Snoqualmie Elementary School third-graders (from left) Matthew Wittress, Lili Pflug-Tilton, Jordan Gatewood and Jack Barrett parade their cultural posters through the school. (Photo by Laura Geggel)

A brown boat made of construction paper sat on blue construction-paper water. Using a little glue and a lot of research, Halle Westerlund had created a poster for the Snoqualmie Elementary School third-grade cultural parade.

She chose the Vikings “because I am related to the Vikings,” Westerlund said. “I learned that they were very good navigators of the sea.”

Her Viking boat had a detailed sea monster head on its mast, and Westerlund also invested a lot of time on the boat’s rowers. On her poster, Vikings surround a group of crying slaves. One of the guards has longer hair.

“My favorite part was this is a girl,” Westerlund said, pointing to the feminine Viking.

Westerlund is one of 109 third graders at Snoqualmie Elementary School who made a poster for the school parade Feb. 4.

This is the first year the third-grade teachers have instructed a cultural unit using a new curriculum called Storypath. They decided to time it within two weeks of the third annual schoolwide cultural fair to help get their students excited about studying and learning about other cultures, teacher Natalie Campbell said.

“It was a good way to learn about culture because it was very hands on,” Campbell said. “Students could choose the culture they wanted to study, which required a lot of creativity and art.”

Gene Covert came to watch his daughter Brianna Covert present her German poster and sing “It’s a small world after all,” with her classmates. He said Brianna’s older sister took German at Mount Si High School and had given Brianna several German vocabulary words for her presentation.

“There are so many cultures and it’s important for kids to understand we’re not all the same,” Gene Covert said.

Most children chose their ancestral cultures for their projects. Ayush Sharma did a poster about India where his family is from, Charlotte Sorenson concentrated on Italy, the country of her grandfather and Alyssa Kennedy studied Ireland for her project because she “is mostly Irish,” she said.

Teacher Gretchen Hinds’ class presented their posters after the parade. Students in Campbell’s class celebrated the end of their parade with a multi-cultural potluck.

One group in Hinds’ class chose a culture they found fascinating. For their Egyptian project, third-graders Seva Schlaer, Ethan Edwards and Skyler Bratton used construction paper to make a pyramid complete with booby traps, just like the ones in Egypt, Hinds noted. Such traps make it difficult for grave robbers to steal the treasures buried within the tomb.

Several students focused on America for their posters. Third-grader Karlee Kellogg did a poster showcasing the states of Washington and California, the latter the state her parents were from. Her classmate, Isaiah Willhight, made a diorama of a car wash, much like the carwash his grandma owns in North Bend.

“The students taught each other about their different cultures which was great, it added a lot of motivation,” Campbell said. “Often times we don’t have time, or neglect the ‘celebration’ part of teaching and learning. This was a great way to have the celebration incorporated within the unit.”

Laura Geggel: 392-6434, ext.221, or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.

Teacher on special assignment Jan Formisano (standing) exchanges ideas with Cascade View Elementary School second-grade teachers Kellie Smith (left), Marilee Carter and Joyce Delurme while they meet to discuss their GLAD training. (Photo by Laura Geggel)

Snoqualmie Elementary School teacher Natalie Campbell has a new way to teach vocabulary to her students.

“Segregation,”Campbell said, standing at the front of the room.

The third-grade class needed no more prompting.

“Segregation,” they repeated as they held their hands close together and then moved them apart. “To keep separate.”

The word, a lesson from Martin Luther King Jr. Day, is one of many the children have recently learned. When she introduces a new word,Campbell breaks her class into small groups and asks them to guess its meaning. Once they determine the word’s definition, she teaches them an accompanying action.

The actions helps the children remember the words,Campbell said.

Her vocabulary strategy came straight from a new teaching strategy administrators are implementing in Snoqualmie Valley School District.

The strategy is called GLAD — Guided Language Acquisition Design — and is making its way through Snoqualmie Valley elementary schools. Of 145 elementary teachers, 100 have already received training.

Two California teachers began GLAD in the early 1990s as a solution to help struggling learners, many of who were not fluent in English. The teachers developed 28 strategies for teaching students at any level, but especially struggling students.

Karen Schotzko, an English language learner teacher at Mount Si High School, emphasized she can teach English Language Learners English literature, but she has trouble teaching them areas outside of her expertise. GLAD gives all trained teachers strategies for how to better teach students, she said.

“Our ELL numbers are growing, but we don’t have ELL teachers,” said Jan Formisano, a Snoqualmie Valley School District teacher on special assignment and GLAD trainer. “The teachers really need to have the tools in their toolbox.”

Snoqualmie Valley schools administrators are implementing GLAD’s equivalents at the middle and high school levels, Schotzko added.

