Don’t Look for Nemo Here
There’s a huge aquarium inside the front door of Whitman Elementary School.
And one look at the setup is all it takes to know...this is not kids stuff.
First clue? The gallon-sized filtration system humming away on the floor. Then
there’s the
yards of plastic
tubing. And
the observation
log. No Finding
Nemo here, this
is real school
research going
on, courtesy of
Mareena Robbins and Allison
Parker’s Fifth
Grade Classes—with a
little help from
the Idaho Department of
Fish and Game. Nemo wouldn’t last a week in this underwater crowd. We’re talking
real Steelhead here.
How does a project like this happen?
Inside this issue
ISAT…………………......................2
Staff Shout Out…….………….…...2
Orchard’s Outreach…...……......3
A Penny………………………..……….4
April Character Kids………………5
The Whitman Song……………...5
Mark your Calendar!
May 16, PTA Meeting, 7:00 PM,
Whitman Library
May 23, PTA Walk-a-thon.
(Continued on Page 2)
Cooperation
Tim Sperber, Principal
I don’t think I’ve yet covered a Whitman character
trait without drawing on a sports analogy. You didn’t
expect me to change that pattern today, did you?
Nope? You’re right. So here it is. You get more
done , you do it better, and you have more fun when
you work as a team. And what’s another word for
cooperation? How about teamwork?
Teamwork and cooperation are the processes of
working together to the same end (winning!). Teamwork is the epitome of cooperation.
As a school, what can we learn about success from
(Continued on Page 2)
In Memory of Jeanna Wakefield
Cooperation
“It takes teamwork
(Continued from Page)
sports teams?
To be successful, a team needs every player functioning at their best, and—I know—
that’s got some circular reasoning built in. In order for a team member to function at their
best, they need to feel like a member of the team. So if you want to be part of a winning
team or a winning school, you not only need to feel like you’re a part of a winning team or
school, you need to help make others feel like they’re a part of a winning team or school.
Here’s a few tips:
to make a dream
work.”
-Anonymous
1. Show your fellow students you appreciate what they contribute.
2. Encourage your fellow students to do their best.
3. Make your fellow students feel needed. Working together is a lot more fun when
every one feels needed.
4. Don’t isolate or exclude anyone. Everybody has something valuable to offer and
nobody likes feeling left out.
5. NEVER, EVER engage in gossip or drama. It’s petty, it’s demeaning, and it destroys
cooperation.
What’s an ISAT?
It’s an acronym for The Idaho Standards Achievement Test (ISAT). It’s is an umbrella name for the assessment students in grades three through six undergo in
the spring each year. There are several components of these exams, and success
isn’t just a matter just part of the classroom environment. ISAT is important, and
your student to do better with your help.
1. Send your student to school well-rested. The night before ISATs begin, make
sure they get to bed at a decent hour.
2. Don’t junk ‘em up! A good, dinner the night before makes a lot of difference. Hot lunch the day of ISATS isn’t as important as a nutritious lunch.
3. Support their efforts. No need to put the pressure on—just encourage them
to do their best.
Staff Shout Out!
There was a day when if you’d wanted to shout out to this member of the staff,
you’d literally have to shout because she monitored students in the lunch room. Now,
if you shout to her, you might just find yourself in the intervention room.
She, is Whitman’s librarian. So, here’s a whispered “Shout Out” to Michelle Washburn. Not only has she cleaned the library from one end to the other, she’s raided the
books Hasting’s donated to Goodwill, carrying them to Whitman by the wheelbarrow
full! And anyone who thought a librarian's job is to take care of the books in the library? Well that person doesn’t know Michelle. She actually believes a librarian’s job
is to put books into the hands of children. Imagine that!
Thanks, Michelle!
Michelle Washburn
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No Nemo
(Continued from Page 1)
The idea of bringing fish into a classroom is nothing new. Just about everyone reading this has memories of a teachers gold
fish bowl. Maybe your eighth grade science teacher even had guppies. But these two fifth grade classes have taken the science and biology learning process to a new level at a younger age. And it started at the beginning.
The aquarium was set up to the conditions in which spawning would be expected in the rivers and streams of the Pacific
Northwest, famous for producing the world class fish. And then there’s the introduction of the eggs, supervised by the same
biologists and scientists who monitor the region’s hatcheries. Then, the waiting began.
Several times daily, students are sent to check the aquarium and look for changes in the eggs. Every observable change is
logged as the excitement grows. Teams are set up to clean the glass, to prepare and add water, and to test the habitat. Then,
suddenly, something that almost resembles a fish wiggles loose and hides itself in the bottom rock. And grows.
Mareena and Allison guide the students through
the scientific process, from setting the hypothesis to
setting up the experiment and observing the results.
These aren’t pets. And at just the right time, like
those coming from the huge hatcheries up river, these frys will be introduced into wild.
Did you have a good fishing year?
You’re welcome.
Orchards Church Outreach
It was a particularly long winter, this 2016-2017. And
there was a little girl who crossed 21st Street, no
mittens, no hat. The morning was cold with a gusty
wind, but the crossing guard was able to reach into a bag
in her car and pull out gloves and a hand-knit hat.
