April 5, 2007

SCHOOL SCENEin Almaden Valley

Bret Harte sixth grader wins state Reader’s Digest vocabulary contest

Taemin Ahn to compete with other state winners in Florida

By Carol Rosen
Staff Writer

Bret Harte sixth grader Taemin Ahn was in Bakersfield, Calif. on March 19 to compete in the state portion of the Reader’s Digest National Word Power Challenge, a vocabulary contest for students in fourth through eighth grades. He won and will represent the state against 55 other students in the national competition at SeaWorld in Orlando, Fla. On May 14-15.

Winning the California contest, which is open to all public, private and home-schooled students, was especially satisfying to Ahn, who is only 11 years old, and was competing with mostly eighth graders, who had the benefit of a couple of extra years’ worth of vocabulary lessons as well as more height.

“He was the shortest student there,” Ahn’s mother told his teacher Diane Delbridge after the state contest.
Delbridge was quite effusive in complements toward her young student. He controlled the process, she said, “I facilitated the opportunity for him to complete, but he used his own initiative and independence to win [the state portion].”

In Orlando, Ahn will be competing with students from all 50 states as well as Washington, D.C. and U.S. territories. Those participating include public, private, Department of Defense schools and home-schooled students. Reader's Digest provides the questions and answers for the contest at all levels. Questions address the subject of vocabulary in a variety of question formats. Al Roker of NBC’s “Today Show” will act as quizmaster.

Some questions require a straight definition; others require knowledge of a word's antonym or its proper use in a sentence. Students may be asked questions about words derived from other languages and words categorized by different themes or topics. Answers may be requested in writing and/or orally. The National Word Power Challenge is based on Reader’s Digest’s “Word Power” column.

The process to get to the national level is extensive. Students compete first in their classroom and then at grade level. To advance to state level, each grade level winner must take the written qualifying test. Only students in the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades are eligible to advance to the state contest. Up to 100 of the highest-scoring eligible students in a state or territory advance to the state level. The first-place winner from each state contest advances to the national level.

Reader's Digest pays the transportation and accommodation expenses for all state/territory contest winners and their teacher-escorts (one per student). The teacher-escort must be a full-time teacher at the school the winning student attends. The principal of the school appoints a teacher-escort. On the first day of the national championship, contestants will take part in the preliminary competition, with 10 students advancing to the final round competition. The final round competition will be held on the second day and be taped for later airing.

The top three final round contestants win college scholarships plus Reader’s Digest products for the student’s school. The first-place winner receives a $25,000 scholarship; second place gets a $15,000 scholarship and third place wins a $10,000 scholarship.

More than two million students from thousands of schools competed in the lower rounds of the contest, leaving just about 55 in the national championship.

Ahn spends about five hours reading every week. He began reading at the tender age of 3. His favorite word is avuncular and one of his favorite books is “Lord Brocktree,” which is part of a fantasy series by Brian Jacques.

“I’m in absolute awe of Taemin,” said Delbridge, who will be joining her student in Orlando along with his parents. “I am honored to be his teacher escort, “ she said.

But even more, she stressed her awe at his win. “To be able to have the poise to carry off entering the contest and competing with mostly eighth graders is pretty amazing, and then to beat them all is even more amazing,” she told the Times. “I’ve taught school for 38 years and I’ve had students win wonderful awards, but this is my first student to win the chance to go to a national competition,” she said.

The contest also has been good for him, she added. While he’s always been a good student, “he’s always been a very quiet child and this has brought him [out of his shell] and made him into a more public person.”

“Taemin is an example of a lot of students that attend Bret Harte,” said Principal Don McCloskey. “He’s a very dedicated reader and obviously it shows in his vocabulary.”

The contest will be broadcast by NBC this summer.

Leland students aim to make a difference

Invisible Issues Club’s goal is to raise $10,000 for Zambia,
Africa orphanage by end of school year

By Jeanne Carbone Lewis
Staff Writer

Leland’s Invisible Issues Club is on a mission. They’d like to change the world or at least offer a helping hand.

Every Friday at noon, the Invisible Issues Club meets to discuss fund-raising strategies at Leland High School. Standing center: Junior and outreach coordinator Lindsey Freisnig and senior and program coordinator Shaina Patel. Photo by Jeanne Carbone Lewis

“The Invisible Issues Club works to raise awareness about global issues such as AIDS, poverty and access to education,” said senior and club program coordinator Shaina Patel. “Our year-long project is to raise money for an AIDS orphanage called Children’s Town in Zambia, Africa.”

In Zambia, one in every six adults is infected with HIV. Many adults die at a young age leaving thousands of children without parents. Approximately 15 percent of all children in Zambia—roughly 700,000—have been orphaned as a result of this crisis. Children’s Town is one of several orphanages providing housing, food, education and vocational training for its 120 permanent residents as well as helping over 8,000 children through its outreach program.

Patel discovered the plight of Zambia’s children this past summer while attending Youth Philanthropy Worldwide, which guides students interested in global issues on bringing projects to their schools. In 2006, Patel formed the Invisible Issues Club inviting other like-minded students to join to instigate change in the world.

Invisible Issues Club operations co-coordinator Sheila Chen created the colorful logos on the merchandise the group is selling to raise donations for the Zambia Children’s Town. Photo courtesy of the Invisible Issues Club

The club has committed to raise $10,000 by the end of the school year and are pleased that they have already collected $3,000. They’d like the public to help by donating or buying the merchandise they’ve created. The group also is having a shoe drive that will end April 17. “We are collecting new/old tennis shoes to send to children in Africa (mostly small sizes),” said Patel. “Cleats work too. And they are using some of the shoes to compact and build the rubber floors of playgrounds in Africa as well.”

