Francis Howell School District
• The Francis Howell North High School Journalism Program will host a Meet the Candidates Night from 7-8:30 p.m. March 10 in the board room of the district administration building, 4545 Central School Road.
The event is meant to be a public forum to introduce candidates running for three positions on the Francis Howell Board of Education. The school board candidates are: Mike Hoehn (incumbent), Mike Sommer (incumbent), Ronnie Johnson, Eric Seider, Eric Ewalt, Burt Biermann, Gary Miller and Mark Lafata (incumbent).
• Francis Howell North High School and the Francis Howell North Band Boosters will host the third annual Art in Motion Festival on March 12. Competition begins at 10 a.m. and continues throughout the day.
More than 50 high school winter guard units and percussion units will participate in this Mid-Continent Color Guard Association competition. MCCGA is a winter color guard and percussion circuit serving independent and scholastic guards and percussion lines from Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Iowa.
• Connie Buckman, a literacy coach at Independence Elementary, has been named Francis Howell School District Teacher of the Year.
Buckman began her teaching career at Becky-David Elementary School. She has received numerous professional recognitions, attended countless professional development sessions and served on many instructional teams and committees.
Buckman went to school in the Francis Howell district, having attended Fairmount, Castlio, Barnwell, and graduated from Francis Howell North. She attributes her desire to go into education to the teachers she encountered during her time as a student.
She will be honored, along with all building Teachers of the Year, Howell of Fame Award winners, and district retirees during the annual Howell of Fame awards ceremony May 2.
• The Francis Howell Varsity Golden Girls competed in the 5A Division at the Missouri State Dance Team Championship on Feb. 26 and won first place and the title of Missouri State Champions.
The dancers received high point and first place for their two routines at Lindbergh High School in December. They also had second and third place finishes in competitions in Chicago. In February, they traveled to Orlando to compete in the national competition and received second and seventh rankings.
• Students and staff at Independence Elementary participated in a building-wide family day service and community project that raised $1,884.80 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society — exceeding their $500 goal.
Students put together collection boxes to take home and collected change over a two-week period. Some students also donated the contents of their piggy banks. Staff got involved by donating money to participate in a dress-down day. A school-wide donation day, dubbed "Team Up Against Leukemia," was held and paper pennies were sold for 50 cents and hung throughout the school.
Because the school reached and exceeded its donation goal, Principal Emily Allen dressed like a clown for a day.
• Students, staff and community of John Weldon Elementary raised $835 for the American Red Cross in support of the St. Louis New Year's Eve tornado disaster relief fund. Money was raised by holding a Sports Spirit Day on Jan. 27, in which students and staff could wear apparel to support their favorite sports teams in exchange for a donation. The Sports Spirit Day was the idea of student council leaders at John Weldon.
• Three Francis Howell School District students were recognized for their literary works submitted in the 2011 Missouri Scholastic and Writing Awards Contest, sponsored by the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers.
August Thies, senior at Francis Howell North High School, and Cynthia Zhang, junior at Francis Howell High School, won the Gold Key Award — the highest level of achievement on the regional level. Katelyn Stoewsand, junior at Francis Howell North, won the Silver Key Award.
Their writings were chosen from 521 submissions received from throughout Missouri and the Kansas City, Kan., area and will be published in Missouri Youth Write, an online publication that will be available June 1.
Fort Zumwalt School District
• A trivia night to support the Fort Zumwalt North High School Grad Night will be March 25 at the O'Fallon Elks Lodge, 1163 Tom Ginnever Ave. Doors open at 6 p.m. with play beginning at 7 p.m. The cost is $120 for a table of eight. A cash bar will be available. Persons must be age 21 or older to participate. All proceeds benefit the North Grad Night, a fun and safe overnight event for graduating seniors. For reservations, call Barb Bateman at 636-978-5664.
Wentzville School District
• Boone Trail Elementary teacher Jennifer Riley has been selected as one of 48 teachers and administrators across the country to participate in a Japan-U.S. Teacher Exchange Program.
In May, Riley will attend a conference in San Francisco with visiting Japanese educators. In late June, she will travel to Japan, where she will receive orientation training on Japanese culture and education, attend workshops and visit schools. In addition, Riley will have an opportunity to tour cultural sites, stay with a Japanese family and participate in a conference with Japanese educators in Tokyo before returning home in July.
The exchange program is sponsored annually by the Japan-United States Education Commission (Fulbright Japan) and the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.
• Discovery Ridge Elementary students kicked off Read Across America Week with a visit by The Cat in the Hat during a Reading Rally assembly Feb. 28.
Students welcomed Missouri National Education Association President Chris Guinther and her husband, Bill (The Cat in the Hat) at the assembly. Read Across America Week is sponsored annually by the NEA around the birthday of children's author Theodore Geisel — better known as Dr. Seuss. Guinther spoke to students about the importance of reading and then shared a Dr. Seuss story with the children as The Cat in the Hat looked on.
Their stop at Discovery Ridge was arranged by kindergarten teacher Sarah Teague, who thought it would be a great way to kick off the new school's first Literacy Week celebration. Elementary schools across the Wentzville district hosted guest readers and sponsored special events to mark the week in an effort to promote a love of reading.
St. Charles Community College
• The St. Charles Community College Homeschool Enrichment program is offering new classes this spring to supplement at-home instruction. The classes will meet weekdays on the SCC campus, 4601 Mid Rivers Mall Drive in Cottleville.
Class sizes are limited to 15 students and the cost of each class varies, although multi-class discounts are available. Subjects are age appropriate and will be organized by age group.
Classes include Art Creations, Extreme Science, 8th Grade Math, Middle School Algebra, Beginning Tap Dance, Spanish Language and Culture, Stage Combat, Improvisation Technique, Acting and Scene Study and more.
Classes are also available for parents, including an online class, Homeschool With Success. Coming this summer and fall, the Homeschool Enrichment program will feature several high school level classes.
Registration began March 1. For class schedules, costs or to register, visit www.stchas.edu/homsechool.
For more information about the classes, contact Amy Fitzwilliam at 636-922-8335 or afitzwilliam@stchas.edu.
The Journal welcomes news items and photos from events going on in local schools. To submit information, e-mail it to Brian Flinchpaugh at bflinchpaugh@yourjournal.com.
The information will be published in Campus Notes each Wednesday. Information must be submitted by noon Friday for inclusion in the following Wednesday's Journal.