A kindergartner showed up one snowy day at school
in shirtsleeves. But by recess time, his teacher was wrapping him in a new coat.
Every day, colds and coughs, flu’s and bugs show up
on the playground. But the little noses that need wiping
aren’t ignored. Every duty kitbag comes equipped with
small tissue packages and antiseptic wipes.
These minor miracles are brought to you courtesy of
the Orchards Community Church.
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A Penney for your Thoughts
Once Ol’ Ben Franklin published
Poor Richard’s Almanac in the mid1700s, he was forever credited with
coining the phrase, “A penny saved
is a penny earned.”
That may or may not have been
the original quote, but how could
anyone possibly add anything to
the wisdom of Benjamin Franklin?
Well for starters, there’s Whitman’s Third Grade. Proof? Here’s
a little illustration of how Poor Richard’s Almanac would read were it
written today by the students and
teachers of Whitman Elementary
School.
1.
2.
3.
4.
A penny saved is just a penny
Dawn Leighton & Sue Beck
saved. You might not even
pick one up if you saw it on the sidewalk.
Ten pennies saved is a dime, and it still doesn’t get you much.
But a hundred pennies saved is a dollar, and that feels pretty good in your pocket.
A thousand pennies saved is 10 dollars, and you would never pass up a ten dollar bill if you saw one on the sidewalk.
Poor Richard
wasn’t available this
year to help teachers Amy Arlint and
Ashley Frei with
math. So they came
up with a very wise
approach to helping
students place value
and understand
tens, hundreds, and
thousands.
The math worked
well. And there’s
hardly a student
around who hasn’t
looked in the department store at a
ten-dollar item,
wishing they had more than nine dollars in their pocket. So they learned how the math relates to real life economics. But
just as important as what they could buy, is what they could give.
At the end of the math lesson, students voted where the money would go. And today, The Ronald McDonald House
and the Lewis-Clark Animal Shelter have just a little more in their coffers than they had yesterday.
Subscriptions will soon be available for the next edition of Poor Amy and Poor Ashley’s Almanac.
4
March’s Character Trait: Courage
Courage. It’s what the cowardly lion thought the Wizard of Oz could give him. And
in the end, he discovered it was inside his heart all the time. So, the Wizard gave the
Lion a medal to recognize how courageous he really was. Same thing at Whitman. We
reward those who show the that’s inside their hearts.
The character kids for March were: Maryssa Clements (Mrs. Forsmann’s class); Tristan Steele (Ms. Howard’s class); Hailey Willows (Mrs. Walker’s class); Breelynn Burt
(Mrs. Purcell’s class), Jade Wilke (Mrs. Thomas’s class), Madison Keys (Mrs. Arlint’s
class); Remyngton Anderson (Mrs. Frei’s class); Timothy Fortson (Mrs. Blasko’s class);
Charles Smith (Mrs. Turner’s), Elleona Roberts-Richmond (Mrs. Parker’s class); Jackson
Lathen (Mrs. Robbins’ class); Madison Collins (Mr. Akin’s class), and Brett Crosby (Mrs.
Bowen’s class).
And the student picked for best representing the Golden Rule? Cole Arlint (Mrs.
Turner’s class).
Cub Character Traits
1. Respect
2. Responsibility
3. Gratitude
4. Service
5. Tolerance
6. Honesty
7. Courage
8. Cooperation
9. Perseverance
Who Wrote the Whitman School Song?
Before the start of every Whitman Character Kid Assembly, students sing the Whitman School Song. Who wrote it? Will the
person who shouted out Justin Bieber from the back of the class please report to the Intervention Room.
Mildred Renner was born Feb. 28,
1908, spending her early years near
Elk City, Idaho on a stock ranch. Her
family moved to Lewiston in 1921.
Once there, her heart was fixed and
though she left for early employment,
she always returned home.
Mildred attended what was called
Lewiston Normal School (now LewisClark State College), from which she
received her intermediate school “life
certificate” in 1930. She earned her
bachelor’s degree in education from
what also became Lewis-Clark State
College in 1947, and her master’s
degree from the University of Idaho
(Moscow) in 1960.
According to the Lewiston Morning Tribune, Mildred taught at Delaney rural school, between Harpster and Grangeville from
1927 to 1930 and started teaching at Lewiston's old Webster school in 1930. She taught third, fourth and fifth grades there until
1948 when she transferred to the “new” Whitman school. There, Ms. Renner taught fourth grade until 1968 and fifth grade
until her retirement in 1971. She wrote poetry, children's stories, composed music and yes, she wrote the Whitman school
song.
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Whitman
The Cub Reporter
Elementary
The Cub Reporter is an unofficial, monthly newsletter, written and published
by volunteers and staff at Whitman Elementary School. We hope you’ll find it
informative, educational, and maybe even a little entertaining.
School
Strive,
Achieve
Succeed,
As with everything we do, our goal is to do a good job the first time, do better
the second, and to keep improving every time thereafter.
So please let us know how we can improve this newsletter and anything else
we do.
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Whitman Cubs
@TimSperber
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1840 9th Avenue
Lewiston, ID 83501
Phone: 208-748-3850
Fax: 208-748-3899