Of the methods, one strategy has children learn through song. Another has children organize information into charts and diagrams before they assemble the information into paragraph form.

This repetition helps the students better learn and retain the material, Formisano said.

“Personally, I like the idea of the chants and helping kids learn that way,” substitute teacher Jill Waskom said. “If you put it in a song, I know I’ll learn it.”

GLAD employs strategies with highly visual components and uses multiple ways to present the information, Formisano said. It also allows teachers to present lessons in a fast-paced yet supportive environment and has shown results — students tend to remember more information as compared to traditional methods in research-proven studies, she said.

Campbell said the strategies have invigorated her classroom.

“For the units I’ve incorporated the GLAD strategies into, there is more student involvement and more engagement just because of the way the information is presented,” she said. “With other ones, it creates a situation where they need to use a lot more teamwork and cooperation with each other in their table groups.”

Formisano and Campbell observed GLAD training in the Highline School District south of Seattle before bringing it to Snoqualmie Valley. Since spring, Formisano has trained teachers at all five elementary schools in voluntary three-day workshops.

Teachers received $195 if they completed all three classes.

Teachers are not normally reimbursed for training time, Formisano said, but the need to better teach struggling students was so great, the district wanted to offer a financial incentive for teachers.

During the training, Formisano sent the teachers to their rooms so they could devise lesson plans with the GLAD strategies fresh in their minds. The second-grade team at Cascade View Elementary School immediately began making a large picture book to help students learn about Africa.

Formisano said GLAD has gotten off to a good start.

“If they’re learning things and they’re having fun, they’re going to remember it better,” Formisano said.

Laura Geggel: 392-6434 ext. 221, or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.

Luke Talbott was raised in Richmond, Virg., and still laments that he had to drive a ways to reach any hardy trails growing up. 

“Nothing compares to Snoqualmie,” Talbott said. “There, we had to drive like two hours to get to fun trails, whereas here I can literally roll out of my garage and be on trails in five minutes.”

The former Snoqualmie Elementary fifth-grade teacher has decided to share his love of the outdoors with people ranging from elementary school students to adults who want to hike, bike, swim and discover Snoqualmie Valley. 

“What I’m trying to do is weave a lot of the outdoor experiences together that are here in the Valley,” Talbott said.

After moving to Snoqualmie with his family six years ago, Talbott could arguably be found on the trails as much as he was in the classroom. Last summer, he started Compass Outdoor Adventures for fifth- and sixth-grade students from Snoqualmie Elementary and Cascade View Elementary. Of his 12 campers, 11 are returning, and the 12th is trying to enroll, depending on summer plans. 

“We mountain biked and we went hiking and we went swimming at Rattlesnake,” said Cameron Heimbigner, who will be a seventh-grader next year at Twin Falls Middle School. 

The camp went so well, Talbott decided to resign from Snoqualmie Elementary and invest all of his time in Compass Outdoor Adventures. He said the teacher cuts from this year’s dismal budget had little influence on his decision to resign.

“I realize that me leaving the classroom allows someone else to stay in the classroom, but it also allows me to follow my passions in the outdoors,” Talbott said. 

This summer, Talbott will lead three all-boy outdoor camps and one all-girl camp. 

“It’s a nine- to four-week-long adventure,” Talbott said, listing off a spate of activities like crystal digging, geocaching, swimming, hiking, biking and navigating a ropes course. 

To add to the geocaching hype, Talbott will have his first-week campers place their own geocaches and have his later campers find them using GPS technology. Heimbigner remembered geocaching as a fun challenge. 

“We found these really old toys and stuff that had been there for a couple of years,” Heimbigner said. 

Talbott is not only offering his outdoors expertise to youth, but for adults looking for adventure or even a romantic getaway. Talbott offers $120 family trips on the Snoqualmie Valley Trail and $150 birthday parties for up to 10 children. Older participants can sign up for trail running or mountain biking classes, the first of which starts at $20 per class.

Talbott has already partnered with local businesses, such as the Salish Lodge & Spa. 

“Our goal is to keep people in the Valley,” Talbott said. “Instead of staying one night, we want them to spend another day here and experience what we have.”

He already has an appointment with a “guy from Philadelphia who wants to do a hike off the beaten path.” 

Next school year, Talbott will work with retired Snoqualmie Elementary teacher Bill Hayden to make interactive fieldtrips for students at local schools. Under their guidance, students will learn about local ecosystems and history, wading through the muck and learning at the same time. 

“He has a teaching background so people can put their kids in the camp with confidence,” said Diane Morris, co-owner of Singletrack Cycles. “He has such a passion for teaching, not traditional teaching, but a more hands-on teaching. More kids learn better from that style.”

