2/3/03

Fundraiser Planned for Sierra Madre School

fundraiser scheduled for Saturday March 8 at La Salle High School. The

evening’s events will include a silent and live auction, great food from

local restaurants and live music by "Cynthia and Her Sweet Potatoes". Tickets

for "Cyber Celebration" are just $25 each and can be ordered by calling

836-5637. Orders may also be placed in the office at the Sierra Mesa School

campus. "Cyber Celebration" is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Sierra Madre,

Learning Works! and One Cent CDs@aol.com.

    Proceeds from the event will fund a new computer lab at Sierra Madre School.

Students at Sierra Mesa Elementary School will have much to look forward to

when they return to their home campus next September. Not only will Sierra

Madre School have undergone a major refurbishment thanks to Measure Y

funding, but a new computer lab will also be waiting for the more than 600

students.

    Carole Tremblay, Sierra Madre parent and professional fundraiser is chairing

the auction event. "Last year’s auction was a great start," said Tremblay.

"Raising money for public school projects can be very difficult, but we are

fortunate to have such a supportive community. Businesses, individuals and

parents are responding with generous donations that will make for a very

exciting auction. It will be an evening to remember."

    "This is a terrific example of the dedication our parents show their kids and

their school," said Ty Gaffney, Sierra Madre School Principal. "These kinds

of programs and equipment are not available through the school district, but

our parents will make it happen with the support of our community."

    The mission is to provide creative problem-solving opportunities and to

School students have accepted the challenge.

    Through the Odyssey of the Mind program, kids are challenged to solve

problems with more than one solution They work in groups, learning teamwork,

the appreciation and understanding of others and that a group is a more

powerful thinking force than an individual. Students develop a sense of

self-respect and respect for others through activities such as brainstorming

and role-playing

    The teams will come up with unusual and innovative ways of solving given

problems blending science, art, math and a big dose of theater. Originality,

creativity, imagination guide Odyssey.

    Individuality is valued and humor and wit are appreciated. Students are free

to imagine weird, wild solutions without fear of criticism. They are in real

decision-making situations and learn from their mistakes before and during

competition. As they solve their group problem, they develop creative and

critical thinking skills.

    Students must use practical problem-solving skills to design and build things

such as vehicles to carry people and accomplish tasks, theatrical sets,

costumes, props and special effects, balsa wood structures, to balance and

support steel weights, etc. Past problems have included creating and

presenting a performance about archaeology, creating and presenting a

humorous performance that included a team-made android, and designing,

building and testing a camouflaged structure made of balsa wood and glue.

The big day for the presentation of the solutions is March 8 when the

regional championship will take place at Marshall Fundamental High School.

Last year teams of students from Sierra Madre School took top honors in the

Odyssey of the Mind (OM) regional tournament and advanced to the state

semi-finals. A fourth grade Odyssey of the Mind team, together for its third

consecutive year of competition is raising funds now to cover their

anticipated travel costs, as the team has consistently made it to the state

championships.

    First and second grade team coach Katja Eastland (pictured with students above)

said, "Odyssey of the Mind (OM) is a wonderful and exciting experience for children.

I am enjoying creative problem solving with them. Parent involvement in problem solving is

not allowed — the children work together as a team to come up with all their

own ideas and solutions for solving their open-ended problem without outside

influences."

    Parent Bob Anderson is a team coach as well as an OM regional board member.

He said, "Ideally, OM teams are run completely by the kids and the coaches

just keep the kids on track. That’s partially why I believe so strongly in

it. The students on my team chose from five problems. Their eyes lit up with

delight and disbelief that they were allowed to run their own problem-solving

team. They have come face to face with the awesome responsibility and found

it was harder than they thought. That’s part of what’s all about."

Sierra Madre School teacher Ginger Chulak is the faculty advisor for Sierra

Madre School and the Los Angeles Basin regional coordinator,

Odyssey of the Mind began in 1978 in 28 New Jersey schools. OM membership is

now more than 9,000 schools throughout the world.

Artwork by Sierra Madre School sixth grade student Taylor Lo Nigro won third

place in the art contest sponsored by the Martin Luther King Community

Coalition. The contest was part of a King Day event at Jackie Robinson Park

in Pasadena on Monday, Jan. 20. Her poster showed a dove of peace being

Helen Pontarelli.

    If you are a father, brother, uncle, grandfather or even a single man who

would like to make a difference in the lives of children, DADS FOR EDUCATION

(DADS) may be for you. New to the Pasadena School District, the DADS program

DADS representative is Arnie Ragland easily recognizable at school in his

DADS hat and sweatshirt promoting the organization or helping around the

school.

    According to Ragland, parents are the most important teachers children will

ever have and male role models are very important in the learning process. He

feels that fathers could be more involved in the education of their children

and DADS can help them.

