Photos courtesy of EGSD
Great Happenings in East Grand Schools the week of Oct. 5.
• It is October already. Be on the lookout for information from each school about parent-teacher conferences and from the elementary schools about Halloween celebrations.
• Middle Park High School has started an E-Sports club, and after our first match ever, we are officially undefeated in the High School Gaming League. Each match against another school is a competition in three different games, and the best-of-three wins the match.
We forfeit the game called “Overwatch” (a first-person shooter game we are opting out of as a school), so we must win the other two games to win the match each week. We won both games handily, so we took the “W” in week 1. We had 13 kids show up, and everyone was having a blast and very excited to have the opportunity. We even had some parents show up and watch for a bit. It was a very positive experience for everyone involved.
• Don’t forget the 9News Health Fair 7:30–11 a.m. Saturday at Fraser Valley Elementary.
• All middle school students had the opportunity to attend our annual Watershed Field trip last week. The students worked with and learned from experts while out “in the field.” This year for the first time they also visited the new museum at the Headwaters Center. It is a great local, hands-on and important learning experience for our kids.
• Brad Smith at Terra Firma Custom Homes donated an assortment of hardwoods, moulding, some sheet goods and cash to the furniture and cabinetry program at the high school. We are so very grateful for the support of our local businesses. We couldn’t do it without you.
• The MPHS boys soccer team is currently 6-1 and ranked No. 9 in the state. Please come out and support them as they host Bruce Randolph at 11 a.m. Saturday.
• Grand Fire conducted fire extinguisher training with our catering classes. The fire truck parked in the backside of high school. The fire department then lit fires in the field area along the driveway and extinguished them showing the students the proper way to use the extinguisher.
• Last spring East Grand Middle School staff taught multi-grade level, project-based learning classes. Seventh grade science teacher Rachel Kindsvatter, and Courtney Lincoln, who leads district assessment and project-based learning initiatives, facilitated a class for students on how to best utilize former computer lab space. Students worked through the design thinking process, which includes defining a problem, ideating, and prototyping. Working in groups, students designed maker spaces — areas for students to collaborate, create, and explore. Ideas ranged from a CO Industry Maker Space (ski tuning, snowboard waxing, fly tying, etc.) to a High Tech Maker Space (flight simulator, 3D printing, programming, etc.) to a Crafting & Creative Maker Space (art supplies, recycled materials, etc.). The students created scale models and learned about grant writing. They presented their ideas and grants to EGMS Principal, Jenny Rothboeck. Unfortunately, there weren’t funds to support all these projects. Over the summer, Rothboeck wrote a letter of interest for the Nathan Yip Foundation Rural Education Partnership Program. The letter was accepted, and EGMS was invited to submit a full application; students and staff helped with this process, ultimately requesting $20,000 to make the students’ ideas come to life. We were just notified that we made it to the final step — a site visit later this month. We’re excited to showcase our school, students and ideas, and hope we can soon share that we were awarded funding.
• The Grand Slammers Baseball Club and Terra Firma Homes have donated time, money and equipment to build better drainage and upgrade the condition of our baseball field. Thank you for all of your help and support.