The $295 summer girls’ camp is already full, but there are several spots open for boys in weeklong camps starting July 20. Visit www.compassoutdoor.org to learn more. 

Reach reporter Laura Geggel at 392-6434 .221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.

At the dinner tables outside, parent volunteers grilled 500 hotdogs for hungry dancers. Inside, students jumped on top of a saddle surrounded by haystacks for photo-ops. At a nearby decoration table, children personalized their photos with markers and stickers. 

Many students took the barn dance theme to heart, dressing in cowboy boots and straw hats, along with bandannas from the PTSA goody bags. Some dug far into the recesses of their closets looking for Wild West gear, before finding the right props. 

Second-grader Olivia Noel and Aleyna Kleinhaus dance to Cotton Eyed Joe in a circle around the Snoqualmie Elementary Gymnasium.

Fourth-grader Jake Gardner got his cowboy hat from “my dad’s office reunion.”

Second-grader Olivia Kleinhaus already had boots from her horse-riding classes. 

“This, I got from The Grange,” fifth-grader Joey Clifford said of his cowboy hat. “And this (bandanna) I got from a Halloween costume.”

The Gohekes showed up in black cowboy shirts and hats, outfits purchased for country singer Kenny Chesney’s Qwest Field performance in August.

The Conklins came without costumes, and admitted country music held little interest for them.

“They’re more into Tool and AC/DC,” joked Mike Conklin about his two sons.

He grinned as his children raced around the playground, as if they were taking advantage of a recess after school hours. 

“It’s fun to see all of the kids going crazy,” Conklin said.

Inside the gym, deejay Rachelle Wright of Viva Productions mixed tunes and quizzed students with trivia, awarding them with Hannah Montana CDs if they were the first to raise their names with a correct answer.

“If a trucker drives a semi, what does a farmer drive?” Wright asked. “A tractor, of course.” 

Wright took a seat as parents Chad and Bonnie Woolf took to the floor to show students how to dance the Cotton Eyed Joe. After practicing their dancing skills at Author Murray Dance Studio in Bellevue, the Woolfs were ready to teach the steps.

“Right, left, back, back, back,” Chad Woolf shouted over the music as students and parents danced in a large circle. At the end, children threw their hats into the air before scrambling to catch them in time for the next dance.

“It was fun, but it was hard at the same time,” fifth-grader Rachel Hunter said.

Fifth-grader Katie Richardson had other things on her mind, mainly protecting her cowgirl hat from her friend Abby Bateman, who mischievously tried to snatch it off her head.

Parent Misty August stood on the sidelines dancing with her 9-month-old daughter Caroline as her older daughter Georgia learned the hustle. 

“She’s been dancing and running around with her friends,’ August said. “It’s a good family thing.”

The night wrapped up with the hokey pokey, bunny hop and limbo.

The PTSA paid about $1,200 to put the event on, PTSA treasurer Ahn Lee Horn said. In previous family fun nights, the Snoqualmie Elementary PTSA has organized sock hops and beach parties.

Snoqualmie Elementary Principal Cori Pflug said the family fun nights were well-attended and fostered community. 

“With the boundary changes, it’s nice to bring families together,” Pflug said.

Reach reporter Laura Geggel at 392-6434 .221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.

“It gets my legs good for soccer,” said first-grader Nick Copland, as he paused to contemplate his reasons for running.

First-grader Nick Rohde gave his reason without a second thought.

“You get prizes,” he said.

The PTSA began Cougar Trails in the fall of 2005 and has held the program in the fall and spring months ever since. Every Friday, if the weather permits, about 200 children make a dash around the field, either by themselves or with their friends. 

From left, first-graders Allison Husemann, Keely Bothwell and Mia Bel run around the Snoqualmie Elementary field for Cougar Trails.

“I had one little girl say to me, ‘no one wants to play today, so I’ll just walk,’” former PTSA President Jackie Gardiner said.

Cougar Trails also appeals to student athletes. Running is integral to many a sport — from running out a double in baseball to dribbling in soccer.   

Gardiner said she’s seen students run the loop kicking a soccer ball and groups of first- and second-grade girls walking together. 

“It tapers off in fifth grade, because of all of the intramural activities they do at lunchtime,” Gardiner said. “But when they have time off, we have a couple of boys who run the track the whole time after they get done with lunch, so it’s been a great activity.”

On a sunny Friday, May 29, students swarmed around the prize table as they redeemed their cards for knick-knacks. 

During the program’s second year, gym teacher Jim McEldowney received a grant from Nike to supply the prize table. For a while, students were winning soccer balls, water bottles and Nike bracelets for their field repeats. When the Nike prizes ran out, parent volunteers worried children would no longer want to participate.

