti Virus and Cloud Backup
included with Maintenance Plans
MON - FRI 9:30-5:30 • SAT 10-4
Your Technology Center
www.JeffComputers.com
14366 Manchester Rd., Manchester MO 63011
636.256.7901
@WESTNEWSMAG
WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM
$15 OFF
Any Service Over $75
With coupon. One per coupon per household.
Not valid with other offers. Expires 7/31/17
Megan Limpert’s [left] first-grade class gets a surprise basket of cookies from
St. Luke’s President and CEO Christine M. Candio [right].
bulletin
board
By BONNIE KRUEGER
Thank-you cookies for
Ballwin Elementary student
St. Luke’s Hospital recently received a
rave review from a local first-grader. In a
class project, Nathan Grieshaber of Ballwin
Elementary gave St. Luke’s a five-star
rating for his experience in the Birth Care
Suites when his younger brother was born.
The key factor in his rating was St. Luke’s
cookies, a basket of which is delivered to
families at St. Luke’s Birth Care Suites.
St. Luke’s President and CEO Christine
M. Candio stopped by Ballwin Elementary
to surprise and thank Grieshaber, his firstgrade
class and teacher Megan Limpert
with a basket of cookies.
Area schools named
tops in Missouri
Six area high schools were ranked among
the country’s 2017 Best High Schools by
U.S. News & World Report. Schools in the
Missouri top 20 received silver medals. In
Parkway, awards went to West [No. 12],
South [No. 14] and Central [No. 19]. In
Rockwood, awards went to Lafayette [#4]
and Marquette [No. 7]. Valley Park [No.
18].
Part of the ranking process looks at how
well a school prepares students for college
and careers. The U.S. News rankings
include data on more than 22,000 public
schools in all 50 states plus the District
of Columbia. Schools were awarded
gold, silver or bronze medals based on
their performance on state assessments
and how well they prepare students for
college.
Local schools among ‘Most
Challenging High Schools’
Of only 23 Missouri schools chosen, 12
local schools were listed among “America’s
Most Challenging High Schools” by
The Washington Post.
In Rockwood, all four high schools
were named [Marquette, Eureka, Rockwood
Summit and Lafayette]. In Parkway,
all four high schools were named [West,
South, North and Central]. Private schools
who made the list included MICDS, John
Burroughs and Priory.
The schools are ranked through an index
formula that’s made up of a ratio: the
number of Advanced Placement, International
Baccalaureate and Advanced
International Certificate of Education tests
given during a school each year divided by
the number of seniors who graduated that
year. A ratio of 1.000 means the school had
as many tests as graduates.
[Note: On the Washington Post’s website,
Parkway Central, North and South
high schools are not listed under Missouri,
because they don’t have a listed city and
state associated with the school.]
Students take their engineering
ideas to Ameren
More than 30 Project Lead The Way
[PLTW] students from Eureka High and
Lafayette High, plus students from nine
other area schools, spent a recent morning
at the Ameren Corporate Office in downtown
St. Louis.
The Rockwood students were part of
the Engineering Design and Development
classes. Their mission was to showcase
their innovative class projects to Ameren
engineers and guests.
Lafayette recent graduate Tommy Laarman,
who co-invented a product designed
to keep a pick out of the body of an acoustic
guitar, said, “It’s a great opportunity to
come out here and communicate with engineers.
I’m very grateful to be here and get a
good feel for what the real world is like and
how people will respond.”
Another PLTW student, Kolyn Howard,
then a senior at Eureka High, shared his
solution to a common computer
notebook problem:
“Computers get really hot,
and we’re trying to cool it
the best way that we possibly
can by implementing
water cooling with air flow.”
Ameren engineer Sherrie
Gary enjoyed learning about
the projects.
“They made it simple,
and simple comes down to
people wanting to use it. If
it’s too difficult to understand,
it goes to the waste
side,” said Gary. “They all
looked at something that
they thought was important, and that’s
what I like, too. I think they did a great job.”
Project Lead The Way is a national nonprofit
organization established to help
schools give students the knowledge they
need to excel in high-tech fields.
Two Parkway schools honored
for green efforts
Two Parkway schools, McKelvey
Elementary and North High, were recognized
by the Missouri Environmental
Education Association for sustainability,
health and learning, as part of the Green
Ribbon Schools program. Additionally,
both schools were selected as 2017 U.S.
Department of Education Green Ribbon
Schools. Only three Missouri schools were
recognized at the national level.
To be eligible, schools had to complete
a 20-page application listing their accomplishments
in saving energy and water;
reducing greenhouse gas emissions and
trash; creating and conserving native habitats;
providing nutritious food and outdoor
exercise; eliminating hazards like mold,
pesticides and bullying; providing highquality
environmental and STEM education;
offering professional development for
teachers; and developing leadership skills
in addressing community issues in their
students. Standards were based on the U.S.
Department of Education’s Green Ribbon
Schools program.
McKelvey Elementary has reduced
energy use by 20 percent using Energy Star
Eureka High seniors Preston Willard [left] and Kolyn Howard
[center] introduce their cooling method for external notebooks
to Ameren engineer Martin Welge [right].