    DADS is a national program with the focus on helping men volunteer their

services in schools. DADS’ mission statement is "To volunteer and support

students, parents, staff and the community by enhancing the learning

environment through the active presence of men in individual schools."

Ragland said volunteers in the DADS program meet twice a month, take part in

training and must undergo background checks. He said that before he joined

the DADS program he volunteered only in his daughter’s classroom and was

reluctant to connect with other dads. Now he is working in other areas around

the school, finding new ways to assist and has bonded with other men helping

in schools throughout the district.

    DADS founder, John Finn, was recognized by Parenting Magazine as one of the

outstanding parenting leaders in the nation

    Sierra Madre School Principal Ty Gaffney said, " We are lucky to have all the

volunteers. DADS is an additional component for the betterment of the entire

school not just a parent’s own child’s classroom." For more information call

Sierra Madre School.

11/17/02

Art Docents Enrich Children’s Education

    The volunteer efforts of the Art Docent Program at Sierra Madre School

exemplify the best of community support for its youth. Through the generous

efforts of many community members — parents, grandparents, teachers and civic

groups — children acquire art skills so that they can become more expressive

individuals and enjoy the artistic expressions of others.

    Teacher Barbara Wamboldt is director of the Art Docent Program. She said,

"Art is an expression of the human experience. Our program gives children the

skills they need to express themselves visually. And because art preserves

culture, students find connections from the past to the present and find

visual art links to other areas of the curriculum. For our first project, the

children are making their own individual ceramic tiles. Each student will

create two identical tiles, one to keep and one to donate to the school. All

donated tiles will then be permanently installed as part of our renovation at

Sierra Madre School. This ceramic ornamentation will serve as an everlasting

tribute to our current school community and will preserve the culture of our

current student body. Our children are proud of the honor this project offers

their artistic product. As students experience this art lesson they explore

the process of tile making and discover the history of ceramic tile. Students

express themselves with shape, pattern and color as they deepen their artisti

c awareness. All the helps the child become more aware of his expressive

ability and the expressions of others." said Wamboldt.

    The Art Docent Program is also rewarding for the 20 volunteers who become

art teachers for a few hours a month. The volunteer-led, standard-based

program is offered to students in grades kindergarten through five and

lessons tie visual arts to each grade level’s curriculum. Volunteers commit

to two hours each month, one hour learning the lesson from Wamboldt and the

second hour spent teaching the lesson in the Arts Discovery Room. All docents

work with a partner. Anyone who can volunteer a small amount of time and

enjoys working with children is welcome.

    Principal Ty Gaffney said, "The art docent program is a marvelous program

for the entire school. We’re lucky to have it."

ART AND DESIGN COME TOGETHER FOR PUSD STUDENTS

whole new perspective on art, thanks to home furnishings giant IKEA. With a

donation of brightly colored storage units, tables, chairs and display rods

valued at approximately $2,500, IKEA has transformed a drab grey portable

into an upbeat, colorful and highly-efficient space sure to inspire and open

young minds to the world of fine art. All students of Sierra Madre School

will receive instruction in the new Arts Discovery Room on such topics as

ceramics, painting, sculpture, print making and art history. Each lesson is

generated from the Visual and Performing Arts Standards and linked to the

Open Court Reading Program.

The Art Docent Program, brainchild of longtime teacher Barbara Wamboldt, has

been offered to Sierra Madre School students for the past five years. With

the move to temporary quarters at the Sierra Mesa campus, the future of the

program was in jeopardy until space was found and IKEA Burbank offered to

outfit the room. Every student at Sierra Madre School will benefit from the

program, producing their own creative art work. Volunteers from the school

and community will lead the classes in art discovery and appreciation. Fine

art prints used for student instruction have been purchased over the past 10

years through generous donations from the Sierra Madre Rotary Club and the

Pasadena Education Foundation.

The IKEA donation is the largest ever received by the program. "We are so

grateful to IKEA Burbank," said teacher and Art Docent Program Leader Barbara

Wamboldt. "Their willingness to partner with us in the education of our young

students is deeply appreciated and their generosity has been overwhelming."

IKEA has a policy of supporting community organizations surrounding its store

locations, especially the nonprofit organizations where employees volunteer

or serve. "We feel very proud of this donation," said IKEA Burbank store manager

Chris Maynard. "We have supported individual classrooms in the past, but this

time we are able to enhance the learning experience of more than 600 students.

IKEA design standards of form and function are ideal for the new Arts Discovery Room."

In keeping with the Sierra Madre School environment of strong parent and

community support, a crew of more than 20 parents and local Rotary Club

members showed up this past weekend to assemble the IKEA furnishings and set

up the room in less than three hours. "Everyone is working for the benefit of

the children," said Sierra Madre School Principal Ty Gaffney. "Corporate

sponsors, community organizations, parents and teachers working together –

this is what public education should be."