East Side kids enjoy field trip to St. Jude … and more

East Side Elementary students of Miss Maria Hart earned a treat of a field trip when after two years of collecting the most Coke pop-tops in the school, they visited St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital with a donation of $910.26. Part of the money for St. Jude came from the teachers’ donations of $20 each so they could wear jeans the last few weeks of school. School librarian Sandra Angotti organized the fund-raiser in memory of her daughter, Marla Angotti, who was patient at St. Jude and a victim of cancer.

While at St. Jude, the students learned about the mission and services provided by the hospital. Marla’s doctor, Dr. Raul Riberio, her nurse, Belinda Mandress, Stacy Haynes, and others who worked with Marla came to visit with the class and spoke briefly about St. Jude. The students were allowed to ask questions about cancer, its cures, and the hospital in general.

After presenting the check, the students walked to the trolley stop and took a trolley ride to the Peabody Hotel. There they had a front row seat to watch the famous Peabody ducks walk the red carpet to the fountain. They rode the elevator to the Peabody rooftop where they enjoyed the view of the Mississippi River, Mud Island, the FedEx Forum, and the Auto Zone Stadium.

From there the class had a short walk to Huey’s Restaurant for lunch. After lunch, they took the trolley to St. Jude in order to board their bus for the trip home.

“I want to thank everyone who helped save the pop-tops,” Mrs. Angotti said. “It was for a very worthy cause. We are so fortunate to have such a wonderful facility so close to Brownsville. I had not been back to St. Jude since Marla’s death in 2002, and I had mixed emotions about returning. However, when we stepped off the bus, it felt like home. Marla’s doctor and the other caregivers were not only professionals, they were family.”
 

East Side students enjoy annual “Field Days”

East Side students had a great time at their annual “Field Days” in May that signaled the nearing of the end of the school year. As they dressed in their favorite “Pirate” attire, they enjoyed such games as Tug-of-War, basketball, bean-bag toss and sack races. It was a great day for exercise and activity.
 

Four audition for Fox TV show, Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?

Four East Side Elementary students were among the more than 200 students in the West Tennessee area who competed in Jackson on Saturday, May 19, for a spot on the Fox TV show, “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?” The show began its run on television this spring.

The show’s emcee, Jeff Foxworthy, asks questions of adult contestants with a panel of fifth graders on stage who the contestants can use to help them answer the questions. All the questions come from first- through fifth-grade textbooks. The prize – up to $1,000,000.

The local students who answered the TV “cattle call” were Ethan Riddle, Kyle Sills, Clayton Converse and Ryan Watson. During the tryouts, the students were given questions in math, literature, science, and history. Only 29 contestants qualified to compete in Round 2.

Out of the 29 students who advanced to Round 2, three were from East Side Elementary - Clayton Converse, Ryan Watson, and Ethan Riddle. After the 29 students went through more testing, the field was narrowed to five finalists, one of which was Ethan Riddle, who came in as number three.

Before they left, the five finalists, including Ethan, recorded a commercial that began airing on Fox 16 on Tuesday, May 22.

Ethan’s parents are Tommy and Tracy Riddle. Kyle’s parents are Michelle and Greg Sills, and Clayton’s parents are Hayden Hooper and Clark Converse. Ryan Watson’s parents are James and Rebecca Watson.
 

There are poets among us …

Anna Roberts held a poetry reading in her 4th grade classroom at East Side Elementary School in May. Students memorized poems and presented them to the parents and classmates. Students also illustrated their poems, and Ms. Roberts put the pictures in a PowerPoint presentation for all to enjoy!
 

Haywood County Family Resource Centers’
“Family Reading Wall of Fame” Winners
By: Peggy Jackson

The Family Resource Centers are so proud of all the students who have participated in the “Family Reading Wall of Fame.” All students who participate receive ribbons for the schools’ award ceremonies. A continuous list is kept and trophies will be awarded to the top 10 students at each of the three elementary schools who read the most books for the school year. Our goal is to help our children know the fun of reading and work on their reading skills at the same time!

Congratulations to the top students for the fifth six-weeks! The East Side winners were: 1st place –Ebony Clark; 2nd place – Madison Ross; 3rd place – Clayton Converse.

The Family Resource Centers, located on the campuses of Anderson and Haywood Elementary, are a team effort of UT Extension and the Haywood County School system. All residents of Haywood County are invited to visit the Centers where hundreds of items are available for FREE loan.
 

East Side students and staff present “I Have a Dream”

After rave reviews for their Christmas concert, East Side students had a lot to live up to when they presented their year-end concert, “I Have a Dream,” on Friday, May 4. The children spoke words of Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou between singing “dream” songs such as “I’m Gonna Sing,” “Train is A’Coming,” “Now Let Me Fly,” “I Have a Dream,” “Down by the Riverside,” “Hallelujah, Get on Board,” “The Rhythm of My Soul,” “Like a Mighty Stream,” “We Live the Dream,” and “Do Lord.” Many of the school’s teachers and staff members contributed to the production that was led by music teacher Lynn Holt.
 

Copyright 2008 Haywood County Schools.