May 14, 2009 Districtwide The winners of the Learnapalooza Spelling Bee that took place May 2 at Valley Southwoods are: Grade 6 winner: Will
Sipfle, Western Hills Elementary, teacher Karla Snodgrass Grade 6 runner-up: Jordan Lansing, Hillside Elementary, teacher Lori Kleve Grade 3 winner: Aarushi Dervesh, Crossroads Park Elementary, teacher Michelle Capobianco Grade 3 runner-up: Ariz Keshwani, Crestview Elementary, teacher Kirsten Garland Clive The sixth graders performed their music program titled “As The Pages Turn” for the Clive students in the afternoon and for the parents in the evening. The musical had 32 speaking parts and seven songs for the students to learn. The musical was well attended. Crossroads Park The West Des Moines sixth-grade Honor Music Concert was held at Valley High School on May 12. The following Crossroads students were chosen to participate in the Honor Band: Alana Jackson, Katie Daft, Jay Lorts, Sam Anderson, Grady Stein, Kellen O’Connor and Nick Behrends. Jerilyn Kobberdahl is the band instructor at Crossroads Park. Fairmeadows Employees from ADP Benefit Services, West Des Moines, presented many new books and a check to Fairmeadows School for the purchase of media center books. Students from Sharlene Riche’s second-grade class helped Laura Swessinger, teacher librarian, accept the donation. Hillside On May 20, the three kindergarten classes at Hillside Elementary School will be taking a field trip to the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines. The classes will be leaving shortly after 9:05 a.m. and riding school buses to the zoo. The kindergartners will enjoy the zoo from 9:30-11:30 a.m. and then have lunch in the park near the zoo. Arrangements have been made for all student admissions to be paid through the Hillside Parent Teacher Organization. The PTO will also pay the cost of transportation for this trip. The kindergarten teachers are looking for parents to help supervise the field trip. Chaperones will be asked to closely supervise a small group of kindergartners while they tour the zoo. Chaperones will need to pay for their admission to the zoo and provide their own lunch. Parents interested in chaperoning the field trip to the zoo should notify their child’s classroom teacher. Jordan Creek As part of the regular physical education curriculum, students at Jordan Creek have been participating in the 1-mile run. Each student set their own fitness goals for the fall 1-mile run and the spring 1-mile run. Physical education teacher Lu Suarez ran with the students. If students were able to beat Suarez, they won a juice box or Gatorade. The mile run is part of the regular fitness testing that takes place during physical education class time. Certificates were given to students who ran the mile without stopping. Western Hills The following students who represented Western Hills at the 100th running of the Drake Relays: Hannah Eide, Gretta Hingle, Lucas Van Dyke and Jack Wilson. The 10th annual Western Hills Walk-A-Thon will take place at the Western Hills/Clegg Park building on May 29. The money collected through pledge donations will benefit Walk America, a March of Dimes fundraiser. Anyone may participate in collecting pledges. Westridge Music teacher Mary Kimpston and the Westridge fourth graders presented a concert for their parents on May 1. The concert included partner songs and recorders, two of the music skills learned by fourth graders. Students in Kendra Limback’s first- grade class and Annie Orsini’s second-grade class participated in a “Great Pizza Swap” as part of their math unit on fractions. The classroom was transformed into Limbini’s Pizza Place, where students decorated a “pizza” with toppings using their knowledge of fractions. After cutting the pizzas into slices representing varying fractional amounts, students traded equivalent fractions with the end goal of one whole pizza. This activity provided students with the opportunity to explore fractions and discover their importance in everyday life.
The Westridge Elementary Art Department would like to congratulate Jacob Rojohn, Liz Cleven, Rachael Krysa (sixth grade), Sabrina Shearer (fifth grade), Emma Madden (fourth grade), Bennet Boote (third grade), Claire Hahn (second grade), and Carter Scallon (first grade) for completing outstanding work that will be on display at the Valley Junction Spring Art Market taking place on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the heart of the Historic Valley Junction on 5th street in West Des Moines.These students completed the works as part of their regular assignments in art class here at Westridge. Their excellent quality and/or originality led art teacher T.J. Lechtenberg to choose their work for special display at the Valley Junction Spring Art Market.