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Education
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Written by Jesse Trimble
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Wednesday, 16 June 2010 08:00 |
Paola FFA members recently took a trip to the campus of Kansas State University for the 82nd Kansas FFA Convention.
The event, which featured more than 1,500 FFA members, advisors and guests from across the state, took place June 2-4. Students had the opportunity to hear from motivational keynote speakers that included Jeff Yardley from MTV’s “Made.”
Members of state-winning teams were recognized on stage for their accomplishments earlier in the year, and eight Paola FFA students received their Kansas State FFA Degrees, which is the most in the program’s history, according to a news release from adviser Jeff Hines.
Students who received their degrees were: Maria Crosson, Brittany Gilliland, Michael Lage, Nathan Laudan, Johanna Ryckert, Thomas Serafin, Brandon Teeters and Mark Walls.
Johanna Ryckert was also elected to serve as the 2010-2011 Kansas FFA Treasurer. She is just the second state officer in Paola FFA’s history, but also the second in the past three years. Annarose Hart was 2008-2009 Kansas FFA Treasurer, according to the release.
During her year in office, Ryckert will serve the more than 7,400 Kansas FFA members in a variety of ways. She will first head to Des Moines, Iowa for officer training this week. From July 5-7, her team will hold the State Conference for Chapter Leaders at Rock Springs Ranch for FFA officer teams from around the state, including Paola.
Her team will serve in various capacities at the Kansas State Fair. She will serve as a delegate to the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis in October. During next January, she will have the opportunity to travel with other state officers from around the U.S. to Argentina for an International Travel Seminar. Her year will include hosting workshops at District Greenhand Conferences, speaking at chapter banquets and conducting the 83rd Kansas FFA Convention in June 2011 at Kansas State University, according to the release.
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Education
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Written by Jesse Trimble
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Wednesday, 16 June 2010 08:00 |
Students of all ages gathered to make a few very special blankets at Holy Trinity Catholic School on Friday during vacation Bible school. 
From four-year-olds to fifth-graders, children rotated to different classrooms to participate in activities on their last day of VBS, which was themed “High Seas.”
Secretary Lindsay Bartlett said the theme incorporated “seeing God” and students spent last week being guided by a treasure map in the school’s cafeteria, finding God at every stop they made along the way.
Friday was special for the children because at their arts and crafts stop they were able to participate in making blankets that will be donated to the Lifecare Center for Women in Ottawa, which assists women who need help during their pregnancy. The center provides women with anything from diapers to other baby necessities and students at Holy Trinity wanted to help by providing newborns with a blanket to keep them warm.
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Education
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Written by Annie Vangsnes
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Wednesday, 16 June 2010 08:00 |
Children from Miami County started tumbling, creating and having fun with Summer Enrichment programs at the Paola Community Center last week. It was the beginning of a month-long schedule of classes for children that encompasses everything from art, to science, to dance. 
Chad Myers, director of the center, said the main goal this summer is to consolidate the schedule to make it easier and more convenient for parents. All of the classes are in June and scheduled between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Myers said he’d like to see a schedule in which there are classes straight from 9 to 1, but that it depends on all the classes being filled.
Myers said the enrollment numbers this summer are similar to last year’s with about 90 children, but his priority with the program is to provide fun classes for the children so they have something to do during the summer.
“Fun is number one,” he said.
Myers said if the children are having fun, then the learning follows.
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Education
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Written by Brian McCauley
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Wednesday, 26 May 2010 08:00 |
Sunflower Elementary students were rewarded for a school year full of hard work during the school’s annual awards assembly on the students’ last day Friday. 
With parents, other relatives and friends proudly watching from the bleachers in the school’s gymnasium, Sunflower students were recognized Friday for their efforts in a number of different categories.
Students were recognized for their achievement in the following categories: H.U.L.K. awards (Helpful, Understanding, Loving and Kind), physical fitness, science, attendance, President’s Award for Educational Achievement, President’s Award for Educational Excellence, talent show participants, student council members and Foster Grandparents.
After the awards, the students got to watch a video that showed some of the highlights of the year. They then got to enjoy a lunch with their family members and friends who were in attendance. |
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Education
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Written by Jesse Trimble
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Wednesday, 26 May 2010 08:00 |
A combination of pop cans, cold spaghetti, Vaseline, cotton balls and printer paper were only a few things that made Holy Trinity Catholic School’s play day a fun one for fourth- through seventh-grade students May 19.
Due to the steady rainfall, parents, teachers and eighth-graders came up with a backup plan to move the play day from Wallace Park to the Paola Volunteer Fire Department’s gymnasium.  The change in plans didn’t faze students one bit. Going from station to station, students wore different colored T-shirts to represent their grade level, paired up in teams and made the most of their last few days of school with classmates before summer. At one station, students had to find the right amount of water in pop cans in order to balance them on their edges before the stopwatch time ran out. “I think I’ve got it,” Adyson Edwards said as she moved her hands slowly from the can and watched it balance, “I think I found the right combination!” Cold spaghetti was used for the first portion of one activity, and students had to carry spaghetti through an obstacle course of tractor tires to the other end to put it in a bucket. After the small room began to smell of day-old pasta, students moved on to other games. Other students were busy rubbing Vaseline on their noses, with their faces hovering over a bowl of cotton balls. In less than a minute, students had to move three cotton balls using only their Vaseline covered noses to another bowl. |
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