With about 30 members, the group initiated a week-long HIV and AIDS project with a poster campaign, button sales, film screenings, guest speakers and an after-school carnival last year. On Dec. 1, 2006, National HIV and AIDS Awareness Day, they donned AIDS T-shirts designed by Leland junior and Invisible Issues Club operations co-coordinator Sheila Chen, led tours through an AIDS tent and encouraged students to sign a petition to send to Congress.

“Our club has a goal of raising $10,000 by June so we have been fund-raising through a variety of events and merchandise,” said Patel.

On April 1, the group sponsored a benefit dodgeball tournament for Leland where they sold the colorful Zambia tote bags, Africa trucker hats and red AIDS T-shirts. Overall, they collected over $500 at the event which drew 64 players. Another intramural dodgeball tournament is scheduled for May 19. And on many weekends, you will see the red T-shirted members at booths selling their merchandise and accepting donations at various Starbuck’s in the area.

Leland dodgeball teams participated in the Invisible Issues Club donation drive this past Sunday. There will be an intramural dodgeball tournament May 19 at Leland. “The tournament raised over $500 with about 64 people playing, and we had about 15 volunteers, five referees and various students and parents who came to watch. All in all about 100 people participated either by playing, working or watching,” said club coordinator Shaina Patel. “The players in pink were on the Ball Busters team and they got third place in the tournament while the Leland basketball team took second place.”

“They’re doing a great job promoting this issue,” said Leland teacher advisor Meg Maclise.

Members have solicited donations from businesses as well as applying for a $5,000 grant from the Marin Jewish Community Teen Foundation. All donations collected will go through The Global Fund for Children and will be partnered through New Global Citizens to ensure that 100 percent of the monies collected reaches Children’s Town.

“I’ve always been interested in helping organizations and finally we’re taking action,” said Leland senior and Invisible Issues Club operations co-coordinator Elena Santamaria.

“I’m really proud that I and the members of the club have taken action to help the children.”

For more information on the Invisible Issues Club, visit www.invisibleissues.blogspot.com/ or http://www.newglobalcitizens.org/leland-high-school.html or e-mail ihs_ii@yahoo.com. The Invisible Issues Club will be selling the Zambia tote bags, Africa trucker hats and red AIDS T-shirts as well as collecting sports shoes at Starbucks at the Safeway Center on Saturday and Sunday April 7 and 8 from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Art from the heart

Simonds annual Art Walk successfully blends lessons with art interpretation

By Jeanne Carbone Lewis
Staff Writer

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” —Edgar Degas

The next generation of Picassos and Rodins recently showcased their artistic works at the Simonds Elementary School annual Art Walk.

Art from the Heart and Art Vista co-chairs take a moment to enjoy the event with their kids. Back: Sue Schill and Terese Ferrara. Front: Kaela Ferrara, Sabrina Schill and Lauren Ferrara. Photos by Jeanne Carbone Lewis

Parents, staff and friends enjoyed walking through the magical Art Walk filled with ceramic masks, cottages, and figures as well as paintings of watercolor, acrylic, oils, and charcoal and pastel drawings and even collages. Meanwhile, the kids enjoyed hands-on activities: ceramic making, the graffiti wall, and cookie decorating. Caricatures were drawn of the kids by a talented group of older students from Castillero Middle School, and Lincoln and Pioneer high schools.

“This is a total celebration of art,” said Simonds Elementary School Principal Janice Samuels. “Besides the exhibits there are kids playing piano, flute—it’s wonderful. The art is wonderful and the parents do a wonderful job organizing this great event.”

But there’s a changing of the guard coming soon. Art from the Heart and Art Vista co-chairs Sue Schill and Terese Ferrara will pass the torch to other parents after three successful years.

“It is a lot of work but everything fell into place very easily this year,” said Ferrara.

“After three years, it’s time to retire from this and let someone else handle it with new ideas,” agrees Schill.

Art from the Heart showcases Simonds’ students’ works of art but the Art Vista program is the internal mechanism that allows creativity to flow. Through the Art Vista curriculum, age-appropriate teaching lessons are provided as well as how-to projects. Taught by dedicated parent volunteers—some with art experience, others without—the end product is the childrens’ new appreciation of the creative process and a great exhibit.

The papier-mache masks make quite a statement at the Simonds Elementary School Art from the Heart event. Most were formed from the children’s own faces, though a few opted to use molds.

Renee Kauffman is known as the “clay lady” at Simonds. She’s donated time in the ceramics class for the Art Vista program, helping small hands create the pottery. But the work doesn’t end there. Each piece must be fired once and then again after a glaze is painted which amounts to the creation of hundreds of pieces. But Kauffman is also leaving her post saying simply “it’s time.” But at Art Walk, the Simonds’ “clay lady” was still helping eager kids create their own unique works of art.

“We’re really excited to be here,” said Simonds parent Caroline Taylor who attended with husband Don, fourth grader Ian and kindergartner Grace. “It’s a big hit with our family. We’re really proud of the work they’re creating here.”

“Gee, Ian this looks a bit angry. Is this you?” adds Taylor as she gazes at son Ian’s abstract pastel while daughter Grace is decorating a cookie with lush frosting.

“It is not a self-portrait,” said Ian. “It shows the dual nature of people.”

And that’s what you see at Art from the Heart. Maybe a budding Picasso or the next Warhol exhibiting their first works to the public. But the best canvas is families enjoying quality time together.

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