Their worries were unfounded. Some of the more popular prizes — charms — are plastic do-dads that students can collect and place on their necklaces from Walkathon.

“My oldest son loves it,” parent volunteer Sarah Wray said. 

“The bling, the charms motivate them,” parent volunteer Shannon Gray said.

Not all children wore their charms. Second-grader Destinie Gama said her teacher Nate Ziemkowski encouraged her to run.

“Quite a few kids do it every Friday,” Ziemkowski said. “They like the running, but they really like counting the laps.”

Ziemkowski said Cougar Trails provides a good outlet for children who might have a hard time joining games like kickball or wall-ball at recess.

“It’s a good social thing for them to do and feel good about themselves,” Ziemkowski said.

This was Cole Heimbigner’s first time around the field this year. He and three of his friends were ready to race around the field. If it weren’t for Cougar Trails, they would probably be playing on the swings, his friend Matthew Kosinski said.

“Cougar Trails is fun,” third-grader Logan Ford said. “It gives you exercise.”

Third-grader Max Pino normally plays kickball on days Cougar Trails is not offered, but he and his friends will run a few circuits around the field for the sake of a prize or two.

“Obesity is such a problem these days,” Gardiner said. “It’s a way of opening up doors to new activities that kids have not thought of before.”

Reach reporter Laura Geggel at 392-6434 .221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.

Armed with a pencil, paper and their intellect, Snoqualmie Elementary School’s Math Magicians whizzed through the Math Olympiad Nov. 26. The students had been preparing for the Olympiad — an international online test — for about two months.

Fifth grade student Haley Holmberg at Snoqualmie Elementary prepares for the Math Olympiad, an international online math exam.

“You don’t get a grade out of this,” said fifth-grade teacher Luke Talbott, Math Magician advisor. “This is just to show what you know.”

The group of 10 scored 46th out of 74 teams that took the 15-question, multiple-choice exam.

Ian Fursman scored the highest from his school with an impressive 14 out of 15 correct answers. Abby Bateman and Amanda Antoch scored second highest with scores of 13.

This was the Math Magicians’ first test. The group began in September after two teachers —Talbott and Mount Si High School math teacher Tracy Petroske — joined forces to create a club for Snoqualmie Elementary students to challenge themselves in math.

Talbott found interested fifth graders and Petroske rounded up five Mount Si students who excelled in AP calculus, chemistry or physics. 

The students meet for a half-hour every Friday to review math homework and learn new material. The high school students, who come after their early-release Fridays, visit the fifth-grade students to coach them through concepts and solutions.

Fifth-grade students joined the group for a variety of reasons. Alden Huschle said the Math Magicians provided him with extra help.

“I joined because math isn’t really my strong point,” Huschle said. “I wanted to learn more about it.”

“I love math,” fifth-grader Autumn Dukich said. “It’s one of my favorite subjects in school.”

Dukich called the Math Magicians material “ a little harder, but it’s challenging, which I love.”

“It’s stretches my mind,” Fursman said. “It’s a lot more challenging than class.”

Joey Petroske said his class was spending time on division and estimating. 

“Math wasn’t challenging to me,” Petroske said. 

Talbott said he enjoyed teaching the fifth-grade students more complex math concepts like algebra, advanced fractions and multiplication.

“They’re a sharp bunch of kids,” Talbott said.

Mount Si seniors Francis Gill and Emily Brodie taught the elementary-school students a lesson on proportion Dec. 5.

“It was awesome,” Talbott said. “It’s tough for high school kids to figure out how to kid down their language.”

Brodie said she was impressed the fifth graders could do all of the problems, especially since they have yet to learn key algebra skills.

“They will do it a very different way, but they will get the right answer,” Brodie said. 

For example, if a question asks the students to find the hundredth number in a sequence, the fifth grade students will count it out.

“They are so intelligent and so much fun to work with,” Brodie said.

Many of the fifth grade students do math outside of the classroom. Haley Holmberg goes to Kumon twice a week and Autumn Dukich said her mother buys her a math exercise book to complete every summer break. Amanda Antoch said she uses mental math to add up her score at gymnastics meets.

Online math games like Ghost Blasters and Snorks Long Division capture the attention of other students. Many of the games are linked on fourth-grade teacher Jennifer Gjurasic’s Web site, http://ses.svsd410.org/Gjurasic/Gjurasic.htm. 

The Math Magicians have two more math competitions — one in Seattle and the other in Wenatchee. 

The high school students said they looked forward to coaching the students every week.

“I think it’s really important to have a community of people who value learning,” Brodie said. “Math doesn’t have to be this dry thing that you can only learn from a book.”

Reach reporter Laura Geggel at 392-6434 .221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.