West Newsmagazine 11-13-19

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November 13, 2019
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE I SCHOOLS I 31
Kirk Day School students participating in the third annual KDS Color Run
[Kirk Day School photo]
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BY BONNIE KRUEGER
Color Run benefits Kirk Day
Kirk Day School students raised over
$54,000 through the school’s unique fall
fundraiser.
The third annual KDS Color Run took
place on Saturday, Oct. 12, but the coinciding
fundraiser for the school’s Highlander
Fund had begun months earlier.
The Highlander Fund is an annual fund
that provides scholarship money to students,
updates classroom technology and
aid to teachers with advanced professional
development opportunities, among other
things. All money benefitting the Highlander
Fund is acquired through donations.
After this year’s Color Run, the children
enjoyed washing off under the West
County EMS and Fire truck hoses.
Cello Day yields
scholarship for Eureka student
Andrew Young, a junior at Eureka High,
has been awarded a $4,000 scholarship
to Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois.
He was awarded the scholarship for his
performance in Milikin’s Cello Day on
Oct. 27. According to the university, Cello
Day is “an intensive program for intermediate
to advanced cellists. Participants are
expected to bring one or two specific goals
to achieve and the program provides tools
and tips for advancement.”
Young has played the cello since fourthgrade,
including two years with the St.
Charles Symphony. Currently, he is studying
under David Kim, assistant principal
cellist of the Saint Louis Symphony
Orchestra.
Young plans to pursue a career in music
performance.
American Ninja
Warrior design challenge
A design challenge based on the
American Ninja Warrior reality competition
show is returning to Rockwood.
For a third year, Katy Davis is teaching
the Ninja Design Challenge class
at the Center for Creative Learning.
The goal of the eight-week course is for her
students to use problem-solving skills to
design playground obstacles that wouldn’t
seem out of place on the popular show
“They work through the design process,
imagine obstacles, create them and work to
improve them to see if they’re reasonable
in the testing phase,” Davis said. “Then,
they create the course at recess so they can
see the end result. It helps the kids think
about the playground in different ways.”
This year’s class is the first one to workshop
its proposed obstacles with a certified
ninja warrior and course designer,
Jamie Rahn, who has competed on
nine seasons of American Ninja Warrior.
Rahn, who works at the Ultimate
Ninjas Gym in Chesterfield, visited with
all five of Davis’ third grade classes.
He used one-on-one time to hear about
the students’ favorite obstacle conceptions
and suggest ways they could be
improved before the final product. The
students also took field trips to the Olympia
Gym in Ellisville, where ninja coach
Corey Barger answered questions about
the obstacles he constructs. The students
also got to try out the facility’s equipment.
At the end of the eight weeks, each student
picks his or her favorite obstacle, and
they’re combined into a course created by
each class. Then, all five combined course
plans are posted on the playground so
everyone can test their skills against the
ninja obstacles that their classmates created.
Students at Barretts Elementary held a “pink
out” in honor of their principal.
[Barretts Elementary photo]
Pink Out at Barretts
On Oct. 23, students at Parkway’s Barretts
Elementary surprised Principal Kelli
Moreton with a “Pink Out” in her honor.
Moreton has been cancer-free for one
year. She was diagnosed with breast cancer
in summer 2018 and spent the start of
that school year in treatment, returning
to school in early October. The students
welcomed her back last year with specially
designed T-shirts and pink balloons to celebrate
her completion of treatment.
Excellence in nursing awards
Two Parkway nurses have been recognized
by the Suburban St. Louis School
Nurse Association.
Nurse Katherine Park, of Pierremont
Elementary, was named “School Nurse of
the Year.” She now is a candidate for the
“School Nurse of the Year” award from the
Missouri Association of School Nurses.
Nurse Carolyn Kluttz, of Parkway Northeast
Middle, received the St. Louis Association’s
“Rising Star” award. The award
recognizes a new school nurse who has
made an impact in her school or community
and as an emerging leader in school nursing.
Teaching inclusion through
radio broadcast
Students in Beth Collier’s special education
class at Rockwood Summit High
challenged themselves to try something
new. They entered a National Public Radio
[NPR] podcast contest and poured themselves
into making their project a success.
The class selected the prompt, “What
do you want to change about the world?
What’s a big change that you want to make
in the future?” The students shared how
they’d like to be treated by others in a podcast
about inclusion.
“We spent many hours researching podcasts,
listening and watching,” said Collier.
“We took time to come up with the
statements and put them in an agreed-upon
order. Then, we used a video app to practice
recording ourselves so the students
could go back and watch and listen to
themselves to give feedback to each other.”
There were hundreds of entries for the
NPR contest. When the contest results
were announced, the team was happy with
the results.
“We received an honorable mention, of
which I am so proud,” Collier said. “To
even be considered was such a huge honor.”