IF YOU GO:
• WHAT: Utica Elementary’s Annual Fall Festival
• WHEN: Saturday. The games start at 3:30 p.m. and the live auction starts at 7:30 p.m.
• WHERE: Utica Elementary
• DETAILS: Steak dinners cooked by Texas Roadhouse are $8. Other food includes pizza and hot dogs. There will be carnival games and an inflatable bouncer. There will also be live and silent auctions, featuring an American Girl doll, guitar signed by Willie Nelson, a year of free car washes and more.
• FOR MORE INFORMATION: To donate items for the auctions, contact DeAnna Hall at 812-256-5683.
Put away the chalk and erasers.
The new board wanted in classrooms is a combination of a chalk board with the functionality of a computer.
It seems to be a big hit, at least at Utica Elementary School.
When Renee Hoyland asked her third-graders who wanted to demonstrate how to use their new smart board, as it’s referred to, every student raised their hand.
“Oh please!”
“Pick me!” the students urged, hoping to get chosen.
Hoyland said this new technology is reaching out to each student in the room.
“Even the reluctant learners, they want to be called up there,” she said, looking at the eager faces of her students. “They feel like they’re playing.”
But they’re learning. The Promethean Activboard — its official name — is a large, white board in front of the classroom that resembles a dry-erase board. However, it’s much different. The board works like a touch screen computer, allowing students to surf the Internet, move items around and more with what looks like a pen, but acts as a mouse.
“Actually, it’s pretty cool,” Jacob Porter, 9, said. “It’s fun, because you can make stuff with it and write stuff on it.”
Last year, the school hosted its annual fall festival and raised $15,000. That money, along with money from other fundraisers, was used to buy eight smart boards, according to Lisa Bottorff, PTO president. That equipped the third through fifth grade classrooms with the new technology.
The teachers and parents are now hoping to raise that amount plus some — since one board costs about $3,500 — to give the same boards to those teaching kindergarten through second grade. That adds up to about 11 more boards, Bottorff said.
“We would like to have the same advanced technology,” said Mary Beth Lawson, who teaches second grade. “It helps student interaction and keeping them abreast on the technology so they can compete in society.”
DeAnna Hall, co-chair of the fall festival, said last year’s event brought around 1,000 people to the school. Her goal is for the same to come this year.
The festival will have live and silent auctions, featuring an American Girl doll, a guitar signed by Willie Nelson and more. There will also be games and steak dinners, cooked by those at Texas Roadhouse.
Coyle Chevrolet will also be there, donating $5 for each parent that test drives a car.
Teachers, kids and parents are volunteering to work the event.
“I’m really excited and really want to help out to help the school,” 8-year-old Lauren Hall said, adding that she will probably help with the games.
DeAnna said events like this are becoming more and more important as school budgets get tighter, preventing schools from having the newest technology available.
However, she said the event is more than just a fundraiser.
“Reach out your hand to your neighbor and invite them,” she said. “It’s not all about making money. It’s about bringing everyone together for education for the kids.
Clark County
Not the average chalk board in Utica
Utica to raise money for more ‘smart boards’
-
-
Search under way for missing Underwood man
Kenneth Roger Clampitt, 41, of the 1300 block of Lindenmayer Road, has been missing from his residence since Thursday at approximately 4:30 p.m.
Continued ... -
River Ridge moves forward with development plans
No sale has been finalized on either piece of land, as River Ridge owns the 16-acre parcel, and the adjacent 54-acre tract is owned by Crossdock Development, a Louisville-based company that specializes in developing properties on the order of millions of square feet.
Continued ... - News and Tribune briefs for Feb. 10, 2012
-
Town has no cure for ailing medical center
-
Dancing
-
In the doghouse
-
Forum helps Hispanic parents stay involved with education
Angelica Perez, family services adviser for Head Start, said it is important for children to learn English at a young age. She has seen the Hispanic population in Clark County grow and said there is an increased need for English Second Language programs.
Continued ... -
Indiana granted No Child Left Behind waiver
As the deadline approaches, more schools are failing to meet requirements under the law, with nearly half not doing so last year, according to the Center on Education Policy.
Continued ... -
Democrats downsize: Clark County Democrats want to remove five precinct committee people for supporting candidates outside party
DeArk also said he never received a letter that said he may be removed as a precinct committeeman.
Continued ...
“As a matter of practice, I do not accept certified mail,” he said. -
Paying their fair share?
John Gilkey, president of the town council, said when Knott initially shared the information with him a few weeks ago, he was surprised to learn some residents weren’t paying any taxes.
Continued ...
-
