West Newsmagazine 12-16-20
Local news, local politics and community events for West St. Louis County Missouri.
Local news, local politics and community events for West St. Louis County Missouri.
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26 I SCHOOLS I<br />
December <strong>16</strong>, <strong>20</strong><strong>20</strong><br />
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE<br />
@WESTNEWSMAG<br />
WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM<br />
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Even the MICDS Rams’ mascot lended a hand to the school’s annual<br />
Turkey Train, which collected 4,860 pounds of turkey, 3,382 pounds of<br />
nonperishable food items and over $5,664 in monetary gifts. (Source: MICDS)<br />
bulletin<br />
board<br />
By BONNIE KRUEGER<br />
Parkway teachers receive<br />
newly created grant money<br />
Six Parkway teachers were awarded Suzy<br />
Zucker Esstman Education Grants worth up<br />
to $500 each for educational purposes.<br />
Isabel Mosley, Alex Spellicy, Jane<br />
Baumgartner, Carol Ostrowski Lena,<br />
Wendy Freebersyser and Jeneine Welch<br />
received the grants from a fund established<br />
by Esstman’s family through the Parkway<br />
Alumni Association.<br />
According to the district’s website, the<br />
fund’s mission is to improve the lives of<br />
people in our local community in a way<br />
that embodies the spirit and embraces the<br />
values of Esstman.<br />
“Suzy loved growing and building<br />
communities, and one of those was Parkway.<br />
She championed ideas that created<br />
educational experiences for students and<br />
pushed their thinking in fun ways, such<br />
as the Pop Open a Book summer reading<br />
initiative at Green Trails Elementary,”<br />
the district website states.<br />
After graduating from Parkway North<br />
High in 1981, Esstman went on to study at<br />
University of Missouri, where she served<br />
as president of the University’s Student<br />
Foundation and was voted one of the Top<br />
Ten Women of Mizzou. After graduating<br />
from college in 1985, Esstman became<br />
a sales executive at Proctor and Gamble<br />
and organized events for children with<br />
limited vision.<br />
In 1997, Esstman chaired the opening<br />
festivities for the Jewish Community Center<br />
in Chesterfield and established the Helene<br />
Mirowitz Department of Jewish Community<br />
Life, which provides parenting programs<br />
and family events at the JCC.<br />
After being diagnosed with brain cancer<br />
in <strong>20</strong>04, Esstman and her friends founded<br />
“Walking on Sunshine,” an annual event<br />
designed to raise awareness and funding for<br />
brain tumor research. More than $60,000<br />
was raised in the two years that she led the<br />
event, which has since been dedicated to<br />
her memory following her death on July 8,<br />
<strong>20</strong>07.<br />
She was posthumously inducted into the<br />
district’s Hall of Fame in <strong>20</strong>08.<br />
Students decorated winter themed windows to channel holiday cheer for residents at Delmar<br />
Gardens <strong>West</strong>.<br />
(Source: Facebook)<br />
<strong>West</strong>minster artists create<br />
wintery windows<br />
While service projects may be looking<br />
a little different these days, students<br />
at <strong>West</strong>minster Christian Academy still<br />
are finding creative ways of participating<br />
when possible. They recently had the<br />
opportunity to decorate windows for their<br />
nursing home neighbors at Delmar Gardens<br />
<strong>West</strong>. They also painted a mural in a<br />
new garage at Sunshine Ministries, which<br />
provides Christian social services to those<br />
in need in St. Louis.<br />
Primrose School celebrates<br />
Thanksgiving<br />
Preschool students from Primrose<br />
School of Ballwin recently earned over<br />
$350 to buy food for those less fortunate.<br />
They used their money to shop at “Percy’s<br />
Market” on campus. The food was donated<br />
to the Circle Of Concern food pantry.<br />
After purchasing and donating the food,<br />
the students enjoyed their own traditional<br />
Thanksgiving feast together as part of the<br />
holiday season.<br />
Student launches eSports<br />
program at Marquette<br />
More than two dozen Marquette High<br />
students are now part of a competitive<br />
eSports program that was launched<br />
recently – the eMustangs.<br />
Rohith Velmurugan, a Marquette junior<br />
who founded the club and serves as the student<br />
manager, schedules practices for each<br />
team and observes their games.<br />
“Marquette eSports club is a great way to<br />
showcase your talent in gaming and gives<br />
a great purpose to start gaming and get<br />
better at it,” Velmurugan said. “It provides<br />
members an opportunity to interact with<br />
friends and develop STEM skills.”<br />
Marquette teacher and club sponsor Dr.<br />
Robin Lady explained that eSports is more<br />
than gaming.<br />
“It is the recognition of video gaming as<br />
a source of competition within a structured<br />
environment,” Lady said. “Our mission is<br />
to provide an opportunity in the fastestgrowing<br />
sport in the world for our students<br />
to compete, earn scholarship money and<br />
connect to (Marquette High).”<br />
The program has six teams competing<br />
this fall season: Fortnite, League of Legends,<br />
Overwatch, Valorant 1, Valorant 2<br />
and Rocket League. Through High School<br />
Esports League (HSEL) and PlayVS, these<br />
teams battle against players nationally and<br />
internationally, including groups in Australia<br />
and Japan.
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